"Aye, Sir," she replied obediently. The rounded, gray face of Admiral Angus Leonard filled the forward viewscreen. Despite his advanced years for a human, he always managed a sparkle in his eye. Both his hair and beard were cut short.
"Good afternoon, Admiral," Bolerov said with a weak smile.
"Greetings, Captain Bolerov," Leonard said with a smile. "I'm glad I caught you. I have some good news and some bad news. Which would you like first?"
Bolerov wasn't in much of a mood for games. He shrugged. "It really doesn't matter to me, Admiral."
His balloon slightly burst, Leonard nodded. "Well, the bad news is; we're going to have to cut your leave time short. I know your crew was promised five days off when you picked up the rest of your crew at Spacedock, and for that, I'm sorry. We'll make it up to you. The good news is; you have a new mission. You're picking up your first passengers. We'll get your whole crew two weeks off when you're done."
It was as if the entire room had become deflated. They had spent seven weeks inbound, outbound, or orbiting Romulus. They were anxious to be home. Bolerov nodded slowly. "Understood, Admiral. Who are these passengers?"
The admiral's face lit up again. "I think you won't mind the delay when I tell you the mission. You're picking up Admiral Picard and a peace delegation and heading to Cardassia Prime. The civilian government has reclaimed authority of the Cardassian Union and they wish to join the Federation."
Now it was as if air had suddenly been pumped back in. Everyone looked at each other with excitement. The idea of a formal end of hostilities with the cardassians had been hoped for with the end of the Dominion War, and hadn't even been thought of before that. Memories lingered to the Cardassian Wars almost twenty years ago. This was what the Federation had hoped would happen. The fractured remnants of the Alpha and Beta quadrants realizing the need to be a united front. First, there was the talk of peace with the romulans. Now... the cardassians wanted to join the Federation. People suddenly became giddy.
Bolerov was curious. "Why isn't the Enterprise going? It IS the flagship, after all."
"You're right," Admiral Leonard agreed. "Unfortunately, the damage done to the Enterprise during the Bassen Rift incident was more severe than we thought. Part of the saucer frame is bent and the neck suffered a number of fractures. It's a wonder the entire saucer section didn't come off. She'll be stuck at McKinnley for another two months. Warlord was our obvious next choice."
"Obviously." Bolerov held back being happy about this situation. He hadn't seen Jean Luc in over twenty years. He remembered serving with Jean Luc as a young lieutenant aboard the USS Stargazer as the second shift weapons officer. "How many guests are we expecting?"
"There will be five, Captain... including the Admiral."
"We'll have the good bedsheets out, Admiral." Bolerov quipped.
"Excellent. Starfleet out." The screen switched to blue, with the Starfleet logo in the center.
Bolerov stood to leave again. He examined his crew, who were all smiles. "Well, ladies and gentlemen," he announced, clapping his hands, "I guess we're about to help make history again."
Even Stephen, who had always been reluctant to be at the forefront of the news, couldn't help but cheer with the rest of the bridge crew.