Lieutenant Wendy Lynn rounded the corner of the corridor heading towards the office of T'au her temporary commander on Brentallia. Before she could enter she had to sign in at the desk of the commander's intern. As she applied her thumb to the padd to secure her identification she noticed that an Admiral Trent Maxwell had beat her to the punch and it would probably be another ten minutes or so before she could report in.

"Lt. Lynn to see you, sir," the intern reported to the commander through the secure channel. The woman turned to Wendy and smiled, "Commander T'au will see you now."

Surprise passed across Wendy's features and she returned the smile and replied, "Thank you, Ensign."

Lynn stepped passed the ensign's desk and plastered a smile on her face determined to make a good impression. After all she was going to be stationed here for a month, she didn't want to start out on the wrong foot. As she stepped up to the doors they whooshed open at her presence.

"...I don't care Commander, I don't want a replacement, I want that boy out of the infirmary now!"

"Admiral as I explained that is quite impossible now," taking a slight breath she turned towards Lynn, "Admiral Trent Maxwell this is Lt. Wendy Lynn she will be taking the place of Cmdr. Adam Nelson."

This sentence surprised Lynn and apparently she wasn't the only one by the look on Maxwell's face. Wendy thought she would be joining a class to compile information with other zoologists, now what was she getting in to? They both stood, mouths gaping at T'au looking like complete fools. Wendy regained composure and said, "Sir, I don't believe I understand what is going on here."

"That is exactly why I need Nelson, Commander. I don't have time to train a new recruit. Starfleet has only gave me a small window of opportunity and..."

"And at that time Commander Nelson will be severely ill and will be of no use to you. He will need plenty of rest and that is one thing he will not get on your away team," T'aui explained calmly.

Maxwell sighed and sat heavily in the closet chair. "There is no immediate cure?"

"No, sir." The Vulcan explained. "The virus lies dormant in the body and after the period of several days varying on every individual, it strikes, leaving the victim weak and inactive. In about three weeks the Commander will be able to return to active duty.

"Then there is no hope of his recovering in time. Well where does that leave my mission?" asked Maxwell. "My team and I have been preparing for this for three months."

"That is where Lt. Lynn comes in. She will fill in as zoologist."

Lynn's patience was running out clearly no one was going to tell her her part in this enterprise. "Commander can you please tell me what is going on? What mission are you talking about?"

Admiral Maxwell remained silent apparently stewing in is own juice, but Commander T'aui shed some light on the subject. She explained to Wendy that the people on Galos II homes were in danger because the sun of their world was predicted to go Nova in three years and destroy the planet. Admiral Maxwell and his team have been exploring various uninhabited worlds searching for a new home for the people. Galos II is a planet constantly plagued with electro-magnetic storms which in some unexplained way support the few crops that support the Galoians alien biology. Maxwell had fortunately found a planet that mirrored Galos II called Sentara. This week the magnetic storms on Sentara would be calming down for a two to three week period so it would be safe enough to take a small ship down to test water, fauna, flora, etc. Transporter activity and ship to shore scans and communication would be extremely limited because of the storms.

"That is why knowledge about the situation, and efficiently is so vital, Lieutenant. We have a limited time to get down there, get the specifics by cataloging and collecting samples, then out of their before our window is closed and we are stuck because our 'craft wouldn't break through the interference," Maxwell replied for the first time addressing Lynn. "I don't plan to stay on that planet for a waiting for that window to open again in a year."

"With all due respect, Admiral," Wendy said boldly. "If we do end up stuck on that planet it most certainly will not be my fault."

Trent Maxwell's lips arched slightly, the first sign of a smile Wendy had witnessed in the room, "I may hold you to that, Lieutenant." He stood then smoothing the wrinkles from his uniform. "Very well then Lt. Lynn, I'll send to your quarters the complete story on Galos II and Sentara, duty roster and complete bios on all the crew of our mission, construction report on our ship the Mendlen, and of course our duty schedule. Make sure you read all this information carefully, don't skim it study it. There will also be a list of items you must pack, survival kit etc. This is no run of the mill away mission. Be sure you are ready by 0800 hours tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" asked Wendy flabbergasted. She expected at least three days to prepare for such a mission.

Maxwell furrowed his brows at her, "Problem?"

Wendy shook her head. "No, sir." She replied. "Just less time then I expected.""That is only one thing you'll have to get used to Lynn," he turned to leave then turned back towards her. "The boys and I always get together for one last dinner before we head out. You're invited of course. 700 hours at The Garden Patch Sizzler."

"Thank you, sir," she replied to his retreating back as he left. She turned back to Commander T'aui. "Do you require my assistance in anything, sir."

The Vulcan gave her an impassive look, "No. You are assigned to report to Admiral Maxwell until you return. You are dismissed."

Wendy nodded and was gracious to escape to her quarters, until she found Maxwell had already sent to her her reading materials.

* * * The infirmary was quiet when Maxwell entered. A female ensign sat on one biobed while a nurse was mending a cut on her forehead. He kept a respectful distance until the ensign left and he went up to the nurse. "Excuse me ma'am," he began, "could you tell me where a Cmdr. Nelson is?"

She nodded and told him that Nelson was in Isolation Room 1. "He's not in a very good mood, so I wouldn't upset him," she advised him.

Maxwell thanked her and left to visit with his friend. Something he wasn't looking forward to, but knew he had to do.

Cmdr. Adam Nelson sat on the biobed with his back to the transparent aluminum. His shoulders were hunched over in deep concentration as he studied a padd in front of him. Maxwell sighed as he realized the padd must probably contained something about the mission to Sentara.

He pushed the intercom button. "Adam?"

Nelson remained in his position and quietly said, "Hello Trent." A pause. "Well?"

"I'm sorry..."

"I knew it," Adam said flinging the padd aside. "I can't believe this happened."

"I know. How are you feeling?" Maxwell asked.

"I'm mad that's how I feel! I spent three months in preparation for this mission. I think this is it! I want to be there, and now what's going to happen? You need a zoologist! I mean the trip's tomorrow. Who are they going to find to pull off their job at such short notice?!"

Trent sighed. "They found someone Adam. They got a replacement."

Nelson spun his eyes wide. "I just found out today I had the blasted thing! Who is it?"

"A Lt. Wendy Lynn from the USS Endeavour just arrived here today and T'aui just assigned her to me with out consulting me."

"But you out rank her, can't you..."

"No," Maxwell said shaking his head, "Starfleet agrees with her."

"Well I'm sorry you and the guys came all the way out here to pick me up. Brentallia being out of the way of Sentara and all." Nelson sighed. "I hope everything works out for you there."

"I really hate this," Maxwell said. "Don't worry. We'll contact you when we arrive unless the doctor doesn't think it's a good idea."

"Thanks, you better go now," Adam said.

"Okay, get better now. I'm going to really need you when I get back. Just between you and me, I don't think this Lynn is going to cut it."

* * * Crowded around a table sat the small crew. Seated by Maxwell was the botanist Cmdr. Robert MacNeil. Next to him was Richard Muldon, Matthew Parks, Peter Elliot and Mark London. Between Mark London and Maxwell was the geologist Cmdr. Jake Weston. They sat around finishing their dinners and discussing the mission, Adam, and their new recruit Wendy Lynn.

The doors to the restaurant opened and Lynn hustled through them clutching a padd in her right hand. She saw Maxwell at their table and hurried over to join them.

Maxwell pointed at her and announced, "Gentlemen, this Lt. Wendy Lynn, Zoologist from the USS Endeavour."

The men jumped to their feet as Lynn approached, Peter grabbed her a chair and then after she was seated the others followed suit by sitting down too. She immediately felt out of place as she noticed that she was the only female and the only one who was not a red blooded human. She wondered if Maxwell was ever called a racist, since he had hand picked this team.

"You're are late," Trent told her.

"I'm sorry, Admiral, I was studying the information you sent me and I forgot what time it was..." she stopped when it became apparent that she was the center of some joke because the officers began to laugh. She raised an eyebrow and waited to be let in.

Trent smiled and told her, "I was joking. This was not required plus when we are off duty we are on first name basis. It's just a perk of being a member of this elite group." Richard snorted at this while the others laughed.

"Care to have dessert with us, Wendy?" Jake asked.

"Certainly," she replied and put the padd down and joined into the discussion.

* * *

The landing pad at the Brentallia station was crowd with activity. Crewmen were racing around preparing the Mendlen for take off. Equipment and sample containers were being loaded into the ship.

The Mendlen was a small specialized ship that Maxwell had purchased from a trader on DS5. It was bigger then a shuttlecraft and smaller than a Defiant class vessel. It was perfect for what they needed.

Lynn stood awkwardly watching the workmen. She had her duffle bag looped over her shoulder and a smaller bag in her hand. She had pulled her long locks of hair back into a pony tail and her ears were visible. She wanted to put on a sign that would say, "I am NOT a Vulcan. Fore her pointed ears and upswept eyebrows gave people the false impression. She was half Romulan half human and she was sick of people asking her questions about it. At least her new "team" already knew this because Maxwell had sent her bio to everyone participating in the mission.

Some crewman came up to her and relieved her of her baggage. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Maxwell studying her. Probably trying to see if he could detect any signs of fear or uncertainty of the mission from her appearance.

She noticed the guards and Jake entering the Mendlen and she knew it was time to leave. Where would this new adventure lead her? She knew she was up to the challenge, but what she wanted more than anything was the trust of her new comrades. She held her head up high and joined them in the Mendlen.