Voyager Chief Engineer’s Log, Stardate 87231.26

We’re making some headway with the device, but I wish it was faster.

The alloys are unusual. They resemble some the things we’ve seen in Vaadwaur tech or the Solanae sphere, but they’re not quite right. The mix is off – there’s more than enough fistrium to block anything but a directed sensor scan, but too much for a strong alloy. The metal is brittle, and the components are delicate. We’re being extremely careful with the device, because a good knock might damage it beyond repair.

I’m using the transporters to move it from place to place now. It almost fell off a grav sled when we were bringing it to engineering. That can’t happen again.

I wish I could devote more time to analyzing what this thing is and what it can do. I’ve assigned what tasks I could to my staff, but we’re still repairing some of the last bits of damage from the last battle. The good thing is that I don’t expect any more fighting for a while, which means I can concentrate on something besides keeping the warp drive operational and the hull plating attached. However, the admiral doesn’t accept excuses. He wants this ship in top operational order.

I’m not sure what’s going on yet, but I think we have another mission coming. Something important. He’s been spending a lot of time with Seven in astrometrics.

That’s another thing about the admiral: He never tells you anything until he’s ready. But when he is, you get all the details you could possibly need to do your job. It’s not how my last captain worked, but I like it. You know where you stand.

Anyway, back to the device. I love a good puzzle as much as the next engineer, but some clues would be helpful. I’m pulling some of the science team in to assist, and even getting some experts in exo-technology from the Vulcan Science Academy to consult via subspace, but I’m not anywhere near a conclusion yet.

I think it’s some sort of communications device, but that’s just an educated guess. What I really need to do is get in there and take it apart and figure out how it works, but Lieutenant Commander VanZyl wants us to wait. She says Admiral Tuvok is calling in some assistance.

I know the Rhode Island is on its way to our coordinates. Be good to have Captain Kim and his team to help. But we might need some more help if we’re going to figure this out.