"After the wedding we left you two and received our new orders from Starfleet. Deanna and I were split up. I was given command of the Titan-"

"And I remained on the Enterprise," Deanna states.

"Yes. Well, the Titan was sent to the Beta Qaudrant on a mission to bring medical supplies to one of the most recent colonies on Xetrax 5. Once we left Xetrax, we were to head to another planet in the gamma sector and pick up the Federation Ambassador on Relan 7. The journey to Xetrax took about 2 weeks and to Relan it was another 4 weeks. It was a routine mission in every way. Then, we made the 6-week journey back to the Alpha quadrant to receive our next set of orders. And that's when things started changing. We started receiving new orders from Headquarters to take on extra photon torpedoes and head to Romulan border. We were told that we'd rendezvous with several Cardassian ships where we'd remain at the border until given further orders."

"But, Will," Jean Luc interrupts, "I'm sorry, but isn't the Titan a Luna Class vessel? What was Starfleet doing sending a science vessel to rendezvous with Cardassian ships?"

"We were wondering the same thing, but every admiral that we spoke to gave us the same response. They told us that we had our orders and to proceed as planned. At the same time, the scuttlebutt on the ship was that Starfleet was closely monitoring its communications; everything from personal calls to official calls to headquarters was being recorded. I couldn't speak with any of our former crew. Worf was stationed on DS9, while Geordi, Data, and Deanna remained on the Enterprise."

"Who took over the Enterprise?" I interject.

"Captain Randolph of the USS Yorktown."

Jean Luc looks at Deanna, silently asking her about Randolph, "He is a good man and a good captain. He had his family on board with him and was very protective of them. When we got orders to patrol the Romulan border he was very skeptical; he didn't want to put his family in any danger. And at the time that he took command of the Enterprise, as you know, there was relative peace."

"Uh, so," Will continues, "the whole crew was very wary; it was hard to get anyone to do their jobs! If you can imagine, we had 25 Bajoran crewmembers! And we didn't have any answers for them. Most of them were even reluctant to do their jobs if it meant that we were going to be aiding the Cardassians in any way. But," he pauses, "uh, eventually the cacophony died down after we got to the border and nothing was happening. It was strange. We were told to remain at the border until Starfleet told us we could leave or gave us other orders. We were nearly stationary at the border, with occasional stand-offs with Romulan Warbirds, for 6 months. There was no news from Headquarters. There was nothing." He shifts in his chair, "the crew was getting restless. They were hesitant to even call their families back on Earth or Vulcan or Bajor, etc, because they were nervous about the monitored communication. Every day was like living in some sort of limbo; we had no idea if an all out war was going to start. And then two months ago, we were called back."

Jean Luc and I look confused, "just like that?"

Will shakes his head with a confused smile, "just like that. We were all called back to Earth or given new orders."

"So what happened?" We ask.

"Apparently, it just came out recently, that a high ranking official in the Cardassian government was feeding the Federation false intelligence about the Romulan government in an effort to start a war."

Jean Luc is still confused, "I don't understand what this had to do with me or my family. Why was Wesley threatened?"

Will holds out his palms, "gossip and conjecture had it that if you were at the helm of the Enterprise, it would intimidate the Romulans and if we were to go to war, then the Federation could have used your leadership."

We know that Will is sorry about what happened to Wes, but his tone is decidedly nonchalant. "I'm sorry, Will," I begin, "but what did that have to do with Wes?"

He shrugs his shoulders as Wes comes back into the room, holding a changed and happy baby. We all look up, "did I, uh, come in at a bad time?"

"No, Wes," Jean Luc states, "Will was just getting ready to tell us why you were leverage in Starfleet's plot."

It's one of those moments where Wes doesn't know if he should stay or run, but morbid interest keeps him planted as he sits next to us.

"Truthfully, Wes, I don't know if I should be telling you this. But, uh, Starfleet looked at you as a liability. At least, that's the scuttlebutt around campus. Your research with Professor Mulphine was encroaching on a territory that they weren't ready for you to explore. I think that their threat was just an excuse to get rid of you. They knew that Jean Luc would say no to the offer. They figured that if he regretted his leaving Starfleet, he would have already come back."

"My research was on static warp bubbles and shield harmonics. We weren't doing anything covert. It was all just particle physics and wave frequency studies."

"Wes, like I said, I don't know the whole story. Everything, like you know, is up in the air with Starfleet right now."

"Yes," Deanna interrupts, "Will and I are even considering following in your footsteps…"

"You're considering leaving?" I ask in shock.

"Yes, we uh – we're considering following in your footsteps in every way."

"Oh Deanna!" My face lights up, "are you two engaged?"

I see them look at each other and smile, "yes. We are. And uh, we're jealous of you two!"

I'm not satisfied with the answers that we received, but I understand that Will and Deanna don't know a lot and I understand that they're as frustrated as we are with the way that things are going. So, I'll let go of my anger for the evening and revel in their good news. Jean Luc is right; it has been too long for good friends.