Second Star to the Right...
The year is 2271, two years after the conclusion of the first five-year mission of Captain Kirk’s USS Enterprise. Tensions run high within the Federation. The Enterprise recently reported contact with the Romulans after a century long silence. Klingon activity has increased exponentially, with the aggressive aliens apparently hoping for provocation to war. Closer to home, there is friction between two founding members of the United Federation of Planets, the Vulcans and the Andorians. The Andorians recently lost an appeal to the Federation regarding the planet Weytahn, terraformed by them but annexed by the Vulcans around the time of the war with the Romulans (which is to say, over a century ago). The appeal was rejected, but the Andorians have refused to drop the matter. They have imposed trade regulations on Vulcan products, and have threatened further, possibly military, sanctions if the planet is not returned to their control.
In order to bring an end to these hostilities, a peace summit has been proposed and accepted by both sides, to be held on Earth. Your ship, the USS Discovery, has been given the task of escorting the ambassadors of both sides to the summit, and of setting the atmosphere of the talks (your captain, Christopher Taggert, is known for his skills with diplomatic relations, and was specially selected by Starfleet).
On top of everything else, Starfleet Command recently issued a warning to all ships – a vessel of unknown origin been seen deep inside Federation space and was responsible for the destruction of at least two registered freighters, for reasons unknown.