A passerby could hear soft chatter coming from one of many popular establishments of Starbase 415. It was called Hakkoku. One of many renowned restaurants to survive Earth’s last world war and with the shift in economics, it became much more popular. Over the years, adaptations were made, but the quality of food and customer satisfaction had not faltered. As attractive as it is to visitors not homed to the station, it has become a frequent stop for many personnel. In fact, these group of officers had frequented to the establishment so often, they were well known by the bar tender and manager, Arata.

When a guest enters the establishment, they are welcomed by two greeters who always had a smile on their face. One was male and the other were female, both equally attractive to anyone who swung in a specific direction or in either direction; and if they were attracted to humans. One of the greeters will assign a waiter to a guest and the waiter will guide them to a large section of the restaurant that had many tables and booths. There were two of these sections, one to the left and one to the right, both separated by a middle path. Each sections were lower than the main floor that would have a several stairs located around the section, but they were only lowered to the point that each stair had two steps. At the very far end of the restaurant was a bar, with a counter that went wall to wall with each end having a ‘door’ for the restaurant personnel to cross. Now, in the center of the two sections were sushi bars, skilled sushi chefs prepare and serve their finest.

Throughout the entirety of when a guest enters the establishment to when they are seated and allowed to gather their food and drinks from the bars, their ears are filled with the soft and relaxing melodies that fill the restaurant. Guests could hear beautiful music coming from instruments like the shakuhachi, koto, tsuzumi and more. With all the restaurant had to offer, it would be no surprise to find it filled with various races. One could see a few Romulans, some Klingons, many from the Federation like Trill, Vulcan and Betazoid, but also those that the station neighbor, the Talarians.

At the main bar where Arata placed a tray filled with a few bottles and many cups onto the counter, one would find several young officers together. They all sat at the bar, conversing on the previous events that had unfolded before them, as well as celebrating the promotion that four members of their group had received. Although, one in particular was not entirely as excited as everyone else was.

Ruben Ortiz, or as his friends liked to call him, Ruby, sat there on his stool in the middle of the group as he stared into the counter. Well, while his eyes may be looking directly at the counter, he was off in his own thoughts. He was so entrenched that he had not noticed that Mizu had taken one of the sake bottles, while Theo dispersed the cups to everyone, and one of those cups had landed directly before his eyes where Mizu filled with Japanese liquor. That was when he felt a smack land on his shoulder, one of which had pulled him out of this thoughts and cause his to straighten up as he turned his head to lock his eyes with Mizu’s.

“Where have you been floating off to, Ruby?” Mizu asked.

Ruby smirked before he turned his gaze to the cup filled sake before him, only to return his gaze back to Mizu. “Just processing everything that has happened to us. That’s all.”

“Yeah, how was nearly getting shot by a satellite feel?” Ruby heard from Utsall, the Klingon security officer who had her eyes set on Zane since long before Ruby and his friends had ever met her, so Ruby has been told.

“It was a bit nerve racking. It was not something I had expected when I was trying to reset the system so it would not be stuck in a diagnostic loop,” Ruby explained. It was the reason why the small array of six satellites outside the asteroid field in this star system were not communicating with the station, let alone allowing the station to communicate to anyone outside the star system while their long range communication systems were offline. It was a nifty kind of redundancy to have, if long range comms were down, they could simply link up with the satellites with short range and use them as a temporary long range comm system. That is, if the changeling had not tampered with them.

“Luckily I had caught it when I did and pushed him out of the way. Or he would have a hole in his chest,” said Mizu as Ruby watched as she brought her cup to her lips and downed the sake, only to refill the cup later with more from the bottle. “But because I saw it, we knew what to look for on the other satellites.”

“Couldn’t the station just send a simple command to break the loop that the satellites were in?” Theo asked, as Ruby noticed that he took small sips out of his cup.

Ruby shook his head. “No. Isolinear chips were installed that were causing the loops. At one of the satellites that we had fixed, we found a workbee floating near by. Unfortunately the occupant was…well, dead. The bee was heavily modified, likely from the Borg nanites that the young officer provided. But it wasn’t meant to be out there so far away from the station and the oxygen supply ran out.”

“And while you were fixing the satellites, me and K’Roll were helping the Hazard Team locate the Tholian Ambassador,” Ruby heard from Elidia.

“Is that how you guys got promoted?” Theo asked.

Ruby smirked with a small shrug. “I think it was just a matter of time. You know how it is. You’re only an Ensign for so long.” Ruby then felt Mizu slug him on the shoulder right before he could take a drink of the sake in his cup. The blow had made his whole arm shake and caused him to spill the sake onto the counter. Next thing he knew, he had a rag slap him in the face, to which he grabbed and saw the look on Arata’s face. Ruby gave him an apologetic look before he cleaned up his mess, and then glared at Mizu.

Mizu only laughed before she took another shot. “He’s half right,” She started after she gulped down the sake. “I think risking our lives and going above and beyond had some merit to it.”

“We did find the Ambassador after all,” Ruby heard from K’Roll.

“But nothing as heroic as what Commander Ryker did!” Elidia’s voice rose up a bit too loud, especially for one who sat right next to him, which made him stick his pinky into his ear and rub it a bit in an attempt to sooth it. Surely the sake was synthahol…right? Only one way to find out, since Mizu did the honors of refilling his cup for him, even though she was the reason he had spilled in the first place. Ruby brought the cup to his lips and with one motion, he threw his head back and gulped down the liquid to feel it burning as it went down. Nope. It was the real deal. He could already feel his cheeks starting to warm up.

“What did the commander do?” Ruby heard the question come from Mazak. Strange how far the Gorn had come over these years. He remembered digging into Starfleet history, years of Captain Pike and the Enterprise crew and how their encounter with the Gorn was quite unpleasant.

“Well, from what Porter and Clarke told me, members of Team Alpha, the one Commander Ryker commands. Well, they told me that, while Captain Maxwell was with them, trying to talk the changeling down,” Ruby heard Elidia pause, clearly she needed to rephrase her story a bit. “I mean, the Captain tried but the changeling was going to shoot the Ambassador no matter what and he was some how established some live feed. Clarke said that Gomez was in the stolen craft, the Albano Lacus, trying to disable the feed, because apparently the range was far enough to reach into Tholian space and well you know.”

Ruby was sure everyone could figure it out, but he went over it in his head anyway, because it was one of the events that he was processing earlier. The range was enough to reach one of the Tholian border outposts that it essentially got bounced to the homeworld and Ruby thought, if the Ambassador had indeed died and some how the changeling was able to make it appear as though Starfleet killed the Ambassador, being that the changeling was pretending to be Damien Hill, the station’s Chief Strategic Operations Officer. The thought Ruby was processing was, would that have thrown the Federation into another war? How would they fight an enemy that they barely know? And with Starbase 415 being the front line of defense, how would they have fend off the Tholians? It was a lot for Ruby to process, too much to even comprehend with what little information they have. But it had made him wonder, no matter what assignment he and his friends were on, there was always something going on that was either incredibly dangerous or potentially had enormous risk to it.

He pulled himself back out of his thoughts to hear Elidia finish the story. “And then Ryker jumped right in between the Ambassador and the changeling that he took the shot! If it had not been for the armor he was wearing, he certainly would of been dead.”

“Why wouldn’t the changeling try to vaporize the Ambassador? Would that not have been more effective?” Mazak had asked.

“Yeah, I was curious about that too. Are you sure that Porter and Clarke told you the whole story? Accurately?” Theo asked Elidia.

“Maybe. I don’t know. All I know is, the Ambassador is safe. I heard he was due to return to the station next week, so I guess the Tholians are not too angry?” Elidia said that in a form of a question but what answer was she looking for? Ruby wasn’t sure.

Ruby rotated in his seat and let out a huge sigh. “It doesn’t matter and I am not going to dwell on it any longer. Point is. The possibility of war has been averted. None of us, that we can remember, had killed anyone that we knew of when we were under the influence of Borg weirdness.” He admits that he forgot what the term was. “Though, can’t say the same for a lot of the junior officers here. Nevertheless, the four of us being Junior Lieutenants won’t change anything. We’re still going to get the same crappy assignments. In fact, I’m sure we will be cataloging some cargo in one of the cargo bays tomorrow.” Groans were heard coming from his friends, all because he reminded them that their little vacation time was going to come to an end after they wake up for duty tomorrow.

“Way to buzzkill there, Ruby,” said Mizu, where Ruby could see the look of disgust on her face until she stuck her tongue out at him, which showed him that she was merely teasing. Typical Mizu, he thought, so he never took her too words too seriously.

“Yeah, what a party pooper!” Elidia shouted before she clamped a hand over her mouth. One of the few simple rules of the Hakkoku, don’t be loud. In fact, they all heard a sound of a throat being cleared by Arata, who Ruby looked at to see him glaring at Elidia. “Sorry!” Ruby heard Elidia’s whispers and that seemed to have satisfied Arata. For now.

“Come on. Let’s get some food and try to have fun with as much time as we have left,” said Ruby, as he attempted to make amends for bringing up work.

“Good! Then we can work on pulling out some information out of Theo about who he’s crushing on!” Mizu teased once again but Theo was still learning of Mizu’s ways and took the bait.

“Wha-what?! Who told you that?!” And Theo had given it away, where Mizu and Elidia did their ‘ooooo’s’, to which Ruby had joined in, of course.

Part One of Two

In his office, Maxwell sat there in his chair as he swiped through reports after reports. It had been a couple of months since they had rescued the Tholian Ambassador and as far as they are aware, the Tholians do not seek war. So far, at least. He had taken the station’s former Captain, Gerald Hunt, plan into action. Both Hazard teams had undergone intensive training, training that prepared them for harsh environments at an extended length of time. To boil it down, both team alpha and bravo were on a barely habitable, barely breathable ice planet, well within Federation space but on the edge of the border with the Tholians. They had the necessary shelter and supplies to conduct their mission, which officially, is merely a scientific one. This planet had very unique giant ice worms that bore through the planet but strangely enough, they excrete slush like material that essentially restores the path they had taken. Basically, there were no sinkholes or cave ins of the sort. So while they conducted their research, unofficially, they were passively watching the Tholian border.

Well. Their month long mission had come to end about a few days ago and were on their way back to the starbase with one of the runabouts, the Hammar Lacus, and will be given a week of shore leave to rest. From the report they had sent while en route, is the reason Maxwell believed that the Tholians do not seek war for what has happened to the Ambassador. Of course, he pretty much figured that since the Tholian Ambassador had indeed returned to the station a day ago. But, Maxwell had to be certain. Any buildup of starships is usually a sign, a sign to be cautious about, one he would report to Fourth Fleet Command immediately. But since there was no such build up, just standard border patrol on Tholians side, then there was no worry at all.

Maxwell slowly rose up from his seat and began to stretch with a groan of relief. He had been in that chair since five o clock this morning. Barely slept at all. One would think that the concern of a Tholian attack would be the reason for his lack of sleep but it was not. He was certain that it was not going to happen. Having a stack of evidence proving that it won’t happen just felt more reassuring. No. Something else had him toss and turn in his bed when he had attempted to sleep last night. He was even tempted to go to sickbay and ask the night doctor to give him something to help him sleep but then he told himself to not act like a silly weak old man. He wasn’t that old. Although he sure felt like it. Nevertheless, he has survived sleepless nights before. Some through training. Some accidental. Some intentional for various reasons.

He had begun to make his way to the replicator for something strong, perhaps the strongest that he can find. On his way, he heard the chime come from the door. Someone had seek entrance to his office. Best he let them in but…he decided to make them wait. Patience was virtue, after all and he was thirsty. “Computer. Strongest coffee you can make that the human body is allowed to have in a single day.”

‘It is advisable to only take the quantity of caffeine in small amounts throughout the day. Per regulations, I am not authorized to give you a daily dose in one request.` Said the computerized voice emanating from the replicator. The door chime rang again.

Maxwell sighed as he could not believe he was being denied by a computer. Certainly he could authorize it. “Upon my authorization,” He spoke his command code and then a denied tone came from the replicator.

‘Unable to comply. This would be a health violation and such violation would need the authorization of Chief Medical.’ Replied the voice from the replicator. Again the door chimed.

Maxwell rolled his eyes. “Lord, I must be tired if I am to be arguing with a replicator. Let alone requesting for something I know would be insane to drink. Fine. Give me the strongest coffee you are allowed to give me at this time.” Then an ‘acknowledged’ tone came from the replicator and Maxwell watched as a cup on top of a saucer was replicated. The door chimed once again, and a second time in succession. They had become impatient.

Maxwell took the cup in one hand and the saucer in the other. It was a small cup and as he brought it to his nose to do a sniff test, the smell was intense. Espresso. Likely a double shot, if not a triple. “Come.” He had finally given the permission for both the individual and the computer, computer that would open the door for the individual so that they may enter without any further delay.

Maxwell turned towards the door as he brought the cup to his lips and took a sip. The taste was very tart and very strong. It was definitely a triple. He watched as Commander Ward approached him.

“Did I wake you, Captain?” Ward asked.

He shook his head as he made his way back to his desk, only to stand before it and lean back against it. He finished off the small amount of liquid that was left in the cup before he placed the saucer down on top of the desk with the cup on top of the saucer. “Not at all, Commander. I was simply trying to enjoy my coffee in peace.” He smirked.

Ward rolled her eyes. “I hoped it was good, sure don’t seem a whole lot with the size of that cup.”

Maxwell chuckled. “It is not the size that matters, it is what it provides that does.”

“Ri-i-ight. Anyway. An encoded message was received. Apparently your eyes only.”

Maxwell gleamed as he knew exactly what it is that she referred to. He quickly made his way around his desk and leaned over it as he brought the message up onto the holo display. He entered his authorization code and the message was then unscrambled. It was two simple words.

“’We’re Here.’? That all it says? What is so important in that that it had to be encoded?” Ward asked as she was able to read it from the opposite side of the desk, as the holo display was obviously transparent and two simple words in reverse to her eyes were as it were, simple to read.

Maxwell chuckled again as he typed a message and sent it right away. Then he stood up straight and began to head for the door while he ushered her to follow. “Oh it is quite important. You remember that the Gemini had to be sent back, correct?” He looked over his shoulder and saw that she was right behind him as they stepped onto Ops.

“She was sent back because she needed to be retrofitted for diplomatic missions. That’s what you said. That is what you said.” Ward told him, loud enough that it got everyone’s attention.

He was fine with that, as he had intended to do the very same. He looked around and saw a few familiar faces. Not all senior staff were in Ops but that was fine. He saw Bates, Rowe and Tagg and that was fine, as he is certain Beck and the others will find out very soon. “I want a view of the fourth planet big and large for everyone to see, just slightly above us please.” He ordered and he saw from the corner of his eye that Rowe worked to implement his request while he stared at the open space where the display would go.

Soon, a holo display appeared, a rather large one at that, and they could see the fourth planet of the Nereus system. Although, he may had been a little vague on his request because the display showed the whole planet from one side. But someone had keen eyes, as Maxwell heard Tagg speak out.

“There’s something coming. Right there!” Tagg pointed and from the corner of Maxwell’s eyes, he saw Rowe began to work to enlarge the object. They all watched as the object was magnified not once, not twice, but three times so that they got an entire display screen full of the object.

“No. Fragging way.” The outburst came from Zane Bates as he clapped his hands together, hard and loud. “Are you serious?!”

Maxwell had a smile on his face since he read the message, but Zane’s outburst had made that smile grow until the smile reached ear to ear. Metaphorically.

“Yes!! I get to fly her again!” Tagg shouted, which made Maxwell turn his head to look at him, just in time to catch the Ferengi fist pump. “Uh. Sorry, sir.”

Maxwell then laughed as he turned his gaze back to the object. It was no ordinary object, that’s for sure.

“How did you do it?” Ward had asked.

Maxwell could not help but laugh again. “I didn’t. Not necessarily, anyway. Command knew the importance of our diplomatic relations with the Talarians and, most importantly, the Tholians. They knew, that even though this station provides ample resources for diplomats, and that we had the beautiful New Atlantic runabouts, they knew it was simply not enough. So. The Gemini was merely temporary. At the time, Command needed to know that this station was not compromised or lost, so I was given the Gemini to get here fast. But in truth. She was going to be here, all along.” He explained as he pointed at the ship, his ship, the Sovereign. He continued, “She was not available at the time when Command needed me to investigate the station, as she was still undergoing a major refit. While they removed that damned formation thing out of her systems, they also made sure that she had the latest tech that they could slap onto her. Not only that, they completely retrofitted deck four to a proper diplomatic wing. While we are capable of adjusting the environment on the entire ship, deck four has been specially modified to handle Tholians. Unfortunately, this means that the Junior Officer lounge on deck four is now strictly for diplomats, and if we have Tholians on board, we will have to wear our EV suits. This gives the Tholians a chance to roam freely of their own, in an environment suited to them. Starfleet is doing everything they can to make it so that the Tholians feel more at home, and what better way to do it, than to do it on the most significant workhorse class of the fleet? Better yet, thee class of the fleet. The Sovereign itself!”

“I cannot wait to inspect those environmental controls,” said Rowe, which led to Maxwell to turn his gaze to her.

“I’ve read the file from your former Captain, don’t go tinkering around without permission. Alright?” He smirked, as his intentions was to tease but he knew that would boil her blood a little, as he could already see a tint of red on her cheeks while she turned her gaze away from him, back to the display. Very much where Maxwell’s own gaze would return to.

“So how much of a change in roster will there be?” Ward asked.

Maxwell answered that question with one simple command. “Hail the Sovereign.” And then the display was replaced with the face of Commander Arthur Graves, who had been the First Officer of the Sovereign earlier when Maxwell was in command. And still is. “Nice to see you again, Commander. I how’s the girl treating you?” He saw a slight grin on Graves’ face.

“Command had someone take the Sovereign out on a bit of a maiden voyage to ensure the upgrades were working appropriately. When she was returned to Avalon Fleet Yards, there were some tweaks here and there, from what Commander Walker told me.”

That made Maxwell smile again. “Walker worked on the Sovereign?” He saw the nod that Graves made.

“Indeed he did. Him and his team, of course. They were nearly wrapped up in repairing the fleet when, apparently, the urgency of getting the Sovereign back underway was given.”

“Well so far, no one’s starting throwing rocks yet.” Poor metaphor for a sense of humor in regards to what everyone on the station had thought would happen. But Maxwell said it and now he will have to live with it. “It is unfortunate that we could not get over to where all the crazy Maquis was going on. I for one cannot believe that they are back, but another part of me figured they would return. With all the crap that’s been happening.”

“You think that we will need to deploy the Sovereign more so than you believed?”

Maxwell nodded his head. “I do.” He then turned to look at Ward. “You will remain First Officer of the station, in fact you will most likely take temporary command more often than you think. I will be on the Sovereign most of the time and I may need some of our very best to join as well.”

Ward shook her head with a smirk on her face. “I figured as much, just as long as you don’t keep them away for too long. The station still needs them, as much as you, Captain.”

Maxwell chuckled. “Oh of course! Sovereign will be docked here, or floating around near by, to give room to transports of course. But when Command calls, or if one of our neighbors calls, we’ll come answering with the Sovereign.” Maxwell then turned to look back at Graves on the display. “Bring her home, Commander. And everyone on board are welcome to explore the establishments on the station! I don’t think we will be needing her that soon.”

“Understood, Captain. Sovereign out.”

The display returned to the view of the Sovereign approaching the station, and all Maxwell could do was stare and smile. “Welcome back, Friend.”

Continuation of ‘Celebration…’; Part Two

There were three of them left at the table with a few bits of food left on their plates, a couple empty bottles with one of them on its side. The others had surrendered the night and returned to their quarters to rest as the morning of their duties would come quickly than they would like. Same could be said for the three remaining members of their party, Mizu, Ruby and Theo. But they were having a lot of fun, that is, until Arata came over to the table and informed them that the restaurant will close soon for the night and that they needed to vacate.

The three of them practically stumbled out of the entrance to the Hakkoku, that is until one of them lost their balance and face-planted into the info kiosk before them. It was Theo and both Mizu and Ruby had to help him back to his feet.

“I got this,” Ruby said as he tried to look at Mizu but he could see four of her.

“Are you sure?” She asked.

Ruby raised his free hand up and gave her a thumbs-up. “Oh yeah! Totally. His quarters are on the way to mine.”

Ruby saw the smile on Mizu's face and then she giggled. “Okie dokie pokie, Mr. Ortizie. HA! Ortizie. I'll see you in the morning.”

They heard Theo giggle like a school girl. “It's already morning," he said.

“Oh crap! We need to be in bed!” Mizu tried to say with a straight face before she burst into a giggle fit, one that got Ruby started.

“Oh-oh-okay now, we really got to go. See you later, Mizu," Ruby told her but all he could hear from her was more giggles as she wobbled her way to the nearest lift.

For whatever reason, Ruby went the other way to find him a separate lift but then stopped in his tracks when he realized he had dropped Theo, which followed with a muffled ‘Ow’. Ruby turned back to pick him up, to find Theo's face pressed into the carpet.

“The floor hit me. I think I need medical attention,” said Theo as Ruby picked him back up.

“You're fine, bud. But you should of really went easy on the sake,” Ruby told him as he started to lead them to the next lift where they took it to their sub section of Section E, Quarters section. Their quarters just happened to be about a quarter away from Mizu's and further in of the mushroom dome of the station, where hers was closer to the exterior. Basically, she had windows and a view. They didn't. On the way there in the lift, Ruby could hear Theo mumbling about the drinks.

“I was taking it easy. I only had two cups full,” Theo held up four fingers and stared at them. “Wait. That's not right. That looks like twelve fingers.” Theo then began to giggle. “I didn't have twelve cups of sake! Oh wow! Haha!”

Ruby remembered what Theo had, it was definitely two but clearly the man could not hold his liquor. Ruby had his first experience with Mizu when he had first met her back at the Academy and ever since then, he grew a tolerance for it. But he was still quite buzzed, as he forgot how many cups he had. The door split open once it reached their sub section and he began to help Theo down the corridor, where he aimed for Theo's quarters.

“You know,” Theo continued and then suddenly Ruby felt a grip on his butt. Was Theo groping him? “If..If I didn't have a thing for -hic- OH! I started -hic- hiccuping! Oh boy, I must -hic- really be drunk. What was I -hic- saying?” Ruby was about to answer and then there was a sudden smack to his butt. “I -hic- remember! If…if I didn't -hic- have a thing for K'Roll, I'd -hic- totally take this with me to bed. Who knew -hic- that you had such a cute butt.”

Ruby smirked and nearly tripped over his own feet but managed to save himself and Theo. “I got you!” said Theo, followed by another hiccup. Theo's grip had gotten tighter apparently. Ruby could feel himself start to get hot, hotter than usual. He knew the alcohol was very much still in his system, but there was an odd sensation that began to build up. He did not what to think on it, did not have the time either, as they made it to Theo's door.

“Here we are, buddy. Home sweet home!” Ruby said as he helped Theo stand up straight before him. “There. Think you can make it to your bed?” Ruby asked but as he looked into Theo's eyes, the sensation grew stronger. Was it the alcohol or did Ruby just started to find Theo incredibly attractive? The can't be. He was attracted to Mizu. Heck, he still had not worked up the courage to ask her out yet. Then what is it that he is feeling? It must be the sake. Perhaps too much sake.

“You know, -hic- my hand is still on your butt,” Theo's words pulled Ruby out of his thoughts and the next thing the happened would be unbelievable in the next several hours. Because when the alarm went off, Ruby opened his eyes and he raised his hand to his head where he could feel the worst hangover headache that he has ever had in years. But in the attempt to raise his hand to his head, his hand brushed against something. Curiosity got the better of him, as he gripped it, as it felt squishy and once his fingers explored enough, his eyes shot open in shock. He looked to find his arms wrapped around Theo and that his chest was pressed up against Theo's back and he looked down under the covers to see that he…his…

Ruby quickly crawled out of bed, found his clothes and put on the most important layers first before he ran out of Theo's quarters and headed straight for his own.

The Day the Sovereign arrived

It had been a couple days since the awkward situation that Ruby had with Theo. During those days, they barely looked at each other, let alone talked to each other. In fact, any time they entered a room where they saw one another, they'd immediately retreated to a different, separate room. Ruby would often find himself staring blankly into space, whether his gaze be at a his data padd, console holo display, or a table. His mind had been going over the events constantly, his thoughts were troubled and he couldn't process any of them. He had always found himself attracted to women, Mizu especially and never once ever thought he would ever be interested in another male. In fact, he knew Theo had his eyes on K'Roll, he knew since they first met the guy back on the Sovereign. Just the way Theo stared at K'Roll gave it away, even Mizu bet Ruby a drink that Theo was into him, and when Theo confessed to the two of them, Ruby was not at risk as he had not taken that bet.

At lunch, Ruby had chosen to go to a regular cantina of sorts. Basically just a bunch of tables with chairs around them, scattered around the area with food replicators close by. Was a place to grab a quick bite for a lot of station personnel, when they just wanted to eat something quick and get back to work. But Ruby had barely touched his food, as his attempts to process the event continued to repeat like a broken record. That is, until his thoughts were interrupted when he heard Theo's voice. He knew it was inevitable, but for some reason, he still felt unprepared.

“Hey,” said Theo, who stood there with a tray of food.

“Hey,” Ruby returned and then watched Theo sat the tray down before he took his seat across from Ruby. The tray had a sandwich, looked like a cucumber sandwich, with a cup of vanilla pudding and a glass of juice. Very simple, small meal. Perhaps Theo also had not much of an appetite as Ruby had only a bowl of tomato soup before him, which had likely gone ice cold.

“Look. About the other night,” Theo started but was stopped when Ruby raised his hand.

“I've been trying to forget it and yet I can't. So, there is no need to bring it up,” Ruby told him but he could see that Theo was not going to stop.

“We have to talk about it, or it is going to keep eating us up. You're a great friend, Ruby. You and our group of friends, I don't want to lose that,” Theo said with a hint of sadness in his voice.

Ruby sighed and finally placed the spoon down in his tray that he had been holding onto since he had sat down an hour ago. Likely late to return to duty by this point but he will take the flak from his supervisor later. “No one is going to kick you or me out of the group. Not over a mistake.” Ruby saw a slight tinge of pain in Theo's eyes when he said that. Was that the right thing to say?

“Right. Of course,” Theo said, now it sounded like he had been hurt.

Ruby leaned closer, “Look. You and I both know that we have interests in other people. I want to be with Mizu and you want to be with K'Roll. Remember?”

That seemed to have perked Theo up, “Of course I remember. It's just. I don't even know if K'Roll even notices at all.”

Ruby scuffed. “Seriously? Have you even tried asking him out?”

“Well. No. I mean. It's just,” Theo stammered.

“You're never going to know if he is interested or not, if you do not ask him out.” Ruby told him.

“Then what about you and Mizu? Why haven't you asked her out yet?” Theo asked.

Ruby sighed and leaned back into his chair. “It's complicated.” Theo stared at him, obviously he wanted an explanation. Perhaps one that would fit with his own excuse. “I've known Mizu since the Academy, Elidia and K'Roll came after. Point is, we've been best friends since then and I don't want to ruin that. I'm afraid that, she'd reject me and then it be just awkward between the two of us and our whole group would just splinter because of us.”

Ruby watched Theo nod his head before he spoke, “That's kind of how I feel with K'Roll. I don't want to ruin our friendship, so if he turned me down.” Theo then blinked and tilted his head. “Are we good?”

Ruby thought about it for a second and then smirked with a nod. “Yeah. We're good. Just…keep it between us, okay?”

With that, Theo made a big nod with a smile. “Of course!” He then grabbed his sandwich and took a big bite. That must have brought his appetite back. Although, Ruby would need to reheat his soup. But before he could get up, he had noticed some glances that Theo made. Ruby could barely remember what happened that night, so what was it that they did that made such a big impression on him? Ruby couldn't even think on it for a second when Mizu came up to them, with a very excited expression on her face.

“You two have to come with me to the upper level, quick!” Mizu exclaimed before she hurried off. Without hesitation, both Ruby and Theo jumped out of their seats and followed Mizu up to the upper level. Here, they were greeted by a large viewport, transparent material that was between them and open space. But that was not what was important. What was important, was what they could see out there in open space. It was a Sovereign-class starship.

“Wow,” Ruby heard from Theo and he was right, wow indeed.

“I had not realized that we had become that popular to have the honor of a Sovereign-class ship here,” said Ruby.

Then Mizu looked at them, her smile even bigger as she knew what they did not. “Oh. That's not just any Sovereign-class ship out there. That is thee Sovereign!”

“Wait a minute. Weren't you two, Elidia and K'Roll…didn't you four serve on that ship?” Theo asked and Mizu answered, while Ruby just stared at it.

“Yup! It was a short assignment but still the best one. Right, Ruby?” Mizu asked but Ruby was too focused on the ship. She was sleek and beautiful as ever. One of the best designs ever made. She was a work of art and the designer should be proud. Although, a thought crossed his mind and he decided to play with them a little bit.

First he turned his facial expression into a look of disappointment and uncertainty. “I don't know. Honestly. If I had the opportunity. I would take an assignment on a Duderstadt-class over a Sovereign-class.” The second he finished that sentence was the second his upper arm received a blow from Mizu's fist.

“You take that back!” Mizu nearly shouted at him, but he could see a smile beginning to form. She knew he was playing with her, he could see it in her eyes but he also could tell that she wanted to make sure that he was kidding.

“I mean. The Duderstadt is a beautiful looking ship, too,” Theo chipped in and all Mizu could do was cross her arms over her chest and pout.

“I don't know you two anymore! Either way, one of these days, when I make Captain, that ship will be mine!” Mizu proclaimed, which made Ruby's brows raise up high in surprise.

“You want to be Captain of thee Sovereign? That one there? You'd have a lot of sucking up to do, to get Captain Maxwell to let you have her,” Ruby teased.

“Oh please! He doesn't get to say, let alone keep her.” Mizu fought back.

Ruby shrugged a shoulder, “True but by the time you make Captain, he'd be an Admiral and he would probably have the authority to keep her for himself. Or give her away to whomever he chooses.”

“And that's if the Sovereign is even still in service by then,” Theo chipped in again, which he did have a point.

“She may be thirty years old, but she is a damn fine looking ship and very much capable to remain in service long after I make Captain. Heck, probably long after I meet my maker,” said Mizu, who sure seemed so confident in herself. To make Captain that is, not the meet her maker part.

“Well,” Ruby sighed. “Regardless, I am not even sure if we'd ever get the chance to set foot on her again. We're still assigned to here, this station, and we got duties to get back to. At least, I do. I'm sure to get my head chewed off for how late I am, and I haven't even ate my lunch.”

“Not my fault,” Theo said before he took off in a fast walking pace, since he knew full well that it was both their faults.

“He's got a point. Need to stop day dreaming,” Mizu told him with another, more gentle, slug to his arm. “What have you been day dreaming about anyway?” She asked while she followed Ruby, as he had begun to head for the nearest left.

“Oh nothing important.” He hoped anyway.

“Hello everyone. I want to thank you all for coming,” Maxwell started as he placed his padd down before him, at the end and on top of the long oak table, before he pressed a button with his index finger to activate the holo emitter in the middle of the table. The holo image was of a star, parent of a few planets. Then some small details in a box appeared next to the star, as some of those details indicated where the star was located, the name of it and the reason it was selected. “It has been brought to my attention by our resident Federation Ambassador, Mrs. Maxwell,” Henry gestured with an open palm, four fingers pointed at her and he watched many of his staff take a brief look, a gaze or even a small smile to acknowledge her presence. “That this star here, has become a scientific importance to the Talarians, for the fact that it is located in their territory and it suddenly began to pulse.”

“Pulse, sir?” Henry heard Bazial and looked at her as she leaned forward into her elbows, her curiosity had peaked.

“Talarians haven’t the faintest idea as to why it began, but it did about two days ago. A strange pulsing emission coming from the sun. Whatever it is, it was detected by one of their observation outpost orbiting the fourth planet. The outpost mission is to observe the plant life on the planet, as the plants seem to have remarkable intelligence,” Maxwell explained and he could see Zina begin to lean forward as well. “They’re just telling us about this now and yes, Ambassador Maxwell will be negotiating with the Talarians in allowing us to send a research team to survey these plants. That is, after we assist the Talarians with this pulsing star. The outpost began to detect the pulsations on their sensors, although with the limitations of their sensor technology compared to our own, they are unable to determine where the pulsations are coming from, nor why is it doing it. All they can say, is that it is like sonar. It pulses and the sensors read it as an wave of energy based signals.”

“They do understand the meaning behind Pulsating Variable Stars, correct?” Bazial had asked and Henry could see Abigail Maxwell answer her question.

“They do understand what that is and from what Ambassador Lydus has told me, it is in a hydrostatic equillibrium, there is no physical change to the star that is occurring during these pulsations,” said Abigail.

“The Talarians gave us the data they have on the start that they have obtained over years of observations and from their own survey satellites. It is indeed, as what Ambassador Maxwell has been told by the Talarian Ambassador, in a hydrostatic equilibrium,” said Henry. “Thus, this is something completely new. Is it natural or is it artificial? That is why we are here, ladies and gentlemen. The Talarians have asked for our assistance in analyzing this star. Sovereign may not be a science or survey vessel, but with Starfleet sensors being far superior to the Talarians, the Sovereign will be able to solve the mystery in a matter of days, where it would take Talarians months.”

Henry witnessed Tagg raise his hand and it left a smirk on his face. “We are not in a class room, Mr. Tagg but go ahead. What is your question?”

Henry heard Tagg clear his throat, likely to clear away the small embarrassment. “Do we know how long we will be away from the station?”

“That is a good question, Mr. Tagg. We will depart from the station tomorrow and then we will be on course to this star system, where we will be met with a couple Talarian vessels. They will transport their ambassadors over, one of them being Ambassador Lydus, as well as their own research teams and security personnel.” Henry then noticed Zanes’ look of discomfort. “I assured them, Lieutenant, that our security is more than capable of escorting their ambassadors but they insisted and because we will be guests in their space, I had no choice but to accept.” When Henry saw a nod of acknowledgement from Zane, he then continued to the next bit of the briefing, where he had not realized that he had not finished his answer to Tagg’s question.

“Now the fun part. Commander Ward, I’m sure you are aware of this already, but you will remain on board the station as Acting C.O.,” Henry informed her, to which he got an ‘acknowledge’ from her. He then looked to James Ryker. “Commander Ryker, as much as I know that you would love to be on board the Sovereign again, I must ask that you and Alpha team remain here on the station. You will also be Acting X.O..”

A sigh came from Ryker and then he just nodded his head. “Understood, Captain.”

“Rowe,” Henry looked at her. “As much as I would love to have you come along, I am taking Lieutenant Beck as Chief Engineer on the Sovereign and the station will need someone with some engineering expertise. Doctor Bates,” Henry turned his head to look at her but before he could continue, she interrupted.

“You’re going to need me, in case something were to happen. If one of the Talarian ambassadors stubbed a toe or ended up with a hang nail, who would be there to save the day and help you gain recognition with the Talarian Republic?” Said Olivia Bates.

Henry smirked at her then he gave her a single nod. “I was going to say that you were coming along, but you do make a fair point. Then that leaves me to tell Zane Bates that he needs to stay here on the station. Anyone you have in mind that you would recommend for Sovereign‘s tactical?” Henry asked as he gazed at Zane.

“I do and I will forward their record to your personal padd before I give them the news,” said Zane.

“Excellent!” Henry then looked at Tagg. “Yes, Tagg. You’re coming along,” and he witnessed a similar ‘yes’ excitement that he had seen from before from Tagg when he had shown everyone the Sovereign had arrived. “Obviously, Ambassador Maxwell will be with us. And Bazial, Zina, you two will be needed. Lastly,” He looked at Maya. “I will need Hazard Team Bravo on the Sovereign. I have decided that any time the Sovereign were to leave the station, one of the Hazard Teams will be with her at all times. We never know when we might need you, but the chances on this mission are slim in this case.”

“I will get them ready and transferred over, sir,” said Maya.

“Perfect!” Henry said one last time before he smiled, he finally remembered that he had a question to finish. “Oh that is right, I am so sorry. To complete your question, Tagg. After we pick up the dignitaries, we will proceed to survey the star to determine what’s going on, so you’ll be given a set of coordinates to input so that we are in safe orbit of the star. The system is just on the other side of the border, not too far at all but if we add in the travel time, picking up the dignitaries, moving into place while we settle everyone in, doing the survey which was estimated to take perhaps a couple of days if not more…” Henry paused as he thought it over in his head, his eyes directed towards the ceiling before they shifted back down towards everyone else to give them all the answer. “We are looking about a week, two tops. Because of our upgraded diplomatic suites, among…oh I don’t know…updated holo programs to the holodecks and holosuites on board…” Henry could hear some of them begin to whisper, whispers of excitement, no doubt to the new holoprograms available to them. “We will probably be spending more time entertaining the ambassadors than anything else. Plus, once we fully survey the star, we have the labs we need to analyze the data and figure out what’s going on, so that could take more time as well. Worse case scenario, we could be away from the station for about a month. Does that sound good with everyone?” Henry got either a ‘yes,sir’ or ‘yeah’ or some other form of acknowledgement. “Good. Again, thank you all for coming and you are dismissed.”

As most of the staff began to depart, Henry watched Abigail come up to him. “Not often I hear a Captain handing out ‘thank you’s for a briefing.”

Henry smirked at her remark. “This wasn’t an ordinary briefing. We didn’t receive orders from Command, so it wasn’t as formal. This was simply a request from the Talarian Government through proper channels.”

Henry watched her roll her eyes at him. “Yeah, through me. Ambassador Lydus asked me if there was a chance that you could help, and I said I would only ask. I didn’t promise him anything. James has told me about his little brother and how much you love the Sovereign. You accepted their request because you want to take her out again.”

Henry chuckled softly with a contented sigh. “I have served on board that ship for the entirety of my career. I started out as an Ensign, three years after she was completed and launched and I worked my way through the ranks. I was even her pilot for many years before I moved up into the Command Staff.”

Henry watched a smile form on her face and saw it grow more by the second from his words before she opened her mouth to talk. “And here I thought it was normal for officers to jump ship to ship.”

Henry shrugged his shoulders. “I mean. It depends. Not everyone does but by doing so, you learn more about the ship you’re serving on. For those who jump ship to ship, it usually be a different class and it could be for a number of reasons. Maybe they plan to design a new ship for Starfleet in the future of their career? Or someone wants to command some day but not sure what kind of ship they want to command. But then you have those who are satisfied with where they are. The Sovereign was my home, and always will be. I have so many memories on that ship, that I just cannot see myself on another.”

Henry felt her hand on his right arm and then he felt a squeeze from her hand. “Well I am glad that you got her back. You may just be my brother-in-law, but it is good to see how happy you are. Now, James and I wanted to talk to you about this one gal-”

Henry pulled away from her. “Oh no. You two are not setting me up on a date. We talked about this and it is not happening!” He said as he made his way for one of the doors to escape but despite that his stride was fast, hers was faster and she kept up with him with ease. “Henry! Come on!” He heard her say as she chased after him.