This Week's Universe

Posted on Sat Feb 28th, 2026 @ 5:32am by Captain Rovak & Tyr

1,162 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: UnderMind [4]
Location: CIC, Deep Space 13
Timeline: 0430 - MD04

“Mr Tyr,” Rovak said, surprised to see the small grey being pass his door at this early hour of the morning, “Welcome back. I trust that J-10 was fascinating.” He said of the universe the Excalibur had recently returned from. Rovak was glad to see the Asgard wearing the sciences uniform his advisory position entitled him to. There had been comments about his nudity. This development thwarted the need for a potentially uncomfortable conversation that he would have delegated to Commander Flynn.

“Indeed, Captain.” Tyr agreed with a nod. “I had hoped to speak with you about our progress.”

“Of course. Will we be discussing anything sensitive?” Rovak asked to determine the best location.

“Only recorded facts and observations from the J-10 expedition.” Tyr replied.

“Very well. How are you finding the Excalibur?”

“She is formidable, but I share your Chief Engineer’s concerns about her almost pataphysical nature.” Tyr admitted.

“I see.” Rovak noted as they reached the beginning of the mezzanine walkway to the command chair, but instead moved to lean against one of the standing terminals, focusing on Tyr. “And how are you finding the Commander?”

“He is an extraordinary being. His technology and knowledge is vast and ancient beyond even the greatest achievements of my home universe. We are fortunate that he is an ally.” Tyr observed with a measured tone.

“Very true. How did you find working together?”

“A genuine pleasure. He is courteous and perspicacious. While there were matters beyond the scope of my own understanding he politely declined to discuss during our scientific calibrations, he has provided considerable subject matter to revise many basic scientific assumptions. I look forward to the opportunity to apply the knowledge he has provided.” Tyr said with an obvious affection in his neutral Asgard tone.

“Good.” Rovak said. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust the Commander, but Rovak had concerns about how a being with a much greater technological understanding than anyone in the Federation would interact with the Time Lord. He knew Flynn being there would diffuse any tensions that did arise, but obviously that was unnecessary.

“How are you finding working with Starfleet?” Rovak asked.

“Your organisation is quite excellent. Although ethically you differ in significant ways from the Tau’ri Alliance, there is a sameness to your organisations. I am pleased to support its mission, as I was the Alliance. There is a comparable nobility between them.” Tyr looked ahead, watching the CIC crew do their work, as well as the ambient view of Dreizhen III and the station’s arms on the massive viewscreen.

“Good. Did we learn anything useful this most recent trip?” Rovak asked, watching a Romulan freighter leave from B-dock on the viewscreen.

“We have confirmation about our subspace domain theory. We have observed in the last nine universes that subspace seems to operate in a binary, either a single subspace domain with infinite depth as in my universe, or multiple layered domains with uncertain but measurable theoretical depth, as in this universe. The confirmation means that we can comfortably take the Excalibur to universes where warp drive or hyperspace are standard. Unfortunately, hyperspace travel is not possible without single-domain subspace, but warp drive does not require subspace technology until passing warp 9 on the old scale, and so can be used in any universe.”

“Fascinating.” Rovak said, impressed. “Is everything ready for the next expedition?”

“Indeed. Commander Flynn has delayed our launch to 0900, but it should take at least that long for the probes to do their preliminary testing.” Tyr explained succinctly. “Despite our successes, we are still taking every caution.

“A sensible choice. How are you finding life aboard the station?”

“It is quite pleasant. I have enjoyed many excellent meals and performances in all four quadrants of the civilian sector.” Tyr noted.

“Indeed?” Rovak asked, curious to hear that the grey man had invested his time. “Have you been to Freddie’s?”

“Not yet. Do you recommend it?”

“As the Captain, I cannot make such recommendations. But as Freddie’s friend, I do indeed.”

“Very well. I shall visit it at my next opportunity. I also have a request for an item I have been unable to requisition.”

“What item?” Rovak asked.

“One of your holostadium central processing matrices.” Tyr said without hesitating.

Rovak considered it for a moment. “It is possible. But it is an item of high resource value. I will likely need Admiral Gali’s approval for such a thing, there are only a few facilities that manufacture them within the Federation, and it may not fit through the Stargate. I do not wish to appear mercenary, but while your contributions have been significant to our hyperspace understanding, he is more likely to allocate resources freely once he sees how Alliance technology can be applied in our own universe.”

“I intend to produce an Asgard computer core. With it, I will have the same level of functionality to produce and research technologies as I did aboard the The Bra’tac. Colonel Kowalsky wasn’t able to spare the one it had aboard. I believe the system can be repurposed relatively easily. If you could provide a second processing matrix, I could also manufacture a secondary core that I would be willing to donate to DS13.”

“Fascinating.” Rovak said. “I will message him. We should have a response from the Challenger within 24 hours.”

“Thank you, Captain. If it is of use, I have also made some revisions to the ‘rainbow bridge’ protocol. I was going to wait until I had achieved greater gains, but I hope this will assist your discussions with Admiral Gali. The revisions should allow for a 25% reduction in total power consumption and a 33% increase in beam cohesion.” Tyr reached to the nearby unmanned terminal and brought his calculations up on the screen.

“Remarkable.” Rovak said. “I will pass these along to Chief Gaz and Subcommander Saa. Thank you, Mr Tyr.”

“It is my pleasure Captain. Now, if you will excuse me, I hope to have time for Commander Yy’s yoga class.” Tyr said, departing.

Rovak turned back to the massive viewscreen at the end of the command platform, walking slowly down towards the overlarge duty officer's chair. “Lieutenant Olahan, what can you tell me about this new universe?” Rovak asked of the new plane of reality the anomaly had shifted to around an hour ago, the plane that Tyr, Flynn and the Excalibur crew would be entering for the first time in just a few hours.

“Another intergalactic void, sir. Visible galactic bodies do not match any known records. No hits on pulsar patterns.” Olahan said in her quiet Trill voice, fortunately Rovak’s Vulcan hearing caught it across the distance. “Probes are approximately 60% through subspace hyperwave testing. We expect results within the hour.”

“Thank you Lieutenant, keep me updated with any developments. I will be in my ready room.” Rovak told them all, disappearing back to where he had come from.

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