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File #1 - "Legacy"

"Captain Raymond Nicholson, U.S.S. Warrior, Reporting..."

"We have completed our first test of the U.S.S. Warrior's black project... The ship performed admirably... I only wish I could say the same for her crew. Starfleet seem to have assigned me some incompetent engineers and not a fully seasoned Bridge crew, in order to test their brand new vessel."

"Commander Val'sha agrees with me that crew efficiency needs to be raised by another 40%, especially if many of these officers wish to seek continued employment on my vessel after this endeavour. She may be a Vulcan but its unusual just how often our insights align."

"Our new metaphasic "MIDAS-Touch" array has performed beyond expectations although on a side note, I do wish that Starfleet Engineering Corps would stop finding excuses to name every single invention that they come up with."

"Although I am somewhat in awe of the complexity of this new system, which incorporates technology from the failed "Unity Class Starbase" almost thirty years ago into a new mobile platform that makes it possible to detect all cloaked ships within a sector."

"So far we have been testing the system on the edge of Federation space near Dewa III, or "New Romulus" as its known now. The Romulan Republic are unaware that we have this technology and we have been able to pinpoint every cloaked vessel within the vicinity of the planet."

"Admiral Shelby was somewhat concerned that such technology would provoke the remnants of the Tal Shiar and maybe even our "allies", the Romulan Republic and the Klingon Empire but I am convinced that the risk is worth it."

The Treaty of Algeron is long dead... just like the Romulan chances of ever becoming a serious galactic power again...

---

Captain Nicholson stood on the new and advanced bridge of the U.S.S. Warrior. He was a grizzled man with a chiseled face, slightly worn eyes and a stern expression that would rival that of Jean-Luc Picard himself.

"Helm... report?" he asked while staring at the large viewscreen in front of him. The huge screen had tripled in size compared to the older Galaxy and Sovereign Class Starships are were now capable of offering detailed tactical displays of the ship and objects in space, just at a glance.

The Helm Officer tapped her console and spoke without looking back at the Captain, transfixed by the image on the screen.

"I...I... cannot understand it sir... my sensors read a Federation starship almost directly ahead and then it just.... Vanished."

Nicholson could sense the anxiety in the voice of his helm officer. She was little more than an unseasoned cadet, only promoted to Ensign ahead of her class due to her activities working on the U.S.S. Warrior.

The ridges of her wrinkled nose seemed somewhat more pronounced when she was concerned... even for a Bajoran.

But Nicholson, who was usually so impatient for his crew and demanded nothing less than perfection from them, had a special soft spot for her specifically. She was the daughter of Kiska Lomarr, the former helm officer of the Sovereign and a deep personal friend of Captain Nicholson.

Captain Nicholson had grieved with LoMar, who he had met at the wake for his uncle, Captain Robert Wright of the U.S.S. Dauntless. Who was killed during an ill-fated attempt by a rogue Cardassian element to start a war between the Federation and a newly discovered species known as the Kessok. Nicholson had always been in awe of his uncle's valiance and was enamoured with tales of his own personal bravery as part of the seventh fleet during the Dominion War.

It was Kiska, now a commanding officer herself, that had petitioned Captain Nicholson to choose her daughter, Ensign Kiska Meiru to be his new helm officer, feeling she could learn much from the "grizzled old palukoo".

"We need a better explanation then that, Miss Kiska" scolded a cold female voice from behind where Captain Nicholson was standing.

Commander Val'sha, with a doctorate in no less than three major schools of Engineering was as intelligent as she was socially inept. Her logic was almost impeccable and the way she cut people down with her cold harsh comments moved people to tears on a regular basis.

"I'm s-sorry" stuttered Kiska, who shot a glance behind her while returning to her control panel. "...C-Commander. I am attempted alternative means of location... it might..."

She was cut off from the same harsh Vulcan toned female voice from before.

"Captain, the vessel appears to be Federation but I detecting consistent power surges across all major systems and some form of tachyon displacement along it's hull".

Captain Nicholson spun round to look at his First Officer with a curt nod. "How the hell did it just appear like that?"

"Captain..." interrupted another new voice. This one belonging to a small Andorian male, Ensign Zent. His antenna twitched with the enthusiasm to add his input to the conversation.Captain Nicholson had looked him over before, he was only about eighteen years old, his head still ringing with lines like "duty" and "honor".

"There have been incidents of ships phasing in and out of the space-time continuum before. These Tachyon readings are very similar to the readings took by the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 when it encountered a derelict U.S.S. Defiant in the 23rd Century".

Nicholson and Val'sha both looked at each other with an element of surprise. For a child... he was pretty astute.

"Indeed" replied Val'sha "Ensign Zent's logic is sound..."

"Oh thank you! Commander..." replied Zent so eager to try and please his commanding officers that he may have been trying just a little too hard.

Ignoring the exchange, Commander Val'sha tapped her blue transluscent control panel, bringing up a holographic representation of a Century Class starship, a class of vessel that was considered new almost twenty years previous but was now beginning to show her age considerably.

The Century Class had been considered a crowning achievement of Starfleet Command and a natural extension of its predecessor, the Sovereign Class. However it had proved to cost considerably more resources than most Federation starships and the class had only seen limited usage as command vessels, with on two still in service today.

"Century Class, Registry: NCC-91988... U.S.S... Republic."

In his utter bewilderment, Nicholson returned to his chair in order to stroke his beard carefully. The U.S.S. Republic had been missing since the last Borg attack on New Alexandria Starbase in 2397. Almost an entire fleet had been lost in that engagement.

So how could it be here?

"Captain!" Ensign Zant screamed excitedly, his antenna twitching. "You are not going to believe this!"

Captain Nicholson was nearly at the maximum level of his irritation as he barked... "Well don't keep it to yourself Mr Zant!".

"I'm detecting one lifesign but it appears to be phasing in and out of the space-time continuum."

"What the hell happened to that ship?" muttered Captain Nicholson.