The Chikri-Merkaa Strand is a distinctive, string-shaped formation of several dozen stars within the galactic spinward reaches of the Covenant Sphere, reaching relatively high above the galactic plane. Part of the Siakar Expanse, the Strand is named and traditionally defined by its location between the Chikri and Merkaa star systems. The latter is purely a historical inclusion as that system has not had any major significance for hundreds of years since the civil conflict known as the First Discordance at Siakar. The Merkaa system's primary world, Jai Shua, was once a key center of culture and military power to rival the region's current capital world, Radiant Zenith, but they had the misfortune of having picked the wrong side in the war - eventually leading to the world's utter ruination. Now only sand-blasted ruins of past glory remain, and not many set foot on the world as it is rumored to be haunted.

In the Reconciliation Era, the predominant political power in the Chikri-Merkaa Strand is the Chikri-Merkaa Conflux, which grew out of a Covenant-era trade league that encompassed many of the Strand's worlds.