<aboard the R-WB+ Velocitas Negitas>
Maxillius - Tribune, we're cloaked, right?
Tribune - Yes Commander, as ordered
Maxillius - Then WHY IN THE HELL IS THAT FED MERCHANT SHIP MOVING ALONG SIDE US?!? ALL HANDS, BATTLE STATIONS, PREPARE FOR MISSLE IMPACTS, HAVE DAMAGE CONTROL READY!! Sub-Commander, do you think they have hostile intent, or that they even see us?
Sub-Commander - Their maneuvering suggests a passive posture. I don't think they intend to fight us, Commander.
Maxillius - I don't care, I don't appreciate those Fed meddlers trying to...
Tribune - We're being hailed! The commander of the other ship asked for you by name!
<worried and confused looks bounce all over the bridge>
Maxillius - Fine, we'll play his game for now. Decloak, and put him on screen.
Other captain - Hey, I'm glad I caught you! You know you're in Federation territory, right?
Maxillius, whispering - Sub Commander, is this guy a retard or something???
Sub-Commander, whispering - He *is* commanding a freighter...
Maxillius - How do you know me, Merchant?
Merchant - That doesn't matter, what matters is that you head straight for Earth, you've been drafted by the Tal Shiar and Section 31 for an ultra-secret mission. You know what your duty calls for you to do, so I expect your ship in my hold in no less than 1 hour. Speed is of the essense!!!
<Screen cuts to forward view>
Tribune - How does this Terran know of the Tal Shiar??
Maxillius - You ask too many questions, Tribune, and now the Praetor needs his orders followed to the letter, no matter if he knows what those orders are or not. Sub-Commander, maneuver us in front of the Merchant's vessel, port-facing orientation... we're too wide to drive in. You have the bridge, I'm going to have a chat with this 'merchant-spy'.
<aboard the F-MMD Key West>
Maxilillius - Ok, what's this about?
Merchant - Welcome to the Key West, Commander. Or should I say 'Captain'? You see, we're allies on this mission. We have intelligence reports that a major fleet of the top Klingon commanders is meeting with the Chancellor. As you might imagine, we don't like the looks of it one bit. Apparently, neither does the Tal Shiar. Even though the Romulans and Klingons are still 'oficially' allied, your Praetor has expressed wishes to be on the 'winning team' so to speak, which brings us to why you're here. You're take the Velocitas Negitas into Klingon space and see what they're up to.
Maxillius - But that's what I was doing before you stopped me...
Merchant - Please, that bucket couldn't do warp 3 if it were towed! Look, you know I'm faster, my ship's capable of carrying far heavier loads than.... that <gestures out the viewport to the corroded hull of the Velocitas Negitas>, and it does warp 5 fully loaded. You'll get there faster with our assistance. Anyway, you don't have a choice, and I'm flying cover for you until you get to the neutral zone. I have to let you out ove my hold waay out of Klingon sensor range so that they don't figure out what we're doing too early. And, I'm NOT going to have a Warbird sitting in my hold with her weapons hot!
Maxillius - fine... I guess it's a good thing to have back up, even if you are just a droner... by the way... you'd better..
Merchant - ...have fast drones, of course! Starfleet's not stupid you know. On that note, my engineers are recreating your cloak as we speak so that I might be able to get behind Klingon lines and save your butt if things get hairy. Well... i'm off to sleep, it's still going to take a week to get to the Klingon border, so have your crew rested and prepared.