"The second option is a mining lane. When the station was operational, their ore haulers ran this corridor on a fixed schedule. This means it was swept for hazards regularly and charted. The charting data survived in the token's environmental data and it matches my own data I was able to pull from scans of the perimeter. It adds about three hours over the first route but gives better sensor pictures. The problem with it however is that it is an obvious choice to go. Anyone else holding a copy of this token who has done the same homework will find the same lane. If we have company in that nebula, the mining lane is most likely where they will be. So there is potential for ambush."

She indicated the third line which was also the longest. It was arcing south along the nebula's perimeter before turning in through a chain of light patches of interference in a chain.

"This is route three. It's a southern arc. We would skirt the perimeter and enter through this chain. It adds closer to four hours total, but the route itself matters more than the time. We get a sensor window every twenty to thirty minutes while we go through each gap. That way we're never fully blind for longer than about twenty five minutes at a time. My recommendation is the arc route. It costs us more time over the direct route but it buys us is the ability to see trouble coming in stages instead of all at once. "

She sat back down and set her PADD down again.

Mei-Lin had been looking at the interference profile along the southern chain itself. "The sensor windows helps engineering too" she said. "If Avery and I can stage a recalibration cycle at each gap we can keep the readings from degrading over time. On the direct route the degradation increases and we come out the other side with no data and only presumed location."

"The arc it is" Zedd replied. "Lindsy, finalize it the plan and build the waypoint package to be uploaded to the helm." He looked around the room. "The next item. Before anyone considers falling in love with what might be on the other side of that nebula, we are going to establish our conditions for termination"

He held up a hand and counted everything off.

"If hull integrity or the structural integrity field drops below sixty percent inside any of the interference for any reason, we fall back to the nearest gap cluster and reassess our situation. If we go below forty percent, we abort go straight south through the safest open routes back towards neutral ports. Period."

He continued. "Secondly, if we make contact inside the nebula with vessel of superior firepower, we defend and evade. We are on a salvage run, we aren't a warship, and nobody on at this table is being paid enough to die for a sensor ghost. Or number three, if we can't maintain the primary sensor picture and the backup relay at the same time, we fall back to the last gap cluster until we get one of them back. If we cannot get one of them back, we select proper direction for dead reckoning based on established routes and we leave." He paused for a moment to allow his points to sink in.

"Finally, casualties change it all. If T'Vara tells me that sickbay is past what she can manage, it ends the mission. That call is hers."

T'Vara looked at him from across the table. "Understood" she said. "I will hold you to that Captain."

Zedd pulled the display back to the wider system view, showing New Ferenginar and the traffic lanes surrounding it. "This brings us to the part I like least. Ragnar has already put his finger on it. We bought our copy of the token, which that data is now in the open, on a planet full of people whose entire economy is built on knowing who bought what. If anyone is watching for a buyer to make a move, they are likely watching us now."

"So to help mitigate things, we don't fly directly at Gatrao. We file our flight plan for the Karemma trade corridor, as escort availability, and a standard cargo run. It's the most boring itinerary Tiraa's contacts can provide legitimately for us. We depart and run quiet, doing nothing worth a second look. Then, somewhere past the point where traffic thins out, we go dark on our transponder and come around to the arc's entry point."

He looked across the table. "Ragnar, in addition to the internal defense plan, I want you to watch the departure traffic for the first twelve hours out from the planet. Anything that leaves inside six hours of us, or matches our course changes or doesn't make sense. If we have a shadow with us, I want to know about it before we are committed."

He shifted over to Cormus.

"The runabout and shuttles, I want prepped as more than spare pairs of hands. Inside the interference, we may have them fly a trailing position through the gap chain, a few minutes behind running their own sensor sweeps. It should close to double our picture and give Mei-Lin a second data source to recalibrate against. At worst, it's a lifeboat that is already deployed instead of one we have to launch under fire. Pick who flies it. Everything fueled and at the ready, as you said."

"Can do" Cormus said, already somewhere in the middle of a crew roster in his head.

Zedd leaned forward on the table and looked around to make note.

"Assignments are as follows. T'Vara, you inventory Sick Bay by end of day as we already decided, and anything that needs restocked, source through Tiraa. Ragnar, the defense plan and the traffic watch plans in my hands within twenty-four hours, tops. Avery, Mei-Lin, and Lindsy, anything that you pull out of the token's sensor data that may change the picture, bring to Tiraa and myself right away no matter how small it looks. Mei-Lin and avery, the recalibration cycle setup and whatever else engineering can get out of the sensor picture gets written up and added to the route plan, I don't need a presentation but I need it available where Lindsy and Cormus can fly with it. Lindsy, the finalized route along with a dogleg route package by tomorrow evening."

He paused. "We leave orbit in thirty-six hours. That's enough time to do everything but not enough time for anyone watching us to get organized once we leave."

“I’ll have us dig in right way. If we find anything, or not, you’re just a comm call away,” Avery said, exuding confidence in his new partnership with Mei-Lin.

Zedd looked around once more "Anything else before we get to work?"

“An exciting first venture.” Tiraa finally spoke up with a smile. She had used the meeting to listen and observe given her own questions and concerns had been addressed. It would be very interesting to see how they all worked together in the upcoming days as they headed into the unknown.

"I agree Tiraa" Zedd added. "Let's go do what we're all here for, make some money."

Some nodded in agreement and others remained in a deeper thought.

"Dismissed then" Zedd stated, before picking up his own PADD and making his way back out. He had work to do....