Captain Beardsly strolled casually around the bridge of the USS Truckee. The crew was making preparations to depart, and they had a new mission to undertake. A new, warp-capable species had made contact with the Federation after the recent galaxy-spanning subspace event, and the USS Truckee was headed to their homeworld to follow up on the first contact negotations.

“All crew accounted for, all stations manned.” Commander Aldiib announced. “All departments report ready.”

Beardsly returned to the captain’s chair and sat down. “Ops, contact Cardassia flight control, clear us for departure from-” Marcus’ order was interrupted by a priority alert chime from the Ops station.

“Captain, apologies for the interruption, but I’m getting a priority one message from Starfleet Command. It’s not live… looks like written orders.” Lieutenant Commander Bishop inquired.

“I’ll take it here, just route it to my chair, thank you.” Marcus replied, then looked to the armchair controls.

Marcus rubbed his neck from the mental whiplash. He had been literal seconds from giving the order to set out for their new mission, when Starfleet Command had issued new orders. They were to investigate pirate activity connected to the Orion Syndicate. Marcus rotated the arm monitor towards his first officer and gestured for Aldiib to take a look.

“What do you think, Commander? Maybe a little more interesting than second contact?” Marcus asked.

“Indeed. Also, we already have a lead. The stolen Keldon we battled was run by pirates. We need to ask the Cardassians what information they got from the crew.” Peldun Aldiib wasted no time on small talk, diving right into their mission head first.

Marcus nodded, then paused to think about the best way to proceed. Deciding the time for subterfuge would come later, Captain Beardsly opted for straightforward diplomacy.

“Ops, hail the Cardassian military leadership.”

Lieutenant Commander Will Bishop blinked awkwardly at the unexpected order, then carried it out with a nod. “Channel open, they’re answering on viewscreen.” A Cardassian gul appeared, with a somewhat bemused look on her face.

“Captain, we generally don’t require Federation vessels to ask permission to depart. However, permission granted.” The gul chuckled, then reached for a console nearby.

“Ah, no. I’m captain Beardsly, I’m contacting you to request some information.” The Cardassian woman did not immediately reply, though her finger paused over the console, so Marcus continued quickly. “My crew and I recently stopped and apprehended a group of pirates who had commandeered a Keldon-class vessel of yours. We turned them over to your people. I was hoping you could share with me any information you had learned from them?”

The Cardassian gul lowered her hand, and stared into the viewscreen. Her face revealed no emotion this time. After a long pause that had Marcus wondering if the woman was even paying attention, she spoke. “What information are you looking for? I can’t give you anything complete, we’ve only had 3 days to interrogate them. That’s barely enough time to say hello.”

Lieutenant Kim Rakes shuddered as goosebumps traveled up her spine. She’d heard stories about Cardassian interrogations. Before the Dominion war, they’d been famous for torture. Now, who knows, but the way the gul spoke made Rakes believe not much had changed in that department.

Marcus didn’t have an answer ready, having expected to simply be stonewalled. Fortunately, Commander Aldiib was quick on his feet. “Those pirates were either operating from a nearby staging point, or traveling to illicit markets to pawn their seized goods. If you have any information along either of these fronts, it would be appreciated.”

The Cadassian military woman shifted her gaze to the Romulan, eyeing him, taking stock of the man. To Peldun’s credit, he did not flinch. He stared back, silently, until she finally raised both eyebrows and leaned back in her chair, feigning defeat. “Their commander has yet to break, but some of his junior officers were quick to give up information in exchange for food. I’m transmitting coordinates to you now. They claimed,” she emphasized the word, “that they would go to a black market there to offload goods. We haven’t investigated yet, so I cannot guarantee the accuracy of these results.” The Cardassian gul turned her eyes back on Captain Beardsly. “Does this help you, captain? I won’t have it be said that Gul Dallum doesn’t play nice with allies of the Cardassian people.”

Marcus nodded his appreciated, and clapped his first officer lightly on the back. “Thank you kindly, Gul Dallum. I hope to be of service to you in return. Truckee out.” Captain Beardsly gestured to Bishop, who closed the channel before the Cardassian could reply.

“Well ladies and gentlemen, I hope you didn’t have your hopes up for second contact. We’re going pirate hunting. Helm, set course for the coordinates we just received. Show us where we’re going before you hit the gas.” Marcus addressed the helmsman, then looked again to the viewscreen. A star chart replaced the view of Cardassia Prime, and indicated a small nebula with a lonely cluster of asteroids drifting around the interior. Marcus was no astrophysicist, but that seemed unusual. Someone must’ve placed them there.

In a rare offering, William Bishop spoke up next. “This is the K’tarak nebula. It’s about 4 hours from here at warp 6. If you’re wondering about those asteroids, they aren’t a naturally occurring phenomenon. Records show Starfleet has never officially investigated the nebula, as it’s in the middle of nowhere with no strategic value nor scientific interest. However, in retrospect, that seems to make it ideal for conducting illicit trades without being seen.”

Marcus and Peldun both nodded thoughtfully at the same time. Grinning, Captain Beardsly gave the order to begin their second official mission. “Well, let’s shine a light into the dark and see what comes scurrying out. Helm, punch it.” Beardsly then adjusted his voice slightly to project to the whole bridge.

“This mission could be a dead end, or it could drop us into the middle of a wide-spread criminal enterprise. We have to be prepared for anything, and help might not be readily available. Trust each other, lean on each other. Everyone performed admirably in our unusual shakedown cruise. Let’s make it a habit, and we’ll tackle anything that comes our way.”