[ Act One ]

Tarik stood in front of Sina’s quarters with a fabricated picnic basket containing a selection of foods he knew Sina liked. There was a loaf of Bajoran mapa bread, a few hard-boiled chicken eggs, two types of Denobulan sausage, a grilled salmon steak, thinly sliced kilm steak, tartoc salad with Matopin rock fungi, several spices and condiments, and a couple of Betazed uttaberry crepes for dessert.

He had looked up some more details on this still somewhat foreign concept of dating before suggesting the picnic. The information he had acquired suggested that if nothing else was agreed upon the person suggesting an activity was responsible for planning and executing it, as well as picking up their partner and escort them to the location of the event.

A cloud of all the delicious foods’ odor was slowly spreading out from the basket, when [email protected] finally pressed the bell button. A moment later the doors opened, but as he wanted to step into his girlfriend’s space, he was immediately greeted by Sina standing next to the entrance. She wordlessly wrapped her arms around him and placed a tender kiss against his lips.

“Hello there, handsome.” She said softly before untangling herself from him and standing at arm’s length. The Romulan wore a casual white and green summer dress, whose top graciously hugged her curves while the bottom part lightly flowed around her knees. Usually Sina wore her hair tied into a ponytail, but today she obviously felt more like letting it fall freely over her shoulders.

“You look gorgeous.” He answered, blushing ever so slightly under his ever-present three-day stubble as he admired the curious glimmer in her eyes and her happy smile. “Everything is ready, my dear. I’ve selected a suitable location and prepared enough food for us. We can depart whenever you like.”

“I’m almost ready. Just let me know if my shoes are okay.” Sina wiggled her brows at her boyfriend as she wiggled her right foot in front of her, showing off her somewhat sturdy closed flat heel round toe shoes which matched the white of her dress. “Given that we’re going on a picnic, high heels probably would have been a bad choice. But maybe I need to switch to boots?”

Without further comment, Tarik dropped to one knee in front of her and reached out to hold her ankle steady. He quickly scanned the shoe and recalled the terrain of the area he had chosen. After a moment he rose again and remarked. “No. These shoes are adequate. You should not encounter any difficulties. But if you would feel more comfortable or safer in your boots, please feel free to change your footwear. You know I value your comfort more than your attire.”

“I know you do.” She smiled warmly at him, before hooking her arm with his. “Okay, I’m ready. Let’s go!”

“Very well.” Tarik returned the smile and a fraction of a second later the couple was engulfed in the almost instantaneous chaotic blur of a dimensional shift. They emerged from the collapsing pocket, showered in quickly dissipating exotic particles, standing in the middle of a small but rich green pasture.

The grass cover was speckled with nests of flowers, from the rich violet of meadow sage, to the signature white and yellow of chamomile, to the bright red petals of the common poppy. The meadow was crossed by two simple paths laid down in fine, rounded, pale gray gravel, while each end of the simple trails disappeared into the light forest surrounding the pasture.

Sina turned around and looked in amazement at the scenery, her sense of smell assaulted by the clean air and the fresh scent of the grass, flowers, and trees around her. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths, enjoying the moment to its fullest. “This is amazing!” The Romulan woman spoke softly. “You can really smell it! You can really tell it’s real.”

Sina looked around and quickly noticed that she didn’t see any wall. She looked up, but neither did she see a ceiling. Instead she only found a light blue sky above her, with speckles of white clouds. “The sky is a hologram, right?”

Tarik chuckled slightly at his companion’s fascination. “Yes, all arboretum ceilings and walls are covered in holoemitters to provide the required lighting conditions and enable more immersive experiences for visitors. But all plants and animals are real.”

“Animals? You have actual animals in here?” The Commander’s head whipped around to look at Tarik. She had barely finished her question when she noticed from the corner of her eye how bumblebee buzzed by her head.

“Yes, but it’s only a small selection. Most of them are insect species necessary to facilitate natural pollination for the plants, and a small group of various predators to keep the populations under control. We were deliberate in which species to use, since we couldn’t allow for a more elaborate ecosystem with more extensive predator-prey relationships.”

“It’s amazing. I’d really like for all of my crew to be able to come here.” Sina remarked as she stepped back closer to Tarik and leaned against his shoulder.

[email protected] carefully put his arm around his SO and started guiding them towards their destination. “That is no problem. They can visit the arboreta whenever they wish.”

They followed the trail for about ten minutes. Most of the path lead them through the forest, which grew denser and taller as they got further away from the clearing. They even heard the songs of at least two different kinds of birds, which made Sina’s mood even happier.

At last they reached a small clearing in the now quite dense forest. A slow-moving stream crossed the glade from another direction and created a small pool of clear water near a formation of boulders in the clearing’s center. Next to the massive rocks waited a sturdy table and two benches, made to appear to be made from material matching the stones.

As the unlikely couple approached the dining area, they saw that trail continued onward over a small bridge across the pond and well past the small glade. Sina curiously looked around, still seeing no end of the gigantic hall. [email protected] placed the picnic basket on the table and turned to his partner, who had started to take a quick climb a little up the boulders to get a better view over the opening.

“How large exactly is this arboretum?”

“Be careful up there.” He replied, standing close and ready to catch her if she fell. “It’s one of the larger ones. Its total area is eighty square kilometers. You probably already realized that it’s modeled after a temperate mixed forest biome as it was typically found in Earth’s northern hemisphere, intermixed with several open meadow areas.”

“Yes, it’s beautiful.” After another moment she climbed back down and added with a teasing laughter on her lips. “But you know, all this fresh air and walking made me extra hungry now.”

Tarik simply chuckled in response. Together they returned to the table and started unpacking their picnic. The Romulan was extra curious what her partner had brought for her. As Tarik was unloading the basket, she curiously peeked inside. “Oh, do I spy some uttaberry crepes down there?” She laughed and tried to reach for them while licking her lips, but he playfully slapped her fingers aside.

“Hey! Those are for dessert. Don’t spoil your appetite already.”

Sina burst out into happy laughter as she withdrew her hand. “Okay, okay, but you have no idea how hungry I am. I guarantee you it won’t make any difference whether I have the crepe now or later.”

The engineer smirked at his partner. “We’ll see. Besides, good things come to those who wait. The crepes will taste even better if you’re patient.” Focusing for a moment, Tarik used his uplink implant to interface with the table. The furniture was part of a hidden fabricator assembly and with a few thoughts he created a set of plates and cutlery for them to use for their meal.

Once all was prepared, Sina and Tarik sat down next to each other, the food deliciously on display in front of them. Both partners diligently shared the tasks of preparing and distributing their meal. Tarik cut the loaf of mapa bread into slices, while Sina peeled the chicken eggs. He cut the Denobulan sausages into bite-sized pieces, while she dressed the tartoc salad. Each time one of them was done with one food, they put an equal amount on both their plates, making sure that either got a taste of everything Tarik had brought for the picnic.

“I’m really glad to see that your stomach is behaving nicely today.” Sina remarked before dipping a piece of sausage into a smudge of mustard and taking a bite from it.

Tarik finished chewing and swallowing his mouthful of salad and replied with a smirk. “I’ve been strictly following Co-Yor’s recommendations in order to accustom my digestive system again to solid food. So far it seems to have worked quite well. Let’s hope it stays that way.”

“If you get sick, I’ll make some hot tea for you and rub your belly until you’re feeling better again.” She responded with a teasing grin on her lips.

With a hearty laughter the engineer picked up a thin slice of kilm steak with his fork and placed it in his mouth.

The happy couple continued their meal for another twenty minutes, playfully teasing each other, tasting this and that, finishing the whole bowl of salad, and leaving no traces of the sausages or the steak. Finally, Sina leaned back against the bench’s backrest and let out a content sigh.

“That was great!”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it, because I certainly did.” Tarik replied while putting his arm around his partner, holding her gently against his shoulder. After a quiet minute, the Romulan started to giggle softly.

“Okay, I think we’ve waited long enough. Now it’s time for crepes!” She called out, barely containing her contagious laughter that quickly infected the Human as well.

“I agree with your assessment, Commander.” Tarik replied dryly, while he leaned to the other side and pulled out the box with the warm crepes. The crepes’ sweet scent immediately permeated the air around the table, and the Romulan already smacked her lips in anticipation of the delicious pastries.

“Not so fast!” The Human teased her and held the crepes out of Sina’s reach.

“Hey! That’s mean!” She playfully complained, but her partner quickly picked up a clean fork. He cut off a bite-sized piece of the rolled-up dessert, and picked it up with the fork, offering it to his companion who was still leaning against his shoulder.

With a happy sound Sina accepted the offering and smiled as Tarik slowly fed them both the first crepe. He continued alternating between taking one piece for himself and offering the next piece to Sina until all four crepes were gone.

Finally, with the last piece of dessert gone, he put down the fork. “Wasn’t that much nicer than wolfing down the crepes right from the start?”

“Yes, yes, you were right.” Sina breathed. “But how did learn about that anyway? I would have thought that you would consider eating to be just another form of nutrient consumption.”

“That’s only half the truth. Eating alone is indeed only another form of consuming my required calories. But eating with you, my dear, is a social activity that to me is so much more than the sum of its parts… or foods.” Tarik placed a gentle kiss on the top of Sina’s head before he continued.

“You’re also forgetting that for you eating is something mundane, an activity you’ve done literally every single day of your life for over three decades. But to us, it is still exceptional. A strange and foreign experience, which we relish and savor whenever we find the opportunity for it.”

“I guess that makes a lot of sense…” She murmured softly.

The couple remained seated for a little longer, before Tarik gently nudged Sina. “How about we quickly clean up?” The Romulan nodded and together they managed to put together all the boxes and bottles they had brought with them. Tarik placed everything inside his picnic basket, including the dishware and cutlery they had fabricated on the spot.

He again activated his neural transceiver and moments later the table started recycling the basket and everything inside it. Once the activation cycle was complete, the table was as clean and pristine as they had found it.

Sina watched with renewed fascination how the hidden fabricator disassembled and absorbed every plate and even the basket itself in a shower of gleaming silvery streaks of light. She glanced at her companion and quirked a brow. “And now?”

[email protected] replied with a soft smile on his lips. “Whatever you like. We can return to the Sidereal or remain here for some time longer. There’s no time limit on our stay, aside from our shipboard duties.”

“I think I have an idea… and I think you’ll like it. Just trust me.” The Romulan grinned and grabbed the Human’s hands, gently tugging and pulling him away from the table. She guided him to the other side of the boulders and dropped down to the wonderfully lush and soft grass. Patting the spot to her right she urged him to sit next to her, but the moment he sat on the ground she leaned against him and with a happy giggle pushed him onto his back.

“Careful there, young lady!” Came the playful protest from Tarik, but he quickly returned the favor and pulled her close to him, making her squeal in his arms. After a few more moments of shuffling and nudging they had found a comfortable position on the meadow’s soft grass, and a tender silence fell upon them as they simply enjoyed each other’s company.

After a few minutes Sina let out a happy and content sigh, relaxing in her companion’s arms.

“Tarik?” Sina spoke softly some time later.

“Yes, Sina?”

She snuggled up closer against her partner, draping her arm over his chest as if to claim him for herself. “I want to apologize for ruining our evening yesterday. It only occurred to me later how much my reaction must have hurt you. I was just… shocked, I guess, that we couldn’t be with each other without me having to go through that change. I felt as if I had to withdraw from what you are and I’m really sorry for that.”

The engineer waited for a long moment, then took a deep breath. “You don’t have to apologize. Your reaction was understandable, and it didn’t hurt me at all. Being a part of the Synergy is radically different from what your people are used to, so a certain level of apprehension is certainly justified and to be expected. And you really didn’t ruin the evening. If anything, I shouldn’t have sprung that information on you like I did in that intimate situation.”

“Thank you.” The Romulan murmured, happily resting her head against his shoulder. “You know, I still want to, well, join you… I think. But I just need more time. It’s just… ” Her voice trailed off while she was searching for a way to express the turmoil in her mind.

[email protected] pulled his companion closer against his body. “Don’t worry about it. To me it doesn’t matter whether you join us or not. I just want to be at your side. I don’t want you ever to feel pressured into making that decision. If you don’t want to become like me, that’s fine. It’s okay and I will never think less of you for that. But if you do, then I’ll happily welcome you in my arms and thoughts in a whole new way. But you make that choice when you’re ready and not before.”

“That’s so good to hear. Thanks, baby.” Sina whispered and turned her head to press a tender smooch against the stubble beneath his chin. She smiled at Tarik’s sweet and reassuring words. Knowing that he’d accept her as she was and wouldn’t expect her to change was giving her much needed confidence. The Romulan found comfort not only in the engineer’s arms, but also in his trust and unconditional love, even if they couldn’t share any kind of intimacy yet.

While they laid quietly on the peaceful meadow, enjoying being so close to each other and undisturbed, Sina slowly started to doze off. She snuggled against Tarik’s shoulder and tried to follow the hypnotic dance of a couple of butterflies just a few meters away from them. A few moments later she was well asleep in his arms.

[ Act Two ]

Fully concentrated, Co-Yor observed the wall display in the sickbay’s attached biochemistry laboratory. His gaze closely followed the synthesis progress of the desegranine derivate he had been working on the last few weeks. Ever since T’Sai had provided him with her updated scan results over a month ago, he had doubled his efforts to create an inoculation against low-energy neurogenic fields.

The Vulcan officer’s observations were a little concerning. While he now understood that the neural transceiver implants worked with neurogenic fields to enhance their effectiveness, thanks to the detailed scans he was able to perform during Sina’s uplinking, he was worried that they were strong enough to potentially influence someone else. And while he was still not completely convinced that the mere presence of those fields would pose an immediate danger to the crew, he wanted to be prepared in case the situation changes or unforeseen complications arose.

“Synthesis of DSG-M12 batch seven completed.” The EMH announced from a lab bench on the other end of the room. The program’s female avatar retrieved the batch and turned around. Picking up a tricorder on the way, she presented the vial with the drug and the scanner to Co-Yor. “DSG-M12 batch seven has reached a complete match of the required molecular cohesion. According to my simulations it fulfills all initial requirements, Doctor.”

The CMO took the vial and tricorder, and with the flick of his wrist snapped the scanner open. He swiftly validated the EMH’s statement about the drug’s molecular form and nodded. “Good. Prepare four synthetic gray matter samples for neural interference testing.”

“Aye, Sir.” The EMH acknowledged and walked to a different bench that was covered with several medical and biochemical devices for a variety of tests, analyses, and experiments. With apt proficiency she entered the required instructions into the bio sample replicator and a few seconds later four large petri dishes covered in a thin layer of synthetic nerve tissue on a bed of nutrient paste materialized. “Test and control samples replicated, Doctor.” She announced to the CMO.

Co-Yor joined the EMH at the lab bench and picked one petri dish from the replicator’s tray. He carefully placed it under the emitter coil on the working area behind him, precisely aligning its position according to the markings under the coil to ensure it would receive the correct neurogenic field exposure. Turning back, he produced a clean empty hypospray from the pocket of his lab coat and fed the drug vial into it. He took a second petri dish, walked over to an isolated work area under a sterilization and fume protection force field and applied a dose of DSG-M12 from his hypospray to the tissue sample.

Once the drug had been absorbed into the synthetic gray matter, Co-Yor returned and placed the second petri dish under the field coil, right next to the first. Meanwhile the EMH moved the control samples away from the emitter coil. She put one of them next to the isolated section also to receive a dose of DSG-M12 to measure the drug’s effect when not exposed to neurogenic fields. By the time the CMO applied the drug to the second test sample, the holographic assistant was just placing her petri dish inside the static storage container.

Eventually all four samples were ready and stored properly. Two samples, with and without DSG-M12 under the emitter coil. Two other samples, with and without the drug, isolated from any outside field. Co-Yor checked the samples one more time, running his tricorder next to the petri dishes to ensure there had been no cross-contamination between test and control samples. “Good.” He hummed deeply, satisfied with the readings. “All samples are ready. Activate the isolation field around the emitter coil, then power the coil with 0.0172 milliwatts.”

“Aye, Sir. Isolation field activated. Emitter coil activated at 0.0172 milliwatts. It will take approximately forty-one minutes before the samples will have reacted sufficiently to yield valid results. Do you wish me to set a personal reminder for you?” The EMH state in its usual overly polite and formal way.

“Yes, then deactivate the EMH.” Co-Yor simply replied as he turned to leave the laboratory, hanging his lab coat next to the door before he returned to the main sickbay. He walked directly to his office and pulled his uniform straight as he sat down and tapped his combadge. “Co-Yor to Heisenberg.”

“Heisenberg here, what’s up Co-Yor?” Niko’s reply came immediately.

“Would you have a few minutes, Lieutenant Commander? There is something I need to discuss with you. Personally.”

There was a second of awkward silence. “Uh, sure. You want me to come down to sickbay?”

“Yes, please.” The CMO answered.

“Sure thing, on my way. Heisenberg out.”

Not even two minutes later the XO walked through the door, searching for the Kalonar doctor who was already awaiting the first officer. “Thank you for your consideration, Lieutenant Commander. Please join me in my office.”

“Of course.” Niko replied, following Co-Yor into his office. The XO sat and watched curiously how the doctor activated the confidentiality screen around the room before sitting down behind his desk. “So, what do you need?”

“Lieutenant Commander, I have to inform you about a potential threat to the crew.” Co-Yor opened, speaking a little slower than normal and choosing his words carefully and deliberately. The Kalonar wanted to engage the topic slowly and give himself the chance to notice the XO’s reaction to the provided information.

Niko furrowed his brows. “What kind of threat are we talking about? Did we bring an infection or parasite on board?”

“No, it’s something different. Please allow me to explain. A little over six months ago I was approached by a member of the crew, under guarantee of confidentiality, who had made a quite alarming discovery. They discovered traces of neurogenic fields with a strength just barely able to exert a subtle influence on members of our crew after long term exposure. I’ve recently received another update from that crew member, which clearly indicates that these fields are closely related to the presence of Tarik. I’ve personally reviewed the data in both cases and found not factual errors.”

“Wait a second. Are you telling me Tarik is trying to… to do what exactly?”

Co-Yor slightly angled his head before he continued. “Strong neurogenic fields are capable of inducing believable and realistic appearing hallucinations in affected beings. There are several records in the Federation medical database, but two of the more prominent examples were both encountered by Voyager at stardates 51471.3 and 52542.3.”

The XO stared at the CMO. “You think Tarik’s… mind controlling us? Isn’t that quite a stretch?”

“I’m not suggesting it was an active attempt at subverting our mental autonomy, Lieutenant Commander. After the captain’s uplinking we know with certainty that the neural transceiver implant the Synergy uses to connect their members to the hive-mind utilizes neurogenic fields. It is certainly possible that Tarik’s implant is incorrectly configured or suffering a technical malfunction. As a precaution, I’m developing a drug that provides protection against behavioral changes induced by neurogenic fields. I would suggest all crew members receive that treatment once I’ve sufficiently tested the medication.”

“Hold up!” Niko put his hands up in front of him. “Why are you telling me this only now, over half a year later? And why me and not the captain? I feel like I’m missing a big part of the whole picture here.”

“The highest field intensities were measured on the bridge, in several senior staff quarters, and in main engineering. Once Tarik stepped down from his position as chief engineer the intensities on the bridge and main engineering dropped significantly. I had to wait to ensure there was no potential influence on you before informing you about the situation. And the captain’s levels of exposure are increasing, since she keeps spending a significant amount of time near Tarik.”

Lieutenant Commander Heisenberg breathed a frustrated sigh. “Are you serious?”

“Yes, Lieutenant Commander.” Co-Yor replied flatly, angling his head in the other direction now.

“Okay, but… why? Why the secret-mongering? You said the fields were barely able to influence anyone and only long-term expo-” He paused, an expression of realization suddenly forming on his face. “You think the Synergy were using Tarik to influence and manipulate us? And the captain?”

“I consider it a possibility. That’s why I informed you now, rather than her.” The doctor responded.

Niko shook his head. “Why should they do that? If they wanted to cause us any harm, they could have done so a thousand times over. Hell, if they wanted to harm us why would they enable us to communicate with Starfleet Command and our families? They could have lied and simply said, ‘sorry, not possible’ and we wouldn’t have been any wiser. Honestly, while I appreciate the attentiveness, I think your anonymous informants are overreacting a bit, Co-Yor. We have no indication whatsoever that the Synergy harbors any ill will against us. And if they did… we would be quickly overwhelmed anyway.”

“Like I said, it is a theoretical but possible threat. In fact, I agree with your assessment that attempting such a subversive tactic would be uncharacteristic and unnecessary for the Synergy, given the steep power gradient between them and us. My personal intuition tends towards the field traces being the result of a misconfigured or malfunctioning implant. I simply wanted to minimize the risk to the crew.” Co-Yor explained, followed by a deep sigh.

“And I think you did the right thing, Co-Yor.” Niko reassured the CMO. “But I’m certain we can rule out any hostile intentions. By the way, what kind of drug were you developing against those fields?”

“It’s a derivate of desegranine.”

The first officer’s eyes popped open. “Wasn’t that the stuff the Obsidian Order gave to its deep cover agents? Uh…”

“No worries, Lieutenant Commander. It’s a highly modified and much weaker derivate with a different effect. Instead of activating dormant memory engrams it reinforces already active engrams against modification. The drug’s function is to prevent or at least hamper modification of memories and behavioral patterns.”

“Ah okay. How far along with the process are you?” The XO inquired.

“I’ve just completed the most recent batch. Several samples are currently undergoing neural interference testing to determine its effectiveness and side effects. I am confident this batch passes all tests and is ready for distribution.” The Kalonar explained calmly, his unmoving golden eyes staring at Niko.

The Lieutenant Commander quirked his brow. “I see. I don’t think you’ll have to roll the drug out immediately.”

“That also wasn’t my intention. I merely prepared it in case the situation required quick action.”

“Good thinking, Co-Yor. Better safe than sorry, I guess. Anyway, I’ll have a chat with Tarik about his neural transceiver and ask him to maybe tone down the field strength if possible.” The first officer replied. “Do you reckon that would be enough, or would you recommend further steps?”

“That should suffice. Once the field strength is further reduced, we can re-estimate the risk of senior staff in proximity of Tarik potentially being affected by it. If no change is measurable, we can still consider distributing the medication to counteract possible foreign influences.” Co-Yor explained in his best professional tone.

“Great! Thanks for staying attentive and discreet about such sensitive matters. And thanks for bringing this to my attention, even though I wished you had been able to loop me in sooner. I don’t like the idea of conspiracy theories making the round on the ship. There’s rarely substance behind them but they can cause a lot of trouble.”

“Understood, Lieutenant Commander.” Co-Yor nodded and disabled the confidentiality screen with a swift tap on the console in his desk. “That would be all.”

Niko nodded and rose from his seat, quickly leaving the CMO’s office and then sickbay to return to his post on the bridge.

[ Act Three ]

“So, any idea what to expect?” Niko stood on the FDS platform next to Sina, the officers’ images reflecting in the highly polished mirror-like surface.

The Commander tugged at her dress uniform jacket once more. “Not a thing. The dossier I gave you was all I received from the Matriarch. I don’t know why we’re here or what exactly we’re supposed to do, aside from probably not starting a war.”

“Hmmm.” The XO replied, also pulling his formal uniform straight. “Then I’d say let’s go and find out. Ready?”

Sina nodded and gestured to her first officer to give the order.

Niko tapped his combadge. “Heisenberg to bridge. Duncan, we’re ready. Initiate dimensional shift.”

A split second later both officers were engulfed in the chaotic black maw of the dimensional pocket and emerged in a bright blue-white flash at their destination. As the cloud of exotic particles accompanying each shift slowly disintegrated around them, Sina and Niko noticed they were standing in what seemed to be a huge transporter room and that they were standing on an elevated platform in the room’s center.

At the bottom of the steps waited a female Vorta with striking blue eyes and short auburn hair, who wore a dark purple robe. Behind the Vorta was an honor guard formation of forty or so Jem’Hadar soldiers dressed in decorated uniforms who proudly and motionlessly presented their rifles.

The woman stepped closer and bowed her head to her guests. “Please allow me to welcome you on board the Dominion Vanguard dreadnought Kylasis. My name is Nikala. I’m the personal assistant of ambassador Ceyaal. If you require anything, please don’t hesitate to ask. Your comfort is my duty.”

“Thank you for the generous welcome.” Sina answered, carefully descending from the platform with Niko closely following her. “I am Commander Sina D’raxis and this is my first officer, Lieutenant Commander Niko Heisenberg.”

Nikala’s eyes widened with curiosity as she smiled at the Starfleet officers, paying special attention to Niko. “Oh, the ambassador will be delighted to meet you.” She almost murmured. “But please, follow me. The ambassador is expecting you for dinner in the banquet hall.”

Niko quirked a brow at that last comment and glanced over at his captain, but the CO only shrugged her shoulders. Together they followed the Vorta through the line of Jem’Hadar, who looked even more impressive in their ceremonial armor as their regularly armored brethren Sina and Niko remembered from recordings of the Dominion War.

They left the transporter room and walked a short distance through the dreadnought’s wide corridors. On their way they saw groups of various species, sometimes on their own, sometimes mixed together, seeing to their various duties. They saw squads of Jem’Hadar soldiers on patrol, Vorta administrators scurrying along to some meeting or reporting, and groups of Teplan scientists and engineers focused on their discussion.

As they came upon another crossing of corridors, Niko suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. For a moment he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, but after looking again he indeed did see a group of children of various species run along the other hallway.

“Lieutenant Commander, is something wrong?” Nikala’s voice jolted him out of his thoughts.

“Uhm… no, I’m sorry. I just saw… I didn’t expect to see children on a Dominion warship.” He explained his sudden stop and why he had fallen behind the two women.

Nikala smiled warmly. “Oh, please don’t mind them. Their presence is an exceptional gift granted to us by Ceyaal’s generosity. Only those ships that are extremely unlikely to see combat action are considered for this exception, and only on behalf of a Founder’s explicit permission. If they are troubling you, I will order our remaining path to be cordoned off.”

“Oh no, please don’t. It’s okay, I was just taken by surprise.” The XO reassured the Vorta. “It is good to see not only soldiers around.”

The Vorta nodded. “I see. Shall we continue then? We’re almost there, just two more junctions and we will reach the banquet hall.”

“Certainly. Please lead the way.” Sina acknowledged and the group started walking again.

“I hope you don’t mind, but please let me issue a warning. Just because there are children on this ship doesn’t mean it isn’t combat ready. The Jem’Hadar on this vessel are as dedicated and loyal as any other and will defend the Kylasis and the Dominion to their last breath.” Nikala continued.

“We wouldn’t have assumed otherwise, Nikala. I apologize if my officer’s words were inappropriate.” The Romulan said, throwing an eye-rolling glance at her colleague. “Like Niko said, from our perspective it is just rather unexpected. The Dominion we know isn’t as… sociable.”

“An apology is not necessary, Commander. I just wanted to prevent a misunderstanding. Many things changed during and after the war with the Borg. The peace brought about by the Synergy was a catalyst for many beneficial decisions and rulings made by the Founders.”

“Like allowing their… vassals to be close to their children?” Niko asked, hoping that his choice of words was correct.

“Indeed.” The Vorta woman replied with a smile. “Being able to see your family every evening is a wonderful reminder of how much we owe the Founders and their infinite wisdom. Without them, we’d all have fallen prey to the Borg. It was the Founders’ cunning and prowess that made the Dominion endure against all odds.”

Nikala came to stop in front of a pair of large double doors. “We have arrived.” Both Starfleet officers almost simultaneously took deep breaths and waited for their Vorta host to open the door and lead them into the expansive chamber.

The banquet hall was at least fifty meters on each side and ten meters high. Its floor was made from heavy tiles of smoothly polished dark stone with veins of gallicite. Those mineral deposits were the cause of a continuous pattern of feeble electrical discharges to arc between the tiles and anything that touched them. The ceiling and walls were covered in pieces of a deep red-brown wood worked to appear like the bottom view of a tree’s roots, with an organic looking network of thick and thin branches running down the walls.

The Vorta bowed deeply towards the center of the hall, where the same type of container hovered the officers had seen in their meeting with the Matriarch and the Galactic Council’s representatives on Earth, guarded by two heavily armed and armored Jem’Hadar soldiers. Finally, a long and well-laid table, laden with dozens of different foods and drinks, occupied the space behind the ambassador.

The thick viscous orange fluid inside the contained flowed softly, forming into a vaguely humanoid upper body.

“Founder, your guests have arrived. Commander Sina D’raxis and Lieutenant Commander Niko Heisenberg.” Nikala announced, still bowing deeply to her superior.

“Thank you, Nikala. Well done. I don’t require your services for the remainder of the evening, you may already return to your family.” The ambassador’s voice was surprisingly rich and soft. Both Sina and Niko remembered recordings from Odo or the female changeling, and neither of them sounded as pleasant.

“Thank you for your generosity, Founder. I live to serve.” Nikala smiled and nodded once more at Sina and Niko before swiftly and quietly withdrawing from the banquet hall.

Once she was gone, the changeling issued another order that surprised the Starfleet officers. “Guards, wait outside.” Both Jem’Hadar saluted and quickly marched towards an unobtrusive side entrance, leaving the officers and the Founder alone.

Suddenly, the flow of the changeling’s form accelerated, and the vague humanoid shape merged into a thick pseudopod that reached out of the container and onto the ground. Pooling on the floor, the changeling gathered itself for a second, before restructuring its morphogenic matrix. A humanoid form grew from the pool, becoming more refined with each passing moment.

When the process was completed, Sina and Niko were looking at a decidedly female individual with smooth mocha skin and strikingly orange eyes. The ambassador’s hair fell to her waist and was colored in two layers, black on the top layer and a yellow-to-red gradient on the bottom layer. She was “dressed” in a figure-hugging robe that appeared made from delicate black silk.

“Ah, much better.” The woman smiled at her guests while she quickly stretched her arms. “Welcome and thank you for accepting my admittedly unconventional invitation. My name is Ceyaal. It is an absolute pleasure to finally meet the visitors from another reality in person. Please, come closer.”

Sina and Niko glanced at each other and then stepped closer to the changeling. The CO bowed her head and replied. “Thank you for inviting us, Ceyaal. I am Commander Sina D’raxis, acting captain of the Federation Starfleet vessel USS Sidereal. This is my first officer, Lieutenant Commander Niko Heisenberg.”

Niko also bowed his head respectfully before he added. “It is also a pleasure to meet you. I hope I’m not too direct when I say that so far our visit here has been unlike what I would have expected.”

Ceyaal giggled. “Oh, I know exactly what you mean. Matriarch Chiaxi has been teasing us mercilessly about your reality. It took quite a bit of concessions to get her to share the information from your computer core with us.”

Her demeanor suddenly changed from playful to somber. “It is regrettable what happened in your reality. The Dominion you know is shortsighted and ignorant. Their fear clouds their judgment, and their arrogance chokes their creativity and potential. If only they could see…”

“But we shouldn’t dwell on losses of a war long past, for we live in the present and there is much to discuss… and enjoy. Please, join me at the table. I hope the Synergy’s bland rations haven’t spoiled your taste yet.” She added quickly with a warm smile, openly gesturing towards the table behind her.

With elegant, almost levitating steps she walked to her seat at the head of the table. The Starfleet officers followed quickly and sat down at their suggested chairs. Sina sat to Ceyaal’s right, while Niko sat to the ambassador’s left. The table was filled with lots of different food on self-heating and self-cooling plates, and it smelled utterly delicious. To both officers’ complete surprise, Ceyaal served her guests personally, extending her arms across the table to cut and retrieve whatever her guests desired.

“Oh, don’t mention it.” The Founder laughed when asked about it. “Some of my kind consider my demeanor strange or even erratic, but I like interacting and engaging with solid beings. Where other Founders lose themselves in the Great Link, I am fascinated by all kinds of shapes, forms, and motions.” The changeling had barely finished, when she cast a suggestive glance at Niko while refilling his glass with tulaberry wine from a crystalline decanter.

Niko paused for a moment and blinked. What was that? Why would the Dominion ambassador… no, he must have imagined it. It was beyond any doubt that her current shape was attractive, even alluring, but they were diplomatic guests. It would be ridiculous to assume that she could be interested in any way. And even if she was, there was even less of a chance of anything happening.

While the XO was left wondering about Ceyaal’s chance glance, the dinner quickly and decisively turned from formal to informal. Even though Sina had been the more distanced and formal Starfleet officer at the beginning, the first officer noticed with great curiosity that it was her who was warming up to the ambassador first.

“I hope you didn’t seriously wound him?”

“I broke his nose with a clean straight punch.” Sina described the incident, gesturing as if winding up a punch. “I’ll never forget the completely dumbfounded look on his face once he noticed the blood trickling over his lips. I know I shouldn’t have done that, and the reprimand and dressing down I got from Admiral Weir the next day were certainly well deserved. But when that arrogant Vulcan Cadet called me a parasite, I just started seeing red. I was so angry! Even now I don’t remember standing up and walking over to him.”

Ceyaal burst out in a hearty laughter. “That’s absolutely fantastic. I can easily imagine the expression on his face.” She then leaned over to the Lieutenant Commander, gently placing her hand on his forearm. “What about you, Niko? Do you have any stories that went hilariously wrong which you’d want to share with us?”

“Oh, more than you can imagine.” Niko quipped.

“Come on, Niko.” Sina teased him. “Let’s hear it!”

Ceyaal quickly added, looking deeply into the Human’s eyes. “Only if you want, of course. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”

“Uhm, no worries, I’m fine.” Niko replied with a smile. “I think it happened when I was… fifteen or so. Yes, fifteen. At that time my first girlfriend and I were generally fooling around… you know, kissing, groping… the things curious teenagers do to test the waters, but nothing serious yet. She was a year older than me and the daughter of my math teacher, who was Andorian and placed great emphasis on discipline. You can imagine that was exactly what teenage-me was into at that time.”

The Founder was already grinning from ear to ear while she focused her gaze on the Lieutenant Commander as he continued his story.

“So, one day she dropped the hint that her parents would be out of town for the weekend and she wanted to have me come over. Of course, I gladly accepted, and we had a great time. I don’t remember exactly how, but somehow, we got to the topic of alcohol. My parents had already allowed me to drink some beer and other alcohol, but hers had not. And by the way, I mean real alcohol not synthehol. So, we started fumbling around with the replicator.”

Sina quirked her brows. “Please don’t tell me this story is going where I think it will go…”

“Nah, don’t worry. It’s even worse.” Niko laughed. “Turned out that her father had placed the replicator on lockdown to prevent his princess from replicating even synthehol. But he didn’t expect some wise guy coming along and somehow managing to get the terminal into diagnostics mode. Did you know that in diagnostics mode replicators could distribute actual alcohol?”

“Oh no!” The Romulan exclaimed, already laughing with her hands covering her mouth.

“I ordered a bottle of ‘Blue Alert’, an Earth-brewed derivate of Andorian ale which I knew tasted awesome. I can really recommend it. Anyway, we emptied the bottle. I ordered another one. We emptied that one as well. We got so drunk that evening that we both passed out on the couch in our underwear halfway through the third bottle.” The first officer said with his lips curling into a grin.

“The next thing I remember is a certain math teacher furiously shouting at me. Her parents had come home earlier and found us drunk off our socks in their living room. We were both still so utterly wasted that they had to take us to medical for detox. I can’t tell you what was worse, the hangover or the tongue-lashing I got from both her parents and my own.”

Ceyaal howled with laughter and Sina giggled behind her hands.

“That’s amazing! I love it!” The ambassador exclaimed. “Lieutenant Commander, you are naughtier than I would have ever expected.”

“I chalk that up to puberty.” He shrugged and emptied his glass of tulaberry wine.

Suddenly Sina cleared her throat, still grinning widely. “Excuse me, ambassador, but could I have a brief private conversation with my first officer somewhere?”

“Oh, certainly.” Ceyaal replied. “Behind that door you’ll find a small empty chamber.”

“Thank you. Niko, a word?”

Niko looked at his CO a little irritated but followed Sina without questioning her actions. Once they were both in the small chamber, which was another richly decorated hall, the Romulan opened directly at him.

“Do you have any idea what’s going on here?”

Niko quirked a brow. “No, I don’t know what’s going on. What do you even mean?”

“Haven’t you noticed? She’s basically undressing you with her eyes. She’s looking at you like a snake looks at her prey.”

The XO shrugged. “You know as well as I do that this is our first real contact with the Dominion, aside from that introduction back on Earth a year ago. But that was a different Founder… I think? I have no clue what her deal is.”

“Yes, of course you’re right. Let’s just be careful, okay?” She asked, her expression a little worried about potentially having stumbled into a trap of some kind.

“Sure, even though I can’t see a reason why the Dominion would suddenly turn hostile towards us and risk a confrontation with the Synergy. Maybe we should just ask her?”

The Commander contemplated her XO’s suggestion for a moment. “If you think that’s a good idea… but mind your words! Let’s try and not make her angry.”

The CO and XO returned to the banquet hall, which in the few minutes they were gone had been cleaned up. Their used dishes were gone, as were all empty plates and bowls. Fresh table settings have been produced for everyone, and the selection of hearty foods had been expanded with a broad offering of sweets and desserts.

“Welcome back. Just in time for dessert. Please, enjoy!” Ceyaal smiled sweetly, gesturing at the various puddings, mousses, candies, cakes, and other desserts.

“Thank you.” Both officers replied almost simultaneously as they sat down. Sina happily went for a stack of blue tulaberry pancakes with a small jug of Q’lava syrup, while Niko asked for a crystalline bowl of chocolate mousse with a whipped cream topping.

The mousse was delicious, and Niko took another spoonful right after the first. While the fluffy cream was slowly melting on his tongue, he worked to formulate his thoughts into words. “Ambassador, I have a question.”

“Please, ask.” She replied without missing a beat, while enjoying what appeared to be a bowl of rock candy.

“I’ve noticed that you appear to pay particular attention to my person. I’m curious what I did to deserve that honor.”

Ceyaal put down her spoon and smiled at Niko. “Well, I hoped I could ask you to stay with me for the night. As I-”

Sina choked on a bite of pancake and had to cough a couple times to clear her throat. “What?” She gasped in between her coughs.

The ambassador continued unfazed, still smiling warmly. “As I’ve mentioned before, I’m curious about all kinds of shapes and motions of solid beings. You look… fun and enjoyable. Of course, this is only an offer. You have my word that declining it will have no negative consequences of any kind, neither for you nor your crew. Aside from missing out on a hopefully pleasurable experience, that is.”

Niko stared at the Founder, then at Sina, while blushing furiously. “Uhm… I… I’m flattered. But I don’t understand what I could offer. I’m not any different than any other Human of this reality.”

“Physically, yes. But the solids of the Synergy have become addicted to their hive-mind. As much as I admire them for constructing something that rivals the glory of the Great Link, they have forgotten how to express pleasure and lust without it. I think you would be different.” Ceyaal explained, her strikingly orange eyes focused on the Lieutenant Commander again.

“I see…” He replied, helplessly glancing over at Sina who simply shrugged her shoulders.

The Founder noticed his look and turned to his CO. “I can assure you that, should he decide to stay, I will return him to you in the morning completely unharmed. I never hurt my companions.”

Sina looked at the ambassador, then smirked at her fellow officer. “Well, it’s your call, Niko. Just let me know if I have to reschedule your shift tomorrow.”

He snorted at his CO’s crude joke, but then let out a deep sigh before he answered.

[ Act Four ]

“Computer, continue file Noriko-Ship-Racing-Zero-Four.” Noriko instructed, standing in the empty holodeck. A moment later the computer acknowledged her instruction with a chirp, followed by the holographic projectors springing to live a second after that.

The whole room flickered with energy and was soon replaced by the image of the Sidereal’s active but empty bridge. The Japanese casually descended to the first floor and sat down at the conn terminal right in the center of the forward area. With a few quick taps on the console she routinely checked the simulated ship’s status and readiness, smiling when she saw everything had been reset to normal status after the last run.

Noriko had created this simulation a few weeks after they got the Sidereal back from the Synergy and could set out on their own. While the training simulations Tarik and his people had created for them were adequate for most everyday situations, she wanted to know how good the Synergy’s gravimetric sub-light propulsion system really was.

The Asian had noticed quite early into their training that the new navigational controls were more appropriate for a remote-controlled drone than for a capital ship, which meant that the Sidereal could now pull off maneuvers that were impossible for a normal Akira class. To figure out the limits of the ship she had run holodeck simulations in her free time using increasingly more difficult drone racing tracks as templates, subjecting the simulated ship to punishing maneuvers that would have broken any other ship.

“Okay, let’s see how far I can really push this thing.” The pilot muttered to herself, before raising her voice. “Computer, list course designs of all Interplanetary Antigrav Drone Classics Challenge Championship finals and final qualifiers between 2400 and 2410. Display Aresti notation and K value for each entry.”

Another holographic screen popped open in front of her and showed over thirty entries, abstract icons and diagrams describing the required maneuvers of each course. Noriko furrowed her brow as she browsed through the list. She had a passing familiarity with many of the tracks due to her own experiments with drone racing as a teen, a hobby which she admittedly had enjoyed greatly, and which ultimately got her into piloting as a career path.

But ever since she had joined Starfleet, she had little time to practice the sport, aside from random holodeck simulations. She smiled at the thought that the knowledge and experience she acquired during those years was suddenly becoming useful again when piloting a large cruiser.

Studying the different entries, she eventually lingered on one track design from 2408. It was annotated with a comment saying that the participating pilots considered it vastly unfair, since it seemed to be designed to push the hardware to its physical limits rather than only challenging the pilots’ skills.

Noriko glanced at the difficulty factor. It read 5,781, a solid 140 points above all other entries and a good 220 points higher than any of the tracks she’d flown before. “Jackpot!” She grinned. “Computer, load the course design from the IADCCC 2408 final qualifier group A, scaled to size for the Sidereal.“

A soft chirp acknowledged her command, and a moment later the course showed up on the navigational sensors on her console. She looked at the holographic projection in front of her. She looked at the layouts and orientations of the holographic gates along the course and immediately recognized that the high K factor was well deserved.

As she studied the track’s actual layout, she noticed that most of the maneuvers and obstacles were rapidly flowing into each other, giving the pilots preciously little, if any, time to correct their paths or stabilize their drones. Usually that wouldn’t be much of a problem, but automatic stabilizing is prohibited in the IADC series and pilots must do everything by hand. And this course was designed to make that as difficult as possible, especially with antigrav drones being known for rebounding after sharp maneuvers.

With simple hand gestures she rotated and zoomed the projection to take a closer look at every turn, the steep raises and sharp dives, and the track sections forcing the craft through a vast selection of aerobatic maneuvers.

There was even a segment with additional gravity plating in the track that periodically switched its orientation along the segment, forcing pilots to rapidly reorient their drones and perform various extremely difficult maneuvers. The Asian glanced at that track section and muttered. “Ugh… that’s nasty! Which bastard designed this?” She realized that if you lost orientation or failed the gravity timings once there was basically no way to recover and she’d probably fail the whole section of the track.

Steeling her nerves for the challenge, she raised her voice again. “Computer, reset racetrack and put the ship at the starting line.”

Noriko quickly made a few adjustments to the virtual displays in front of her, improving the arrangement over what she had used before. This course was really going to be challenging and she would need all the information she could get without having to look away.

Every second would matter here, so she positioned the projections so that she could see a forward-facing view superimposed on the track course. All relevant other information would be shown in the heads-up display next to the projection - distance to the next minor or major gate, altitudes and angles, as well as all six axial velocities.

Noriko checked the controls one last time, then took a deep breath when she was prepared. And with the gentle tap of her finger, the Sidereal suddenly dashed forward as the ship’s gravimetric emitters briefly jumped to 100 percent output. Racing forward with an acceleration of 10,000 g, the rebuilt Akira class’s frame covered several dozen kilometers of the gigantic racetrack in just a single moment.

Focusing on timing the deceleration for the first hard bend that immediately turned into a Hammerhead, Noriko carefully and with utmost precision manipulated the conn station’s interface. The over 450 meters long space frame drifted gracefully over the course, perfectly fitting through every single gate so far.

“Not too bad…” The Japanese whispered to herself as she managed to carefully maneuver the cruiser through a series of rolls and sharp turns. So far, she could manage the course, but she had only completed about five percent of it, and the more difficult obstacles and challenges were still ahead.

After two Flat Spins in opposite directions, she noticed that the difficulty noticeably increased. The gates got smaller, significantly reducing the margin of error and forcing her to maneuver the ship even more precisely. Taking a quick glance at the track data, Noriko saw that the section with the alternating gravity plating was quickly getting closer.

But before she got there, she needed to complete the Death Spiral first. After expertly navigating the ship through four tightly connected Immelmann turns to climb the necessary altitude, she entered the spiral after another short sprint at maximum acceleration. This obstacle was an excessively tight dive, built from three full Rolling turns combined with a different type of roll at each turn.

“Son of a…” Noriko cursed under her breath as she struggled to keep up with the track. The initial Aileron roll was easy, the following Barrel roll was manageable as well, but on the final positive-two/negative-three Hesitation roll she failed to hit the gate. The Sidereal came out of the spiral upside down and her port nacelle cut right through the gate’s frame, earning her a penalty on the maneuver.

With barely a moment to catch her breath, the young pilot entered the track section with the gravity plating. The current direction was clearly indicated with arrows besides the gates, but Noriko only barely managed to complete the demanded inverse Pugachev’s Cobra before the field’s orientation changed as the ship moved along.

Taking a deep breath, the pilot concentrated on the next maneuver. The required figures weren’t really that difficult, the actual challenge was to coordinate everything perfectly without any automatic system. Especially managing the changing gravity orientation was taking its toll. If she messed up only a single maneuver or course correction, she’d rake in a whole lot of penalty points as well as earn a bruise on her ego.

There were only two more maneuvers to go in the current track segment. The first was another upside-down Flat Spin, which she managed to complete without any problems. The second was a horizontal Kulbit with the near and far halves of the loop laying in differently oriented gravity fields. Noriko did manage to keep the Sidereal stable in the changing gravity fields but missed both gates in the last quarter of the maneuver, earning her another penalty.

“Damn it!” She exclaimed in frustration, while punching the ship to maximum acceleration again. The last third of the course was relatively easy, comparable in difficult to the first third. Lots of high-speed sprints interspersed with sharp turns and tight rolls and loops. She mostly handled those fine, and raced to the finishing line, breaking through the final gate at maximum emitter power with 10,000 g yanking at the ship.

Noriko sank deeper into her seat, her pulse going a mile a minute. “This damn course…” She sighed as she took several deep breaths to calm herself.

Suddenly a male voice called out from the upper level, making her jump behind her console. “Noriko? Are you okay?”

“Man, you can’t scare me like this! What are you even doing here, Sarvan?” The Asian leaned out of the compartment and looked up at the familiar face belonging to that voice. The unexpected visitor wore simple black slacks and a white dress shirt that nicely hugged his well-muscled chest, while casually leaning against the upper level’s handrail and smirking at the navigator.

“Just checking in where you are, since you didn’t show up in Eleven-Forward.” The young MACO replied, still grinning from ear to ear.

“What? Oh no, I’m sorry I missed our date. Is it really that late already? Sorry, must have lost track of the time.” Noriko apologized quickly, an expression of regret on her face.

“Don’t worry!” Corporal Kusuhn laughed. “It’s only 1636 hours. If you want, we can also reschedule our date for later. My bed’s not going anywhere, after all. That is, of course only if you’re still interested.”

“Sure I am.” The Asian replied, now also with a wry smile on her lips. “You know I’d never miss that opportunity…”

Sarvan casually strolled down the stairs at the bridge’s side, walking up to Noriko’s station. “What are you doing here anyway? Couldn’t see anything from up there, but you sounded somewhat… stressed?”

“Remember, I told you I was trying to figure out how good exactly the Synergy’s gravimetric sub-light propulsion is? I tried another drone racing track, a really difficult one this time. Haven’t looked at the results yet, but I got a good feeling about it.” She explained to her lover, who was leaning over her shoulder and curiously glanced at the holographic screens on her console.

“Ah, nice. So, how did you do?” Sarvan asked.

Noriko shrugged. “Let’s find out. Computer, display race results with detailed key per obstacle and aggregated ranking.”

A new display appeared on her console and provided the answer, which was even a bit higher than she’d have expected. “4,421 points of 5,781 total. Ranking of 76.49 percent. Well, certainly could have been worse for the first run.”

“First run? Wow, that’s great! Congrats!” The Trill soldier cheered for her.

“Thanks.” She said with a smile and finally stood from her console. The petite Asian gave the sturdy male next to her a tight hug and grinned at him again. “But I think we should go now. I’m getting a little hungry.” She added with a suggestive wink.

“Whatever you’re up to, Noriko.” Sarvan replied, his hands gently tracing her hips.

“Computer, store race data and save and end simulation.” The pilot instructed while giving her companion’s butt a firm grope. “Okay, let’s go.”

[ Act Five ]

Visra stood in the bathroom of her quarters, admiring herself in the mirror and giving the jacket of her gray-white dress uniform one last tug. She didn’t know what the captain wanted, but the whole crew had been ordered to assemble on the hangar deck at 1000 hours in formal dress, so the Ensign assumed it was something important. With swift steps she returned to the bedroom to finish getting dressed.

The young Alusi quickly grabbed the belt from atop the bed and wrapped it around her waist, fiddling briefly with the belt buckle before her talons coaxed the pieces into snapping together. She closed her eyes for a short moment and took a deep breath, enjoying the slightly cool air rushing through her nostrils. She emptied the half full glass of water on her nightstand, licking her lips and fangs clean, before turning to leave.

Visra was about to walk out the door when the bell signal sounded, indicating a visitor. Having been startled for a moment, she quickly regained her composure and opened the door. “Enter.”

The door panels slid open and permitted Shori to barge right in. The Caitian officer also wore her dress uniform, the elegant but heavy fabric contrasting with her exposed fluffy fur. “Are you ready? We don’t want to be late, do we?” The COS teased her colleague, beaming a wide smirk at her.

“I was just about to leave.” Visra replied. “But say, you don’t know what’s going on? Why we’ve all been asked to assemble?”

“Maybe, maybe not…” The Caitian grinned, slightly showing her fangs. “But even then, I’m not allowed to tell anyone. But I can assure you, it’s something good. No need to worry.”

Visra grinned. “So, you do know…”

“Come on, let’s go.” Shori purred, attempting to change the topic while reaching for Visra’s hands. With a playful laugh she pulled her friend towards the door and a moment later they both stumbled into the corridor arm in arm on their way to the hangar deck.

Two minutes later they arrived on deck eight. The massive open space completely dominated the tiny group of people standing in front of the enlarged forward launch bays. Since the Sidereal had been rebuilt with Synergy technology, a small stage and rows of seats had been raised with the same programmable matter that had constructed the emergency quarters back on Sphere 272-Theta-8.

Visra and Shori casually walked towards the gathering, passing powered down and mothballed shuttles and Peregrines. The Alusi glanced at the deathly silent auxiliary vessels before turning to her colleague. “Do you know why we’re still keeping the aux craft around? We haven’t used them in over a year. I don’t think we need them anymore, do we?”

The Caitian shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. The captain just doesn’t want to get rid of them. You’re right, the Peregrines are probably dead weight, but the shuttles and especially the Runabouts could still be handy some time. The Synergy replaced all their micro warp cores with null-space capacitors, so if they didn’t outright scrap them there has to be a purpose. And it’s good to have a way of transportation in case the FDS ever has problems.”

“Of course, having a backup is always a good idea.” The scientist commented with a smile, just as they reached the assembly.

The captain and the first officer were already standing next to the stage, both dressed in gray and white as well. Once the last four remaining crew members had arrived, Niko nodded at Sina and the CO walked onto the stage.

“Good morning. You’re probably all wondering why I asked you here this morning.” Her amplified voice echoed through the almost empty hangar deck. “I can assure you there is a good reason for it. As you all know, two and a half months ago we were able to establish contact with Starfleet Command thanks to the Synergy’s efforts.”

The Commander took a deep breath before she continued with a happy smile on her lips. “Yesterday we had our third exchange with Starfleet, and they had quite the surprise waiting for us. But I think it is best when I let the president speak for himself.”

Sina nodded and turned to step down from the stage. She was still walking when the lights dimmed and a huge holographic screen flickered into existence above the stage, showing the animated Seal of the President of the United Federation of Planets. A moment later the Seal was replaced by the face of president Kylath, an elderly male Selay with light brown scales and cobra-like skin folds that already started turning white at the edges.

The reptilian humanoid wore an elegant charcoal-colored robe befitting his office and managed a smile with his wide lipless mouth before he started to speak with a heavy but still easily understandable lisping accent. Visra gazed at the screen in curious fascination, eagerly listening to the president’s words.

“Today it is my honor to speak to the crew of the USS Sidereal. I would have loved to address you directly, but the process of establishing this communication is not easily reconciled with my schedule, so I hope you can forgive me this impersonal recording.”

He bowed his head in an apologizing gesture, but then returned his gaze towards the camera.

“I want you all to know how incredibly proud we are of you and everything you have achieved. While we cannot imagine the ordeals and losses you have gone through after your accident, you have prevailed in the face of uncertainty. You have overcome your fears and found new friends, new allies. In the best tradition of Starfleet, you have boldly gone where none of us had gone before and found a whole new galaxy that is yours to explore.”

“The name USS Sidereal has become a symbol for the enduring values of honor, courage, and wisdom that define Starfleet’s mission and the Federation’s very foundation. You have shown us that we must never give up, and that there is always hope for new beginnings.”

“Your exceptional actions and dauntless endeavors have earned you the gratitude and admiration of not only Starfleet, but also of the citizens of the Federation at large. The public is eagerly awaiting every message from you, and the reports and logs you have sent home have kept many of our scientists busy… and often left them scratching their heads.”

Kylath’s joking remark elicited a round of soft chuckles and laughter from the gathered crew. Even Visra couldn’t help but crack a smirk, imagining how some researcher at SCE despaired while trying to make any sense of her recordings.

“As a sign of acknowledgment of your deeds in the service of Starfleet, Starfleet Operations has approved something that in my humble opinion was long overdue. Many of the members of your crew have held junior ranks for far too long, with current experience and period of service easily eclipsing the number of pips on your collars. The chief of staff allowed me the honors of relaying the following promotions.”

The Selay politician breathed deeply before he continued reading the list of names.

“Crewman Al-Tammar to Petty Officer.

Crewman Jackson to Petty Officer.

Crewman Pivik to Petty Officer.

Crewman Hegior to Petty Officer.

Petty Officer bim Blos to Chief Petty Officer.

Petty Officer Neruhn to Chief Petty Officer.

Corporal Kusuhn to Sergeant.

Corporal Zhakai to Sergeant.

Ensign Arsiv to Lieutenant Junior Grade.”

Visra’s ears twitched when she heard her name. She really shouldn’t have been surprised to be included in the list of promotions, but public attention was still embarrassing her ever so slightly. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves, while the president continued his list.

“Ensign Th’akianas to Lieutenant Junior Grade.

Ensign Yamada to Lieutenant Junior Grade.

Ensign Brahms to Lieutenant Junior Grade.

Ensign Agu to Lieutenant Junior Grade.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Brassfield to Lieutenant.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Clark to Lieutenant.

…”

The list contained a total of twenty-two names, which made twenty-two officers in the crowd beam with pride and joy at their promotion. The president paused for a long moment, allowing a wave of thunderous applause to echo across the hangar deck.

“But not only the junior members of your crew are worthy of recognition. Every day Commander D’raxis and Lieutenant Commander Heisenberg face the unimaginably difficult task of leading you through this difficult situation. They carry the burden and responsibility of making the right calls, ensuring your safety, and upholding our values and traditions.”

“We think that their current ranks are not adequate for what they are required to provide. On behalf of Starfleet Operations and effective immediately, Commander D’raxis is hereby promoted to the rank of Captain, and Lieutenant Commander Heisenberg is promoted to the rank of Commander.”

Another round of applause sounded, and Visra noticed how both, CO and XO, seemed to look slightly flustered at their own promotions. The Alusi wondered with a smile if that was a surprise they hadn’t expected.

“Congratulations for your well-deserved promotions. But that is not all. You are our only representatives in a completely foreign galaxy. You carry a responsibility only few could even imagine. And what you all have already achieved is more than we would have ever dared ask from you given the extraordinary circumstances.”

“As a small token of gratitude and acknowledgment of your deeds in the service of the United Federation of Planets, I honor you all with the Federation Star for Distinguished Service. Furthermore, for her pivotal role in successfully establishing first contact with the Synergy and deepening our understanding of their strange and sometimes admittedly intimidating culture, Captain D’raxis is honored with the Federation Peace Medal.”

President Kylath paused for another moment, making space for a third round of applause celebrating the civilian citations.

“And last but most certainly not least, Lieutenant Junior Grade Arsiv is honored with the Cochrane Medal for her outstanding scientific work during the accident. We acknowledge the burden that was placed on her shoulders and the distinguished resolution she managed to find against seemingly insurmountable odds. Her unconventional thinking not only saved the ship and the crew, but also provided multiple disciplines of physics with new discoveries.”

Visra was deathly silent while the president was talking about her deeds and discoveries. She stared at the screen with eyes wide open, but slowly a shy smile crept onto her lips. She would have never expected or even considered that her actions could be worthy of a public distinction. But before she could follow that train of thought to its end, the loudest applause exploded around her as her colleagues celebrated her.

The president spoke a few last words, expressing his regrets of not being able to personally deliver the awarded medals and wishing them all the best until their next communication. Then the screen disappeared again, and Sina stepped back onto the stage closely followed by Niko.

“If that isn’t grounds for a celebration, I don’t know what is.” She spoke, beaming a joyous smile. “But let’s keep it disciplined for a few more minutes to wrap up the formalities, okay?”

The gathered crew quickly agreed and calmed down, eagerly waiting for everyone to be called onto the stage. One by one, everyone received their awards and new rank pips, as well as a firm handshake from Niko and a hug from Sina. After less than twenty minutes the ceremony was completed, and everyone was proudly displaying the new pips or stripes on their collars and medals on their chest.

Visra was completely flustered after the standing ovation she had received when she was on the stage, again being a little uncomfortable by all the attention she was receiving even though it was coming from her friends. After a lot of handshaking and congratulating everyone, the gathering quickly decided to move towards some of the lounges a couple decks up.

Once their smaller group reached the lounge on deck seven, the scientist made a beeline for the Caitian. She quickly took her feline colleague aside. “Did you know about this? You can tell me now.”

Shori grinned back. “I was only told that we had received a message from the president and that we would have a couple promotions today. But I didn’t know about all the other awards, and I really didn’t know about your Cochrane Medal. But congratulations, Visra! I’m proud of you.”

Visra let out a deep sigh. “Thanks. And I believe you. That was certainly outside my comfort zone and much more publicity than I would have liked or expected. But I guess I can be a little proud that everyone thinks so highly of me.”

“A little proud? Thinks highly of you? Are you kidding?” The chief of security teased. “You saved our collective asses. Without you we’d all be dead. If there’s one officer on this ship that can be damn proud of herself it’s you, Visra! Don’t always be so timid about your achievements!”

The Alusi shyly smiled at her friend. “Okay, okay. I’ll try.”

“Good. But now we’ve got ourselves something to celebrate!”