As the Federation returns to the Delta Quadrant eight years after the the USS Voyager destroyed the Borg unicomplex and a key transwarp hub, the crew of the USS Tesseract -- the fleet's largest and most advanced ship -- has no idea what they'll find there.

Just as they launch their seven-year mission, they stumble across a mystery that will soon unfold into an opportunity -- or a nightmare of epic proportions. Loyalties are tested, political intrigue abounds, and the Tesseract's ex-Borg first officer will finally seize control of his own destiny ... and perhaps that of the entire quadrant.

The USS Kestrel, an aging Miranda class, serving as part of the Border Service has the thankless task of patrolling some of the murkier corners of the Federation. As the seat of Federation power in a dangerous and wild region of space, the Kestrel acts to paraphrase her firebrand captain, Captain Gregory McGregor, as the rule and the law, the line in the sand, the first and last line of defense for the Federation.

"So we can't be calling in the cavalry at the drop of a hat. We are the cavalry. We stand the line, we duke it out, we shout them down, we clean their windscreens, and we set out the welcome mat. It's not all bad you know."

This is the first story featuring the ramshackle, rough and ready crew of the Kestrel. I'd call them an unorthodox crew but hey isn't every crew unorthodox in their own way!

Led by the acerbic, sarcastic, bombastic, over the top, pain-in-the-ass, coarse and unprofessional Captain Gregory McGregor. Just the type of behaviour to get stuff on the border done! There's no time for Jean-Luc's niceties here!

The Border Dogs might be seen as the ‘poor cousins' of the Fleet and the Miranda might be seen as the ‘Ford pick-up of Starfleet' but the Kestrel in the humble opinion of her Captain shows the Fleeters how to do things the proper way.

A Federation starship finds a mysterious Cardassian space craft. What is it? Why can't their sensors scan it properly? Is it dangerous?