Tau Mervana lies nestled in the Neutral Zone, a stone’s throw from the territories of the Romulan Free State. For decades, warlords have picked over the region, vying for power and control of a launching point to set up their own fiefdom. It is only this far that Ireqh, former Undersecretary of Defence for the Romulan Free State, has managed to flee his Tal Shiar masters as he seeks to defect to the United Federation of Planets. This far, and no further.

To get him over the line, Commander Hal Cassidy and his special operations team have been dispatched to Tau Mervana. Aboard the USS Blackbird, they have to slip past Romulan warlords, local pirates, and even official Starfleet business to extract a man it would be best the wider galaxy never learnt the true fate of. But there may be one obstacle more dangerous than any of these, for the Free State would never let such a man escape lightly…

Mission image by Beckett; ‘planet’ art asset created with Midjourney