"...so I wasn't sure what to do... so I did what Gelnon instructed and left the system." Stephen was hunkered over the small display terminal in the ready room, staring at an image of a perplexed Admiral Leonard, still in his pajamas. He knew how early in the morning he was calling, but this was too important to wait until 'normal business hours'.

Still stunned, Admiral Leonard simply shook his head. "My god."

Kirk yawned. The double shift, coupled with the emotional stress of the past day was finally starting to get to him. "Anyway," Kirk continued, "we're on our way back to Earth... unless you've got something else in mind."

Leonard looked back at the screen, still stunned. "No, no. You're doing the right thing. This is an extraordinary set of circumstances." There was what seemed to be an interminable pause as the admiral considered his options. He rubbed his bearded cheek. "Okay... just keep doing what you're doing now. Maintain course, speed and alert status for now. I'm going to get a hold of Starfleet Command and get their take on this."

"Yes, Sir." Kirk nodded.

Leonard nodded as well. "When I get more information, I'll contact you." Kirk nodded again. The old admiral's face turned grave. "Have your primary bridge crew stand down as soon as possible. Get them to take it easy... rest... get some sleep while they can."

Stephen wasn't understanding the logic behind Admiral Leonard's orders. Surely it was easier to just stick to the normal rotation; the captain being the only exception. "Sir?"

"Stephen," the old admiral's face continued its grave expression, but softened a bit. Leonard had been around Starfleet, especially during the Dominion War, long enough to realize what was liable to happen in the next several hours. It was entirely possible an unreasonable demand might be placed on the new ship. If that was the decision of Starfleet Command, he wouldn't enjoy relaying it. His voice became like a father's. He took a deep breath. "Things may change dramatically in the next few hours. I need your principle crew as fresh as possible." A quiet beeping sound could be heard from the console's speakers. Leonard looked down. "Good. I just received your sensor logs. I'm going to go over these, then forward them to our oversight committee."

"Understood, Sir." Stephen's exhausted mind was still trying to process the gravity of everything that had happened. The captain was incapacitated in sickbay, the peace process in Cardassia had completely fallen apart, five Federation diplomats were being held hostage, and the Dominion was trying to reassert its control of the alpha quadrant. The strain was making Kirk's head hurt. His memory then drifted back to sending two Marine starships into a trap and the Warlord being diverted from their main position. Kirk had seen the signs of Captain Bolerov behaving strangely. He began blaming himself for allowing all this to happen.

Leonard could see the stress on Stephen's face. "Stephen," he prodded. Kirk's gaze continued to shift downward. "Stephen," Leonard insisted. Kirk finally snapped from his thoughts and looked up. Leonard attempted a smile. "You did well... as well as anyone could be expected to do. Don't you dare waste your energies blaming yourself for things that were out of your control."

The admiral's words actually brought some comfort to him. "I won't, Sir," he replied quietly.

Admiral Leonard nodded. "Good. Now, relieve your bridge crew and get some sleep. I'll contact you shortly. Leonard out."