[snip]

Glen replied, “Before we entered the Expanse, I had Lt. Pokorski design an optimum route through. One that would allow us close enough access to catalogue all areas in the most efficient manner, while avoiding all those regions where we could identify problems, either from our own, or from existing records of measurements taken. If we want to complete this task in a year rather than decades, then we still must do something like that. The plan is already flexible enough to allow for detours, should we encounter areas, such as you describe, where we find waves are colliding, but I’m not sure how we can predict such areas in advance of actually detecting them with the same equipment we are using to survey. So, we’ll just have to reverse course when that happens. We can’t avoid mapping entire areas as that is the brief of mission itself.”

Zavey listened to the question and answer, then highlighted several of the glowing debris streams on the main screen.

“Sirs? These troughs here represent regions of relative stability. If we align our course through them, we should experience minimal shear. However…” her tone sharpened just a fraction, “…these crests will amplify stress on the hull and inertial dampeners by a factor of at least three.”

“Using debris as live tracers was… unorthodox. But scientifically speaking, it’s remarkably accurate. We now have a navigable topology of a phenomenon that normally remains invisible.”

Her gaze returned to the data.

“For the first time, we’re not blind in this region. We can choose where to step in spacetime—rather than being shoved around by it. We can map the easiest way through the Expanse, as long as we continue to use garbage, or something like it, to show us the way.”

M’Mera remained ready at her station, keeping an eye on the sensors as they all waited for the Captain’s orders. Her ears swivelled and her tail waved lazily, showing that she was relaxed but alert.

It seemed that his officers thought he might alter his mind, but Glen couldn’t see what had changed that would prompt that. He repeated, “I still believe we can probably rest easier now, follow our already agreed and laid-in course, and go back to our normal duties; with a green light. By all means, Lt. Zavey, take a good look once again at that course and tweak it now that we can see the safe ways more clearly. However, we do need to map the entire Expanse, even if that is merely to place ‘danger do not enter’ markers over some parts of the map we draw.”

Cross communicator bleeped and she listened as Hunter gave her the information then turned to Glen ‘’Captain, Hunter just informed me that the lab results show no signs of food poisoning and the patients seems to be feeling better …you were right it probably was due to the ship entering the Expanse ‘’.

Rana smiled as Zavey used the word unorthodox to describe the entire scheme of his. Usually, people used stronger adjectives when describing his ideas. He nodded at the captains’ orders and for the first time since he had reported for duty started to relax a bit. Even in this somewhat tense climate he now felt that he was contributing a bit at least.

“I’m a Captain not a Doctor,” Glen replied, “but thanks for the vote of confidence. The only proviso before you all relax totally, is that we still know next to nothing about the Shiarain Dominion.”

Hearing the Captain’s request, Thalos turned his attention fully back to the tactical console. His fingers moved with practiced precision as he keyed in a series of commands, accessing the Starfleet database through the secured tactical interface.

“Accessing the Database now, Captain.”

The display shifted, Federation insignia briefly flaring before resolving into classified data streams. Thalos filtered quickly—threat assessments, first-contact logs, border incident reports—antennae angling forward as he absorbed information at a rapid pace.

The classified streams resolved into a stark picture.

What Starfleet knows of the Shiarain Dominion is limited—but consistent. A highly militarized, expansionist power, first encountered near the Veytan Aperture, they prioritize control of strategic regions and anomalous space. Their vessels are built for interdiction and first-strike dominance, favoring synchronized fleet movements and rapid escalation over prolonged engagement.

Physiological and cultural analysis aligns with observed tactics: a rigid hierarchy, dominance-driven ideology, and a tendency toward preemptive action when they perceive territorial or strategic threats. Diplomatic overtures without a clear show of strength are historically interpreted as weakness.

The final assessment tag pulsed briefly on Thalos’ display:

LIKELY RESPONSE TO FEDERATION PRESENCE: PROBING, TESTING, ESCALATION IF UNOPPOSED.

The data streams collapsed back into the Federation insignia—leaving behind the quiet implication that if the Shiarain noticed the Merrimack, they would not remain observers for long.

Rana had sat listening to all the know data on these people and at the end of it he seemed quite puzzled . He turned back around to see if anyone else was catching the oddities in this report. It was in his opinion something which had been a constant since the beginning of this mission. You could count on oddities. For a moment he was pretty certain that he must be seeing something in the mist where there wasn’t anything. But then it was there in his mind and as absurd as it sounded it was his job to give the captain information and to offer an alternate point of view before he made decisions. ” Captain?” Rana began. ” The reports show these people as militaristic , aggressive and expansionist. But where have they expanded to? No one says this in the report. Perhaps it is something assumed from their behavior? Perhaps captain, there is something very important to them here in this forsaken expanse of space. Food, raw material something they need to keep themselves or their way of life going?”

Kate stepped on the bridge and without saying anything she filled the medical kits with the hyronalin ,as she was leaving she caught Cross gaze and gave her a nod, then left her next stop was for the transport room.

’’ Rana if we have never made any contact with these beings how come the admiral came to the conclusion that they are aggressive in nature . Am I wrong in assuming the Federation have never came this far?’’ the CMO asked

“I’m afraid that I know as little as you know,” Glen replied. “And if I had received that briefing document earlier, then I could have asked the Admiral the same question. However, I can easily hazard a guess, based upon history and historical precedence. Refugees are the usual sources of such intelligence and information, together with spies, miliary deserters and political dissidents. People fleeing the expansion of a great power are very willing to speak about their experiences. Routed fleets, surrendered planets and sacked colonies; they will usually have some dispersed survivors who want to tell everyone their tale. While the threat from the Shiarain Dominion may seem real and imminent to us, Starfleet has not been prepared to deal with it; in the minds of Federation diplomats, an invasion or pre-emptive strike into the Federation’s sphere of influence would probably seem unbelievable, maybe even impossible. Another reason that makes this fact-finding mission so important.”

A few moments later

Thalos studied the tactical display for a moment longer, antennae angled forward as sensor data continued to stream in. Unknown space. Limited intelligence. An adversary that respected strength above words.

He looked back toward the captain.

“Captain, I recommend we adopt a measured deterrence posture,” Thalos said evenly. “Phaser arrays charged and held at standby, torpedo tubes armed but safetied. Shields raised to a moderate defensive threshold—high enough to be noticed, not high enough to provoke.”

He keyed another command, projecting a suggested configuration onto the main screen.

“This presents us as prepared, not aggressive. If the Shiarain are observing us, they’ll see a vessel capable of responding instantly, without signaling hostile intent.”

A brief pause, then he added, drawing on hard-earned experience.

“I also suggest tightening internal security and placing damage control teams on silent standby. If they favor surprise or first-strike tactics, they may test us before formal contact is established.”

His hands returned to the console, fingers hovering near the controls.

“This posture keeps the initiative with us,” Thalos concluded. “We show strength, maintain discipline, and leave the next move to them.”

He fell silent then, eyes back on sensors, ready to execute the captain’s orders the moment they were given.

“That all seems good advice,” Captain Glen replied. “Please go ahead and implement those suggestions.”

The security chief’s ideas made sense to Elyss. If they didn’t want to appear threatening to these Shiarain, but still wanted to be ready for an attack, the Lt proposed a viable plan. She wasn’t eager to meet the aliens as they sounded really unpleasant and dangerous. However, that was part of space faring life.

Though Cross said nothing she fully agreed with Lt ch’Ravik which made her more at ease knowing everyone present on the bridge was prepared for the unknown.

The Captain added to Thalos, “the tightening of internal security is something you can easily organise yourself.”

“Aye, sir,” Thalos replied without hesitation.

He turned back to his console, fingers already moving as he acknowledged the command and executed the approved tactical posture. Shields adjusted smoothly to the designated threshold, phaser banks holding steady at standby readiness, torpedo systems armed but safetied—prepared, but disciplined.

Without wasting a moment, Thalos opened a secure internal channel.

“Security teams, this is the Chief,” he said calmly. “We’re moving to a measured deterrence posture. All Junior Officers are to brief their sections immediately.”

He paused only long enough to ensure the channel remained clear.

“Damage control teams to silent standby. Boarding response units on alert, but remain out of sight unless activated. I want rapid-response drills reviewed and internal sensor sweeps doubled—quietly.”

Acknowledgements chimed back in quick succession.

Thalos monitored the confirmations as they came in, antennae subtly shifting as he listened to the ship itself—the hum of systems adjusting, the faint vibration of shields reinforcing. Everything responded exactly as it should.

Only then did he lift his eyes back to the tactical display, posture relaxed but coiled with readiness.

The USS Merrimack was prepared.

If the Shiarain Dominion chose to test them, Thalos intended to make certain they would regret underestimating Starfleet—or its Chief of Security.

Captain Glen turned towards M’Mera, “placing damage control teams on standby is your Department. Maybe run some simulations. I’ve heard your role-plays in Security were very popular.”

The Captain asked Rana, “Let’s also check that everyone knows their up to date General Quarters auxiliary roles in the event of a battle. We’ve had a number of crew changes since we were last under attack. For efficiency, crew need to adopt their correct stations immediately that the Red Alert is heard.”

Finally Glen told Zavey, “The initial data gathered from the surveys is looking good. The cartographers are going to be pleased with that, I think? If there are no further questions, then I shall retire to my Quarters for a few hours.”

• Glen, CO
  (somehow this was missed and the thread was split once again)

Lieutenant Thalos ch’Ravik
Chief Of Security
USS Merrimack

‘’I hope the science dept is doing its part and we need to contact bridge =/\= Sharp from security dept to bridge.....we have located a torpedo which seems very familiar to ours and the ship is stirring its way behind it ........someone please acknowledge ?=/\=.

Sharp sec

=^= This is LT ch’Ravik, thank you for the information, this will be investigated=^=

“Aye, Sir.” Zavey called out to the Captain, acknowledging his departure from the bridge. As the message came through from the security department, she looked over her console again. She had not been alerted to the presence of the torpedo they spoke about. With a deft motion she ran a quick diagnostic on her equipment. When it was done, there was a notification of an empty torpedo casing outside of the Merri.

She looked over at the security chief. “Lt, I show one of our own unequipped torpedo casings, floating off the starboard bow. The casing was not cleared to be fired as the Captain didn’t want to waste them. Also, the ship isn’t following it, we are both just drifting in the same direction.” Waiting for the Andorian to respond, Elyss gave him a more thorough look. Interesting…

Lieutenant Elyss Zavey
Chief Science Officer USS Merrimack

OOC: Are we saying the Merrimack staff is incompetent?, there was a post at the time specifically saying they filled the tube with garbage and sent it without a casing

“I wasn’t aware that we had,” Thalos said, his tone even but edged with concern. “They specifically stated the shipment was sent without a torpedo casing.”

His fingers paused over the console as he reviewed the manifest again, eyes narrowing slightly. The data didn’t align—not with protocol, not with logistics, and certainly not with standard Starfleet procedure. His antennae angled forward, registering the subtle shift in ambient vibration as systems updated around him.

That shouldn’t be happening.

Thalos rerouted the feed, cross-checking cargo logs against internal sensors and security records. Every discrepancy, however minor, was flagged and isolated. The Imperial Guard instinct stirred—quiet, insistent—whispering that anomalies rarely occurred without reason.

“Requesting verification,” he said calmly, already opening a secure channel. “I want confirmation on origin, chain of custody, and transport authorization. If there’s a casing onboard that wasn’t declared, I need to know how it got here—and who signed off on it.”

Outwardly, he remained composed, posture relaxed at the tactical station. Internally, his focus sharpened.

Cargo discrepancies led to problems.
Problems led to casualties.

And Thalos had no intention of letting either slip past unnoticed aboard the USS Merrimack.

Lieutenant Thalos ch’Ravik
Chief Of Security
USS Merrimack

OOC: Just in case anyone is confused about whether we did or did not fire that torpedo, I went back and found this: =/\= Bridge here. Captain Glen speaking. Excellent work Lt. Tell Kahuna to begin the slow release of the materials.... Sorry, there’s been a change of plan and we are going to send the stuff out without a torpedo casing first, to save them for later. So, slowly does it too. I suggest a few items every thirty minutes. Is that all clear/ =/\=

I guess we will have to hear from Krys about how we are missing a torpedo casing from our inventory?

Lieutenant Elyss Zavey
Chief Science Officer USS Merrimack

OOC: sorry I thought they filled it up with the garbage as it was the original plan.
marthese

OOC: I know it was confusing at the time, but I’m sure Krys will come up with something. :)

Lieutenant Elyss Zavey
Chief Science Officer USS Merrimack

Dariusz was trying to cover Navigation and Helm as well as Comms, all at the same time. Personally, he thought it was poor decision to have sent the Communication Officer away to collect bric-a-brac and jumble at a serious time like this, but that was well above his pay grade.

“Sirs! If I may? It was Lt. Stella Gagnon and Lt. Hercules Kahuna who launched the first load of junk and clutter, Sirs! They were going to send it out in a torpedo casing at first, but then the Captain changed his mind and they confirmed that they had unpacked it,” said Dariusz. “it’s also possible that the sensors are on the fritz, Sirs!

• Pokorski, Nav