BAROSSA NEBULA – Amity Outpost’s Starfleet crew successfully diverts a runaway Malon antimatter waste freighter from colony collision course, leading to questions surrounding sabotage and Starfleet conduct.
According to the latest reports released by Starfleet Command and the Federation Diplomatic Corps, the unfolding crisis in the Idrustix System has been successfully averted following the intervention of Amity’s Starfleet crew in conjunction with a Malon support vessel. The situation, which involved a runaway Malon antimatter waste freighter on a collision course with the fledgling Betazoid “Idrustix” colony, threatened to decimate the planet’s local ecology – or worse, flood the entire system with deadly theta radiation.
This marks the latest of several incidents and challenges faced by the colony, still under development by teams from the Second, Sixth, and Twentieth Houses of Betazed. In mid-2399 the colony and several members of Amity’s senior staff were nearly killed when another local Delta Quadrant species – the Trenvonn – attempted to purge the planet of its endemic telepathic bacterium. This has led critics to postulate that the Federation has been hasty in attempts to create a colony in the quadrant. Asked to comment, Envoy Keehani Ukinix, assured: “We are committed to the Delta Quadrant and follow every established protocol, procedure and convention to safely stabilise our presence here, with nothing but respect for its existing inhabitants.”
While evacuation efforts began planetside, the USS Independence-B, under the leadership of Cmdr. Wil Ukinix, was dispatched to intercept the freighter. During the course of their mission, Starfleet officers reportedly uncovered a plot, devised by the freighter’s captain, to lock the vessel’s autopilot on its collision course in the hopes of an interstellar incident forcing the Malon government to reassess its practices. Controller Volsak, now in the custody of Malon officials, had apparently succumbed to the effects of advanced theta radiation poisoning while enacting this plan – leading to speculation that he may not face prosecution.
The ship’s controller was not the only affected Malon crewmember, however. Starfleet Security/Tactical officer, Ens. Kaito Moore, recounted his harrowing encounters with numerous ‘afflicted’ Malon crew: “Unlike the zombies in classic horror stories, these individuals were actually affected by… a condition known as freighter blight, causing aggressive behavior in self-defense. Misunderstood as threats, they were more like patients needing careful treatment to manage their violent outbursts. Our response blended caution with compassion, treating them more as individuals in distress than mindless attackers.”
Following the mission, several inquiries have been raised surrounding the decisions and conduct exhibited by members of the intervening Starfleet crew – particularly related to their use of force in subduing hostile Malon under the influence of theta radiation poisoning. “The Starfleet crew of Amity Outpost are highly skilled professionals who’ve gone through, and continue to go through, advanced training,” said Cmdr. Ukinix when asked about his crew’s conduct. “We always do the best we can, and more than that – we succeed. And we have again by averting a disaster on Idrustix.” At this time, no official complaints have been lodged with Starfleet Command or the FDC.
One unexpected outcome of this incident has been a development of the diplomatic relations between the Federation and the Malon government. Another Malon support vessel, under the command of Controller Sarrid, arrived to investigate the freighter and played a crucial role, working along with the USS Independence-B, to redirect the doomed ship’s trajectory into the system’s sun, which absorbed the majority of the harmful theta radiation. “We are of course grateful for the help provided by the Malon in resolving the incident over Idrustix,” added Amity’s Counselor for Culture and Press Affairs, Envoy Vaje Kizat, who was happy to highlight, “ a new level of dialogue between the Federation and the government of Malon Prime.”
The long term ramifications of this incident and this new avenue for dialogue with the Malon are certainly topics which will undoubtedly be raised during Federation President Narala’s ongoing visit to Amity Outpost – but whether they will play out in Ambassador Vataix’s favour or not remains to be seen.
Written by Thryssa Zh’zilrer
