I have spent the past decade - my entire career - serving aboard Deep Space 13. It has been more than my assignment. Itās been my home, as much as anywhere else ever has. That alone leaves me feeling bittersweet as I record this, my first Captainās Log.
I have just had my first real look at my new command, the Titan-class USS Reyga. Iām incredibly humbled to have been entrusted with this brand new vessel, and I look forward to writing the first chapter of its legacy. Of course, as much as I imagine inheriting a ship and crew from a previous commander brings challenges, so too does starting from the ground up. My day-one crew complement is only 105, out of 350. The rest will be arriving over the next two weeks, and a number of key positions will be vacant until they do.
One position that is thankfully not vacant is that of my first officer and science officer, Commander Sedai. Part of me feels guilty for stealing her away from Captain Varley. After all, she was already a DS13 fixture by the time I arrived all those years ago. Itās going to be a little strange, having her under my command in this context. It was different on the station. I didnāt often have to give orders to the head of counseling, so I never quite felt the awkwardness that I expected from suddenly outranking someone who had been something of a mentor to me. I have to admit though, Iām feeling it now. Sheās been nothing but gracious, though, and those feelings have been pretty handily outweighed by the relief itās been to have her help going through personnel files and sorting out the crew roster. Plus, thereās no one Iād rather have backing me up on the bridge.
The other senior staff position Iāve managed to fill promptly is that of Chief Medical Officer. Another one I poached from the station, Lieutenant Castillo. I donāt know him personally, yet, but heās served as CMO aboard a smaller vessel in the past and he comes highly recommended. Iām looking forward to meeting once weāre settled aboard.
On to operational business. Weāll spend about a week in dock taking on supplies and equipment, and the week after that on basic maneuvers in local space. We should have the rest of the crew aboard by then, and be ready to head out on our first assignment.
That should about cover it for now.
Holycrapthisishappening
I was glad to hear that our last shipment of bulk supplies and equipment was safely stowed aboard this afternoon. Iāve started to get a little antsy, just waiting around. Anyway, in addition to handling some crew check-ins on the bridge, Commander Sedai will be overseeing some last minute calibration of the mission pod sensor arrays during delta shift tonight. I have to say, Iām looking forward to seeing the new transpectral sensors in action. Reygaās supposed to be able to get clean scans inside areas where regular sensors would only show soup. If you believe the specs, anyway.
Well, we had a little hiccup during the sensor calibration. Apparently a maintenance hatch between the primary hull and the mission pod was left unsealed during the shipās construction. When we ramped up power for the calibration this caused the main computer to conclude that we didnāt have a pod attached, and safety protocols shut off all connections.
Obviously not a great start for the ship, but Iām proud of the way the crew handled it. Commander Sedai and Ensign Sadaann, the new Operations Officer, quickly diagnosed the problem from the bridge and devised a solution. Lieutenant Ralts took a shuttle out and coordinated with Ensign Ban to get the hatch sealed up properly. With that done, everything powered right back up and seems to be functioning to spec.
Two potted plants will be listed as casualties, but Iāve been assured theyāll both make a full recovery.
Iām going to order an extra day of systems diagnostics, just to make sure we donāt have any other surprises waiting for us.
Also, New Aberdeen Fleet Yards wonāt be getting a christmas card this year.
(( Event ā¢ Transcript ))
Weāre finally ready to get out there. The last of the crew boarded earlier today, and at the start of gamma shift, we set off on our first voyage. Our shakedown flight plan is little more than a sightseeing tour of V774 Tau, but it feels good to be underway.
Since things are going smoothly so far, Iām hosting a meet & greet in the officersā mess. Iāve asked the senior staff to attend, duties permitting, and I hope to get a chance to meet some of the rest of the crew in a less formal setting. Thereās more to getting to know a crew than chatting over replicated food though, so Iāve also booked Holodeck 2 and loaded up a training program for whenever the social scene slows down.
Itāll give the crew a chance to get used to working together, and --hopefully, give Katriel and I a bit of extra insight.
Well ā¦ the drill didnāt go exactly as planned.
We got barely five minutes in before an altercation between Lieutenant Sono and Ensign Ban brought it all to a stop. I feel a little guilty over it, but Commander Sedai and I were monitoring the exercise, so we had a birdās eye view of the whole thing. It sounds like the Ensign tried to use his telepathy to communicate, and the Lieutenant was displeased. When I called to check on her, she omitted the details and simply said that she wasnāt feeling well. I can certainly understand a desire for privacy, so for now Iām choosing to trust that if thereās something I need to be aware of, sheāll talk to me.
With the Lieutenant headed for sickbay and Doctor Castillo departing to tend to her, we were left a little shorthanded for the exercise. Between that and some, uh, hesitation on the part of the other group, I chose to end early rather than try to force things back on track. In the end, I guess the point of the drill was to get people working together, so Iām glad this happened in a controlled environment, rather than in the middle of an actual crisis.
(( Event ā¢ Transcript ))
Reyga is currently en route to the area of the Valdore Nebula. Weāve been ordered to provide support for Operation Free Haven. Weāve joined the USS October and a trio of Republic warbirds, and will be investigating some Triāvokil outposts that have dropped out of contact.
Weāve arrived at the first location, a mining station. Itās a mess. Somebody did a real number on this place. Far as we can tell, no tactical value, but somebody blew it to hell anyway. One of the Romulan Commanders thinks itās a trap, a mass casualty situation to set up a secondary attack on responders.
October is heading up relief efforts while Reyga and the warbirds maintain a perimeter. Ensign Ban is leading an away team to assist on the station.
Thereās been an explosion aboard the mining station. Apparently Ensign Ban detected the device just in time, and got his away team away from it. He was injured in the blast, himself, but thankfully it sounds like heās going to make a full recovery.
Meanwhile, we tracked the ships responsible for the attack into the nebula. Republic forces in the area will pursue, and theyāre also taking over the relief efforts here. Weāre heading back to DS13 once they arrive.
(( Event ))
Reyga is in orbit of Takiri II, an M-class world near the Azedi border. This oneās been on the survey list for a few years, but its proximity to the Confederacy made it a low priority. With the risk of hostilities lower these days, weāre here conducting a standard planetary survey.
Everythingās been very mundane so far, with a variety of plants and animals life, but nothing having evolved near sentience. We have, however, picked up a very faint power reading. Nothing about it screams danger, so weāre sending an away team to investigate.
Crewman Tresha suffered an accidental injury on the surface, and has been beamed back aboard along with Doctor Castillo. Thankfully, it sounds like the Crewman should make a full recovery.
The away team is safely back aboard. Apparently they discovered the ruins of a small Azedi settlement, Frith castaways, possibly. The settlement was destroyed and there was evidence of phaser fire - likely Terrans, given the circumstances.
Should be an interesting report.
With our survey complete, weāre breaking orbit now, bound for our scheduled visit to Risa.
(( Event ā¢ Transcript ā¢ AAR ))
Weāve just made our scheduled rendezvous with USS Midway, RRW Virin and a convoy weāve been assigned to escort out to Starbase 718. Weāve got four freighters hauling kemocite and a prisoner transport.
Itās the transport that worries me. This was a last-minute addition to the convoy. Midwayās CO wasnāt able to provide any information on who theyāre transporting, their origin, or their destination beyond SB718. Worse still, theyāre reporting some kind of sensor echo following them.
Weāre totally gonna get shot at.
Weāve managed to establish that weāre being followed by four cloaked ships, Romulan in origin - but definitely not Republic, and now theyāre closing rapidly on the convoy. A scan of the prisoner transport shows no Romulans aboard, so we still donāt know exactly what these mystery pursuers are after.
Weāve dropped out of warp and gone to yellow alert. Captain Velās opened a channel and is attempting to warn them off, but an attack seems more and more probable by the minute.
The four cloaked ships were, indeed, Romulan warbirds. Presumably Star Empire, but I donāt have confirmation of that just yet. The combat encounter was brief, but intense. One warbird was destroyed, another disabled - Midwayās sending teams over to secure it now - and the other two retreated. Reyga, Midway, and the convoy ships sustained minimal or no damage, but Virin wasnāt so lucky. Extremely unlucky, even. What looked like a potshot caused a massive secondary explosion and she took heavy damage and casualties. Weāve got medical teams over there helping out.
Ensign Ban was a standout performer today at the tactical station. Solid performance and creative thinking.
Reyga is back at DS13 preparing for our longest-range survey mission yet.
ā¦
Just kidding. Our mission is a follow-up planetary survey of V774 Tau III - right here in DS13ās home system. This is something of a passion project for Ensign YogāSholegh, and Iām glad to see the young officer taking the initiative so soon.
The planetās atmospheric conditions present a unique challenge on multiple fronts, but Iām certain the crew is up to the task.
Weāve been tasked with supporting a second contact mission to the Alessia. Ambassador Perim and her staff, who weāve been transporting for the trip, will be visiting the planet surface to start things off. Afterwards, theyāll be returning to Reyga, where weāll host formal negotiations.
While the mission sounds straightforward on paper, thereās a little more going on than meets the eye. First of all, Alessia is located within the Crossroads Nebula, so weāre dealing with all sorts of interference. Transporters, communications, sensors, are all going to be spotty at best. Beyond that, this second contact is more of a damage control mission than anything else. Our first contact was a bit of a disaster, with a Starfleet crew leaving the Alessians horribly offended by their lack of ā¦ pets.
Thankfully, weāre more prepared this time.
Reygaās been in orbit of Alessia for just over 16 hours now, and weāre preparing to receive the Ambassador and the Alessian delegation. One of the diplomatic aides has just informed me of a last minute development - the Alessian delegates are bringing their pets up with them, and theyād like to leave them in the care of our crew while we sit down in the conference room.
I donāt love the surprise, but Iām confident that the crew can handle pet-sitting for a couple hours. How hard can it be?
Weāve completed our meeting with the Alessians and are preparing to depart the system. All things considered, I think it went very well. Weāve certainly smoothed things over from first contact, and weāre parting on friendly terms. The Ambassador certainly seems pleased with the outcome, and Iām happy to report that the delegatesā pets seemed quite well taken care of.
Even the cat Lieutenant Sono was caring for, despite her wearing a hazmat mask for some reason.
Some things, Iām learning, the Captain simply doesnāt need to know.
(( Event ā¢ Transcripts: Main, Sphinx, Hummingbird ā¢ AAR ))
Reyga has arrived in the Stukrid System to assist a Federation anthropological team studying a near-warp civilization. Weāre to track down and rendezvous with a comet, and extract surface and core samples for study. Hopefully weāll find that it contains materials matching something found by the anthro team, otherwise weāll have quite a mystery on our hands.
Myself and most of the bridge crew have been ā¦ incapacitated in one way or another by some strange affliction. Lieutenant Sono was the first to seem ill, falling asleep at the controls. I was next, apparently fainting on the bridge. In sickbay I discovered that the Lieutenant was barely breathing. Despite an ongoing series of apparently random fainting spells, I feel completely fine. Most of the bridge crew arrived shortly later. Ensign Aenki was ā¦ literally on fire, constantly contained by the shipās fire suppression system. Thankfully, his species is able to, uh, survive that sort of thing. Ensign Ban is turning green and tasting the air. Whatever that means. Ensign Sadaann seems terrified of his own shadow, nervous to the point of excess perspiration. Commander Kuvak is, uh, ā¦ Iām actually not certain. Acting, perhaps? And Katrielās hearing piano music.
Needless to say, the mission will have to wait. I find myself wondering if Captaā
ā¦
Though the mission had to be abandoned, for now, Doctor Castillo has managed to synthesize a treatment for our strange ailment. Almost everyone affected has been treated and is already recovering. Myself included. The only exception is Lieutenant Kholoi, who was apparently āpatient zeroā, spreading a viral infection around the ship while conducting her maintenance duties. She remains in critical condition and isolation while the Doctor and his staff work to develop a cure for her more advanced case.
Where and how the Lieutenant contracted the virus remain a mystery, but one we will investigate fully. With any luck, sheāll be able to tell us more once she regains consciousness.
(( Event ā¢ Transcript ā¢ AAR ))
We made a āquickā detour back to DS13 this past week, in part to continue the investigation into Lieutenant Kholoiās mysterious illness. Iām pleased to report that the Lieutenant is in stable condition, out of the medically induced coma. Physically, Iām told that she requires relatively little ongoing treatment, though the uh, more outlandish personality symptoms that we all experienced may still be affecting her. Further, she remains quite contagious, so sheās had to be kept in isolation.
The investigation on the station produced one potentially viable lead - the Lieutenant came in contact with an apparently unique āOubbard Figurineā, very shortly prior to falling ill. She sold the item to an antique shop, which resold it to some Tellarite entrepreneur off-station. Itās ā¦ admittedly not much to go on, but itās all weāve got for now.
While we wait for more info on that front, Reyga is en route back to the Stukrid System to continue assisting the anthropological team studying the native first contact candidates.
Reyga has changed course to intercept a civilian transport vessel claiming to be trapped in a known radiation belt. The distress call was ā¦ letās say, less than convincing, and the whole situation smells of a trap. Weāre obligated to check it out, regardless, but weāre going to do so at Yellow Alert.
We were right, the distress call was a trap. An an ill-advised one, at that. There was no civilian ship, that we could detect, only a Ferengi privateer. It generated some sort of subspace fold in the middle of the radiation belt. Something obviously went wrong. The subspace fold expanded and produced radiation spikes that penetrated both ships. The Ferengi were destroyed immediately. We were ā¦ lucky, I suppose, either in where the spikes impacted, or maybe simply that Reygaās safeties are more robust.
Still, the warp core and fusion reactors shut down, leaving us dead in the water with only partial emergency power. The vast majority of the ship is heavily irradiated, leaving only a small section of Deck 6 as a safe shelter area. Weāve transferred as many command functions as possible to a console down here and the entire crewās currently crowding into just a few rooms.
Recorded after a āgoodā nightās sleep in the sickbay of USS Tyee. Reygaās been untangled from the subspace fold and is under tow back to DS13. Iām not certain yet the extent of the actual damage, but at the very least we need a thorough inspection and radiation sweep before we reboard and attempt to power back up.
Iām told we had two fatalities. Lieutenant Shātalis and Crewman Pittman. It should be ā¦ some small comfort that they simply had the misfortune of being too close to the spikes at time of impact, rather than the result of any ā¦ failures or ā¦ delays, on our ā¦
ā¦
Anyway.
Ahm. We lost emergency power pretty soon after my last log, and artificial gravity not long after that. We knew a rescue ship was on the way, but we didnāt know if weād be able to last that long, so I decided to attempt both ideas the crew had come up with for helping ourselves, in the meantime. Commander Kuvak had the idea to use a radiation pulse on the spikes, directly, to try to force them to retract. That involved walking right up to one of them, with a makeshift device, and receiving a likely-lethal dose of radiation. He volunteered for the job anyway. I ordered Ensign Sadaann to go with him. The other idea was reaching the cargo bay airlock and trying to reach the shuttle bay via EVA. This one, I tried myself. I ordered Ensign Ban to come with me, on the idea that he could use his visor to guide as around the worst of the radiation. We got about half way there before Tyee arrived and beamed us aboard.
I feel pretty stupid for sending three officers on suicide missions that werenāt necessary. But I suppose Iād have felt a lot stupider if the rescue had been farther away and the whole crew died waiting for it.
Kuvakās mission, at least, produced data that helped Tyee pull Reyga free, so thatās worth something, at least.
(( Event ā¢ Transcript ā¢ AAR ))
After completing repairs and decontamination, Reyga has once again departed DS13. Our mission this time has us setting course for a Maart-Mart distribution center, in search of the eponymous CEO, Maart.
We believe Maart to be in possession of a āspace cow statueā, or Oubbard Figurine, which may be the source of an infection that spread through the crew in November. In addition to preventing others from being infected, medical believes that the only way to create a cure for Lieutenant Kholoi, who has remained in isolation since her infection, is through examination of the statue.
As Maart did not reply to our initial inquiries and locating him proved to be exceedingly difficult, we left tracking him down in the hands of DS13 Intelligence. Weāve taken aboard Lieutenant Commander tāVeras with the latest lead, and sheāll be joining us until the conclusion of the mission.
ā¦
I didnāt think Iād ever see Aurelia in a Starfleet uniform. The last time I saw her, she was commanding a Republic Warbird. Which was already weird. I think, in my head, weāll always be junior officers plotting reprimand-worthy nonsense at the bar.
Weāve arrived at the distribution center. Thereās surprisingly little traffic here, for such a large hub - just two docked freighters. The stationās in a low power state and not responding to hails.
Weāre preparing an away team to beam over and investigate, in full protective gear per Doctor Castilloās recommendation.
The entire staff of the distribution hub was infected with Kholoiās disease, uhm, name pending. The away team managed to shut down the hubās automated systems, which were creating a hazardous situation, began triage of the sick, and located the Oubbard statue.
Additional medical and security teams were beamed over to handle the situation. All 50 documented workers are accounted for, plus four executives - including Maart - who were apparently visiting. Like Reygaās crew, the infected that were still conscious were engaged in extreme exaggerations of their respective mental states at the moment of original infection. Those that were exposed sooner had already fallen unconscious. Most have already begun to recover after initial treatment. Even most of those in the later stages are showing improvement. Two of the executives, and Maart himself, were by far the most serious cases. Theyāve been beamed to Reygaās sickbay, in isolation, and remain in critical condition.
A Federation hospital ship is en route to take over the medical situation here, and a Maart-Mart representative is on the way to take command of the station. I will note here, that Iāll be ordering the facility to remain shut down until itās undergone a safety inspection. The away team downloaded the facilityās logs and one point of note is that a number of freighters did dock and depart in the time between Maartās arrival and ours. Itās possible that their crews became infected, so weāll be attempting to contact them and investigating any who donāt respond.
As for the statue that started all of this, itās been moved to a sealed container in a science lab for further analysis.
(( Event ā¢ Transcript ā¢ AAR))
I received a letter of reprimand, today. It is not the first in my file, but it is certainly the one I am most proud of. Iāve replicated a framed copy, which looks just lovely hanging behind the desk in my quarters.
(( Relevant ))
Reygaās mission this week is a routine charting update in the Kassae Sector. While we are certainly capable of carrying out the important task of deploying survey buoys in the Federation interior, I canāt help but feel that perhaps this dull work is my fault.
Only a Vulcanās petty revenge could account for deploying a state of the art science and reconnaissance vessel past no less than four local ships capable of accomplishing the mission.
Ah, well. It never hurts to let the crew brush up on the mundane side of things.
Stellar survey ongoing.
Commander Sedai caught an officer playing Angry Warbirds on his bridge console, today. I must commend her for her diligence. Perhaps calling the officer in question out in front of the crew was not the most tactful way to handle the situation, but it was certainly effective.
ā¦
Yes, it was me.
Time is an artificial construct, created only to allow us to quantify the depths of our boredom and despair. I have transcended this construct and become one with the stellar survey buoy fleet. My probes extend throughout the sector, meticulously cataloging the position and characteristics of every known star. Though I know none have changed since this was last done two years ago, I touch each one anyway, for my life would be truly meaningless without the routine of charting updates.
Theeeeee sun is a mass of incandescent gas, a gigantic nuclear furnaaaace; whereā¦
{Log continues indistinctly for two minutes, then abruptly ends immediately following the sound of a door chime.}
Weāve temporarily suspended the charting mission to investigate some strange readings, which the XO and Ensign Sadaann believe to be a faint distress call.
The signal is intermittent, possibly Romulan in origin, and moving slowly towards us.
The source of the distress call turned out to be a Tāliss class warbird, the Sienov, operated by mercenaries. The ship was badly damaged, but staunchly refused to allow us to assist them. They did, however, transport a Star Empire officer aboard, apparently a defector, that they had been hired to deliver to someone in the Republic.
Despite the ā¦ legally questionable status of the Sienov, I decided that trying to arrest them on behalf of the Republic was too great a risk, given the condition of their ship. After escorting them out of Federation space, we forwarded their transponder ID and last known position to Republic Command, let them deal with it.
As to the Imperial defector, one Sublieutenant Delum, I decided to proceed to the Republic Officer who had orchestrated the unorthodox defection.
Weāve rendezvoused with Centurion Bolarus, RRF, sitting in a Kestrel runabout in the Virinat System. After explaining the situation, how weād come to receive the defector from the Sienov, the Centurion offered to pay us for our services, apparently whatever he had agreed to pay the mercenaries.
Perhaps against my better judgment, I released Delum into Centurion Bolarusā custody. To my surprise, they departed back in the direction of New Romulus. A database query doesnāt list Bolarus as MIA or AWOL, so I feel safe in assuming they arrived there safely.
Finding a lone officer in a runabout several systems away from their reported assignment was suspicious enough, but the offer of payment makes me absolutely certain that this whole thing was unsanctioned. My money (not that I accepted the payment, of course) would be on some kind of Romeo and Juliet situation. The mercenaries did call the defector a ālovebirdā at one point.
Whatever the case, I wish them well, and am thoroughly glad not to have had to dig any deeper into it.
(( Event ā¢ Transcripts: Main, Brig, Ready Room ā¢ AAR))