First contact turns into a firefight

ORTHICA’S BANE — Starfleet’s attempt at diplomacy with the Sunak over a missing Cardassian vessel quickly fell into a firefight when another race called the Strox attacked.
If the crew of the USS Victory were hoping for a peaceful and easy first contact, they were in for a surprise. Though the first contact with the Sunak Triumvirate did not begin with shooting, the octopus-like aliens that lived in a liquid environment were not pleased with the Federation’s arrival. Their leader Primus Sobol alleged that the Cardassian vessel Nuvek, under the command of Gul Minessa, open fired on one of their vessels without provocation and that the crew were being held captive for their crimes.
“I honestly did not know what to think of the situation,” said Lt. Cmdr. Barry Morris, Victory‘s beta shift deck officer, in an interview with FNS embedded reporter Cole Sphinx. “We were outgunned and outnumbered with angry squid people who wanted our heads. Furthermore, our senior staff were all off ship. That’s enough to scare any sane person.”
One would think that this was all the stress the small Federation crew would have to handle, but two hours into the Sunak/Victory meeting, the situation became worse. The already crowded section of the nebula came under direct assault by another race living there called the Strox. These cannibalistic species that preyed on Sunak launched an all-out assault against the Victory, two Sunak vessels Unama and Aqawa, and the wounded Nuvek.
“The Strox are a mixture of medium height bipedal creatures that seemed to be a cross of a lizard and a shark with larger versions that looked like monsters from hell. Their red skin was gnarly and disgusting, ” said Crewman First Class Della Minis in a report. Della was one of the many onboard security forces of the Victory that faced the creatures in combat.
“If it was not for the timely computer lockout by some JG on Deck 4, the Strox may have been able to take the Victory,” he said.
Time will tell what effect this new race will have on the crew and the Federation presence in the Tempest Sector.