Once believed lost with all hands far beyond Federation space, the USS Nogura has found its way back into Federation hands, returned to Deep Space 5 by Ferengi Privateers where she now undergoes a massive refit to bring her up to modern specifications. On the eve of her relaunch, one of her former commanding officers takes the helm once again for a dangerous mission to explore an area of space known as the Maelstrom in search of clues as to Nogura’s past. With stars that emit triple the amount of radiation as elsewhere in the galaxy, subspace rifts that threaten to rip space apart at the seams, and quantum destabilizations that can tear the timeline to pieces, the Maelstrom seemingly holds all the clues as to the fate of the Nogura’s former crew, and it is up to her new custodians to solve the puzzle.In the year 2399, over a decade since the supernova that ravaged the Romulan Star Empire, the fractured empire has been brought to its knees through infighting and disaster; their vast territory is split between the Romulan Republic and the Romulan Free State, and tensions have never been higher. With the Empire on the verge of civil war, secret overtures are made to the Federation, in the hopes of re-establishing diplomatic contact and negotiating a lasting peace. A respected Starfleet officer is dispatched to Romulan territory, but what awaits the Starfleet crew will shock everyone.