Captain's Log, Stardate 53111.7 I have been assigned the command of the Astra, a refitted Nova-class science vessel that was heavily damaged during the war with the Dominion. I am inheriting the majority of its crew, including their newly promoted first officer. Admiral Wendy has requested my presence to discuss our upcoming mission.

Captain Ayane Hara sat cross-legged in the chair across from Admiral Wendy's desk. "How do you expect me to take those inexperienced officers and pull off such a mission?" Her voice was calm but stern with a slight bite. It had been a year since Hara had lost her previous command, the Gemini, during the last stand against the Dominion. She was ready for her next assignment but the Admiral's ideas were outlandish. She wanted Hara to pull off a highly classified and important mission onto a tiny Nova-class ship. A science ship. To make it worse, the ship was filled with a young crew, fresh off of the loss of their own Captain.

Admiral Wendy sighed and leaned across the desk, her hands clasped tightly. "Yes, the Astra is run by a young crew but they have been through a trauma and need the guidance. They have proven that they are quite capable. They just need a strong and helping hand. Your hand."

Hara's dark almond shaped eyes narrowed. "You are asking me to take a ship full of traumatized Ensigns into a remote area of space to do work to break a treaty that they know nothing about. They don't need my hand. They need divine intervention."

"Captain, you know that things at the Neutral Zone are not going well. The Romulans faced a coup d'etat last month and we don't know where this new Praetor stands. Rumor has it that he might not approve of our wartime pact. Starfleet Intelligence has told us that they are building up a fleet. We want to be prepared," Admiral Wendy informed her.

"Yes, because the last time Starfleet tried this, it worked so well." Hara was a stern woman, born and raised in San Francisco to two Japanese Admirals. She had no problem calling out what she considered stupidity. It was what most Admirals thought was her strongest asset as a Captain.

"What happened last time, won't happen again," Wendy assured her.

"I am sure that you told that Captain the same exact thing…" Hara mumbled. "And if someone finds out and we are attacked, say by the Romulans, what will a little science vessel be able to do?"

"We have refitted the Astra with more weaponry, a better warp drive and increased sensor and shield capabilities. The ship is like the Defiant, small and powerful. This time, however, Starfleet has made sure that her energy output isn't through the roof. A standard cloak should hide the ship's energy signature," Wendy reassured her.

"But -"

"This is an order, Captain. No more room for debate. You will take command of the Astra and complete this mission. This is top secret and is only to be shared with key essential personnel. If you don't have to tell your first officer, then don't tell him. Do you understand me?"

Hara looked down on the floor. She truly had no choice but to follow out this mission. The least she could try would be to barter with the Admiral. "Fine," she said. "But I want Lieutenant Commander Soral as my chief Engineer. He served me well on the Gemini and if I am going to trust anyone on this mission, it will be that Vulcan."

"You can have him. Any other requests?"

"I want Dr. T'Meni as well. I don't want a green doctor."

"Alright, dismissed."

Hara stood up to leave and was almost out the door before she turned around to face Wendy. "Just don't say I didn't warn you."

First Officer's Log, Stardate 53117.1, We are preparing to leave Spacedock after months of repair and refit. I am nervous yet excited to get underway on my first mission as a first officer. Captain Hara comes aboard today and I am hoping that she can provide some answers about our mission objectives.

Newly promoted Lieutenant Commander Christopher Thomas walked slowly through the halls of the Astra. Just months ago, the ship had been falling apart. Bulkheads were hanging, debris was covering the floors and blood was smeared on the walls. Bodies of his friends, many of whom he considered family, were laying throughout the corridors. He would never forget what happened.

Captain James had died during the initial attack by the Dominion during the Battle of Cardassia and Commander Lefort had to take command. Rumor had it that after barely getting the ship out alive, Lefort had a nervous breakdown during the refit and quit Starfleet. Thomas had been the ship's helmsman and due to his gallant efforts during the battle, Starfleet decided to promote him to the ship's First Officer. Reluctantly, he took the job.

Thomas rounded the corner and entered Transporter Room 2, where he awaited the arrival of his new Captain, Ayane Hara. He knew little of his new Captain accept for the fact that she was very strict and she demanded the respect of the officers she oversaw. He missed Captain James and knew that ship moral was low since his passing as everyone loved and respected the Captain. The remaining crew, about twenty-seven of eighty, was very nervous about the changes a new Captain could bring to a ship as tight-knit as the Astra. Now, as First Officer, he had a duty to see these things and bring them to the Captain.

Since most of the crew had not arrived yet, the Transporter Room was empty. Thomas situated himself behind the controls and clicked his combadge. "Astra to McKinley Station. Ready for transport."

"Confirmed. Transporter engaged," a small voice echoed back.

The beginnings of the transporter beam appeared on the pad, widened and dissipated as Captain Hara materialized. She immediately walked off of the transporter pad with an air of confidence. Hara's salt and pepper colored hair was pulled back tightly into the standard Starfleet bun and her uniform was crisply ironed. Her face was sternly set and showed none of the nervousness that was coursing through Thomas at the moment.

Thomas stood at attention. "Lieutenant Commander Christopher T. Thomas, reporting to duty, Captain."

Hara merely glanced at him and then headed toward the doors. "Come along, Commander. We have much to do."

Thomas's jaw nearly dropped. Normally, upon arriving, the Captain would greet in return and have him return to an at ease posture. The Captain would then be escorted to the Bridge to meet the Command Crew. But Captain Hara clearly was not following protocol. Thomas hurried out the door behind her and easily caught up. Next to him, Hara was tiny, barely coming up to his shoulder but she radiated authority that made her seem bigger than she truly was.

"Has Commander Soral arrived?" she asked. They entered the turbolift at the end of the corridor and started toward the bridge.

"The Chief Engineer? No ma'am." The doors whooshed open and the two stepped out onto the bridge.

"Captain on the bridge," the calm voice of Lieutenant Asath Peles called out. Peles, an Andorian, was the ship's Tactical Officer as well as the Second Officer. He had been on the Bridge of the Astra when the Dominion attacked. The two of them and Lefort were the only bridge offers to survive that battle with the Jem'Hadar.

Hara seemed to ignore Peles and headed straight to her Ready Room. Thomas signaled to the bridge crew to be at ease and merely shrugged at Peles's confused face. He followed Hara into her Ready Room.

She was already seated at the desk, thumbing around her computer, not wasting one second. "Please take a seat, Commander. I don't mean to be so blunt but I am on a tight schedule from Starfleet and we need to get this ship out of space dock as soon as possible."

"Yes, sir. Is there anything you need me to do in order to make this happen?"

"When does the rest of the crew arrive?" Hara inquired, still not looking up from her computer console.

"About half of the crew is onboard. Senior staff wise, Commander Soral and Dr. T'Meni's transport from Vulcan will be arriving at 1700 hours. Lieutenants Peles and Taylor are already on board. Ensign Merra and Lieutenants Rogers and Ryan arrive early in the morning, sir." Thomas sat erect in his chair.

Hara never looked up from her computer. "And the components that Starfleet was supposed to deliver?"

"They have not arrived. They are scheduled to arrive tomorrow morning at the latest."

"Inform me when they have arrived and tell Commander Soral to report to me immediately. Dismissed."

Lieutenant Commander Soral was no stranger to the inside of Starfleet ships. In forty years, he had served on eleven different starships. He was the Chief Engineer for two of them, the last one being the Gemini, a Galaxy class starship. He was not the least bit surprised with Captain Hara requested him the Astra. However, he was not used to running such as small ship with such a small crew. Soral didn't understand the nature of this assignment. It was an illogical placement for Captain Hara after such a distinguished career.

After landing in the shuttlebay, he and Dr. T'Meni disembarked and were greeted by whom Soral logically concluded based on the pips on the red collar of his uniform, was the First Officer of the ship. The man was taller and blonde, younger than Soral would have thought.

"Lieutenant Commander Soral, welcome aboard the Astra. My name is Lieutenant Commander Christopher T. Thomas, First Officer. Captain Hara has ordered me to escort you to the bridge."

Soral nodded slowly. Logically, the Captain would want to brief him about their upcoming mission. She had been abrupt in her initial report. "And Dr. T'Meni?"

"I will have one of the Crewman escort her to her quarters and then Sickbay. There, she can meet her staff."

Thomas and Soral headed out of the shuttlebay, into the turbolight and up to the bridge. Soral was impressed of the efficiency of the bridge, despite its small size. The conn was set in the front and slightly behind it and to the side were the operations and tactical stations. Much like an Intrepid-class ship, the Captain's and First Officer's chairs were sunk slightly. Behind them, was a wide display and on either side were the science and engineering consoles. Thomas took his place at the First Officer's chair while Soral headed to the Captain's Ready Room. He pressed the chime and was immediately allowed to enter.

"Lieutenant Commander Soral, reporting for duty as requested, sir," Soral said once he had approached the Captain's desk.

Hara immediately stood at the sight of him and she gave him a small smile. "Welcome aboard, my old friend. Please have a seat."

Soral obliged.

"What do you think of Lieutenant Commander Thomas?" Hara inquired.

"He is quite young. Younger than I would have thought."

"Yes. Unfortunately, most of the crew is younger than I would have liked. Most of the officers have not had more than five years experience. Thomas has been serving for a little less than a decade and it doesn't seem like anyone else aboard this ship can top that."

"Then it is logical that you brought me aboard. These officers will need experience and it is best to have a seasoned officer to guide them," Soral remarked. "Captain, you mentioned that Starfleet had a special assignment for the Astra. May I inquire to the purpose of our mission?"

Hara's angular face went pale. "Our mission is somewhat interesting yet dangerous. Starfleet Command is worried about the stability of the Romulan Empire as well as how easily the Dominion was able to locate and penetrate our ships. They have ordered us to Bajor."

"Captain, if they have ordered us to protect Deep Space 9 and the wormhole, a Nova-class starship will not be very good in a fight if faced with Dominion rebuttal." Soral would not normally be so blunt with a commanding officer but his relationship with Hara of many years warranted the logic.

"Our phasers have been updated and strengthened. Our torpedo launchers have been increased from three to six and we have been given an emergency load of quantum torpedoes. But we are not orbiting Bajor to protect the station." Hara pulled a padd out of her desk. "This is to remain top secret. Not even Lieutenant Commander Thomas knows and you are to only involve officers as needed. Soral, we are here to build something that could shift the power in the Alpha Quadrant." Hara slid the padd across the desk.

Soral picked up the padd and started to read it. After two or so lines, Soral lifted a slanted eyebrow. "This is very interesting, indeed."

"Welcome to the Astra," a strange voice called out as the airlock door slid open. Lieutenant Junior Grade Lucas Ryan stepped through the airlock to meet an extremely blue man.

Lieutenant Asath Peles was a true Andorian - tall and lean, powder blue skin and antenna, closely cropped white hair. His antenna, which extended out from his forehead, twitched and moved slightly at unknown stimuli. A warm smile was on his face.

Peles extended his hand to Ryan, following Human custom. "I am Lieutenant Asath Peles, Tactical Officer and Second Officer. Welcome aboard."

Ryan matched his smile. "Lieutenant Junior Grade Luke Ryan, Helmsman."

Peles extended his arm down the corridor. "This way, Lieutenant. I was assigned to escort you to your quarters and then to the bridge."

Ryan didn't have time to respond as Peles was already headed down the corridor and was almost out of sight. Peles had grabbed one of his suitcases and it was swinging at his side. Ryan wasn't short but found that his legs were much shorter than Peles's and had a hard time keeping up with his long stride.

Ryan rounded the corridor and nearly bumped into Peles as he had stopped in front of another Starfleet officer. The woman peered around Peles and her face immediately darkened.

The young woman was short and lean with beautiful blonde hair. Ryan's face erupted into a big, goofy smile. Ryan hadn't seen Lieutenant Junior Grade Nicolette Taylor since they had parted ways from the Academy, leaving a three-year relationship in the dust.

"Lieutenant, this is Lieutenant Junior Grade Lucas Ryan, Helmsman. And, this is Lieutenant -" Peles began.

"Nik and I are well-acquainted, if you know what I mean" Ryan interrupted, giving her a little wink. At that comment, Taylor scowled at him.

Peles glanced at both of them with confusion and his antenna twitched. "Where are you headed, Lieutenant?"

"To Transporter Room 2. Cody is coming back on board and I thought he would like to see a friendly face," Taylor responded, dropping some of the formality. "If you would excuse me, sir. Lieutenant Ryan." Taylor ducked around them and disappeared down the corridor.

Ryan watched her move down the hall and then turned back to Peles. "Now that is a sight that I never expected to see again."

Peles didn't seem phased. "This way, Lieutenant."

Captain's log, Stardate 531120.6. All of the crew has boarded and Soral has informed me that all of the components requested and needed for his work have arrived. We are getting ready to be under way and are scheduled to depart this afternoon.

"Captain on the bridge!"

Captain Hara walked over from her ready room to her chair on the bridge. Thomas was already at his chair, standing at attention. "At ease. Commander Thomas, status of our departure?"

Thomas stiffly dropped into his chair. "Ready for departure. Awaiting your command, sir." He was unaccustomed to leading a ship out of spacedock instead of flying it, something he would have to get used to if he was going to be a decent First Officer.

"Alright Commander, take us out."

Thomas swallowed hard. "Bridge to Engineering. Prepare to depart McKinley Station and to go to warp."

"Engineering here. Standing by for warp, sir," Soral's measured voice came over the comm channel.

"Lieutenant Taylor, hail McKinley station." Thomas waited for Taylor to nod before answering. "McKinley Station, this is the Astra. Requesting permission for departure."

"Departure approved Astra. Fly safe."

Thomas leaned forward in his chair. "Alright, Mr. Ryan, thrusters only, take us out of spacedock."

"Aye, sir. Thrusters ahead." Ryan's fingers moved daintily over the controls and took them out of spacedock.

"Mr. Ryan, set a course for Bajor. Warp three."

"Aye, sir." Ryan inputted the command.

"Engage."

The Astra bolted forward, ready to start its mission.