Captain’s Log, Stardate 79341.7

We mapped the Vaadwaur Supremacy’s manipulations across the stars like some wicked constellation.

The commanders of Constellation and Odyssey Squadron identified a pattern in the Supremacy’s interference across the Nacene Reach. To our knowledge, this has been their only activity in all of the Delta Quadrant, and they’ve been pushing space-faring civilisations away from one asteroid field in particular.

Odyssey Squadron is slipstreaming ahead to secure the asteroids, which we believe to be rich in a type of dilithium that remains stable at extremely high warp. What the Vaadwaur would need with dilithium remains in question.

Constellation Squadron remains at Rakosa Five to rally our Nacene Reach coalition towards investigating the asteroid field, and keeping this resource away from the Supremacy’s military machine.

“If I can call your attention,” Taes said in a resonant voice that sounded accustomed to only having to ask once.

From his vantage point on the second level of the atrium, Nune couldn’t quite make out the gleaming silver bar underlining her four pips, but her entire bearing shone after her recent promotion to fleet captain.

Taes took position on the first landing of the grand ramp. The docking spire’s marbled walls soared dizzyingly high, lined with sage-green carpets leading to each docking port. The Nacene Reach delegates made final arrangements in the concourse below, exchanging information and gathering last-minute resources from their Rakosan hosts.

Their numbers had grown exponentially since their first days on Rakosa V. Three sects of Kazon kept a wary distance from each other. At the same time, Haakonians huddled together, apart from the mingling Vidiians and Talaxians. Dozens of silver Pralor Automated Personnel Units from the four battleships in orbit had joined the original party, and, as agreed, no golden Cralic APUs had joined them.

When too few of them paused, when too few of them looked up at Taes, she tapped her combadge with the pattern that activated its voice amplification function.

“We came here as strangers,” Taes said, “with bones broken by the Vaadwaur’s schemes. Our hearts ached from the trust we lost through the years, and that’s exactly how the Vaadwaur wanted us. They wanted us to look inward, to blame one another. They thought they could manoeuvre us into destroying ourselves. Instead, we fly together, a dagger into the secrets the Vaadwaur would keep.”

Ascending the ramp, a large group of Trabe leaders and their protection personnel turned in Nune’s direction. Nune focused on Taes another moment longer until he was sure the Trabe were closing the distance between them. He expected to have more time.

Nune elbowed the man by his side, Counselor Turro. He offered Turro a widescreen PADD and an apologetic frown.

“This is the final list of cargo we’ve promised to the Trabe,” Nune explained. “Taes instructed that you, and you alone, could release the cargo containers from the runabout Takeshewada. Without your approval, the runabout will return to Constellation immediately.”

Turro winced. From reading his face as much as his emotions, Turro looked to be sorting out the puzzle of any last-minute objections he could file, but his heart wasn’t in it anymore. He was resigned to the responsibility. Turro closed his eyes.

“Approved,” he whispered.

“I’m so sorry. That’s not enough. I’m so sorry,” Nune said as evenly and quickly as he could muster. Having served on Taes’s senior staff on and off, Nune had been in Turro’s boots all too recnetly.

After zooming in on the authorisation, Nune handed off the PADD to Turro, saying, “Governor Vesht will be with you to receive delivery momentarily.”

Nune didn’t wait for a reaction. He backed into a crowd of Talaxians and followed their flow toward Taes.

Her voice rising in intensity, Taes said, “The threat of the Vaadwaur stretches well beyond the the United Federation of Planets. They threaten the Delta Quadrant. They threaten anyone who dares chart their future. The Vaadwaur think we’re afraid of the unknown. They don’t understand that when the trail goes cold under a pall of shadows, that’s when explorers shine.”

Nune only ditched his Talaxian distraction when he was could see the Trabe had surrounded Turro. He joined Yuulik and Nova, who were watching Taes’s speech. Quickly, he discovered the Trabe might have been less frightening.

Even though Yuulik had eyes on Taes, she pleaded with Nova, “Babe, I admit it. I’m the reason we fell apart. I’m too ambitious. I’m too –fine, I’ll say it– I’m too brilliant for my own good. But you always knew that about me, even since I was a cadet. You liked that about me.”

Fist in hand, Nova audibly cracked her knuckles. “Yuulik, you dumped me before we ever got together. Like an idiot, I followed you around like a puppy, and I thought that made me your girlfriend.”

“It’s not like me,” Yuulik said. “It’s not like me to make so many mistakes. And I’ve made nothing but mistakes in how I handled our relationship. I miss you, Indira.”

“I receive that,” Nova firmly said. “But I don’t. I don’t miss you. I love what we meant to each other, but I don’t do time loops anymore.”

Attracting every eye in the atrium, Taes declared, “We don’t know what awaits us in that asteroid field. It could be more data, it could be danger, or it could be nothing but dilithium. Whatever we find, we’re going to face it together. We’re not enemies anymore, and we’re not even strangers. We are a unified coalition. We are unafraid. Let’s fly, our hands linked in friendship.”

From the concourse floor, the Starfleet officers began to clap. After ten seconds, twenty, it spread to the other gathered delegates. One of the Pralor APUs –Nune suspected it to be Automated Commander 74– raised his hand. Despite the distance between them, he reached a hand to Taes in friendship.

A blue energy bolt lanced from the palm of his hand, burning right through Taes’s midsection. She was knocked back by the impact, tumbling to the ramp before the Pralor filled the atrium with more blasts and bawling and blood.