Having been gathered together by a disenchanted Starfleet intelligence analyst, the party has commandeered a Starfleet salvage vessel and slipped quietly through the frontier to open space.  While the Cortez is holding position outside the Prodan system, the team is currently attempting to assess and repair a damaged Jem'Hadar alpha.  Sporadic internal conflicts have resulted in multiple intra-party stunnings and gassings.  So far the violence has remained mostly non lethal.  The newest plan is to install the weapons and sheild systems from the alpha on the Cortez.

Proda III has presented several surprises so far.  A portion of the paleolithic level population has begun rapidly climbing the ladder of civilization under the tutelage of the alpha's Vorta.  Fortunately for everyone, an altercation with a resentful Prodan shaman has left the Vorta with no memories of the past or the Founders.  Suffering permanent amnesia, he believes himself to be a messenger of the gods sent to make the Prodans more fit worshipers.  He firmly believes that the personnel of the Cortez are fellow servants of the gods come to instruct him.

The destruction of the unmarked Romulan warbird did not take the lives of all hands.  Nearly three hundred survivor are now living a primitive existence on Proda III.  They have split into two factions.  One, under the leadership of a known and condemned Reunificationist, seems to be trying to emulate Vulcan ways.  The other, under a non-Tal'Shiar centurion, is maintaining Romulan discipline and organization despite the lack of advanced technology.

The Prodans themselves have turned out to be more dangerous than previously believed.  The males generate a powerful electrical shock similar to the electric eel of Earth.  The females produce a short term but fast acting sleep agent that works on contact with exposed flesh.  Theories are still being put forward concerning the apparent perpetual symbiotic relationship of two races divided by gender.  Dr Mavis's lab is currently crammed full of Prodan subjects as he attempts to further his knowledge of the natives.

Telak- the Reunificationist leader- has been spirited onto the holodeck and tricked into beleiving that he is on a Romulan warbird.  With disturbingly Vulcan demeanor he has revealed the secret of the warbird's mission.  It was near Proda to rendezvous with a scout ship carrying Federation personnel liberated from a Dominion prison.  The Tal'Shiar planned to use holotechnology to fool the prisoners into thinking that they had been turned over to the USS Enterprise.  In that artificial environment, the Tal'Shiar hoped to learn everything of interest the prisoners knew about Federation strategy and security matters.  The most important prisoner was Admiral Garavik whose Founder replacement is currently the Deputy Commander of Starfleet.