He couldn’t help but feel that he should’ve handled that better.

Captain Strenn felt the rush of air against his service uniform as the sliding doors to his ready room closed behind him. With that brief breeze, he felt the weight of the universe pile even heavier on his shoulders. This would be no simple mission into Romulan space - the Commodore’s speech had all but assured that - but rather a complex web of alliances and diplomacy.

And he had to remind himself that he had trained for this, in fact he had spent his entire career before the Dominion War as a Starfleet diplomat. His career, before the War, was defined by his ability to solve diplomatic problems no matter how complex. He had won awards, acclaim, and respect for it. But now, after the War, the only thing that ever seemed to matter - the only thing that ever seemed to define him anymore - was the two years spent in total war, embroiled in the bloodiest battles the Galaxy had ever seen.

With a regretful sigh, he sat down at his haze-grey desk and turned on the computer sitting in the center of the table. It lit up and he immediately went into his official communications. Right at the top, above the nonsense and the chitter-chatter of the humdrum Starfleet captain’s comminques, was a message from Commodore Doma.

He hesitated.

Strenn knew that he would have to open it, and his finger moved the cursor over the message, entitled ‘FOR CAPTAIN’S EYES ONLY,’ but he wanted to delay it. If he could, he would banish it - he would banish all of this - from existence. Everything to do with Romulus, with Starfleet, with the whole Universe if he could. Knowing that he could not delay fate, as much as he could not change the past, he clicked on the message and a box opened, detailing the entirety of the Commodore’s message:

“TO: Captain Strenn, son of Soral, Starfleet Naval Forces
Commanding Officer, USS Vigilance
 
You are hereby requested and required, immediately upon receipt of these orders, to proceed at highest speed possible with USS HAMMERSLEY to the DOMUK'AZEN System (SSPR-78125) and make contact with Senator Linora Tiros. You are then to escort the Senator and her entourage to the HASSELEH System (SSPR-9014) in full haste to ensure that she will join the Romulan Provisional Government. The Senator has much sway with the more liberal-minded governors and her presence within the RPG will add to its credibility and stability.
 
This is a TIME-CRITICAL MISSION, and thus must be executed with haste to ensure that the Senator does not fall victim to hostile action. You are given extreme operational discretion to ensure that this task is completed successfully, short of what could be called 'gunboat diplomacy,' as quickly as possible.
 
Commodore Doma, Starfleet Naval Forces
Commanding Officer, Federation Forces, Joint Task-Force
USS Courageous”

As he read the message, he felt a little relieved. But only a little.

It was an easy enough mission. They would, with one of the Meteor-class destroyers, sail off at high warp to some godforsaken system, pick up a Senator, and bring her to the Provisional Government’s capital. But he was too smart to ignore what was hidden in between the lines, too perceptive to disregard the obvious written in plain Standard before him.

There were rumors already of hostile bands of raiders roaming Romulan space. There were fleets of old Imperial Navy officers who refused to align with the Provisional Government, and instead pledged their allegiance to the new Emperor, or to a cabal of Military Governors. And that  didn’t even include the multitude of fractured nation-states, comprised of the Slave Races now itching for independence.

He breathed deeply. He could do this. He had to do this. It was a simple mission - a test of his capabilities. And there was no room for failure.

Strenn pressed down on a button located on his desk, which routed a message up throughout the ship, “All Department Heads, report to the Main Conference Room at 1815.” 

Fifteen minutes for them all to arrive. And fifteen minutes to center himself enough to brief them on the mission. 

It would have to be enough.

***

“Thank you all for coming on short notice, but most of you were on the bridge anyway, so it should not have taken up much of your time.”

Commander Udrus smirked as their Vulcan Captain sat at the end of the long oak table, the senior staff of the Ship’s Company - as well as the commanding officer of the embarked Marines - sitting along the table. He didn’t need to be a Betazoid to tell that the Captain was on edge. Most remarkably, especially for a Vulcan, he could tense the tension on his face. Most strange...strange indeed...he thought to himself as the Captain continued.

The Vulcan pressed a button on his end and a holographic display appeared at the center of the table. The holographic projectors were a new-found wonder of Starfleet, and it made briefings far more interesting. It was a depiction of the current position of the Vigilance, and then two star systems some light years away.

“The Vigilance, with the assistance of the Hammersley, proceed to SSPR-78125, known to the Romulans as Domuk’azen, to retrieve a high value individual, a senator by the name of Linora Tiros. Once we make contact with her, we will bring her to the capital of the Provisional Government and ensure her safety en route. It is believed that her life is in danger from any number of the threats now present in the former Empire, so time is of the essence in this mission. I trust that all of you are capable officers, and will be able to fulfill this simple mission.”

The Vulcan paused, scanning the room with nervous eyes - can Vulcans be nervous? - before clearing his throat, “are there any questions? Or any concerns? Please raise them now before we proceed.”

Udrus had a few, but he decided to wait for the rest of the Ship’s Company to ask theirs.

Security Chief Rokuua was the first to speak up, “Will any individuals need to come aboard? On board Security forces are limited due to the quickness we were set en route, so it would be recommended we prepare with the Hammersley to determine who is best equipped to take on the Senator in case her ship is damaged.”

“The Senator will embark aboard the Vigilance,” Strenn spoke resolutely, mustering as much courage as he could summon, “she will be retrieved from her planet and brought aboard our ship for the journey to the Hasseleh system.”

The Vulcan felt something stir in him. Was it Destiny? Was it Fate? He had no idea.

“The Hammersley is there to provide us an escort in case of an emergency,” the Vulcan was almost tempted to crack a relaxing smile, before he realized it would be more unsettling if he did so, “the Vigilance is an aged vessel, and thus she needs an escort wherever she goes.”

The Saurian took some notes on his pad, “I recommend we seal off decks 20 to 25 with containment fields and keep her confined within those decks for the duration. It’ll be simpler to keep her safe…”

Lt Cmdr Lox spoke up, “What kind of resistance are we expecting? Do we know how well organized the extra-provisional government operatives are?”

“I concur, Commander,” the Vulcan Captain agreed with the Security Officer, “but I suspect our Senator is independently minded. We should allow her free rein throughout the ship, but restrict her from all the major workspaces,” he paused for a moment to consider the Trill’s input, “we are expecting anything. Starfleet is currently in the dark on the exact resistance movements within the Empire, but we must be ready for anything.”

Lox sat back and contemplated a moment, “it reminds of those novels about the Wild West from Earth’s history, there’s no governing body and the threat of violence everywhere. So far we have full torpedo compliments and our offensive capabilities are at max, surprisingly. Chief Horst, do we have anything to worry about as far as our shields are concerned?”

Chief Engineer Horst piped up, happy to have something to add, “Well no, absolutely not. This old bird has polished circuitry when it comes to weapons and defense systems, our scientific equipment could use some upgrading though, our main deflector dish…” Lt. Commander Lox raised his hand for the engineer to stop before he got too far into the unnecessary babble. 

Lieutenant Commander Rexa Avurem sitting near the towering, dark skinned marine was, in her mind, a rather odd contrast. Her height and build made the Betazoid the shortest and nimblest of the officers around the table. As a full blood Betazoid, she was naturally more flexible - bulky muscles were not natural for her planet. Concentrating, allowing her mind to feel the room, she could sense the nervous energy, the anticipation, and a little bit of eagerness, bravado in the mix. The Vulcan Captain, however, put her on edge a little, his unreadable wall, she had long ago gotten used to being able to at least know a person's rough intentions and driving emotions. She could feel danger coming. But with him? She had nothing.

Hearing the deep tones of the Major, he projected a confidence and he gave off a feeling almost of controlled fire. Her response was beaten by a second so she took time to calm her abilities. “We need to know who is taking the lead on recovery. If this gets tense we may start a battle, and far as i can see, we are not at our best for combat. We need time to simulate and pick a steady insertion team who can handle the pressure on the ground. Any way we do this, we need to know to prep ” The Saurian was a Professional, but maybe not the most diplomatically minded. “If you decide to utilize the Ship's Force, my Marines can pick up the slack on watchstanding duties here aboard.”

Taking a chance before one of the others jumped in, Rexa Avurem hid her feelings well but had one concern. “Do we know what race our Senator is, if she is wounded or it goes south, it would help to know, a few minutes getting the right drugs or treatments could mean life or death. My department can handle it, but forwarning is useful.” The Betazoid Doctor was a great believer in prepared plans, winging it was asking for trouble. Blunt, bitch or whatever they said, she knew a dead Senator on her beds would be risking all their lives. 

Commander Rokuua responded, “She’s Havarsth-Romulan, I’ve reviewed her background, she’s been working in the Senate since she was 20 and supports strong policies for the population, I guess she doesn’t have to worry about that much anymore does she?” The Saurian sat back after making the brutal statement. He turned to the Marine, “I’ll accept your staff on security, gladly, but inside the ship I have jurisdiction, so your boys will answer to me until the Captain says otherwise. Are those acceptable terms Major?”

The Major relaxed a little, they were not butting heads like the classic movies made out, drama queens and egos the size of red giants. He could work with this. “That’s acceptable. Main departments and important passage ways we can handle. But I need to keep my own sentries on our Cargo bays and armory as well.” 

The Doctor nodded and noted down on a pad she tended to keep handy or some form of recording information. Remembering her rather embarrassing pre mission briefing.. polite..“Thank you. While I am here, Lt Cmdr Lox, can you pop by my Office some time when you're free. It's not Urgent.” Keeping it fairly low key. She did need to update his file, just not blurt it out to the whole staff, Bitch yes. Professional Bitch also. There were any number of things she did including basic physicals. Feeling more Nerves, apathy, stress. Science. That was Science. 

“Nothing new to my department. The sensors work, but expect a few lights to blink and other minor issues. This hull’s older than most of us and she’s been modified to hell and back. We’re working, but the bugs need ironing out. The Vigilance is a temperamental Lady. Having had the pleasure of working with Romulans in the past,I can say though with definite experience, The Senator, if she’s like any of the Romulans I’ve had to work with...well...they can test your patience. Need some cool heads on her personal security.” The Science Officer had worked with them, spent weeks debating a short trip. Hours on itinerary and entire reems of documents and forms to access a single library. It was almost a labour of Hercules to complete his treatise.  

“Well, if that’s all, you’re dismissed,” Captain Strenn seemed to cut it all off with a wave of his hand as he rose to his feet. It was abrupt, sudden, and to all except him he was sure that they were eyeing him with suspicion and curiosity as he walked over towards the great windows looking out into deep space. The Vulcan could hear the shuffling of feet as they walked away from him, leaving the room one by one. He could feel their presences withdrawing from the room, and he felt himself growing more and more at ease, watching the stars flutter by.

But he knew, in his heart, that this calmness would not last. It would not last the hour.