The bridge of the U.S.S. Sutherland had a quiet and orderly ambiance as Captain Struan MacLeod adjusted his position in the captain’s chair for the third time in as many minutes.

“Is there something wrong with your chair, Captain?” The question came from Commander Oseto Zh’tora, a wide grin stretched across her cerulean face indicating that it was not a serious inquiry.

“It’s just not broken in yet,” Struan commented, shifting position yet again.

“I’d be happy to help with that,” Oseto said, half-jokingly. She was ambitious and had been clear about her desire to have her own command when accepting the XO position.

“Don’t worry, you’ll have plenty of opportunities,” Struan promised. Her antennae twitched at that statement, but he didn’t know her well enough to interpret that particular piece of body language.

The chair was perfect of course. Too perfect. It was new and it was firm but his backside ached from sitting in it too long. It was a bit of a metaphor for the ship too. A major refit and a new crew meant that they were all unfamiliar with each other, and with the ship, so everything needed a bit of breaking in. So far, there had been no issues. They had departed the Devron Fleet Yards the day before and were traveling through the area of space that used to be the Romulan Neutral Zone, but was now Federation territory. Their course would take them on a patrol along the border of space claimed by the Romulan factions, to reassure the colonies in the area and discourage piracy.

The familiar chime of an incoming communication sounded, prompting Lieutenant Redik Ejori to bring up the communications controls on her Ops console.

“Captain, It’s Captain Dex for you,” she reported.

“On Screen,” Struan ordered.

“It’s for your eyes only, Sir.” She turned to face him, the furrows in her brow mirroring the ridges on the bridge of her nose.

“Put it through to my ready room,” Struan instructed as he got up and moved towards the ready room door. “Commander, you can break in the Captain’s chair for me now.”

She was already in the chair before he made it to the ready room. She looked satisfied and he made a mental note of the motion of her antennae for future reference. He had not worked closely with an Andorian before and was quite fascinated by how expressive their antennae were. Would they give away an emotion when her face did not?

As the door closed behind him, he reflected that he should have told her that she had the bridge, but it wasn’t crunch time yet and he was hoping a little informality would encourage bonds to form between the crew more quickly.

The ready room was spartan and so very standard. He had spent virtually no time in it so far, preferring to be around the crew whenever possible to get a feel for their personalities and abilities. There’d be time to personalize it later. He hadn’t quite made it into the chair before Captain Dex’s face appeared on his screen. The security on the call was ominous, but the look on her face told him that this was going to be bad.

“Captain Dex,” he opened. “What’s the crisis, Sir?”

“Omega, Captain.” She let the word hang there until she saw the realization dawn on Captain MacLeod’s face that she meant that Omega.

“The Omega molecule?” he seemed almost startled. “Here?”

“I’m afraid so Captain. Not just here – several places – and that’s only the appearances we know of.”  She raised a hand as he took a breath, indicating that he should hold his next question. “Before you ask, we don’t know why it has appeared where it has or why it has appeared now. You can be assured that we are working on that.”

“What do you need me to do?” He decided that it was best to get to the point. It seemed that she had a lot of these calls to make and he knew that protocol prevented her from delegating that task.

“I’m keeping you on mission, but I’m changing the parameters. Even if we hadn’t just fitted the Sutherland out with state-of-the-art sensors, her pod makes her the most advanced mobile sensor platform we have at the moment. I want you to continue along the border but I want extensive and thorough scans into Romulan space. The Tal Shiar haven’t gone away and I dread to think of what they may attempt if they got their hands on any of it.” Clearly, that thought troubled her perhaps more than the Omega itself.

“And if we find any of it in Romulan space?” He knew what the answer was going to be, but he felt like he needed to hear it from his commanding officer.

“You know the answer to that Captain. It must be destroyed by whatever means necessary.” She fixed him with a stern glare. “If it’s in our territory, secure the area and call for the specialist disposal team. If it’s in Romulan space, you may not have the luxury of waiting for them so be prepared for that eventuality.”

Struan took a deep breath as the enormity of what he may face sank in.

“I’m sorry to put this on you, Captain, so soon into your new command, but the confidentiality of the directive still stands. You cannot discuss this matter with any of your crew, not even your XO.” She tapped a few buttons on her console. “I’m sending you the details of some modifications that you need to make to the Sutherland as soon as possible. The directive has been invoked fleet-wide so with any luck, your patrol will be uneventful. But be ready.”

“Yes, Sir.” He noted the encrypted files arriving on his system as he spoke.

“Any questions?” She enquired.

“No, Sir. I’ll be ready, as will the Sutherland.” He summoned a look of determination that he hoped would instill some confidence in him.

“Good. Safe travels, Captain.” She nodded in acknowledgment. “Dex out.”

As the link terminated, Struan pinched the bridge of his nose as though that would be enough to stave off a headache. This was going to be bad. The crew didn’t know him yet and at the very least, he was going to have to ask them to make changes without allowing any questions or giving any reasons. Worst case, he’d have to order them to violate long-standing directives without divulging the superseding directive. He hoped that they would comply, or to be more accurate, comply willingly.

The specifications sent by Captain Dex would mostly have to be implemented by Engineering and Tactical. Multiphasic shielding around the warp core, hull reinforcements for small craft and modifying torpedoes to carry gravimetric charges. He decided that he’d visit Engineering in person and order the changes himself. At least then he would be able to judge first-hand his new Chief Engineer’s reaction and instill some confidence if required. Perhaps he’d regret choosing a Tellarite for that position but they did make excellent engineers. Tactical would be an easier job, Lieutenant K’terr wasn’t argumentative and loyalty was one of his traits.

The first thing to do was to have a discussion with his XO. He may not be able to give her any details, but he could at least give her a heads-up about how unconventional things were about to get.

He tapped his comm badge. “Commander Zh’tora, please join me in my ready room.”

So far, the patrol had been uneventful, however the atmosphere on the bridge and elsewhere had an edge to it. Everyone knew that something wasn’t right, but aside from a few strange preparations there was nothing tangible that could explain the feeling. 

They were progressing along the Federation side of the border at low warp. It was slower than usual, to allow time for the thorough sensor scans that Captain MacLeod had ordered.

The Captain was back in the command chair after having locked himself in his ready room for hours. Was he projecting his own tension onto everyone else, having studied the classified Omega archives? He decided that it was more likely to be his secrecy causing the tension in the others. He hated working like this, but his orders were strict.

A few taps and gestures towards the slim console built into the arm of his chair brought up reports on the modifications he had ordered. The multiphasic shielding was in place around the warp core and tests were being run on it. A protest had been lodged against his order to implement the shielding without testing beforehand. He noted it on the Chief Engineer’s record. It wasn’t a bad thing – he would have protested such a demand too – and it reaffirmed that he’d made a good choice for the position. One of the runabouts, the USS Carron, was in the process of being modified also. Its hull had been reinforced significantly and it had been fitted with gravimetric torpedoes. A team was currently working on shielding its warp core in the same manner as Sutherland’s own core. Tactical had completed the gravimetric conversions of the photon torpedoes that he’d ordered. Most were ready to load into the Sutherland’s launchers but they’d taken care to make them available to the runabouts too.

Lt. Redik’s voice broke the silence. “Captain, I’m receiving a distress call.”

“On screen.”

The image that appeared was of a Romulan woman and her clothing suggested that she was a civilian. Stress and frustration were evident on her face.

“This is Captain Struan MacLeod of the Federation starship Sutherland. How can we be of assistance?”

“Captain,” the woman responded, frustration giving way to relief. “Thank you for responding. I’m Captain Vahrel of the freighter Arrenhe. We are carrying supplies destined for the colony at Mol’Ecurai, but we were hit by some kind of shockwave. Our warp core destabilized and we had to eject it. Half of my systems are offline and I have injured crew here. I believe our comm system is working, but you’re the only ship I’ve been able to reach.”

“Sit tight, Captain,” Struan answered. “We’ll be with you shortly.”

Captain Vahrel nodded and terminated the communication.

“Captain?” Commander Zh’tora seemed uncomfortable.

“We just got our invite into Romulan space Commander,” Struan grinned, forgetting that she didn’t know why he’d want to go poking around there. 

“Helm, set an intercept course for the freighter. Maximum warp.”

“Course laid in, Sir,” came the reply from Ensign Stannard. 

“Execute.” Struan ordered. “I want the detailed scanning to continue whilst we render assistance. No sense passing up the extended range.”

Commander Zh’tora looked at him, clearly desperate to ask what they were looking for, but stayed silent.

In the intervening minutes, teams had been assembled to assist the ailing freighter, medical to aid the crew, engineering to repair the systems and security in case it was all some sort of ruse.

“We’re dropping out of warp,” Ensign Stannard reported with an alarmed tone. “It wasn’t me.”

“It’s alright, Ensign,” Struan reassured him as he walked over and placed a hand on the young man’s shoulder. “Can you get us underway again?” He looked at the helm controls himself as Ensign Stannard tried to take them back to warp. Despite his best efforts, the warp field wouldn’t stabilize and collapsed time and again.

“Lieutenant Redik, scan subspace around our present location,” Struan ordered, looking to the Ops officer.

“It’s…” There was a pause as she tried to find the words to describe her readings. “Damaged.”

“What’s the extent of the damage?” Struan asked.

Her fingers danced over the console as she took control of the sensors and directed them at the subspace layers in the area. “It’s a small streak of damage here. We should be clear of it in twenty minutes at full impulse.”

Struan nodded to Ensign Stannard who engaged the impulse engines, relieved that it hadn’t been his fault but a little spooked by the experience.

“The damage increases in concentration towards..” Lt. Redik was distracted by her console going dark, then a blue Omega graphic appeared in place of her controls. “Captain,” she began, but he’d already seen what was on her console.

Alarmed and confused eyes were looking at him from all around, except for Lt. K’tarr who was desperately trying to figure out where the attack was originating from.

“Stand down Lieutenant,” Struan directed towards him. “We’re not under attack.”

“What is happening then?” Commander Zh’tora interjected on behalf of the bridge crew.

“That’s classified,” Struan responded in a calm tone.

“We cannot work under these circumstances,” she protested, unable to hide the frustration and anger she was feeling. “This is affecting us now, affecting our ship, and we don’t know what we are dealing with.”

“I understand Commander.” Struan’s tone was stern and he hoped it would be enough to persuade her to back down. “But my orders are clear.”

She was clearly unhappy with the answer, but said nothing further. 

Struan walked back to his chair console and entered some codes causing the bridge consoles to unlock and return to their previous state. He turned to address all of the officers present on the bridge. 

“From the moment that we dropped out of warp, you are to consider the events of this mission classified and are under orders not to discuss them with anyone outside of these bulkheads. Lieutenant Redik, continue those scans. I want a map of the subspace damage in this area. Use whatever sensors are required – all of them if you need to – this is top priority.”

A tense quiet fell over the bridge as she performed the scans, their progress at sub-light speeds barely perceptible in the stars on the viewscreen. Commander Zh’tora was the one to fidget in her chair now. He didn’t need any telepathic abilities to know what she was thinking. ‘Did a weapon do this? Do the Romulans have that kind of capability?’ He looked at her and gave his head a slight shake. 

“Bridge to Shuttlebay One, what’s the status of the Carron?” Struan queried.

“We’re just completing the modifications to her now, Sir. Just give us half an hour to finish up.” He didn’t know the Engineering officer who responded, but it seemed like they were on top of things.

“Acknowledged. Do anything you can to expedite it.” he replied before closing the line.

 “Commander, join me in my ready room.”

As soon as the ready room doors closed behind her, Zh’tora spoke up. “Going somewhere Captain?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact,” he replied. Before she could say anything else he added “ and yes, it’s classified.”

Her face looked like thunder. She took a moment to force it to dissipate before speaking again. “What do you need me to do?”

“I need you to take command of the Sutherland and render aid to the freighter. Tow her all the way to Mol’Ecurai if necessary.” 

“You’re going wherever it is by yourself?” She was clearly preparing to protest.

“If this were happening in Federation space, we’d be calling it in and securing the area. As it is, we have no jurisdiction here. I have to take care of this and taking the Sutherland would draw too much attention. I’m setting a rendezvous point back in Federation space. If I don’t make it, inform Captain Dex immediately and continue with the patrol that we were originally assigned.”

“This is starting to sound like a suicide mission.” It was clear that taking over command temporarily hadn’t swayed her opinion.

“It’s not, but a lot can go wrong,” he conceded. “You’ve witnessed how this phenomenon has affected us here. I must do whatever I can to prevent any worsening of the situation.”

She nodded, but bristled at not being able to ask for further detail or justification.

“And Commander, remember that whatever you discover, even how the freighter has been affected, is classified. Do your best to prevent speculation, or any kind of discussion amongst the crew about the cause of this. Submit any reports for the attention of Captain Dex only.”

“Yes, Sir.” She knew that being part of this was the only way she was going to find out anything about what was going on. It felt like a small scratch for a huge itch.

“I’ll be preparing in Shuttlebay One. Have the map sent to the Carron when Lt. Redik completes her scans.” Struan finished with a smile. “And take care of my ship!”

“I will. Good luck, Captain.” She responded, now wearing a more determined look on her face.

Struan thanked her before following her out of the ready room and heading for the turbolift. He saw her sit confidently in the command chair as the doors closed him into the lift.

“Shuttlebay One.”

The USS Carron still being fussed over by some crewmen, but the modifications appeared to be complete and she had a somewhat bulkier appearance than the other runabouts given the extra armour added to the hull. An Ensign approached and informed him that she was ready to go. He checked that she had been fitted with gravimetric torpedoes and found that there was a supply of gravimetric charges stored on board also. He liked the forethought someone had, but it did come dangerously close to speculating about what he was doing.

Before departing, he sealed the doors and composed an encrypted message for Captain Dex to inform her of their findings and his expedition to find and destroy the cause. He waited for the comms system to  confirm that the message had been delivered before requesting clearance to depart.

The sight of the Sutherland growing smaller in his viewscreen gave him a twinge of anxiety with a touch of sadness. Commander Zh’tora was more than capable of looking after the ship and crew but he couldn’t help feeling that he was abandoning them before they’d even gotten to know him.

Captain MacLeod carefully monitored the sensor readings as the computer piloted the small runabout along the course calculated to avoid the subspace ruptures. So far, the map generated by the Sutherland had been pretty accurate but as he neared what he believed to be the source of the problem, they became increasingly difficult to avoid. He’d already had to make several course corrections in order to avoid losing the small warp field surrounding the craft.

Almost an hour had passed before he was approaching the co-ordinates that he’d calculated the Omega to have been and was mildly surprised to find only an asteroid field at that location. The Carron dropped out of warp and sensors confirmed that it wasn’t going to be possible to establish a warp field anywhere between his current location and the asteroids. Struan cursed inwardly as he realised that they were still about two hours away at full impulse speed. No Romulan ships had been detected, so he had that at least.

Could it be possible that Omega would just appear here, in the middle of nowhere, amongst a bunch of asteroids? It didn’t seem possible, yet something had ruptured subspace and it was something near his current position. The largest asteroid blocked line of sight to that location and it’d be another hour before his course would reveal what was behind it.

Unsurprisingly, sensors reported a debris field when that moment came and the alloys detected were consistent with Romulan vessels and technology. His heart sank. Romulans had already gotten their hands on Omega and he was too late. But that didn’t explain what they were doing with it here. The best case was that the destroyed ship discovered it here and was either in the wrong place at the wrong time or interfered with it. The worst case would be a weapons test, the location was certainly out of the way enough to avoid attention. Either way, Starfleet would want to know for sure and there was nothing to prevent him from investigating further.

When he arrived at the wreckage, a closer examination showed that the ship had been hit by disruptor fire and there were Romulan remains amongst it. The ship had been crewed and involved in a battle, but there was only enough debris to account for one ship – a light warbird. 

Sensors chirped, drawing Struan’s attention towards the asteroid. It was an energy fluctuation consistent with a Romulan cloaking device. Adrenaline rushed through his body as he brought the weapons systems online.

The asteroid filled the viewscreen but no ship decloaked in front of it. The few seconds of tense silence felt like minutes, interrupted by the same chirp from the sensors. This time he saw it. The cloaking field was on the asteroid itself, concealing some kind of installation. It was difficult to see in the moment that the cloak faultered but it looked like it had taken damage also. He estimated where the emitters would be located and fired a blast from the still-charged phaser array. It was enough to make the field fail completely.

The small asteroid base was now clear to see, and to scan. No life signs, no life support and no main power. A few systems still ran on emergency power but if the faultering cloak was any indication, that may soon be depleted. The base continued further into the asteroid but the mineral composition of it prevented any deeper scans.

With evidence of Omega having been so close, he’d have to investigate in person. He landed the runabout on the surface of the asteroid and located a section of corridor as close as possible to the area he was unable to scan. It took him a few minutes to assemble a pack of tools and charges – power and gravimetric – before donning an environmental suit and beaming into the corridor.

Everything was dark until he activated his wrist mounted flashlight. The corridor extended farther than the light could illuminate and was dotted with bodies clutching masks and gas bottles. Their clothing looked like science garb and the lack of tools around their bodies indicated that it was more likely to be a desperate attempt at evacuation as opposed to a failed attempt at repair. It also meant that it was likely to be research facilities that lay in the depths of the asteroid.

Struan walked briskly down the corridor, attempting to balance urgency with oxygen consumption, and scanning with his tricorder for more information. Eventually, it picked out a moderately sized chamber ahead before locking up and displaying a blue letter omega graphic. His heart skipped a beat. He’d been looking for it, but now he had confirmation that it was here and it was his responsibility. He ran the rest of the way there. 

The door hadn’t been secured, presumably due to the scientists who had left in a hurry, and it opened into a spherical chamber. The centerpiece was a containment unit, mirroring the shape of the chamber itself. More bodies dotted the chamber, some at consoles and others holding power cells. Struan set down his pack and grabbed the power cell from the nearest body. Another body near the other side of the containment unit also held a power cell and was slumped in front of an open access panel where the cell was intended to go. He finished the job for the scientists and took a moment to breathe. It was obvious what was being contained and that they were trying to maintain that containment despite what was happening to the base. Once he’d moved the body, the console confirmed that it was Omega and fortunately, it was only a small amount. The gravimetric charges he brought would be enough. The power cells he just inserted had extended containment for a further six hours. He checked his own oxygen levels and had a reserve of about an hour.

There was no immediate pressure, so he set timers on the gravimetric charges for one hour and placed them around the containment unit. With the remaining time, he began copying data from the lab systems. The project files were encrypted but the scientists personal logs and notes weren’t. Those may be enough to put together what was going on here even if the encryption couldn’t be broken. 

Struan made it back to the Carron with twenty minutes to spare, or rather time to put some distance between himself and the installation.

He piloted the runabout into the asteroid field, keeping the base in range of its sensors. Focusing on the task at hand had kept him from thinking too much about the risks to himself, but now he realized that if he hadn’t done the job correctly then he could be isolated from his ship and from the Federation for what could be years at sub-light speeds.

There was no dramatic explosion. Sensors detected the distortions caused by charges detonating and then fractures reaching the surface of the asteroid. The fractures widened and the asteroid split into several smaller pieces. The former installation seemed to act as a weak spot and was split between two of the larger pieces. Struan scanned for Omega, and then for further subspace damage. He breathed a sigh of relief when both scans found nothing. He was still alone in Romulan space, but the danger to the region had passed. 

Switching to the Conn console, he plotted a course that backtracked his earlier route and then onto the rendezvous he’d arranged with the Sutherland. It would be a few hours before he could go to warp but at least the damage also prevented others from travelling to him at any speed. Still, the more distance he put between himself and the former asteroid, the better he felt. 

The few hours of quiet could be used reviewing the data he’d gathered.

Somewhat unsurprisingly, the base belonged to the Tal Shiar. The scientists had been ’persuaded’ to work for them after Omega particles were detected near the old listening station. Their words were carefully chosen, but it was clear that they resented being there and the pressure they were being put under for results. Results for what exactly remained a secret, locked behind an encryption the computer was still working on.

Sitting in his ready room, Struan’s thoughts drifted back to his initial briefing on Omega when he took command of the Helsinki. He’d been inundated with reports and briefings and was making slow progress through them in his old ready room when the communique came through on a secured channel from Starfleet Science. He’d been startled to see that the call was coming from a flag officer and quickly corrected his posture to appear respectful and attentive. The Admiral’s mouth curved up at the corners indicating that it hadn’t gone unnoticed, but the Admiral said nothing of it and congratulated him on his new command instead. 

Orders tended to come from such senior officers, but not informative briefings. There was little time to wonder about why this one was different, before the detail made it apparent.

Images of a devastated starbase appeared on the left-hand side of the screen. It was an old design, and one commonly used for research. He was surprised to learn that the base hadn’t been attacked, all the damage had been caused by one of their own experiments. 

The Admiral elaborated on the experiment. The “Omega” molecule had been the project of one of the Federation’s leading scientists – a physicist called Ketteract – and carried the promise of revolutionizing power generation. Just one was equivalent to a warp core and so a small number working together could provide enough power for a civilization. Success had been brief, the molecule destabilized and devastated the facility and the space in the surrounding sector. Lantaru. It sounded familiar and took him a few moments to tie the name to the navigation hazard that it was known for. The pieces had started to fall into place as to why he was unfamiliar with Ketteract and why there had been such secrecy over something that had been a legitimate, honest experiment.

He recalled the smile on the Admiral’s face on seeing that he understood the magnitude of the topic under discussion. They’d effectively destroyed the Lantaru sector and have had the capability to synthesize the molecule responsible for well over a century. The power generation promise was tantalizing but the weapon potential was horrific. He wondered if they were to be losing a war against a race like the Klingons, what it would take before someone resorted to transporting some Omega to the Qu’no’S system and allowing it to destabilize there. The subspace damage alone would have cut the homeworld off from the rest of the Empire permanently. Logistics would be shattered, but the effect would be lasting and the suffering of the population would be immeasurable. The secrecy was a defense of obscurity. No one would attempt to create this substance if they did not know it was possible or what it could do. He found himself agreeing with the choices Command had made even though the tenets and values he held close to his heart favored honesty and openness. 

The Admiral had finished the briefing by informing him about what would happen if his ship detected any Omega. It would lock the crew out of its systems and wait for him to acknowledge the event and his resulting orders with his command codes. Typically he would have to inform Starfleet Command immediately and secure the area without discussing it with his crew. Command would send a specialist team to dispose of it.

He hadn’t been too concerned at the time. His first command was a Parliament-class ship and those tended to operate well within Federation territory – the last place he’d expect to discover some Omega. Still he found the briefing strangely gripping. The secret that had been there all along and he’d never realized anything untoward had happened. It felt like a fiction about clandestine superweapon research, although it was no fiction and that had never been the intention.

His current situation was somewhat different though. Starfleet Command had invoked the directive but he hadn’t come across any Omega. He always thought that he’d never know if another ship encountered some. It wasn’t going at all like he imagined it might. The Lantaru incident was explainable but this dangerous stuff was appearing in places and for reasons that no-one could explain. He felt like that explained the deep anxiety he had started to feel since talking with Captain Dex. He felt strangely isolated by it. Only he had knowledge of it on the entire ship and he could not seek suggestions or recommendations from any of his crew without telling them what they’d be looking for.

The door chime sounded and broke his train of thought.

Of course, the Commander, he’d asked her to come. He closed the files that remained open on his display and admitted her in.

Commander Zh’tora stood on the far side of the ready room desk, her antennae seemingly focusing on Captain MacLeod. Curiosity, he thought, given the secret communication that he received.

“There’s a situation developing that I’m not authorized to disclose any details of,” he began. “Our mission isn’t changing, at least not for the moment, but if we are affected then I’m most likely going to be giving orders that I can’t give explanations for and that are not up for discussion. I just wanted to give you a heads-up on the situation so that it’s not … unexpected.”

She did not look happy. “I’m second-in-command of this ship and you can’t give me any more information than that?”

“I’m afraid not, Commander,” was all he could say.

“What if you’re incapacitated? I won’t know anything about what we’re facing.” She fixed him with a stern glare. “This puts the ship at risk!”

“In that case, you will command this ship to the best of your ability with the information that you have. You have proven your aptitude for Command in the past, including situations where you did not have any prior intelligence. My orders, or rather my obligations with regard to this situation, will not pass to you.” He hoped that the compliment embedded in his response would diffuse her anger at being kept in the dark.

“I understand,” She huffed. “This isn’t an ideal start to our working relationship.”

“That it is not, however I am counting on you Commander.” His statement made her raise an eyebrow. “In the event that you or I issue an order that seems odd, I need you to discourage any questioning of it or any speculation amongst the crew. Trust me when I say that Command has a very good reason for secrecy, so we have to try to avoid them figuring it out on their own.”

She shifted uncomfortably, perhaps realizing that she was going to be on the receiving end of the protests and concerns she just leveled herself. Such was the chain of command. “Yes, Sir.” she acknowledged with a tone of acceptance. “Is there anything else?”

“As a matter of fact, there is,” he replied as he offered a PADD of schematics to her. “Command has sent specifications for modifications that we need to make. I want you to oversee the modification of photon torpedoes to carry gravimetric charges.”

“Gravimetric charges?” The question left her lips almost immediately.

Struan let the question hang there and fixed her with a look.

“Right,” she huffed. “No questions, no speculation.”

“Now you’re getting it,” he smiled back at her. “Have them available to the ship herself and also to one of the runabouts. I’ll let you know which one when I’ve spoken to Engineering.”

She nodded and accepted the PADD.

“Thank you Commander, you have the bridge.” 

She left the ready room and was passing orders to the Tactical officer as Struan headed for the turbolift on his way to Engineering.

Main Engineering had a certain comfort to it. It had changed a bit but was essentially still the same place where Struan had spent a lot of time as a junior officer. Lieutenant Commander Trehd was at the far end of the room, being shown something by a young officer attending a console by the warp core. 

“Captain! What brings you down here?” Trehd’s tone was cheery, but Struan knew that wasn’t likely to last.

“I’d love to say I was just visiting for old time’s sake, but I have some modifications that I need to have implemented.” Struan gestured with the PADD that he’d loaded the specifications onto.

“Let’s see now,” Trehd replied as he accepted the PADD. He began subconsciously stroking his beard as he read through the schematics. “Multiphasic shielding around the warp core? Are we expecting some kind of subspace radiation?”

“I can’t answer that, and I have to ask you not to speculate on why it may be needed,” Struan responded, hoping that the conversation wasn’t about to turn into an argument.

“Humph,” the Tellarite snorted, unsatisfied by the answer. “Well I’ll need to run some tests first but..”

Struan interrupted. “I’m afraid there’s no time for that. I need work to begin on this immediately.”

Trehd seemed flustered. “No testing? Captain, I can’t just make modifications to the warp core unless I know they aren’t going to cause any problems. They can’t always be foreseen!”

“The specifications come from the Starfleet Corps of Engineers and are specifically for this class of vessel. You’re going to have to trust them.” Struan insisted.

“But Captain” Trehd complained.

Struan cut him off again. “That’s an order Commander.”

“I must protest!” Trehd growled, his frustration evident.

“I understand. Submit any protests that you feel you need to. I will include them in my log but you have to start the modifications now.” Struan felt bad insisting on it, as he knew he would have the same reservations if he were still in that position.

“Yes, Captain” Trehd snorted. 

There hadn’t been the kind of argument that Struan feared he might have had to deal with, but his Chief Engineer was now as unhappy as his XO about it all. He couldn’t help but wonder how long the crew would follow him if he continued dismissing concerns and pulling rank. If only it hadn’t been the first request he was making of him.

“I also need a runabout modified in the same way, with hull reinforcements too” Struan added, drawing attention to the remainder of the specifications listed.

“I’ll put together a team to do the work. We’ll use the Carron.”  Trehd agreed to that without complaint, but his face told the Captain that he wanted to.

“Whoever you select, I need you to discourage any kind of speculation about what the work is for. It’s classified.”

“As you wish, Sir.” Trehd’s tone indicated that he wasn’t happy about that either. 

“Thank you Commander. Keep me informed of the progress.”  

Trehd nodded as the Captain turned to leave. Struan could hear him summoning Engineers as he made his way back to the turbolift. He made a mental note to return and show appreciation for the work they’d done. He hoped that would smooth over some of the relationship damage he’d just done.