— Pegasus, Lounge, USS Andromeda —

Running a starship the size of the USS Andromeda was well beyond anything that Captain Olivia Carrillo’s career had prepared her for up until that point. The USS Luna and USS Selene had been fine ships, the kind of ships that you could have spent a good career running, but they were ships. Her job had been straightforward, tell the flight control officers where to go, the science officers what to study and the security officers what to blow up. There hadn’t been a civilian crew, there hadn’t been a legion of diplomats, and there had not been anything other than the mission.

She’d never been a mayor, had never even considered politics, but she had the feeling commanding the Andromeda was a lot like being  mayor of a small town.  You mostly ensured you had good people in the key positions and then looked the right way for the public. There was a university’s worth of research going on, especially if you threw in the data that they’d been handed by the USS Adelaide which was accompanying them in the Gamma Quadrant,  and she no longer had any real handle on what they were doing research wise. Their primary mission of showing the flag and mending fences with the Gamma Quadrant powers, aside from the Dominion, was mostly on Federation Ambassador T’Venik and not on Carrillo. So in many ways she was there for the ride and to manage this sprawling city in space. 

The lounge, one of several on the ship, was quiet. The captain was one of the only crew members currently there. Though it was not reserved for senior staff, the crew tended to prefer the lounges near the front of the ship and the large bay windows. The yet unnamed lounge on deck ten was fast becoming a favourite. The quiet here allowed Carrillo to think, and to get away  from the constant demands on her attention that she had to deal with on the bridge.

Federation Ambassador T’Venik entered, nodded at the bartender and made her way to Carrillo’s table at the back of the lounge next to one of the viewports. Without invitation she sat down, joining the captain.

“Captain,” the Ambassador said nodding her head.

“Ambassador,” Carrillo said, more formally with the Vulcan woman than she would have been with a full member of the ship’s crew. 

“The Bishmar delegation has left the ship,” the Ambassador said. The departure had been right on schedule, and the visit had been so low stress that Carrillo had not even been involved. The diplomatic corps including T’Venik and her Chief Diplomatic Officer Lieutenant Commander Diya Acharya had handled everything. 

“We’re about to head back, a few more days and we’re heading back to Starbase 86,” Carrillo said, though she knew that T’Venik would already know that, “The USS Adelaide is joining us later today. They have a large number of samples, and scans that our science teams will get to start in on.”

“Commander Sok seems efficient,” the Vulcan woman noted, complimenting the other Vulcan in a way that only Vulcans would appreciate. Carrillo understood that calling the commanding officer of the USS Adelaide ‘efficient’ was basically the highest compliment that the woman could give. As far as the human knew ‘efficient’ in Vulcanize could mean anything from efficient to noting that the man had a cute butt.

“We’ll be restocking and recreating at Starbase 86, taking on a JAG team. Will your team be sticking with us?” Carrillo asked. T’Venik had her own chain of command, and it was not always clear to  Carrillo what the diplomatic team was meant to be doing. 

“I anticipate remaining with the Andromeda for the foreseeable future,” T’Venik said. She was about to add something when Carrillo’s commbadge beeped. Carrillo hit it, activating it.

The voice of first officer Commander Kan Th’kaotross sprung forth, “Captain we have a situation on the bridge.”

Carrillo nodded, mostly to herself, and said, “On my way.”

— Bridge, USS Andromeda —

Carrillo sat at the centre chair and looked up at the screen. The pair of Jem’Hadar Battleships moved almost leisurely across the field of stars on the view-screen. Next to them about a dozen Jem’Hadar Attack Fighters buzzed, moving in and out of view.

“Chances they’ve spotted us?” Carrillo asked.

Her Andorian first officer glanced at her and without a trace of irony said, “One hundred percent.”

“Contact the Adelaide, if we can. Let them know the situation and keep them from approaching,” Carrillo said. She did not ask for a tactical analysis. The Jem’Hadar ships could beat the Andromeda in a standup fight. Their only hope was that it didn’t come to open hostilities. “Make sure the communication is unprotected, and obvious. We want the Jem’Hadar to know we have a ship on the outskirts of the conflict zone.”

“The Adelaide won’t make much difference in a fight,” Th’kaotross pointed out.Carrillo nodded, “No but they’re faster than the Jem’Hadar ships, and they can report back that the Dominion slaughtered over a thousand Federation civilians.”

Th’kaotross looked unhappy that the captain’s plan seemed to be to be killed and then have another ship go report what happened. Still he did not object, largely because his honour as an Andorian would now allow him to complain about making a pointless but noble last stand against overwhelming enemy forces.

At the communications terminal Lieutenant Randolph McKenzie spoke up, “Captain, we’re receiving an incoming hail. It’s from one of the battleships.”

“On screen, let’s see what they want to talk about.”