Picard quickly motioned to everyone on the bridge. "Sit down, sit down. I'm here merely as an observer," he defended himself with a smile. The crew sat down and returned to their duties with a smile.
"Welcome to the bridge, Admiral, everyone," Bolerov said with a smile.
"Thank you, Captain," Picard answered sincerely. He looked around and marveled at the smallness of this bridge. It was roughly half the size of the Enterprise bridge, but with roughly the same color scheme. As he looked around, it looked almost exactly like a smaller version of the Enterprise bridge. Between the two turbolifts were four computer stations. A gray and silver hand rail ringed the central area of the bridge, with two small stairsets leading down to the center, where the nerve center was. In the lowered area was the captain's seat, with an open seat on either side. In front of the captain's seat was a dual console. A door to Picard's left was, presumably, the ready room and another door, on the far side, was most likely a head.
"I believe you already met most of my crew," Bolerov offered. He pointed to the left side of the front dual console. "Our chief navigator, Ensign Bristol." Picard nodded. He pointed to the right side of the console, occupied by an Andorian. "Normally, Lieutenant Commander T'Nia would be sitting there, but she's off duty. This is Lieutenant M'ovara"
Picard smiled. "Lieutenant."
Bolerov continued. "Behind me is Lieutenant Moreau at systems administration. Next to him is Lieutenant Davies, our communications officer." Picard nodded to each of them, remembering them from the award ceremony. "Our latest addition is the gentleman to my right, Commander Richards, our science officer."
"Admiral, it's a pleasure, Sir." Richards said with a sincere smile. Jean Juc Picard was one of those few people who could be accurately described as a living legend. He had negotiated peace treaties, settled countless disputes, provided first contact for over a dozen new species, and was one heck of a combat officer to boot. Truth be told, Kenyon had attempted to get transferred to the Enterprise for the past five years, but the bridge-based science station positions had always been full.
"A pleasure to meet you, Commander." He turned to face the bridge crew. "For those of you we haven't met yet, allow me to introduce my negotiation team." He motioned the middle aged woman with short, pepper gray hair standing next to him; one of two people dressed in civilian clothing. "This is Doctor Leslie McIntyre, our specialist on Cardassian history." He pointed to a fairly tall, thin vulcan male who appeared to be in his late sixties, in Earth years. "This is Ambassador Solek of Vulcan." Picard then moved to a shorter, slightly overweight human with short, white, wiry hair, dressed in a Starfleet uniform. "This is Admiral Alan Callis; a man who's forgotten more negotiations than I have ever been part of." The group chuckled. Finally, he pointed to a woman with large, black eyes also wearing civilian clothes. "And this is Ambassador Arianna Liss of Betazed." The bridge crew and peace team exchanged pleasantries for several moments.
Eventually, Commander Richards spoke up. "Captain, I have two contacts, bearing three-one-six mark four-seven."
"I suppose those are our Cardassian escorts," Picard remarked.
Bolerov turned to Richards. "Commander?"
Moments later, Richards turned back to the captain. "Confirmed... two Cardassian Galor class cruisers on an intercept course."
"They're liable to be a bit put off by this ship," Picard said to Bolerov with a smile.
"They wanted diplomats, they got diplomats. Whether or not they prefer the mode of transportation is really none of my concern." Bolerov replied flatly.
Picard chuckled.
Lieutenant Davies spoke up. "Captain, the Cardassians are hailing us."
"Put it on screen," Picard and Bolerov said simulaneously.
Picard chuckled and put his hand on Bolerov's shoulder. "Some hold habits die harder than others."
The ridged face of a Cardassian ship commander filled the front viewscreen. He was thin, with dark black hair and brown, angled uniform that looked intolerably uncomfortable. There was a look of concern on his face. "This is Gul Magrid of the Cardassian defense ship Beshan. We were expecting a Federation peace delegation..."
Picard offered up his hands in a show of peace. "I am Admiral Jean Luc Picard. The peace delegation you seek is aboard this vessel."
Gul Magrid looked unconvinced. "I thought you commanded the Enterprise."
"I do," he answered with a calm smile. "It is currently docked on Earth for repairs and upgrades. Because the Federation didn't want to let this historic opportunity pass, Starfleet generously offered the services of this vessel as transportation. Allow me to introduce the captain of this fine vessel." With a grand gesture, he motioned to the seated captain, who stood. Secretly, he was really hoping not to get brought into the dog-and-pony show. "This is Captain Andrei Bolerov; captain of the USS Warlord."
"That's a very big ship you have there, Captain," the Cardassian captain remarked.
"It serves its purpose," Bolerov countered with a wry smile. "A pleasure to meet you, Gul Magrid." He waited several seconds before continuing. "We await your escort to Cardassia Prime."
"... of course." Magrid stuttered momentarily. He quickly returned to his military stature. "Form us behind us and do not deviate from our flight plan or it will be treated as a hostile act."
"Don't worry," Bolerov offered. "We will not initiate any hostile acts." The Cardassian and Starfleet captains exchanged intense stares for mere moments, but it was enough for Picard to feel uneasy.
"Thank you for your generosity, Gul."
Gul Magrid let his eyes leave Bolerov's. His expression softened as he moved to face Picard. "You are quite welcome, Admiral. Beshan out." The viewscreen returned to the star dotted landscape of the space around them.
"Ensign Bristol," Bolerov began, "engines all stop until the Cardassians arrive. Once they turn around and take formation, follow behind them and mimic their moves precisely. We'll come into a standard orbit when we reach Cardassia Prime."
"Aye, aye, Sir." Tyler made a number of button presses on his panel. "Registering all stop, Captain."
Bolerov sat back down with an 'oomph'. "For your sake, Admiral, I hope their intentions are true."
"I hope so, too," Picard countered, "for all our sakes."