Hi everyone!

I pre-ordered the game and played a lot when it came out but I haven't played since March and I just started playing again the other day.

I'm a bit confused though. I was a Lieutenant level 8 and I'm not at Lieutenant Commander 3. I'm kinda confused about what's the main story missions and what's side stories and the roles of the different starfleet contacts.
I remember Admiral Quinn was the main story quest dispatcher (right?). What are the roles of other people, like Samuel Winters and such? Are the Patrol missions part of the main story arch or are they part of some side story arch, or not a part of a story at all?

I'm also confused as to when the different seasons kick in and do they include a story arch or are they just patches and added features?

If someone has the time to kinda get me up to speed I'd really appreciate it!

P.S. I just finished the Doomsday Device and I've been doing some Diplomatic things. I started on the Cold Call episode and the presentation was very different from other missions so I'm wondering where that fits into things.