Chapter 1: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner

May, 2380

USS Oberon, Somewhere between Starbase 718 and the Romulan Neutral Zone

He hadn’t had that dream in a long time, but Captain Jerran Terel always woke up at the same place, just after the USS Kirov exploded. It must have been about two or three years since the last time he woke up bolt upright in his bed, sweat covering his body. The memory was still as vivid today as when the events occurred on that fateful day almost 5 years ago. And he still looked over at the other side of the bed to see if it was still empty.

*Sigh.* Jerran looked around, but as the disorientation of waking up suddenly wore off, he realized the sound hadn’t come from the room, but inside his head.

*I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you,* Jerran “said,” projecting his thoughts towards the Medusan navigator who resided a couple of decks below his quarters.

*It’s alright,* the LCDR Belock replied in Jerran’s mind. *I was only trying to calculate a new course to make sure we don’t run into a star or something. Besides, there were plenty of people on Betazed who didn’t sense you, but I think they were already in a coma.*

Jerran managed a slight smile as he got up and went to the washroom to splash some water on his face. *I thought you’d stopped having that dream a while ago,* Belock said, concerned over his friend’s inability to sleep.

*I did…* Jerran said, his thoughts trailing off. *Just bad timing, I guess.*

Belock thought about the Captain’s statement for a moment and said, *Oh, I see. Today would have been your 7^th Anniversary. I had forgotten that corporeal beings put such importance on specific dates.*

Terel looked over at the chronometer on his desk. 0450. He would have gotten up in about 10 more minutes anyway.

[Bridge to Captain Jerran], came LT Commander McBride’s voice over the intercom. Jerran sighed audibly, as it was now obvious that he was going to get woken up a little early anyway.

He tapped the comm activator on the desk and said, “Go ahead, Commander.”

[Sorry to wake you, sir.]

Jerran raised an eyebrow and was about to say something when he heard Belock’s voice in his head saying, *Too late.*

[We’re nearing the Neutral Zone,] the second officer continued. [And our Romulan escorts are waiting on the other side for us.]

“Acknowledged, Commander. I’ll be up in about 10 minutes. Go ahead and wake the rest of the senior bridge officers.”

[Aye, sir. Bridge out.]

*At least he didn’t wake you,* Belock said.

*Don’t you have a black hole you should be charting or something?* Jerran said as he went to get dressed.

*********************

Exactly ten minutes later, Captain Jerran and Commander t’Jon, the ship’s XO, stepped onto the bridge. Commander McBride vacated the center seat and moved to the OPS console at the rear of the bridge. “Report,” Jerran said as he passed the Second Officer on the way to the command chair.

“Two Shrike class destroyers, sir. They decloaked just as soon as we got within visual range.”

Jerran walked over and put a hand on helmsman LT Jennifer Cartwright’s shoulder. “Their bows are exactly 1 centimeter from the border,” she said. “I’d almost say they had a Medusan on board, but I’m sure Commander Belock would claim better accuracy.”

“They’re hailing us,” McBride said.

“On screen,” Jerran said as he stood behind the helm with his hands behind his back.

The starfield on the main viewer was replaced by the bridge of a Romulan ship, much darker than the Oberon’s bridge, with a green glow from recessed lights. A tall, severe Romulan sat at the center of the bridge. He looked like he’d never cracked a smile in his life.

[I am Sub-Commander tr’Loren of the warbird Tocrah.]

“Captain Jerran Terel of the Starship Oberon. My crew is looking forward to working with you, Sub-Commander.”

The Romulan merely raised an eyebrow ever so slightly in a look that Jerran could tell from living with Vulcans most of his life was an expression of mild disgust.

[We’ve been ordered to escort you to starbase Veloris. You and your escorts are to form up 500 meters behind us, if that’s not too much trouble for your pilot.]

Jerran squeezed Cartwright’s shoulder lightly, knowing he was going to hear about this later. “We’ll try not to run into you, Sub-Commander.”

The screen went abruptly blank, replaced by a view of the two Romulan destroyers hanging in space just on the other side of the border. Jerran turned to McBride as he walked over to sit at his chair. “Signal the Belerophon and Ptolemy. Tell them to keep in tight formation with us.”

“Why do I get the feeling that we’re like a fifth bondmate here?” the Andorian First Officer t’Jon said as she turned to the Captain.

“We knew this assignment wasn’t going to be easy when Command told us about it,” Jerran said. “The Romulans are just as proud a people as their Vulcan cousins. It’s amazing that they even asked for our help after the Reman uprising. It’s understandable that not all of their officers are going to be completely welcoming. It just means we’ll have to be all the more diplomatic.”

t’Jon simply folded her arms, obviously not comfortable with the idea of diplomacy. Jerran leaned in closer to his XO and said, rubbing his chin, “Of course, that doesn’t mean we’ll be turning our backs on them anytime soon.”

She didn’t turn her head towards the captain, but her antennae moved in his direction as she said, “That’s a given, sir.”