LOG 201 – SAFE HARBOR
Captain's Log, Stardate 58031.6.
The USS Melbourne has been at the Na-Zek homeworld for the better part of a month, where the Na-Zek have graciously permitted us the use of one of their orbital drydocks to conduct our repairs. Unfortunately, the Na-Zek technology is not fully compatible with our own so Chief Engineer Tarka has had to get creative to try and bring the Melbourne back to full health, even with the ship's own impressive repair capabilities. Ambassador Sh'Rassa has been taking advantage of our extended stay to request assistance with the embassy facilities and in his ongoing diplomatic efforts in the region. It appears that we have little better to do, as there has been no word from Starfleet on what our next mission will be.
PART ONE
Since arriving at the Na-Zek homeworld of Ravaya, Cmdr. Partav has taken charge of coordinating the repairs with the Na-Zek alongside Chief Engineer Tarka and Lt. Cmdr. Ahn'Kress. Capt. Mitchell has found himself planetside more often than not, usually alongside Lt. Cmdr. Tir. Mera Tir has taken advantage of her time there to get in some hiking, and the Captain has been joining her. Nearly four weeks have passed since the Melbourne was damaged in battle with the K'thon, and Capt. Mitchell is starting to grate at the lack of information from Starfleet concerning his ship.
Chief Tarka and Cmdr. Partav are crowded into a Jeffries Tube, clad in maintenance jumpsuits bearing the wear of crawling through the interior of the ship, where the Chief is showing some of the workarounds she has had to do due to the nature of the parts and materials available from the Na-Zek. They are interrupted by a call from the Bridge, where Ens. Garrett informs Partav that they have received an encrypted message from Starfleet Command that is marked as Captain's Eyes Only. Partav tells Garrett to inform the Captain, before he and Tarka return to their work.
Capt. Mitchell and Lt. Cmdr. Tir are on another hike in one of the Na-Zek forests when the message comes in from Ens. Garrett. Mitchell orders he and Tir beamed up the Melbourne, where an Ensign hands him a uniform jacket before the Captain heads for the Bridge. He acknowledges the crew on the Bridge before he heads for his Ready Room to view the message. The message itself is short and to the point, the Melbourne is expected in the Cineres system in four days, with no additional information. Though frustrated at the lack of details, Mitchell is not one to disobey orders. He opens a shipwide broadcast and informs the crew, indicating that he wants the ship ready to depart in 24 hours.
Any crew still planetside are recalled and everyone is put to work getting the USS Melbourne prepared for whatever is coming. As the clock ticks down, Capt. Mitchell holds a briefing with the senior officers. Astrometrics provides the details on their destination, noting that they themselves had mapped the Cineres system early in their mission and that it was an unremarkable red dwarf star with a handful of planets, one Class L but none Class M. Mitchell takes in the information, commenting on the lack of details and wondering if the whole thing is a "make-work project". At the 24-hour mark the preparations are complete and Capt. Mitchell orders Lt. JG Reydon to take them out of drydock. Once the ship is clear, a course is set for the Cineres system and the Melbourne goes to warp.
Starfleet maintains its silence while the Melbourne is en route. Seeking any information, Capt. Mitchell contacts the Orion trader Talani Vartok to see if she is aware of anything related to the Cineres system, but she has not heard anything. In the end all the crew of the Melbourne can do is follow the orders they have been given. As instructed, the ship arrives at the Cineres system four days after the receipt of the message. The first thing they detect is the presence of two Starfleet vessels orbiting the Class L planet in the system, identified by their transponder codes as a pair of California classes — the USS Oakland and USS Barstow. Capt. Mitchell has many questions as the Oakland hails them, but finds at least a partial answer as a Federation Starbase drifts into view, also orbiting the planet.
A channel is opened with the Oakland and the familiar face of Capt. Amina Ramsey appears onscreen. She welcomes the Melbourne to the system, noting that they were expected. Ramsey has little other information, though. The Oakland and the Barstow had simply received orders to tow the Starbase to this system and have spent the last few weeks doing just this. As the Melbourne gets closer, it becomes clear that the Starbase is not operational yet. Capt. Ramsey confirms this, indicating that the Oakland and the Barstow, and presumably the Melbourne, are to help get it up and running. Capt. Mitchell wants more details, so proposes they and their senior officers meet aboard the station.
Mitchell beams over to the Starbase along with Cmdr. Partav, Lt. Cmdr. Ahn'Kress, Lt. Cmdr. Tir, and Lt. Stuart. Joining them are Capt. Ramsey and several of her crew from the Oakland — Lt. Ottessa Warren, Lt. Durga, and Lt. Drew Prachett; along with Capt. Lincoln LeGault of the USS Barstow, a human male in his early 50s, his First Officer Cmdr. Ellie M. Harrelson, Vulcan Chief Engineer Lt. Cmdr. T'Laris, and Caitian Science Officer Lt. R'rowllar. They have assembled on the large open area that will eventually house the station's Galleria, with spaces for a variety of businesses to be set up. They are met by Lt. Cmdr. Jay Lee, who is the Station Manager assigned to the Starbase, and Cmdr. Griff Nall, a Bolian from the Starfleet Corps of Engineers who is in charge of completing the construction of the station.
After the introductions are made, Lt. Cmdr. Lee informs the assembled officers that the station is officially designated as Starbase 454, with the code name of Cygnus Alpha. What continues to bother Capt. Mitchell is the why, as in why has Starfleet brought a Starbase to this system in the first place. Cmdr. Nall seems to think it is obvious, that the Federation wants a stronger presence in this area of space, but Mitchell needs more. He had also hoped that the Starbase would be able to help with the repairs to the Melbourne, but is informed by Cmdr. Nall and Lt. Cmdr. Lee that the station won't be able to provide that sort of capability until after it is made fully operational and has time to build up its supplies. In the end Mitchell can only agree for the Melbourne to render whatever assistance it can and the officers return to their respective vessels to begin coordinating on the next steps.
While Cmdr. Partav assembles a team to work on the Starbase, Capt. Mitchell confers with Lt. Cmdr. Tir on her theories about the station's purpose and why the Melbourne was brought in when Starfleet knows she is not up to full capacity. Mera notes that the Starbase is a Frontier class, specifically designed to serve as a central hub in new regions of space. When fully operational it will not just be a base of operations for Starfleet, but also serve a diplomatic function and act as a trade hub. As for why it was placed in a relatively unremarkable star system like Cineres, she can only speculate that this is to reduce the likelihood of the other starfaring powers in the area attempting to claim it as their own territory. The system's position is also not far off the routes that vessels from Federation space would be following to get to the newly mapped parts of the Alpha Quadrant that the Melbourne has been exploring since the ship arrived in the area.
Mitchell still has his doubts, but there is little he can do about it until Starfleet decides to provide more information. He checks with Partav, who confirms that the main team is ready to beam over to the Starbase to start coordinating with the groups from the Oakland and the Barstow and the skeleton station crew already at work. The Captain concurs and gives him clearance to go.