"Acting Captain's log, stardate 65698.1. After picking up the diplomatic staff we're now en route to the conference. I can tell having Romulans onboard has created high tensions among the crew, but I'm hopeful they'll perform their duties with their usual professionalism."
Cortez was walking down a corridor on deck 3, computer PADD in hand, when a loud cry pierced the otherwise pristine silence.
"Who are you to tell me what to do, Human!" came a shout
Investigating, Cortez turned a corner to reveal a Starfleet engineering crewman and one of the Romulan diplomatic staff.
"What's going on here?" he interupted
The crewman suddenly braced himself in the presence of his commander.
"Sir, I caught Mr Tevik here looking behind one of our bulkheads."
Cortez shot his eyes across to the Romulan.
"Is this true?" he asked
"Certainly not. And I resent being treated this way!"
Cortez quickly replied, "Then may I ask why you were found removing a bulkhead?"
Tevik snarled, "It was like that when I found it!"
Cortez decided to stick to the theme of the day and take the diplomatic way out.
"Then if I could ask you to return to your permitted area, Mr Tevik? This area is out of bounds"
The Romulan seemed noticeably annoyed but did as he was asked.
"This is not over, Commander!" he said, leaving the area.
Apologising, the young crewman, still smartly braced, replaced the section of bulkhead that had been removed.
"It's not your fault, Crewman" Cortez reassured him "You were just doing your job"
The crewman nodded, and left for whatever job the Romulan incident had kept him from attending. Cortez tapped his com badge.
"Cortez to Ensign Krol, please get down to deck 3, section 10 alpha and check on bulkhead..." he paused, examining the serial number "...two five nine three seven alpha for signs of tampering."
Someone had removed that bulkhead and Cortez had a feeling it wasn't for routine maintenance.