Orders

"Welcome gentlemen. Please be seated."

There were six of them in the large office of Starbase Lotus 'commander; Fleet Captain Allen Samji of course, with his own Exec by his side, Commander Karen Schmidt. a stern,  tall, broadly built blonde Human woman; indigo-skinned and silver eyed Andorian Captain Kheren of the flagship Horizon, seemingly not any worse for wear after being transformed into an Undine and back on his last mission; his powerfully built dark-haired and eyed first officer, Commander Neil S. Redding, recently returned from what has been officially designated as "medical leave" like his commanding officer; Captain Syntron, the tall bearded Vulcan commanding officer of the science cruiser Phoenix, patiently sitting on his thumbs for numerous weeks now after the shakedown cruise of his brand new command; and his own right hand man, Commander Joshua Riker, tall, bearded and composed as his captain.

In the room were also the Yeoman of each starship; Ensign Meeramanee Blackbird of the Horizon, a lithe, copper-skinned and raven-haired Amerind woman; and Ensign Jessica Albera, the brown-haired, green-eyed one of the Phoenix. Both were there to take all the relevant notes, documents and records for their respective commanding officer about the mission they would undertake.

They all understood immediately that, this assignment procedure having called both ships' command staff together, this upcoming mission would be of paramount importance. By itself, the USS Horizon could function as nothing else than a small mobile starbase, so huge, powerful and versatile it was, complete with the first operational transwarp drive. It even came with an integrated escort starship, the USS Polaris, that had nothing to be envious of the legendary USS Defiant of Deep Space 9 and Dominion War fame. But then, the USS Phoenix was the latest and largest research vessel Starfleet itself could deploy; as an explorer, it could out do most other starships currently in service, thanks to it's advanced science facilities and instruments, it's large dedicated scientific crew and it's own Quantum Slipstream Drive making it able to literally jump parsecs at a time and survey the farthest areas of space in the shortest possible time.

Indeed, if both ships were to be deployed together, this meant that, whatever Fleet Captain Samji was about to disclose, it would be big.

As if gliding on a silent breeze, the yeoman from the USS Phoenix swooped in almost without detection and deposited two replicated beverages on the table in front of her captain and his executive officer. No requests were made, but Ensign Jessica Albera already knew the preferred drinks of each of these officers during such a meeting. In her perception, that was as much a part of her job as fulfilling the technical aspects of record-keeping during this briefing. Then just as swiftly, she vanished; leaving nothing behind but the flash of a smile and a little wink.  

By sharp contrast, Yeoman Blackbird stayed where she was, PADD ready. She knew her own captain never indulged himself with food or drink when at work and the first officer of the Horizon would get anything himself if he ever wished to. Both considered her a colleague, not a servant, regardless of such duties being part of her function, whcih was definitely a bother to her commanding officer... not to mention his redoubtable wives. They rather expected of her to record minutely every element of a meeting, even the most trivial, so that nothing would slip by later if they ever needed to get back to it.

Samji observed the disparities between the two command crews and almost smiled. Although Kheren and Syntron had worked quite well together for quite some time on the Artemis, the differences between the veteran Andorian commanding officer and the freshly-minted Vulcan Captain were as plain to see as their physical differences. And even between their Execs, that difference was also striking, even when both where Humans and of similar years. It was a marvel to see how Starfleet could bring so diverse a group of people to achieve aims well trained and perfectly homogeneous crews like those of the Klingon Empire could never match.

And that cooperation would now be paramount in what was about to be thrown their way.

"Gentlemen, I trust you are well, " Samji began.

It was not just for the sake of politeness alone. Captain Kheren was recovering from an unprecedented ordeal in Fluidic Space, where he had been polymorphed into an Undine and fused with a living starship within that organic universe; bringing him back whole and sane had been a miracle in itself. And a major part of that miracle was due to his first officer; Commander Redding himself had 'died' during the retrieval of his commanding officer, only to be "reborn" through still unexplained and highly classified conditions. Although they both had been certified fit for duty, there was still concern for his colleagues and friends in the Fleet Captain's mind; especially knowing what was to come.

This is not a meeting everyone will enjoy, he thought worryingly.

"I had a moment of lapse, Sir, but Doctor Nasaro-Myth pulled me through," Kheren then said.

"Lapse of what?" asked Karen Schmidt with an arched eyebrow.

"Shore leave, Commander," whispered Yeoman Blackbird to her.

"Well, Captain, you'll be glad to know then that Doctor Nasaro-Myth has been transfered from the Phoenix to the Horizon so that he will be right with you to prevent any... further lapses," announced Samji with a small smile.

"What about my chief medical officers?"

"Doctors 011 and 110 are being reassigned to Starbase Lotus for extensive research projects. Doctor Nasaro-Myth will be your new CMO, at least until Starfleet Command is as satisfied as he is that you have completely recovered. Of all Starfleet medical officers, he is the most prominent expert in xenology and alien genetics... including Andorian physiology and your... personal medical file."

"Understood," simply acknowledged the Andorian, with a tone to end the conversation then and there.

"Besides, he is our most experienced medical officer and therefore the best one for the upcoming task that is now to be yours, gentlemen," Samji added. "That is also why there will be some reshuffling of personnel. A replacement for Lieutenant Somers at Tactical and Security will be sent to you after this meeting and your chief of ops, Lieutenant Elisha Leone, will be reassigned to the Phoenix."

He now turned his head towards the Vulcan captain.

"Following some of your technical problems on the Phoenix, Captain Syntron, her expertise and experience gained on our largest and most complex vessel will be an important asset for your specific mission to come. And we have a new medical officer and chief of science for you as well."

As he spoke, Commander Schmidt brought to both Redding and Riker data chips that contained Starfleet records of all the new personnel for their respective ships. Redding's chip read at the top Doctor and Commander Elliago Nasaro-Myth and tactical Lieutenant Junior Grade Aron'Son. Riker's read operations Lieutenant Elisha Leone and science Lieutenant Junior Grade Jonathan Livingstone.

Samji was resuming his briefing as they received them.

"Gentlemen, at long last we are about to embark in what we all signed for; to explore strange new worlds, seek out new life and new civilizations and boldly go to expand our knowledge and life to the final frontier... and in fact even beyond."

Making a pause after this grand opening, he looked at them each in turn before finishing.

"We are going beyond the horizon."

In their eyes, he saw that they understood exactly what he meant. So he came right to the point.

"The Horizon and the Phoenix will go through the portal of the Azimuth Horizon, into the pocket universe discovered beyond by the late USS Artemis. Your objective; to start a new era of exploration and colonization there."

As he glanced at the full glass of tea nudged off to the side in front of him, it almost seemed like a smirk subtly appeared on the expressionless Vulcan captain as the words regarding the exploration of a new sector were spoken. But before Syntron could utter a syllable or inquire, the Andorian captain had immediately interposed. 

"Colonization?" 

"Yes, Captain Kheren; your Horizon will be the temporary starbase providing support and safety to the establishment of a first Federation colony on the nearest M-Class world beyond the anomaly. And you, Captain Syntron, will be tasked with your Phoenix to chart that first sector."

The Andorian threw a glance at his Exec before bringing back his four oculars at the commander of Starbase Lotus.

The glance was met as Riker looked over at the captain at the same time.  It was rare to see Riker agree perfectly with anyone, but his facial expression told the whole story.  If Riker knew any way of saying he had a bad feeling about this without words it was the brief nod in agreement that met Captain Syntron's glance.

"You want to send civilians out there? Already?"

"I don't want anything, Captain; the Federation Council has voted to do so and Starfleet's job is to make it so," sternly retorted Samji.

"Of course, Sir," nodded the Andorian with drooping antennae. "I just wonder who could be... daring enough to... risk such a venture."

"Well, let me introduce you all to their head person."

Samji tapped his combadge.

"Adria, send the Governor in, please."