View source for Operation Bright Arrow (Darwin-A)

{{LCARS-bar-nolink|Season 2, Episode 5|220|COLOR=#339933}}

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|[[Image:DarwinInsignia.png|left|thumb|Operation Bright Arrow Badge]]{{nrank|Captain|Renos}} has invited the Darwin crew to a dress whites dinner and party aboard Deep Space 6. At the party ne calls {{nrank|Lieutenant Commander|Kael|Thomas}} forward, praising him for his work as Acting Captain of the Darwin while ne was incapacitated. Ne surprises him by revealing that not only is he promoted to a full Commander, but ne has invited his estranged family to present him with his new pip. Thomas surprises nem right back with a hug. Ne also presents him with a Captain’s Commendation for his work as acting captain and for securing a Sicarian prisoner. He is then released to go spend time with his family, while the Captain continues with nir presentation. {{nrank|Lieutenant Commander|Maxwell|Traenor}} is transferred to Chief of Helm, Communication and Operations, while {{nrank|Lieutenant|John|Valdivia}} is promoted to his former position as Chief of Science. Valdivia and {{nrank|Ensign|Mason|Quinn}} are presented with the Innovation Ribbon. Traenor, {{nrank|Lieutenant JG|Iniko|Mpeba}}, {{nrank|Lieutenant JG|Graham|Block}}, {{nrank|Ensign|Kurt|Logan}}, and {{nrank|Ensign|Graeme|Cook}} are awarded the Good Conduct Ribbon, and the entire senior staff are awarded the Prometheus Ribbon. {{nrank|Lieutenant JG|Lyldra}} and Block are promoted to full Lieutenants and Cook is promoted to a Lieutenant JG. With the awards distributed, the party begins in earnest.

During the party, a new crewmember, the civilian counselor {{n|Didrik|Stennes}}, arrives and begins making his introductions. Shortly afterwards, the new crew of the Triumphant also arrive on station and introduce themselves to Capt Renos. Upon their arrival, though, ne asks Cmdr Traenor to bring the party to a close so that everyone can return to their stations, as it is time for them to leave on their next mission. Capt Renos and Captain Samal Frazier of the Triumphant get together for a quick briefing on the situation. The Triumphant will be accompanying the Darwin as part of a task force hunting down a stolen Quantum Slipstream Drive. They believe that the theft was an inside job, and that the thieves are the same group that the Darwin faced in Breaching the Adversary. As the Darwin crew has already encountered their target once, Frazier worries that his people will be at a disadvantage. Renos offers to transfer Ensign Kurt Logan over to the Triumphant so they can use his experience. After agreeing to that the two Captains head back to their ships.

Capt Frazier gets to know his new crew, {{nrank|Lieutenant|Varaan}} and {{nrank|Lieutenant JG|Randal|Shayne}}, while Capt Renos sends Ens Logan off to join him on the Triumphant, and fails to divest nemself of the kidnapped Ash’lie, Lyna Namid. After reluctantly agreeing to allow her to accompany the Darwin on this potentially dangerous mission, ne returns to the bridge. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Commander Maxwell Traenor calls Lieutenant JG Todd Manius up to the bridge and politely insists that he must take on the role of helmsman for this mission, as they have no other pilots on board. Manius grudgingly agrees to take the helm and the ships set off in pursuit of the thieves.

On board the rival ship, Captain Tor’kath, known to the Darwin by the alias “Raikenoff” listens as reports come in that their stolen QSD has been successfully installed. There is no time to celebrate, however, as tactical reports that the Starfleet ships have arrived in system. With no time to waste, Raikenoff orders them to initiate the QSD in an attempt to evade pursuit. They head towards the Delta Quadrant, both as a test of the long range capabilities, but also with a secret destination in mind.

A week later, the three ships are still caught in a never-ending chase, which has led them far away from home into the Delta Quadrant. Raikenoff’s stolen QSD drive is still not entirely functional, so the Starfleet has been slowly gaining on them, but it is very slow progress. Capt Renos has been having nightmares about nir previous experience being tortured by Raikenoff, while Cmdr Traenor is busy trying to get accustomed to his new role in Ops. Stennes takes the time to go see Lieutenant JG Graeme Cook for a medical examination, and they discuss people who might be in need of Stennes’ services as ship counselor. Cook mentions Lyna, who is suffering from trust issues and xenophobia, and Lieutenant JG Iniko Mpeba, who ran out on jheas last medical exam. Cook also mentions he would like to come by for an appointment some time. Unfortunately for Stennes, he is susceptible to Quantum Slipstream sickness and feels horribly ill the entire time the QSD is active. Finally he manages to make it to sickbay and get some anti-nausea drugs, just in time for his first meeting with Lyna.

Now the trail has disappeared entirely. The Starfleet ships drop out of the slipstream to try to find it again. There is a nearby nebula large enough for a ship to easily get lost in. Ensign Mason Quinn is in Astrometrics and is tasked with gathering the sensor data in an attempt to find the lost ship, but the nebula obscures anything more than a few kilometers out. Lieutenant John Valdivia notices some unnatural turbulence on the edge of the nebula, likely indicating a point of entry for Raikenoff’s ship. He instructs Quinn to look out for any other vessels in the area. Lieutenant Lyldra is picking up no communications and suggests using a subspace probe buoy to boost the range of their communications sensors, hoping to get a sense of the goings on in this unknown sector. Petty Officer Suron M'K'T feels that the silence is a sign of someone dangerous watching them.

Captain Arilius of the Numiri Imperial Ship Leidang, a native of the Delta Quadrant, is surprised to see three unknown ships enter what was supposed to be a secure area. Shortly after the strange ships arrive, the Numiri ships begin to be rocked by explosions. His tactical officer, 2nd Harn Yenard, suggests taking advantage of the other ships’ confusion and firing first.

The Darwin’s bridge crew decide to send some probes into the nebula to expand their sensor net, as well as launching some communications probes to improve their ability to search for any signals nearby. Capt Renos and Lt Lyldra discuss diplomatic strategies for dealing with Raikenoff once they locate his ship. The communications probes come back with nothing local, but the sensor probes fired into the nebula pick up what appears to be pockets of gas igniting. With everything pointing to this being a stable nebula, they theorize that the most likely cause for those pockets to ignite would be weapons fire.

Raikenoff’s engineer, Eleanor Anderson, suggests that they can hide themselves from Starfleet more effectively by igniting gaseous pockets in the nebula with their phasers, reducing sensor functions. In the wake of the explosive reaction, however they notice the shockwaves bouncing back off the Numiri ships. Knowing only that there is another ship near them, and worried that the Darwin has already caught up to them somehow, they go to red alert.
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