As Captain Elsie Drake stepped into the office, she noticed that all of the admiral’s personal effects were stripped from the walls and removed from the desk. Even the piece of debris from Utopia Planitia, the reminder he kept from that tragic day, was gone. That could mean one thing. 

“We’re being reassigned,” Rear Admiral Alex Grayson said as he looked up from a box where he was packing away a few last remaining items. “Please have a seat.”

“Where are we going?” Captain Drake asked as she pulled back a chair and sat down.

“Starbase 27.”

Captain Drake tilted her head in surprise. “That’s an odd place for us to run Task Force 47 from.” While technically their mandate extended across the entire galaxy, the Archanis Sector was hardly a strategic location from whence to coordinate the Fourth Fleet’s pathfinding operations.

“You misunderstand me,” Rear Admiral Grayson replied as he crossed the office and took a seat across from her. “Our time with Forty Seven is over… or mine is, at least.”

Captain Drake looked shocked.

“Elsie, I’m not a bureaucrat, nor an administrator,” Rear Admiral Grayson reminded her gently as he rose from the floor and joined her at the desk. “I’m a frontier commander, and my appointment as TFCO was always temporary. Commodore Alexandra Sudari-Kravchik has been appointed as the Forty Seven’s new Commander, and we – well me, and you, if you’re game for it – have a new opportunity on the horizon.” The excited expression on his face was in direct contrast to the one on the captain’s.

“I see… umm… I guess I am just more than a bit confused,” Captain Drake admitted. She had known Rear Admiral Grayson didn’t exactly enjoy his role, but they’d made a good team, and she felt like they’d really hit their stride during the recent Fleet Action. “Starbase 27 is an aging station in a backwater sector along a border with a long-time ally. Forgive me for saying it this way, but it hardly seems like a promotion, or even a lateral.” Rear Admiral Grayson might have been in the later years of his career, but she still had aspirations, and as much as she enjoyed working with him at the head of Task Force 47, she wasn’t sure she wanted to step off her career track like this. “It feels more like the end of the road.”

“If we were still in the nineties, I would agree with you, but the crisis with Hunters of D’Ghor and the fungal blight in the Meronia Cluster changed everything,” Rear Admiral Grayson clarified as he handed her a PADD with the specifics. While the captain began to read, the admiral provided a voiceover. “Starfleet Command has greenlit a massive reinvestment in the Archanis Sector to address decades of neglect and rebuild local faith in the Federation. The first phase of that project, replacing the aging Starbase 27 with a new Canopus-class station, was just completed, and now, we are surging assets into the region, including a detachment from the Corps of Engineers and a new diplomatic mission.”

“And where do we fit in this?”

“Given my past operating humanitarian and economic relief efforts along our borderlands, I was offered, and have already accepted, the position of Commander of Sector Operations for the Archanis Sector,” Rear Admiral Grayson explained. “And I could think of no one more qualified for the role of Station Commander for Starbase 27 than you.”

Captain Drake’s demeanor had turned abruptly, her eyes now alight with excitement. A modern starbase with five thousand occupants was a far cry from the diminutive outpost she’d run prior, and suddenly, rather than stepping off the fast track, it felt like a very natural next step in her career. “I… yeah… I mean, yes, if it’s all you’re making it out to be, count me in… sir.”

Rear Admiral Grayson breathed a sigh of relief. Although he’d been a bit skeptical of the young captain when he first arrived on Starbase 47, he’d come to rely on Elsie, and he was glad she would join him for the next chapter. “There’s more too,” he added with a twinkle in his eye. “I hear the charge d’affaires of the new diplomatic mission might be someone familiar to you.”

“Who?”

“Ambassador Michael Drake.”

“My father?” she asked, the shock evident on her face. Her dad, a former Admiral in the Fourth Fleet, had once commanded Starfleet’s operations in the Delta Quadrant, but he’d long since relegated himself to Earth where he served as a mere diplomatic advisor to a bunch of bureaucrats who hardly heeded any of his advice. “Someone finally convinced him his talents were being wasted in San Francisco?”

“Something like that,” chuckled Rear Admiral Grayson. He knew more, but he was cognizant of the boundaries between service and family. Ambassador Drake’s choices were his own to share with his daughter, especially after what he’d just been through over Earth. “I’ve never met your father before, but his reputation precedes him, and I’m looking forward to working with him.”

Now, Captain Drake was beyond elated. It had been a long time since she’d spent any real time with her father, and that, plus the career opportunity Grayson had just offered her, meant she only had one more question: “When do we leave?”

“I will depart directly for Starbase 27 tomorrow,” Rear Admiral Grayson explained. “But I need you to make a pitstop before you join me.”

“A pitstop?”

“Yes, I need you to rendezvous with Polaris Squadron first.”

“Reyes’ squadron?”

Rear Admiral Grayson nodded.

“Isn’t she Sudari-Kravchik’s problem now?” Captain Drake asked, not bothering to conceal her feelings about the Fleet Admiral. Allison Reyes’ reckless, gallivanting ways had created a few headaches for Captain Drake and Rear Admiral Grayson since she came under their purview.

“Not exactly,” Rear Admiral Grayson explained. “Someone with a paygrade far exceeding ours has concluded she’s going to remain our problem.” 

Captain Drake frowned. 

“There’s a logic in it though,” Rear Admiral Grayson added. “Admiral Reyes’ squadron will reinforce our security posture in the sector, which is understandably important after the D’Ghor crisis, and her background as a former Director at Starfleet R&D may be helpful with our reinvestment efforts.”

“Why not just rendezvous with her at Starbase 27 then?”

“Because she’s completely lost control of a delicate situation aboard the Polaris,” Rear Admiral Grayson replied, frustration evident in his voice. “And as the convening authority in this matter, I would prefer it resolved before they arrive.”

“The convening authority?” Captain Drake asked, recognizing what he was intimating.

“Afraid so,” Rear Admiral Grayson sighed. The Polaris had been ordered to report to Starbase 27 once it finished with Beta Serpentis III, and when it arrived, if the matter had not been otherwise addressed, he’d have a significantly unpleasant duty to perform. “Unless, of course, everyone ends up dead first. First, there was that assault against the JAG investigator by one of the suspects, but now one of the other suspects has turned up dead by apparent suicide.”

“What the hell is going on aboard Polaris?”

“That’s what I want you to find out,” Rear Admiral Grayson explained. “You’ll be tagging along with a Preliminary Hearing Officer for the preferral hearing.”

“A preferral? You mean the JAG is pursuing a general court martial?”

“Technically, they are seeking an indictment to go forward to a general court martial,” Rear Admiral Grayson corrected, for there was still a possibility it would not go to a trial. “But yes, if if it moves past preferral, then we’ll end up playing host to a general court martial when they arrive at Starbase 27.” Although Grayson disagreed with many of Reyes’ choices, he was also aware of what she and her team had accomplished, and under what conditions. As much as he understood the importance of the law, he did not revel in the fact that officers who’d sacrificed so much might lose their commissions for what they’d had to do.

“Who’s the investigating officer?” Captain Drake asked, although she was pretty sure she already knew the answer. 

“Commander Robert Drake.”

“Wouldn’t it be a conflict of interest for me to go?” Captain Drake countered. He was her brother, after all.

“You will have no official role in the proceedings,” Rear Admiral Grayson assured her, fully aware of what he was doing. “But I sense that your presence might be helpful for all parties involved.”

“I’m not sure what I’ll be able to accomplish,” Captain Drake warned, still uncertain what it was Grayson even wanted her to do. “My brother is a shark. He wouldn’t hesitate to lock up even his own family if he felt it necessary to uphold the laws and values of the Federation.”

“Oh, I’m very well aware,” Rear Admiral Grayson assured her. “I’ve already received no less than a half dozen calls from highly-placed officers related to this case. He’s pulling out all of the stops.” Meanwhile, Fleet Admiral Reyes had been out there obstructing the investigation every step of the way.

“And this preliminary hearing officer,” Captain Drake continued. “Are you sure he’s up to the task? If Robert has even the slightest indication that justice wasn’t served, he’ll go right over the guy’s head.”

“I assure you that Captain Adler will have no problem handling a brash young lawyer,” Rear Admiral Grayson chuckled. “Nor will he have any issue managing the admiral.” When he’d realized where the Polaris situation was headed, he’d sought out Eleazar Adler specifically.

Captain Drake wasn’t so sure. She’d grown up with Robert, and she’d spent the last five months dealing with Reyes. The pair would make a tall task for anyone. But at least the PHO’s role made sense. “I’m still don’t understand exactly what you want me to do,” she admitted. Did he simply want her to observe? Or to stabilize? Or did he have a preferred outcome?

“Neither do I,” Rear Admiral Grayson offered a non-answer. “But I trust you to figure it out when you get there.” There were too many unknowns to be certain from a hundred light years away. All he knew for certain was that Reyes had created a powder keg, and they needed boots on the ground to keep it from spiraling out of control.

“What if you don’t like the outcome?”

“I trust the system,” Rear Admiral Grayson replied cryptically. “And more importantly, I trust you.” He paused for a moment an then offered the slightest of hints at his preferred outcome. “Even Reyes cannot stop justice from being served, if that is where this leads, but it would be best if a less messy solution could be found.”