Airik Mitchell finished reading what he could on the Mission, which wasn’t much. While the Federation’s inventory of the Romulan Neutral Zone was far more comprehensive than it had ever been, there were still glaring holes in it. Now the McNair was being sent on their inaugural mission right into the center of one such hole. Holding the PADD of information he entered the Observation Lounge to see the senior staff assembled.<br/><br/>The Commanding Officer made his way to the table and sat down. “Welcome to the first Mission briefing.” He said, not able to hold back a smile. Airik set the PADD. “And to use an Earth colloquialism…it’s a doozy.”<br/><br/>Airik touched the table console and a holographic image appeared hovering in front of them. “This is Rkar N'ra, a Class M planet on the border of the Romulan Neutral Zone. Two weeks ago, sensors from a passing cargo ship noted the presence of chroniton emissions.” He touched the table again which pulled up a scientific record.<br/><br/>“Most of you may be aware that chronitons are subatomic particles with temporal properties. Although not harmful to humanoids, chronitons can be fatal to lifeforms which exist outside of time. Chronitons are also produced by the normal operation of Romulan cloaking devices, and are also oftentimes associated with the phenomenon of time travel.”<br/><br/>Airik continued, “Why would we be interested in chronitons so close to the Romulans? These are not the same emissions we know from cloaking devices. These appear to be altered, though we don’t have good enough data to fully understand them.” He smiled. “Our task is clear. Fully understand them.”<br/>