At the border

Posted on Wed Jul 29th, 2026 @ 1:51pm by Captain Taliserra Tigran & Lieutenant Commander Jack Slattery & Lieutenant Margarar & Lieutenant Brendan Dernah & Lieutenant Anthony Edwards Ph. D & Lieutenant JG Ash Rowe & Cadet First Class Rusty Oaks

3,618 words; about a 18 minute read

Mission: Crisis at Zeta-294
Location: Deck 1- Bridge
Timeline: Md06

Thirty six hours of travelling were about to end with the Wolff only a few minutes away from the Cardassian border, the species that alongside the Dominion were responsible for the most catastrophic war across the Alpha and beta quadrants barely 20 years ago. Taliserra sat in the center chair on the bridge going over in her head and on a Padd the message she'd broadcast to the Cardassian side to inform them of what they were going to be doing.

"Captain, we're only a few minutes away," Ash confirmed, her fingers moving with confidence over the helm console even as she glanced back over her shoulder to Tigran.

Taliserra looked up from her Padd. "Drop to warp on our side of the border, park us near one of the sensor buoys Ash."

"Got it..." Ash assured quickly, already setting to work tapping the commands into the console, counting down silently for the perfect moment. When she hit zero, the stars shifted from streaks to spots as she brought them out of warp. She nodded with a small smile to herself at nailing the timing. It was the small things in life now.

"Lieutenant Dernah, connect with the sensor buoy, check its logs, see if our asteroid has passed by recently." Taliserra instructed, they were close to where the asteroid had first been noticed but hadn't received any new information on route.

"Aye, Captain," Brendan replied "Buoy accessed, it has passed though is no longer in range and its course has been estimated for it. It passed in this direction," he said as its course was projected onto the forward viewscreen.

The lines marking the borders of Federation and Cardassian space appeared on the viewscreen, in the space between lay the location of the last sensor contact with the asteroid.

"It doesn't look like it's going to pass near anything important in the immediate future." Taliserra remarked manipulating the viewscreen to follow the projected course for a few light years.

As soon as border probes began sending information, Anthony quietly started working on it in the background. Over time, he started to notice some issues with the information.

"Define important. Is that important to us or the Cardassians? Just curious," Brendan asked out of turn.

"Its course misses all the major systems in the region." Taliserra remarked. "Passes near the Chopesa system, uninhabitable, unremarkable. Adrissa, Pre-warp civilization. Doesn't come close enough to be a danger."

"Understood, Captain," Brendan replied.

As soon as Captain Tigran made that statement, the issue made sense to Anthony. "Captain, I have some disturbing news, and it is all through that probe's data. "

Taliserra quickly turned to her head science officer. "What is it, Anthony?"

Anthony turned quickly and actually looked at the trail that the rest of the bridge crew could see. "Well, for starters, if that trail for the asteroid is correct, we should have seen it months ago rather than hours."

Looking back at the viewscreen she quickly saw what he was referring to. "It should have entered Federation space near the Castal system ages ago on that course. Is there anything along that route that could have affected its course?"

"While we are in a time of peace, the Cardassian Union isn't within the Federation, which is why we have the border probes, because of that, much of our information about their space is reliably outdated by the time we get it. That said, within sensor range, there is nothing seeable that would change its course and stop it from being noticed months ago." Anthony said with a shrug.

"Asteroids don't suddenly change course without external influences Anthony," Taliserra remarked though this asteroid was certainly attempting to prove her wrong. "Try and figure it out."

"Already on it, Captain." Anthony said as he continued on the issues. "As soon as I know anything about it, you will."

Taliserra slowly walked around near the back of the bridge. "Cadet Oaks, power up the subspace transmitter and direct it across the border, broadcast on known Cardassian frequencies."

Oaks moved about at the console, following the Captain's orders. "Broadcasting on all Cardassians frequencies, Captain. If you want to get the attention of a Cardassian, this should cast a wide net."

"Lieutenant Edwards, do you need any help with your task?" Brendan asked the CSciO.

"An extra set of eyes could always come in handy, if nothing else, it should make the task quicker if it is shared between two." Anthony duplicated what the border probe was sending them about the asteroid and sent it to the operations console.

"Received and calculating, Lieutenant Edwards," Dernah said as he got busy assisting the CSciO with the task at hand. "Oh and by the by, you're welcome," he said with a side-long grin on his face.

Anthony chuckled to himself as he gently rubbed his right earlobe. A leftover from a lesson, it took him quite a long time to learn, as his mother would, when she caught him not thanking those who offered assistance. Often in the heat of battle, one forgets to thank those around them for offering assistance. His mother would have pulled his ear directly in front of anyone there. "Thank you, Brendan. I don't exactly know what I am looking for yet, but I know something is odd about why we have only just seen this asteroid."

Taliserra cleared her throat then began to speak. "To any Cardassian ship or station within range this is the Federation starship Wolff, we're tracking a rogue asteroid passing between Federation and Cardassian space, our intention is to intercept the asteroid and begin a scientific investigation of it. If it passes into Cardassian space we will stop unless permission is given by your government."

"Well, at least that has let the guys over that side of the line know that we're here diplomatically. Anthony said with a smile.

Lieutenant Dernah added, "That would be a good idea, Captain, considering current relations with the Cardassians aren't all that good and it could be seen as an act of war. But, then again, everything is considered aggression from the Cardassian point of view."


Returning to the center of the bridge Taliserra plonked herself down in the command chair. "Now that is out of the way Lieutenant Rowe set course to intercept the asteroid, warp 5."

"Aye, Captain," Ash nodded lightly, tapping at the control panel, scrolling through local scans to be sure of a safe path. The view changed, reverting to the familiar streaks as they moved to warp.

Taliserra watched the stars go past in the viewscreen for almost a minute before turning to her XO. "Contact me when we have the asteroid in effective sensor range Commander."

"Yes, Captain," Slattery said with a small nod, drawing in a slow breath as he watched her for half a second longer than duty strictly required. He didn’t tell her to get some rest. He was still too new on the Wolff for that, and besides, captains tended to hear concern as interference if it was offered badly. But it was what he hoped she would do. As she left the bridge, he turned back toward the viewscreen, letting his hands settle behind his back as the centre chair became his problem for a while. "Cadet Oaks, route any Cardassian response to me as soon as it comes in."

"Understood," replied Oaks.


==== 2hrs later ====

Two hours on the bridge had a way of stretching when there was nothing to do but wait for distance to become data, especially if your job was to sit in the chair with the overall view. Slattery had spent most of it standing rather than sitting, partly because the centre chair still felt a little too much like wearing someone else’s jacket, and partly because he had never liked being still when something strange was waiting ahead of them. He had checked in with the stations only when needed, let the bridge settle into its own rhythm, and kept one eye on the silent Cardassian frequencies as the border sat behind them like an old argument nobody wanted to restart. He missed flying. His eyes went to Rowe for a moment and he exhaled. It would pass, he always itched to fly when there was nothing else to do.

When the first useful returns began to sharpen on the sensors, Jack glanced toward Science, then back to the forward viewer. There it was. Not just a projected course anymore, but something real enough to be trouble. He tapped his combadge, his voice carrying that calm drawl even as his attention narrowed. "Slattery to Captain Tigran. We’re entering effective sensor range now. No word from the Cardassians yet, but we’re starting to get a clearer read on the asteroid." His eyes stayed on the display for another moment, weighing the shape of it, the wrongness of a rock that had no business arriving when it had. "Might be worth coming back to the bridge, Captain. I don’t think this one’s finished being odd."

"I'll be there in a moment." Taliserra's reply came over the comm system, several moments later she emerged onto the bridge. "What are we looking at?" She asked openly.

"Captain, it would appear that our asteroid isn't an asteroid at all. Just the outer shell is rock," Brendan called out of reflex. "I don't have all the pertinents yet. Perhaps Lieutenant Edwards?"

Anthony smiled and said, "A tetrataenite Metallic asteroid, that, as Lieutenant Dernah said, has an outer mantle of rock, between 7 and 10 km in diameter. From that, I can say it will have gravity, though much lighter than Earth's. Which I expect has changed its route because, any time it passed through a system, it would wobble with the system's gravity. Though I would add a caution to deciding to go for a walk, because often rock mantles are boulders that separate during near planetary passes, making walking more like a hop, step, and jump, and occasionally a bouldering expedition. Also, with a rock mantle, the magnetism of the EVA boots will be less advantageous than if they were a straight-up metallic.

Margarar had been silently observing everything in the background. It was almost as if the Antican wanted to be forgotten. An engineer should be in the engineering room, not on the bridge. That's probably why Chief Pigtails sent me up here and stayed down there. The Antican looked at Anthony and said, "Everything that has mass generates gravity, regardless of how small. You should remember that from grade school physics," she told him with a small scoff. "But if the outer shell is only rock, perhaps some internal scans are required. We could send out some probes that are geared towards penetrating the rock shell."

"I agree with our Lieutenant Margarar. I have run all the scans I'm capable of. I can have probes ready in 15," Brendan said.

"You will need my help or at least science's," Margarar told Dernah.

"That would have been my next statement. Thank you for making it for me, Lieutenant Margarar, and I agree with the probes; they will also give us a more accurate reading on a great many things about it." Anthony was angry that the Engineer pointed out something scientific, since they were also well-trained in many of the sciences; he was better at it by the looks of it in physics. It was also an expectation of the bridge that if you knew something that could help, you should feel free to interject with it. He had felt too shy to do so early in his career because of his linguistic major.

"You are welcome, Lieutenant Edwards," Margarar answered. "By your response, should I take it to mean that you are intending to help Dernah, or should I? Or perhaps you and I should modify the probes?"

"I believe I am best suited to remain here, ready for when the information comes back from the probes, so I would probably suggest Lieutenant Dernah assist you with prepping them for launch.

"Very well," Margarar answered. "Come on, Dernah, let's make some probes." The Antican headed over to the turbolift and waited.

"On my way, Lieutenant," Brendan got up from his station and walked to the turbolift. "Let's away," he said as the doors closed.

With his console grabbing his attention, Rusty Oaks caught a glimpse of something. "Cardassian vessel on a parallel course," reported the cadet. "From their side of the border" he clarified.

"They're not hailing us, Captain, I presume, after our message letting the Union know that we are here on a scientific exploration of our rogue out there that they are currently charged with watching us to observe that we stay on the Federation side of the border and that we only follow the rogue as our message to them said we would do. Would you like hailing frequencies, Captain?" Anthony asked, as it was easier to play nice and make friends than to make enemies in a tense situation.

"Not yet," Taliserra replied. "Analysis, what type of ship?"

Anthony was watching his screens as the information came in. Once he had the information needed for an early report, he said. "An older Galor-class Captain, circa the Cardassian Border Wars. It might even have fought during those wars, because some of the hull plating looks to be easily fifty years old."

"A mark 1 Galor?, that's almost an antique." Taliserra quipped, the Cardassians' response to the Wolff straddling the borders had been surprisingly quick.

"So antique that the Federation has ships that are younger than the Galor Mark 1 in museums." Anthony quipped with a sly smile.


==== Sensor pod probe bay ====

Lieutenant Dernah, who had never met an Antican much less served with one, leaned in on the class IV probe that had been selected and began the modifications on it. "Lieutenant Margarar, can you hand me that spanner over there, please?"

"Exactly what have you done?" Margarar asked. "What class probe did you start your modifications on?" the Antican inquired.

"I'm going to have to rewrite the base code to perform the necessary functions. The standard class IV probe is the base torpedo for the photons this ship carries," Brendan said.

"Class IV probe?" Margarar asked. "Why that? We're not investigating a spatial anomaly. We are investigating an unusual asteroid. Class III should be enough, but we need some scans to penetrate the asteroid itself. What are you suggesting regarding the coding?"

"Right you are, Lieutenant. Just making sure you're up to spec on probes," he said with a smile. "And all I'm doing now is rewriting the base code to ensure it penetrates the surface deep enough to get accurate readings of our errant rock."

If Dernah was joking, Margarar did not understand it and her face turned into a scowl. "This is not the time for testing. This is the time to get information," she replied with a low growl. Do we know what kind of rock is covering the object? If not, we need to be able to use a varied spectrometry to make certain that something penetrates."

"I'm sorry for doing that, Lieutenant. No reason to get hostile, please. I'm no geologist so yes I'd say we need varied spectrometry to help accomplish our task," Dernah said. He was trying his best to be genial with their new crewmember. Despite not knowing if he was successful or not, he said, "Lieutenant, how can I help you to become more comfortable with me?"

Margarar shot back, "Look, young whelp, this is not the time for comfort. We have a job and this needs to get done. If we die because of this thirty second conversation rather than getting this probe into space to analyze the mysterious asteroid, I will personally haunt you into your next life."

"My apologies, Lieutenant. You're up," Brendan said quickly and sharply.

Margarar moved over to the probe and sighed. Immediately she got to work and said, "Let's make the gravimetric sensors adjustable and make certain it has the ability to do low frequency neutrino scans. I'm also going to modify it so that the probe can fire micro-bursts of phased particles." She looked at the young whelp and asked, "Is there anything else that I've forgotten?"

"Not to my knowledge, Lieutenant," Brendan said. "Good idea about the micro-bursts deal."

Margarar grunted in response. When something needed to be done right, you had to do it yourself.

==== Bridge ====


Taliserra glanced down at the clock built into the arm panel of her command chair Dernah and Margarar had been gone a not insignificant amount of time and not reported either completion or any problems yet. Tapping the comm button on the opposite arm she cleared her throat a moment before speaking. =/\= Bridge to probe bay =/\=

"Dernah here, sir. What can I do for you?" Dernah said in response.

"Status on your probe modifications?"

=/\=I'm done now it's Lieutenant Margrar's turn. Did I say that right because I doubt that I did,=/\= Brendan replied.

Margarar announced on the comm, =^= It is Margarar, not Margrar. =^= There was substantial exasperation in her voice. =^= Nonetheless, I'm loading the probes now. They should be ready to deploy in three seconds. =^=

=/\= understood, return to the bridge when you're finished, bridge out.=/\= Taliserra turned the comm channel off. She didn't fail to notice the exasperation in Margarar's voice, something had happened in that probe bay that didn't sound good. "Jack, have a word with Lieutenant Margarar when you get the chance, find out what happened."

Margarar replied, =^= Acknowledged. =^= and within thirty seconds she was back on the bridge at her station.

Jack acknowledged Taliserra's instruction with a small nod, although Margarar's return to the bridge barely thirty seconds later meant he would not have to go looking far. He allowed the launch of the probes to take priority, waiting until the initial telemetry was coming through before leaving the centre chair and approaching the engineering station. "Lieutenant, when your work permits, I'd like a quiet word about what happened in the probe bay," he said, keeping his voice low enough that it did not become a bridge-wide conversation. His tone remained easy, without accusation. "The Captain heard enough over the comm to be concerned, and I'd rather hear it from you before I decide whether there's anything I need to address. But after all this...not now."

Margarar looked at Jack like he had two heads, but finally answered, "Whenever you desire."

He held her eyes a moment longer before he gave a small nod and went back to his spot.

"Anthony." Taliserra addressed her chief science officer. "Launch the probes when you're ready."

A few seconds of working on the touch screen as Anthony sang a little ditty about doing sciency stuff, and as he finished, a fake audible whoosh was heard on the bridge as the three probes were launched. "Probes away, Captain! One probe programmed for deep entry, scanning, and internal strength tests. The first of the other two is for surface impact and testing, while the last is to keep watch, and link the deep impact to the ship and get better scans from above. That one seems to have also been programmed to release some microbursts as part of its scanning. Whoever programmed it to do that is going to be a very useful officer."

"That would be our Antican engineer, Mr Edwards," Brendan said as he slid into his post. He began reading the telemetry from the probes. "First set of data coming in now, Captain."

With a simple inclination of his head to the new Engineer and a chuckle to himself Anthony turned to the captain, he added, "Telemetry is coming in now. Gravity much lower than Earth standard, and the surface appears, at first sight, stable. It is too small and young to have developed an atmosphere, so any away team, of course, will need to be in environmental suits and due to low gravity, magnetic boots are a must."

"Anything yet that might explain how it missed entering Federation space several months ago?" Taliserra asked.

"Nothing as yet, Captain. I mean, I could speculate, and I am sure our Geologist could do even better than I could, but without proof, that is all it would be: a scientist speculating and theorising." Anthony said with a smile. "We might get more once the deep probe starts sending back internal analysis of the internal make-up of the asteroid."

Taliserra nodded slightly, this mystery was going to take some solving. "How long do you estimate these scans will take?"

"I'm no Scotty, Captain; I wouldn't say four hours when I mean one. The computer will process the incoming results faster than I can read them, so I would say it will be at least an hour before the results are believable." Anthony said as he worked on the early results.

Sitting back in her chair Taliserra let out the slightest of sighs, though she commanded a science ship she disliked science. Hours of scans, analysis, theorising and experimenting. "And so we wait." She said lightly.

Margarar scoffed lightly. She hated waiting. She had hoped that all of her modifications would have sped up the process, but science likely wanted to dot its "i"'s and cross its "t"'s. Annoying. She merely crossed her arms and looked at her console, with nothing else to do.


TBC



Captain Taliserra Tigran
Commanding Officer

Lieutenant Anthony Edwards
Chief Science Officer

Lieutenant Margarar
Assistant Chief Engineer Officer

Lieutenant Brendan Dernah
Chief Operations Officer

Lt. Commander Jack Slattery
First Officer

Lieutenant JG Ash Rowe
Chief Helm Officer

Cadet Rusty Oaks
Officer Candidate

 

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