Glen arrived back on the Bridge a short time later. Kahuna offered the Captain’s Chair and Captain Glen sat, feeling good to back in the chair.

He made his Captain’s log and summarised the mission, and then he finished it with an unusually impassioned passage “…I never like unfinished missions or unsolved puzzles, but the Merrimack has been recalled to tackle some new and different situation instead. Those settlers had taken a big risk in coming out so far into the Milky Way without the security of a Federation membership, and it appears that they have now paid a high price for doing so. Freedom of expression; their the right to express themselves and share ideas without interference from government, and the absence of constraint, coercion, or necessity in action or choice. These are undoubtedly import things to have in a democratic society. But is freedom of expression really worth dying for? They believed it was very much worth that risk.”

Glen now turned his attention to Commodore Stone’s more recent orders. The Hromi Cluster was a cluster near the Acamar system of the Beta Quadrant and near the border with the Klingon Empire. Glen didn’t much care for Klingons, as Commodore Stone ought to know. Klingon assassins had murdered the previous Merrimack Captain, while his first Captain aboard the USS Yorktown was also killed by Klingons. He still found it difficult to accept peace with the Klingons. It came with profound complexities and real challenges that could not be overlooked. Many people continued to remain suspicious of Klingon intentions, despite the signing of the Khitomer Accords. The Klingon Empire also shows no intention of apologising for it’s previous aggression against neighbouring territories or for the physical punishment it metered out before the Accords.

“Set a course for DS K-5. Ahead Warp factor 3,” Glen instructed Lt. Dionysovitch at Helm.

• Glen, CO