The bridge of the Neptune had that new car smell and Tia drank it in with a sigh of contentment. It was exciting to be out on a mission with a new ship. After having gotten to know some of the crew and growing a little more comfortable with her officers and the captain on their last mission, Tia felt she was settling into her new position well. The bridge with its usual crew was starting to feel like home. 

The Neptune purred smoothly as it warped towards their destination, and Tia took a circle around the bridge, stopping at each station to peer over the operator’s shoulder and inspect the new layout of the bridge consoles. 

Tia dipped her hand into the bag of candy on the edge of Lieutenant Sareth’s station as she passed by and was met with a typical Riru snarky response. 

“There’s no ‘we’ in candy.”

Tia just gave a smooth grin as she moved on to the weapons station to approach Amanda.

“Lieutenant Kennedy,” she greeted her.

Kennedy looked at the XO and smirked she was known for her candy obsession, which was a bit of a joke between the crew. She looked at the XO “Yes, Commander what do you need?

“We primed and ready for anything?” she asked as she took a look at the Neptune’s weapons systems.

Amanda nodded “We are set though I cannot say I know what’s to come the Neptune is ready for whatever surprises await.”

“Good to hear, Lieutenant.” The XO smiled at the Lieutenant’s customary level-headed confidence that fit her western personality so well. 

She made her way back to her chair next to the captain, taking a seat and shoveling the remaining handful of candy into her mouth.

Michael looked over at Tia and reached to his side with a big bag of candy “Just a thank you for all the work you have done, Commander.”

Tia paused for a moment, surprised by the gesture and uncertain how to proceed. Then a thoughtful grin broke across her features as she eyed the bag of candy. Of course her penchant for sweet things would not have gone unnoticed by the captain who saw everything aboard his ship. “Thank you, Sir.” She reached out and caught the bag of treats as he dropped it into her hand, appreciating the personal gesture. “It’s been a pleasure being a part of the crew,” she told him with a smile. 

Michael smirked and looked at the bridge this ship was his dream command and he had it. The ship looked so nice though with his crew’s luck after some time the ship would not look so new. He had an affinity for getting into sticky situations and the end of the Tesla’s last mission was a testament to that. He looked at his crew. They were already battle-hardened and he couldn’t be more proud of them. His thoughts were interrupted by Dorner.“Captain, we are arriving at Uneta Prime.”

Michael stood up and walked to the flight console by Dorner as the planet appeared and scanned the area looking for any indication of what the problem was. “Ruvok are you picking up anything?” he asked the ops officer not quite sure of what to expect.

Ruvok looked at the information on his console and looked back up at Ryder with a look of the undiscernible kind “Sir, I am seeing some readings here that are not making sense. It is showing some very weird readings I just do not understand. The readings are saying we have people from a different time here.”

Michael spun around and walked to Ruvok’s station carefully looking at the readings that were currently displayed. He had never seen anything like this in all his time, but he wasn’t a temporal officer and this seemed to be temporal in nature. He was about to say something when Ruvok spoke up again “Ship on sensors!” 

Michael looked at Tia who had stopped eating and was looking out the viewscreen at the ship trying to discern what it was. “Report XO.”

Tia’s eyes squinted as she attempted to make sense of the readings and translate them. “The ship is from an Uneta manufacturer, but Ruvok is right. The readings we’re receiving of the life signs onboard are certainly not from Uneta, or even from our current time period. The scans are picking up some metals and animal skins that date back to the BC period of earth’s history.”

“I should have paid more attention in history class,” their chief engineer mumbled.

Tia noted that their flight officer seated next to Riru seemed to have something to say as well.

“Anything to add, Lieutenant Dorner?” she gave the JG Lieutenant the permission he was looking for to speak freely. 

“According to my limited knowledge of earth’s ancient history, the information we are gathering seems to indicate we are dealing with a fighting force using primitive armor and weaponry composed of older alloys and animal products. Matching that up with the datings, that would have been the time of the Greeks and Romans, I believe.”

Michael looked out the viewscreen and saw the ship trying to determine what it was. The ship looked to be made of materials he understood but the shape of the ship looked like it was shaped like an eagle and donning many markings that Michael had never seen before. The fact that it was the Roman or Greeks surprised him more than anything else “Looks like there is more to this than we first thought. Let’s stick back before we make contact, but take as to Yellow Alert and stay alert.”

Michael looked at the officers around the bridge “I think it’s time for us to figure out what is going on.”

Meanwhile at an unknown location…

A dark hooded figure sat solemnly in a building with no indication of movement a slight breath was the only indication of their existence. The figure was alone and they preferred it that way “It looks as though the Romans are about to interact with Starfleet for the first time just as I had planned in my little game.” The voice spoke in the tone of a young woman. “This body has done nicely to conceal my comings and goings though most people don’t suspect a thing. Make an excuse here, give a lie there, and Ms. Aston can go where she pleases. It’s easy to act like these idiots all you do is act stupid. Being a powerful person is boring unless you have some fun.” The figure got up and walked over to a table, closing their eyes they than opened a hidden compartment and a holographic image appeared, which was blank. The figure input some commands and a map appeared of Uneta Prime, showing the Roman ships and the lone Federation ship appear. 

A smile appeared on their lips “This should be a delicious bit of fun.” They turned and looked at a person standing near them in a trance a person clad in Roman “The pawn behind it all and no one knows a thing.” The figure laughed and walked up to the Roman putting their hand on them they gave orders “Continue to follow orders and do not make it seem suspicious.” They stopped for a second and uttered the last word “fara” as they did the Roman left and headed back towards the Roman controlled area.” The figure whipped around and laughed maniacally. This was the begging of the end for the pawns of the game.

Roman Headquarters

Secundus had been monitoring things regarding the launch of the ships when his centurion came into the room “Where have you been Decius?” The man looked flustered. “I apologize, Commander.” Secundus looked at him for a moment and turned back to the holo display seeing the ship in the planets vicinity. He stopped and looked to see if they were preparing for an attack. They seemed to be sitting there waiting and he knew he couldn’t attack without knowing more. He could initiate contact, but he figured that the unknown ship would take care of that.

TBC….