The day had been saved, and a grand opportunity awaited them. It would take a while to close out their work on Vespara Prime, and longer still to fully study and map out what lay beyond the Underspace aperture now in their backyard, but a palpable optimism now pervaded the halls of the Polaris. It was easy to be optimistic when millions of lives were no longer at risk. That said, there were still a good number of unresolved loose ends, and so, upon returning from the Vesparan star, Admiral Reyes had called a meeting aboard the Polaris of her senior leadership team.

“The Vesparan Council is demanding to know when we’ll be departing,” Fleet Captain Devreux reported. “And if we’ll take our trash with us.” They’d built upon and drilled into the once pristine and unadulterated utopia of Vespara Prime, and now the colonists wanted their world back. And not as it was now, but the way it was before. The problem was that no one had given any thought to how they’d clean up after. Until mere hours ago, it had been irrelevant as it seemed inevitable the planet would fall into the sun, taking with it whatever was left on the surface. But now, as the gravitational pull of the aperture had subsided and the planet’s orbital trajectory was stabilizing, what came next was an open question.

“You’d think they’d be a bit more grateful after we just saved their butts,” Captain Lewis said as he folded his arms across his chest. He didn’t understand what had led the people of Vespara Prime to abandon technology and industry, but more than that, he was just being pragmatic. Their world had just survived a near catastrophe, and their first question was when Starfleet would take all its technology back and bugger off? Where was the thank you they deserved?

“I’m afraid it’s not that simple anyways,” warned Dr. Sh’vot, the geophysicist from the Advanced Science, Technology and Research Activity who, in light of his background, found himself at the table alongside the squadron’s leadership team. “Even though the planet’s orbit will eventually trend back towards the system’s habitable zone, it will take time for equilibrium to settle. Until then, and maybe even after depending on where the climatological feedback loop shakes out, they will need our support for even the bare necessities.”

“Dr. Sh’vot is right,” Commander Lee added. Her uniform was still dirty and her hair was still matted from the sleepless week she’d spent down on the surface trying to save the colony, and during her time down there, she’d seen firsthand the devastation caused by the planet’s orbital decay. “Their crops are gone, their livestock are dead, and many of their towns fell to wildfires that tore across the planet. It’s pretty much an environmental disaster zone down there. It will take months to stabilize the planet enough that they can return to their ways of old.”

“Dr. Sh’vot, this is well aligned to your area of expertise,” Admiral Reyes acknowledged. “So you’re on first as it relates to environmental and ecological rehabilitation, at least until we can get Federation Colonial Operations out here to take the ball.”

“Certainly, ma’am,” Dr. Sh’vot nodded. In his early years, he’d spent a decade on projects such as New Halana, Blue Horizon and Ventax II, and now he’d get to apply those learnings to heal the broken world beneath them. “I’ll also put a call into the Federation Terraforming Command as it’s going to take more than the Colonial Ops folks to solve this long-term.” The colonists might shun technology, but it would take a good degree of technology to make their world truly self-sufficient again.

“Very good,” Admiral Reyes agreed before turning towards the Detachment Commander for the Archanis Sector Corps of Engineers. “Meanwhile, Commodore Agarwal, I’m going to look to you to lead the clean up effort of all the equipment we deployed to the planet, and to try to remediate the impact that we had with our mining equipment. Vespara Prime will never be as pristine as it was before – through the crucible, we are all left with some scars – but we might as well do what we can.” 

“Absolutely,” nodded Commodore Agarwal.

“You both will have the full support of the Polaris and the Diligent,” Admiral Reyes continued. “So if you need something, just ask. We’re at your beck and call.” The Advanced Science, Technology and Research Activity would continue their research into the Underspace , but otherwise, the full facilities and capabilities of the Odyssey-class heavy explorer and the Alita-class heavy escort could be turned to support the work.

It was not lost on Commander Lee that both she and her ship had been left out of the equation. “What of Ingenuity and Serenity, Admiral?” she asked curiously.

“You’re going exploring,” Admiral Reyes smiled, a twinkle in her eye. It would be a nice reprieve after the weight of the world had been on her shoulders for the past week and a half. “Initial probes launched an hour ago from the Diligent confirmed that the aperture in the center of the Vesparan system is indeed passable, and it appears to be connected to a broader network.” Of course, they were lost soon after entering the network, as they had neither a discerning pilot nor the navigational controls to navigate the complex excitation of subspace, but they’d confirmed what other crews had reported of similar apertures they’d identified throughout Federation territory. “We cannot pass up the opportunity to see where it leads, so you’re going through to map it out and send data back to us for Dr. Lockwood’s team to analyze.”

“Not that I’m complaining, but why us?” Commander Lee asked. She felt a bit of a debt to the planet, and leaving it when things were unfinished left a weird taste in her mouth. Plus, she didn’t regard herself among great explorers like Allison Reyes and Gérard Devreux. She was just a grease monkey that they’d somehow convinced to sit in the big chair.

“The Pathfinder class, and the Duderstadt class in its surveillance configuration, have some of the best sensor equipment in the fleet,” Admiral Reyes replied. “And also, you’re small. If we take the Polaris through, our support for Vespara waivers, so as much as I might selfishly wish to explore the labyrinth that lies beyond, the Polaris‘ place is here.” Beyond the terraforming and the cleanup, they had a relationship with the colony to manage, and that meant she personally, as a senior representative of the Federation, needed to remain behind as well.

“It’ll be fun,” Captain Lewis chuckled as he rested a hand on Commander Lee’s shoulder. “Think about it, Cora. You and me, traipsing around the galaxy! Who knows, maybe we can mix it up with some Kazon or hunt some Hirogen.” That thought made the young CO shiver, and while a joke, there was also a scary reality behind the aged Captain’s words. The aperture, he knew, was not just a new opportunity. It was also a tactical risk.

“Do we have any concerns with the security of our newly discovered aperture?” Captain Vox asked, his mind going to much the same place as Captain Lewis. “While it may offer a grand opportunity for us to explore far off corners of the galaxy, it also invites others to reach straight into the heart of our territory.” It was a chilling thought.

“Yes, this is very much a concern shared by Command,” Admiral Reyes nodded grimly. “For this aperture and the others that have been identified across Federation space, and that’s where your ship comes in. In the event that ill intentioned visitors decide to use our aperture for their own ends, Diligent will be first response.” She looked out the window at the warbirds that hung in the night’s sky. “You and the Klingons.”

“The Klingons?” Captain Vox asked skeptically. He’d been wondering about their new friends. Would they be returning to their own space now that the matter was resolved? Or was there something further they intended from their intercession.

“Yes, General Golroth has asked if he can linger here with us so that his team can continue to study the aperture,” Admiral Reyes explained. “Given the save they gave us today, we’re not really in any position to say no.” General Golroth had made it fairly clear, in the call they’d had earlier, that he expected to be allowed an opportunity to study the aperture alongside them, and that he’d take no as an affront to honor. Given how outnumbered they were by the Klingon armada, it wasn’t like she was in a position to compel them to leave, and beyond that, their continued presence did offer an interesting opportunity.

“But Allison, we know they’re not here of pure intention,” Captain Lewis cut in. “It’s all too convenient, their whole presence here, and if our suppositions are true, we could be giving them the opportunity to refine some dangerous science.” The theory that Dr. Lockwood and Lieutenant Commander Sena had brought to him still hung heavy in his mind. The Klingons had not whipped up their singularity-manipulating technology simply to save a Federation world. It almost certainly had been built as a weapon against the Romulans. “We can’t trust them.”

“Well, Dr. Lockwood is just going to have to keep an eye on them, isn’t he?” Admiral Reyes smiled in the direction of their head of astrophysics and exotic sciences. “Luke, I’ve told the General that since you’ve so dearly enjoyed the cultural and scientific exchange between our teams that you’d be honored to conduct a joint study with them.”

Dr. Lockwood did not look the least bit pleased with the idea of spending even another minute with the Klingons, but Captain Lewis beat him to an objection. “You can’t be serious,” Captain Lewis shook his head at her, but Admiral Reyes just smiled back. “Are you seriously considering sharing with them what we find?”

“Hell no,” Admiral Reyes laughed. She wasn’t an idiot. She’d come from the same school of hard knocks as he had. “I expect Dr. Lockwood and his team will use deep discretion in what we share, but I intend that we use this as a way to know exactly what they’ve know and are developing.” 

Dr. Lockwood opened his mouth to protest.

“It’s better we know what they know than that we don’t,” Admiral Reyes insisted before he could air his grievances. “And if we send them away, they’ll likely just go find an aperture somewhere else – maybe in their own territory – beyond our watchful eyes.”

That’s when it became clear to Captain Lewis that this was an intelligence gathering operation, and while that made him almost want to hang back to watch the Klingons personally, he also felt a debt to Commander Lee to accompany her. She needed him. Admiral Reyes and Captain Vox would be able to manage the Klingons.

Dr. Lockwood still didn’t look happy though.

“Plus, it’ll be good to have a few Klingons around in case someone does pay us a visit,” Admiral Reyes added. The concerns Lewis and Vox had raised about the risks the aperture presented were still very much top of mind. “We are not too many light years from the Klingon border, and in this case, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, so Captain Vox, let’s coordinate mutual defense with General Golroth’s birds.” In her preliminary conversation with him as they’d returned from the aperture, he’d already seemed to offer as much.

“Yes, ma’am,” Captain Vox agreed. “As we butter them up, we’ll also learn what we can from them. I’ll tell Jordyn that it’s time to brush off her Klingon.” Indeed, while Dorian Vox had spent most of his time along the Cardassian and Romulan borders, Jordyn Kerrigan, his Executive Officer, had cut her teeth along the Klingon borderlands. She even spoke fluent Klingon, and now, he planned to use her to unearth what ulterior motives they had.

“Very good,” the Admiral concluded as she clasped her hands in front of her. “We’ve got a lot to do, so let’s get to doing it.” She looked over at the commanding officers of the Serenity and the Ingenuity. “And Captain Lewis, Commander Lee, please try to enjoy your time in parts unknown.” She genuinely and dearly wished that she was going with them.