Equilibrium at Gamma Apodis: Adventures Amidst the Pavo/Ara Constellations

It's another mundane Signal Intelligence mission for the Blackthorn, a Confederation Deep Space Survey Ship whose patrol area is situated in the Terran southern pole region of interstellar space, an area encompassing the constellations of the Ara/Parvo star groupings.

The bored crew, led by Captain McClintock, responds to an urgent call from the Sophistry's Time Minister, causing them to violate their mission boundaries. They render assistance to a huge, damaged vessel called the Nth Degree,...