Collab between [@Burning Kitty] and [@TheUnknowable]
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A console beeped and Kira spoke up. "Sir, we just picked up a ship of unknown design."

"Hail them." said Sisko, and Kira pushed the button to do just that. "Unknown vessel, this is the Bajoran Space Station Deep Space 9. You have just entered Bajoran space. Please identify yourselves."

"Identity is complicated if you are not used to Cybertronians. The ship is called the Epistemus. I am called Cosmos. My team and I are separate entities from it, we can live even if the Epistemus is destroyed but we are whole only with Epistemus. We were traveling via Transwarp. Transwarp is short for Transwarp Space which is an expanse of nothingness that acts as a buffer between dimensions sandwiched between the infinite universal streams that make up the multiverse. With a Transwarp Engine one can travel through that nothingness at speeds incapable of being achieved by any other means. It has problems some find themselves in different time periods, trapped in Transwarp Space for all eternity, or like ourselves found in a different universe than our own. We may need to borrow some tools to repair our Transwarp Engine. Ours might be lost in Transwarp Space, buried in ruble, just destroyed. Haven't found them yet. So what now?"

"I assume by the description you gave, you are a joined cybernetic or cyborg race, with host and symbiote able to act independently. My science officer is a member of a joined species as well, so it isn't that unusual. I will send our Chief Engineer and Science Officer to meet you. Is your vessel compatible with our docking ports?" He motioned to Kira who sent the Epistemus the schematics for the station's docking ports. "Otherwise, we'll need to use the transporters to bring you and your crew aboard."

"My people are the Cybertronians. We are race sentient mechanical self-configuring modular robotic lifeforms from the planet Cybertron. Most of us are capable of transforming into various vehicular modes, I used to but a new fuel source stripped me of that. We have something similar to your joined. We call them many names depending on their function but it is not permanent and multiple can be joined to a single larger one and can be swapped out at will. Collectively we are the Master race a subset of the standard Cybetronians, I am an Action Master." He was reviewing the files sent over. "While we talked I was reviewing the files. Had to convert them to a file format I could read. If conversion didn't screw anything up, I should be able to dock."

"Very well," said Sisko, "lower pylon 2." He nodded at her and Kira sent the coordinates, then cut the transmission.

"Dax, O'Brien, lower pylon 2." He nodded at them in turn. "Kira, you're with me." With that the four of them got in the turbolift and ordered it to take the to their proper pylons, Sisko and Kira going to upper pylon 2 to meet the Odyssey.