Khalil had spent the day completing the typical starship check-in process, all the while Team Leader evaluation scenarios played in the back of his mind. Of the four, he'd chosen the one that offered the most challenge: navigating an unfamiliar ship, with a new team, on a polychronic timer.

Stopping at the door to the Blackwatch Simulator, he input his code and biometrics, the display illuminated, indicating that Evaluation Simulator 1 "Ghost Ship" was active and ready. From this moment every action he took was to be recorded and processed into his final score. The doors opened and the simulation control arch wasn't there. Khalil turned around and the doors closed, leaving him in the dark for a moment. Slowly, the hum of a transport impulse drive could be heard and the lights came up.

He was inside the transport, and the simulation had taken the liberty of changing his clothes. "Cheeky sim," Starfield commented. He walked into the mission bay and was met by seven figures, all in similar unmarked outfits. They distinguished themselves by their gear, but introductions were in order around the room.

"Tactical, just call me Tac."

"Science, folks call me Curie."

"Breach, Huff 'n Puff."

"Intel, Sage."

"Medical, Patch."

"Recon, Eyes, and this is my little brother Ears, he's your signals specialist.

"Ears protested, "Little? You like two seconds older than me!

"Eyes responded smugly, "Two seconds slower, you mean."

Starfield noted the added layer of familial connection to his list of things the computer threw at him. "Good to meet you all. Sorry we didn't have time for a brief before leaving, time is not on our side." Typing a command into his PADD, he transferred an image to the objective board on the wall. "At 2130 hours this evening, sensors along the border detected a massive spike of gravitons in this grid area. With no stellar bodies in that area, a spike this large could only be produced by an exposed singularity. One hour ago, this image was obtained by Blackwatch Command."

"This warbird is the bleeding edge of Romulan military tech, and we are going to get as much data as we can. Based on our data, this incident occurred less than two hours ago, so the odds of rescue and recovery are low. But Flight will be on the lookout while we go inside. Our objective is the optronic data core on the bridge."

Starfield turned the floor over to Eyes. "Report indicates the ship's artificial singularity was exposed very close to the hull, so it looks like they were in the process of ejecting the core."

Ears picked up, "The listening posts did not detect any outgoing transmissions, so backup is not expected.

Patch took the chance to add, "The hazards we can expect on board are as follows: decompression, both sudden or spaces already exposed to space, and a few flavors of radiation—Hawking, Gamma, Tetryon, and a high potential of Chroniton." The entire team took a breath. "Our suits will hold out against the Gamma radiation fine, but chronitons are going to stick to everything. I have anyon serum shots for each operator for severe exposure, and I've rigged a makeshift decon chamber in the sonic shower."

Starfield turned to Huff 'n Puff. "Chemical and physical breaching gear only. Electronic detonators will be unreliable."

"Got it. Curie, anything to add?"

"I have two anyon field generators, but their power and range is limited. Other than that, Patch covered pretty much everything."

"Very well. We all have our orders. Let's get in and out, we have hungry spooks to feed back home."

"Hey, I'm hungry too, sir," Sage joked.

Just as Starfield completed the briefing, the next stage of the evaluation began with a proximity warning. The team looked out of the cockpit window as they approached their target. Before them was a scene of horror: the massive Romulan warbird hung in space, its dorsal spine ripped open. Twisted hull sections, equipment, and bodies littered their entire field of view. "Take us to the bottom of her prow," Starfield said. "There should be a docking port there." The transport carefully glided into position, gingerly locking onto the hull. Once a hard seal was established, Huff 'n Puff disabled the mag-seal and cracked the door.

"Curie, what's that atmosphere read?" Starfield ordered.

"Whoa, what isn't in the atmosphere? We don't wanna breathe that for long."

"Recycling the atomo," the pilot called out.

"Very well, get ready to move up. Eyes, Ears, check it out." The air began to clear as Eyes and Ears checked the space for bio-signs and continued up the ladder. Two at a time, they ascended until Starfield and Patch carried the rear. He closed the hatch and gave it three solid bangs. "Looks like we're in a mooring line room. The lift shaft is behind that emergency bulkhead." Starfield gestured for the team to move forward.