STARBASE 118 OPS — The arrival of a freighter illegally transporting a group of teenagers has coincided with a cyber attack on Starbase 118, leading to a complicated and delicate investigation, as well as a battle to keep control of the base’s computer systems.
With the Wonderbot invasion all but dealt with, it has since become clear that the crew of Starbase 118 had bigger problems on their hands and that the beaming of the children’s toys into the heart of the Qo’nos District was merely a smokescreen to hide the far more nefarious activities of an as yet unidentified group, who have planned a well-coordinated attack on several fronts.
While officers were dispatched to settle the disquiet in the Klingon part of the Commercial Sector, a sentient computer virus that has since identified itself as “Lemoncable”, has begun terrorising the Starbase, plunging the entire Commercial Sector into complete darkness, hijacking holograms, altering the gravity of the Cardassian district and even trapping Starfleet officers in a computer junction.
One of the aforementioned crew members, Lt. JG Karen Stendhal, had this to say when describing the malevolent computer virus: “It reminds me of that clown in that old horror book, come here to play… it’s better not to play with him… Well too late!”
With engineers already dealing with a scheduled systems upgrade, Lemoncable has found itself facing determined opposition from the Starfleet crew and as a result of the cyber battle, a catastrophic overload in one of the Starbase’s computer towers triggered an explosion, causing a partial collapse of the tower in question.
“The entire computer core, which was in an attractive tower between the Qo’nos District and the Ohmallera district, came crashing down.” Said Cmdre. Sal Taybrim, of the explosion. “No civilians were in the area… but there were two engineering teams mobilized by Ens. Nimbuz Elleazar and LtCmdr. Rustyy Hael that were caught in the electrical explosion and subsequent collapse. One had the wherewithal to send out a medical distress call while desperately running away.”
Meanwhile, First Officer LtCmdr. Gogigobo Fairhug, along with LtCmdr. Solaris McLaren, Lt. Vitor Tito and Ens. Evan Ross had been charged with investigating the arrival of a freighter by the name of the Centurion, under the command of one Capt. Russell Cross, who has been accused of smuggling a group of children in their early teens aboard the Starbase, with the intention of trafficking them on the black market, possibly to, or aided by, the Orion Syndicate.
Whether the arrival of this freighter has anything to do with the cyber attack on the base is, as yet, uncertain, however, the evidence seems to suggest that the two events are linked in some way. Exactly what Cross’ part in all of this is remains to be seen, as the freighter Captain has protested his innocence from the start, though the question remains – if he did not smuggle the children aboard the Centurion, then who did?
Written by Jarn Th’Braxa