Swings and Roundabouts is a five-part Star Trek Fleet Command mission chain that starts with a garbled transmission from the U.S.S. Discovery in Neethia and ends with Harry Mudd cornered in an anomaly system. Every part is set at recommended level 35, and warp requirements top out at 27. The chain hands out Michael Burnham shards, Paul Stamets shards, 200 Discovery Recruit Tokens, and several million in Parsteel, Tritanium, and Dilithium. If you are building a Discovery crew, this is one of the better shard runs at this level.
Swings and Roundabouts at a glance
| Part | Recommended level | Warp to complete | Key reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swings and Roundabouts Part 1 | 35 | 27 | Michael Burnham shards, 4,692,000 Parsteel |
| Swings and Roundabouts Part 2 | 35 | 26 | 100 Discovery Recruit Token, 6,934,000 Tritanium |
| Swings and Roundabouts Part 3 | 35 | 25 | Paul Stamets shards, 911,000 Dilithium |
| Swings and Roundabouts Part 4 | 35 | 25 | 100 Discovery Recruit Token, 26 3 Hour Speed Up |
| Swings and Roundabouts Part 5 | 35 | 25 | Michael Burnham and Paul Stamets shards, 600 3★ ship parts |
Finishing each part unlocks the next one, so the chain has to be run in order.
Swings and Roundabouts Part 1
The chain opens with a distress signal nobody can read cleanly. You track the Discovery’s trail out of Neethia and try to raise the ship.
- Investigate the transmission. (Neethia)
- Examine the Discovery’s trail. (Neethia)
- Follow the readings. (Aiti)
- Try and pinpoint the Discovery’s location. (Nelvana)
- Attempt to hail the Discovery. (Nelvana)
Warp to complete: 27. This is the deepest jump in the whole chain, so clear it before you start.
Rewards: 1x Michael Burnham (shards), 6 3★ Uncommon Refined Gas, 4,692,000 Parsteel.
Swings and Roundabouts Part 2
Part 2 puts you alongside the Discovery in a fight, then makes you decide what to do about a mining ship in the way.
- Return to the first jump point. (Neethia)
- Assist the Discovery. (Kaisu)
- Defeat the Gladius. (Kaisu, roughly 937,932 strength)
- Track the Discovery. (Fastolf)
- Choose how to deal with the mining ship.
The choice splits the rest of the part into two paths. Both end in the same place and pay the same rewards, so pick whichever fits what you can spare.
Donate to the miners
- Donate 1M Dilithium to the miners.
- Track the Discovery. (Enthra)
- Return to your Station.
Rewards: 100 Discovery Recruit Token, 60 3★ Uncommon Refined Ore, 6,934,000 Tritanium.
Destroy the mining vessel
- Destroy the mining vessel. (Fastolf, roughly 747,676 strength)
- Track the Discovery. (Enthra)
- Return to your Station.
Rewards: 100 Discovery Recruit Token, 60 3★ Uncommon Refined Ore, 6,934,000 Tritanium.
Swings and Roundabouts Part 3
No combat here. Part 3 is a mining and crafting detour through two anomaly systems to study the Mycelial Network.
- Find an Anomaly. (Nalomas)
- Mine 100 Raw Mycelium.
- Return to your Station.
- Find another Anomaly. (Ordesia)
- Modify 100 Mycelium by exposing it to the Anomaly.
- Go to Warp. (Tau Ceti)
Warp to complete: 25.
Rewards: 1x Paul Stamets (shards), 38 3★ Uncommon Refined Crystal, 911,000 Dilithium.
Swings and Roundabouts Part 4
A saboteur runs for Klingon space and you chase the radiation trail through two fights before finding the hideout.
- Follow the saboteur’s radiation trail. (Neethia)
- Follow the saboteur into Klingon space. (Morska)
- Defeat the Klingon hunting party. (Morska, roughly 747,676 strength)
- Track down the fugitive. (Afritalis)
- Defeat the Orions. (Afritalis, roughly 902,683 strength)
- Find the saboteur. (Tombstone)
- Investigate the saboteur’s hideout. (Tombstone)
Warp to complete: 25.
Rewards: 100 Discovery Recruit Token, 26 3 Hour Speed Up, 300 Ship XP.
Swings and Roundabouts Part 5
The finale corners Harry Mudd in Ordesia after a run through Sorenle and Khitomer, then offers three ways to end it.
- Catch Mudd! (Sorenle)
- Defeat the Pakleds. (Sorenle, roughly 2,935 strength)
- Follow Mudd. (Khitomer)
- Defeat the Klingons. (Khitomer, roughly 902,683 strength)
- Corner Mudd in an Anomaly system. (Ordesia)
- Choose what to do.
All three paths pay Michael Burnham and Paul Stamets shards. What changes is the work involved and which 3★ ship parts you walk away with.
Path 1: disable Mudd’s ship
- Disable Mudd’s ship. (Ordesia, roughly 1,950,820 strength)
- Save the Discovery! (Ordesia)
- Return to your Station.
Rewards: 1x Michael Burnham (shards), 1x Paul Stamets (shards), 600 3★ Interceptor Parts.
Path 2: grind hostiles
- Defeat 8 hostiles of level 33 or higher.
- Guide the Discovery through the passage. (Ordesia)
Rewards: 1x Michael Burnham (shards), 1x Paul Stamets (shards), 600 3★ Explorer Parts.
Path 3: power the warp core
- Power the warp core with 800k Dilithium while Mudd rants.
- Guide the Discovery through the passage during Mudd’s soliloquy.
Rewards: 1x Michael Burnham (shards), 1x Paul Stamets (shards), 600 3★ Battleship Parts.
Warp to complete: 25.
Tips for completing Swings and Roundabouts
Get warp 27 sorted before you start. Part 1 needs it, and every part after that sits at 25 or 26, so one refit covers the whole chain.
Two of the branches cost resources rather than time. The Part 2 donation path asks for 1M Dilithium and Part 5 Path 3 asks for 800k, which is 1.8M Dilithium if you take both. Players short on Dilithium can avoid the cost entirely by destroying the mining vessel in Part 2 and picking Path 1 or Path 2 in Part 5.
Combat peaks at the end. The Gladius in Part 2 sits near 938k and the Klingon and Orion fights in Part 4 sit between 748k and 903k, but Mudd’s ship in Part 5 Path 1 is close to 1.95M. If your best ship cannot handle that, Path 2 replaces the fight with eight level 33 or higher hostiles, and Path 3 replaces it with a Dilithium payment.
Part 3 breaks the pattern with no combat at all. You need 100 Raw Mycelium mined and 100 Mycelium modified at anomalies in Nalomas and Ordesia, so budget survey ship time rather than battle time.
Ship parts in Part 5 are the one reward you choose. Interceptor, Explorer, or Battleship parts come down to which hull you are currently upgrading.
Are the Swings and Roundabouts rewards worth it?
Yes for anyone chasing Discovery crew. Across five parts you collect Michael Burnham shards twice, Paul Stamets shards twice, 200 Discovery Recruit Tokens, 600 3★ ship parts, and roughly 4.7M Parsteel, 6.9M Tritanium, and 911k Dilithium. Set against that, the worst case is 1.8M Dilithium spent on branch choices you can skip and one fight near 1.95M strength. The shard payout alone justifies the run at level 35.
