Our story begins not on the colony that would be dubbed Haumea, but aboard the USS Io, a Starfleet vessel poised to deliver goods and people to what would be known as Haumea. Tensions are high between civilian leadership and the Command Staff aboard the Io, caused by a number of classified documents and extremely strict orders from Starfleet Brass. Caught in the middle, Captain James Matthews and Lieutenant Commander Luka Mahone find themselves in a struggle to put out administrative fires without adding more fuel to the next.

This tale takes place six months before the official settlement of Haumea Colony, serving as a prelude of what is to come…