Callum walked through the corridors of the Anaheim, and was glad to see some normalcy coming back to the ship. There were still signs of the disastrous attempt to chart the Underspace tunnels, but on the main saucer section, crews were working on the cosmetic damages now. 

It seemed odd that some of them should be worrying about flickering panels, and the odd scorch mark when their main warp nacelle was still down. But he had learned over his career that busy hands worried less, and he trusted Jenifer to keep her engineering teams organized. Nodding to the two young crew working on the panel, he moved past them and into the small meeting room. 

Fylar was there already, looking tired as she sipped something hot judging from the steam rising. He nodded to her, and saw Moira had also arrived ahead of him. She was no longer moving as gingerly, and he was glad that the medbay had been able to treat her injuries. 

“Go ahead Fylar. Jenifer won’t be leaving the jefferies tube, the repairs are too critical,” he said, taking his usual chair and looking at the display she lit up. 

Fylar was sipping raktajinos, having acquired a taste for it from her cadet years. And the way it kicked was helping her keep pace with the ever developing situation. She was tired, the rest of the science team was exhausted, but the results had required all hands to decipher and piece together. 

With Callum’s words she nodded, and put down her raktajinos, letting the warmth fade from her hands as she gestured to the display. “The readings we have been analyzing, along with other elements have led us to the following conclusion. The Cardassian’s are definitely building a large tetryon array, working on manipulating it’s flows and concentrating the particles in large quantities. When paired with the scans we were able to briefly gather from the forking path of the labyrinth, I believe they are working to manipulate Underspace.”

“Manipulate how? Are they siphoning the tetryon for some kind of weapon?” Moira asked, showing her usual concern and bias. Fylar respected Moira, but she tended to think in the terms of weapons and threats, perhaps a result of her previous service along the DMZ. 

“No, I don’t believe so. I think it is far more likely they are looking for other advantages. Conceivably with enough arrays, and the beacons they would be able to monitor the tunnels, have an early warning system. Maybe even prune tunnels, like you would take branches from a deciduous fruit tree. By cutting smaller branches, you could possibly shape and prune the remaining,” Fylar continued, letting her frustration and fatigue show as she stopped to take a drink. 

“There are just too many unknowns. There are too many pieces to the puzzle, including ones we cannot see. For now, I do not think the Cardassians are working towards something nefarious. It seems more likely they are looking to secure an advantage,” Fylar said, stopping herself to let what little certainty the readings could show. 

“Understood. It’s not easy when there is so much about the situation we don’t know. For now the best we can do is to monitor the situation. Get some rest Fylar, staring at the screens won’t change anything. And being sharp and rested, will improve our odds of figuring everything out later,” Callum said, doing his best to reassure her. Fylar nodded, and when she was dismissed, she made her way towards the turbolift. 

“Bet you anything she sleeps in the science lab,” Moira said with a hint of exasperation in her voice. 

“I would be a fool to take that bet. We both know she will. Especially with everything changing so fast. Still, any sleep is better than none, and really there isn’t much we can do until we have made repairs,” Callum replied, as he watched the closed doors thoughtfully. So many of the crew were eager to prove themselves, a trait he admired greatly but he also knew the risk of mistakes caused by fatigue. 

“What worries me the most, is if we get word this turns out to be some aggressive action by the Union. There isn’t a lot we are equipped to do, we aren’t a ship of the line and truthfully we are in their territory. But the idea of throwing weapons at apertures reeks of too many things that could go wrong,” Callum admitted to his second. With the privacy afforded of an empty room, they could both express doubts and concerns they wouldn’t allow to show anywhere else. 

Moira’s reply was cut off when his comm chirped. “Go ahead.”

“Sir, sensors have picked up a Cardassian vessel closing in our position. Its moving fast, but the readings do not show full warp speed. It will be here in minutes.”

“Understood, I will make my way to the bridge. Captain out,” Callum said, then standing as Moira herself rose from the table. “It was too much to assume we wouldn’t go unnoticed forever, let’s see what they want,” Callum finished as they shut down the display, and walked together for the bridge.