"What are your orders now Sentinel?"
"I want us to head to an uninhabited part of the quadrant where there are only observation ships in the area, we're going to end things there, by now the drive section should be at the nearest starbase and they should have contacted the Federation by now and relayed everything I had told them to relay"
They eventually arrive at the perfect location to end things with the Jedi hunters. Meanwhile several hours earlier the drive section of the Enterprise had indeed arrived at the nearest starbase and had relayed everything the Sentinel had told them to relay, and Picard was shocked that a Lt. was overriding his orders to turn back due to the orders of his Sentinel but once he talked about it with Riker he finally understood why Ashland had done and ordered what she had, even if he didn't have to like it he understood it
"We understand Captain Picard, we will of course pass on this information to the Republic, in the meantime while you are stuck there I suggest you start teaching the starbase how to handle Jedi because one of the new graduates will be stationed there at the end of the year"
"Understood Admiral"
Over the next several hours while they were waiting for word from either the Republic Senate or the saucer section of the ship they met with the commanding officers of the base and started explaining how to handle Jedi especially when they were acting in the will of the Force
"Oh also watch out for suddenly falling asleep and ending up some where's else"
"Personal experience?"
"Indeed my own Sentinel did that to both me and Commander Riker right before the ship separated"
"What caused her to do so Captain?"
"I wasn't listening in regards to the orders she was giving, now that I think about it she was thinking straight and I just thought she hadn't been"
"Wait why does that matter?"
"Simple we have the authority to disregard orders if they are compromised"
"Good to know, is it easy to tell if they are compromised?"
"It depends on just how compromised they are, and it also depends on the means of being compromised but yes it normally is easy to tell"
"Okay, have we heard anything from the saucer section?"
"No sir"
Two days later they finally make contact with the saucer section once more
"Sorry we're late sir, we had a few engine troubles"
"Understood Sentinel we'll be waiting for you just outside the base so that we can dock"
"Yes sir, has Command gotten back with you on what you passed on to them?"
"No but they should soon enough"
Once everyone was back where they belonged Ashland returned control back to Picard and then requested permission to miss her current shift which she was supposed to be on in three hours and it's quickly granted because they could tell that Ashland was tired, most likely from the hours she had stayed up just to make sure that the ship would remain safe from any possible danger after having defeated the hunters with a combination of skill and luck
"I will be looking forward to your report after you get some sleep Sentinel, and of course you know the rules of the fact that if you can't sleep you are to go to medical to get sleep aids"
"I know Captain, that has been in place for so long that I don't even question the need because at times it is needed, oh by the way T'vran has reported that repairs should be finished within three hours if the starbase personnel do the job from the outside and in at the same time"
"Understood, we need some upgrades anyways so now would be a good time"
Over the next several days reports from the half of the crew that were in the saucer section were given to Picard and the upgrades and repairs were completed and the Enterprise was given yet another mission with a planet that was thinking about joining the Federation but wanted more information before deciding either way, though the planet did confirm that even if they didn't join the Federation they were willing to go into a trade agreement until they felt that they were ready to join if ever
"You know that actually sounds reasonable, by they way have we heard anything from the Admiralty or Republic about hunters?"
"Actually yes, and now that I think about it I seem to recall receiving an order that you contact the temple about something, the Republic Senate did mention that the Jedi Council is being a bit elusive right now and are actually sending Jedi over more often, especially to guard our representatives in the Senate, which according to them is quite unusual"
"Understood, I will of course contact them when I am off shift in my quarters"
"Sorry Sentinel but I get the feeling you are to contact them as soon as you receive the message"
"Understood sir, hopefully I won't be more than a few minutes late"
"Use my office"
"Yes sir"
She heads to the ready room and presses the correct sequence to contact the Jedi Council
"Master Skywalker, Council what is going on?"
"Have you felt a disturbance lately in the Force?"
"Not really but then again I've been on such high alert since the Jedi hunter I feel every little thing that has been going on and that's starting to make me paranoid"
"About that we talked to the government of Solon and apparently they were the actions of rogue government members who felt you should have been punished all those years ago and they are telling the truth about that"
"Figures, now then what are you sensing that I apparently am not?"
"Something big is about to happen to the Federation but we don't know if it will happen here or in your galaxy so we're ordering all Jedi in Starfleet to be on alert, however for you I think you need to stand down for a few days unless something happens that forces you to do so otherwise"
"Understood Master, I will of course act as I see fit if things escalate and of course will give you a report whenever or if what your sensing happens"
"Very well, hope to hear from you soon Sentinel"
"Understood Master, Sentinel Portland out"
She ends communications and heads to her station. A short time later they arrived at the planet and Ashland was part of the away team which included T'vran this time and things were going fine when suddenly Ashland was challenged to ritual combat to prove that the Federation was as strong as they were saying it was, and they were mainly testing the skills of Starfleet officers
"It will be pure hand to hand combat and if you have any special abilities they will not be allowed"
"Very well I accept your challenge and your rules"
With those words said she puts on the Force inhibitor bracelet giving her the skills of an average human
"So what's the bracelet for?"
"To abide by the rules I need the bracelet, now then are we fighting or not?"
"We are, let's begin"
So the hand to hand combat gets underway when suddenly Ashland's opponent goes for her eyes and blinds her with a powder he had prepared beforehand and had managed to hide on his person until the right moment thinking that would give him an advantage
"Serves you right to think I would abide by the rules"
The leader speaks up then
"Which means you forfeit this match due to your cowardly tactics"
"I think not"
With those words and a snap of the fingers several armed rebels appeared
"I have been planning for this day for a long time Minister, I was going to fight you originally but when I heard that we were entering talks with the Federation I decided to test the Starfleet officers and see how they reacted to such a situation, and if you want to know the reason why I am doing this is simply because I hate you, you may be a good leader and all but thanks to some of your policies people have died or simply disappeared"
"I think I understand what you're talking about but you don't have the full information on some of those deaths or disappearances. There's more going on here than you know or understand, part of the reason why we were talking to the Federation was to see how they dealt with conflicts and how they handled being intermediaries between two people who aren't even part of their Federation"
"Tell that to my brother who died or my sister who simply vanished three months ago. Now then I will finish this Starfleet officer off and then force the rest of them to leave"
"Except beating me won't be that easy, even with my abilities cut off I can fight you blind no problem"
"Sentinel you don't have to follow his stupid rules if he's not going to obey them himself you know that so why don't you just take the bracelet off and go wild"
"Sorry Lt. but I am going to honor my part of the bargain even if he's broken his, I can take him no problem, after all only cowards cheat to gain the upper hand"
The leader speaks up again
"Except he blinded you with a unique powder you can't fight him like that"
"Just watch me I'll beat him and stop this coup"
The fight lasts for several more minutes but finally Ashland actually defeats him but she would be forced to kill him with his own weapon
"This coup is through and now I will explain things which he should have allowed in the first place. I know you have lost people to death and just disappearing. There has been a neighboring system that for the past two years have tried to forcibly make us part of them, we are a peaceful group that means we do not fight unless we have no choice. They have killed several of our people but we sometimes manage to find out who's next and so we make them disappear to locations that only those in the highest sections of government know about. Sadly they will remain hidden until we know for sure that their lives are no longer at risk, so we must ask those who have loved ones missing to hold on a little longer until we deal with our violent neighbors"
Ashland takes off the Force inhibitor and they go with the medics of the planet so that they could deal with Ashland's temporary blindness. Once that was done talks were continued and the Captain agreed to talk to the Federation about their situation and see what they could do about initiating talks between the two groups at a neutral location
"Sentinel, are you doing good now?"
"Yes sir, I can see almost as good as before, I think a good nights rest will take care of the residual blurriness I am dealing with, oh and Captain I would be on the alert for anymore dissidents"
"Understood Sentinel, can you stay here to help explain things about Starfleet?"
"Sure Captain I don't need to see to talk about Starfleet"
Ashland started talking and was doing fine when suddenly she grabbed her head as if in a great deal of pain and simply stayed in that position for a solid minute. Once she was out of that position her head was up and her eyes were wide with pupils dilated and she slammed her hand onto the commbadge
"Portland to Enterprise contact the Senate see if anything major has just happened there then contact the Council ask if there are any Starfleet ships in their area and have our people on them I want answers by the time we get back onto the ship or if not then within an hour of our return, Troi you're probably going to be feeling a lot of backlash soon depending on what we find out from multiple people I want you to prepare yourself for that, in fact activate my meditation programs and have them on standby, I have a feeling that I at least will need them, and others might also need them including you, tell the crew about them as soon as they're up and on standby. Worf I need you to enact the security measures we discussed in regards to my special programs for when I am obviously not in a stable state of mind and right now I think this qualifies, once that's done we should be fine, Portland out"
She then faces the Captain who had an obvious look of wanting information
"Captain, remember that private communication I had in your ready room a few weeks ago?"
"Yes, is that important?"
"Yes I was warned of exactly this possibility by the Council, I need you to contact Command as soon as we're back on the ship to see if any of the other ships with my people are affected as well, including the Academy, as it is we're lucky I'm not comatose right now"
"Understood Sentinel, Prime Minister I think it best we contact the Federation and have them send another ship to finish negotiations with you"
"Of course, though I am wondering why Portland is the only one with a different designation than the rest of your officers who have from what I understand Navy ranks"
"That's a bit complicated right now and not to be discussed until a later date"
They quickly get back to the ship and half an hour later Ashland had the information she needed and it was not good news at all, there had indeed been an attack on the Senate because of Starfleet and there were two ships in Republic space and one of them, the one that had been destroyed has six Jedi who wanted to know more about Starfleet before deciding either way if they wanted to join or not. Ashland then found out from Picard that all the other Jedi had been taken off duty until further notice because of the incident being felt by them and two of them were comatose by the backlash but would recover quickly enough, it's just that the two that were comatose had lost their former Masters after having been Knights for only two years