| SUBMITTED: Stardate 94943.5 | FILED BY: CMDR R. Phoenix | SECURITY: Level 1 - Open |
LOCATION: Aldebaran Sector
MISSION: Routine Anti-Pirate Patrols
OUTCOME: Pirate force encountered, two ships destroyed, one escaped.
KEY PERSONNEL:
NARRATIVE:
On standard patrol, the Zulu noticed an increase of subspace communication coming along a known Federation trading route. Such communication was way beyond the normal communication traffic levels and so we moved to investigate. We located three rogue Klingon vessels, who did not bear any markings of the KDF. We proceeded to hail them to ascertain why they were in the area, though our hails were met with jeering, with one of the captains stating that "we would be captured and sold along with the rest of the Federation officers." The ships then proceeded to fire upon us.
In the firefight that followed, the Zulu managed to destroy two of the vessels and damaging the third before it's subsequent withdrawal. Our attempts to follow were hampered due to the damage we suffered to our warp drive, and once repairs were complete, the enemy's warp trail had disappeared. After checking to see if there were any survivors, we then proceeded to continue our patrol route.
RECOMMENDATION: We have engaged a few pirate vessels in the past month of patrols, no doubt emboldened by the news of DS13's evacuation. Whilst these have begun to subside following the reinstatement of fleet patrols, as the pirates come to the realisation that the fleet is very much still operational, the bold words of the pirate Captain trouble me. I recommend that more ships be made available to patrol routes, if the fleet can spare them, to make clear that the evacuation of DS13 does not equate to a relaxing of law in the sector.