"So, what's with the name of this place anyway?" Commander Jevor asked, as he stood at the Bridge's engineering panel. "'The Triangle;' sounds ominous."
Commander Yilaan, who was the senior officer on the Bridge at that time, turned to answer, "You should study more history, Commander. 'The Triangle' was an area of space sandwiched between the Federation, the Romulan Empire, and the Klingons. It was an area of free space, and usually quite chaotic because of it. Each side claimed certain planets in the region; when claims conflicted, minor skirmishes occurred. Each side felt it had to keep the other from gaining too much of a foothold in the region. No one was really responsible for any fighting there of course; all governments denied any wrong doing, but I guarantee you everyone was guilty. Merchants charged a high price for travel through the area, but it was sometimes worth it; there are some planets in the region rich in Dilithium and other mineral resources. Now that the Klingons and the Federation are allies, the area is of lesser importance."
Jevor nodded and smiled, "Sounds like a fun place to me."
"That would depend on your point of view," Yilaan said dryly. "I recall one instant about eighty years ago, of a landing party being trapped on the surface of one of those worlds for over a year. Their ship had been destroyed in orbit by a Klingon vessel and all hands had been presumed lost; no one ever thought to check the planet since no one knew at the time where the ship was or what it was doing. Well so imagine the surprise of the Federation ship that surveyed the planet over a year later and found a small group of Starfleet officers already there! The marooned landing party had been led by a Lt. something or another," she paused, thinking. "I don't recall who."
"Wasn't it Erickson?" Ensign Gates inserted.
Yilaan snapped her fingers, "Yeah, that's it! Good for you Ensign. Anyways," Yilaan continued the story, "Lt. Erickson's group suffered no losses amongst them, despite the hostile animal life and the efforts of making life work on a planet with limited resources and no access to technology. He was a big hero, got promoted right away, that sort of thing."
"Interesting story Yilaan," said Jevor. "Maybe I'll go brush up on Federation history after this shift."
The first officer nodded and sat back into the command chair. She glanced at one of the small panels on the arm of the chair and touched a button. "We are now leaving Federation space for the Triangle," she said. "Yellow alert."
The lights became a little more yellowish while the computer announced that the ship was at yellow alert.
"Estimate arrival at Tyr Four, Ensign," Commander Cecilia Yilaan said to Ensign Tina Gates at the navigation console.
"Eight hours, fifteen minutes at present speed of warp eight," Gates responded.
"Thank you Ensign, maintain course and speed," the first officer replied.
"Aye sir."
Time passed and the Bristol reached its destination without incident. A shift on the bridge had come and gone since Yilaan's conversation with Jevor, and the captain was now in command of the bridge.
"Take us in to the Tyr system, and assume a standard orbit around Tyr Four," the captain ordered Lt. Reiv at the conn station. "Ivanovna," the captain continued, turning to face his tactical and communications officer, "hail Tyr Four. Contact Federation Special Emissary R'Dalla, and let her know our arrival is imminent.
Reiv nodded and complied, and Lt. Ivanovna moved to perform the communications tasks required of her. After ten minutes or so, the Bristol was in orbit of Tyr Four.
"Captain Freeman, Tyr Four is hailing. It is the Special Emissary," Lt. Ivanovna reported.
"On screen please, Katrina," the captain replied. The image of a older Vulcan woman appeared on the screen, and the captain smiled at the image, "We are ready to beam you up Emissary."
The woman frowned. "Captain, where have you been? I got a message from your ship that said your arrival was imminent, yet I've been waiting over ten minutes!"
The captain got a pained look on his face, which he attempted to hide, "Special Emissary R'Dalla, my apologies for my loosely defined language. We are here now, however, and are ready to beam you up."
The emissary sighed, "Very well Captain. I also have several large containers which will require transporting. I will give you the coordinates upon my arrival. Energize your transporter."
The captain nodded stiffly, "Transporter Room One, this is the captain. Lock on to Special Emissary R'Dalla and energize. Beam her directly to the Bridge."
"Aye sir," the female voice of Transporter Chief McClellan responded over the intercom. "Energizing."
Emissary R'Dalla appeared on the Bridge. "Welcome to the Bristol, Emissary," said Captain Freeman, forcing a smile.
R'Dalla nodded, "Thank you Captain. I require rest, then I will need a secure channel to Starfleet Command, so that I may report my findings to my superiors."
The captain, clearly uncomfortable with her attitude, replied, "As you wish Emissary. Lt. Ivanovna.....," he paused. "Excuse me. I will show you to your quarters Emissary. Please contact either myself or Lt. Ivanovna when you wish to contact Starfleet."
R'Dalla cocked her head slightly as the captain motioned her to accompany him on the turbolift. "Thank you for your cooperation Captain," she said, handing him an electronic pad. "That has the coordinates for the four containers I need. When they are aboard, you'll need to set up a 24-hour guard around them; no one is to open them or disturb them in any way."
The captain nodded stiffly, and then the two of them left the Bridge. "Reiv, get us to Starbase Ten," the captain ordered as he departed. Reiv complied.
Lt. Ivanovna leaned forward at her station behind the captain's chair, looking at the viewscreen. She then walked down around the Bridge, to the front, and Reiv's station. She paused, and, as Reiv looked up at her, said to him quietly, "I wonder what that was all about?"
Reiv shrugged, and looked over to see if the navigation officer was eavesdropping.
"Keep on your toes Lt.," Ivanovna said. "I have a strange feeling about all this."
Meanwhile, in the turbolift, the captain was trying to pry information out of the Emissary in regards to what the containers were all about.
"Captain, I'm sorry, but that information is classified," R'Dalla was telling him in no uncertain terms.
"Emissary, all I need is some assurance that the contents are not dangerous and in no way pose a threat to my ship. You won't let me anywhere near them, but I need a list of their contents," the captain replied.
"You need nothing of the sort Captain. I am a Federation Special Emissary and have leave to bring aboard your ship anything I want," she said sternly. "However," her voice softened slightly, "to put your mind at ease, the contents of those storage containers have been approved by Starfleet Command."
"Thank you Emissary," the captain said, annoyed at being left in the dark about goings on aboard his own ship, but pleased that the containers were not apparently dangerous.
They arrived outside the quarters the emissary had been assigned, and the captain bade her good day. He then proceeded over to Sickbay to see Dr. Giovanni.
The captain smiled as he entered Sickbay. "Hello Doctor," he called out to her as she sat at her desk doing something on her computer.
She punched a couple keys and pushed herself back from her desk in her chair. "What can I do for you today Captain?" she said cheerily.
"Nothing really. I just dropped off our Special Emissary at her quarters. Pay her a visit later and give her the routine examination given to all our guests. If she gives you a hassle, you can forgo it."
"Aye sir," the doctor replied. "I'll call on her later today."
"Good," the captain said, smiling a forced smile. He then paused, edging around the real reason he had come to visit his chief medical officer in Sickbay. "How are things for you Doctor?"
"Me personally? Fine, thanks. That sounds like my line anyway," she said, laughing slightly at her joke, before pausing and studying the captain. "What's on your mind sir?"
"Am I really that transparent?" the captain asked, feigning injury.
"Yes, but we've had this discussion before."
"So we have." The captain paused to organize his thoughts before continuing, "Doctor, your rift with Lt. Reiv concerns me."
"Why? He is a competent officer, and so am I. We work fine together."
"Uh-huh. You work 'fine' together, yet the tension is so thick you could cut it with a knife. C'mon Doctor. You hate him, don't you?" the captain asked.
"Am I the transparent one now? Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say I hate the man. I think he acted amorally in our last mission, and his beliefs are reprehensible. He disgusts me, to be blunt. However," Dr. Giovanni said, straightening up, "I am a Starfleet Officer, and he and I are shipmates. So long as we have a professional relationship, my personal feelings are beside the point. If he were to come in here and needed help, I would help him as I would any other patient."
"Well, that's fine. I see that the Academy trained you well," the captain said, which brought a smile from the doctor. "They trained you well in everything but tolerance." The doctor gave Captain Freeman a hurt look but he continued, "Don't you see, Doctor? He didn't act amorally. Maybe, depending on your point of view, he acted immorally in comparison to your own system of beliefs, but he has his own too you know. What makes his any more or less right than yours? Just something to think about Doctor," the captain said, as he turned to leave Sickbay.
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