Aris was busy in his ready room reviewing the latest updates out of Romulan space when he was interrupted by Lieutenant T’Keterk.

“T’Keterk to Captain Suin.”

“Go ahead, Lieutenant.” Aris replied.

“Resupply has been completed and our additional cargo has been safely stored away.” T’Keterk reported.

“Thank you Lieutenant. Finalise any preparations and report to the briefing room as soon as possible.” Aris replied. It was time to bring the crew together and fill in all the blanks.

“All hands, this is the Captain. Please report to the Briefing Room as soon as your preparations are complete

Nora had finished setting up her Sickbay and had deposited her belongings in her quarters. The Corax wasnt quite ready to depart so with a bit of time up her sleeves she headed in the direction of the Science labs so she could introduce herself to the ships sole science officer and arrange lab access for when they arrived in the Proto system.

Finding her way to the science labs, she noticed what must be Officer Andrews getting things set up. Entering the lab, she knocked lightly on the bulkhead beside the door. “Officer Andrews?” she asked.

Hearing he wasn’t alone in the lab, Damien tensed slightly. Knowing he was experiencing a bout of hypervigilance he swallowed down the fright and turned to face his visitor.

“Yes? how can I help you…?” Damien was quick to reply.

“Lieutenant Nora Yates, Chief Medical Officer.” Nora replied with a soft smile as she shook the officer’s hand.

“Provisional Officer Damien Andrews, Science Officer.” Damien introduced himself. “What can I do for you Lieutenant?”

“I was hoping I might be able to arrange some time in the labs for the duration of this assignment.” Nora began. “I’m sure you can appreciate the medical lab on board is rather spartan.”

“I don’t see why not.” Damien replied. The Corax was equipped with two labs after all and Damien didn’t anticipate requiring the use of both. “Tell you what, Doctor. I can make the second lab available for your use, however I would have a request.”

“Go on.” Nora replied. Much like her discussion with the Captain earlier, concessions would have to be made.

“I will routinely pass through to make sure things are up to scratch but if you are conducting some research or an experiment, I would love to learn a little about it if you are willing.” Damien replied. He really wanted to do well and prove himself to the Captain, whom he was sure was faced an uphill battle when securing a provisional commission, and what better way to do that than learn as much as possible and get as much experience as possible, especially from a field that works so closely with the sciences.

Nora thought it over. This could prove beneficial. A fresh perspective from someone who has been on the frontlines, and a chance to pass on some of her knowledge to a willing student. 

“Request granted.” Nora smiled. “I would absolutely be willing.”

Shaking hands once more, the pair heard the announcement from the Captain. “Shall we?” Nora asked motioning toward the door

Emma was seated at her console on the main bridge reviewing some long range sensor data. After pointing the new Chief Medical Officer to the Captain, she offered to return to the Cargo Bay to assist T’Keterk, but he had everything under control. Returning to the bridge seemed the next best thing to do. She had seen the Doctor leave after meeting with Captain, but she had yet to see Aris since his briefing earlier today. 

Her sensor logs were looking good and long range astrometrics had several routes plotted for consideration. Just as she thought about getting up to check on the Captain, she was stopped in her tracks by the shipwide announcement.

Scrambling to her feet, Emma made directly for the briefing room.

Entering the briefing room, Aris smiled when he saw his crew patiently waiting for them. Noticing the Captain had joined them, Emma shot to her feet. “Captain on deck.”

“At ease everyone, can I get you anything before we begin?” Aris asked as he took his seat. Seeing the shakes of his crew’s heads, he delved right into it.

“For those who haven’t been introduced yet, join me in welcoming Lieutenant Nora Yates, who is filling the role of Chief Medical Officer on personal request from the Directorship of the London branch of Starfleet Medical.”

Murmurs of hellos and greetings filled the air briefly, before Aris cleared his throat slightly and directed the attention back. “I have received our confirmed orders for the duration and after effects of this Terrellian Plague outbreak. We will soon depart for the Proteus system, namely Proto II on request from the systems governor.”

Tapping a few commands into the terminal, Aris bought up a map of the Proteus System. “The Proteus System is quite industrialized with mining colonies spread out across several worlds. We will be landing the Corax on the outskirts of the capital city and setting up an emergency treatment and vaccination centre and be ready to assist with overflow capacity.”

Tapping a few more commands, Aris changed the information to the latest tactical information. “Be advised the Fenris Rangers have also been called in to assist and we are not to engage unless approached first. We are in the system solely as a humanitarian support. We are not to interfere with the internal workings of Proto II and by extension the Proteus system as a whole. We are to observe and assist within the parameters of our assignment.”

“Any questions?” Aris finished as he faced the crew.

“How extensive is the outbreak?” Nora asked. “And will the people of Proto II be left in a position to treat outbreaks like this in future. It takes a lot of stones for the Romulans or Remans for that matter to call on the Federation for assistance.”

“Reports from Starfleet Command and records supplied by the Proteus Governor show the outbreak is holding at epidemic levels, localised to the habitable planets and two mining colonies.” Aris replied with a nod in Nora’s direction. “Once we have assisted Proto II to the extent of our mandate, Command has authorised us to gift some additional medical synthesisers and fabrication units to put them in a much better position to battle this without outside influence.”

“Thank you, Captain.” Nora replied as she filed some information away for later.

“Captain, if I may?” T’Keterk enquired. Aris motioned for him to continue as he took his seat. Facing the rest of the crew, T’Keterk gave a crash course in the structure and mandates of the Fenris Rangers. Going over the independent nature of their operations, but due to being spread across the region, if the tide turns against them, they are likely to retreat and regroup. However as the old adage goes: if you leave them alone, they will leave you alone.

T’Keterk retook his seat, nodding back to the Captain.

“Thank you, Lieutenant.” replied Aris. “If there is nothing else, please prepare for departure within the hour.”

With nothing further to add and recognising the dismissal, the crew filed out to bring the Corax back online and in space as soon as possible.