100053.9
CAPT Kermit, James
LOCATION Charted Radiation Belt R-5816, near Briar Patch, Risa Sector.
MISSION Distress call response.
OUTCOME Distress call was a trap laid by Ferengi privateers. Trap malfunctioned, presumably, creating a subspace anomaly which destroyed the Ferengi vessel crippled Reyga. Rescue effected by USS Tyee, Reyga towed to DS13.
KEY PERSONNEL
- CAPT Kermit
- CMDR Sedai
- LCDR Kuvak
- LT Sono
- ENS Sadaann
- ENS Ban
NARRATIVE During gamma shift, Reyga diverted course to respond to a distress call, purportedly from a civilian transport vessel, which was stuck in a radiation belt. The distress call was deemed suspicious based on a number of factors including the contents of the message, the location and nature of problem. As a result, Reyga moved approached the area under condition yellow.
Upon arrival, we discovered a Ferengi privateer. There was no sign of a civilian ship, and it became abundantly clear that we had entered a trap. As we prepared to confront the privateer, a subspace fold appeared within the radiation belt. It is unclear whether the fold was larger than expected, mistargeted, or otherwise failed to operate as expected, but the privateer was almost immediately destroyed.
A moment later, Reyga suffered numerous impacts from subspace ‘spikes’, which penetrated the hull, immobilized the ship, damaged interior components, and released a substantial amount of localized delta radiation. Both primary and secondary power failed and nearly the entire ship was blanketed in radiation. The bridge crew quickly located a small section on Deck 6 at the saucer edge which would remain habitable. I ordered all crew to proceed immediately to this area or other shelter. Bridge and engineering crews transferred command and other vital function to a surviving console in the safe area and evacuated.
Once regrouped on Deck 6 and no longer under threat of immediate death, we began to formulate options for survival and recovery. A headcount revealed that all but 60 personnel had made it to Deck 6. We would later learn that 58 of those had sheltered safely in runabout Aesop, while the remaining two had perished on impact.
We set up a makeshift command post in Ensign Ban’s quarters, while Lieutenant Sono saw to the organization of the crew and assisted medical personnel in setting up a treatment area for injured. Commander Sedai oversaw science personnel attempting to analyze the radiation, while Commander Kuvak and Ensign Sadaann assessed the ship’s situation. A number of PADDs were networked to establish local comms while the ship’s network was offline.
Before we were able to implement any plan to free ourselves, we received a partial transmission indicating that a rescue ship was inbound and would arrive in approximately 30 minutes. Before we were able to reply, we lost emergency power, causing the failure of both life support and artificial gravity. There was no guarantee that residual life support capacity would allow us to survive until rescue, and as we had been unable to warn the rescue ship of the situation, we were forced to consider the possibility that rescue would be complicated or delayed by the local hazards.
Only two possible courses of action had been suggested, at this point: reaching the shuttle bay in the hopes that small craft had survived and could be powered, and interacting directly with the subspace spikes in attempt to remove or reduce them. Because neither was assured and both were extremely hazardous to personnel attempting, I elected to proceed with both simultaneously in the hopes of increasing our odds of survival.
Commander Kuvak volunteered to attempt interacting with the spike, using a makeshift radiation generator that he constructed using materials on hand. Ensign Sadaann was ordered to assist him. Ensign Ban’s visor allowed him to perceive the levels of radiation, so he was ordered to assist me in attempting to reach the shuttle bay. To minimize our exposure, we planned to proceed first to the nearby port side cargo bay airlock, don EV suits, and spacewalk to the shuttle bay. Commander Sedai was left in command. Before departing on our respective tasks, we were advised that no anti-radiation medications that would be effective as a preventative were available.
Commander Kuvak and Ensign Sadaann proceeded with haste to the nearest subspace spike. While they were unsuccessful in practice due to power and equipment limitations, the attempt provided a verifiable method that was eventually implemented successfully to extract Reyga from the radiation belt. Simultaneously, Ensign Ban and I proceeded to the airlock and exited the ship. Before we were able to reach the shuttle bay, however, the USS Tyee arrived and transported us aboard, along with the rest of Reyga’s crew.
Using Commander Kuvak’s method, Tyee was able to free Reyga and begin towing the ship back to DS13.
RECOMMENDATION Reyga requires full radiation scrubbing and decontamination, followed by a thorough damage inspection and repairs as necessary. All crew not already treated by Tyee sickbay staff must receive medical clearance before returning to duty.
RECOGNITION While the entire crew performed admirably under extremely difficult circumstances, three officers - Lieutenant Commander Kuvak, and Ensigns Sadaann and Ban - went above and beyond, placing themselves in great personal danger in the hopes of improving the outcome for their shipmates.