Terrorists destroy Dryary outpost

RAYTAS SECTOR – A campaign against the Dryary Confederation led by the terrorist organization calling itself the “Natural Order” escalated to a new level of violence as the extremists took control of a Dryary facility and initiated its self-destruction.

The USS Athena, commanded by Captain Selene Faranfey, had been dispatched to the Dryary facility known as Protocol Station Nine as part of a joint Dryary/Federation anti-terrorist task force but found itself under heavy attack the second it entered the station’s system. Attacked by cloaked ships of unconfirmed origin, purportedly Cardassian, Captain Faranfey had to order the vessel to split, the stardrive section taking the Athena’s civilian personnel to safety while Captain Faranfey remained behind with the saucer section to fight off the attackers and evacuate the station’s crew.
An away team was sent to help with the evacuation. The team had to fight for their lives at every turn, and while they managed to delay the station’s self-destruct mechanism, initiated by the terrorists, long enough for the remnants of the crew to make their escape, they couldn’t prevent the destruction of the station itself.
While no official figures have been provided, the toll is expected to be heavy. Witnesses among the station’s crew declared that before starting the self-destruct sequence and making their escape, the terrorists, led by one Mevon Skane, had gratuitously murdered the senior staff and several technicians.
The Athena has retreated to the Dreamstar, the alien station serving as its center of operations in the Gamma Quadrant, to treat the wounded and undergo some necessary repairs.
Fortunately, the crew has received some more than welcome reinforcements from the Bajoran wormhole: Ensign Daruneis will join the Athena’s Intelligence Department, Lt. Scott Merlin will lend his expertise at the helm, Lt. JG. Femi Cattan will bolster the ever-busy Medical Department, and Lt. Cmdr. Alexander Williams will take the role of First Officer, after Lt. Cmdr. Frank Hawkins stepped down and requested a transfer back to the Alpha Quadrant.
More surprisingly, the newly-appointed Federation Ambassador to the Dryary Confederation turned out to be none other than Nugra, the Gorn Starfleet captain who had been reported dead last year. Questioned on his unexpected comeback, Ambassador Nugra commented that the report of his death had been “greatly exaggerated.”
Written by Selene Faranfey