The briefing room was filled to capacity, every chair taken and officers standing along the walls as well. The Duderstadt class fast cruiser was never meant to serve as a flagship, but now, the USS Serenity had become one. In many ways, she was no different than her captain. By most definitions, Captain Jake Lewis was not cut out to be a commanding officer. He was an aged spook of an era long past, thrust into the big chair by an admiral who had an outsized opinion of him. Now, in some ironic twist of fate, he was in charge of the wellbeing – and frankly, the very survival – of two entire ships and their crews.

Flanking Captain Lewis at the head of the table were Commander Cora Lee, Commanding Officer of the USS Ingenuity, and Lieutenant Commander Ekkomas Eidran, Executive Officer of the USS Serenity. Their titles and pips, though, did not tell the whole story. They had less than two years of command experience between them. Commander Lee was a prodigious engineer who’d only become a commanding officer because the USS Ingenuity was meant to support the activities of Fourth Fleet Engineering. She’d never so much as executed first contact protocols outside of the holodeck before. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Commander Eidran had only received his shot at Executive Officer because his prior CO had believed in him, and that CO had died in combat almost immediately after promoting him. Through the Lost Fleet, Frontier Day, and the Borg, Commander Lee and Lieutenant Commander Eidran had survived in their roles, but that was the best one could say of them. They were full of trauma, but not of experience.

Around the table and along the walls, the reality was little better for the rest of the senior staff. Lieutenant J.G. Ashlynn Laurier was only three days into the job as Chief Medical Officer after their fall from the Underspace had killed her boss, and Lieutenant J.G. Rafael Cruz, the Chief Security Officer of the Ingenuity, was so young that he’d been assimilated by the Borg signal over Earth. Even amongst the more aged officers, there was Lieutenant Greg Gadsen, a Chief Operations Officer who broke more than he fixed with his incessant tinkering, and Lieutenant Commander Sherrod Allen, the Ingenuity‘s Executive Officer who’d failed upward by taking no risks over his embarrassingly long career in middle management.

The only true veterans at the table were Lieutenant Commanders Sena, Will Sharpe, and Grace Ellander. When a former Tal’Shiar agent, a frontier grease monkey, and a trauma therapist were your most stalwart leaders, you had a problem, Captain Lewis knew. This was not the team he would have picked, had he had the choice. But he had no choice. This was all he had, and it’d have to do.

Once everyone was assembled, Captain Lewis took a deep breath, summoning a voice he seldom used. “Two weeks ago, as we raced from Kyban towards Vespara, none of us could have anticipated the chain of events that brought us to this place,” he began, acknowledging the dramatic shift in their reality. “But here we are, thousands of light years from home, with the Underspace now closed to us and looking at a long journey home.”

As Captain Lewis spoke, his eyes tracked around the room, studying those he’d be relying on in the days – or, more accurately, the years – ahead. Trepidation was the word that best described the looks on their faces. He knew weakness when he saw it, and there was too much of it here.

“This was not the mission we expected, but it is the mission that now lies before us,” Captain Lewis continued, projecting strength and conviction in the only way he knew how. “Whatever your doubts, and whatever your fears, put them aside. We can do this. We will do this. For ourselves, for our loved ones, and for our crews.”

Captain Lewis’ eyes momentarily fell on Ensign Elyssia Rel, the flight controller from the USS Ingenuity who’d somehow snuck herself into a place in his heart that he didn’t know he had. At least she looked calm. With her past, it made sense though. Through her symbiont, Elyssia knew fates far worse than being separated from home. He dared not linger on her too long though, lest his personal feelings be too evident to those around him, and quickly his gaze shifted back to Commander Lee.

“How go the repairs, Commander?” Captain Lewis asked. Lieutenant Raine’s quick thinking and the prior modifications by the Advanced Science, Technology and Research Activity had allowed the Ingenuity to fall from the Underspace without losing a soul, but it had blown out the ship’s entire EPS grid, rendering the ship stationary until repairs were complete.

“We are nearing the end of the work to retro the EPS grid, thanks to Lieutenant Raine and Ensign Seltzer,” Commander Lee offered, nodding towards her spunky Chief Engineer and her diligent Chief Operations Officer. The young pair had worked miracles. Ensign Kellan Seltzer had mapped out an optimal sequence to reconstruct the hundreds of circuits across the power distribution network, while Lieutenant Dani Raine had organized a sea of yellow, red and teal to flood the ship and do the actual rebuild. “We anticipate being ready to get underway in the next few hours.”

Captain Lewis, of course, already knew this. It’s why he’d called the meeting now, rather than three days prior as the Ingenuity drifted aimlessly. Still, he’d decided to ask, both in case there’d been any change, but also to allow Commander Lee to acknowledge her crew. Such recognition was a powerful motivator.

“And what of our duty rosters, Lieutenant Commander Eidran?” Captain Lewis then inquired as he turned to his own Executive Officer. Where the Ingenuity had endured a mostly mechanical failure in its fall from the Underspace, the Serenity had suffered a far more human one. “Where’s our staffing at?” This would be a far more long-lasting problem, he knew.

“We suffered significant losses across all departments,” Lieutenant Commander Eidran said, his voice a bit shakier than his CO would have liked. “But our worst were in Engineering, on account of the negative pressure from deceleration causing a manifold burst, and in Science and Medical, as both our main science lab and sickbay were within the sections affected by the hull breaches.” The Betazoid paused as he was overcome by emotion, both his own and that of those around him. Every senior officer on the Serenity had lost people in their dramatic fall from the Underspace, and now, as he spoke, all their emotion was slamming into him. “It… it was a lot.”

Captain Lewis already knew this. He’d read the casualty reports. “But what are we doing about it, Commander?” He didn’t need an Executive Officer that sat around feeling sorry about what had happened. He needed one that would figure out how they’d move forward.

“Oh yes… yes, that…” Lieutenant Commander Eidran fumbled, trying to regain his composure. “Given the parameters of our last mission, the Ingenuity had an abundance of engineers on hand so Lieutenant Commander Sharpe is coordinating with Lieutenant Raine to ensure we have enough coverage on both ships.”

Captain Lewis stole a glance at Lieutenant Commander Sharpe, who nodded reassuringly. The veteran engineer, who’d spent much of his career on the borderlands making do with little, was never phased, and this was no exception. He’d manage, as he always did, regardless of what was at his disposal.

“For sickbay,” Lieutenant Commander Eidran continued, trying his best to maintain his composure as he ran through the most impacted departments. “We have minimal duty shifts established, but we’ll be running short.”

Captain Lewis looked over at Lieutenant J.G. Ashlynn Laurier. He could see the exhaustion on her face. There’d be no relief from the Ingenuity on this one either, as the Pathfinder class had a minimal medical complement to begin with. “You gonna be able to make it work, Ash?”

“The sick and twisted part of this whole affair is that our resourcing needs are defined, in large part, by crew size,” Lieutenant J.G. Laurier nodded. “The less crew we have, the less staff we need. While we lost 45% of our staff, the Serenity is also down 33% of its total complement.” How she managed to get the words out without crying, she wasn’t sure, but she did. Still, her eyes gave her sadness away – the deep, deep sadness she felt. Her friends and colleagues, every single member of the medical staff that’d been on duty when the hull breached as they were ejected from the Underspace, they were all dead now.

“I’m sure a few of us can pick up hyposprays, if you need,” Captain Lewis assured her as he glanced at Lieutenant Irina Tarasova. He’d heard what the Serenity‘s Chief Tactical Officer had done to keep him alive until medical staff arrived, and in time, they could probably train a few more field medics like her to bolster their needs. “We’ll work together to make it work.”

“Thank you, Captain,” Lieutenant J.G. Laurier smiled sheepishly, appreciative of the captain’s show of support. She just hoped she would be enough to lead the department. She had been training under an incredible Chief Medical Officer, but she certainly didn’t see herself as one.

The Captain then turned back to his first officer, gesturing for him to continue.

“For our science department, unfortunately, the entire team was studying the Underspace down in the lab on deck four when… when…” Lieutenant Commander Eidran explained, stuttering as he thought back to that moment. “When the resonance pulse ejected us from the Underspace.” Every single science officer in the lab had perished due to a lack of oxygen before Lieutenant Commander Sharpe could get power restored to the force fields. “And as for staff rebalancing, the Ingenuity had left its entire science department back in the ASTRA labs on the Polaris.”

Captain Lewis looked past the end of the table to the Romulan that stood leaning against the far wall. She’d been on the bridge with them. She hadn’t been in the lab with the others.

“Lieutenant Commander Sena is our science department now,” Lieutenant Commander Eidran concluded, stating what was already obvious to the Captain.

Wonderful, thought Captain Lewis. A Romulan would be their best chance at engendering a creative scientific solution to get home faster. “Gonna work miracles for us, Miss Sena?”

“If the universe allows,” Lieutenant Commander Sena nodded calmly. She was fully aware of the Captain’s feelings towards her. She’d have likely had the same towards him, if their roles had been reversed. “All subspace telemetry I’ve reviewed suggests the Underspace isn’t going to bail us out, but the galaxy is full of curious phenomena that may accelerate our voyage home.”

Captain Lewis nodded. “So about that voyage home,” he then said as he turned back to address the room as a whole. “That is our one and only mission, the thing we will commit ourselves to in every decision we make, from now until we reemerge in Federation space.” From what he remembered from the report on Voyager, another ship that had faced a fate similar to theirs, Captain Janeway spent far too much time on stellar phenomena and first contacts. Each of those had presented an opportunity for something to go wrong, and he intended to lead them on a more direct and safe path home. “I’m sure there’ll be deviations – we’ll need supplies, and may need to avoid troublesome regions of space – but this will be our north star.”

Around the table, the senior staff of the Serenity and the Ingenuity nodded. After what they’d just been through, none were in much of an explore and discover spirit.

“Sir, I presume protocols like the Prime Directive still remain in force?” asked Lieutenant J.G. Cruz. He could envision situations out here in the unknown where they might be forced to make difficult decisions, and more than that, he was aware of the rumors about Captain Lewis.

“The Prime Directive? Yes, certainly,” Captain Lewis nodded, recognizing it a reasonable question. “As for others, they’re not always so black and white, nor were they written for a pair of ships separated from Starfleet by thousands of light years.” His mind went to the Omega Directive and how Captain Janeway had been forced to improvise when her ship came across those troublesome particles while deep within the Delta Quadrant. “We should stick to our general operating procedures, as much as practical, but we must also adapt, as necessary, to our circumstances.” That, really, was no different than it was back at home too.

“And what of the intelligence gathering opportunity this presents us?” Lieutenant Tarasova asked, using language more aligned to his way of thinking than the mission of exploration and discovery that Starfleet often preached. “Starfleet knows little about what lies out here in this region of space far beyond the borders of the Romulans and the Klingons.”

“Observation will be helpful for our cause, and it may be helpful to procure information about the area to ensure success in our voyage,” Captain Lewis acknowledged pragmatically. “But if Lieutenant Commander Eidran’s report was not reminder enough, we do not have the luxury of resupply or restaffing. Out here, if we use a torpedo, lose a shuttle, or suffer a casualty, that loss is permanent, so our goal is to avoid it, if at all possible.”

His words were sobering, and the staff grew quiet as they contemplated them. They really were alone out here, and this was going to be a hard trip home.

Lieutenant Commander Ellander, sensing the mood, then jumped in. “Your teams are going to be struggling with our new reality,” the counselor noted. “And it is totally natural and understandable if you are as well.” She knew the debilitating impact that trauma could have on one’s performance, and this situation was no simple trauma. “It’ll be important in the weeks, the months, and the years ahead, that we keep our ears to the ground, and if you get the sense that anyone needs support, know that I and my staff are here to assist.”

“Thank you, Grace,” Captain Lewis acknowledged before, as much out of a discomfort with the topic as anything, moving the conversation along. “Now, as I understand it, Lieutenant Selik and Ensign Rel have plotted an initial vector to begin our trip home, so as soon as Commander Lee and Lieutenant Raine give us the final okay that Ingenuity is ready, we’re going to depart. So now’s the time to get back with your departments and make final preparations to get underway.”

Captain Lewis looked around the room to see if there were any additional questions, but the staff all appeared to be good – or, if not good, at least processing. That was all he could really hope for, given the circumstances. It was a lot to take in, he knew, but the best way to cope was to start putting one foot in front of the other again, so it was time to do just that.

“Dismissed!”