((Blythe Ready Room))

After the after action reviews were done, and Aruin had left and the channel with the Irrawaddy had closed, Tyler leaned forward with his elbows on his desk, one thumb and a forefinger gently massaged the bridge of his nose. It had been one of the busiest days of his entire Starfleet career to be sure. Given the situation, his mission more closely resembled a dual first contact mission with 2 very different species who had been at war with each other within the last half a century. And add in the fact that it was all complicated by addition of the Ferengi factor, and it was beginning to look like one hell of a mess.

He wasn’t feeling overwhelmed yet, but the strain it was puting on him was noticeable already, even to himself. The day wasn’t over yet either, he had to send off his initial report on the situation to Command before his duties could be considered complete. He grabbed the Padd with information from his diplomats, science departments and K’lev’s report from the CC already loaded in and ready to send off after he added his own portions. He began typin out his summaries, conclusions, and requests for additional support amd guidance. When he was done he reread what he had typed, it went;

Sitrep-

With the arrival of the Culver City earlier today, we currently have 3 vessels now on the scene conducting various parts of our mission set. Contact has been made with both indigenous species of the Duwallan system as well as making contact with a group of Ferengi who refer to themselves as the Consortium of Ferengi Traditionalists. As our preliminary report described, the Ferengi have made sweeping agreements with both the Formicans and the Dergans, and they have been residing in this system alongside them for roughly 5 years. 

The Formicans are a hyper-capitalist, warp capable species that formed a world government approximately 55 years ago, and they operate as a Confederation of over 1000 separate and notionally autonomous Colonies with a bicameral legislature based on an Inter-Colonial Council(lower), and a Grand Council(upper). They have a separate,  fragmentary and independent Judiciary, where each Colony has its own legal system and slate of Judges, and a Supreme Court of 11 people that is elected to life terms by the lower house of their legislature. They have agreed to allow our crews to visit and tour their planet providing we are escorted by a Ferengi and Formican minder at all times. They have also shown an interest in us potentially assisting them in optimizing the warp drives on their small fleet of vessels, and have informed us of plans to begin an off world colonization mission in the near future. I would like to commend both Commander Wong and Lt. Siss for their professionalism and meritorious conduct in the performance of their duties during their meeting with the Formicans. I would recommend that we conditionally recognize the treaties and contracts that the Ferengi have with the Formicans while continuing to explore avenues for a bi or multi lateral agreement with them to lay the groundwork for future cooperation. I would also request further instructions on how to proceed vis a vis, the Formican colonization plan and whether or not we should offer to assist.

(Full diplomatic and scientific reports on the Formicans attached here)

The Dergans are a different case entirely. As the preliminary report indicated, the Dergans are a near warp capable species who have been severely culturally contaminated by their dealings with the Ferengi. The situation they find themselves in resembles a form of coercive or indentured servitude. We have, on more than one occasion so far, informed the Ferengi that we will not recognize any agreements, deals, treaties, or contracts they have with the Dergans, consistent with Federation law and Starfleet regulations. The Dergans have a Unitary, meritocratic government structure, with a unicameral legislature, and a highly limited judiciary that operates as more of an advocacy and public engagement organ than a legal system. 

We have begun some initial activities to help reverse some of the more harmful effects of the cultural contamination. The Dergans are currently undergoing a major societal upheaval, economic and societal collapse, and severe labor shortages mainly related to a drug addiction epidemic brought about by the unregulated introduction of personal replicators to the Dergan society. A few days before our arrival they had instituted a program to regulate how much of the drug, known as ‘Cabbage’, each replicator was able to supply to each citizen as a form of daily rationing. This has caused an instant withdrawal epidemic that has exacerbated the situation even further.

Also, during our first meeting with the Dergans our lead diplomat was offered a tour by the Dergan Launch Director(ostensibly the head of the Dergan space program). During the tour, the Dergan Barka directly asked Aruin for Federation and Starfleet assistance in removing the Ferengi influence and interference in their society. This was done clandestinely due to the fact that the Ferengi have made threats, and demonstrations of their superior weapons several times over the years, and the Dergans are concerned that if knowledge of their desire to end their collaboration with the Ferengi was discovered they may suffer reprisals and retribution. 

I have authorized the senior staffs of the Blythe, Culver City and Slivin to begin forming plans as to how we may best assist the Dergans without risking their safety. I have authorized the transfer of 17 portable fusion generators to the Dergans to assist in stabilizing their power grid which is faltering under the strains caused by the addiction and withdrawal epidemics, as well as 2 of the 3 industrial replicators that the Culver City has brought with her. I would also like to request further instructions as to how to proceed and continue assisting the Dergans. Additional diplomatic support may also be of assistance in this case if any is available.

(Full diplomatic and scientific reports on the Dergans are attached here)

General conclusions- We have discovered several dilithium rich moons and asteroids both within the Duwallan system and in some neighboring star systems. The Culver City will be beginning a regional scientific survey within the next 24 hours, as per our standing mission orders. 

The Ferengi currently have 2 space stations in the system, one orbiting Formica and the other orbiting Derganix. They also have roughly 9 large, armed, and warp capable shuttles operating in or near the system. They do not pose a significant tactical threat to our vessels but they may be a factor that could complicate how we may best assist the Dergans in extricating themselves from the large unsubstantiated debt the Ferengi claim they have incurred.