Location: USS Oakland, Bridge

Isabel Robinson was on the bridge of the USS Oakland, they were on course for the Talvath System. They were still a few hours away from arriving in the system. The crew of the Oakland were on high alert. They knew the possibility of running into the Tal Shair was really high. 

Isabel had ordered a series of drills to be completed, so they could be prepared to deal with the Tal Shair Romulan’s. The idea frankly made her nervous. They were a credible threat to the Federation and to the crews of the USS Oakland and the USS Paso Robles.  

She was sitting in the command chair of the bridge, but she was on her toes. Everyone could see it. So they were trying not to add any grief, or add to her stress. Stella was at the tactical station, she was monitoring all sensor reading in the surrounding area. 

So far the sensors were not turning up anything beyond the USS Oakland and the USS Paso Robles. It was possible that the Tal Shair was cloaked, and lying low for the moment. 

The crew of the USS Oakland were actively looking for them. No one believed that the Tal Shair were gone. They had a sneaky suspicion that the Tal Shair was lurking in the shadows, and they needed to draw them out. 

Erica, the chief science officer was also assisting in the scans. So far she was having no luck, determining their location. She was getting slightly frustrated. She was young, and did not realize how good the Tal Shair cloaking devices really were. 

“We will find them, Erica.” Stella said, as she continued to scan. The scanners were being through, and using every trick the Federation had in order to attempt to locate the Tal Shair. Deep in her gut, Erica truly felt that the Romulans were hiding nearby. 

“I hope before it’s too late to react.” Erica suggested to Stella. She did not want any harm coming to the crew of the Oakland. Plus she cared for Stella, and the other members. They were starting to become like family to her. 

Isabel overheard their conversation, she allowed it. There was nothing else going on for the bridge. She appreciated the fact that Stella was being supportive of Erica’s frustrations. “We will find them, if they are out here.” Isabel said, trying to reassure Erica.

Suddenly the alarms started to go off. Isabel quickly looked over to Erica and Stella for an update, and to see if they needed to bring the captain up to the bridge. “Report?” She called out eagerly awaiting some information. 

“A small craft appears on our sensors. Attempting to identify now, they are not transmitting.” Stella said, as they continued to scan. Several seconds went by, which seemed like hours. Stella was trying to discover the identity of the small craft. But there transmitter was either broken or they were running black. The sensors barely register them. 

Isabel knew in her mind that right now the Oakland sensors are calibrated to hear a whisper from the other side of the galaxy if need be. She knew her analogy was over the top, but the sensitivity was turned way up, and they barely registered the ship. 

“False alarm, it’s a civilian transport. The SS Horatio.” Stella suggested, as she put the data on the screen, to show the first officer, it was a transport. As they flew closer, she was able to identify the ship by its impulse signature. Each engine was slightly different, this made them easier to identify. 

“Let’s not be so dismissive, let’s try to open a channel to SS Horatio, and see what happens.” Isabel said, as she looked over to Stella. She had a feeling, finding a civilian transport in the middle of nowhere was no coincidence. 

“Opening a channel now, Commander.” Stella said, as waited for Isabel to speak. She hoped they would be able to get some much needed answers. 

“Horatio, this is the USS Oakland, please respond.” Isabel said, as she waited for a response. Several seconds went by, and there was no response. 

“Are they still tracking this way?” Isabel asked as she waited for Stella or Erica to respond. 

“Affirmative, Commander.” Stella said, as she tried to repeat the hail over and over again. She was starting to get frustrated with the whole situation. It started to feel more and more like a trap. 

“Well this is odd, why are they not opening up a channel?” Erica blurted out. She too, thought this might be a trap. But she had no proof, just a bad gut feeling. She needed more than her gut, she needed actual proof. She was bound and determined to find the truth. 

“Maybe their communications array is damaged.” Draven the chief operations officer said, as a possible reason for the lack of communication. He wanted answers, just as bad as the others did. He was going to do what he could to assist them. 

“Someone please verify that.” Isabel said, as she prepared to notify the Captain. She wanted to follow up on their theory, but she knew she needed the captain’s approval, so she left the group to open up a call and have a private chat. 

“Confirmed, they have taken battle damaged.” Erica said, as she detected Romulan weapons fire. “Captain the weapon signature appears to be Romulan. They did a number on the transport vessel.” 

“Prepare to render aid to them. I am going to notify the Captain. Lieutenant Elwell, you have the bridge.” Isabel said, as she left the bridge and headed the ready room. 

Stella walked over to the command chair. She was nervous, as she said. “Aye Commander.” She had trained for bridge duty, but now that she was in command, it was a bit overwhelming for her. She had to rely on her previous training to get her through this moment. 

“That Chair looks good on you, Lieutenant.” Erica said with a big grin on her face. She peaked over to see Stella sitting in the big chair. 

“Erica please continue scans, I want to make sure the Tal Shair are not there. Seeing the Horatio, this convinces me more, the Tal Shair are lurking in the shadows. We need to find them, before they harm anyone else.”

“Understood, Lieutenant.” Erica said, as she carried out the orders her friend Stella had just given to her. More than ever, she really wanted to find them. How dare they attack a civilian ship. Do Romulans have no sense of honor?

“This is so frustrating, were are they?” Erica asked, a little annoyed. They seemed to be one step ahead of the Oakland, and it was really getting on her nervous. 

“We are going to find them, they can not hide forever.” Stella suggested, as she tried to re assure her friend, but feeling like it was falling on deaf ears. 

Location: SS Horatio, Engineering

Draven Blackwell was asked by Captain Byron Coleman to beam over to and assist the crew of the Horatio. He hears all about the sneaky attack by the Romulan’s. They just attacked, and simply vanished. They did not attempt to board them, or steal their cargo. 

“Do you know why they attacked you?” Stella asked, she too had beamed over, to start an investigation. She first started by asking the unpleasant conversation, so she could eliminate them from her investigation. 

“No I do not, I assure you they just attacked and left.” The Horatio Captain, said as he looked over to Stella. He was trying to be cooperative. 

“Unless you need me, Lieutenant. I am going to tinker with his engines, to get him underway as soon as possible.” Draven said, as he wanted to give Lila a hand and make sure she was not snapping at any of the crew of the Horatio. This was a civilian ship not a Starfleet vessel. Lila needed to understand, so they could avoid a conflict. 

Besides the Oakland away team, the away team from the Paso Robles was also on the ship, but they were up in the bridge and medical facilities. The Oakland crew was handling engineering and the investigation. 

“I do not need you right now, Ensign.” Stella said, as she looked back to the Horatio Captain. She wanted to complete her questioning for him, so she can find out what happened here. 

“Lieutenant, I really need to get back to the bridge, can we please speed this up?” The Horatio Captain, asked as he waited for Stella to respond. 

“What type of cargo is the Horatio carrying, even though they did not take it, I need to add it to my report.” Stella suggested as she waited for the captain to respond to her inquiry. The two of them continued to talk for a bit. 

Isabel walked over to Riana, she was brought on the mission to get some practice in being on away team. She was straight out of the boot, so she could really use the experience. And Isabel knew that she needed it, so she asked her to go. 

“Have you discovered anything, Ensign Uzo?” Isabel asked in her strong Irish accent. She was partially making conversation, and also trying to get an update from her. Isabel knew that repairs were well underway, and that both crews from the Overwatch Logistic Support Division was assisting the SS Horatio.

Riana was assisting the crew of the SS Horatio, with after care trauma. It seemed like no one could get any relief. The Borg last year, the Vaadwaur and now the Tal Shair. This crew was shaken up. Riana did her best to hear them out, and given them pointers about how to cope with the situation. And made a few referrals. 

“Non of them remember where the Tal Shair came from, non of them remember which direction they went as well.” Riana reported. Part of her job was to see, if she could get any information from the crew, to help them track down the Tal Shair. 

Draven was close by Raina when she gave her report. He found it odd that no one remembers how or where the Tal Shair went. The way they describe the attack, it seemed to be a gorilla-like combat tactic of hit and run. 

At the moment though, Draven was working on stabilizing the warp corps with Lila, she could be heard in the background giving out orders. He was trying to monitor the plasma regulators, to prevent them from overheating. 

“Sounds like a hit and run type of an attack.” Draven said, as he decided to chime in, while still carrying out his other duties. 

“I am getting that impression too.” Isabel said with her strong Irish accent. She walked over to Draven console, she was impressed with his ability to stay ahead of the plasma and properly keep the balance. He had to do it manually, they were fixing the primary computer that would normally do it for them. 

“Seems like the purpose is fear. Well that’s my theory, atleast.” Draven said, as he looked to Isabel and then over to Riana. Stella started to approach their position. 

“The Captain has no idea where they went, the Romulans left after they damaged the ship. I am getting the impression, the Romulan’s want us to be here investigating.” Stella said, as she thought about the situation. Her theory now was the Tal Shair wanted them away from Talvath System. 

“I have to concur with Lieutenant Elwell here, the Tal Shair have gone through great lengths to damage the ship, but not destroy it. They also kept the casualties to a miminum. It does seem more than likely that they want us here.” Draven said, feeling like the Tal Shair were upto something somewhere else. 

Isabel listened to both officers, support each others theories. What they were saying made sense, but it lacked proof. It was a theory at best. “We need to find evidence to support it, before I can call off this rescue and resume course for Talvath. I will notify the Captain though.” Isabel advised them both. 

“Aye Commander.” Draven said as the scene starts to fade away. He continued to work on calibrating the plasma flow. 

Location: SS Horatio, Engineering 

Stella was surprised that Draven supported her theory. In her eyes give me the most sense, why else are they attack damage and then just turn around and leave. They had to have ulterior motives. In this case it was to get the Paso Robles in Oakland to investigate this situation. 

Stella was not sure if he would believe her, he really had no reason too. She had no concrete evidence, just a bunch of speculations that led her to believe that the Tal Shair were upto something. 

Stella wondered what was happening in Talvath System. “When the commander comes back I think we should scan the Talvath system.” Stella said hoping that her theory wasn’t right but fearing that it was. 

“The Oakland would be better suited for that role, right now this ship is barely hanging in there.” Draven pointed out to Stella. It was still going to take him a little bit of time to get the ship up and running without needing assistance from the Oakland and the Paso Robles crews.

Stella could remember talking to Andrea before they left. She recalled the conversation in her mind. 

FLASHBACK: “Good luck Stella, lets hope you find out why this happened.” Andrea simply said. 

Back in the presence, a part of her felt bad, because even though she had the who did it, she did not have the why the Tal Shair did it. She only had her own theories. 

“I have a feeling we’ll be leaving soon so we should probably focus on getting the systems back online, so that way the crew of the Horatio can attend to their own repairs.” Draven suggested to Stella and Erica. He almost forgotten that Erica was there. 

“That’s a good idea.” Erica said, she was also helping with engineering training to regulate the impulse drive system. It too had to be manually calibrated. The Tal Shair had done quite a number on this ship.

“I’ve interviewed all the crew so there’s not much I can really do at this point. I would say just given my preliminary report I would mark this investigation as inconclusive.” Stella pointed out to the group. 

“The poor crew, I feel they have may been pawns to keep us here tied down assisting them, while they are planning something else further away.” Draven said, as he feared what they were upto elsewhere. 

“Everything happens for a reason. I am not sure what that reason is yet, but I have a feeling we will find out soon enough.” Stella said, as she continued down the rabbit hole of conspiracy.

“Guys, we need to stay focused on the task at hand.” Erica suggested to both of them. She believed there was a lot of merit to what they were saying, but they lacked the proof, to verify it right now. The first officer was talking with the captain, he would decide if they left this situation to hunt down their theories. 

Isabel walks back into the room. She had barely left when she came back. Her conversation with the Captain was short but to the point. “We need to wrap up here as soon as possible, the Captain wants us head back to the USS Oakland. The crew of the Paso Robles are being told the same thing. Ensign Jones, the Captain wants you to head back to the ship to begin scanning the Talvath System.” Isabel said as she looked over to Erica. 

“Aye Commander.” Erica said as gathered her things, and then told the transporter chief to beam her back to the USS Oakland. She was going to waste no time scanning the Talvath System. 

“In the meantime, we have work to do. Let’s prepare the Horatio crew to take over. Most of them have been cleared by our medical staff. I want this transition to go smoothly, is that understood?” Isabel asked, trying to refocus Stella and Draven she knew both of them were a little caught up in the conspiracy they had formulated regarding this scenario. 

“Understood Commander, and I will work with Lila and the Horatio chief engineer.” Draven said, as he refocused his efforts on getting the Horatio crew back in the loop, they should be able to fix the ship and limb back to a starbase within a few days. 

“I’ll head to the bridge, and talk to their chief of security. Make sure their chief is brought up to speed. ” Stella said, she needed to refocus her efforts in the situation and stop chasing her theories. 

“Thanks, so lets get to it.” Isabel said, as she watched both officers start to carry out their new objectives. She was proud of her crew. She wanted to track down why the Tal Shair left the crew in this state, but at the moment it was more important to get the crew of the Horatio back on their feet, and to refocus their efforts on that. 

Stella walked away from Engineering and started to head to the bridge. She new she needed to distract her mind from the mission. She started to think about some of the conversations she had recently on the USS Oakland and how she was growing close to  Andrea the chief and ofcourse Isabel the first officer. 

She really appreciated the two of them, and their friendship. She also appreciated how Isabel allowed her to present her theory without any concrete evidence, and not be a skeptic and just brush it off. 

 Now they were going to be contacting the Talvath System to make sure everything was okay in the system. The minutes flew by, as she started to head upto the bridge and talk with the chief of security for the SS Horatio. 

Stella, Draven, Riana were all on together with Isabel as they all prepared to beam back over to the USS Oakland,. Stella could not help but thank her circumstances, in all of Starfleet they sent her to the USS Oakland and assigned her to this crew, this was the best crew in all of Starfleet. Stella truely believed that as the scene started to fade away.