Reread this story from the beginning, and I really enjoyed it. I always love 'new ship, new crew' stories, and this one is quite well done. You've done a good job of making each character stand out right away, and as I apparently noted a couple years ago (
) I particularly like the relationship between Thelinar and Telev, and the use of Tellarite Civil Conversation. Also, I find myself wondering just how many problems the doctor is going to cause down the line. (For the record, Kieran would completely agree with Oshima's sentiments regarding counselors in crew briefings.
)
The technobabble aspect of your stories can be a bit off-putting at times, but so far in this one there seems to be a pretty good balance. The briefing prior to Akyazi's arrival in-system could have been a tedious scene, but I found it quite enjoyable, actually. The interplay between the characters kept things moving nicely, and it managed to avoid the overtones of a lecture that so many briefing scenes, some of mine included, end up devolving into.
For my own part, I've actually started to get a lot more interested in TNG stories than I was even just the last time I was here. Enough to make me want to throw Kieran forward in time to the TNG era, though I realize that's hardly an original idea these days.
In any case, I'll definitely be keeping track of this one.