The bridge of the Tokyo was filled with its alpha shift personnel. Padgok was checking his navigational systems, Tamaz was looking at the operational status of the ship, and Towalr was sitting in the Captain's chair, looking concerned at the screen as his thoughts were elsewhere. The bridge crew was ready for whatever was going to happen next, the time had broken, and the Tokyo was about to leave for their mission.

Taking a deep breath, Sujian looked in the direction of Towalr. He noticed Tamaz giving him signals to talk with him by gestures of his head in Towalr's direction. “Commander, are you doing alright? You seem to be absent…" Sujian finally spoke while typing up the final orders.

Towalr's concentration broke off as he looked in the direction of Sujian. “Oh, no…well” He sat up, “Do you think I am not worthy of wearing the badge?” It was not a complicated story, but his conflict with Captain Yoon-Jung had left him with a bitter aftertaste. He felt furious by being personally attacked by a newcomer who didn't know him.

“I need a bit more context to this loaded question, Commander” Sujian replied, looking in his direction and, to some degree, regretted that he even asked. 

He moved his body posture to turn his attention to Sujian. “Someone stated that I am not worthy of my Starfleet badge and a disgrace for the service to Starfleet. But I am always there and do what is required, nothing more, nothing less.” Towalr was confused about where this statement of his Captain came from. “So I ask you this, Commander, what do you think? And feel free to be honest.”

Sujian saw in his eye corner the shaking head of Tamaz and smirked a bit at the question. He knew if the truth was spilled on the floor, this would become a headache of a mission, and it hadn't even started yet. Most of the time, he agreed with Towalr, but more because he had loved ones on this ship that he wanted to protect. It was not difficult to figure out that Captain Yoon-Jung was the one who gave him the harsh truth.

His facial expression stayed neutral. “Well..” He noticed that Towalr's attention was entirely focused on him, which gave Sujian an awkward vibe. “You do what is required of you and delegate the work that others need to do perfectly.” He stated, seeing Towalr smiling and nodding in agreement. “But…” Sujian knew he had to break it to him in a lightweight way and not the same as their captain had done before. “Your involvement with the crew is … low, and you should be more connected. Your duties are more than just personnel administration.” He raised his hand. “Not saying that you're not doing that bad, but the First Officer duties entitle more than you might have presumed so far.” 

Everyone was looking over their shoulders stealthy at the developing conversation as Tamaz gave a stare at them that snapped them back to their work. Tamaz shrugged. “Commander, at the moment, the biggest problem is the command team.” 

“I agree,” Towalr immediately replied. “Captain Yoon-Jung is unreasonable and very judgmental about a situation she doesn't begin to understand.” He nodded to himself but remained calm. “She needs to be more open-minded about taking advice from others, like myself." 

“Not quite what I meant,” Tamaz muttered as he recollected himself in the given conversation he dared to enter. “The point is that you both need to work together, not against each other. This makes it a more harmonious vibe and gives the rest of the crew more hope and trust that what you two do is good for the well-being of us all” Tamaz explained. “So support the Captain in her difficult choices…”

“But also be the critic of those choices, give her advice and not so much a demand” Sujian stated in the buildup statement of Tamaz, who nodded in approval.

Towalr rubbed his chin as he turned to his front rubbing his chin thinking about the given advice, and slowly nodded while humming to himself, “That sounds reasonable….I will take this enlightenment advice to heart.” He smiled.

At that moment, the door opened as Lieutenant Vahdat and Captain Yoon-Jung entered the bridge. “So it is better to do a more in-depth preparation of the Borg ships. I need your blessing to get this done. Of course, I need to borrow Lieutenant Commander Deem and Lieutenant Alavidze as their engineering and security views are needed,” Behrad spoke in the direction of his Captain as they walked onto the bridge.

Nodding toward Behrad, “You got my approval, Lieutenant. I want to be prepared for the encounter with the Borg as best as possible. If that means that I can avoid any surprises, then I am all game for that” Ko replied as Behrad nodded in approval, going to his station, and she went to her chair where Towalr was sitting. “Commander” 

Towalr's train of thought broke again as he noticed the Captain standing there and stood up immediately. “Captain,” He replied politely and stepped to his chair to sit there. 

Looking slightly surprised at the friendly reaction from Towalr, Ko blinked and looked around for a moment, seeing both Sujian and Tamaz looking back to their console. Ko decided not to go into it and sat in her chair. “Right, status report everyone.” She checked her side console while awaiting everyone to report in.

“Weapon systems are updated, armory is stocked, personnel is being trained in deck-to-deck operations upon potential boarding of Borg” Sujian reported from his console.

Followed-up by Tamaz “Engineering reports that the engines are good to go, and power flow has been fixed on decks 4 to 6. I have also received a report that the Medical team has received proper education in preventing Borg modifications. They have the right equipment in storage to deal with it.” Tamaz wrapped up his report.

Behrad looked at his console. “Sensors on short- and long-range are equipped to detect Borg. It's not perfect, but it will help us to be alarmed at the presence of active Borg ships. We are busy with analytic data progression of dealing with the Borg more precisely. Still, as I stated in the lift, this needs more in-depth discussion between Science, Security, and Operations.” 

The Captain nodded to that but didn't break her focus on the console. “Navigational systems are in the green, and the plot is set. Starbase 38 has given us the go-ahead,” Padgok reported in a monotone voice.

“Good, Commander Towalr. Is everyone onboard?”

“Yes, everyone is on board. I received the report from security 15 minutes ago that the docking area is cleared” Towalr confirms, nodding in approval.

“Good, Lieutenant Padgok, start the undocking process. We are reaching the time barrier of the gate opening" Ko stated as she looked up from her console. “Lieutenant Alavidze, open the ship-wide communications.” She took a deep breath as the ship started its undocking process. 

Slowly the Tokyo moved out of its docking port and turned to the exit of Starbase 38. Tamaz gave his Captain a nod. “This is Captain Yoon-Jung speaking. We are embarking on a journey that is vital for Starfleet. I am not going to sugarcoat this. We will be entering Delta Quadrant and heading to a dangerous area occupied by the Borg that has been disconnected due to the virus that is doing severe damage to them.” The ship moved out of the docks of Starbase 38 and headed to the traffic line of ships ready to enter Delta Quadrant.

“In the last few weeks, I have seen a very dedicated crew professionally skilled in their duties. I understand you are afraid, and so am I. But look at your side. Your colleague is there with you, you are not alone, and therefore, I have faith in the skills you all have. Let's get this mission done fast and clean.” Ko nodded to Tamaz as the channel cut. She took a deep breath, seeing the gate opening. “Here we go…. Lieutenant Padgok, get us beyond that gate." 

The Tokyo moved forward with the rest of the ships and entered the wormhole to travel with a flash towards the Delta Quadrant. There, a new adventure, new fears, and obstacles were waiting for the crew of the Tokyo. Time will tell if their mission will be successful or not.