Part of Starbase Bravo: The Homefront and Bravo Fleet: The Lost Fleet

Ode to Romero

Starbase Bravo USS Victoria "Ole Vic"
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Lieutenant Commander S’Lone tr’Khellian, the commanding officer of the starship USS Victoria “Ole VIc,” had just returned from a secret mission to Dominion territory to the dead planet Romero. The mission had been a success, and S’Lone was feeling relieved and eager to report back to Starbase Bravo. But something was off.

As S’Lone walked through the corridors of the ship, he noticed that many of his crew members seemed lethargic and disoriented. They stumbled as they walked, and their eyes had a vacant, glassy look. S’Lone had seen enough 20th Century Terran zombie movies to recognize the signs.

“What the frack is going on here?” he muttered to himself.

He quickly made his way to the ship’s sick bay, where he found the medical team frantically trying to contain the situation. They had already set up a makeshift quarantine area and were working to isolate the infected crew members.

“What’s happened?” S’Lone demanded.

“Sir, we’re not entirely sure,” said the chief medical officer, a tall, balding man with a stern expression. “But it seems that the soil samples you brought back from Dominion territory may have somehow been contaminated.”

S’Lone’s heart sank. He had been so focused on completing the mission that he hadn’t thought about the potential risks of bringing back unknown substances.

“How bad is it?” he asked.

“It’s spreading quickly, sir,” the CMO replied. “We’ve already lost half the crew, and the other half is showing symptoms.”

S’Lone gritted his teeth. He knew that he was responsible for the safety of his crew, and he had let them down. But he also knew that he couldn’t dwell on his mistakes right now. He had to focus on finding a way to stop the outbreak before it spread any further.

“Get me all the information you have on the soil samples,” he said. “And gather a team to start working on a cure. We need to contain this before it’s too late.”

Over the next few hours, S’Lone worked tirelessly with his medical team to try to isolate the virus and develop a cure. But every time they thought they had made progress, the virus mutated and became even more deadly.

As the hours turned into days, S’Lone watched in horror as more and more of his crew succumbed to the virus. He knew that he was running out of time.

Finally, after four long days of non-stop work, the medical team discovered a breakthrough. They had identified a compound that seemed to be effective in stopping the virus from spreading.

S’Lone ordered the compound to be synthesized immediately, and the medical team began administering it to the infected crew members. It was a race against time, but they were determined to save as many lives as possible.

Over the next few days, the situation on the USS Victoria slowly began to improve. The infected crew members started to recover, and those who had not been infected were able to resume their duties. S’Lone breathed a sigh of relief, but he knew that the aftermath of the outbreak would be felt for a long time to come.

As the ship made its way back to Federation space, S’Lone reflected on the lessons he had learned from the experience. He realized that even the most routine missions could be fraught with danger, and that he needed to be more vigilant in the future. But he also felt a sense of pride in his crew, who had rallied together in the face of adversity and had worked tirelessly to find a solution.

When they finally arrived back at Starfleet’s Starbase Bravo  Command, S’Lone was called in for a debriefing. He knew that he would have to answer for his mistakes, but he was determined to be honest and forthcoming about what had happened.

Comments

  • Oh wow, that was a harrowing adventure for S’Lone tr’Khellian! I like the way you explored the consequences of embarking on dangerous missions and the cost it can have on a crew. I also really appreciate the ambiguousness of exactly what went wrong, because we never really know. Given so much of the Dominion is genetically engineered, I can't help wondering if the virus was engineered by them, but it also seems perfectly reasonable that it was simply natural to that planet and the crew's immune systems were not prepared for it. I'm so curious to read how this mission might change S'Lone as a commanding officer, especially as the Lost Fleet continues their invasion of the Deneb Sector. I imagine S’Lone will have to face the Dominion again very soon!

    May 13, 2023
  • Unknown Author

    I agree. This is a great adventure that adds another threat and layer to the The Lost Fleet Arrival and the weapons they could have created. I think you should go into more detail with future writings that perhaps Starfleet sends your officer and crew to go back to the planet with additional experts to test the soil and lead to the reason. What if the Dominion didn't have involvement? What if the virus was created by another party as a weapon to kill Jem'hadar? This could lead into a great series, and I think the groundwork is layed out very well. Even though the Captain is going to be debrief doesn't mean a serious mistake, after all it was just soil. Who would have ever thought to check that for anything bio related. Thank you for sharing your vision and ideas. Am making note of this to add to my own stories as possible lead offs to other planets.

    May 13, 2023