Captain Taybar had woken up with a headache the following morning, blood wine always did that to her. She’d seen Ka’Leth off to meet with the Churchill and with any luck, she’d arrive at the Leviathan before he did. She’s spent the remained of the evening finishing off the blood wine and reading up on the Leviathan, it’s systems and it’s crew. Eventually the wine and the long trip took its grip of her and she’d fallen asleep in her temporary quarters.

She’d got up, washed and dressed then made a visit to the medical centre where to her surprise she’d bumped into Samiz Barker, the younger sister of her oldest friend. They’d spent nearly an hour talking over the past, but Aki ‘neglected’ to tell Samiz about her being assigned to the Leviathan.

After a late lunch, it was finally time for the briefing with Admiral Devore. She walked down to the Admiral’s office and arrived in the outer office, where the same young Ensign she’d seen yesterday was sat behind her desk working at a console.

"Captain Taybar, the Admiral won’t too long, he’s just received an update from Captain Wallace at Supply Base 901." Ensign Solo said, acknowledging Aki’s arrival.

In his office, Admiral Devore had indeed received this update and although things we’re looking bad, they were not as bad as first thought. The conflict appeared to be confined to the area of space beyond the Briar patch, mainly G’Kar and the space around SB 901 and New Canada. However, there was always the possibility of the conflict expanding, maybe even bringing the Romulans into the conflict, but on who’s side ?. The Romulans shared a common border with the Mullurians although relations between the two had always been amenable. What worried Devore more was the involvement of the Dominion forces. They knew the tactics of the Federation forces, how best to fight them, however that worked both ways because the Federation also knew how to best fight the Dominion. Devore now had to make a difficult choice and it was one he knew whichever decision he went with, it wasn’t going to be the best choice.

"Ensign, has Captain Taybar arrived yet ?" He asked Ensign Solo.

[Yes Admiral, she arrived about five minutes ago.] The Ensign replied [Should I send her in ?]

"Yes. And please inform me when the crew of the Hellcat arrives." Devore requested.

Ensign Solo told Aki she could go in now and as Aki entered the inner office of the Admiral, he rose from behind his desk to greet her. He looked a little ‘dishevelled’ than the last time she’d met him, as if he’d been working through the night and not had time to change.

"Captain, we’re just waiting for the Hellcat crew to arrive, please take a seat." The Admiral offered, pointing towards the conference table in the far side of the room. Aki walked across the office and took the seat closest to the head of the table.

[Admiral, the Hellcat crew has arrived.] Ensign Solo reported.

"Send them in Ensign." The Admiral replied.

Two Starfleet officers entered the room, wearing gold. ASHER and Oakenshield nodded towards the Admiral and took up seats along the opposite side of the table to Aki, leaving the top-most seat vacant.

Then the Admiral introduced the Captain to the two members of the crew who had just sat down, but didn’t inform them that she was going to be their new commanding officer. Then two more officers came into the room, a tall Cardassian dressed again in gold and then the familiar face of the her friend in his blue uniform.

Admiral Devore introduced Dukal to the Captain, then to Lt. Commander Barker, who just smiled at his friend. Devore saw the smile and wondered what was going on, he’d never seen his chief science officer so interested.

"So how are you Aki ?" Chu asked, taking the top-most seat opposite her.

"Fine." Aki replied. "I saw Samiz earlier today, she seems to enjoying working at Starfleet Medical."

Admiral Devore coughed. "Can I take it that the two of you know each other." He enquired.

"Sorry Admiral." Chu apologised. "But we’ve known each other a very long time. Please carry on Admiral, we can catch up later."

"Right. Firstly I’d like to introduce official Captain Aki Taybar, who will be your new commanding officer aboard the Leviathan." Devore started.

Chu looked across at his friend and new commanding officer. *You kept that quiet.* He thought to himself.

"Secondly, I am officially calling the Hellcat and Leviathan off the search for the mirror vessel." Devore continued.

Everyone looked at the Admiral as if he was insane.

"The ‘Mulluran\G’Kar\New Dominion’ situation is growing ever closer to the Federation border, it wouldn’t take long for it to cross the Briar patch into the heart of Federation space. If that should happen, then we are going to need every vessel we have to fight, which means the Leviathan." Devore carried on. "The ISS Leviathan is but one vessel and given your last estimates was still within Romulan space. We’ll let the Romulans deal with it, if they come across it. For now I need the Leviathan and it’s weapons to help defend the Federation. With the modifications that are being made, plus the fact that the Leviathan can be on the other side of the Briar patch within twenty four hours, I’m going to assign it to the Federation border at Deep Space 4 as of now."

Everyone just sat, thinking of what the Admiral had just ordered.

"You’ll be leaving first thing tomorrow." The Admiral said. "You’ll have to travel via Vulcan where you’re to pick up two new officers. Ensign Martyn Homatopoulos will be joining the tactical staff under the guidance of Oakenshield and Ensign Talken will be joining as a science office."

Ensign Oakenshield nodded in understanding. "When will I receive his file ?" She asked.

"You can collect it from Ensign Solo when you leave, as can you Mister Barker. Lieutenant Dukal, there is also a new crewmember arriving to join security, an Ensign Sandra Hjort. She’s currently posted at Deep Space 9, but should have arrived on the Leviathan by the time you return. Hopefully Lieutenant Ka’Leth with also have arrived with the new Valkyrie fighters and some additional equipment for the Marines." The Admiral replied.

"So we’re getting a fighter group ?" Ensign Oakenshield commented. "But who’s Ka’Leth ?. Sounds like a Klingon name."

"Lieutenant Ka’Leth is indeed Klingon and like the rest of us around this table has gone through the Academy and earned his place in Starfleet." Aki replied sounding a little annoyed. "He’s also an excellent pilot and my former XO.

Julia blushed at the Captain’s remarks, feeling like she’d just made a terrible mistake.

"Once you reach the Leviathan, you are to travel to Deep Space 4, via Marine Post 492 on Memkeron, where you’ll pick up Major Phanan and his Marines." The Admiral continued. "Once stationed at DS 4, you’ll be acting as a rapid response unit, attacking any hostile forces that come through the Briar patch or cross over from Romulan space. If things get much worse, you maybe relocated to defend SB 901 and stop any advancing force."

Admiral Devore passed a datapad over to the Captain. "Everything you’ll need is there Captain."

"Admiral, if I’m correct, the Leviathan still has nearly two weeks of repairs to be achieved." Chu enquired.

"Those repairs will have to be done when you reach Deep Space 4, we can’t afford to have Starfleets fastest and most powerful vessel sitting on the side-lines." The Admiral replied. "Are there any more questions ?"

The small group looked at each other.

"Then I think this briefing is over. Relax tonight, it might be the last time you get R & R for sometime." The Admiral stated, rising from his chair.

The group slowly dispersed and went their separate ways, until only Chu and the Admiral were left.

"Admiral, do you really think this is the right thing to do ?" He asked. "Who knows what the mirror crew can do whilst we’re stuck waiting for an invading force."

"Mister Barker, this may not seem like the best answer and to be honest, it’s not what I would have done were I still Captain. But I’m an Admiral now, in command of all the forces operating within the Beta quadrant. I have to look at the larger picture, weight up the odds and make a decision." The Admiral replied. "We’re not giving up on the search, other vessels and resources will be put in place. The probe that you’ve re-captured maybe a vital clue to finding them again."

Chu finally agreed that the course of action the Admiral had made them take was the lesser of two evils and he was right. The ISS Leviathan was but one ship, cut off from any support. He rose from his seat and walked out of the office.

Aki was sat waiting for him, with two padds in her hand. "I’ve been looking at the new crew profiles. They seem to be good officers and hopefully they’ll turn into great crew." She remarked.

"Would you like to get some dinner ?" Chu asked.

"We have a reservation for eight at the Captain’s table." Aki replied. "Black tie."

Chu looked at Aki. "Privilege of the rank." She remarked, smiling broadly. "I’ll see you at eight."