LIGHTSIDE STATION — The crew of Denali travel to Lightside Station in pursuit of a hostile faction that may be intending an attack with a deadly toxic agent.
On route to Denali from Deep Space 9 the crew were informed that a small ship matching the description of one used by hostile actors during the recent attempt to sabotage the Denali Invitational had been detected lifting off from the ring without authorisation. As it is highly likely that the vessel is transporting more of the deadly toxin the crew encountered at the Invitational, Cmdre.Oddas ordered the Eagle to intercept them.
Using a probe the crew quickly located the vessel and secretly followed them into a volatile nebula, where their destination was revealed to be a partially derelict Nor class station, hidden deep inside. On approach it was discovered the station was only accessible via a stable, but narrow, corridor through the nebula; too small for the Eagle to fit through. Realising they would be unable to pursue Cmdre. Oddas ordered the probe to alter course and be discovered, prompting their quarry to turn away from the station and give chase. Lt. Kettick deployed an EMP pulse to disable the vessel as it neared, but when the effects cleared it was discovered the vessel had escaped – although not before leaving a cryptic text-only message “As tyranny spreads, we will remind everyone the tide can always be stopped.”
When the pursuit had begun a small group, consisting of Lts. Dagaz, Forsyth, Vahin, Ens. Drex and the XO had been analysing all available data to try and determine where the ship might be going, or what their next potential target might be. After careful consideration the group concluded their most likely destination with Lightside Station – the Spike – either as a friendly port, or their next target. Concurring with this conclusion Cmdre, Oddas ordered the Eagle to travel to the Spike, in the hope of apprehending the suspects, or at least preventing the toxin being deployed there.
Elsewhere on board Cmdr. DeVeau combined forces with Lt. JG Raimor and Ens. Strathmore to take a closer look at the toxin itself. While the initial substance was only addictive in nature, a second batch that had been loaded onto drones for release on the Invitational crowd proved to be far more deadly. All agreed that if this version of the toxin was dispersed aboard the Spike it would lead to the worst humanitarian disaster the region had ever seen. Determined not to let that happen they got to work on an anti-toxin, hoping to have a solution before they reached the station.
On arrival at the Spike Oddas, DeVeau and Strathmore contact the station administrator. As expected, there was some concern when she heard about a ship arriving with a toxin, and she quickly gave permission for a medical team to beam over.
Permission granted, Raimor, Vahin and Drex beamed directly to the medical level to inform the staff there of the threat. Unfortunately for the team the first people they ran into weren’t aware of their mandate and activated a barrier to keep the three of them out. Fortunately, Doctor Samar, the Chief Geneticist at the Spike, arrived on the scene and had the team released. She then led them to the CMO’s office – who had recently passed away from food poisoning – where they discussed the issue. Despite her general animosity towards Starfleet’s presence Doctor Samar agreed to help the team, although not in her facility due to the privacy needs of her clients, instead suggesting the Eagle as an alternative.
Hoping to improve communications Oddas, DeVeau and Ensign Strathmore also beamed over and connected with the administration face-to-face, keen to provide whatever assistance possible, whilst also hopefully distracting the administration enough to not notice two covert teams being sent to the station.
The first of these teams, consisting of Falt, Forsyth and Kendrick head to the lower levels of the station in an attempt to try and track down the crew of the ship, and determine if they have a sympathiser in the Kalinda administration. Their search took them to an underground market, where they encountered a Ferengi trader who offered to gather information for them – at a price.
Meanwhile, on the suspicion that some of the Kalinda leadership are behind the sabotage, Kettick, Dagaz, and Xiron headed to the station to try and covertly connect to the computer core and gather intelligence. Struggling to find a computer core, or even an engineering section, they headed to a datalogger only to be caught by a male Boslic, who demanded to know what they were doing. Bluffing that they were trying to hook into the station’s central computer because of a system failure at the trill consulate, the Boslic gave them the directions and the group headed to the central computer to continue their mission.
We’ll bring you more information on this dynamic and rapidly evolving situation as it becomes available.
Written by Tomas Falt
