DEEP SPACE 33, ALPHA ISLES — In the midst of celebrating the end of a successful mission, the USS Arrow was improperly borrowed.
After a successful mediation of the internal civilisational struggles of the Emisan people, the Arrow, laden with refugees and news of Lattice Alliance advances, returned to DS33. The return marked a time of significant change for the Arrow and her crew, as Cmdr. Cayden Adyr received orders to transfer to the Tholian border, reassigned to the USS Excalibur, under command of Cmdre. Kalianna Nicholotti. With a vacuum in his command structure, Capt. Randal Shayne appointed LtCmdr. Nolen Hobart, an engineer, as his Executive Officer in the wake of Adyr’s departure.
The ship’s new XO was soon busy with a minor crisis. As the Arrow reached DS33, they were alerted by the station’s operations department that short-range scanners had detected dangerous, hull-consuming microbes aboard. A full evacuation was ordered, ahead of a planned decontamination sweep.
Having left the Arrow behind, the crew proceeded with its routine post-mission ceremonies. After awards were distributed and promotions granted, celebrations began. Very quickly, however, the mood soured. As the crew watched helplessly through the station arboretum’s transparent dome, the Arrow powered up, maneuvered away, and went to warp.
The crew’s immediate sentiments could be summarized well by LtCmdr. Hobart’s immediate reaction: “Oh fudge.” Conflicting reports have been received as to the precise wording used.
In the absence of the temporarily-misplaced Saber-class starship, the Arrow crew were left with many as-yet-unanswerable questions: who would steal the Arrow? How did they accomplish the act? And for what purpose? They would not have to answer these questions alone, however.
“We stand by to assist in whatever way we can,” said Capt. Kit Hayley, of the newly-refitted USS Khitomer, which had recently arrived at DS33 when the misappropriation of Starfleet property occurred.
