New Ferenginar had the Dutchman parked in orbit long enough that breaking free from it, or even attempting to do so, seemed to be an occasion. Standing on the bridge’s central platform, sipping what was left of his raktajino and staring at the blue-green planet slowly rotating under the viewport, Zedd watched as the sprawling mass of the orbital ring caught the rising sunlight. Three days of supplies, maintenance and simply regrouping after the madness of getting everyone else settled had passed. Now came the best part, pointing the ship on it's intended path and going.

“Lindsy,” he said turning toward her and the helm “Let’s walk through it one last time. I need to hear it.”

She knew the question was coming. In fact, she’d known it ever since she took her seat. “Alright” Lindsy began. “First off we go on a primary route. That puts us out beyond the third moon and directly into the main shipping lane headed out. We’re far enough away from all the commercial ships stacked up in orbit around the ring.” Lindsy brought up the course on the shared screen without raising her head. The projected path sliced cleanly through the surrounding space. “We maintain that path for approximately six hours or until we pass by all the high density traffic areas. Then I’ll switch us over to our longer heading toward the Gatrao Corridor.” There were two contingencies within the longer route she explained. “If the patrol patterns around the outer markers suddenly shift we can take this secondary lane here. It will add approximately 40 minutes to our travel time but we won’t be in any standard corridors immediate range. If we encounter something bigger we can take this third route that sends us wide around the entire sector. It is slower, but completely invisible.”

For a few moments Zedd stared at the screen studying each part of the route. “You are pretty sure you timed our entrance window properly, just in case?.”

“Pretty sure” Lindsy replied. “I triple-checked it just in case. The window is open for about 19 hours. So we don’t really have much time, but if you didn’t want to sit here any longer...”

“No” Zedd agreed. “I don't.”

With one final look at the route on the screen, Zedd nodded briefly. “Good job again... as always.”

He turned from the display, once again gazing at the rotating planet, and the settling crew members around him.

Tiraa sat on Zedd's right side in the brand new seating that had been installed on the bridge only a couple of days prior. It was still comfortable, and she was of course pleased with the quality of the work. Her long legs were crossed, and she was relaxed in her seat. She could feel Zedd's nerves quite clearly – he and Lindsy had been over this plan several times and yet he still asked her to repeat everything. She didn't begrudge him the feeling though. This was a big moment for him after what he had been through – never mind he had been the one to put himself through those trials. She took a quiet, deep breath and allowed her mind to open to the others in the room a bit more, trying to glean their moods and feelings without being incredibly invasive.

The newest addition to the crew, combat chief Rhiana t'Aegis, stood at the tactical console, feeling slightly apprehensive. It had been a while that she had served on the bridge of a ship, but she had spent a bit of time the previous evening to familiarise herself with the console's interface. She kept looking at the display, seeing potential issues in all parts of the journey. But that was what made it interesting.

Silently, Ragnar remained by the side station, one hand resting on the console as Lindsy walked Zedd through the route again. His eyes were on the projected course with the steady suspicion of someone who had never trusted things going smoothly.

Zedd decided a double check with engineering was prudent. "Bridge to Engineering, how is everything looking? We're ready to head out and go to warp?" He looked over the display on the wall for the ships status which was showing green.


--Engineering--

“Morgan here, Zedd. Warp and impulse systems operating within normal parameters. All auxiliaries and backups good to go. We’re ready for whatever you need. Morgan out.”

Mei-Lin was excited to leave as well, she double checked a number of outputs and verified warp output parameters and the new computer core were showing stable. "Everything is looking good here too Chief. I think she's ready to stretch her legs."

An enthusiastic Avery made a not-so-subtle pumping fist motion. “That’s what I like to hear. I know you all have been working for this moment for a long time, Mei-Lin; it would happen whether I was here or not. Thanks for your help, partner. Meanwhile, let’s keep an eye on the plasma flow, especially the regulators, alright? We’ve checked and re-checked, but I don’t want to run into problems.”

"Roger that Chief. And to be honest, there would've been a lot not finished if you weren't here.." She checked a nearby display and tapped a few buttons on the nearby console to make a couple of small frequency adjustments. "She's just as much of your ship as anyone else's. I just hope that whatever is in this nebula is worth it..."

“Very kind of you to say so, Mei-Lin. It’s appreciated. I’m kind of proud to take ownership of what we have here. I hope I’ve made a good impression with all of you. As for what’s in that nebula, profit shouldn’t be the only goal. Curiosity and discovery should also be our guide.”


--Bridge--

Zedd nodded, almost more to himself than anyone else "Thank you Chief, we'll get underway shortly.

Lindsy looked back over her shoulder up at the command section "Everything is green here Captain, ready when you are." In the back of her mind, she was excited to get away from where they'd been the last few weeks, and start a new adventure with Zedd and the crew.

The captain's curiosity as to the status of other things remained. "Ragnar, how are we looking for our defense plans? Confirm what all is available should the crew need it please."

Ragnar looked up from the side station, checking the display once more before he answered, eyes narrowed briefly. “Internal defence plan is loaded and ready,” he said, his voice carrying on the bridge. “Bridge, Engineering, cargo access and sickbay are marked as priority holds. Armoury access is locked to authorised crew, emergency lockers are sealed and checked, and response assignments are in place if this turns into corridor work.” His eyes moved briefly back to the traffic data, then to Zedd. “Departure watch is active too. Anything leaving within six hours of us gets flagged, anything matching our course gets louder. Nothing worth panicking over yet.”

Zedd gave a nod to the other man. "Thanks Ragnar, everything sounds perfect. I'm sure we'll be ready in case anyone tries to board and mess with us."

He turned back over his shoulder "Rhiana, how are combat systems looking?"

"Everything appears to be in good working condition, Captain," Rhiana replied after a quick glance at the systems status. Obviously, she had not had time for a full deep diagnostic, but what she had seen until now looked promising.

The Captain turned back forward and stood next to the helm. "All right then here goes nothing. Lindsy, take us out."

The impulse engines for the ship glowed to life, pushing the craft forward and breaking orbit. New Ferenginar drifted out of the view screen until all they saw was stars. The ship came about and pointed in the first of many intended directions over the trip. "Ready when you are, Captain" Lindsy stated.

"Punch it" Zedd stated.

A moment later, the Dutchman streaked through space and was gone. At high warp, beginning on a voyage that could be the first and last for all they knew....