Game session: ?/2007

Lieutenant Commander Alberic Selense is crossing the campus of Starfleet Academy in between additional training classes when a Bolian ensign comes running up to him. Alberic immediately recognizes the man as Dazan, an aide to his uncle, Admiral Victor Selense of Starfleet Command. Dazan requests Alberic follow him back to meet his uncle personally; Alberic ignores the Bolian's puffing and agrees. As they hike across the Academy campus and into Starfleet Headquarters, Alberic wonders why his uncle simply didn't summon him by combadge.

After two separate security checks Alberic is cleared and enters his uncle's office. Victor Selense is waiting for him, and he immediately dismisses Dazan, leaving the two to talk privately. Admiral Selense is part of Starfleet Logistics and is interested in expanding the Selense family's influence in Starfleet as a whole. Former Terran aides have described him as a demented Santa Claus; Victor is a large man with a shock of pure white hair and a beard, ice blue eyes, and a very deep voice. Victor proudly offers his nephew a new assignment – command of a starship! He explains that the Saber-class is one of the new vessels designed and manufactured under the Perimeter Defense Directive, usually shortened to the PDD, and that the prototype NX-61945 U.S.S. Saber has returned from her shakedown cruise, minus her captain. During the cruise, the Saber came to the aid of a Xyrillian plague ship that was under attack by Cardassians close to the Cardassian border. After trading shots with a Galor-class warship, Captain Bartholomew Harrington beamed himself aboard the Xyrillian ship. The Cardassians broke off the attack and warped away, rather then risk killing a Starfleet captain and seriously jeopardizing the current peace treaty.

The Saber is currently escorting the Xyrillian ship to Starbase 375 at low warp, to keep pace with the plague ship; the Bajorans refused to permit entry into their space for fear of the disease. To make matters worse, Captain Harrington's gamble meant that he contracted the plague as well. However, as soon as the Saber is free, she is going to be tapped for a full assignment, and Admiral Selense pulled some strings for Alberic to be named replacement Captain. Victor doesn't spell out the details of the mission, but hints it may be tracking down suspected Maquis rebels. Alberic eagerly accepts the position, and asks about the remaining command crew. Victor admits that most of the command crew is to be sorted out within the next month, but Lieutenant Commander Saval, a female Vulcan with sixty years of service to Starfleet, will remain aboard as both Executive Officer and Chief of Operations. The Chief Engineer will also be remaining, a female Orion named Cidhela, who holds the rank of Lieutenant. Victor warns Alberic to handle Cidhela carefully, as she's a brilliant engineer but a bit prickly; Alberic is confident he can handle her. He recalls both their service records and remembers that Saval has connections within Starfleet Intelligence. He asks if there's anything he can do on this mission "for the family"; Victor admits that the Selenses' haven't been able to gain any influence in SI, so if he could grease the wheels, that would be a big help for the family. Alberic promises to try, and gets the details of his transportation to Deep Space Nine: he will be leaving the day after tomorrow on a converted freighter, the Jenolan, and that the trip will take a little more then three weeks.

After being dismissed, Alberic leans on a few "friends" in Command and learns a bit more of his expected mission parameters – most likely, he'll be sent to try and locate a suspected Maquis rebel, a former Starfleet Lieutenant Commander named Chakotay, whose home planet was ceded to the Cardassians by the peace treaty which gave rise to the Maquis rebellion. After gleaning that much, he takes careful note of who among his "friends" he can sacrifice to Starfleet Intelligence to gain some points with them… The following day is spent with his family and involves celebratory dinners and a lot of potent Eastern European alcohol. He departs on the Jenolan the following day, and spends the transit time memorizing the Saber's statistics and the service records of the existing crew, including the later addition of one of the few Arcadians in Starfleet, the female She-Who-Swims-Amidst-the-Stars, as his Chief Medical Officer. He arrives on Deep Space Nine two days before the scheduled briefing. He explores the station a bit before damning it as a dump and retreating into his assigned quarters. He does offer to take a shift to relieve the staffing burdens, figuring he'll have an easy night. Instead, his offer is taken and he's dropped into Ops for shuttle traffic scheduling, which turns out to be very challenging. He's glad when his shift ends and he turns the board over to his replacement.

The U.S.S. Alliance, an Excelsior-class science vessel, docks at Deep Space Nine after an eighteen month sojourn surveying the Gamma Quadrant. As the Alliance penetrated deeper and deeper into the Gamma Quadrant more and more rumors cropped up of some shadowy, powerful "Dominion." The Alliance is captained by the famous Vulcan Saavik, wife of Ambassador Spock of Vulcan. Among the crew is Science Officer Lieutenant Fal Marik, a male Bajoran who grew up first under the Cardassian Occupation, and then in diplomatic limbo in Klingon space. Fal was responsible for convincing Captain Saavik to extend their stay in the Gamma Quadrant another week for further surveying, despite the resulting rationing of supplies and resentment of the rest of the crew.

As the Alliance docks, Fal stands in the forward lounge and stares wistfully as his home planet; he hasn't been back to Bajor since his family fled twenty years ago. A Betazoid counselor comes up to him, hands him a drink – and then hands him an approved leave request for a week on Bajor complete with itinerary! Confused, Fal insists he never requested leave, but the counselor remains firm – Fal should take the opportunity to visit Bajor while the Alliance undergoes repairs. She threatens to drop him out an airlock and push him to Bajor if he refuses. Fal relents, and takes a shuttle to Bajor.

His week on Bajor starts poorly, as the scars of the Cardassian Occupation cut deep and many of the locals see only his lack of earring and his Starfleet uniform, rather then the Bajoran underneath. He challenges one of the locals, a one-armed fighter, and sharp words are exchanged. However, Fal offers to buy the man a drink, so the confrontation is averted and while they drink, the man tells his story; his arm was cut off by Cardassians for a crime another Bajoran committed. Fal tries to empathize, but fails and the meeting ends sourly. Fall wanders a bit more and transports up to his home village only to find it a water-filled crater; apparently the Cardassians bombed it years ago to smoke out resistance fighters. He has a run-in with a Bajoran monk, Vedek Oran, who checks his pagh and deems him following the path the Prophets have laid out for him. Cheered by that, the rest of his vacation proceeds a lot more smoothly and Fal returns to the ship feeling invigorated.

As soon as he returns, Fal is summoned to meet Captain Saavik privately. Saavik extends Starfleet's offer of transferring to the newly-minted U.S.S. Saber and become their Chief Science Officer. He asks who would take his place in Science on the Alliance; Captain Saavik replies that Ensign Cartwright is being considered. Fal declares Cartwright has a good head for equations but sometimes isn't bold enough; Captain Saavik promises to keep that under advisement. Fal accepts the transfer, and packs his possessions and reports to Deep Space Nine for a temporary billeting. He reviews his crew and their specialties, and the state of the Science Department aboard the Saber. The Saber has four Science labs, one which is dedicated to Life Sciences and three that can be configured; he also gets an office as Chief Science Officer and there is a HydroponicsBay. He assigns Master Chief Petty Officer Vado, an aging female Bolian who is skilled at biology, to oversee the Hydroponics Bay and puts in a request for Operations to configure Science Lab II as Astrometrics and Logistics, Lab III as Chemistry and Metals, and Lab IV as Particle Physics and Energy.

Starfleet Marine Squad CD-6741, under the command of Master Chief Petty Officer Tuvonn of Vulcan, is undergoing holographic training at Starbase 375. They are currently in full environmental suits and are attempting to take a Cardassian communications relay station by stealth – and ignoring the usual bickering between Tellarite brothers Petty Officer First Class Tarnoc and Crewman First Class Ganth – when the entire holodeck suddenly cuts out. The six marines immediately assume a defensive formation when Lieutenant Commander Seamus O'Neill comes striding in. O'Neil (loudly) informs them that they've been reassigned; their orders are to take a high-warp shuttle to Deep Space Nine and join a Starfleet crew on a mission into the Badlands in search of suspected Maquis rebels. The squad immediately strips out of their environmental suits, stores their gear, and races to the shuttle bay, where they find Ensign Lowe, a human female, waiting for them. Lowe asks if they need anything special for their trip, Tarnoc pipes up and jokes about a flea bath for Ganth. The others ignore the exchange, and after a four-and-a-half minute strip, shower, and dress routine, they bard the shuttle. The warp shuttle is a new Starfleet design, and is designed to fit two passengers comfortably – not six Marines. However, the Marines don't complain and Ensign Lowe breaks a few laws of space-time as she flies as fast as she can to Deep Space Nine. The trip takes two days.

Once they reach the station, they pass through Customs and are given a cargo bay to "play" in; the bay stores old, useless Cardassian computer parts which Starfleet doesn't care if the Marines use them for target practice. The squad claims the bay as "theirs" and sets up a firing range. Their practice is interrupted when Constable Odo appears behind them – without entering via the doors. Odo briefly talks with Tuvonn before departing, as long as the squad doesn't cause trouble, Odo doesn't care if they stay in the bay for a few days. After Odo leaves – this time through the door – Tuvonn has the communications and computer specialist Senior Chief Petty Officer Cila, a female Bolian, access the Cardassian computer and find out whatever she can about Odo while he runs the others through situational awareness drills. Cila comes back and informs them that Odo is a shapeshifter found near the mouth of the wormhole; his true origins are unknown currently. The Marines drill for the rest of the day, until Tuvonn receives orders to attend a briefing at 0900 hours station time tomorrow. He then grants his squad leaves by pairs, and warns them not to start too many fights. If they encounter Klingons, they are to remember that they are allies, and can invite them back for sparring.

Lieutenant Daphne Hatfield, a shuttle pilot stationed on Deep Space Nine, is currently pestering Chief Miles O'Brien as he ties to repair her favorite shuttle, the Ganges. O'Brien is on his back underneath her pilot's console trying to realign the EPS grid and trying not to injure the Lieutenant, who is technically higher ranked then he is. He also tries not to think about the sleeping bag stored permanently in the shuttle; Daphne claims it's for picnics. Luckily, Daphne's combadge chirps and she's summoned to Lieutenant Commander Stonn's office. Stonn is a male Vulcan in charge of the shuttles on the station. Daphne reports as ordered and Stonn states he has recommended her for a transfer to the new U.S.S. Saber as her Flight Control Officer. Thrilled, Daphne semi-represses her joy and thanks Stonn for the recommendation. She accepts the transfer and is dismissed. As soon as she's out of Stonn's office, she cries "Yes!" at the top of her lungs, which earns her a confused look from a passing ensign. Realizing her shuttle is grounded for the next day, she decides to log in some simulator time with a Saber-class vessel. Starfleet has installed a few simulation-decks for pilots, so she claims one of them, loads the Saber's parameters, and starts. She finds the ship to be very responsive, and soon frustrates the computer with some of her antics.

At roughly the same time, Lieutenant Melva Deline arrives on Deep Space Nine for some leave and to visit her best friend Daphne. She passes through Bajoran Customs with nary a glance from the bureaucrats; a Starfleet officer rarely makes any trouble. She heads through a hallway and passes Constable Odo and Science Officer Lieutenant Jadzia Dax. Dax is reviewing personnel files and comments about having to locate one Lieutenant Melva Deline, whose last name she mispronounces. Mel immediately corrects her, much to Jadzia's surprise and Odo's amusement. Jadzia explains that the U.S.S. Saber needs a Chief of Security, and she was on the short list of candidates. Dax offers her the transfer now, since if she accepts it's less busywork for Dax herself. Odo challenges Mel on her willingness to search vessels and enforce the law; her response impresses the shapeshifter so much he considers poaching her for station Security instead. Jadzia berates the Constable and Mel accepts the transfer. The two Deep Space Nine officers depart to file the transfer while Mel tries to find Daphne. She ends up on the Promenade, staring at the sign for Quark's Bar and Grille, until a polite voice behind her asks her if she's interested in purchasing a dress.

Mel turns and finds herself face-to-face with Garak, the Cardassian tailor. She talks with him for a few minutes and states she's not interested in purchasing a dress at this time, even if it is fine Tholian silk. She admits she's looking for a friend who's a shuttle pilot, and Garak helps her by explaining that Deep Space Nine has four shuttle bays, but once Mel mentions Daphne's favorite shuttle the Ganges, Garak immediately guesses she's looking for Daphne Hatfield and directs her to Shuttlebay 4. She thanks the Cardassian and heads to Shuttlebay 4, where she finds an ensign with a Type III phaser compression rifle standing guard by an open shuttle. The ensign directs her to the simulation-decks and explains that he has orders to shoot Daphne if she approaches the shuttle before Chief O'Brien finishes his repairs. Knowing full-well how annoying Daphne can be, Mel shakes her head and heads over to the simulators.

Daphne is so wrapped up in flying the simulator and harassing the computer she totally fails to notice Mel as she enters the simulator. The simulation-deck is a replication of the Conn station only; the rest is empty space, so Mel has room to stand behind Daphne until she notices her friend. There is a chatter-filled reunion, and both women are surprised and pleased to learn that for the first time since the Academy, they'll be once again serving together on the same ship.

The mission briefing is scheduled for 0900 hours station time, and Selense is the first person there, at 0855. He finds Commander Benjamin Lafayette Sisko already present and working on a PADD, and behind Sisko stands a female Vulcan with the rank pips of a Lieutenant Commander. Alberic fails to recognize her, but knows she's not Saval, so he presumes she's Starfleet Intelligence. Fal is the next to arrive at 0858, and Alberic greets him by name – from memory. Fal sits next to Selense and chats with him for a minute about the Saber. Both notice that in place of one chair is a large container of water, like a wading pool. Since Alberic already knows and Fal has heard rumors that an Arcadian will join their crew, they presume it's for her.

Mel is dragging Daphne to the meeting and reaches the door just in time to see said Arcadian – a female in Science blue – reach it as well. Yielding to the being with more mass, Mel stands aside as the non-humanoid Arcadian slithers into the conference room. Tuvonn arrives a split-second later, but yields to the officers. Alberic greets She-Who-Swims-Amidst-the-Stars politely, and by name, which impresses the Arcadian, and she says "She-Who-Swims" is an acceptable shortening of her name. Alberic also greets Daphne, Mel, and Tuvonn by name and from memory.

Once they're all assembled, Commander Sisko rises and introduces himself and the Vulcan as T'vala of Starfleet Intelligence, confirming Alberic's guess. T'vala seems to be a "Vulcan's Vulcan" and is unflinching. Sisko then extends the apologies of Commander Saval, as the Saber just docked at DS9 an hour ago and was having some engineering trouble, so she and Chief Engineer Cidhela will be delayed.

While they wait, Commander Sisko explains the details of the PDD, the Saber's shakedown cruise, and further details of the loss of Captain Harrington. Apparently, the exchange of fire between the Saber and the Cardassian warship was more intense then initially reported, and led to some significant damage. With the loss of her captain and the lack of a complete dedicated command crew, those assembled have been chosen. The assembled officers briefly introduce themselves to each other; She-Who-Swims tells Fal that she read one of his papers on stellar radiation in stars and managed to devise a radiation treatment from it, which confuses him.

A second later, the door chimes and Saval and Cidhela enter. Saval again apologizes for their tardiness as she takes her seat, everyone can tell she's exhausted and not bothering to hide it. Everyone does start at seeing their very attractive Chief Engineer as she explains the EPS system threatened to explode just after they docked. Fal's eyes linger an extra few seconds on Cidhela's combadge area before remarking that the Saber's systems were rumored to be very tough. Cidhela looks at him and sarcastically replies that after six hits from a Cardassian warship, toughness is relative. As Sisko resumes the briefing, Saval starts to take a look around the room, and her gaze stops at T'vala. Alberic and Mel notice the tension suddenly ratchet up, while Tuvonn realizes that both women actually despise each other for some unknown reason!

Recap originally published on Livejournal.