This chapter is mainly an introduction to the characters so that you can get to know the crew.

Chapter 2

Captain Larenzo sat at the head of the table as his senior officers stepped into the briefing room one by one. As they sat down he studied each of them remembering parts of their files. To his right sat his first officer, Commander Daniel Johnson. A young and intelligent officer. One who had been through hell and back. He was born on a colony planet and at the age of 8 he was the sole survivor of an attack on the colony. The expression on his face now was one of curiosity and concern.

Next to Johnson sat the Chief Science officer and the third in command, Lieutenant Commander Ber'an. A Vulcan woman whose records, not surprisingly, was impeccable. She was probably the most experienced amongst the crew. Larenzo believed she would have made Captain by now if she hadn't taken a ten year leave of absence to carry out research for the Vulcan High Council.

Then sat the Security Chief, a joined Trill, Lieutenant Nezati Hant. Larenzo had never worked with a Trill before but from what he had heard they made life extremely interesting. Nezati Hant came highly recommended. He was a very capable officer with a lot of imagination. He understood that Nezati was Hant's third host. Hant was young in comparison to most symbionts but he was still up there with Ber'an when it came to experience. Larenzo looked forward to working with him.

Facing Hant sat the ship counsellor Lieutenant Commander Gordan Trent. Trent was on old friend. They had both worked together on another ship before Larenzo received his first command. Trent was dependable almost to the extent of being predictable. Larenzo had learned long ago to rely on Trent's instincts and hunches. He had always wondered if Trent maybe had some sort of ESP.

Sitting to Trent's right sat the one officer he was most concerned about. Lieutenant Louise Munroe was his new Chief Medical officer. Originally she was supposed to be working beneath Dr Susan Philips. Both were transferring from another ship but the mission previous to the transfer had led to the sad death of Susan Philips. Starfleet decided to promote Munroe to CMO. There was no one else available at the time and they believed that she was ready for the promotion. Larenzo, however, had his doubts. She was extremely young and still upset over the death of her boss. He was going to have Trent and Johnson keep an eye on her.

Lastly, to his left, sat the Bajoran Chief Engineer, Lieutenant Mela, Sarine. Going by her record, a very capable, engineer. Her ability to improvise in any given situation made her an asset to the crew. Larenzo guessed that this ability came from being brought up in Cardassian camps on Bajor. Her last Captain was sorry to see her go.

He smiled slightly as he watched his senior officers settle down. He could see that they were determined to make a good impression on their new Captain. He hoped that the confidence he had in them now would only continue to grow. Seeing that they were ready, Captain Larenzo then began the mission briefing.

"As you know we are on our way to the planet Kenzato. There we are expected to make first contact with the Kenzatons. We are to do our utmost to ensure that Kenzato will eventually become a part of the Federation."

Larenzo went on to explain everything Garland had told him. "I've since received the information our scientists collected on Kenzato. So far I have only been able to give it a brief glance through but from what I can gather they are a peaceful people. No political discontent, no terrorism or civil war. In fact there is very little crime at all and nothing to explain the attack reported by our scientists."

Larenzo could see that Johnson was about to speak. He raised a hand to stop him. "Before I listen to what your ideas on this situation I would like you to see the last transmission from the scientists we had down there. The man you will see speaking is Dr Andrew Pernell." Larenzo then turned to the screen on the wall behind him. "Computer, begin playing the transmission."

Suddenly the screen sprang to life. A middle aged human appeared and began to speak. "A few hours ago an attack began on the Capital. Unfortunately, all our sensors are being jammed and we are unable to determine the precise location of where this attack has come from." The screen then flickered for a second, going blank and then coming back. Behind him smoke filled the room and scientists were rushing about. "At our best guess the attack appears to be orbital. It began at the edge of the city and is slowly working its way in. Most of our communication lines are being jammed, we were luck to get this.." All of a sudden the screen went dead but not before they heard an explosion.

"Unfortunately that is all we have. " Larenzo explained to his staff. "I would like to hear your thoughts."

Johnson was the first to speak. "Perhaps the Kenzatons discovered the scientist hidden there and are jamming their frequencies."

Shaking his head Larenzo countered this. "I don't think so, I don't think they have the ability to jam Starfleet frequencies. I also don't think they would begin torching their Capital city just to get to them. However, I don't want to completely abandon the idea. Lt Melo I want you to study the Kenzaton technology just to be sure. Ber'an I want you to help her."

This time it was Hant who spoke up. "There is a possibility that the political stability of the Kenzatons isn't so stable after all and our scientists have got themselves in the middle of a conflict."

Larenzo gave him a grim smile. "That is also another possibility I want you to investigate. I also want investigated the possibility of an outside attack. I want to know if the Kenzatons have been in contact with another race after all. Study all communications logs sent to us by our scientists. Johnson I want you to help with this one." He then turned to Doctor Munroe. "I want you to have sickbay prepared for any emergency. Going by the explosion we heard I imagine some of the scientists will need medical assistance. Okay everyone dismissed."

He leaned back in his seat as he watched everyone file out again as they went to prepare for their given tasks. He raised an eyebrow as he noticed that his counsellor, Gordon Trent had remained behind. "Something bothering you?"

Trent sat back and folded his arms. "I've known you too long Alex, there is something you're not telling us."

"Really, what gives you that idea?"

"Oh, just something the others didn't mention." Trent replied with a shrug. "Or didn't want to ask in case it seemed as though they were questioning their new Captain's orders. I on the other hand have no such qualms. Why is Starfleet so intent on having a race that may have kidnapped her scientists join the Federation?"

Larenzo stood up and moved towards the window and looked out at the stars as they gave the impression that they were moving and not the ship. "Unfortunately, I was not given the opportunity to put that very same question to Admiral Garland. I'm not entirely convinced that Starfleet has told us everything. I guess it is up to us to discover everything for ourselves."

Trent shook his head. "Shouldn't you be telling the crew this?"

Looking thought full for a moment Larenzo looked towards Trent. "No, for now it is just a feeling I have. I want to see what the crew comes up with first."

Smiling slightly Trent's eyes crinkled at the corners. "Same old Alex, keeping you cards close to your chest."

Larenzo chose to ignore that last comment and turned to face the stars again. "You know the background surrounding the promotion of Lt Munroe to CMO. I want you to keep an eye on her. I'm worried that she isn't handling it too well."

Before he left Trent's eyes twinkled. "You should know by now that I keep an eye on everyone."

He heard the doors slide shut behind his old friend and began muttering to himself. "He should have been a security officer."