(The scene is the office of Admiral Gaines, which is decorated with photos of his family, memorabilia from Starfleet Academy, a few war trophies, a mount of various medals he's earned, and a photo of himself posing with another man and a rooster. Eric is seated at a small dinner table for two. The admiral opens a silver tray to reveal their dinner.)

ADM. GAINES: Boiled langoustines, served with a mix of cocktail and yamok sauce for dipping.

(Eric takes a bite, and is impressed.)

ERIC: Wow, this brings back memories. You prepared this for Christmas, back when we were...twelve?

ADM. GAINES: Eleven. You raved on this dish for years after that, and begged me to make it again. Unfortunately I never got around to it. And then you shipped off to the Academy and moved away. Then, you know, it was too late. Well, as of late I've picked up cooking again. Just as a little hobby. Well, in any case I hope you're enjoying it.

ERIC: Oh I am. I just...wish Tati could be here.

(Him mentioning Tatiana instantly kills the vibe.)

ADM. GAINES: Listen, Eric. Your sister is a grown woman. To think of her as a victim would be to do her an insult. She's capable of making her own choices, and it's those choices which have taken her to where she is now.

ERIC: And where is that, dad? I mean, it's been thirteen years. Thirteen years! And you haven't told me anything? Besides the mere fact that...that she's alive? Somewhere out there? I've been scouring through public record after public record after public record, and her name doesn't pop up anywhere. At all! How is that even possible? It's like she doesn't exist!

ADM. GAINES: That's enough.

(The admiral rises and grabs a remote control. He turns on a monitor.)

ADM. GAINES: Let's talk work. How much do you know about the Romulan Neutral Zone?

ERIC: Is that where I'm going?

ADM. GAINES: Answer the question. Captain.

ERIC: Sir. The Romulan Neutral Zone used to delineate the farthest extent of Romulan expansion in our direction, and vise-versa. It stood for nearly two and a half centuries. But after the supernova which led to the collapse of the Romulan Star Empire, we saw that its successor was in a greatly weakened state. And so, the Federation moved to offer membership to several worlds located within the former zone.

ADM. GAINES: And why would we do that?

ERIC: Partly for strategic advantage. And partly because of certain long-running violations of the treaty by the Romulans. Despite both parties being strictly prohibited from entering the Zone, the Romulans did keep a de facto colonial presence on several worlds therein. The Federation turned a blind eye while the Empire was strong, because these actions weren't a threat to us personally. But after the Empire's collapse, these worlds asked us to step in and assure that the Romulans would never return. We obliged.

ADM. GAINES: Very good. And to answer your question, yes. That is where you and your crew are going. Why did I call this mission a dangerous one?

ERIC: Because it is the Romulan position that the Neutral Zone still exists. Furthermore, it is their position that we are encroaching upon their traditional "sphere on influence". Federation ships operating within the Zone have been fired upon by the Romulans at times. Mainly they target unarmed freighter vessels, but attacks against Starfleet have been known to happen.

(Admiral Gaines pushes a button on his remote control and the image on the monitor changes to a different visual.)

ADM. GAINES: What you're seeing is a planet called Hermetica. It's a planet not dissimilar to earth, teeming with vegetative and animal life. We estimate there are around 400,000,000 Hermeticans. Their most developed societies are somewhere in the ballpark of 17th or 18th century Western Europe. Which is to say the Prime Directive would definitely apply under normal circumstances. EXCEPT...

ERIC: The Romulans?

ADM. GAINES: Yes. The Romulans. Our listening posts along the neutral zone have been detecting Romulan activity on Hermetica going as far back as the late 23rd century. And it continued up until their final withdrawal about 10 years ago. With that in mind, you have some leeway on this mission when it comes to making contact with the locals. Oh, and there's one more thing I failed to mention about Hermetica.

(Admiral Gaines pushes the button again, and the image changes to reveal the planet's position in space.)

ADM. GAINES: This is a Class-R planet. Which means?

ERIC: Rogue-class planet. But wait, that's impossible. If it's not receiving energy from a sun, then even the most basic understanding of thermodynamics would dictate that...

ADM. GAINES: It'd freeze over? Exactly. And no, before you ask, we've determined geothermal activity to have a negligible warming effect on the planet's surface. Which is why Federation cartographers have dubbed Hermetica "the impossible planet". You are to assume command of the USS Brave. The ship and its crew will be waiting for your arrival at Starbase 173. The Brave will deploy as part of a five-ship task force led by the Magellan. The mission of this task force is to establish a tentative Federation presence on Hermetica and to get to the bottom of this mystery.

ERIC: The USS Brave.

ADM. GAINES: I've spoken to the outgoing captain of the Brave. This was his third command, and he rated its crew more positively than he did his first or second. But he did warn me that the crew is a bit...unorthodox.

ERIC: Unorthodox?

ADM. GAINES: Colorful. Eclectic.

ERIC: Oddballs, you mean.

ADM. GAINES: If you put it that way, then it sounds bad. Sure. Part of your job is to know when to work with them and when to work against them. Ideally there'll be more of the former than the latter but, you know.

ERIC: No, I don't.

(Eric sighs.)

ERIC: Why do I get the distinct feeling that I was given the job nobody else wants?

ADM. GAINES: You know that's not true. But...yeah. Sort of. There is one more thing.

(Eric sighs again.)

ADM. GAINES: Earlier I said that nepotism had nothing to do with you getting this job. And that's true. But, I did help you out. Just a little. I did have to make a certain concession, though. On this first mission you are on, let's call it, probation. There will be an admiral on the ship breathing down your neck and evaluating your performance. And no, it won't be me. Do you remember Admiral Clovis? I'm not sure if you've met him before.

ERIC: I haven't, but...Clovis the Iron Wall? That Admiral Clovis?

ADM. GAINES: What other Admiral Clovis is there? But yeah. I had the pleasure of serving with him during the Dominion War. Him and Admiral Rochester, who will be commanding the Magellan during this mission. Anyway, you'll recognize Clovis the second you see him. He's a pretty hard...fellow to miss.

ERIC: I imagine so. I can't wait for the chance to meet him.

(They wrap up their meal and Eric is about to leave.)

ADM. GAINES: Oh, and one more thing. About your sister.

ERIC: What about her?

ADM. GAINES: She is an affiliate with the Daystrom Institute's Signal Intelligence Research Department. Or SIRD, for short. The work she does is heavily classified, which is why most of her public records have been sealed.

ERIC: Why are you waiting until just now to tell me this?

ADM. GAINES: Because as captain, your security clearance has been upped. Congratulations.