Michael had just gotten out of a meeting with the Admiralty and the mission ahead was like nothing he had ever experienced, even with his many years of missions. In the back of his mind he felt something about this would cause huge problems for his crew. The task of going to the Delta Quadrant wasn’t the issue though, it was the unknown of what they might encounter. His thoughts were shifted as the whoosh of the bridge doors snapped him back to attention. As he stepped off the bridge he could feel the anticipation of the crew, as they were getting antsy after their most recent shore leave.

Michael had decided to opt out of the normal briefing instead sending all the information to the Senior Officers through their PADDs. He had always been under the impression to make the best of what time they had. As he stepped on the bridge he immediately felt lost, as his XO was not present. She had to take some unexpected time off, which left Commander Peng to take her place. He stood in the position with a smile on his face “Captain on the bridge.” He said before looking back at Michael and nodding. “Thanks for that Peng, you know formality is the last thing on my mind when we’re preparing to depart for a mission.”

Peng smiled “I can’t just not announce your presence, Sir. Your to important for us not to recognize you for your achievements.” He smirked before seeing the Captain roll his eyes in defeat to the remark. Peng laughed before changing the subject “So this mission looks like something where we could encounter some issues.” Michael nodded and held up a hand “I figured we would discuss that in a moment. Lets get ready for the unknown shall we.” Peng nodded and followed the Captain to their seats. 

Michael stood near the front of the ship, which made all eyes turn to him “Alright so as you all saw I sent the information for this mission to your PADDs, first off I want to know what you think of that briefing style?” He stopped giving the crew a chance to speak up before he continued . Amanda was the first to say something “Personally it feels like a easier way for us to manage the information because we can go back and look at the information including all the points you added to the document. It allows me to work through the information with my department, while not making sure the department is set for the mission.” She nodded at the Captain in approval of the new system. 

Kra’vaak grunted “Captain you know I am always one for the hands on approach, but I have to admit this was actually better than I thought it would be. I have to ask though is the Captain getting soft as he get older?” Michael shook his head as the rest of the crew chuckled at Kra’vaaks remark. He might be a Klingon but his disposition was always a joking one. “If I was getting soft it would be you who is making me that way.” Michael smirked before looking at his ops officer “And what about you Ruvok?” 

Ruvok had been sitting there quietly waiting for his chance to say something “I do believe it is the logical decision, as we have always tried to be efficient in our actions and I think this helps make sure we as the senior officers have the information but do not have to be pulled away for a meeting when we can be preparing for the fight.”

Michael nodded at the positive reaction of the crew it was nice to know they supported his ideas. “Ok, with that out of the way we have been tasked with quite a task, as most of you know we haven’t dealt with the Devore much. I do believe this could test the mettle of the crew, as well as us. I am not sure what to expect, but if indications are correct we could be walking into an area of madness.”

The information wasn’t shocking to Peng, as he knew anytime the Neptune went for a mission it was never a simple mission. If anything the Neptune was known for always going into missions that seemed to be nothing of what the crew expected. He had seen Michael go through quite a change in his position. The Neptune was well armed and could hold its own. Amanda didn’t say anything as she knew the power of the Neptune, but she wasn’t sure what was about to happen, though she felt uneasy and because of it she felt unlike she had for any other mission.

Kra’vaak thought for a moment “We don’t have any telepaths, which should make it easier as the Devore have a huge dislike for any telepaths, but if that says anything we could be tangling with telepaths…I feel like that could be an issue before we finish the task ahead.”

Michael nodded “It is a good point and something I have been thinking about, but at this point there isn’t much we can do until we learn more about the situation.” He said as he looked at the crew and then changed his demeanor “I am expecting the ship to be ready for departure in the next hour.” He looked at Peng “The bridge is yours XO.”

The solitary nod was all that was needed before Michael walked to his ready room . It was good to see his crew liking his decisions, but he was not sure as to what was going to happen. He knew one thing was sure it should be an interesting adventure, as Mary just joined the ship and this would be her first in a different quadrant. He was excited that she got the chance to be here, but he hoped the crew would get along with her. She was known to be easy to got along with, but this crew always surprised him.