The Machinations of Erebos

Deep Space 15

The USS Hades is ordered to head to Deep Space 15 (DS-15) after suspicions of a Cardassian infiltration surfaced among the Admiralty of Starfleet Command.

The initial belief was that in some manner that Captain William Nelson, Commanding Officer of the station had somehow been either replaced or influenced.

With a recent increase in Cardassian activity in the sector, Captain Eva Straton ordered the Hades' security team of Baylon Trinin, Takeshi Katsurou, T'Sol, Mil Nicolea and Tallac Dragovar to begin a series of detailed sector scans and to conduct traffic analysis of all Cardassian activity. This activity kept them very busy as they began their course correction to take them to the station.

Sabotage

A computer core

After discussing the situation with the Chief Engineer Darla Wright, Captain Eva Straton ordered her to sabotage the ship in some manner to generate a reasonable means by which to gain access to the Starbase. In this case under the guise of a critical repair.

After some discussion, Eion MacLiam was given the task to sabotage the Secondary Computer Core, which although not system critical, would require them to put into the Deep Space Station for repairs.

Their arrival guaranteed, additional plans were put into place to continue their investigation. Darla Wright would help to oversee the repairs of the computer core alongside MacLiam. In this way, they could monitor the Station crew as they came aboard to assist the starship's engineering teams handle the workload. Assigned to lead the work teams was Lieutenant Peter Holland.

The Shuttlecraft Incident

The Shuttlecraft Condor

While the Hades was making it's way to Deep Space 15, the station's security chief, had managed to escape from his holding cell and commandeer a runabout if the hopes of using it to destroy the station, which he had come to realize was infected by unknown parasite. Stephens, however was also suffering from a severe case of Rigelian fever. It was the fever that allowed him to gain a certain degree of control over his own thoughts and actions that prompted him to escape and attempt the destruction of the station.

Stephens managed to escape from sickbay, and although he also managed to make it off the starbase in a stolen shuttle, his fevered state prevented him from being efficient enough in his actions to actually destroy the station. Captain Nelson, CO of the station destroyed his vessel with a single quantum torpedo.

The Infiltration

Once the Hades had docked for repairs with the starbase, Baylon and Katsurou, disguised as Meldovian pilgrims gained access to the starbase by beaming aboard the Meldovian starship and entering the station via their gangplank.

Once aboard the station, Baylon and Katusrou moved to investigate the quarters belonging to Lieutenant Commander Evan Stephens.

Upon arriving at the commander's quarters, Katsurou bypassed the security systems of the door to allow the two-man team access to the compartment. They were unaware that a few members of the stations security force had some concerns of their own about Stephen's death and were monitoring the commander's quarters.

Unexpected Developments

The Unidentified Parasitic organism

Meanwhile after beaming aboard the station for a meeting with some of the station personnel, Sasha Stolev and Mil Nicolae were sequestered by members of the station's medical and security staff. These individuals were infected by some sort of previously undiscovered parasite. The two members of the Hades crew were infected.

Due to the nature of the attack, captain Eva Straton detected some sort of immediate change in her husband and had Sasha returned to the ship via emergency transporter. Mil, however was not returned to the ship due to the fact that there was no reason to consider him in any danger.

Nicolae, had, in fact, reported the medical emergency to the Hades as soon as it was apparent that the infected personnel's attempt to convert Sasha had been detected. in this way, the incident was thought to be isolated.

To further complicate matters, the parasites were undetectable at first. They exist in a phased state which was beyond the immediate means of the ship's biobeds to detect. As a result the condition that afflicted Sasha was unknown.

As a precaution, captain Straton, locked down the USS Hades, preventing any officers from returning to the ship, or any leaving to return to the station.

This caused a great deal of difficulty for the infected personnel aboard Deep Space 15, whose plan included a potential infestation of the Hades in the hopes of spreading their influence. In addition because of the unexpected development of potential discovery by Starton in regards to the condition of her Imzadi, it was decided that she should be removed as a potential obstacle.

To this ends, the newly infected Mil Nicolae, was tasked by Captain Nelson to assassinate Straton.

Sickbay

Meanwhile in sickbay, every imaginable examination and test series were being performed in an attempt to discover exactly what was affecting [Sasha Stolev]]. Every test results came up negative or inconclusive and the medical personnel were baffled by the unexpected condition of their shipmate.

In an attempt to break the stalemate, Eva Straton made telepathic contact with her husband and as a result to a limited degree with the parasite that was infecting him. There was a mental struggle that was rapidly killing Stolev, and only the intervention of the medical staff managed to break the connection between Eva and her husband in time to prevent his premature death. This effort however, did allow a new theory to be postulated and Eva ordered the Science department to become involved in the studies.

Ensign Harry Doorman and Lieutenant Dale Bracken led the scientific investigation.

The Attempt

Mil Nicolae, in the meantime, under the control of the parasite, acquired a runabout from the station and proceeded to put his assassination plan into action. He maneuvered the runabout close to the Hades, which was docked. He then modulated his transporter to allow it to pass through the Hades Deflector Shields, using knowledge from the host's mind. Once those preparations were ready, he managed to locate the Captain and transport her aboard the runabout.

There he planned to kill her with a phaser. interestingly enough, however, Mil managed to wrestle with the parasite for control, and in an extreme force of personal willpower, fired upon himself with the phaser. The weapon was set to kill, but despite this, Mil was only seriously injured. this was a mystery that helped the science teams develop a more comprehensive theory concerning the cause of the abhorrent behavior.

When a Marine rescue team arrived aboard the runabout to rescue the captain, they took Nicolae into custody and returned to the Hades.

Escape

A jefferies tube

Nicolae and Stolev were under guard and observation in sickbay. A security team assigned by Tallac Dragovar was present, although it was not believed that either of the two personnel would be recovering anytime soon. The fact was that the parasites were strengthening their hold over their hosts and once they were prepared, they went into action.

The two infected personnel, managed to break free of their restraints, overpower their security guards and escape from sickbay. Security teams were dispatched and guided by a combined team effort of Ensign T'Sol and Dragovar. The teams were guided towards the escapees, and time after time they were thwarted in their attempts to capture them when it became apparent that Stolev still had access to his command codes, which had been used during his career as a Commander in Starfleet.

As a result he was able to lock access ports, confound internal sensors and even utilize a site-to-site transport to escape capture.

Eventually T'Sol and Dragovar were able to trap Nicolae in a Turbolift shaft and overcome him by evacuating the atmosphere. While nicolae survived, the parasite was weakened, temporarily releasing the host back to his own control.

Stolev, in the meantime had managed to use the transporter to beam himself into the Captain's personal quarters. There, the parasite disabled the children's nanny and held the twins hostage against the arrival of the Captain.

Dragovar, arrived on- scene first, however, and during a moment of struggle for control between the parasite and Stolev, he assaulted the compartment and stunned Stolev.

The Breakthrough

Quantum resonance of the Dimensional Membranes (D-Branes) A. Normal Space, B. Subspace, C. Fractal Space, D. Phase Space.

This additional data, allowed the science teams to posit a new theory which lead to a breakthrough. Harry Doorman theorized that the main reason that the parasites could not be detected was because they were mostly phased into another layer of Phase Space. using quantum resonances, he was able to identify the phase variance used by the parasites, which in turn allowed them to be detected.

With the assistance of Dale Bracken and Wendy Kildare the science team developed a means to force the parasites into a phase variance that would take them completely out of contact with the hosts that they were attempting to dominate.

The modified surgical bed used to test the phase variance displacement device

A prototype device was built in sickbay and Ensign Mil Nicolae was selected as the best subject for the tests. With the science and the medical teams in strict standby to monitor the results, the procedure was begun.

At first it was worried that the effects of the experiment could proved detrimental to the host. This data came as a result of the previously observed behavior of the parasites during their attempt to kill Stolev in sickbay, rather than relinquish control of his body. It was worried that a similar event may unfold here during the experiment, and to a lesser degree it did, although the added benefit of the device was that the parasite lost the ability to influence the hosts bodily functions as the experiment progressed.

The final result of the experiment was that the parasite was removed and Nicolae was restored to his normal self. However, the struggle for control left the ensign physically exhausted.

Meanwhile, with the parasites now detectable, and a means in place to remove them, orders were issued to sweep all the personnel aboard ship to look for parasites. surprisingly there were no other parasites found aboard the Hades.

A New Dilemma

The new problem quickly presented itself in the form of the Deep Space station. Without operational control of the station, there would be no way to guarantee detection of the parasites amongst the personnel. in addition, dealing with a large number of parasites would prove problematic, especially since there was only a single modified surgical bed that was capable of removing them in existence. Another means had to be developed to rid infected personnel of the parasites on a broader scale.

The Boarding Action

Starfleet Security Officers from the Hades stand guard in the Operations Center aboard DS-15

It fell to Lieutenant Peter Holland and Darla Wright to develop a means to implement the cure to the entire population of the deep space station. After some significant discussion and brainstorming it was determined that the stations own auxiliary Deflector Shield generators could be modified to attenuate the phase shift of the parasites without affecting the hosts. This plan, however came with the caveat that in order to integrate the needed changes control of the shield generators would be necessary.

Therefore it was decided by Captain Straton that an general boarding action should take place. during this maneuver, security teams from the Hades would take control of the stations Operations center, capture their command staff, and provide cover for the thrust into main engineering to gain access to the shield generators.

The assault would be divided into several segments. Commander Bohb along with Mil Nicolae and a team of Hades security and marines would lead the assault on the command center. they would link up with forces on the station led by Lieutenant Baylon Trinin and Takeshi Katsurou, who had located a cell of uninfected security officers willing to assist them.

The second team led by Lieutenant Darla Wright and Peter Holland along with Tallac Dragovar and a security team would infiltrate main engineering to implement the plan.

The mission time was set and as planned all forces deployed on time.

Operations Control

The battle for operations control was a tough fight, and it took the assault teams longer to assume control of the compartment then they had planned. The primary difficulty was in dealing with the infected personnel. The parasites lent a great deal of resistance to the hosts they controlled, making them very resistant to phaser fire, especially on stun settings. This caused pockets of infected personnel to become effective roadblocks.

Eventually however, the assault teams managed to gain control of the operations center, although captain Nelson and some of the other infected personnel managed to lock themselves inside the captain's office. An assault on the location would be impossible as there was a narrow field of fire and the desperation of the infected personnel would become a combat factor.

Baylon Trinin was ordered to take nelson and his personnel alive, and after some consideration, he decided upon Oxygen Deprivation as a weapon to reduce resistance. He decreased the oxygen levels in the compartment to the point that some of the infected personnel were beginning to lapse in consciousness, then when the time was right, he led the assault against the weakened personnel. in this manner he was able to overcome the barricaded personnel and capture them alive.

Main Engineering

The USS McCoy, one of the ships dispatched to DS15 to conduct follow-up operations.

Things were equally difficult in Main Engineering. Ensign Dragovar, proved to be innovative, as he developed a plan to allow the engineering team into Main engineering without a fight. His plan involved a situation whereby he was a prisoner being taken to a temporary holding location located near the auxiliary shield generators. his planned worked and the team was able to by-pass a hard fight to the generators.

However, as soon as lieutenant Darla Wright began her modifications, they were detected, and the operation quickly degenerated into a general firefight. Dragovar and Holland managed to hold off the attack long enough to allow Wright to complete her modifications and activate the shields.

Almost immediately after implementing the phase variance, Darla was struck by a stray phaser blast and thrown from the upper catwalk to the lower engineering deck. She suffered severe cranial and spinal injury and fell into a coma. Dragovar, under fire, moved her to a location from which she could be transported back aboard the Hades for medical care.

Dragovar and his security team along with Holland managed to hold their position until the affects of the modified shields began to take hold. With the shields operating, infected personnel began to surrender as they regained the control of their bodies.

The Quarantine

While the assault on the station was under way, T'Sol, under the guidance of Captain Straton used the Hades and her few remaining security teams to maintain a strict quarantine of the station. The Hades was forced to disable and board no less than four ships attempting to escape the station during the assault.

As the Hades crew could not risk the chance that the parasitic infection may spread beyond the station, there was no choice. T'Sol acted under orders from the captain who was coordinating all assault efforts from the Hades' Strategic Operations suite.

Aftermath

With the the station once again under Starfleet control, Commander Bohb was made acting commander of Deep Space 15. Captain Nelson and the other senior officers were confined to sickbay pending a complete medical work up.

Starfleet Command dispatched three starships to the station, one medical ship to continue treatment of the affected personnel, and two to maintain the Quarantine. In addition a special JAG officer was dispatched to investigate the Hades' role in the situation.