"Captain's Personal log. Stardate 52094. After almost a year operating behind enemy lines the toll that has been taken by this isolationist operation can clearly be seen at a casual glance. Most of our systems have either been patched up at least once or hastily fixed at some Starbase close to the front so we can get back out there quickly. In short - we're running a patchwork ship. The crew are in good spirits, thank the lord, as we have seen more than our fair share of action. Most of it alone..."

"Computer, pause playback." The Admiral ran his left hand through his hazel hair, sighing heavily with his attempts to rebury a past that was rising from the grave he had created for it. He hated listening to his logs from the Hastings. Those days were dark enough without the memory of how it had all ended, now he was forced to relive them to figure out what was going on, why they were resurfacing after being in the shadows for so long and why they had stolen a seemingly useless Andromedan Artifact. It certainly was uesless without knwledge of what it was for, or indeed how to operate it.

"Computer, play Audio - Nightwish song Over the hills and Far Away." He liked listening to somewhat more dramatic music to help soothe and inspire him. Most Officers listened to Jazz or Classical Music, which worked fine in this day in age. Wood however never really shared that affinity for older music forms and had managed to recover a number of musical tracks from Earth's late 20th and early 21st Centuries which served a much more balanced purpose to him. He liked to describe it as his 'mood music', playing different genres that fit his current mood. At that moment, his mood simply fit his wish to not have to deal with this skeleton in his closet. He got out of the comfort of his leather chair and moved to the window, staring out at the stars with the music coursing through his soul.

The music Wood played in his Ready Room could be vaugly heard by the occupants of the Redemption's expansive Bridge, working to keep the ship running under the relaxing ice blue day lighting that characterised the Redemption and her unusual nature. Lieutenant Commander Tusami's Andorian blue skin seemed to blend in with the lighting, sometimes creating an eerie effect to his human collegues. The Acting Security Chief checked his readouts at Tactical and called one of his staff over, instructing the man to conduct a search for Ion trails. He was currently the ranking officer on the bridge, which gave him the right to sit in the Captain's chair located below his own console. Tusami glanced at it as he monitored the Away team but resisted the temptation to go and try it out. He was much more useful to his fellows where he stood now, watching the Away mission for the slightest sign of trouble. Although he did not think a single Akira Class starship and her crew would be much of a threat, the Admiral seemed to think otherwise. Curiosity pricked at Tusami's mind as he opened up a new display on his console and began to skim over recent reports regarding the starship Hastings, searching for any signs of modifications or other tactial changes that would render the ship a greater hazard to the Redemption and her crew. Most of what he saw was fairly standard, a standard Akira Class vessel with a standard crew compliment. He was about to close the window when he noticed something written about the ship's self-proclaimed Captain. The file was restricted, which seemed unusual considering the relevance it might have for those who might encounter the Hastings, Tusami's efforts to open it went to no avail. Whoever wanted that file buried had doen a good job of stopping prying eyes from looking at it. He hummed for a moment over this unexpected issue before tapping his com badge, "Tusami to Konigawa. Please report to the Bridge."

Human vomit struck the darkened deck plating with a wet slap, mingling with the gags and groans of a Security Officer obviously new to the job as Beast's away team stepped into Bremmler Station's Technology Lab. Even the war hardened Andromedan found the sight before him replusive, the stench of death thick in the cavernous research lab. Lieutenant Dravis Sky, Commander of the ship's Elite Team Alpha Squad, gingerly stepped forward and almost tripped over the sprawled body of a civilian scientist. Cursing under his breath the Augmented human bent down to inspect the body, pulling out a tricorder and running the breifest of scans before coughing back the lump that had formed in his throat, "Phaser Burn to the forehead. He was dead before he even hit the ground Commander."

Beast nodded his understanding and replied by asking Sky's group to check the rest of the bodies for consistency in the causes of death. If his hunch was correct, they would all sport phaser wounds to the same spots on thier body - an indication of the quality of soldiers they would face later on. His opaque black eyes scanned the darkness, searching for any kind of clues the attackers had left behind for the Redemption crew to find. This kind of attack suggested they wanted, even hoped for a Starfleet crew to come and investigate what happened here. If that was the case then this attack was a provocation, a dare to persue them that the Admiral would be unlikely to ignore. Considering the personal and highly emotional way in which Wood had reacted to this incident Beast was growing concerned about the Admiral's objectivity. If it started to become dangerous he would be forced to take action against his friend, a prospect that did not give the Commander any joy at all.