It had been a few days since they had started their journey towards Starbase 38, the bridge was full of activity as the alpha shift came on to carry out the changeover. Soon they would be arriving at the Starbase, though upon arrival they would have an hour or so wait before the wormhole would open for thirty minutes for them to travel through. They would be in the Delta Quadrant for a good thirty days as the wormhole only opened once every thirty days.

Azras walked out of the turblift with a steaming mug of hot coffee in her hand, as she made her way toward the center of the bridge she nodded to her first officer who stood up from her chair. “Good morning Captain,” T’Prel said as Azras walked over to take the center seat.

“Good morning Commander,” Azras replied with a smile before she took a sip and sat down in the chair. “Status report?” Azras asked as she looked at her.

T’Prel nodded before taking her seat after the captain had sat down. “Nothing major to report, other than there was a slight fluctuation with the warp core overnight but it was something minor and easily fixed,” T’Prel said as she began to give the Azras a detailed report of what transpired overnight. “Other than that things have been pretty quiet, we will be arriving at Starbase 38 here shortly,” T’Prel added as she handed her the padd with all the information on it.

“Wonderful,” Azras replied as she took the padd from her.

Things began to settle down on the bridge once the night shift had finished with their reports. Silence had once again filled the room as the staff began to work, everyone seemed to be making sure they were prepared for what would await them within the Delta Quadrant.

A short time later the ship dropped out of warp as it transitioned to impulse engines to travel the rest of the way. There were a lot of ships waiting for the wormhole to open as well, and she wasn’t all that surprised to see that many ships. There were some ships that she didn’t quite recognize though there were a couple of them that she did. Still, she never personally met either of them.

She had noticed that the Endeavour was present under the command of Captain Rourke, maybe one day she would have the privilege to meet him in person. She shrugged at the thought, nothing was impossible though she doubt it would be anytime soon. She noticed a Klingon K’t’inga-class close by, she realized it was the Vondem Rose which was a merchant ship under the command of Captain Sadovu. She wondered why they were here, were they up to no good or just wanting a piece of the action?

“I see we are not the only ones here,” Ritru spoke up as she looked at the viewscreen.

“What is a Klingon ship doing here?” Odan wondered.

“That is the Vondem Rose,” Azras replied which he got the reference as everyone has heard about that ship. “I wondered that as well,” she added with a shrug.

“They are probably up to no good,” Ritru said with a simple shrug.

“It’s hard telling, but trouble always seems to follow them for sure or they follow trouble.” She said with a shrug, “whichever way you want to look at it,” Azras said as she looked over at Odan who seemed to be in awe of one ship in particular.

“Is that the new Endeavour?” Odan as he looked like he was drolling as he glanced out to see the Obena-class ship in all its beauty.

“It is,” Azras replied with a smile.

“The Obena-class is a real beauty,” Odan replied looking at Azras. “Not to say that the Odyssey-class isn’t or anything.” He said as he seemed to have placed his foot in his mouth.

Azras couldn’t help but chuckle, “they are.” She agreed with a smile and still chuckled to herself.

“That is a lot of ships heading to the Delta Quadrant, and to think once we are through the wormhole will not open again for thirty days,” Deza commented from her station as she just watched the view screen, ships were still arriving.

“It must be worse than we initially thought,” Dazra chimed in.

“It probably is, though we won’t know the full extent of the situation until we arrive on the other side,” Azra replied looking over at Loian who was standing at the tactical console, as she ran checks on their tactical systems. She wanted to make sure everything was up to par before they left.

Time seemed to drag as they sat there waiting, just staring out the viewscreen or looking at the current time. Others were talking amongst themselves while others were just doing their work.

“Three minutes before the wormhole opens, we are twelfth in line,” Ritru said from her station after getting confirmation from the starbase.

Azras nodded as the ship moved more into position than they were before, the bridge which was lively just a few moments ago went to pure silence as they all watched out the viewscreen. They were anxiously waiting for the wormhole to open, just as Lieutenant Commander Jahraus entered the bridge to take his Jeesa’s spot.

“Welcome to the bridge Commander,” Azras said with a smile.

“I didn’t want to miss seeing with my own eyes the beauty of the wormhole,” Damir replied with a grin on his face as if he was a kid in a candy store.

Azras smiled then looked back at the viewscreen just in time to see the wormhole open in front of them. The bridge let out a very loud wow as they viewed the blueish color of the mouth of the wormhole as it opened. Damir had planned on getting sensor readings before, during, and after they left the wormhole.

A short time later the Saratoga began to move in unison with the other ships in the area, keeping their place in line. The wormhole would only remain open for thirty minutes and there were a lot of ships waiting to enter that were in line behind them.

After a while they began to enter the wormhole, Damir seemed to be glued to the viewscreen in total awe of the sights. “Wow, that is even more beautiful than I’d ever imagined it to be,” Damir replied breaking the silence.

Everyone else on the bridge nodded in agreement, “that it is.” Azras said as she sat there, though that would be short-lived as they soon would exit the wormhole. They were now in the Delta Quadrant, which was vastly different than the Alpha and Beta Quadrants.

“Report,” Azras asked looking around the bridge.

“All systems are clear,” Jheria replied from the engineering station.

“Sir, I have received information that it would seem the Devore Imperium is trying to expand its territory, taking by force. It seems their primary target are planets that could have the Blood Dilithium on it, recommended that we go investigate.” Chon’al said from his console as information began to flood in.

Azras nodded before turning to Deza “set a course towards the Devore, we are going to go investigate and assist those that need it.” Azras ordered looking at T’Prel for a brief moment before looking back at Deza.

“Aye sir,” she replied as she tapped a few buttons. “Course and speed laid in,” Deza replied looking back at the captain.

“Engage,” she said and soon the ship went to warp toward the Devore Imperium. She then looked back at Chon’al, “forward all the information you have to my ready room.” She ordered as she knew it was going to be a long journey there.

“Aye sir,” Chon’al replied.

“T’Prel you have the bridge,” she replied as she stood up from her chair T’Prel nodded in understanding. Azras walked off towards her ready room, upon entering she turned on her computer before heading towards the replicator to get her another cup of coffee. She tried to limit her cups per day, but she needed this extra cup while going through reports that had come in upon their arrival within the Delta Quadrant.

After grabbing her cup she walked over to her desk and sat down, taking a sip of her coffee as she pulled up the information that Chon’al forwarded to her. It would be a few days before they would reach their destination, so they would have time to prepare for anything that might arise. Or prepare as best as they possibly could, they were a large ship that would stand out like a sore thumb. She began to go through the information while new information would come in sporadically.