"You're Force sensitive"
"Yes, where's Lt. Loland of Starfleet?"
"I'm right here why?"
"First Junior Ashland Portland reporting in after three years of being a slave"
"I have the device that can prove it on me"
So he uses the device and proves without a doubt that it was indeed Ashland
"I think once the ship arrives your eyesight should be fixed, but what were you thinking making us believe you dead for three years?"
"This time it was not my fault, the slavers collars were the ones at fault this time, and apparently I was the only Jedi there"
"Well at least you're alive, but you have a major report to make once you're back on the ship"
"Like the rest of you don't?"
"Actually no because even though we couldn't transmit any of our reports we wrote those down on a regular basis for when we finally were reunited with the crew"
"Fine you win"
"Yes I do, by the way they'll be here within seven hours so I would start on that very long report once you leave the medical facilities"
"You have a point and I will indeed do as you ask, by the way how good was the contingency plan we made if I was ever captured or killed?"
"Worked to perfection Sentinel, everyone knew their jobs and what they had to do from then on, besides the Coruscant branch of the NRA changed their policies after supposedly losing you so our team policy was easily accepted"
"So no more solo missions after my capture and supposed death?"
"Exactly, it's part of why after three years we succeeded in discovering you guys without losing our scouts to the enemy"
"Well like you said I have a major report to write so I'll get started on that while you guys relax until we're picked up by our ship"
Seven hours later the Komatsu picked them up and headed for home and Ashland stayed busy between her normal shift duties and the major report she had to write for the next three days, everyone needed to know about her time in captivity and she understood that so she did exactly as she should and explained as much as possible without compromising her crews or fellow Jedi's emotions. She also wrote in her report that while she technically had enough time and experience in rank she wanted to wait a little longer until others got promoted and had time in her rank before she even considered taking a promotion to Commander and being second-in-command of a ship, not to mention the liability she currently was being thought dead so often either by her choice or not so she decided to wait until that stopped happening on such a regular basis so that her new crew didn't have to face what her current and old crews had to face unless it was needed. Once she finished writing up her report she sent it in with a few more recommendations that she hoped got followed but she also understood that there was a possibility that they couldn't be followed, it all depending on what Starfleet both wanted and needed not to mention the situation that some of the recommendations required
"So have you finished your report yet Sentinel?"
"Yes I just sent it off to the appropriate people, now all that's left is about another five and a half months before finally reaching Federation space and getting our new posts if we are so assigned"
"Yeah, everyone's bonded over this new war and it will be hard to be separated yet at the same time it might be a good thing to split up the crews and get in some fresh members who aren't tainted by war"
"Yes but reports also state that there were battles in the Federation in regards to Republic enemies so there's also going to be plenty of cleanup that we'll have to do, just like the Republic needs time to rebuild so too does the Federation it seems"
"And time just keeps moving forward, do you think there will ever be a time when there is no invasion between our two groups now that we're aware of each other?"
"I don't know Lt. I really don't know"
"Ashland, I know this may seem forward but what are your plans once you do reach Federation space?"
"Simple I obey orders, I may be a Jedi but I am also a Starfleet officers and I know and understand why some orders are given while others are not and why those orders have to be obeyed. John I know you don't understand my kind but please understand that while Sentinel's have some unique abilities it's no different from the various alien races having their own special quirks"
Just then both of them were called to the observation lounge which they answered to. Five minutes later everyone who was needed was in the observation lounge and quite confused, finally the Captain spoke up to answer the questions
"I know everyone is wondering why you are here and it appears that a mission from several years ago now has repercussions for several of the crew though I don't know exactly how, especially because of the fact that I don't know what that mission entailed, I only know the name of that mission. Starfleet has named it the Goloran 5 mission, other than that I don't know anything for certain though there are rumors to be had I never paid any attention to them as it was while I was a Commander that this mission happened"
Ashland unknowingly speaks aloud for everyone to hear her inner thoughts
"The Goloran 5 mission I haven't heard about that in years"
"What do you mean Sentinel?"
She looks up startled to realize that she spoke that aloud
"I need to know who sent you that message first Captain, that ways I know just how much I can reveal and how much I can't"
"An Admiral Stone gave me this information and yes his codes have been verified by the computer"
"Then that means that I can tell you the full story, but first I think you should get the rest of the Command crew in here as this might affect them as well, especially as you'll be needing a back story"
Three minutes later the entire Command crew was there and quick explanations were given as to why they had been called
"First thing you should know is that the mission was classified as a need to know for at least thirty years unless circumstances changed after everything was all said and done, that it's been only about six or so years means that something's come up for this many people to hear about it, especially because it's only meant for people ranked Captain or above that should know about it but if Admiral Stone told you to gather all these people then I knew that the rest of the Command crew could hear about it as well since it appears secrecy is no longer needed, or at least not as much. The second thing you need to understand is that this happened while I was still an Academy student, due to my unique circumstances and the fact that Starfleet needed even a hint of an idea of how the Force works I was sent on more field training missions then most Academy students, meaning after my debrief I went on at least one mission a semester sometimes more if needed. This happened in my final year as a cadet shortly before I graduated and joined the Texas as an Ensign. Goloran 5 is a very dangerous planet even for it's inhabitants and as such every so often they need a little extra help providing basic needs, unfortunately they are also very distrustful of any mental powers due to their unique beliefs. We went there to help provide aid and also to move some of their people to a secondary location because of their families moving and they wanted to be with their families. Sadly we were unaware of their beliefs because they kept those beliefs hidden all these years even when they visited other planets. While we were there another major earthquake hit and this one was one of the most severe the planet had seen in fifty years, so I used the Force to move rubble away from some unsuspecting kids and was immediately arrested. To make matters worse their neighbors decided to drop by and cause some problems of their own and the ship I was on got caught in the crossfire, we eventually managed to scare them off but that meant only one of our problems were solved, we still had the whole I was in custody situation to deal with. Eventually a plea bargain was made and I was able to return to Starfleet but by that time enough damage had been made between both groups that Starfleet was now forbidden from ever helping again and they almost pulled out of several critical treaties but fortunately didn't. Once we got back we reported everything to the Admiralty and that was when it was decided that the mission would be sealed for thirty years unless it was vital to know and considering that we were no longer allowed into their space it was highly unlikely that the need to know rule would ever be invoked, for Admiral Stone to call you and give you even the mission name means something has come up. Now we need to call them and see why they declassified that mission so suddenly"
They quickly get Admiral Stone
"So Sentinel Portland I take it you need more information as to why I suddenly declassified the Goloran 5 mission?"
"Yes sir, I gave them the bare basics because the full story is just way too complicated to explain all in one go, what's going on? that mission was to be classified as a need to know for thirty years"
"Well you know how Goloran 5 stated that we were never to help them again on pain of death for any who entered their space?"
"Yes I do, I was there when the talks happened still one of their prisoners"
"Turns out that they need our help and are practically begging for it stating that they've seen the error of their ways and are more accepting of people with mind powers as they call it and are wondering if we could help them with a crew that specifically only deals with people that have mind powers to prove that they have changed their ways"
"And just what do you expect me to do seeing as how I'm still a good five and a half months away?"
"Not all of the Sentinel's went back to the Republic and you know them best so I was wondering if you could give me a list of Sentinel's that would be able to handle any problems or prejudices that might pop up in the mission, we can handle everyone else"
"Understood Admiral, anything else I need to know since we're talking?"
"What exactly are we supposed to do for our Republic prisoners to be safely contained until they are returned to the Republic?"
"I will write that down and send in the report at the same time as I give you the other list but for now...I would suggest the strongest force field you have for the stronger species"
"Understood Admiral Stone out"
"Portland out"
Communications are cut and everyone returns to their duty stations while now aware that there was more to their Sentinel then they originally knew and the Captain actually asked to talk more to Portland in his ready room
"Is there anything else I don't know about your Academy years that I need to know?"
"Not that I'm aware of sir, as far as I know the rest of the missions were either routine or anyone has access to them so long as they've properly graduated from the Academy and they're interested in learning more about their fellow officers known as Sentinel's and how everything started"
"Okay, for now I think you should be in engineering because I want us to go even faster than we are now but I want us to do so safely and with your access to the Force..."
"I'm able to sense danger a lot faster then others which means if something goes wrong I am able to react faster to hopefully either stop the problem from happening or negate worse consequences"
"Exactly, that will be your duty station until further notice"
Two weeks later everyone was tired and all wished the fluctuations that happened because of the engine being messed with were finished but they weren't. Finally though Ashland decided that enough was enough and she was taking the problem of making the warp core even faster to the holodeck so that the rest of the ship wasn't affected by her experiments, especially because she stopped five core breaches and seven core ejections in the two week period
"If I'm needed while in the holodeck simply call me and I will come as fast as I can"
"Understood, good luck Sentinel"
"Thanks I'll need it"
For the next three weeks after that she continued to tackle the problem getting little to no results which both confused and frustrated her because everything was telling her that what she was doing should be working or at least be telling her if she was going wrong some where's but nothing was happening no warnings or anything and the holodeck was designed to do everything as if it was happening for real with a few safety measures built in, then she thought of it through another means