Mission 1: The Price of Kindness

[USS Phoenix - First Officer's Ready Room]

Reaching in the replicator terminal for his tea, Gabriel sighed contentedly at the heat of it.  He generally preferred cold mint, but this time, his body and mind were ready for the warmth of it all.  It had been a frustrating day, and the more they found out about this...'theft' attempt...the less they seemed to know.

He sat down in his office chair with a sigh, waggling previously-bloody fingers that had been repaired with the dermal.  

Begin First Officer's log addendum.

Our disastrous first encounter with the people calling themselves the Hunari Imperium over, I cannot help but feel that it was more 'disastrous' than it should have been...but, yet, not as much as it *could* have been.

Upon apprehension and questioning of these people, it is obvious that they lack the technological capacity to transport the crew of the ship en masse, in the manner that such was done, leaving the burning question - how did they do it?  The 'why' is easy enough to figure out - there is a civil war brewing on the Hunari homeworld, and the target of a Federation starship like the Phoenix was too tempting to pass up.  

Whatever it was, things are in the hands of the diplomats now, as the Federation has sent members of the Corps to discuss reparations...and with stern warnings about such an incident happening again.  

One thing that bothers the hell outta me, though, is this 'woman' that Jarol kept referring to.  What part in this did she play, and what does she know?  The Hunari aren't talking.  Whether it's out of intimidation from the woman, or embarrassment for their failure...who knows.

For lack of further updates, I'm closing this file, and this log.

"End recording," Gabriel said, stretching his feet onto the top of his desk as the computer beeped in acknowledgment.  The truth was, they had too damn many questions, and precious few answers.  Thankfully, none of his people were seriously hurt, and those that were injured were able to get patched up in no time once they were aboard the ship.  

Reaching down, Gabe picked up the holophoto he kept on his desk at all times.  It showed him and Arch and the two girls, snapped on the Athena promenade, before they came on board the ship.  By the grace of god, the Great Bird of the Galaxy, or pure, dumb luck...neither of them had been hurt.  "We got lucky again," he sighed, setting the photo down.