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SUBMITTED: Stardate: 99579.6

FILED BY: CAPT Jadrys Itana

SECURITY: Level 1 - Open

LOCATION: Spatial Anomaly J-7552

MISSION: Continuing Deep Centaurus Expedition initiative.

OUTCOME: USS Copernicus escapes a spatial anomaly through a complex procedure.

KEY PERSONNEL:

CMDR Yma Quispe
LT Sey Cathalc
LT Cassiopeia Huynh
DR Yulia Zvizdaryk
COUN Elyxia Sudet
Long-Term Medical Hologram

NARRATIVE: This report serves to document our study of spatial anomaly J-7552. This anomaly is classified as an interphasic repeater and was discovered during the course of our survey.

J-7552 is an occurrence related to a spatial interphase. In a typical interphasic rift phenomenon, parallel universes on different dimensional planes overlap and fracture along the bounds of a central "void." The structure of J-7552 is significantly less organized and results in irregular interphasic pulses of variable intensity and reach, creating short-lived and deleterious periods of interphasic exposure in realspace within proximity to the rift as spacetime is randomly stressed. These pulses are associated with bursts of extreme subspace shear, disrupting warp field formation. These properties were not apparent upon our first approach, when Copernicus first identified J-7552 as an unusually large spatial interphase and held at what we presumed to be a safe distance to study it through sensor probes and remote analyses.

As we undertook research, it became apparent that the phenomenon was having some effect on the crew, first manifested in a modest increase in reports of dizziness in Sickbay. The repeater's pulsation phenomenon then intensified significantly. The key deleterious effect of interphasic exposure is immense pressure on the nervous system, manifesting as intense paranoia and hallucinations, in this case triggered through the interphasic phenomenon's interactions with the optic nerve. We were unable to generate a warp field, but DR Zvizdaryk and the ship's Long-Term Medical Hologram were able to mitigate the negative effects on the crew by inducing shipwide unconsciousness by adjusting the environmental controls to distribute a mixture of Theragen diluted with a type of herbal tea.

Three individuals were unaffected by the phenomenon:

* CMDR Quispe, whose optic nerves are governed by residual Borg implants capable of adapting to interphasic phenomena;
* LT Cathalc, who as an Arkonian has a nerve and brain structure unaffected by the phenomenon beyond a ringing in the ears; and
* The Long-Term Medical Hologram (ver. Bashir), being a photonic entity.

These three crew members quickly determined that the crew could be immediately relieved of the effects of the repeater by re-engaging power and withdrawing to a distance of two light years. However, continuous subspace shear had caused the warp core to go offline, while disrupting secondary power systems. With propulsion offline, CMDR Quispe ordered LT Cathalc to report to the bridge and utilize maneuvering thrusters to reorient the ship for rapid exit as soon as possible, before herself reporting to Engineering in an effort to restart the warp core.

Per CMDR Quispe's reporting, it became apparent that the complex subspatial and interphasic interactions with the warp core made conventional and advanced jump-starting methods inadvisable. Of the officers aboard, only Chief Engineer LT Huynh had the necessary expertise to create a modulated warp bubble capable of adjusting its configuration to withstand the repeater while not destroying the ship in transit. Waking LT Huynh would be impossible due to the deleterious effects of interphasic exposure. In response to this challenge, CMDR Quispe and the LTMH prepared a neural linkage - essentially allowing CMDR Quispe to utilize her residual Borg systems and a modified medical-issue cortical monitor to create a temporary "collective" with the unconscious LT Huynh, allowing her to interface with her submerged consciousness and access the information needed to prepare the warp bubble. As the linkage required LCDR Quispe to be in both-hands communication with LT Huynh, the information she accessed was relayed via comms to LT Cathalc, who input directions into the system and established the bubble.

The linkage process allowed the crew to bring the warp core online and restore main propulsion. LT Cathalc immediately exited the anomaly's halo at best possible speed and withdrew the ship to a distance of 2.4 light years. The LTMH then supervised the recovery of CMDR Quispe and LT Huynh before treating and reviving the crew.

In the wake of this phenomenon, I ordered a warning buoy with an effective communication range of three light-years to be placed in proximity to J-7552, cautioning approaching vessels of the anomaly's deleterious effects. I have also dispatched a long-duration probe to gather data on the phenomenon safely, allowing us to gather data without any further interphase exposure for the crew.

On another note, while I acknowledge CMDR Quispe and the LTMH for their innovative solution in accessing LT Huynh's knowledge, I am also deeply cognizant of the violation of LT Huynh's mental and physical factors involved in the procedure, essentially akin to a mind-meld. Both officers involved report feelings of deep discomfort and post-traumatic anxiety, LT Huynh from the sense of being briefly but involuntarily assimilated and having her innermost thoughts available to someone else, CMDR Quispe from the perceived necessity of reliving her past as a Borg drone and violating the bodily autonomy of a crew member she respects and considers a colleague. LT Huynh has assured me that she does not view the incident as a grievance and understands why the action was taken, but both have been left with complex and uncomfortable personal feelings. I have referred the matter to COUN Sudet and am aware that both are undergoing trauma counseling, both individually and in joint sessions, and I have made myself available to both officers to provide any support and wellness assistance either need. LT Huynh, after six days of physical and emotional recovery from the incident, resumed her duties to the fullest level of capability.

Vitally, CMDR Quispe - along with DR Zvizdaryk and the LTMH - have addressed my concern that the linkage procedure may have allowed the Commander to access personal or intimate memories unrelated to the mission. By my understanding, the linkage was deliberately modulated to be both partial and ephemeral - that is, CMDR Quispe would be able to share in LT Huynh's knowledge only during the moment of linkage, directed only by conscious effort to areas she sought to access, and with such knowledge stored in what amounts to "temporary memory" in CMDR Quispe's cortical memory buffer. These contents were essentially "wiped" upon disconnection, hence the necessity to repeat instructions directly to LT Cathalc (as the knowledge would be lost upon disconnection). I have discussed these findings with LT Huynh and we both share the opinion that we are satisfied by the careful steps taken to recognize the seriousness of the procedure and the need to safeguard the Lieutenant's privacy.

RECOMMENDATION: N/A



OOC:

LIEUTENANT HUYNH.

The whisper infiltrated the veil of blessedly empty sightlessness that lay behind consciousness. Overstressed eyes could not open - to see things was too much. But Cassie Huynh could hear it. Feminine. Underlaid with something mechanical

CASSIOPEIA HUYNH.

Cassie Huynh could have placed the voice, were she truly conscious. The tiniest, most peripherally aware part of her mind focused on the sound.

On the image beginning to take form. A red spark.

LIEUTENANT CASSIOPEIA HUYNH.

That little sliver of consciousness seized as the red light slashed through her. Illuminated the lines of a face looming over her, the shadows of nightmare and pallor blunting familiarity. The eyes should have been a warm brown, the complexion no different. What she faced was pale, almost dessicated, and laced with the cancerously artificial.

The brilliant red laser of a Borg eyepiece slashed into Chief Engineer Cassie Huyhn's unconscious mind as the drone that should have been Commander Yma Quispe stared through the fog of terror and pain that had seized her. The voices rang out in her mind again. Hers, but in multiplicity.

LIEUTENANT CASSIOPEIA HUYNH, PRIMARY ENGINEERING ADJUNCT OF STARSHIP COPERNICUS.
YOU WILL ASSIST US.

~

Against the dark of space, the anomaly pulsed like a great gash, rippling in phantom shades of white and pink and fiery gold and hues that defied the visual spectrum. Shadowed against it like an ornament hung askew from some unseen tree, USS Copernicus floated, only the ovoid of her main deflector lit ever so faintly. The silent vacuum was all too deceiving. The silence of her darkened interior was a lie. Ears could not hear what they heard now.

The ruddy red of pulsing alert klaxons was all that illuminated the unconscious bodies of the crew, slumped where they lay.

All but three. On the bridge, a round-headed shape, hunched over a console. In Sickbay, photons giving shape to a figure monitoring two sets of readings.

And in the darkness of Engineering, a lone woman with three pips on her collar, bowed over a fallen officer - the long-forgotten injectors in the back of her wrist buried in the side of her neck.



THIS TIME ON CENTAUR: TALES FROM DEEP SPACE....

"This is exciting, isn't it, sir?" Lieutenant Kshree chirped from across the transparisteel pane. "We're the first in the Federation to explore an entire pocket of the galaxy! You could fit the Federation in here six or eight times and it still wouldn't even begin to fill it out!"

Lieutenant Commander Rena Fox couldn't help smiling as she watched the astrometric projections come up on the illuminated pane between Cetacean Ops and Astrometrics. She'd had no experience working with cetacean crew before signing on with the Copernicus as Chief Science Officer. It reminded her, not unfondly, of playing with her kid brother back home - the same childlike curiosity, the same energy and creativity.

Not that Andre was a thousand-pound dolphin with flippers who also happened to be an expert astrogator. Maybe the parallel was ridiculous, she reflected.

"There's a lot of space to cover and no way we'll be able to cover it all with one expedition," Rena explained as projections of stars drifted across the panel, mirrored for the astrogation dolphin on the other side. "We have one system we know we need to hit, though." With a tap of a computer panel in front of her, she flagged a single star; it lit up a gentle yellow-orange on the display.

"The Tassh system. There's a lot of interesting space between us and there! It's more than fifty light years out and it looks like there are quite a few systems along the way that could have habitable planets." On the other side of the glass, Kshree rolled over onto his back and floated upside down in the water, tilting his body at a slight angle to fix one eye on the stars. Rena glanced away, all too aware of her involuntary smile.

If she noticed, it was inevitable Kshree would too. "I can float the other way if you'd rather, sir!"

"No no, Lieutenant. It's alright. You do you." It took an act of sheer will for Rena to suppress the smile.

"I actually find it helpful!" From the other side of the glass, the dolphin righted himself again.

"In perceiving space?" Rena surmised.

Kshree bobbed his rostrum briskly. "Everything floats, for lack of a better description. Obviously there's gravity, but the way things move through it is really individualized, you know? Every star finds its own way to float. It's like just riding a current. Some'll ride it faster than others."

Rena crossed her arms with a tilt of her head to the left, a curious smile showing through. "Do you mind if I ask you something, Lieutenant?"

"Oh, not at all, sir."

"Did you always think of space like that? I mean...." She paused a second, grasping for words. "...That is, what made you interested in going to space?"

"Well, I just thought it was pretty at first, sir," conceded the cetacean, bobbing upwards just enough for his blowhole to clear the top of the cetacean ops tank. "I remember always looking up at it when I was sleeping, or when we'd all go out and chase squid and I'd come up and see it. And it was pretty, of course. But I didn't think I could go there until I met people from Starfleet. They were doing marine work and such and we ran into them and we got to playing around and talking. You know, most people don't have a translator when we run into them. Starfleet people always do, so they could actually talk to me. That's kind of when I started thinking about space."

The science chief smiled faintly, fiddling with one of the cuffs of her uniform without fully realizing it. "You're the first dolphin I've talked to, if I'm being honest. If I've been putting my foot in my mouth around you all this time, don't hesitate to tell me."

"I don't think you have. I think most people have been wonderful." The translator couldn't quite parse Kshree bobbing his rostrum slightly and wagging his fins, but Rena took it as something akin to a shrug. "Any time I'm in a department on a ship, there's people who think we're cute or funny. I think that's fine. And I don't mind if people think of me that way. But you also let me help and it's obvious that everyone trusts me. That's the most important thing, right? I mean, you're not the first person who's smiled at me a lot and felt bad about it."

Rena coughed into one hand. "I think you have me at a slight disadvantage, Lieutenant."

"I didn't mean to! I meant it in a good way. What I'm trying to say is you've been very nice to me and you shouldn't worry too much about that stuff. If you enjoy working with me, then I'm glad."

"You're a peach, Lieutenant."

"I'm a dolphin! But thank you, sir."

In spite of herself, the science officer laughed and shook her head. "You're welcome. In any case, this system..."

SUBMITTED: Stardate: 100421.3

FILED BY: CAPT Jadrys Itana

SECURITY: Level 1 - Open

LOCATION: HD 139449 System

MISSION: Continuing Deep Centaurus Expedition initiative.

OUTCOME: The Copernicus encounters a long-range missile system and makes contact with a major political power in the Loop 1 Bubble.

KEY PERSONNEL:

CAPT Jadrys Itana
LT Sey Cathalc
LT Hussein al-Absi
LT Cassiopeia Huynh

NARRATIVE: This report will serve as an update on the progress of the Deep Centaurus Expedition.

Our passage through the Gould Belt created anticipated communications difficulties over long distances. Copernicus attempted to alleviate these difficulties by deploying three subspace amplifier beacons along our course, but these proved inadequate to carry signals through the high saturations of stellar radiation and interference presence in this very active star-forming region. We are able to transmit now following the successful mission of CMDR Soin and USS Haida behind us to deploy additional amplifier beacons through this area. We hope this will restore regular communications with taskforce command.

Since exiting the dense areas of the Lupus Dark Clouds, we have been under frequent long-range bombardment by what we can only describe as interstellar glide missiles. These projectiles were aimed at Copernicus any time we jumped out of warp within a certain multi-light-year radius. The projectiles, which utilized sensor ghosting and low-diameter transwarp conduits to propel high-explosive projectiles at approximately transwarp factor 40. The first attack was unexpected and resulted in damage to the engineering hull and several injured, but we identified techniques for intercepting subsequent attacks. As the projectiles are shielded from sensors, LT Al-Absi and LT Cathalc identified a means to detect the transwarp signatures generated as the glide vehicles re-entered normal velocity. These signatures could be resolved into trajectories and fed to the tactical sensors, allowing each glide vehicle to be shot down as it decelerated.

Our communication with the source of the vehicles was limited to an automated transmission from a probe, proclaiming a large radius of space a "primitive society protection zone." After several more of these automated attacks each time we exited warp, we identified the source of the glide vehicle fire to be a planet in the HD 139449 system, an F-type star. We set course for this planet to investigate.

LT Al-Absi and LT Huynh worked en route to devise a means to avoid detection by the automated system. En route to the system, Operations and Engineering built up a graviton charge, using it to artifically collapse the ship's warp bubble while flooding immediate space with graviton particles. This allowed Copernicus to "glide" into the system at full impulse while disguising the usual Cochrane smoothing associated with warp deceleration. No missiles were fired at us as we entered the system and identified two planets, both Class B and uninhabitable, along with several large asteroid groupings. The source of the missiles was quickly identified as a large facility orbiting the second planet. Scans revealed no lifesigns but indicated high levels of computer activity.

We were able to establish communication with the facility and, upon intercepting about a dozen more missiles, achieved a response from the facility computer. The system declined to identify itself beyond its initial designation but routed us through several relays, bringing us into communication with an individual resembling a five-foot-tall bipedal ground hornbill in a white and grey service uniform and a headset. The individual appeared startled but identified himself as Captain-Lieutenant Keer ka Hark of the Associated Star Pact Joint Defence Force. After brief introductions, the officer and three individuals of the same species appeared to review several logs before we were informed that the missile system was not intended to target us. Per Captain-Lieutenant Hark's explanation, the system is designed to target vessels associated with the Pyscillian Hierophany, whose "preacher probe" we intercepted earlier in our mission. Pyscillian vessels operate on warp field frequencies within a few nanocochranes of Federation ships, causing the system to mistake Copernicus for a Pyscillian vessel. Captain-Lieutenant Hark issued profuse apologies and assured us the system would be updated to exclude Federation warp signatures.

We took the opportunity to speak with this individual further, who explained that the Associated Star Pact is a multicultural and interplanetary treaty organization negotiated by his own species, an aviform race called the Kanu, and six neighbouring worlds. The Kanu appear to be the most significant power in this alliance, which appears analogous to our own Alliance and to past structures on many Federation member worlds. Defense systems like the one we encountered exist in numerous peripheral sectors and were put into place with the rationale of protecting pre-warp civilizations from intervention by the Pyscillians, whom Hark described as having a history of targeting such planets for conversion and "enslavement." We cannot fully corroborate these accusations but will bear them in mind. Hark's description of the Pact describes a very loose organization based on mutual cooperation in defense and trade among a group of democratically-governed planets.

Star charts we received from our contact with Hark indicate Copernicus is currently on a course that will take us along the edge of Pact member space, specifically passing a star system called Tassh (HD 193238). This system hosts a Pact installation identified as Starhook 47. While this course is at least 50 light years from now and we have a lot of ground to cover before then, I have determined that Copernicus will continue this course and attempt to conduct diplomatic overtures to the Pact in the Tassh system.

RECOMMENDATION: Continue to monitor the subspace relay chain to ensure contact is not lost across the Gould Belt.



OOC:

"Dropping out of warp in five," Ensign Maksymowicz began the countdown.

Itana tensed and leaned forward in her seat, chin planted on her fist. Every jump out of warp had been the same in this sector. She drew a small breath and anticipated as the starlines receded from the viewscreen.

Predictably, the lights shifted to red and the red alert klaxon kicked in at the chirp of a sensor board. "Got them. Three inbound at transwarp factor 40," Lieutenant al-Absi clipped from the ops console. "Sending to tactical-"

"-Locked on fold signatures, firing," Lieutenant Cathalc responded almost automatically.

On the viewer, brilliant phaser streaks slashed out into the depths of space. Each shot terminated in a rippling explosion, like a rock hurled into a pond full of stars - first one, then a second, and a third so close that the Copernicus shook subtly. "Damage?" Itana prompted.

Cathalc tapped his panel a couple of times and shook his head. "Turbulence but no damage. That one came close."

"I'm getting sick of this." Itana pinched her nose ridges between thumb and forefinger. "Hail the launch stations and remind them that we are not in fact a proselytization fleet."

Commander Quispe looked over from the second seat, eyebrow arched. "Captain, do we anticipate a response this time?"

"There's always hope." Itana grimaced. Since exiting the Lupus Dark Clouds, Copernicus had been met at every stop with a barrage of two or three interplanetary glide missiles fired at high transwarp from across the sector. The elusive missiles had damaged the ship on the first attack, but they'd learned to spot the signs of their approach and fire quickly. Stopping them was another matter entirely: Trying to make contact with the launch source had prompted a brief dialogue with a computer system, proclaiming the entire region a "primitive society protection zone."

Getting the computer to distinguish the Copernicus as no threat to pre-warp civilizations was apparently too tall an order. So was getting the computer to put them through to a decision-maker. That meant dealing with automated missile attacks every time the ship dropped out of warp.

"Any luck with the traceback?" Itana turned to look back at Al-Absi, who frowned and picked at his console. The viewscreen jumped from a view of space to a grid projection, illuminating the sector.

"I think this one gave us enough data," the ops officer observed. "The missiles have obviously been masking their energy and physical signatures, but I've got a triangulation based on the Cochrane field deformations created by the glide vehicles they're using." Several bright lines blinked into view, forming rays across the map. "They all centre in this subsector. HD 139449, an F-type star system."

"What do we know about that system?"

From the science station, Lieutenant Commander Fox spoke up: "F5-type star. From what we caught from initial long-range scans, there's definitely indication of planetary masses. We didn't get a lot of detail, of course."

Itana knitted her brows before pushing out of her chair with a huff. "Someone in that star system needs a talking-to. Helm, set a course, warp seven." She waved her hand. "And let's see if we can't find some way to come out of warp without triggering another launch. I'm getting tired of playing shootdown."

SUBMITTED: Stardate: 99640.7

FILED BY: CAPT Jadrys Itana

SECURITY: Level 1 - Open

LOCATION: FGC-N231 System

MISSION: Continuing Deep Centaurus Expedition initiative.

OUTCOME: The Copernicus encounters an entity confined within a microsingularity.

KEY PERSONNEL:

CAPT Jadrys Itana
COUN Elyxia Sudet

NARRATIVE: This serves to update Command on our survey of the FGC-N231 system.

System FGC-N231 is a Herbig star of spectral type A - a small young star with a substantial dust disc. While initially unremarkable, our survey revealed an astonishingly regular gulf in the debris ring, as if created by some unseen object encircling the star and clearing out dust as it passed. Further scans revealed a strong gravitational source. I ordered course set for the system to investigate the phenomenon.

Scans of the system revealed an incredibly small microsingularity, no more than a millimetre in diameter. By our understanding of this type of singularity, it should not be able to subsist in our reality for more than a very short time. However, readings indicated a perfectly stable phenomenon, with no signs of neutrino decay whatsoever. As we approached, Counselor Sudet expressed a feeling that we had been noticed by something that we could not place. We approached with caution, at which point the Counselor experienced a sudden emotional feedback reaction, which she described as a single endless scream of extreme intensity, centred on the microsingularity.

At this point, an entity appeared on the bridge of the Copernicus and advised us not to disturb "that one." The entity identified herself as Q. We can confirm that this is not the same Q encountered in the past by USS Enterprise or USS Voyager; this individual Q manifested as a woman of perhaps 20 with long black hair and a black cocktail dress, with a propensity for waving a cigarette holder around to punctuate her points.

This individual Q was predictably coy with details, but eventually revealed that the microsingularity was maintained by the Q Continuum as a permanent prison for an entity of extradimensional origin. Evidently the entity in question was one of several entities that entered the universe alongside several other non-corporeal lifeforms at some vague past point. The entity - whose name was described as "beyond your ability to vocalize" but was transcribed to us as "#^#", was compressed to the size of a micron and placed in the singularity as a containment vessel. Asked why such a corporeal method was chosen, Q's response was to roll her eyes and suggest we were "ahead of schedule" in this part of space, before resolving to move "that one" to "somewhere else." A predictable Q fingersnap ensued, at which point the microsingularity disappeared from our readings and Counselor Sudet reported no longer feeling the scream's presence. When we asked where the singularity had moved, Q simply answered that "you couldn't comprehend that even if I showed you."

Notwithstanding this individual Q's haughty demeanour, she then stated that Copernicus was bound for "areas of the galaxy that will test your limited imaginations" and expressed that observing us should be "great fun." At this point she left the bridge, leaving us with no microsingularity to analyze.

Subsequent review of records turned up reports filed by USS Enterprise-E approximately 48 years ago, concerning engagements with Q involving some form of historic conflict with various non-corporeal entities. While the details of that incident are incredibly vague, we suspect that the entity this Q was stewarding was in some way related to the entity the Enterprise crew identified as "0." We consider it somewhat unlikely that we will run into this creature again, but do consider it likely that the female Q will turn up to harass us again. I am reviewing records left by Captains Picard, Sisko and Janeway on how they managed relations with the Continuum and am increasingly convinced that the Sisko "punch him in the face" method may be valid here.

(Don't bet on it, sweetie. ~Q)


SUPPLEMENTAL, CAPT Jadrys: You see my point, Command.

RECOMMENDATION: Send a replicator pattern for headache medicine.



OOC:

"It's a microsingularity," Rena Fox reported from the forward science station, blinking. "The smallest one I've ever heard of."

For all that the gravitational heft of the singularity could be seen in the tracery it cut through the whorl of dense dust rotating around the little white A-type star, the source of the startlingly clean gap had eluded visuals even as the Copernicus drew closer. Only now, with the ship perched above the Herbig-star dust envelope, could the sensors fully illuminate the near-unseen source. Infinitesimally tiny, yet with a bloom of gravitational and neutrino effects rippling around it.

Itana leaned forward in wonder, weaving her hands together as interest bubbled within her. "Do you have a diameter?"

"No more than a millimetre." Rena looked back over her shoulder with a baffled blink. "This shouldn't be able to sustain itself in our plane of existence. A singularity that small ought to have dissipated by now. It just shouldn't have enough mass to exist for more than a short time."

"Confirmed," Lieutenant Telyn Vaxa chirped from one of the rear stations, astrometric displays illuminating her face. "But there's no sign of neutrino decay at all. Not only is it here, it's perfectly stable."

Itana glanced over at Commander Quispe to her right; the other woman frowned faintly, scratching at the edge of her ocular implant. "Can we narrow the sensor resolution further?"

"Not without getting closer," Fox chirped.

"Captain," the voice from Itana's left came. She blinked and shifted in her seat to where Counselor Sudet was sitting intently straight, brows furrowed and head raised as if searching for something.

"Counselor," Itana asked. "What are you feeling?"

The blonde Betazoid pursed her lips, squinting at the viewer a moment as if searching for something. "I'm... I'm not sure," she answered finally, voice quieter. "Only an impulse... like we've been noticed, somehow. But I can't place it."

Itana nodded, enthusiasm giving way to caution. As vague as Elyxia's impulses could be sometimes, her insight hadn't steered her wrong yet. "Something hostile?"

"I don't think so... it's hard to tell, though."

"If anything changes, let me know." The captain nodded slowly before gesturing towards Ensign Maksymowicz at the conn. "Bring us into range for a detailed scan, one quarter impulse. Tactical, be alert for any signs of trouble."

The viewer shifted slowly as the massive Copernicus began to glide forward over the slowly churning disc of debris. Moments passed as the crew buzzed over sensor stations, Itana herself checking a small screen on the arm of her seat. On the monitor, a few whisps of stellar dust breezed past.

The gasp from Elyxia came with little warning. The counselor reeled back in her seat, both hands shooting to her head.

"Counselor," Itana started; behind her, the ensign on tactical station began to boost past the station, reaching for a phaser, while Yma rose from the XO's chair to head for Elyxia's seat.

"It's okay," Elyxia cut in quickly, though the pinched ache in her voice betrayed that it wasn't. Wincing, she rubbed her temples before looking slowly up towards the screen. Her lips pressed tightly together, body tense and shaking subtly. "It just... hit me all at once. There's a very strong presence...."

Itana reached over to touch the arm of the counselor's seat. "From the singularity?"

"Yes... it's like a...." She hesitated before looking towards the screen, expression a mix of confusion and discomfort. "...Like a scream in my mind. Like one unending scream. It's just... frozen like that."

"Well, I should hope it is!" snapped a husky feminine voice Itana had never heard before. A jolt of surprise struck her as she snapped out of her seat. Heads across the bridge jerked up all at once.

Before anyone could so much as ask the obvious question, a flash pulsed through the bridge, concentrated in front of the viewscreen. Within a second the light faded to leave behind a slim feminine figure, apparently human, dark-haired and poured into a glittering black dress - and draped in a lounging posture across the console deck, cheek in her palm.

"Please do not disturb that one," the woman sighed with an indolent wave of her hand. "He's very disagreeable."

The duty officer darted halfway around the console even as Itana stepped forward, composed and with a hand moving to her hip. "Identify yourself," she demanded sharply.

The woman flicked a curl back diffidently and shrugged. "Please.

"You can call me Q."

[~]

STARDATE 99585.8
INTERSTELLAR SPACE
THE THERIONIC DRIFTS

"It's an unusually broad-ranging subspace transmission," Lieutenant Al-Absi reported from the operations console with a look up. "It's covering standard frequency ranges for linguacode and friendship messages as well as several other non-subspace bands."

"Can we clean up the signal?" Shifting in her command chair, Jadrys Itana crossed one leg over the other and propped her chin on her knuckles.

"I think so." The ops officer tapped his console rapidly. "I've isolated the source. It's a small object about 300 million kilometres ahead, bearing three three one mark three four nine. Mass... no more than two tons."

"On screen."

The viewscreen flickered, the backdrop of the Therionic Drifts zooming in sharply to illuminate a spindly shape against the blue-tinged molecular clouds. A single long mechanical boom and two rectangular sail-like structures radiated out from a long hexagonal body with a trailing thruster assembly, capped by an enormous toroid with a gently pulsing deflector-like lens at its heart.

"A deep space probe," Lieutenant Commander Fox surmised from the science station. "Probably no more than low warp-capable."

"The signal's clearing up," Al-Absi put in.

"Let's hear it," Itana ordered.

With a chirp, the comm system kicked on, and a soft, filtered female voice carried through. "--to share the call of the Prime Mover. You seek it within yourself even without knowing. We are moved through the universe by so many things, but at the heart of our existence is a power that moves us all. The first force. Come, contemplate with us--"

"That is not what I expected when I heard 'linguacode and friendship messages,'" Fox murmured with a blink.

In the seat to Itana's right, Commander Quispe scratched at the edge of the remnant Borg plating below her right eye. "These messages are incomprehensible."

Itana smiled faintly and shook her head. "No, not quite. It's not a friendship probe. It's a preaching probe."

"A preaching probe?"

"Think about it. Someone built this probe specifically to broadcast a wide message of religious significance."

Quispe furrowed her brows subtly. "It seems like an inefficient use of resources."

"Not to the ones who built it," Itana pointed out as she rose from her chair. Stepping towards the viewer, she laid one hand on the back of Fox's chair and the other on the back of Ensign Maksymowicz's at the helm. "Let it broadcast. See if we can pinpoint its system of origin."

As the bridge moved into a ripple of regular activity, Itana looked back to find Quispe squinting at the probe, nonplussed. She smiled lopsidedly to herself.

~

We left orbit a few hours later. About half the crew had-

The door chime again sliced through Itana's latest effort to make progress into Captain Picard's memoirs. Sighing, she laid the book aside, then tugged the hem of her tank top perfunctorily down to the beltline of her uniform slacks and rose from her couch. "Come in," she called.

With a hiss, the doors admitted the still-uniformed Yma Quispe, crisp as ever and with a PADD in hand. "Captain. I'm sorry to interrupt-"

"No no, you're fine," Itana assured with a wave of one hand. "The report on the probe, I take it?"

"Yes sir." She offered up the PADD; Itana took it and glanced down, though she knew the basics were coming by mouth. Her Number One didn't disappoint. "As suspected, it's a low-warp probe. We rate its maximum speed as roughly warp three. Our age and trajectory estimates confirm what we downloaded from their computer system: Its point of origin is a sector deep inside the Loop 1 Bubble. We haven't been able to pin down a precise star system, but astrometrics is working on it now. We were able to identify the senders as representing something called the Pyscillian Hierocracy."

"A priestly form of government," Itana mused. "Interesting. That explains the probe's mission."

Yma furrowed her brows slightly. "The translation and transmission systems aboard are quite sophisticated. The Pyscillians put a surprising amount of development into delivering this message widely."

Itana smiled mutedly. "And that confuses you, Number One?"

Yma pursed her lips, glanced away, then back. "Permission to speak freely?"

"Of course."

"It seems deeply unreasonable," she admitted with a frown. "I don't understand why anyone would hear the probe's message and be persuaded. Their philosophies make no sense."

Itana stroked the PADD with the edge of her thumb, scrolling through. "I'm not sure they do," she mused, settling to the arm of her couch and crossing a leg over the other. "It sounds like this Prime Mover is a sort of divine personification of the first cause - something they interpret as a source of cosmic order. A lot of what's here is about self-discipline and inner peace. I can see how someone would take interest in that."

"It doesn't seem rational to me." Yma looked to the window, again scratching the edge of her ocular plate. "I'm not sure I see the connection between divinity and the origin of the universe. It's a scientific phenomenon. And even then, the leap to self-discipline and peace seems... odd."

Lowering the PADD to her thigh, Itana tilted her head and paused for a beat. She offered a mellow smile up to the first officer. "Yma," she asked, "did you have much of a religious background? Before--"

"--before I was assimilated," she finished the sentence, lowering her hand self-consciously. "No, I don't think so. We visited a church once or twice, for relatives' sake. But I don't remember my family being religious. It wasn't that important to me."

"For some people it's the most important thing," Itana explained, touching the chain of her own earring. "You don't have to be a person of faith, of course. But for a lot of people it's a source of meaning. Not irrationality, mind you - there are those who carry it too far. But I'm reminded of growing up on Bajor. My family is religious. A lot of Bajorans are."

Yma tilted her head. "That always confuses me."

"Why?"

"You're an accomplished scientist. I would have thought science and faith would be mutually incompatible."

"Not at all. If you boil it down to pure logic, of course the Prophets are just sufficiently advanced aliens living in a wormhole. But that doesn't mean they didn't have a profound impact on Bajor in ways that matter to me." Itana smiled wryly, before letting the expression fade as she leaned forward. "There are dangers to being so lost in faith that it blinds you to reason, of course. But I think there's more than that. Philosophy. Moral guidance, for some. Ethics. Culture. Of course these things can exist without faith, but we all find our way to them differently, and faith can be one of those paths. For a lot of Bajorans, faith has been important for a long time - it was something the Cardassians couldn't take from them during the Occupation. It's as much a symbol of culture and a celebration of history as it is anything else."

The Commander tilted her head, quizzical. In the moment of silence that followed, Itana let her smile return, pensive. "...If you want to understand a little more," she invited, "think a little about the part of Earth you came from. Read about history. You'll find that history and faith are pretty closely linked. Who knows? You might learn a thing or two."

Yma opened her mouth a little as if to protest, but cut off before managing a faint, slightly bemused smile of her own. "...I will try, sir."

"Perfect." She reached for her book again. "Keep me up-to-date on the probe study. Let me know what else you find."

This thread will serve as the master thread for narrative from the Deep Centaurus Expedition and the voyages of Captain Jadrys Itana of USS Copernicus. Its ongoing mission: To explore beyond the farthest human-charted stars of the Local Bubble and push deep into the constellations Centaurus and Lupus, to the Loop I Bubble.

SUBMITTED: Stardate: 99554.9

FILED BY: CAPT Jadrys Itana

SECURITY: Level 1 - Open

​
LOCATION: On approach to the Gould Belt
​
MISSION: Continuing Deep Centaurus Expedition initiative. ​
​
OUTCOME: Phase 2 of the Deep Centaurus Expedition to begin with arrival at the dark cloud and blue supergiant clusters of the Gould Belt, en route to the uncharted supershell beyond Antares.
​
KEY PERSONNEL:

CAPT Jadrys Itana, USS Copernicus
CAPT Ahash Ysec Harsk Laa, USS Vehaxein
CMDR Aienna Soin, USS Haida

​NARRATIVE: This report serves as an update on our current progress over the past week or thereabouts.

Upon reaching the landmark star of Eta Centauri, we entered Phase 2 of our mission, the approach to the broader Upper Centaurus-Lupus stellar association. The constellation Lupus has long been considered in Earth mythology to be an asterism associated with Centaurus, and this phase of the expedition will see us explore stars mainly in both Centaurus and Lupus en route coreward.

As of present, Antares is the most coreward known star system with connections to the Federation, but lies significantly closer to the quadrant divide than anything we are about to explore. While Antares is associated with the Loop I bubble - like our own Local Bubble, a supershell believed to have been largely cleared of heavy cases by supernovae - it remains more closely associated with the large band of dark clouds separating our bubble from Loop I. This spatial bubble has yet to be explored or even effectively surveyed due to both its distance from the Federation core and the difficulty of penetrating both the luminosity of the associated Scorpius-Centaurus OB star association (Sco OB2) and the densities of the dark clouds in the region (see also the song "Beyond Antares"). This region forms one part of the 3000-light-year-long Gould Belt, a significant star-forming region characterized by young luminous stars and dark clouds.

As we leave behind Ustavan space, we anticipate soon entering the broader Sco OB2 grouping. This is a region where we anticipate finding very little by way of new life and civilizations: We are passing through the Upper Centaurus-Lupus moving group, where most stars are about 15 million years old, far too young for intelligence as we know it. The large and short-lived B-type and O-type blue supergiants in this moving group are fairly well documented through long-range observation, though we anticipate finding smaller stellar types along the way and making ongoing observations of star formation within the existing dust cloud complexes. Nevertheless, Copernicus will maintain a relatively high rate of speed through this sector, anticipating a course through the Lupus Tunnel, an area where stellar dust intensity is lower.

Our approach to the moving group has brought us into increasing contact with "bands" of low-magnitude stellar dust being ejected from the moving group by solar winds. We have identified these dust streamers as the Therionic Drifts, consisting mainly of ejected dust blown out of Lupus-Centaurus by novae associated with the earlier novae of O-class stars within the moving group. The drifts have to date not impeded our progress, but resolution past them is impeded by their tendency to obscure and reflect sensor beams to some extent.

The difficulties associated with dark clouds and comm transmission largely explain why so little is known about the Loop I bubble. As we have approached, we have continued to take readings in the hopes of preparing charts in as much detail as possible. We have some comparables for what we might find - our own spatial bubble is highly populous and home to many older stars of ages and spectral types amenable to sentient and non-sentient life, and it is likely that these sorts of spatial cavities are generally favourable to life. We believe we have an opportunity, once we successfully pass through the Gould Belt, to explore what could very well be an entirely new complex of worlds, species and complexes. Observations from Antares and Starbase 91-Lyonesse have been very limited, but we will rely on what information is available to assist us.

We have formed up with CAPT Harsk Laa of the Vehaxein and CMDR Soin of the Haida for this leg of our journey. We will also deploy three subspace amplifier beacons as we pass through the Gould Belt to assist in communication.
​
RECOMMENDATION: Continue to monitor our progress.
​
​

OOC:

SUBMITTED: Stardate: 99544.1

FILED BY: CAPT Jadrys Itana

SECURITY: Level 1 - Open

​
LOCATION: Mazraga star system
​
MISSION: Continuing Deep Copernicus Expedition initiative. ​
​
OUTCOME: The Copernicus makes contact with the Mazragans and discovers the source of the body ring in System J79.
​
KEY PERSONNEL:

CAPT Jadrys Itana
CMDR Yma Quispe
LT Elyxia Sudet

​NARRATIVE: This report serves to follow up on our discovery of a ring of corpses deposited around a brown dwarf in the FGC-J79 system.

After witnessing a drone barge dump more than 3,000 live beings into vacuum, and rescued as many as possible, we set course to follow the drone's energy trail. The vessel's course took it to the red dwarf system FGC-J77. This is a star system with seven planets and a mid-system asteroid belt. Our scans from range revealed substantial subspace radio traffic and signs of regular warp field usage.

As we approached the system, Copernicus analyzed a selection of comm traffic from the system. We discovered a few key points:

* The local species are known as the Mazragans and are endemic to the system's third planet, Mazraga. They form a single polity known as the Mazragan Consulate.
* The Mazragans are a broadly humanoid species distinctive for semi-aquatic traits - they have long stands of varying number of tendrils rather than hair, with complexions based on scales in shades of pale to dark silver, with various mottling colours along the tendrils. These colour variations denote regional phenotypes.
* Mazraga is a predominantly tropical-oceanic planet, with most population concentrated in a series of large archipelagoes and "coastal habitats" built in island shallows.
* The Mazragans have colonized at least two other bodies in their system on a large scale. Mazraga has a population of approximately 9.4 billion, while a gas giant moon around the fourth planet is home to 1 billion people and another moon orbiting the fifth planet is home to about 250 million.

Aside from entertainment broadcasts and routine communiques, we identified two recurring types of broadcast that stood out. The first consisted of what appeared to be political advertisements supporting the Consulate's political leader, one Consul Zeba Nulsh. These advertisements focused largely on the Consul's personal attributes and sloganeering of a nationalist character. The second category of broadcast consisted of a repeating border patrol alert advising that refugees "don't come" to Mazraga.

Upon arrival, we issued standard hails and were met with initial hostility by a border patrol ship, whose command staff appeared to assume we were transporting migrants. We clarified that our visit was of a diplomatic nature. While our intention was to investigate the evident genocide in FGC-J79, we opted for a diplomatic approach here, hoping to build channels to the Mazragans rather than alienating them initially. In any case, these overtures appeared to succeed: The border patrol officers accepted that we were on a diplomatic mission of contact and rapidly changed to a welcoming attitude, placing us in contact with a diplomatic team led by one Envoy Pelizal Deen.

I ordered a diplomatic team assembled to meet with Envoy Deen on one of the starbases orbiting the planet, while leading CMDR Quispe in command of Copernicus with orders to gather further data. While we docked at the starbase and the away team disembarked, the Copernicus continued to analyze sensor data and both comm and ship traffic, identifying a few more key points:

* The population of Mazraga and the other inhabited areas of the system are not uniformly Mazragan. No less than 47 orbital habitats were identified around the planet, of which 30 were dedicated almost exclusively to non-Mazragan lifeforms. The most common lifeform represented on these 30 habitats was consistent with the predominant species in the body ring.
* These 30 habitats demonstrated conditions unsuited to regular habitation: They appeared at first glance to resemble large-scale internment camps.
* Our scans identified the destination of the drone barge as one of these 30 stations. Further investigation revealed that each station had at least three such barges.
* The Mazragan border authority maintains an extremely regimented traffic control system. Visiting vessels are sorted into tourist and migrant vessels, with the former welcomed and the latter directed to one of the control stations. Further, the population of the planet itself was over 99% Mazragan. These factors spoke to an intention to segregate non-native species from the Mazragan population.

The away team's conversation with Envoy Deen was largely welcoming, but when we raised the issue of the drone transport, the Envoy explained that they were intended as transit vessels to assist "alien illegals" in "traveling to the settlement colonies." Per the Envoy's explanation, Mazraga has experienced significant inflows of interplanetary immigration following various crises in the region, including from Ustavan attacks on neighbouring worlds. The Envoy claimed that these migrants are transported to out-of-system colonies to homestead, in order to diminish strain on Mazragan land availability and public services. When we explained that we witnessed the drone barge dumping bodies into orbit along with 100 million others, he expressed what Coun. Sudet described as legitimate confusion.

Coun. Sudet's Betazoid insights proved crucial here: She identified that Envoy Deen genuinely believed what he was claiming and was as shocked as we were to hear about the mass deaths. The dinner was quickly wound down as the envoy professed to seek a response from upper levels of government. We returned to the Copernicus for the time being.

At this time, we received word that one of the rescuees from the drone barge had regained consciousness. Myself, Coun. Sudet and Dr. Zvizdaryk spoke to the individual, who identified himself as Teshon, of the Pharathian species. Teshon explained that his homeworld had been conquered by the Ustavans years ago, prompting a mass exodus of hundreds of millions ahead of a devastating orbital bombardment. Many of these refugees, finding no welcome on other worlds, fled to Mazraga beginning about 40 years ago. While initially welcomed, the election of Nulsh about 30 years prior led to growing crackdowns on immigration and the eventual forced relocation of most "alien illegals" to the orbital habitats. Evidently Nulsh maintained power through subsequent elections predominantly through xenophobic rhetoric and scapegoating of other species for various Mazragan social ills, while promising to "restore Mazraga's glory" by "sending all the xenos home." Teshon explained that they were promised resettlement on an outlying colony, but those resettled are never heard from again.

Shortly thereafter, we discovered several hundred people congregated at the Copernicus airlock, most of them Pharathians and other aliens living in the lower quarters on the starbase, but also a handful of Mazragan officials. Representatives of this group requested asylum and ferry away from the system.

We are deeply cognizant of the Prime Directive and our duty to not interfere in the normal functioning of a civilization. However, we are dealing with a warp-capable civilization in the Mazragan Consulate, one which clearly maintains contact with other species. We are also deeply cognizant of our humanitarian duty to preserve life where possible. Ultimately, I judged that it is within the spirit of Starfleet regulations and codes of ethics to err on the side of mercy, particularly given that it would make no material difference to the Mazragan cultural makeup whether the individuals in question travelled away from the system by starship and lived, or whether they travelled away by drone barge and died. I therefore agreed to extend asylum to these refugees and ordered space be set aside for them in the ship's cargo areas.

The Copernicus was thereafter contacted by the office of Consul Nulsh, who proceeded to deliver a rambling monologue berating us for "playing make-believe" and "demonizing the Mazragan people," punctuated by various braggartry about his own track record. When we explained that we had agreed to grant asylum to several refugees, he offered to "give you all of them, if you want" and claimed they "bring drugs and crime."

Following this discussion, I agreed to meet with Consul Nulsh in person. With his staff's authorization, I transported to the Consul's office and explained that we would not be able to accommodate millions of refugees. During this conversation, Nulsh conceded that he and a handful of senior figures in his government were aware that no "outlying colony" existed, but claimed that "nothing of value is being lost" by killing "alien illegals" by the millions. Our discussion was brief before I returned to the Copernicus and ordered a course set out of the system.

I am deeply troubled by what we witnessed in this system. While it is my hope that Consul Nulsh will come to see the error of this approach, I am not particularly confident in that hope, and I am cognizant that it is not the place of this ship to foment political change on Mazraga. I can only hope that the natural and normal development of this system will move towards coexistence with non-Mazragan species. Judging from comments made to us via subspace pessage by Envoy Deen and by some of the Mazragan officials who requested asylum, it appears there are those in the Consulate who strongly disapprove of the politics of Nulsh.

We are currently en route to transfer our asylees to USS Hurutam for transport to Starbase 91. Mr. Teshon has asked to remain aboard as a civilian specialist in the hopes of learning more about the Federation and Starfleet, and I have agreed for the time being.
​
RECOMMENDATION: Monitor Mazragan comm traffic to determine if the ongoing genocide of migrants continues, with respect given to Prime Directive boundaries.

If encountering migrant transports in this region of space, advise them to avoid the Mazraga system.
​
​

OOC:

SUBMITTED: Stardate: 99530.5

FILED BY: CAPT Jadrys Itana

SECURITY: Level 1 - Open

​
LOCATION: System FGC-J79
​
MISSION: Continuing Deep Copernicus Expedition initiative. ​
​
OUTCOME: The Copernicus encounters a brown dwarf with an orbital ring consisting entirely of millions of bodies.
​
KEY PERSONNEL:

USS Copernicus crew in general

​NARRATIVE: This serves to update Command on our recent discovery in the Jindal 79 (FGC-J79) system.

Our initial survey of the system revealed a relatively ordinary star system consisting of a red dwarf primary and an outlying T-type brown dwarf, with a C-class planet on the outer edge of the habitable zone and a super-Neptune in the outer system, along with several minor bodies and asteroids. We detected no sign of life. However, sensors detected an unusual concentration of organic matter forming a ring around the brown giant. Further review revealed no sign of rocky material.

We quickly discovered that this ring was composed entirely of the corpses of no less than 47 species of aliens. Our current estimates note more than 100 million bodies orbiting the star, many of them having been present for at least three decades. We consider this figure to be an immense underestimate; it does not account for bodies broken down with time by radiation from the star, pulled into its gravity well or otherwise lost to spatial figures. The number is nevertheless sufficient that the bodies and exuded biofluids have formed a loose ring around the brown dwarf.

No natural phenomena on record would be capable of causing this. We proceeded to gather as much data as possible, including bringing several bodies aboard for analysis. Medical scans revealed that those we retrieved died from a combination of vacuum exposure and irradiation, suggesting they had been simply transported or dumped into space alive.

This was confirmed within six hours of our arrival in the system. While gathering readings, sensors observed a large craft drop out of warp at the farthest edge of the brown dwarf's gravity well. The vessel appeared configured as a cargo barge and did not respond to hails, and subsequent scans would confirm that it was in fact an automated vessel. Before we could move closer, the transport entered orbit and opened its cargo bays, depositing no fewer than 3,000 live individuals into stellar orbit before veering away and re-entering warp.

I ordered the recovery of as many people as the Copernicus could muster, including bringing all shuttles and flyers online to try and increase transporter capacity as quickly as possible. However, the ranges and volumes involved made it impossible to rescue more than a small number. We anticipated a window of perhaps 90 seconds before the individuals would die of asphyxiation, based on typical humanoid physiology. I regret to report that of those we beamed aboard, we have just fifteen survivors, the majority of them with serious decompression injuries and various stages of inoperable brain and physical injuries.

Of the survivors, we have hopes that three individuals will make a full recovery, two of them adult men and one a female child. They are of humanoid species we have not encountered, but are broadly consistent with the most frequently-encountered species among the ring bodies. This species makes up approximately 70% of all orbiting bodies.

We are continuing to treat the survivors. In addition, though the drone transport rapidly re-entered warp and attempted to engage a scattering field to mask its ion trail, we have isolated its trajectory and detected a faint energy trail that has allowed us to triangulate a course to a nearby red dwarf system. I have ordered a course set for this system to further investigate.

It appears that we are dealing with a genocide of immense scale. We are cognizant of the Prime Directive and Starfleet policies concerning non-interference in the internal affairs of other species; however, as we are clearly dealing with a warp-capable species, we feel it pertinent to investigate why living beings are being dumped around a star in such horrifying volumes. To date, our only conclusion is that this does not appear related to either the Ustavan or Garshaan civilizations: The drone ship we identified was of significantly different metallurgical and power-signature configuration than either we have encountered, and we detected neither species among the ring dead.
​
RECOMMENDATION: Continue to monitor the situation and await further report on the cause of the ring deaths.
​
​

OOC:

[Known ships in class:]

Hetman-class Starship
Fast multi-mission cruiser

Starship Specifications: ShowHide

GENERAL INFORMATION Class Hetman Designation Fast multi-mission cruiser Hull Duration 100+ years Time Between Refits 25 years for major replacementss Time Between Resupply 5-7 years	PERSONNEL Officers 122 Enlisted Crew 605 Civilians 0 Marines/MACO 0 Evacuation Limit 2,700
DIMENSIONS Length 751 metres Height ~90 metres Width ~225 metres Decks 24 (22 habitable)	WEAPONS AND DEFENSIVE SYSTEMS Shields 28x shield grids generating 13,600 MW Weapon Systems At launch: 16x Type XIV phaser beam array Refit: 6x Type XV-C burst phaser beam array 10x Type XIV phaser beam array Torpedo Armament 4x multi-purpose photon torpedo tube, 2x forward-firing, 2x aft 1x twin-bore rotary quantum torpedo turret, ventral mount
SCIENTIFIC SYSTEMS Sensor Systems 56x tactical sensor systems 20x multipurpose interchangeable sensor pallets Scientific Laboratories 30x multipurpose laboratory facilities 1x stellar cartography bay Probe Systems Class I through X probes available	PROPULSION SYSTEMS Engine Configuration Launch: -- 1x Yoyodyne SSWR-40 M/AM warp core powering 2x Mitsubishi-Thylliash MAM-9900 warp nacelles -- 1x Ares Dynamics Challenger-5F adaptive impulse drive Refit: -- 1x Yoyodyne SSWR-45 M/AM warp core powering 2x Yoyodyne Swallowtail nacelle assemblies -- 1x Ares Dynamics Challenger-7B adaptive impulse drive, dual-outlet configuration Cruise Speed Normal: Warp 7.5 Maximum: Warp 9.5 (launch), warp 9.6 refit Maximum Sustainable Speeds Launch: Warp 9.977 for 6 hours Refit: Warp 9.968 for 12 hours; slipstream 27 in short bursts Emergency Speed Warp 9.977
CREW SUPPORT SYSTEMS Medical Support Systems Standard infirmary facilities (10x standard beds, 2x advanced biobed) 2x intensive care units 3x surgical suites 1x null-grav therapy ward 1x dental care office Full-deck emergency medical hologram infrastructure Recreational Systems 4x standard holodecks and 8x holosuites 1x weight room and physical activity space 1x forward lounge area Crew Quarters Capacity for up to 750 regular crew	AUXILIARY CRAFT Shuttlebays 2x standard shuttlebay in saucer, capacity for six shuttles Small Auxiliary Craft 6x Type 11 shuttle 4x shuttlepod or work bee Large Auxiliary Craft 1x captain's yacht

The ships of the Hetman class were commissioned between 2400 and 2405 as part of a program of up-armament in preparation for an anticipated conflict with the Klingons. They represent an early venture into modern Starfleet design principles as well as an evolution of the more combat-focused Sovereign-class fleet cruisers, designed with an eye towards acting as a "fast Sovereign" in 25th-century conflicts.

Procurement for the class began in the late 2380s under Starfleet's Cruiser, Multirole (CMR) competition. Program finalists were rapidly winnowed down to Austal Galactic, offering an unusual "space whale" design that would lead directly to the bulkier star cruisers of the Klingon War era, and Koenig-Prax-Nelok Star Dynamics (KPN) offering a highly streamlined "hot rod" design with linear similarities to the Sovereign and Regent classes. Prototypes of each ship were holotested at Utopia Planitia, with the Austal design being rejected on grounds of inferior defensive coverage. KPN was allocated yard space at Utopia Planitia to begin construction as of 2395, with the first ship of the class entering service in 2401. The class name - a Ukrainian term for a leader of Cossacks - reflects the class's clear Sovereign lineage.

On paper the Hetman ships are classified as "fast multi-mission cruisers," but in practice they were fielded as fast battlecruisers with amphibious assault capability. The baseline Hetman was a highly streamlined ship designed to produce a low-profile, elongated warp bubble, driven by a high-powered, wide-aperture deflector. This geometry minimizes Cochrane deformation even at extremely high warp speeds but also draws more heavily on the ships' power reserves. In its initial configuration, the ship was propelled at superluminal velocities by high-powered Mitsubishi-Thylliash MAM-9900 nacelles. This configuration was intended to deliver high burst speed for extremely fast response times.

At launch, the Hetmans were among the fastest ships in Starfleet at their top speed. However, their top speed could be maintained for no more than six hours, with cruising speeds being more in line with those expected of ships such as the Sovereign. This suited Starfleet fine at the time: It allowed the ships to act as fast offensive platforms, warping rapidly into combat zones and striking fast with heavy phaser and torpedo armament. The Hetmans were designed "for but not with" laboratory facilities, a euphemism designed to obscure that significant open space was left inside the hull for boarding troops and weapons: The ships were designed to carry up to 250 MACOs and their associated equipment. A single Hetman was theoretically capable of capturing and holding a major starbase with only the troops aboard.

The Hetmans served effectively in their role throughout the Klingon War, appearing prominently in a number of major battles and fleet actions. In particular, USS Tlatoani spearheaded a major operation against Klingon positions in the Dorala sector, successfully destroying a major shipyard and forestalling a campaign against Federation worlds in the nearby Alpha Lyncis Sector. However, the high power and acceleration stresses involved in frequent ultra-high-warp bursts resulted in the ships suffering significant nacelle pylon stresses. These problems were made horrifically apparent by the loss of USS Cacique in 2413: The ship was destroyed with all hands when her starboard pylon broke off at maximum warp. A subsequent investigation revealed all ships of the class were experiencing pylon microfracturing. The class was drydocked pending a complete pylon and nacelle replacement. The Starfleet Corps of Engineers recommended the replacement of the MAM-9900 nacelles with the more efficient Yoyodyne Swallowtail. This replacement reduced the ships' extremely high top speeds somewhat, while prolonging cruising duration and reducing stress on the pylons to levels easily accountable for by nominal adjustments to the structural integrity field.

Alongside these modifications, a transition to dedicated carrier ships like the Presidio class of command cruisers led Starfleet to order the MACO facilities removed from all ships of the class, to be replaced with science and sensor analysis facilities. This was largely seen as a political directive from the Federation government, recognizing the need for explorers following the wind-down of conflicts with the Iconians and the reduction of ongoing war efforts to task force-level engagements. Further computerization modifications reduced the overall crew complement needed for regular operation.

The remaining Hetmans continue in service as well-balanced cruisers capable of carrying fairly solidly-equipped science missions into dangerous regions of space. The ships are fairly popular with their crews and considered to have excellent high accommodation standards: The crew reduction associated with removing the MACO contingent has allowed even junior crew to have individual rooms.


Known ships in class: Hetman NCC-96550, Cacique NCC-96551 (lost), Tlatoani NCC-96553, Khanzada NCC-96557, Sachem NCC-96612

SUBMITTED: Stardate: 99516.4

FILED BY: CAPT Jadrys Itana

SECURITY: Level 1 - Open

​
LOCATION: New Cappadocia
​
MISSION: Continuing Deep Copernicus Expedition initiative. ​
​
OUTCOME: The Copernicus encounters a crew of sensor-evading corsairs while exploring a rugged moon.
​
KEY PERSONNEL:

CAPT Jadrys Itana
LCDR Rena Fox
PO2C Sturik
PO2C Aidan Makur
PO3C Eral Nywythe

​NARRATIVE: In view of continuing risks of travel within sectors adjacent to Ustavan Starleague space, the Copernicus has, on approval from RADM Quistra at Starbase 91, diverted spinward to survey key star systems on a line roughly towards the blue star 3 Centauri.

The HD 124595 system was a priority target for our survey of this region because of its potential for life-harbouring planets. The Lyonesse Observatory identified seven planets in this system, with the star itself being about 3.4 billion years old with a spectral type of G1. Our initial surveys identified additional planets: Three smaller rocky inner worlds, a very large N-class "Super Venus" on the nearer edge of the habitable zone, a K-class world at its outer edge, two major gas giants and two more outer worlds missed by long-range scans. While none of these worlds initially appeared to harbour life, our investigation of the large I-class supergiant planet, HD 124595 VI, revealed an extensive system of no less than 29 moons, four of them large enough to qualify as planets.

We identified the ninth moon of HD 124595 VI as an L-class inhabitable moon with predominant surface conditions akin to rugged badlands and mountains. The topography was compared by PO2C Ghukasyan in the Sciences department to landscapes predominant in Earth's Anatolian region, and the moon HD 124595 VI-i has since been given the appellation "New Cappadocia." Atmospheric conditions are suitable for human habitation and complex life exists mainly in the form of sparse foliage and non-sentient fauna, though we initially discovered no signs of habitation.

Cognizant of atmospheric readings indicating significant storms in parts of the planet, I ordered away teams to regions with no intrusive weather. Four teams were dispatched by Delta Flyer to gather samples and explore the surface. I determined that transporters would be inadvisable in the event of weather or radiative interference from the planet.

Analysis has revealed that New Cappadocia's core composition allows for the generation of a sufficiently potent magnetic field that much of the radiative energy from HD 124595 VI does not reach the surface. It does, however, create complex atmospheric auroras and energy patterns that must be compensated for by both transporters and vessels. These auroras appear intermittently depending on the interactions between the atmosphere and the energies from the planet and can create unpredictable disruptions. Following a disruptive aurora event, I ordered the away teams to return to the ship until a solution could be found that would allow free transit between the ship and the surface without turbulence or communication loss.

While three landing parties returned to the ship with little difficulty, the away team led by LCDR Fox, aboard the runabout Ptolemy, experienced an issue when they discovered three humanoids attempting to extract components from the warp nacelles. While these beings carried modern tools and weapons, they did not register to sensors until the crew got within five metres of their position. A firefight was exchanged, during which the away team stunned one of the aliens and forced the other two to retreat, but not before they struck the Ptolemy with a disruptor and damaged its flight systems, preventing takeoff. We attempted to extract the away team via transporter, but worsening atmospheric auroras and storm turbulence scrambled pattern locks sufficiently that a beam-up could not be safely achieved.

As communications degraded, I ordered LCDR Fox and her away team - security officer PO2C Sturik and science team members PO2C Makur and PO3C Nywythe - to remain in place and attempt to repair the damage to the Ptolemy. While none of the four are certified engineers, PO3C Nywythe proved to have had past experiences maintaining recreational flitters for short-track races on Betazed and demonstrated the ability to affect basic repairs. These were made more difficult by the worsening weather conditions, which manifested as a large dust storm with high winds.

During the storm conditions, the team remained alert for another attack by the humanoids. This came approximately two hours later by four hostiles armed with disruptor-type rifles. PO2C Sturik was wounded in the encounter, but the away team again successfully repelled the attack.

At this time, the first prisoner regained consciousness. Under questioning from LCDR Fox, the individual confessed that their group - identified as of the Garshaan species, of Shalgarsh in a nearby system - were "corsairs" utilizing New Cappadocia as a hideout from which to conduct raiding activities. He revealed that their invisibility to sensors was not intentional, and LCDR Fox was able to confirm that this was mainly an artifact of an unusual life structure: Garshaan blood is thallium-based, an element known to obstruct sensors. The prisoner revealed the initial party was attempting to extract engine components from the Ptolemy to repair their own vessel, which had suffered damage in a prior raid, and that future raids would be likely.

With assistance from PO2C Makur, PO3C Nywythe was able to affect a jury-rigging of the RCS systems that would theoretically allow the Ptolemy to lift off, albeit with risk of failure. LCDR Fox judged that the risk was worth taking despite the severe weather conditions, particularly given the severity of the injuries to PO2C Sturik, which could not be fully treated planetside and ran serious risk of fatal complications. With significant effort, the Ptolemy made liftoff and entered the storm system. Exceptional piloting by LCDR Fox and PO3C Nywythe resulted in the Flyer exiting the storm-aurora system with minimal damage, and the team's shuttle reappeared on our sensors aboard Copernicus in the midst of our planning an emergency away mission to try and retrieve the shuttle.

It became apparent at this time that the corsair ship had launched in pursuit of the Ptolemy. The vessel - approximately the displacement of a Bird of Prey - rapidly caught up to the Flyer, which exited the storm system just in time for us to beam it directly to the shuttlebay. The corsair ship proceeded to strafe the Copernicus with disruptor-type weapons en route to trying to break past our coverage and escape into open space. Our scans, however, revealed the ship had sustained preexisting damage to her secondary power coils, coupled with overall displacement and tactical capacity significantly below that of Copernicus. We disabled the vessel with no loss of life and took it in tow.

I am pleased to report that PO2C Sturik will make a full recovery. In the interim, we have transferred 27 crew from the Garshaan corsair to USS Firebreak to be ferried to Starbase 91 for investigation. The corsair vessel itself will also be towed to starbase and impounded pending charges. While we expect much of the crew to be extradited to the Garshaan homeworld, at least some of them will be tried for direct assault against Federation property.

In view of his performance planetside, I have filed a letter of commendation for PO3C Eral Nywythe. This officer's ingenuity resulted in the away team escaping a potentially lethal situation with no casualties, and is all the more remarkable in that he was able to render assistance well outside his normal field of duties.
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RECOMMENDATION: Pursue relevant charges against those corsairs implicated in direct action against the Copernicus crew and extradite others and their vessel to the Garshaan government.
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[SUBJECT ORGANIZATION:]

SUBMITTED: Stardate: 99508.2

FILED BY: RADM Taegan Quistra

SECURITY: Level 2 - Confidential

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LOCATION: DCE field of mission
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MISSION: Continuing Deep Copernicus Expedition initiative. ​
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OUTCOME: Unit commander's summary of previously-ongoing matters concerning interactions with the Ustavan Starleague.
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KEY PERSONNEL:

CAPT Jadrys Itana, USS Copernicus
CAPT Ororo Mbane, USS Tereshkova
CAPT Firuzah Khamidouline, USS Hurutam
CAPT Selai Kainihewe, USS Bayajidda
CMDR Vesek, USS Vainamoinen

​NARRATIVE: This report shall serve as a summary to Starfleet Command of recent incidents involving contact with the Ustavan Starleague during the Deep Centaurus Expedition.

SUBJECT ORGANIZATION: The Ustavan Starleague, heretofore "the Starleague," is a warp-capable civilization based in the Tel Ustav system (HD 130779). This is an advanced humanoid civilization operating along sociopolitical lines best classified as eco-fascism. Ustavan waste management and replication technology have not progressed at rates comparable to the Federation, in large part due to strong pressure from multiplanetary resource extraction conglomerates protecting their economic share. The Starleague, in an effort to control pollution, has implemented substantial climate controls on its major and semimajor inhabited worlds, where the Ustavan species operates as a privileged racial group above a small collection of species minorities considered to occupy classes ranging from service workers to near-slavery. The bulk of heavy industry has been outsourced to outlying worlds. The Starleague sanctions resource conglomerates to conduct "acquisitions" of new star systems, essentially annexations and in some cases invasions with semi-private armies. Typical Starleague policy involves large-scale ethnic cleansing of their conquests, enslavement of survivors and environmental devastation of the planet for resource exploitation. While this policy results in Ustavan core worlds remaining environmentally pristine, it incentivizes an ever-expanding economic war machine that routinely exterminates entire pre-warp civilizations in its drive for raw resources.


THE SITUATION: Formal contact with the Starleague was made by CAPT Jadrys Itana, CO USS Copernicus, as part of the Deep Centaurus Expedition.

Relations worsened when the Copernicus visited Lytax, a planet which had recently won a lengthy insurgency against the Starleague and achieved independence. As per Starfleet's humanitarian principles, the Copernicus provided relief of medical supplies to assist populations struggling with respiratory conditions attributable to large-scale atmospheric pollutions, but to provide no tactical or political assistance, as per the Prime Directive.

This assistance was viewed by the Starleague as a provision of material assistance to "known terrorists" and treated as cause to deny the Copernicus entry to Starleague-controlled space. The Copernicus heretofore endeavoured to avoid the Starleague border and continued on her expedition until stardate 98668.9, upon reaching the HD 126485 system.

The Copernicus conducted standard observations in-system of a pre-warp civilization on the second planet. During this observation, several Starleague vessels entered the system at high warp and opened fire with no warning. While the Copernicus was able to gain separation from the attackers and withdraw to the outer system, damage was sustained and her slipstream capability was temporarily lost. Long-distance scans revealed that only two of the arriving ships were combat-capable warships, with another eleven being factory ships and orbital bombardment platforms. Prior to loss of sensor resolution, Copernicus recorded footage of the vessels commencing orbital bombardment of the planet. Later probe scans by USS Jaleyi would reveal a loss of life of 99% of the indigenous population and the establishment of orbital platforms for atmospheric molecule harvesting.

Upon receiving report of the encounter, I dispatched USS Tereshkova and the support cruiser USS Hurutam, along with the scout frigate USS Bayajidda, to link up with the Copernicus and the nearby tactical escort USS Vainamoinen. Prior to the ships' arrival, Copernicus, regrouping into an inversion nebula, was approached by three Starleague vessels, accusing them of providing weapons and technology to the indigenous species of HD 126485. Despite offers of sensor logs to the contrary and attestations concerning the Prime Directive, the Ustavan flotilla demanded the surrender of the ship with intent to impound and dismantle it, which CAPT Jadrys reasonably refused. In the ensuing encounter, Copernicus acquitted herself well and destroyed one of the ships before losing shields and regrouping. The fortuitous arrival of Bayajidda and Vainamoinen ahead of the main fleet proved sufficient to disable a second ship's tactical systems and force the Starleague flotilla to withdraw.

With assistance from Hurutam and the transport ship Fable Nook, Copernicus and Vainamoinen were able to replace damaged systems and resume their mission, albeit in convoy. At this point, I ordered CAPT Mbane of Tereshkova, in her capacity as 103rd Exploratory Unit flag vessel, to set course for a key Ustavan border outpost in the NGC 3847 system with intention to open negotiations.

Tereshkova proceeded as ordered, broadcasting an open message of parley, and held position one light year outside of the nearest posted Starleague customs buoy. Hails were ignored for a period of 96 hours until intercepted by five Starleague vessels. These ships did not open fire but demanded the return of the Copernicus for trial as well as compensation in the form of currency for "damages to Starleague astral stock" and "reparations for assistance rendered to known enemies of the Starleague." In the ensuing talks, CAPT Mbane provided assurances and data that Federation personnel offered no military or political aid and are bound to policies of non-interference. The Starleague representatives seemed to accept these claims grudgingly, and agreed to end active pursuit of the Copernicus, but insisted that any relations with "potential enemy entities" or "interference in future economic expansion" would be viewed as hostile acts.

As the Starleague appears to practice a policy of at-will border expansion, it is impossible to judge who they consider future targets. For that matter, it is not the policy of the Federation to allow our diplomatic entreaties to be conducted only at the sufferance of militaristic third parties. Ultimately no satisfactory conclusion was reached beyond the end of active pursuit efforts, and Tereshkova withdrew from NGC 3847 following the negotiations.

Subsequently, Copernicus has visited several systems in the region broadly "east" of the Starleague and has sought to avoid encounters with their ships, but has experienced no fewer than four attacks by Starleague ships. None of these attacks were serious enough to cause major damage, consisting mainly of single-ship encounters with overly aggressive corporate prospectors.

It is likely that any diplomatic efforts we undertake in star systems proximal to the Starleague will be viewed negatively, but it is also my assessment that the Federation should not allow our mandate of exploration and peaceful first contact to be held hostage by the anti-social behaviour of what is manifestly a rogue authoritarian state with a track record of officially sanctioned genocide. I have ordered the Copernicus to continue her expedition as planned, while remaining cautious for further Starleague aggression.


TECHNICAL NOTES: Starleague vessels are capable of relatively high warp speeds but lack slipstream or transgating capacity. Their tactical capabilities are characterized by extremely heavy duritanium-polyalloy and rodinium hull armour, rugged and compact design that keeps vital systems protected within the ship's main bulk, and armament predominated by high-warp solid-state projectiles of a "Rods From God" tungsten-boride kill-vehicle type, supported by smaller numbers of heavy tetryon beams designed to degrade shielding. Observed tactics of the Starleague tend to centre on "slugfest" battles that make the most of their vessels' heavy shielding and durability. Of note is their use of projectile tracking systems and vertical launch cells, allowing their full projectile armament to be deployed against targets from any angle of approach.

In initial encounters, these tactical approaches presented challenges. Starleague tungsten kill vehicle projectiles have very little effect on shielding, but are significantly more effective against even heavy armour than photon or quantum torpedoes. They are more likely to deeply penetrate the hull and disable vital systems. Initially this proved difficult to counter because of the tendency of the Ustavan beam weapon to steadily degrade shield effectiveness in a prolonged encounter. However, the Copernicus crew were able to identify a rotating shield modulation that significantly diminishes the effectiveness of the Ustavan beam weapon. Their beams degrade the shield envelope by creating "flickers" in the overall coverage through which kinetic kill vehicles can be launched, a weakness which further stresses the shield generators through automated compensation; this can be countered by running the shield envelope at half strength and alternating between generator cores every few seconds, allowing one generator to project a refreshed and uninterrupted bubble while another reboots.
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RECOMMENDATION: Maintain a state of no less than silent yellow alert when passing through space known to be proximal to the Ustavan Starleague.
Implement alternating modulation of shield systems when passing through space known to be proximal to the Ustavan Starleague.
Explore the viability of a diplomatic mission to Tel Ustav in the hopes of normalizing relations.
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