((Blythe Bridge))

“Relay the request from the Dergans to our CMO please Mr. Singh, have her prepare a treatment plan and options to help the Dergans with their withdrawal issues. Note that we still want as light of a touch as possible though.” Tyler said after reviewing the Dergans response to their last communique.

They had also agreed to allow a few small science teams from the Blythe to beam down and investigate a few ruins they had found on the planet. One, being a spire obelisk noted in a remote desolate region of the northern continent by their orbital surveys.

“Aye sir. The Irrawaddy is also reporting that they are about to arrive back at Formica.” Singh said. The ships Danube with LCdr Ingram, the Diplomats deputy and a 6 person engineering team, were going to spend a few days surveying and inspecting the Formicans ships to see what assistance and refits they could suggest. The Ferengi seemed quite willing to allow the Starfleeters to offer whatever assistance could be given to each species, likely because they would just have the Dergans and Formicans share it all with them on the back end.

“Thank you, acknowledge the signal Lt…uh, you have the bridge Number One, I’d like to go and meet with our science teams and prepare a plan for these archeological expeditions.”

“Roger sir, I have the conn.” Wong said as Tyler grabbed a padd and made for the turbolift.

Wong then had a seat in the big chair and pulled up the most recent tactical plots of the system as a whole. Though things had gone fairly smoothly so far, Wong was concerned by some of the movements of the various Ferengi vessels. As a fighter pilot and tactician by nature Wong was worried that their movements indicated one of two things. They were either trying to hide something, or they were feeling threatened. Either could make them act in wild and unpredictable ways.

((USS Irrawaddy, Rear Cabin))

“So, everyone squared away on the plan?” Ingram said. Their plan was fairly simple. The team of engineers would be split into 3 pairs, one would beam down to the surface and inspect a few vessels that were under construction,the second would beam over to a completed Formican vessel in orbit near the Ferengi station. The final pair would stay on the Irrawaddy and complete an exterior survey of the ships, and then serve as a standby crew. Ingram and the Diplomat meanwhile would beam down to the Formican capital and continue discussions aimed at opening up formal diplomatic relations between the Formicans and the Federation.

After a chorus of aye and yes sirs Ingram added “Remember, this is a totally new life form, and though they appear friendly, be aware of your surroundings. The Irrawaddy is going to maintain a transporter lock on all of us when we leave the ship. You all are just here to help them with their engines and warp drives. The Lt and I will handle the diplomacy.”

“Let’s go meet some giant ants, and help em with their engines,” One of the engineers said.

((IKS Slivin, Bridge))

Mereg, the recently promoted first officer, sat in the command chair, as it was his shift and his right. But that had been all he had done too. He had just sat there, as he had for several of his other shifts on the bridge when he was in command. Indeed the only command he had given was when the Tactical watchstander had reported a signal from the Blythe, he had replied ‘Acknowledged receipt and forward the communique to my station and the Captain.’

Aside from acknowledging several other routine status reports. That’s all he had done for 12 hours. Just sat there, like a stone. Plej, the ships Chief Steward had noticed too.

((Blythe Cetacean Ops))

The meeting with the science department in the main lab had gone well. Though they were almost fully staffed now, being a command and engineering variant of the California Class, the science team only had about 20 personnel total. The decision was made to send a team to the spire, and a smaller more archeologically focused group to the smaller set of partially buried ruins near the southern pole.

Before turning in, Tyler decided to make a pit stop, and let the cetaceans know about the news he had heard from Professor Schwarz.

“Schwarz, you mean -thee- Peter Schwarz. The guy who helped make Oceania 5 a thing? The guy on all the cetacean rights holovids? The guy who married a cetacean, the leader of the great work stoppage of 2387? That Peter Schwarz?” Joe squeeked.

“I mean, yeah, that’s the guy.” Tyler said, though he hadn’t heard anything about that last bit. He made a note to himself to look up the event in 2387.

“And him and you are sending a memo to the Federation Council and Starfleet Command about our list of greivances?”

Tyler shrugged and nodded in the affirmative.

“Holy shit that’s fucking cool boss..thats’s nicest damn thing any humanoids ever done for a cetacean in my opinion.” And right then and there the dolphin, who was emotionally fragile at the best of time, broke down and wept out of joy.

“I mean, its just a memo Joe, but it was my pleasure.” Tyler said cheerfully. It was now 17 days before the memo would be sent.