| SUBMITTED: Stardate 93707.7 | FILED BY: CAPT N. Thraz | SECURITY: Level 2 - Confidential |
LOCATION: Doza Sector, 4LY 'south' of the Itrin System; Alpha-7192 Sector, 10LY 'west' of previous position.
MISSION: Support USS Gainsborough in distress call response possibly in connection with recent mysterious attacks in Kelterre/Doza Sectors.
OUTCOME: Total mission failure. Tracked aggressors through wormhole to uncharted space, where Starfleet task force came under attack by two unidentified enemy vessels. Starships Caelian, Damocles, and Gainsborough destroyed. Additionally, the enemy managed to download the entire contents of the Gainsborough computer core.
KEY PERSONNEL:
CAPT Buchanan, Jack
CAPT Desimone, Sara
CAPT Lorian KIA
CAPT Thraz, Nathaa
CAPT Vallen, Ash
CMDR Caspius
CMDR Leveson-Scott, Mischa MIA
CMDR sh'Zarath, Tellara
LCDR Eunbi, Jung
LT Keliaya
LTJG Vangilder, Alexander
"Mana", (civilian)
CAPT Desimone, Sara
CAPT Lorian KIA
CAPT Thraz, Nathaa
CAPT Vallen, Ash
CMDR Caspius
CMDR Leveson-Scott, Mischa MIA
CMDR sh'Zarath, Tellara
LCDR Eunbi, Jung
LT Keliaya
LTJG Vangilder, Alexander
"Mana", (civilian)
NARRATIVE: Gamma shift alert personnel were summoned to the conference room after the USS Gainsborough reported it was responding to a distress call in the Doza Sector. We were briefed as to the situation: a number of seemingly unconnected ships have been attacked by a mysterious aggressor over the last few months in the Kelterre and Doza sectors, and the aggressors are always long gone before any help can arrive. There have been no survivors.
USS Caelian and USS Damocles departed DS13 with the alert crew and rendezvoused with the Gainsborough at the location of the distress call. All that was left of the civilian vessel was a small field of debris. Initial investigation revealed that it was destroyed by a high-powered energy weapon of unknown type - the same findings as previous attacks. Also consistent with previous reports, there were no warp trails leading away from the scene, and it was initially not clear how this was possible.
After a more thorough investigation, residual traces of neutrino particles were detected in the debris. A wide-band neutrino scan revealed a trail for us to follow, and ultimately we discovered a concentration of verterons, revealing that a wormhole had been present at this location in the very recent past. In an attempt to trace the aggressors, we formed up with the Gainsborough and initiated a magneton scan. Almost immediately, the wormhole reappeared, and all three vessels were pulled through.
After emerging back into normal space, we discovered that we were approximately ten lightyears from our previous position - now within uncharted space in the Alpha-7192 Sector. We also discovered that we were not alone. Two unidentified vessels were already present at this location. One vessel was a dreadnought (~1800m length), the other roughly a destroyer or light cruiser (~350m length). When Gainsborough hailed the unknown ships, they received a response that apparently contained some sort of computer virus. From this point on we were out of communication. We later learned that this virus systematically affected all of Gainsborough's systems, including sensors and defenses. Additionally, long range communications were jammed, so we were unable to alert command of our situation.
The dreadnought then opened fire, taking aim first at the Caelian. The weapon was a highly concentrated verteron beam. We also detected neutrino emissions from the source of the beam. There is no doubt that this is the weapon used in the previously unexplained attacks. Caelian's shields were virtually ineffective, and the beam not only breached the ship's hull but penetrated through the length of the vessel without dissipating. Damocles activated MVAM and returned fire, but a second blast from the dreadnought destroyed the Caelian. No survivors were detected.
Once separated, Damocles was able to evade enemy fire for a time, though eventually the Beta-vector was hit and destroyed. We observed Gainsborough fire upon the smaller enemy vessel, damaging its shields. In response, the dreadnought returned fire causing significant damage to the Gainsborough. Based on the smaller enemy's lack of overt action, we surmised that the smaller vessel was some sort of support craft, responsible for the electronic attack keeping Gainsborough out of the fight. The Damocles alpha-vector, containing myself and the primary bridge crew, was grazed and disabled by enemy fire. A short time later, the gamma-vector was hit and collided with the smaller enemy vessel. This, combined with further fire from the Gainsborough and its Aquarius escort, appeared to disable the smaller vessel.
Unfortunately, the dreadnought seemed largely impervious to our weapons fire. Gainsborough's Aquarius was destroyed and Gainsborough itself sustained further damage. Somehow, the crew aboard managed to transmit a distress call before being forced to abandon ship. Once it was clear that Gainsborough would not survive the damage it had taken, the enemies withdrew. Rather than warp drive, they departed through another wormhole, possibly generated by the dreadnought itself, which disappeared only moments after the enemies passed through it.
The USS Valley Forge arrived and recovered the survivors of our task force. Expect a follow-up from CAPT Se'lai with casualty report.
RECOMMENDATION: Recommend immediate research into these unknown hostiles and their technology. This clear act of aggression cannot go unanswered. If we are unable to make peaceful contact, we must be able to defend ourselves against this new threat.
OOC: I was the GM. Feel free to take any reasonable IC action in response to this, and contact me if you're interested in doing something that requires GM input. Crystyll will be following up on the Gainsborough side of things.
