[snip]

“Sir!” Dariusz told whoever had the conn now, “The Probe has been actively scanned from the structure!”

Cross had been on the bridge for some time, she avoided looking at the Captain’s chair, for the last time she had seen Joe he had been sitting there .Now the female doctor was both looking at the screen and listening attentively to what was being said ‘’So this is not just an ordinary comet, that beam is scanning something but what? Our ship or the planet down below ..if so for what ? ‘’ she asked, then remembered someone had said it was not the first time the comet had passed through the same route ‘’ If its scanning the planet then who ever send it would know that the Klingons left ‘’ .

At this point Cross wondered if she should contact the Captain, telling him it was not just any ordinary comet, not only was there a scanner on it but it had scanned their probe as well.

Dariusz almost jumped out of his own skin at the reply right behind him. He hadn’t realised that Doctor Cross was still on the Bridge and had thought she had left the Bridge about the same time as Joe Milligan. “The comet itself is very ordinary, Sir!” Dariusz explained. “However, it didn’t get here by itself. It was warped here from another system, probably by the structure we just saw on the video feed from the probe we sent. It’s that structure that scanned the probe, not that that means it is occupied by anyone. Everything could be automated, but it has been sending comets the same way at intervals since it was operational, and it’s thousands of years old. So, I think that’s the unusual thing!”

Joe had already informed the Captain of this, all except for the scan which had just happened now.

Cross had not been there all the time ,she came after finishing the Vulcan’s medical ‘’ My bad, I thought the structure you’re talking about is on the comet with the scanner attached to it and yes now it scanned our probe as well ,even if its thousands of years old could it be that it has just maybe been a couple of years that a scanner was attached to it? Could someone found the opportunity to use it knowing it would pass this way ? If so by whom and for what purpose? ‘’ she asked Dariusz and the rest of the crew present on the bridge.

Cross did not think for one second that anything organic was present on it.

“The structure is in the next system,” Dariusz replied, a little confused. “We just sent the probe into the next system to discover where the comet came from, and we found this… but I have no idea if the scanner is as old as the structure. I’d need to activate the scanner by passing by it again, or probably have to send another, in order to examine the type of scan more closely. Is that what we should do, Sir? As you know it took over an hour to get there, and we carry only 25 scientific probes, and have only a limited number left of those with warp capability? As for who and what? We are outside of known space here, on the edges of the territory claimed by the main races that we are aware of, but one thing that our exploration of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants has shown us is that we are not alone. We do know that the Tholians control a vast territory in the Beta Quadrant, and that there have been several visitors to Earth in history that we haven’t yet met out here, but I wouldn’t want to speculate as I would most likely be proved wrong.”

Cara spoke up, “Sir! If I might add? This structure is nothing like anything on record, and I’ve found that the Merrimack has additional, apparently secret, material that I haven’t come across anywhere else, neither in Starfleet, nor in The Vulcan Institute records. It doesn’t match anything in those either. But the several thousand-years age of the structure tends to suggest that it is automated, otherwise the inhabitants must be very long lived indeed. The reason for it sending comets? I did a search of comet diverting earlier. You were here, so you must have heard what I said then. Once again, I couldn’t find anything to determine who or why. I think we really need to take the Merrimack there to investigate any further. As Crewman Pokorski says, otherwise it is just speculation without any data to go on.”

At this point, the NE Communications Officer spoke up, “Sir! I could send a contact signal, and repeat it every five minutes? If you wish, I could try all known Klingon and Romulan frequencies as well as the more usual contact frequencies?”

’’ I suppose we could try ,so go ahead ‘’ Cross replied ‘’ Though I’m more interested to know if the scanner scans the planet when it passes through ‘’ .

Though it was just hypothesis at this point ,the doctor still thought that who ever did put the structure with the scanner had taken advantage of the comet route ,since it had been doing so for thousands of years.

Dariusz just shook his head. He thought he had explained the situation as best as he could, that the image of he structure on the viewscreen wasn’t on the comet, or that there were no scanners on the comet.

NE Communications Officer just said, “Aye, Sir!” and started sending the contact signal out on the frequencies as she had described.

Cross realized her confusion ‘’ Sorry its now making sense to me since I came in half way through ‘’ Cross said apologetically, as she looked at Comm officer trying to get any contact signal.

As they were all debating this the comet which continued its slow approach to the planet below was now about an hour or so away from entering the visual range from the planet’s surface for anyone with basic sight or space instruments.

The Comms Officer was still trying to get the Structure to acknowledge a Contact signal. “Monitoring all frequencies!” she said. “No response yet!”

Cross nodded and turned back to the screen ‘’ Keep an eye on the trajectory of that comet , it should pass without incident to the planet’s surface but I don’t want any surprises ‘’ she ordered while thinking *Things usually do when I’m in charge of the bridge * .

Now the female doctor made contact with the Captain =/\= Sir . the comet shall be approaching within an hour or so and if you’re standing at the correct angle should be able to locate it, we’re keeping a close eye on it =/\= .

Cross wondered if Glen was still alive after realizing she was in charge.

Glen replied =/\= Acknowledged! =/\=

Iphigenia Duran couldn’t help but feel a pang of worry for the Captain, Hunter, and the XO, considering the potential danger they were facing. She hoped they were safe and able to handle the situation on their end. However, she couldn’t dwell on it for long, as her responsibility as the helmsman demanded her attention.

She took a deep breath and focused on the immediate tasks at hand. I am maintaining a steady path, sir. We are to make any necessary adjustments if the comet’s path becomes a threat.” Duran glanced at the viewscreen, her gaze fixed on the vast expanse of space ahead. She couldn’t afford to let her doubts and worries consume her. The lives of her crew and potentially the entire planet below depended on them.
With her orders given, she relied on her own abilities to navigate the impending threat.

Kahuna replied from the Captain’s Chair, “There was no suggestion by science that the comet could change it’s direction. It has no independent means of propulsion, it’s simply a comet that was warped into this system. However, if for some reason something has been missed, we still have our full compliment of 150 photon torpedoes to fire at it, and the tractor beam is in full working order.”

“Any progress on making contact with the structure?” Kahuna asked the Comms officer.

“Still repeating the contact signal every five minutes, while monitoring all frequencies for a reply, Sir!” she replied. “No response yet!”

Cross turned around to see Kahuna already sitting in the Captain’s chair ‘’ Lt its a relief for me to get the hell off the bridge but you could have at least made your presence known instead of making me look like a fool who lacks both sense and judgment....the bridge is yours ‘’ and with that Cross left heading back to sickbay.

“But I was siting here all the time, you just didn’t look at me for some reason, like you were avoiding doing so…” Kahuna replied as Cross walked out in a huff yet again. Kahuna didn’t know why Cross hated him so much.

I have always respected her seniority, he thought, just as I have now, and I’ve never questioned her decisions, however strange her questions might appear sometimes. Maybe there is another reason why she avoided looking at me just now, maybe she associates the ‘chair’ with the previous XO, I know that they were very close. Maybe she is hurting because of his loss, but I’ve never got to the bottom of her intense dislike for me, and if we are going to work together we’ll need to clear the air. I do wonder if it had all started when I took my first Starfleet Command exams. Captain Glen took me under his wing and gave me plenty of support, and gave me the chance to build up my command hours at the conn. When Miriam Cross had tried to do the same, and she had the conn when the ship was attacked by the sub-space aliens, the Captain had blamed her somewhat unfairly. Okay, very unfairly probably! She has rarely taken charge following that, while I had a promotion. Maybe she blames me for being given opportunities that were denied to her?

Iphigenia maintained her focus on her duties, piloting the ship and ensuring a smooth course. When Cross left the bridge, she glanced over at Kahuna, who had taken the Captain’s chair, a move that had caused Cross to become irritated, but remained silent, respecting the chain of command.

With practiced ease, Iphigenia adjusted the ship’s navigation controls, fine-tuning their trajectory through space. Her hands moved deftly across the console, inputting commands and monitoring various readouts. She was a skilled helmsman, entrusted with the ship’s navigation during critical moments.

As the ship cruised through the vast expanse of space, Duran couldn’t help but wonder about the dynamics between Cross and Kahuna. It seemed there was some tension there, but she knew better than to pry or get involved in the personal affairs of the crew. Her duty was to ensure the ship’s smooth operation, and that’s exactly what she focused on.

Duran maintained her professionalism, diligently carrying out her responsibilities as the ship’s helmsman. She knew that the success of their mission relied on the coordinated efforts of the entire crew, and she was determined to do her part.

Dariusz looked over at Iphigenia and smiled. He knew all too well that feeling of “piloting the ship and ensuring a smooth course” and of “fine-tuning their trajectory through space,” as they would often exchange positions from Navigator to Helm on the Bridge. But their last orders were to maintain a standard orbit, and in the absence of Cross giving any other orders, he thought that testing out the Merrimack’s thrusters should wait for another time. On the other hand, if Cross was correct about the Comet having some independent means of propulsion, then they might be required to move out of it’s way PDQ.

If that happens, and Cross doesn’t return, Kahuna is going to have to step up to the grid, get a backbone, and give an order, thought Dariusz.

Meanwhile, the Communications Officer was still following the last order given by Cross.

“Still repeating the contact signal to the Structure every five minutes, while monitoring all frequencies for a reply, but still no response yet!”

Unknown to anyone, once Cross left the bridge she was fuming, it had nothing to do with Kahuna taking over but more less the way he did so.She had never set eyes on this crew member before let alone had displayed or engaging in any violence, combat, or aggression .
*Calm yourself Miriam * she thought ,after all her main objective was for everyone concerned to be safe, both on the ship and those down on the planet along with the inhabitants .

On the Bridge, the Comms Officer said, “I’m still repeating this contact signal to the structure, but I’m not sure they are ever going to answer.”

“Continue a little longer,” Kahuna told her. “It’s what Dr. Cross asked for. I don’t have the authority to leave orbit and take the ship there, so we will remain and monitor it from here. In any case, it would be wrong to leave the landing party on the planet. Cara, do we have any other science probes that we could send that would give us more detailed information?”

“Nothing like than is held in stock,” Cara replied. “The kind of bespoke probe that you are thinking of, would some take time to prepare. Then it would take another hour to reach the structure. However, I could get someone started on that if you want?”

“Yes,” said Kahuna, “In the absence of any other ideas, that’s probably the best we can do.”

Cara asked the Science department officers to prepare an encounter probe with more manoeuvrability than the first probe. She asked for it to be equipped with a full EM/subspace and chemistry pallet, and with enhanced long-range particle and field detectors, and radiation flux sub-probes, deployable for detecting energy phenomena.

• Bridge