"According to long range scans, the Borg are less than eight hours out"

This was it. This was the time. I had heard a lot about the Borg. I knew of their rigidly logical nature, their unnatural precision, their implacable nature. That didn't scare me. What scared me was that if you weren't careful, they'd make you like that too.

It was an almost cruel irony. In a time many years ago, my ancestors fled their homes to escape the unemotional machine-like logic that the Vulcans tried to force upon them. Now I was fighting a race that seemed like the ultimate evolution of them. Sure, maybe the Vulcans weren't so aggressive, but the comparison still worked in some strange way.

"Commander D'Maec-" Here we go "-you are to lead your Romulan troops to defend the spaceport. It will be up to you to ensure the civilian evacuation goes to plan."

"Alright. You can count on us. " I tried to keep my voice confident. It meant a lot that the Federation was willing to trust a Romulan force to carry out such a critical stage. I wasn't willing to prove them wrong. Admiral Cartwright leaned in closer to me, seemingly ignoring the rest of the officers in the room for a moment.

"Ensure that my trust was well placed. Vice Admiral T'nae didn't like this one bit, it was me who overrode her-" he said, voice in a half whisper. He returned to his previous position, back straight and voice loud "I will be leading the first wing personally. We will attempt to destroy or disable the Borg Spearhead. If we are unsuccessful, Captain Keller-" he gestured towards one of the (many) humans sitting along the table "-will lead his wing to break up any beachhead they attempt to form."

"The U.S.S. Warspite and her wing are ready" Replied (presumably) Keller, along with a salute.

"Excellent. While we make offensive actions, Vice Admiral T'nae and her two wings will be defending space above Jrak colony. Hopefully the combined efforts of T'nae, Keller and I will keep the Borg from landing troops. If not, it will fall to the Romulan forces and the colonial militia to save as many civilians as possible… Any questions?" Quiet fell for a moment. "Good. Relay these orders to your crews. Good luck everyone… We may need it."

The briefing was over. Almost everyone had left, although a handful of officers had stayed behind to continue planning. I was among that handful, although for slightly different reasons. No one here trusted me, most could barely look me in the eyes. How can you form a successful fighting front when you never speak to half your peo-

"Oi, D'maec" my train of thought crashed. "Over here." Keller was the source of the interruption. He was standing with a handful of other officers, next to a medium sized glass pane on the far side of the fairly large meeting room. I make my way over, trying to not look too annoyed at the sudden interruption.

"Yes? What do you want?" I asked when I got closer.

"You seemed to be doing nothing but standing still and glowering at people. I thought you'd appreciate something to do." He replied, sounding much less formal than earlier. I redoubled my efforts to appear calm, trying to suppress the building urge to just return to my ship and re-join my people.

"Glowering? I-"

"It was a joke mate. Still, you didn't seem to be making much of an effort to talk to someone and get involved. God knows T'nae and her people would give you much more glares and insults, so I decided to put all my diplomatic training to use and extend the hand of friendship" I thought that Starfleet would've done a better job with their sensitivity training.

"You didn't do very well" … maybe I could use some of that sensitivity too.

"Maybe there's a reason I'm out here fighting drones instead of schmoozing some alien king… Still, I'd say my efforts have been successful." He replied, all tones of seriousness gone from his voice "If I'm not mistaken you're talking to me now, ding, objective complete. And it seems you're not looking as grumpy, so I'll call that objective two done." I sigh. Maybe he's not entirely wrong. And at least he's making an effort.

"Alright. Was that all you wanted to say, or are we doing actual work over here?" I ask. Seems like a strange time to decide to make friends with the Romulan with the Borg around the corner. Keller cleared his throat Once again taking on the clipped Received Pronunciation he'd used previously.

"Alright gentlemen. For the benefit of both the new member of our unit," he paused and gestured at the female Bajoran standing next to the glass pane "as well as out new ally" he continued, pointing towards me "We're going to introduce ourselves, our ships and our roles here. I'll go first. My name is Steven Keller, Fleet Captain Steven Keller. And this sorry lot is mine. I command the Warspite, as well as the rest of Aries wing. T'vak, you carry on." One of the three other people around the pane, a Vulcan, nodded.

"Greeting." She began, in typical emotionless Vulcan tone "I am Captain T'vak. I am this unit's assault specialist. My vessel, the U.S.S. T'Khut, is one of the most heavily armed in the wing. As such, I provide a spearhead in our aggressive maneuverers. Is that sufficient Fleet Captain?" Keller nodded and T'vak quickly stepped back. For a moment, the third member of the group, a Bolian Male, remained quiet. A second passed, and he surveyed the four people around him before stepping forward hesitantly.

"My name is Nax Ferann. C-commander Nax Ferann. My ship is the Quietude…" Ferann paused for a moment, thinking. He apparently reached a decision after a moment and straightened his back and continued, voice containing some new confidence "We're some of the best doctors and engineers in the fleet. So if you need help, we can try and do something." The confidence seemingly expired their and he returned to the slumped posture, stepping back behind Keller. Keller himself just smiled at Ferann for a moment before his expression returned to (slightly amused) neutrality.

"Why don't you do the same D'maec?" Keller said stepping from in-between the other three officers and I.

"Alright," I said, quickly straightening my back, running one hand over my short cut black hair before setting them both behind my back. I was the picture of a perfect Romulan Commander "My name is D'maec, of the I.R.W. Aihai. My crew and I specialise in extended ground operations and siege situations. As such, I have elected to volunteer to provide the ground forces in this operation." Fast and efficient. How Vulcan of me.

"Taking on the Borg face to face takes a brave man. Glad to have you on-board, now" Keller said "just one more to go." The Bajoran smiled

"Of Course sir. I'm Eeki Larali. Recently reassigned from patrolling the Neutral Zone. Nothing too special about me, or my ship. We look forward to proving ourselves sir."

"Is that all?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Alright… Shall we get to work?"