Captain’s Log, Stardate 06.08.2402:

Captain Kirok Skyrunner recording…

The USS Carlsbad is still in orbit of Nexarion, the homeworks for the Kyrennei, Kaelara’s people. They are former Borg drones who found a way to break free from the Borg Collective Consciousness. They helped us in finding out what happened to my wife’s ship. Her people also helped in the rescue of her and the only other survivor, her Chief Medical Officer. After creating a friendship with Kaelara and her people, she led the Carlsbad to find a secret stash of Borg ships, which were used in defeating the Vaadwaur Invasion and the Blackout effect.

It has been about three weeks now since the end of the attempted Vaadwaur invasion. The Carlsbad is as operational as we can be, given our situation and condition. We are about 560 light years away from home. Kaelara has gifted us the limited use of the transwarp coil they installed in the ship for use when we stopped the Vaadwaur. My ship’s status is nominal, somewhat. We can only use low warp speeds due to high hull stress levels due to the sections around Sickbay being blasted into atoms by Vaadwaur quantum torpedoes, costing me forty five crew members. My Chief Engineer has assured me that she boosted the ship’s structural integrity, which should be good until we get home.

The Kyrennei people have officially asked to have an official alliance treaty with the Federation. I will have to inform Starfleet Command as soon as we get home. My crew sure deserves some time off. I plan to authorize short leave for my crew as soon as we get back to Starbase 72. I know Captain Rodriguez and I need to spend some time together and away from duty. My last action here at Nexarion is one last meeting with Kaelara, at her request.

End Log Entry.

Captain Skyrunner was sitting behind his desk in the Ready Room, going over the latest ship status reports on a PADD. His door chimes.

“Enter,” he says.

The doors whooshed open and his First Officer, Captain Rodriguez, Kaelara, and Aximo walk in. Kirok looks up and smiles at them. He stands up and offers a handshake to both Kaelara and Aximo, who shake his hand in turn.

“My friends, it is a pleasure to see you again. What can I do for you,” Kirok asked Kaelara and Aximo, gesturing to them to sit down.

As Aximo was sitting, Kaelara already sat down and began.

“Captain Skyrunner, I am aware that your ship will be departing very soon to go back towards Federation space.” Kaelara smiled at Kirok, before continuing, “please allow my people to assist you with returning home. I have my Sphere take you there. All you have to do is dock inside it and it will make the transwarp jump. Then you can safely exit and the Sphere will return home.”

Captain Rodriguez moved to stand to the right of Captain Skyrunner. She replied to the offer, after catching a slight nod from Kirok.

“That would be a good gesture of friendship and cooperation. We will accept your offer Kaelara. On behalf of the crew of the Carlsbad, we thank you for helping this tired crew home.”

“I will alert my people to prepare the Sphere immediately. We can get you home when you are ready,” Aximo stated, then he closed his eyes as he communicated instructions to his people to prepare the Sphere for immediate departure.

Kaelara looked at Kirok with a slightly anxious look, which Kirok saw and identified.

“Is there something wrong Kaelara,” Kirok asked her.

Kaelara gave Kirok a slight smile, before responding. “Nothing is wrong Captain, but thank you for your concern. I’m not sure how to ask this without offending you,” Kaelara said softly.

Sophia spoke up. “Please feel free to speak openly with us in private.”

Kaelara nodded to Sophia, then stated her request. “Captain Skyrunner, I would like to request to join your ship as part of her bravely heroic crew? Not just me, but my top Lieutenants, Aximo, Vora, Naomi, and Sorvath. We have considered it thoroughly and we believe it would help benefit your ship and the Federation. I can also speak to your higher ups about my proposal of an official friendship and alliance treaty between our peoples. I do understand that it is a huge request, but I also think the rewards are worth the risks.”

Kirok sat back in his chair, looking stunned. Sophia looked just as stunned. Kirok and Sophia both looked at each other for about a minute. It seemed like they were having a silent conversation between themselves, but all they were doing was exchanging facial expressions. Sophia gave him a single nod, giving her support.

Kirok looked at Kaelara directly, carefully choosing his words before speaking.

“Kaelara, I am deeply honored that you would request to join my crew. That being said, I’m not sure about what the Federation rules and Starfleet regulations would be regarding this. However, with that being said, and taking into account that you and your people did help save, not just this ship and her crew, but also the Alpha and Beta Quadrants from the Vaadwaur.” Captain Skyrunner stood up behind his desk, as did Captain Rodriguez. “It would be an honor to have you five join my crew. My Executive Officer and myself will talk with Starfleet Command ourselves and do our best to make things official. In the meantime, are you five ready to depart? Are there any specific equipment or anything you need from your planet? It may be a long time before we can come back here.”

Kaelara and Aximo both looked at each other, having a silent conversation themselves. Kaelara spoke to Kirok.

“No special equipment is needed, Captain. Can you please give us thirty minutes to prepare?”

Kirok smiled at Kaelara and offered his hand. She took his outstretched hand, shaking it. Kirok replied to her question.

“Please take all the time you need. Let me know when you are ready. I was just going over a final ship status report and we are ready to depart.”

Kaelara stood up as well, followed by Aximo. She replied with a warm smile. “Thank you Captains,” Kaelara said to both Kirok and Sophia, then continued. “We will do our best to help improve this ship for the future.”

“I have no doubt about Kaelara. Sophia will escort you to the transporter room. We will be waiting for you.”

Sophia gestured for Kaelara and Aximo to follow her out of the Ready Room. Kirok sat back down and started to work on his official report to Starfleet Command on this huge request.

***

Aramis was walking with Catersha as she did a quick final walkthrough inspection of all damaged areas inside the ship. They arrived at the sealed off area where Sickbay used to be located. All that was there now was a duranium wall blocking the corridor and the soft hum of an emergency forcefield in operation. Catersha slumped her shoulders, as the emotions of what happened rushed back. She started to cry. Aramis noticed and he embraced her, softly stroking her cheek.

“It will be ok Catersha,” he whispered in her ear.

Catersha tried to say, between sobs, “I lost a damage repair team here when…when this happened.”

Aramis soothed her, saying, “I know sweetheart. I know. Only thing we can do now is move forward…for those that we lost. They died doing their duty to the ship. We should remember that part most.”

Catersha’s gaze met his, and she nodded slowly, her eyes locking onto his with a mix of gratitude and determination. As she began to regain her composure, she took a deep breath, pushing aside the emotions that had threatened to overwhelm her. With a newfound sense of focus, she turned her attention back to her duty. Her hands moved with precision as she initiated a final check on the welds of the makeshift wall, the one they had hastily constructed to repair the battle damage.

She raised her engineering tricorder, its sleek device humming softly as it scanned the area. The tricorder’s readings danced across the screen, providing her with the data she needed to assess the integrity of their repairs. After a moment, she nodded to herself, satisfied with the scan results. The welds had held up well under the stress, and the wall seemed sturdy enough to withstand further attacks. With a quiet beep, she closed her tricorder, the device slipping back into her pocket with a soft click. Her expression was one of quiet confidence, her eyes never leaving the task at hand. She looked at Aramis.

“I’m done here. I’m satisfied that the repair work here is sufficient enough for us to limp home. I need to inform the Captain. Dinner tonight?”

Aramis smiled at her.

“Sure. The ship’s lounge is still a mess. My quarters, say around 1900?”

“That would be delightful, Commander.”

“Good. I’ll inform the Captain of this report for you,” Aramis offered.

“Ok, sounds good. See you tonight,” Catersha replied.

They split up, going their separate ways. Catersha went back to Engineering to be ready for when the ship heads back home. Aramis headed to the Bridge to give the Captain his final damage repair assessment report. They both felt worn down and fatigued from all the dramatic chaos from the Vaadwaur.

***

Captain Skyrunner sat in his Ready Room, finishing up his report to Starfleet Command, including the Kyrennei request. His door chimed.

“Enter.”

The doors swooshed open and Captain Rodriguez walked in. The doors closed behind her and she stepped around the end of the desk and sat on the desk next to Kirok. He set the PADD on the desk and sat back, smiling at his wife. She sat there silent for a minute, smiling back at him.

Kirok spoke first. “Can I help you, Sophia?”

Sophia answered, “Engineering has finished transporting down a dozen industrial sized replicators for the Kyrennei to help build their colony, including their plans to start construction on orbital construction projects. Ship’s status is all green, just waiting on Aramis to deliver his final report from Catersha.”

The doors chime again.

“Enter.”

The doors opened again and Commander Lionel walked in, seeing the two Captains there. He nodded to them both.

“Captain. Captain. I have the final report from Catersha,” Aramis said, giving Kirok a PADD.

Kirok took the PADD, gave it a quick scan, reading the main points. He acknowledged that he read it, hit a few keys, and handed it back to Aramis.

“Thank you Commander. I’m glad the ship is ready to go. Can you and Sophia see to our new crew members when they arrive?”

Aramis looked puzzled. “New crew members?”

Sophia replied, “yes, Kaelara and her top Lieutenants requested to join us. They should be arriving soon.”

Aramis smiled. “That is great to hear. I’d be happy to get them settled.”

“Bridge to Captain Skyrunner,” came from the ship’s intercom.

Kirok tapped his comm badge. “Skyrunner here.”

“Captain, this is Bradley. We just received a message from the planet’s surface. Kaelara and her party are ready to beam up.”

“Thank you Mr. Bradley. Skyrunner out.” Kirok tapped his comm badge again, closing the channel. “Thanks for taking care of them, Aramis. The ship will be leaving in a few minutes.”

“My pleasure Captain.” Aramis walked out of the Captain’s Ready Room and went to the Transporter Room.

Sophia leaned forward and gave her husband a soft kiss. “Are you ready to go home?”

“Yes I am sweetheart.”

Kirok stood up and both Kirok and Sophia walked out onto the Bridge, heading for their seats. Just as Kirok sat in his command chair.

Bradley announced, “Kyrennei Sphere coming up next to us Captain. They messaged us, letting us know they are ready.

Kirok replied. “Message them back, let them know we are ready.”

Bradley replied to the order. “Yes, sir.”

Kirok hit the intercom button on his chair.

“All hands, this is the Captain speaking. We are about to head back home to Federation space. Since we are so far from home, we will be ‘hitchhiking’. Our friends, the Kyrennei people, have graciously offered for one of their ships to give us a ride home. In a few moments, the ship will have to dock inside the Kyrennei ship. All decks, stand by. Captain out.”

The intercom channel closed and Bradley announced that the Kyrennei were moving into position behind the Carlsbad. The massive sized Sphere moved into position behind the USS Carlsbad, its central docking area opening up as it slowly moved forward. A green tractor beam grabbed the Carlsbad’s and pulled the ship inside. The ship creaked slightly as it was pulled inside. Holding clamps extended and latches into the ship, securing it in place inside the Sphere.

“Captain, the Kyrennei Sphere is signaling that they are ready to jump to transwarp,” Bradley reported.

Kirok replied, “acknowledge them, Mr Bradley.”

Tom’s fingers flew across the console as he entered the necessary commands to acknowledge the Kyrennei Sphere.

The pilot of the Kyrennei Sphere entered a series of precise keystrokes, configuring the Sphere’s systems for departure, carefully plotting their course and preparing the ship’s transwarp drive. As he completed the sequence, the ship began to vibrate subtly, a gentle hum that grew in intensity as the Sphere’s engines roared to life.

The planet’s surface fell away beneath the Sphere, a vast expanse of terrain dwindling to a tiny sphere as the ship gained altitude. The vibrations intensified, the ship shuddering and rattling as it accelerated to incredible speeds. The stars ahead began to blur and distort, a visual effect of the ship’s rapid approach to transwarp velocities.

As the Sphere pierced the transwarp threshold, the universe around them seemed to stretch and compress, colors bleeding into one another in a kaleidoscope of light. The ship’s inertial dampeners struggled to compensate for the extreme forces at play. The transwarp drive hummed smoothly, its energy signature a steady thrum that resonated through every molecule of the ship.

Several minutes passed in a blur of transwarp speed, the ship hurtling through space at velocities that defied normal physics. Then, without warning, the Sphere dropped out of transwarp, its speed bleeding off rapidly as it reverted to normal space. The vibrations ceased, and the ship’s engines died down to a gentle whisper.

As the ship stabilized, the Kyrennei Sphere crew verified their position. They had emerged from transwarp speed approximately one light-year from Starbase 72. The Sphere opened its docking bay doors and disconnected the holding clamps and the docking bay tractor beams engaged, bathing the Carlsbad in an eerie green light known to be Borg. The Carlsbad was slowly pulled out of the docking bay and positioned safely away from the Sphere. The tractor beams turned off and the docking bay doors closed.

Ensign Lisa Nguyen, the navigator for the USS Carlsbad reported, “we are released from the Kyrennei tractor beams Captain. We are free to navigate.”

“Helm, thrusters ahead,” Sophia said.

The turbolift doors opened and Kaelara, Aximo, Vera, Naomi, and Sorvath all stepped out onto the Bridge with Commander Lionel. Captain Skyrunner glanced at the turbolift and stood.

“Welcome to the Bridge, Kaelara. Did you want to contact your people before they head back,” Kirok asked Kaelara.

Kaelara walked down to stand next to the Captain.

“I would be honored, Captain,” she said.

Kirok looked at Bradley. “Hail them Mr. Bradley.”

Tom nodded and hailed the Sphere. The Sphere answered the hail. The image of a Kyrennei officer appeared. Kaelara had a short farewell speech. After that, the Sphere turned away from the USS Carlsbad and disappeared back into transwarp, going back home.

“Helm, set course for Starbase 72, warp 2,” Captain Skyrunner ordered.

“Aye, Captain,” Lisa replied, entering commands into her navigation board.

The USS Carlsbad turned around to the heading of Starbase 72, and jumped to warp speed as the warp nacelles flashed, propelling the ship to faster than the speed of light.