“We have arrived.” 

The Triumph a short time later dropped out of warp at the location where they were scheduled to meet up with the Aldore. Most of the away team had already begun to head to the turbolift as they were all in their disguises including both Tilana and Ritru who had remained on the bridge. They were both wearing Romulan clothing, though not exactly a typical uniform nor civilian clothing but somewhere in between the two. Tilana felt very uncomfortable wearing it and kept tugging at the shirt.

“Aldore is hailing us, sir,” said Zilen, breaking the silence that filled the bridge for a brief moment.

“On screen,” Tilana replied as the view screen changed from the view of space and the Valdore class ship that lay next to them. She noticed that Ritru had stood up and moved closer to her when the Torath appeared on the screen.

“Jolan Tru,” Torath said in the traditional Romulan greeting.

“Jolan Tru Commander,” Tilana said with a smile. “I want to personally thank you for agreeing to assist us in this endeavor.”

“Of course always happy to help our allies if you can call us that,” Torath said.

“Indeed,” Tilana replied with a smile as she shifted her weight a bit. “My team and I are ready to beam over. I request that myself and Ritru meet with you once we arrive.” Tilana said as she watched his expression stay the same.

“Yes, of course. I will meet you in our transporter room upon arrival,” Torath replied.

“Wonderful see you shortly,” said Tilana before ending the channel and turning to Ritru. “You ready?” Is all that she said as Ritru nodded in agreement before she turned to Aleish who was still unsure of her going along. “Once we are onboard the Aldore head to the coordinates I gave you and wait.”

“Understood, good luck Captain.”

Tilana nodded before walking towards the turbolift with Ritru following shortly behind. Entering, “transporter room one.” Tilana ordered the lift as the doors closed shut behind them and began to move. “I’m not sure I can get used to these again,” she said tugging on her shirt.

“Agreed,” Ritru replied.

The rest of the ride was made in silence which seemed to travel slower than they had liked. Tilana had so much on her mind that conversation wasn’t in the front of it, she could tell Ritru wanted to say something but the doors finally opened and they both headed out. Down the corridor, they made their way until they reached the transporter room and entered.

“Do I have to wear this ridiculous outfit?” Llaxia asked as Tilana looked at her with a raised eyebrow with that statement. She also noticed a few others nodded in agreement. “No offense,” she added.

“Part of the cover,” Ritru said.

“Why don’t they have to wear these?” Zhayva asked as she was speaking of Chon’al, Ch’Tor, and Nessi. Though they were not wearing their standard Starfleet uniforms they were just wearing regular civilian clothing.

“They are not going planetside,” Tilana replied.

“Oh,” replied Zhayva.

Stepping up onto the transporter padd followed shortly by the others who also had a duffle bag each slung over their shoulders. Taking a deep breath before looking at everyone making sure they were not missing anyone. “Energize,” Tilana ordered as she turned her attention to the transporter room chief.

“Aye sir, good luck out there.”

A few seconds later they began to disappear from the Triumph as lights engulfed them, taking their bodies and putting them within millions of small molecules. Transporting them from the ship and reassembling them in Aldore’s transporter room until they were all together. Commander Torath, true to his word was waiting for them, “Jolan Tru, welcome aboard the Aldore.”

Tilana nodded with a smile even though she was fighting back a sense of anxiety and fighting off memories of the past that had started to return. If anyone had picked up on it they didn’t say anything, “Sorath here will get your crew settled if you two would like to follow me to the briefing room.” Torath said.

“Wonderful,” said Tilana as Sorath smiled and led the others out of the transporter room while the remaining three followed shortly behind. The short walk down the corridor was filled with silence other than Torath giving the order for the ship to head to Freecloud. Entering the briefing room and looking around, it was small in comparison to others she’d seen.

“Care for some refreshments?” Torath asked.

“I will take a coffee, black,” Tilana replied as Ritru just shook her head. She was good at that moment. Torath grabbed the drinks from the replicator and brought them to the table before handing her her drink. “Thank you,” Tilana said as she took a sip before placing it on the table. Tilana decided to start the meeting as the ship began its journey towards Freecloud. 

“Engage.”

Aleish was sitting in the middle seat as she felt the Triumph begin to move forward before it jumped to warp. They were now moving towards their next destination where they would sit and wait. The bridge continued to be a buzz of activity as if nothing had changed. Aleish couldn’t help but be concerned about the away team and their upcoming undercover mission. Knowing that the Captain knew what she was doing and had every confidence in their ability to complete. Still didn’t settle her nerves nonetheless.

“You alright sir?” Zilen asked.

Snapping out of the trance she’d been in looking over at Zilen she gave a small smile. “I am alright Lieutenant,” Aleish replied looking at the Benzite woman who had a look of concern. “Just lost in thought is all,” she added.

“Understood,” said Zilen. 

Aleish could tell she didn’t want to intrude on her thoughts and she respected that. She rather not share what was going on in her mind as she didn’t want to burden the crew or get them worried about the mission. They had already been through so much over the past few months that this was not something they needed to worry about.

“Commander Rar,” Aleish called over to their science officer who had turned her attention to her. “You have the bridge,” she added.

“Aye sir,” said Rar as she moved from the science station walking down the couple of steps to where the command chair was located. She took the seat once Aleish stood up and moved to the ready room.

Zilen had watched Aleish until the doors closed before looking at Dedre. “Is it just me or does the Commander seem preoccupied?”

“I am not sure I call it being preoccupied, I am sure she has a lot on her mind with the Captain and the others being off the ship,” Rar replied looking at her. “I wouldn’t worry about it and let us just do our jobs just like we do every day.”

“Aye sir,” Zilen said as everyone on the bridge went on about their duties as they traveled.