“Captain’s log supplemental. Though our Vaadwaur prisoner took his own life, the secrets that exist within his fighter are crucial to our efforts. Commodore McCallister has called to inform me that the Vaadwaur have attempted to use an override signal on the Pralor, turning them against our fragile allies. Thankfully, the Constellation Squadron has created a block for it, restoring the Pralor. With the Constellation Squadron and the rest of the coalition mere minutes away from us, we have been able to secure the dilithium asteroid without any Vaadwaur interference. With mining efforts about to begin, the commodore has issued further orders to us all. Every ship in the fleet has now been tasked with tracing the signal’s origin. I hope our efforts in pulling the Vaadwaur fighter apart will help us.”

Stepping into the broad expanse of Shuttlebay Two, Captain Mo’Lee-Krabreii’s boots struck the deck plating with deliberate force. The muted clang echoed across the huge bay, drawing the attention of the assembled officers before her. Her bright blue Efrosian eyes swept across them, sharp, expectant, and unwavering. The stark white of her braided hair, set against the darker red of her uniform, made her stand out even more as a commanding figure. There was no room for delay today; every fibre of her being reminded her of the burden she carried. Commodore McCallister needed answers, and she was determined to deliver something of value before the coming battles with the Vaadwaur.

The prize that had sparked this urgency sat behind her team: the Vaadwaur fighter. Its compact, predatory hull gleamed under the shuttle bay lights, still scarred from the skirmish that had allowed the Orion to capture it. Krabreii’s jaw tightened slightly. This was no ordinary find. If they could crack open its secrets, perhaps they could tip the balance that had slowly been shifting in the Vaadwaur’s favour.

“Report,” she ordered, her voice cutting cleanly through the low thrum of background systems.

The four officers before her straightened. Commander Saval, her Vulcan first officer, stepped forward with his usual composed bearing. His calm, clinical approach always impressed her; remnants of his former career as a physician. Beside him stood Lieutenant Commander Kulucis, her Kantare science chief, ever formal and methodical. To his right, Lieutenant Anderson, her chief security and tactical officer, held his PADD at the ready. Lastly, Lieutenant Le Mani Jilka Nali Ta Hoi, her Xahean chief engineer (known simply as Nali), stood poised, her coppery complexion and dark expressive eyes hinting at quiet confidence—a formidable team.

Saval inclined his head respectfully before speaking. “We have concluded a comprehensive examination of the fighter, Captain. Its structural design closely parallels the vessels recovered by the Bellerophon at the deserted Vaadwaur underground facility. However, as we had anticipated, there have been significant technological advancements. The Vaadwaur have fortified the hull with enhanced materials; primarily an alloy infused with duranium filaments, which provides greater resilience against energy-based weapons.”

Krabreii’s gaze narrowed. That was a noteworthy improvement. Their previous assessments were outdated if the Vaadwaur were refining their ships to this degree. She wondered what other improvements they had made and even asked herself how. For now, she would hold those questions to herself for another time. 

Before she could ask further, Anderson stepped forward smoothly. “Their weapons systems have been upgraded as well,” he added crisply. “We suspected as much from our combat scans in recent skirmishes. Now, it’s confirmed. Their primary weapons are polaron-based. The arrays are more refined than we’ve seen before; longer range, more effective against shield harmonics. We estimate a fifty per cent increase in damage output compared to their older particle-based armaments.”

Krabreii acknowledged the report with a nod, though her expression remained cool. Useful confirmations, but nothing groundbreaking yet. She needed more.

“What about their computers?” she pressed, her voice sharpening. “Anything we can pull from their database that gives us leverage?”

A spark of satisfaction flickered in Nali’s dark eyes as she stepped forward. “Yes, Captain. Using our Borg-inspired cryptographic algorithms, we broke through their security layers quickly. As expected for a fighter, there’s no grand strategic data, fleet locations or command codes. But we did recover all of the ship’s flight logs and sensor data. Andron is analysing them in Astrometrics right now.”

Krabreii felt her interest sharpen. That was better. “And?”

Kulucis cleared his throat and spoke next, his deep, calm voice carrying a quiet certainty. “We’ve been studying the flight logs carefully. They show where this fighter has been moving through underspace. Based on the patterns we’ve mapped, we can tell where it entered and exited those corridors. We don’t have a full map of underspace, but we do know where this ship came from before it attacked us. That means we can start piecing together their routes. If we’re careful enough, we might even be able to follow them back to one of their bases.”

Krabreii’s bright blue eyes lit up. Now that was useful intelligence. The underspace corridors, those ancient, dangerous shortcuts the Vaadwaur used to leap across space, had long given them an edge in mobility. If her team could reliably track their paths, the coalition could anticipate attacks and possibly even stage ambushes of their own.

“That’s a solid start,” she said, her tone warming slightly. “Any progress on how they open these underspace tunnels?”

Kulucis nodded. “We’re working on it, Captain. The systems in the fighter are simpler than those on a larger Vaadwaur ship, but we think we’re getting close to understanding the device they use to access the corridors. If we can reverse engineer something similar, even in a limited way, we could send probes or small ships into underspace to scout their routes.”

Saval added smoothly, “At the very least, Captain, knowing the points of entry and exit provides us with strategic opportunities. We could position forces to intercept them more effectively or block their paths if needed.”

Krabreii’s posture relaxed slightly, though her piercing gaze remained firmly locked on her officers. This was precisely the kind of progress she needed. Tangible. Practical. Not wild theories, but steps they could build on.

“Excellent work,” she praised, her Efrosian voice softening slightly. She then turned her attention to Anderson. “Lieutenant, I want you to focus on a complete tactical analysis of this craft. Scan for weak spots. Is there anything we can use in future engagements? Prioritise shield gaps, weapon recharge times, and any structural vulnerabilities you can pinpoint.”

Anderson gave a crisp nod. “Already underway, Captain. We’re running comparative models from the Bellerophon’s data. Early results suggest their shields aren’t powerful enough to handle a sustained photonic shockwave. We could disable a whole squadron of them in one go with a single photon torpedo detonated by a phaser blast.”

“Good. Keep refining that and any other ideas that come up.” Krabreii gave them all a curt nod, her white brows rising with measured approval. “You’ve done well. Stay on these leads. If we can confirm a way to access the aperture this fighter exited from, then it becomes an entry point for us into underspace for us to exploit vulnerabilities in their own systems, it’ll give Commodore McCallister something he can use tactically.”

Her officers exchanged brief nods, their confidence growing with her acknowledgement.

As Krabreii turned on her heel to leave, her mind churned swiftly through the implications of what she’d heard. A flicker of optimism stirred deep within her for the first time in weeks. Perhaps, just perhaps, the tide could shift back in their favour. If they moved quickly and exploited these insights fully, the Vaadwaur wouldn’t know what hit them.

The quiet hiss of the Astrometrics lab doors parted as Krabreii stepped inside. Nestled deep within Orion’s primary hull, the chamber pulsed with a muted blue light. Curved bulkheads housed banks of holographic projectors, their displays alive with shifting stellar maps, spatial grids, and dynamic overlays of astrogation data. At the room’s centre, an expansive spherical projection dominated the space. It was a living map of stars, subspace distortions, and faint corridors twisting like golden threads through dark velvet.

Lieutenant Andron Jines stood in the middle of it all, his figure silhouetted against the holographic expanse. He stood confidently, his uniform pristine (as always), and his hands glided smoothly over the console before him. His dark brown hair caught the low light, but the distinct wisp of silvery-white at the front of his hairline, unmistakably Rutian, stood out. A subtle, natural streak running through his otherwise dark hair framed his youthful but serious face, giving him a striking and distinguished appearance. His focus was absolute, his shoulders square, his brow knit, and his lips pressed in concentration. Krabreii recognised the posture instantly. Years ago, she had worn it herself many times in her career, hunched over outdated helm controls, plotting precarious navigation routes where sensor data gave way to gut instinct.

She took a step closer, arms folded across her chest, her eyes narrowing slightly. Quiet pride settled in her chest. There was something rewarding about seeing one of her officers deep in the flow of complex work, not just executing duty but inhabiting it.

“Lieutenant Jines,” she announced, her voice slicing cleanly through the ambient hum.

Jine’s head snapped up, his posture straightening in an instant. His hands lifted from the controls with the smooth precision of a man who valued order and clarity. His emerald green eyes, keen and alert, fixed on her. “Captain. I wasn’t expecting a visit.”

“I like to see progress with my own eyes,” she replied evenly, her tone clipped but not unkind. She closed the distance with two unhurried steps, her long white braids shifting over her uniformed shoulders. “Show me what you’ve uncovered.”

Without hesitation, Jines pivoted back to the console and tapped out a brisk command sequence. The spherical projection shimmered and shifted. In place of the broader stellar cartography, a translucent amber tunnel unfurled across the void, a twisting, curving path that branched and forked through points of known space. Krabreii’s eyes sharpened on it instantly.

“This is the reconstructed flight path of the Vaadwaur fighter,” Jines explained. His voice was smooth, professional, with an undercurrent of pride. His finger traced a portion of the corridor. “Using the decrypted flight logs from Nali’s team, I charted its movement through underspace. These markers here,” he magnified several glowing nodes, “are where the fighter entered and exited various apertures. Some match known underspace junctions we’ve catalogued during our time in the Delta Quadrant. Others are new. However, I think their starting point is somewhere here,” he pointed to another node, “at the periphery of the Nekrit Expanse.”

Krabreii remained silent for a long moment. She studied the projected course with a pilot’s eye, not just for the raw data but for the subtle pattern hidden beneath it. The path wasn’t random. There was a rhythm to the Vaadwaur’s journey, a confident exploitation of corridors most Starfleet navigators only theorised about.

“The Nekrit Expanse? You’ve done well, Lieutenant,” she finally said, her voice low and thoughtful. “Plotting a route like that from fragmented logs, well, that takes more than technical skill. It takes a pilot’s instinct.”

Jines’ lips twitched into a faint smile. “Thank you, ma’am. It felt good to flex those muscles. With our advanced navigational systems, I don’t have to do too much at the helm these days.”

“I understand.” Krabreii allowed a brief, genuine smile to tug at one corner of her mouth. “There’s an art to charting a path by feel, not just by the numbers. Reading spatial eddies, anticipating currents,” She gestured to the twisting underspace corridor. “The Vaadwaur do that almost innately. You’ve mirrored their pathfinding well.”

Jines’ stance straightened subtly, the quiet pride of an officer validated.

“Show me the aperture here,” Krabreii instructed, pointing to the final node the fighter had taken along the path. The one it had used to approach them and the asteroid field they now defended. “What were the surrounding conditions when they entered?”

Andron’s fingers danced over the interface. The projection zoomed in, and sensor overlays populated the air. It included gravimetric readings, subspace flux patterns, and residual energy trails. He narrated crisply as Krabreii leaned in, her blue eyes narrowing in thought.

“There,” she said suddenly, tapping the side of the display with a sharp motion. “That gravimetric fluctuation. Consistent and subtle, but persistent in the lead-up to aperture formation.”

Jines frowned, considering. “A subspace ripple pattern, almost like a wake before a tear opens.”

Krabreii nodded once, pleased. “Years ago, flying patrols along the Thomar Expanse, I used to see similar variances near ionic eddies. Whenever micro-tears opened into subspace, the gravimetric pattern matched what we’re seeing here.” She straightened slowly, her expression thoughtful but hard-edged. “If the Vaadwaur apertures cause this same signature before forming, we may be able to predict them. Or locate dormant entry points.”

Jines exhaled, his mind clearly turning quickly now. “We could chart likely access sites even if they’re inactive. That would give us a huge tactical edge.”

“Exactly.” Krabreii’s voice was calm, but there was iron beneath it. “What about the signal that the Vaadwaur used to control the Pralor?”

Nodding with further pride and a huge smirk, Jines tapped another button. “After I was able to determine the flight path of that fighter through its logs and ran a comparative analysis to see if the fighter’s sensors detected the signal, and-” He paused again to press another button to show a low-level frequency seeping through underspace. “There it is, ma’am.”

Impressed again, Krabreii grinned at the pilot. “Well done again, Andron.”

“Thank you, ma’am. However, you should know I only picked it up thanks to our Borg-inspired enhancements.”

“What do you mean?”

“I know the Constellation team have been working hard to understand the signal the Vaadwaur used, but it appears to be some sort of interlink frequency, similar to what the Borg use for the Collective. Nevertheless, it does head towards the Nekrit Expanse too.” 

Looking from the logs and back to her pilot, Krabreii took a breath. “I want Kulucis to see this correlation immediately. Keep refining this mapping, and focus on regions where those fluctuations cluster. Plus, give me everything you’ve got about that region of the Nekrit Expanse. I’ll need to brief the commodore.”

“Aye, Captain,” Jines answered briskly, his focus sharpening again.

Krabreii lingered for a final moment, her gaze drifting back to the twisting amber corridor. It coiled and wove through the stars like a serpent. It was ancient, elusive, and dangerous. But not beyond their reach now.

As she turned to leave, she paused and lowered her voice, directing her next words solely to him. “And Lieutenant…”

He looked up at her sharply.

“When you chart these paths, don’t let textbook protocol dull your edge. I need a pilot’s instincts here, not just a Starfleet analyst’s precision. Trust what you feel in the vectors and flows. You’ve got that ability, use it.”

A slow, assured smile spread across his face. The silver wisp of hair at his brow caught the holographic glow as he inclined his head. “Understood, Captain. I won’t forget.”

With a satisfied nod, Krabreii pivoted crisply and strode from the lab, her long white braids swinging behind her. The first pieces of the puzzle were falling into place, and with officers like Jines at her side, they would fly ahead of the Vaadwaur’s game yet. She could finally call Commodore McCallister and update him with some good news. If they knew where the Vaadwaur were staging their attacks, they could end the threat once and for all.

The Nekrit Expanse could be their next stop.