Fleet Admiral Teylas Ramar stood at the edge of the large bay window of the executive conference room of Deep Space 2, staring out at the ships coming and going from the station. In the distance, he saw the USS Dreadnought, the ship that had brought him to the station, as it continued its course, orbiting from a distance. In what seemed like a distant echo behind him, he faintly heard the gathered voices as they continued discussing the station’s business, diplomacy, and any other topic that sidetracked them. In the forefront of his thoughts were the more pressing issues for him: the severance of huge portions of the Federation and Starfleet from one another from a seemingly unknown source.

Those gathered in the conference room were some of the most pivotal players either locally or in the Quadrant-at-large. All were forcibly stuck in the area of Deep Space 2, cut off from warp travel out of the Tormerac system and its surrounding area. Rear Admiral Viran, the station’s commander, had been a hospitable host thus far, but there was only so much you could do for people anxious to return home. It was especially frustrating for the Starfleet hosts who were now having to entertain the ambassadors who had been gathered for a trade summit at the station; a notoriously fickle bunch.

Admiral Ramar turned towards the center and scanned the room again, reminding himself of those gathered. The most notable was the towering Gorn, Ambassador S’Rath. S’Rath is an elder Gorn diplomat with a long memory and deep scars from the Federation-Gorn conflicts who views diplomacy as a tactical battlefield. Ambassador S’Rath made a name for himself as a progressive who championed early peace talks with the Federation over a century ago.

The next most noticeable for Ramar was someone he had known for decades, Admiral Tolak tr’Servek of the Romulan Republic. A former Imperial Fleet Commander of the old Romulan Star Empire, Tolak had met Ramar many times, both as an enemy and a friend. Now, as a staunch ally, the two had created an inseparable friendship over the years since the Romulan supernova. Since the glory days of the Empire, Tolak had become a more staunch liberal voice for change within its walls. When the supernova occurred, Tolak was one of the first supporters of the rise of the democratic Romulan Republic. Because of his influence, he had been able to bring large swaths of capable warbird commanders and soldiers to the Republic. Now, he was one of the Republic’s most pivotal voices and had been representing its interests at the trade summit.

And finally the last major player had been Ambassador T’Kethis. Like most Vulcans, she is quiet, observant, and yet deceptively influential. T’Kethis specializes in cross-species empathy and nonverbal reptilian species communication, making her one of the foremost experts on the Gorn. She has been described as one of the few Federation ambassadors who can truly “read” a Gorn diplomat without misunderstanding their tone or intent.

Ramar’s concentration was broken by the approach of his adjutant. Turning his head he forced a smile, “Any updates, Commander Vos?”

The adjutant, a Bajoran named Vos Kellen, shook his head slightly. “Still nothing back from Starfleet. They may not have figured out that we’re using the microsingularity to send communications. Or someone privy to that level of intelligence may not be aware yet.”

“Understood. I’ve spoken with the representatives here, and we’ve all agreed that, for the time being, we will unify under my command until the situation is dealt with. Continue to order the gathered ships to maintain yellow alert and to patrol the area. Whatever this is, we don’t want to get caught off guard. It could be nothing, but it could be something,” Ramar ordered, letting out a sigh of frustration at the unknown and uncontrollability of the situation.

“Of course, sir,” Vos nodded as he motioned for Viran to join them. As the Andorian lifted from his seat and walked over, Vos made room for him to approach. The three of them huddled closer as Vos lowered his tone, “I don’t want to alarm the others, and again Admirals, it could be nothing… but I spoke with Commander Feld in Ops a few minutes ago and he said that sensors have ben picking up a very minute and small build up of tachyon particles approximately 250,000 kilometers away. We aren’t sure if they’re naturally occurring yet or not.”

“Could be something?” Ramar turned to Viran for his thoughts.

Viran lowered his head for a moment to contemplate and then said, “Could be nothing, but it’s also the first sign of… anything… over these past few weeks. Maybe we should have the Amonak break patrol and investigate?”

Ramar nodded in affirmation. “We can monitor the situation from Ops?” he asked rhetorically.

The three gathered, excusing themselves from the conference room and making their way to the station’s control center. Once in Operations, Commander Feld gave the update, “The Amonak is approaching the readings now. Comms are open. The Amonak is on screen as best we can.”

Admiral Ramar deferred to Admiral Viran in this situation. While Ramar was the Fourth Fleet Commander and in operational control at this moment, Deep Space 2 was still Viran’s station. The Andorian’s attenae moved slightly as he took his position standing near the center of Operations. Clearing his throat, he asked, “Captain Virell, what are you seeing out there?”

The comm was silent momentarily until the Captain reported back, “Sir, we can confirm a build up of tachyons. It appears to be at a slow rate, but it is exponentially growing.” There was a short pause before the Captain continued, “If I didn’t know any better, I would say we were looking at an Underspace aperture. The signature and identities of the opening of an aperture are almost identical.”

“A remnant of the Underspace phenomena from last year?” Feld asked out loud what everyone else had been thinking.

Ramar lowered his brow. His concern was growing. He had been privy to far more intel than those gathered had been, and it was time to step in. He knew what most didn’t: the Underspace crisis of 2401 wasn’t naturally occurring. Complicating matters was the presence of an entire host of diplomats currently housed at Deep Space 2.

“Admiral Viran, order all ships to fall back to the station and assume defensive postures.”

Viran issued the order to Captain Virell and nodded to Commander Feld to issue the order to the remaining gathered ships. No sooner than the Amonak turned about and began its return to Deep Space 2, the Underspace aperture indeed was created and blown wide open. From the mouth of Underspace, dozens of ships of all sizes began pouring out. It was an armada, and it was at the doorstep of Deep Space 2.

“Red alert.”