Leyna System, 7 April 2396 09:00 hours
Nog entered the bridge of his ship, the USS Chin'toka. As the Sovereign-class ship was the largest of the fleet, it was designated the flagship of the expedition. He glanced at the countdown timer on the corner of the viewscreen, before taking in the main scene of the various ships swarming around.
“Lt Bhansali, signal the fleet to prepare to get underway. We don’t know what lies on the other side of the wormhole, but I plan to start this mission on time. If we start moving perhaps everyone else will get the hint and move out of our way.”
The Bolian operations officer nodded as she turned to her console to relay the message.
Two months prior, a stable wormhole appeared near the newly constructed Vanguard station. Naturally, this raised the curiosity of Starfleet, and civilian scientists alike. Fearing contact with another civilization such as the Dominion, unmanned probes were the first to be sent through. After a month of no ships coming through the wormhole, a decision was made to send a fleet through. There were no shortage of volunteers, and Command soon settled on a 6 ship fleet with the Klingons insisting on sending two of their own for a total of 8 starships.
Aside from the Chin'toka the most powerful Starfleet vessels were the two Akira class ships. Carrying 50 fighters, they also were armed with 3 rapid-fire torpedo launchers. An Intrepid from the Corps of Engineers, not only provided a starship with landing capabilities but the expertise of the crew could come in handy when far from any friendly bases. A Luna class, under the Command of Jadzia Dax, provided the best science platform of the ships. Rounding out the Starfleet contingent was one of only three Legacy Class starships in existence. Modeled after the Constitution-class ships made famous by Kirk and the Enterprise, the Archer would serve as the basis for any diplomatic functions carried out during the mission. Two Klingon warships added extra firepower should the need arise, plus helped strengthen diplomatic relations with the Empire.
Right on schedule, the ships moved towards the wormhole at maximum impulse. Unlike the Bajoran wormhole, the journey through took a solid 5 minutes. Once on the other side, all ships carried out a quick systems check. With no damage found, they relayed the message to Vanguard before moving forward at Warp 2 towards what the probes indicated as being a system with 2 “M” class planets.
