There was tension in the air of the ship. Even those not on the bridge knew they were near the planet Beltran when the Genesis dropped out of warp and engaged their impulse engines. It had only been a week since the crew had wrapped up the last mission and got the orders for their new one. The new mission to Beltran was simple and consisted of two parts: Finish the negotiations to make the planet officially a member of the Federation and bring back the schematics of the proprietary shield technology Beltran scientists had developed. The reason for the anxiety in the air was the location of the planet. Beltran was on the edge of the Gorn Hegemony. This close to the Gorn Hegemony made everyone nervous. The Gorn were a race that so far could not be reasoned with or dealt with diplomatically. The Gorn were secular and any attempt to break that secularism ended in death or conflict.

All senior staff and department heads had been requested to the bridge thirty minutes prior to dropping out of warp. As the Genesis moved into Beltran’s orbit, the comms officer signaled to the Captain a message was incoming from the planet.

=/\=Attention Federation vessel. Beltran, the home of King Atremis, welcomes you.=/\= As if it were a holo advertisement for a vacation planet, images of the surface and the monarch began to pop up showing the message was an automated response instead of a direct hail. Blue skies and green field landscapes flipped back and forth between images of the sparkling capitol with its banners, statues, and skyscrapers ending with a portrait-like image of the rules King Capser Artemis.

=/\=Please move your ship into a low geosynchronous orbit around the planet and prepare for a shuttle with the delegation to arrive at your ship in the next fifteen minutes.=/\= The request for a low geosynchronous orbit and a shuttle was pointless in the age of transporters; however, the large crustal deposits of Kelbonite, prevented the use of all beaming technology.

After several moments a second beep from the comms station indicated another call was coming through. This one appeared to not be automated. The comms officer looked back at the CO or XO for permission to engage it.

GM