Several convoy vessels now fell under the command of Starfleet officers. While trained to cope with difficult situations, they found themselves challenged by the responsibilities of command. Not knowing the crew or the ship they had been assigned to, the new commanders of the damaged convoy vessels first had to earn the trust and respect of those under their command, while at the same time trying to repair their ships as quickly and as efficiently as possible. Needless to say, the task was far from easy.
None of the convoy ships had escaped the previous pirate attack unscathed, but some were more damaged than others. One of the more damaged ships was the L'tari 13. Under the leadership of Lieutenant Montgomery, the ship was quickly repaired and the warp drive brought on line. Not long thereafter, however, Montgomery and the rest of the Starfleet crew on the ship were forced into escape pods. Having jettisoned these escape pods, the mutinying crew of the L'tari 13 left the convoy to set a course back to Deasia III.
The crew of the L'tari 13 was not the only crew who felt uncomfortable with the mission to Helteka. On board the L'tari 17, designated "Jatmey", the Starfleet doctors learned that this mission of mercy came at a price: the Deasian Empire shipped so many resources to Helteka that many citizens on the Deasian home planet were starving.
Each convoy ship also experienced problems of their own. On board the L'tari 23, which was named "T'Rinna", Commander Velden and Ensign Andrusia discovered that their only working warp nacelle was so badly damaged that it would overload if the ship stayed at warp for longer than six hours. In order for the convoy to remain together, all ships would therefore have to drop out of warp every six hours. In addition to this discovery, Andrusia found himself staring down the barrel of a phaser which was held by a stowaway Deasian. The situation was quickly diffused when Andrusia charged the Deasian and took away his weapon.
Throughout the convoy, Starfleet officers noticed that life on board a Deasian convoy ship was very different than life on the Atlantis. Yet even though the Atlantis didn't suffer from malfunctions, breakdowns or falling floors, Captain Torn did have problems with his ready room. Or rather, the colour of the room. It did not take long for the Glitch to come forward and announce that painting the Ready Room orange had been hir work. S/he had believed that it would please the Captain, and did not understand the anger Torn was displaying. In response to this incident, Torn appointed the EEH and Bart the Bartender as Glitch's caretakers -- in effect, he made them hir parents. Not programmed to be a mother, the EEH quickly took her distance, but Bart took up the challenge.
As the Starfleet crew on the convoy vessels and on the Atlantis struggle to keep the convoy running and to solve any problems, the launch date approaches... The time is at hand for the convoy to leave their current position and head for Helteka.
