Most likely means that the pre-production, writing, location scouting, set/prop design etc. and key crew have likely been confirmed and that when the strike ends, they'll be able to move to shooting pretty fast depending on if they've confirmed the rest of the cast before the strikes (I assume actors aren't meant to audition for parts whilst striking.)

Overall, I really liked the overarching plot, but I think they needed to extend out the conclusion over more episodes with this episode and the previous feeling a little rushed.

That being said, still a very enjoyable episode and

Feels like a lot of character development this series.

I enjoyed the TWoK references though!

Cayuga is a connie according to memory alpha - confirmed in some background graphics: https://twitter.com/timothypeel1/status/1690018124492349440/photo/1

I would like to know why the Gorn was there too, but the Gorn didn't notice Spock boarding and so there's no reason to believe Enterprise would have notice a Gorn boarding. It's also possible it was beamed over when the Cayuga was destroyed to find something or to access the ships systems.

Janeway also attempts to give CPR to a dead crewman in Voy: Scientific Method