USS HORIZON:Rendez-vous with the Polaris

Captain's log

Stardate: 88666.7

We have reached the location where the Polaris is currently helping the USS Champlain to recover from both invidium leak and Klingon attack. Our more extensive damage control and medical teams will be taking over from the much smaller complement of the Polaris. Chief engineer Solius estimates the freighter will be able to resume it's journey towards the Eden colony in an hour.

Along with reports from these incidents, our sensors confirm those of our escort ship; space-time distorsions are apparently coming from about a light year away, in the direction the last surviving agressor flew to. It is a seemingly empty area of space and there is no known natural phenomena that can explain these readings. Consequently, investigation is in order.

Finishing his log, Captain Kheren stood up as he spoke to his officers.

"Mister Snow, keep us in guarding formation with the Polaris. Baoule, you have the bridge. Lyrya, signal Commander Redding, Doctor Osaro-Lyth and Lieutenant Irksos that their presence is required in our conference room as soon as feasible. Aron'Son, Solius, you're with me."

And so saying, he exited the bridge for the main conference room adjoining it. Once there, he took his favorite Captain's Brew from the replicator, which was in fact Cardassian fish juice at room temperature with flecks of bacon mixed in, then went to his seat on the red side of the triangular table in the center of the large room. As on the Artemis, his first command, Kheren had specifically ordered the traditional banana-shaped table to be replaced by this twenty-third century style meeting furniture. To his way of thinking, it was less hierarchical and confrontational and at the same time more conductive to involvement and cooperation; everyone seated close either side by side or at an angle with everyone else, it brought everyone physically closer together and never face to face or too far away from anyone else, especially the command officers. This way, everyone felt he had and should have something to contribute and would be heard. The department color-coding of each side of the table, red for command, gold for technical departments and blue for science including medical, also made discussions clearer.

Kheren, like all Andorians, was a team player; anything bringing the team together was most important to him, down to the furniture.

In this instance, Redding would come to sit with him on one side while Irksos and Osaro-Lyth would sit together on the blue side of the table while Solius and Aron'son would occupy the gold side. Command, science, medical, engineering and tactical would thus pool their resources, knowledge and expertise together to consider the situation and what to do next.

While waiting for his first officer, his chief medical officer and chief of science to join them, he addressed his Jem'Hadar acting Strategic Ops Officer and chief of security and tactical.

"Lieutenant; what is your appraisal of the current situation?"

Aron'Son contemplated the captain's question for a moment, but only long enough to organize the information in his head. 

"Sir, as I stated previously, the tactics these enemies are showing are not standard for Klingons. Everything they do is tied to their honor and there is no honor in attacking a target the lacks the ability to fight back. Additionally one Bird of Prey would be sufficient to disable a lone freighter.  No Klingon captain would follow such an order let alone three of them. We also did not encounter nor detect any additional ships in the vicinity which means it is unlikely they are being supported by a larger fleet, or they are on the other side of the portal and we simply can't see them, but a large Klingon force would have been detected by Starfleet. Based on the information I have seen it is also unlikely as the Klingons lost  the majority of the ships they committed to attacking Starbase Lotus during the Azimuth Horizon operation. They do not have the forces to mount a major offensive at this time.  Either the Klingons flying those ships are a part of some sort of renegade house, or they are not Klingon at all. Commander Redding and his people will be able to tell us positively which it is."

"I came to the same conclusions," agreed Kheren. "Klingons or not, these attackers act more like cowardly pirates than proud warriors. Had the Empire found a way to get here without Starfleet being able to notice it or stop them, they would have kept their advantage hidden until they would have been ready to exploit it to the fullest; not show their hand for the sake of one simple freighter with no cargo of importance to them. There is no tactical or strategic gain in attacking a lone freighter, especially here..."

It was obvious as he spoke that the Andorian was thinking by the way his antennae moved slowly this way and that over his long, thick white mane. His next words proved it.

"Unless... either they were in desperate needs of standard supplies like those aboard the Champlain's cargo containers...or... they have something to hide... and the Champlain came too close for their comfort."

He lifted his head and spoke with a more commanding voice.

"Computer; display sensor data regarding the local anomalous readings, excluding the Azimuth Horizon."

Over the triangular table appeared the transluscent image of a star chart.  It was rather simple. as the USS Phoenix had barely made a first quick survey of the surrounding sector. But it became much more detailed as the image zoomed to the point nearest the Azimuth Horizon anomaly, since there was added data from three more ships; the USS Nuntio as it drifted out of the anomaly where it had been lost for over a year; the USS Horizon on it's way to colonize the Eden star system three months back; and the USS Artemis, the first starship to ever go through the anomaly and find this new universe, several years ago, also under the command of Captain Kheren. The display then dulled the data and imaging of the anomaly and focused on an empty point in space beyond it, equidistant but from the other side of where Eden was located. A pulsing burst of energy from there seemed to turn the image into that of the surface of a pond rythmically disturbed by a stone dropped in. The data scrolling alongside the image spoke of massive distorsions in space-time.

"Lieutenant; can you name me any weapon made or theorized, especially of Klingon design, that could disturb the fabric of reality like this?"

The Jem'Hadar furrowed his brow in thought.

"Subspace weapons could do such damage. The weapons built by the Son'a as reported by Captain Picard during the Bak'u incident would be capable if used on a large scale....There was also an incident reported by Captain Kathryn Janeway of a Krenim temporal weapon that could possibly have that effect, but that weapon reportedly erased itself. The only other known weapons that could possibly cause damage in space time are chroniton weaponry and possibly tricobalt  weaponry as well." 

"None of which are known to the Klingons," observed Kheren with a sigh. "And that would not explain there presence in this universe. if they were testing a new kind of weaponry, especially one of such nature and magnitude, they could have wanted to hide it... and of course, another universe is certainly a good place to hide. But the risk of being intercepted trying to get past the heavy surveillance of the Azimuth Passage would make that choice too hazardous, when they could simply do such secret testings deep and far into their own territory."

He sighed but the look of his silvery eyes turned towards the Jem'Hadar was anything but confused.

"I think that we may have stumbled upon something much more serious than a mere Klingon incursion. Hopefully, Commander Redding has some clues, if not answers for us."

Redding entered the with a nod to his fellow officers and a "Sir" to his captain.

"This is turning out to be way more interesting than it first appeared, captain." and took his seat. "Just off the cuff.. We have a group of two-hundred year old Human-fusion Klingons allied with current age Romulans keeping a base of operations inside a temporal anomaly."

He let it sink in before going on and smiled.

"And I for one think that's interesting." 

"Oh, so there are Romulans around here too? This is gettting better by the minute," Kheren grumbled. "Interesting is quite the understatement, Number One. And somebody at the gate on the other side of the Azimuth portal is clearly not doing his job."

"Romulans, and travel travel" Aron'Son said, the words dripping with disdain "two equally contemptible things, but the fact that the two are connected is most likely worse than it sounds. It is possible the Romulans managed to send a covert team through the portal while the bulk of their fleet was battling during Operation Horizon. It seem unlikely, but yet they are here."

"Has any been detected?" Asked the Andorian.

"Negative, Sir," irksos answered. "The only reference to them was from one of our prisonners calling them allies. Of course, cloaked Romulan ships could have been lurking without our knowing."

"And not take advantage of you alone engaging three Klingon destroyers? Letting the Klingons do all the work, reap all the profit from the disabled freighter... and the Klingons okay with them not shedding blood by their side? I find it really pretty hard to beleive," Kheren shot back. "Especially in this day and age when the Romulans are supposed to be still the sworn enemies of the Klingon Empire. The Klingons never forgive or forget their  treacherous atttack of their civilian outpost on Narendra III a century ago. fact is, it was the turning point that sealed our former alliance with them..."

His antennae shot up as his primary eyes on his face widened. It was about the only expression his rigid Andorian face could convene and to show up like this said much about how he felt.

"Now wait a minute... You said the only reference to the Romulans was your prisonner stating they were their... allies? But... that was in the twenty-third century!"

"And it so happens, Captain, that these Klingons, at least the three we caught, are of an artificially created genotype that had only been encountered between mid twenty-second and mid-twenty-third century," Doctor Osaro-Lyth's mesmerizing voice added.

"Any analysis of the debris of their ships?" asked a deeply frowning Kheren after a moment of thick silence.

"Inconclusive," Solius stated. "Typical Bird of Prey, a small attack scout and destroyer class we are quite familiar with... In fact, these type of vessels have been in use in the Klingon Empire since the mid twenty-third century with barely a few modifications to propulsion and cloaking technologies."

Irksos spoke again.

"Captain; we know the Azimuth Horizon is as much a temporal anomaly as it is a spatial anomaly. On our first trip into it aboard the USS Artemis, before it was tamed by Operation Horizon, we encountered a Klingon Vor'Cha attack cruiser that had been caught in it during the Dominion War... and vanished into a temporal distorsion when it tried to destroy us. It is possible that those three Birds of Prey may have been similarly affected two centuries ago... and emerged here."

"Any data to support that hypothesis?"

"Nothing specific, Sir, except that property of the then untamed anomaly and the fact that they are here... as peculiar as they are in make-up, speech pattern and behavior. But there is that other anomaly we detected... might be a clue to this mystery."

"I seem to recall that the Klingons attempted a temporal incursion a few years back that the USS Spectre stopped on twenty-first century Earth."

"Klingons with time travel technology? as improbable as it is frightening to consider," chief engineer Solius commented. "Might have stolen it from the same Romulans that your former Artemis thwarted last year."

In the following hour, the report from the officers of the Polaris regarding the Klingon attack, the freighter's predicament and the newly discovered space anomaly brought up more questions than answers. Especially, the identity of those "old-fashioned" Klingons, throwbacks from two centuries ago when they were known as treacherous, devious and cowardly conquerors and not the fierce, bold, honor-bound warriors they were all accustomed to, raised all eyebrows. The fact that still existed any of those genetically altered Klingons and that they were flying Birds of Prey fielded decades after they have been allegedly eradicated from the Empire only thickened the mystery. Interrogation of the prisoners only yielded scant information, despite the best efforts of Betazoid and Vulcan interrogators, but it was telling; they themselves had recently established a base on a small uninhabited M class planet... right where the ship sensors detected the very center of the spatio-temporal distorsion.

Since there was no star or star system less than several light years near those coordinates that could allow for any planet to be there, most of all any habitable world, this was either an outright lie, a confused mistake... or something beyond their current knowledge. Kheren had no fear of the unknown; but the unknown could always be dangerous. And the unknown was always compelling; that was why they were all out there in the first place.

The captain took it all in, as well as the recommendations of his people, before coming to a decision.

"Until we get further data, we will confine ourselves to what we truly know; Klingons of the twenty-third century augment variety are here and there is a cosmic distorsion where the last of them went to. Let us work from that. First, now that the Champlain's repairs are completed, she will resume her journey to the colony. But with Klingon raiders in the sector, we dare not let her fly alone. The Horizon will escort her all the way to Eden."

His intense silver eyes and knobby indigo antennae darted straight at the first officer of the flagship.

"Second; Commander Redding, you will take the Polaris to investigate this space anomaly... ascertain if indeed there is a Klingon base in the area... and any possible correlation between the two. You will keep your current crew roster;  Irksos is our top astrophysicist and experienced with such anomalies from the days of the Artemis;  Julian is well acquainted with Klingons, having been raised by them as a child before they sold her to Orion slavers she later managed to free herself from and join Starfleet security; S'Tron and Jeonghun knows how to adapt quickly to unexpected technical problems and Doctor Osaro-Lyth has extensive training and experience with field medecine and Klingon physiology; Gray is well versed in Klingon tactics and strategies and Sheeneea is our best pilot after Snow. Moore is more skillfull and daring than she is but she is much more experienced in navigating space anomalies, especially with starships of the escort class against raiding and pirate ships. "

His impassive face then turned towards Aron'Son.

"Lieutenant, you will accompany him as his Exec. I am counting on you to keep my first officer safe and as well counselled as he does himself with me."

Aron'Son frowned at the order to depart with Redding. The Jem'Hadar knew that he was bound to follow it, by his genetic coding as much as his sworn oath, but that did not mean he had to like it and he did not. The idea of leaving the Horizon without both its second in command and its chief tactical officer was akin to decapitating an enemy with the blade of a kar'takin. It was messy, and should not be done unless necessary.

Kheren nodded to both the large Human and the even larger Jem'Hadar.

"As soon as the Horizon can be freed, we will join with you in the vicinity of this new cosmic anomaly and ascertain the situation from your preliminary findings. Try to avoid confronting the Klingons or whatever else may be out there unless it appears imperative for the safety of our colony or your own. We might not like it for them to be here, but they have as much right to be here as we do... as long as their intent is exploration or colonization. If their intent is war and conquest, which is unfortunately what we should expect from them, we must address this problem as soon as possible, before it becomes too large to handle."

He sighed a moment before finishing.

"As for the anomaly, gather as much data as you can until we can join you with all these research ressources of ours. Again, do not take any unwarranted risk, but we must determine what it is... and especially what are Klingons doing in it's vicinity. Although they are much more inquisitive and intelligent than many would like to think, they are not all that well known for their scientific curiosity... unless they think that they can weaponize whatever they discover. Again, if this anomaly is a threat or could be turned into a threat, we need to know before it actually hits us." 

He stood up once his officers had acknowledged his orders, ending the meeting.

"We are Starfleet; Let us do this right the right way, people."

"Aye, Captain." Redding said turning and walking out with Aron'son.

Irksos and Osaro-Lyth followed two steps behind, exchanging data between themselves in low voices.

"It will be good to work with a Jem'Hadar again," the big man said to Aron'son. " Despite his age, a 'First one' is a formidable opponent, and a most worthy ally."

Aron'Son glowered at the human executive officer "Again? Do you mean to say you have worked with my people previously? That seems unlikely. The Dominion would not have tolerated the presence of one such as yourself." 

"Ha!" Redding said with a chuckle.

"There's no doubt about that!" He said with a grin."I was personally banned by the Vorta Yolieh from the talks after I put her Jem'Hadar guards in sick bay, we had a.. slight.. misunderstanding regarding.. protocol."

 There was a certain smugness in his voice.He left out the part of his broken ribs and dislocated elbow as well as having spent nearly a week in recovery himself.

"Shame too, for a Vorta I thought she was rather pleasant looking." he said dismissively.

They reached the turbo lift and got in, Redding requested the deck to the nearest transporter room.

"To be honest, I was glad for the opportunity, at the time I was deemed unfit for active duty and might never have got the chance to test your people in combat otherwise." Redding knew what he was doing, he wanted to see how far he could push the pride of the warrior now trapped in this small space with him.

Aron'Son processed Redding's words and tone of voice. Realized the man was attempting to goad him,  the Jem'Hadar drew himself up to his full height which would have intimidated most species especially in such a small space.

"First," he replied, his voice even and cold, almost vulcan in tone "I find it hard to believe you successfully engaged multiple Jem'Hadar in hand to hand combat, as their superior strength and number would have either resulted in your death or their execution for failure if you somehow did manage to defeat them. Second, you are attempting to insult my sense of self, my "pride" I believe the human word is? You are wasting your time...Sir. I am not a Klingon, and do not have their inflated sense of...honor. The Dominion abandoned me as I have them but their programming remains within me. I do not care about my own accomplishments, I seek only to serve and have sworn my oath to do so up to and including my own death. My honor rests in serving my commanding officer, not in the enemies I have defeated or will defeat." 

Redding regarded Aron'son with a slightly amused expression. "I'm sorry to say that they were executed despite my official apology to Lolieh. And you need not take my word for it, it's a matter of public record, feel free to look for your self."

The amused expression was at the younger mans attempt to intimidate him with his size, the Jem'Hadar was clearly used to humans with a lesser stature than he, as they were the same height.

"I've 'successfully engaged' creatures with 'superior strength and numbers' for more than 10 of your life times, primarily Klingons, Romulans and even a Gorn or two." The Gorn was a bit of an exaggeration, but true.

"But your right, I was treating you like a Klingon, you are far more self aware than I would have thought coming from an oppressed society that are the Jem'Hadar. I do you a discredit by assuming as much." And looked at the man with a look of calm seriousness.

"You are a Star Fleet officer, and if nothing else that means you are worthy of my respect.. until proven otherwise, of course." The disclaimer was not aimed at Aron'son himself, but at a few other officers that popped into his mind as he said it.

As the door of the lift opened to let them set foot on deck 6 where were located the first four transporter rooms of the flagship, they met a tall willowy woman with long flowing red hair and sparkling blue eyes wearing a red collared grey and black uniform just like the one Redding was wearing except for the skirt and glossy heeled boots molding her shapely legs. The four pips on her collar left no doubt as to her identity; Lorena Swift, Captain of the USS Champlain.

For a moment, she was visibly startled when her almond-shaped eyes widened at the sight of the imposing Jem'Hadar beside the first officer of the Horizon. She made an involuntary step back and her left hand reflexively went to the small of her back where her phaser would have been. Then, the silent calmness between them allowed her to recompose herself.

"Commander Redding..." she greeted them, making every effort to ignore the massive grey-skinned alien, "I'm on my way to report to Captain Kheren. I'm glad to meet you again and thank you once more for helping us with our repairs and especially for saving us from those pirates. Without you, who knows what they would have done to us... whatever they were. Thanks to you and your crew, the eden colony will have her much needed supplies... and my crew and I will see home again."

She couldn't help herself and glanced briefly at Aron'Son as she took their place in the turbolift. Her nervousness was obviously more than the result of frayed nerves after the Klingon attack.

"I was glad enough to do the work Captain Swift, gladder still that we were able to keep casualties to a minimum, on our side at least." He smiled warmly at her.

"When your finished meeting with captain Kheren, perhaps we could go over a few details? I know a vary good bartender aboard if you would prefer a more relaxed setting." he flashed his well known half smile, in his most charming pose.

"Even with the help of the Horizon people, we still need at least good hour for my crew to get us fully ready to get underway. Of what I've heard about the typical Andorian expeditiousness of your Captain, my meeting with him should be over soon enough. It will be a good thing to... complete the work in a more... relaxing manner, Commander."

The smile on her face that disappeared behind the closing liftdoors was the perfect reflection of his own.

"She was afraid," Aron'Son said to Redding after the doors closed behind the Champlain's CO. "Perhaps not of me specifically, but her reflexes were telling her to run away." 

Redding looked at him with a hint of admiration. "You caught that as well did you? but I do think it was in response to seeing you, or at least a Jem'Hadar.. that's why I asked her out, to see what else I might find."

But he cocked his head to one side and looked at the door. "Well.. ONE of the reasons anyway."

Redding shook his head and addressed Aron'son more formally. "It should take a little more than an hour to adjust the sensors for the anomaly, I want you aboard to make sure everything moves smoothly but don't push it."

"I need to follow this lead, something tells me the good captain Swift knows more about this than she would like to admit." He started straightening his hair reflexively, saw Aron'son watching him and quickly put his hand back down.

"Keep me apprised of any changes."

After passing on orders Redding sent an invite to Swift to meet him in the forward lounge and contacted his favorite bartender Cross to have his table ready and have something special for his date.

One of Cross' best skills was the ability to know what everyone seemed to like to drink, It was uncanny really, often with no better information than a loose description.

In the mean time he stopped off to clean up and put on a fresh uniform at his quarters, fully intending to show up after Swift either way, to heighten the anticipation.

 He found her waiting for him in the Crow's nest. The immense lounge, located on Deck 10, at the forward most part of the ship, was as spacious as one found on a starbase. It had a very relaxed and congenial air about it. Named after the highest observation point of antique sailships, it was the only place on the ship where rank meant nothing; "sir" needed not be uttered when a person of lower rank addressed an officer, and everyone there was on an equal footing. Opinions could be voiced in complete safety. This lounge was indeed the social center of the ship.

The Nest, as some simply called it,  had a battery of recreational games; 3-D chess and Vulcan Kalto, damjat and pool tables, poker and dabo tables complete with holographic dealer and chips, immense windows that looked out into space, heavily cushioned seats and tables. There was also a bar, serviced by an on-duty bartender with servers, all junior crewmembers or officers on disciplinary duty for minor offenses. It stored not only the mandatory synthehol but as tradition would have it various potent alcoholic beverages as well; these were accessible only under the authority of the captain, the First officer or the Chief Quartermaster and included such as Chech'tluth, Bloodwine, Aldebaran whiskey, Saurian brandy, Tzartak aperitif, Tamarian Frost, C&E Warp Lager, Warnog, Antarean brandy, Andorian Ale and countless others. The  numerous replicators were also able to produce other food and beverages for the crew to enjoy in this relaxed social setting. There was even an authentic galley for special occasions or for the benefit of the Captain's table.

It took him no time to notice her in the crowd of off-duty officers, as she was the only one with four pips on her red collar to be seen; no one ever remembered ever seeing Captain Kheren in here, which made her stand out all the more... especially to one as dynamic and enterprising as flight Lieutenant Robert Roger Moore.

The man was putting on his most suave performance for the distinguished guest of the USS Champlain, his back turned to the entrance while he entertained her with his latest and famous exploit; soft-landing a powerless workpod on a planet surrounded by an energy negating field to save a civilian saboteur unconscious in another pod he had grabbed with his own's pincers.

It had indeed been quite a feat; and the way he was telling it, as Redding heard as he approached, made no doubt about it.

"...I'm telling you, there's nothing like a low orbital drop into an atmosphere to remind you that your alive." he smiled dashingly and went on. "If you like, I have this holodeck program that's just perfect for two.." he paused as the sound of Redding's heavy foot steps came up behind him.

Between the flash of a red uniform in his wine glass and the angle of Captain Swift's neck as she looked up behind him and smiled, he knew it could have been no one else but Redding.

With barely a stutter he went on "two.. tomorrows.. time slot, I can let you use it if you want, " he said, looking very innocent all of a sudden.

No one could say Moore wasn't fast on his feet.

His eyes followed hers deliberately to find Redding.

"Ah, there you are Commander! I was just keeping the good Captain entertained while she was waiting."

With a flourish, he stood up and offered his chair. Redding smiled and placed his hand on the smaller mans shoulder, The weight of it almost threw him off balance.

"Thank you, Mister Moore, that was very nice of you, but I think I can take it from here," he said, sitting down casually.

"Not at all, Sir, the pleasure was all mine."

Then with a smile to both, he made his way off.

"Your crew is quite... lively, Commander," the woman commented with a small grin. "And I thought you space explorers and galactic policemen were all business and protocol. Even your captain is rather bewildering... and saying this of an Andorian is saying much; these guys are so alien to begin with, they even make it look like Vulcans come from New Jersey."

She inclined her head slightly as if to look at him better with her right eye.

"And you yourself, Commander... I thought Neil S. Redding was an Admiral of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, not the exec of one starship... even one as impressive as the Horizon is."

He raised an eyelid in surprise.

"I'm flattered, you did some research on me?" 

He smiled and reached out a hand to take a drink from the serving tray held out by one of the bartenders. Cross was a thin and vary pale man with short black hair and a face so perfect it might have been carved out of marble.

"Your usual commander, whisky,  straight up." he said with the kind of voice so finely tuned that could only have been polished from years of serving others, or selling used hoppers.

Cross's oddly stern face smiled as he addressed Swift.

"Let me know if you need anything more, Captain." And returned to his station.

Redding neither looked up or acknowledged Cross, they were clearly well acquainted with each other.

"I'm going to disappoint you, Commander," Swift said with a small smile. " I only heard about Admiral Redding because of his involvement in Lotus Fleet's actions during the Borg war... like about everyone else in the Federation. It's the similitude of names between you and him that struck me and the fact that you do ressemble him a lot. You look like a much younger version of  holoimages of him I saw... which are not that numerous. This Admiral Redding is very... discreet. Shouldn't be surprising since he is allegedly assigned to Starfleet's most secret projects."

"I, on the other hand, don't know anything about you. I like to form an unbiased first impression, and if you look deep enough into anyone's past, your bound to find something you don't like." and took a sip of his whisky.

"If you don't accept someone's past, you can't beleive in any future with that person," she retorted with a curiously serious smile. "If you look back at Humanity, there is quite a lot we are right to be ashamed of; but acknowleging yesterday's mistake is how we can avoid repeating it and strive to do and be better tomorrow."

She took a sip of her drink before shaking her head.

"My personal history is rather bland; happy childhood, passing grades at the Academy, easy, untroubled career, offered command of a freighter I requested because I like peace and quiet. Well, I wasn't so lucky today now, was I? Apart from you guys happening to be around at the right moment."

Her smile was genuinely warm as she took another sip. Then, her combage piped.

"Swift here,"

"Transmission from the Champlain, Captain," announced the voice of Lyrya.

"Please put me through."

The soft voice of the Aenar was replaced by the lower, harsher tones of a man.

"Stauffenberg here, Captain; we are completing repairs but we need you for some authorizations to activate key systems."

"On my way, Exec; Swift out."

She took a last sip of her dring and smiled apologetically to Redding.

"Sorry, Commander; duty calls. You've noticed by now that the higher in rank we get, the heavier the paperwork is. Well, it was a pleasant talk, Commander. I'm glad to have met you. Maybe we will have time to resume it later when you get back to the colony? We will be there for several weeks before we return to Federation Space with whatever Eden III will want to send back."

And with a last smile, she exited the Crow's Nest, asking the onboard computer directions to the nearest transporter room.