Episode 7: Infestation

2269.8: Starfleet Headquarters, San Francisco, Earth
It has been nine months since the Genesis Event. Starfleet struggles to recover, and is only just beginning to send ships into the “Genesis Expanse” to investigate and re-map territories discovered decades ago. Intelligence indicates the Klingon and Romulan Empires have taken advantage of the Federation’s weakened state; violations of the Neutral Zone are becoming a daily occurrence. Starfleet has assembled two sizeable warfleets, Stalwart and Vigilant, to counter the two Empires’ growing aggressions. At Starfleet headquarters, assignments are being given.

The crew of the Solace were being disbanded, each member sent to a different ship. While all acted with the standing expected of Starfleet officers, it was apparent that they were saddened by their impending separation. Therefore, at the planning and urging of H'suur and T'zark, a beach bonfire party was thrown that night.

It was a raucous event, with hundreds in attendance. There was a great deal of drinking and, of course, a brawl that involved nearly the entire crew of the Solace, a bunch of local civilians, and a mysterious redhead.

The following morning, far too early for the amount of drinking done the night before, the crews gathered at their various shuttles awaiting departure. Prior to launch, however, a mysterious Starfleet officer in a black and silver uniform came to each shuttle and pulled key crew, escorted them to an unadorned waiting room, and kept them waiting for nearly an hour, as more and more crew were brought in.

Eventually, the room was packed, holding veterans of the Genesis Expanse, including Dole, H'suur, Liara, Marketa, Mirenne, Pren, Selar, Soong, and T'zark. Finally, a redheaded female officer in a green captain's wrap entered, accompanied by the black and silver-clad officer. To H'suur's horror, he realized it was the same redhead he had brawled only a few short hours previous.

The two stepped in front of the gathered officers, the man in black blew a botswain's whistle, and the woman spoke, "I am Captain Patricia Tigan, Captain of the USS Antares. This is Commander Dominic Reed. All of you are survivors of the Genesis Event. You have been pulled from your designated starships and reassigned to Antares for a very special mission. We are going into the Expanse to reclaim lost territories and explore that entire region of space. Grab your gear and stow it aboard shuttle 87. We are hitching a ride aboard USS Alliance, bound for Starbase 12, in thirty minutes."

Thirty minutes later, shuttle 87 departed, met with Alliance, and they left Earth's orbit.

Captain McDowell, Captain of Alliance, invited Captain Tigan and Lieutenant Liara to dinner. There, McDowell expressed his displeasure at losing Liara to Tigan, Liara was meant to be his Tactical Officer. Tigan explained that she had utilized a great many favors to gather the crew she put together, and felt they were all essential, being veterans of the Genesis Event. McDowell was not so easily quieted, commenting that simply being there did not make any of them an expert, and someone of Liara's talents was much better suited aboard a Jupiter-class Dreadnought than a brand new Deep Space Cruiser. Captain Tigan shrugged, countering that, "Those that were not there, in the Event, certainly were not veterans of it, and in that very strange place, we are going to need every advantage we can get. Besides, my -First Officer- (she says, referring to Liara) will, unfortunately, likely have plenty of opportunity flex her tactical muscles; the Expanse is a hotly contested region."

At that, McDowell finally relented, then gave a toast to Captain Tigan, Lieutenant Commander Liara, the Antares, and its upcoming mission.

Nineteen days later, Alliance arrived at Starbase 12, and dropped off the new crew of the Antares.

The crew was introduced to their luxurious new starship, with its latest ammenities and technologies. Everyone was near giddy with the new features and "toys" they were going to be able to utilize. Antares truly was the most advanced vessel the Federation could field.

They still had several weeks of preparation to do before leaving for the Expanse, but a garbled distress call pushed that launch date forward by about a week.

Selar received the transmission while testing Antares' communications system. It originated from the nearby colony of Deneva. Between bursts of static and, what sounded like screams, there were pleas for help and that "the situation was desperate".

At warp 7, Antares was 32 hours from Deneva, and so it was that Starfleet ordered the vessel to investigate.

They arrived in system in time to witness a shuttlecraft pilot itself into the system's sun. They had been too far to utilize tractor beams, and even with a microwarp jump, they would have been unable to stop the shuttle's demise. Mirenne commented about conflicting emotions of fear, anger, and especially pain, in the pilot and, just prior to being consumed by the star, a sudden sense of freedom and relief.

The colony at Deneva was strangely quiet. Liara assembled an Away Team, and they beamed down to the surface.

They found the area deserted; sensors read that nearly the entire population had gathered near and around the colony's power plant. A group of about two dozen came along, however, armed with simple tools and, in a sudden burst of aggression, attacked the Away Team!

The team sought the security of a structure, a restaurant, as it turned out. Inside the building, a vicious fight began between the Starfleet crew and the, seemingly, enraged Denevan colonists. While attacking, the colonists kept shouting, "Go away! We don't want you!" It was clear they were in pain, and this pain was driving them into a murderous frenzy. To the credit of the Starfleet officers, they kept their retaliation to escalating stun attacks (the lower levels had zero effect). Eventually, they managed to subdue one (Emony's uncle, as it turned out).

While attempting to bind his hands, something odd, like a blue-ish red floating jellyfish detached from the small of his back and floated into the air. Someone shot it with a phaser, but to no effect. Then, it lashed forward and attached itself to T'zark. As the situation grew more desperate, Liara ordered an emergency beam out to Antares' sickbay, with T'zark and the organism in isolation.

Doctor Marketa managed to remove the organism from T'zark, and kept it isolated in forcefields. She then proceded with a battery of tests, to determine what the thing was. Mirenne detected vile, hateful, and pain-filled thoughts from the thing.

Emony's uncle explained that a Tellarite trader arrived several days ago, from which numerous creatures like these came from and infected the planet. They seemed to urge and drive their "hosts" through telepathically-induced pain.

Nothing that Dr. Marketa tried had any effect on the organism; it was seemingly impervious to harm and influence.

With little other option, Tigan ordered Antares to track down the Tellarite trading vessel.

By following its warp signature, the crew of Antares found the trader without much effort. Rather, they found the remains of the trader. The ship was little more than debris, but amongst that debris the crew was able to find the vessel's recorder, and from that recorder Soong was able to piece together a limited flight log. The log traced the Tellarite vessel to Deneva, and before that, it had violated the Genesis Expanse quarentine and visited Corridan.

Antares made best possible speed to Corridan.

The Genesis Event had changed the world. It had changed the system. Where there had once been a singular star, there were two. Worlds had been consumed and reshaped and Corridan was no exception. It was barren, rocky, lifeless except for a conglomerated mass of "neural parasites" that, together, in their aggregate actuality formed a sort of "Mother Brain". This brain, as it turned out, held nothing but utter hatred for all other life. It wanted nothing less than galactic genocide, and it had started with the unfortunate Tellarite crew that had come to Corridan hoping to find some valuable minerals. The neural parasites had then launched an attack, with Deneva being their first stop. At Deneva, they were forcing their possessed hosts to construct a starship, withwhich the parasites would begin their slow march across the quadrant, extinguishing life wherever they encountered it. When Antares arrived, the Mother Brain saw a new possibility.

Through telepathic assault, nearly the entire crew of Antares were instantly disabled. Only the mental duality of Ensign Pren, with her Trill parasite, and Mirenne's inherent psionic prowess, survived the crushing id of the conglomerated neural parasite horde. Through clenched teeth and overwhelming pain, Captain Tigan looked to Lieutenant Mirenne and commanded, "General Order 24."

Unable to fulfill this herself, Mirenne used her telepathic skills to temporarily shield Liara, who, reluctantly, proceeded to utilize Antares' torpedoes to burn the atmosphere and cook the planet to a cinder. While regretable, the attack was also a success. Due to the connection the neural parasites shared, when the central core was destroyed, so to were the scattered parasites.