Philadelphia Mission 05: "Sunrise Over Carraya"

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Mission Summary

The USS Philadelphia, FF-6053 along with the USS Nova, BB-106, USS Sheridan, DD-4086, USS Pegasus, CL-2500, USS Ticonderoga, CA-1471 and other 4th Fleet ships were ordered to undock from Star Base Delta and rendezvous at the Carrayan System in response to a distress call from the Carraya IV planetary government.

While en route to Carraya the Commanding Officer's from each ship met via a holo-conference and were able to analyze the distress call to determine that Carraya was under attack from a hostile force. Carraya, which has a history of conflict with oppressing forces, most recently had freed itself from Klingon control. Although not confirmed the group of ships began working on the assumption that the Klingons were once again attempting to gain control of the Carrayan System.

The journey to Carraya was spent running drills and preparing for a multitude of scenarios including space battle, ground battle, and a variety of humanitarian and aide giving scenarios. Whatever the USS Philadelphia faced they wanted to be as prepared as the potentially could.

Upon arriving to the Carrayan System the USS Philadelphia and other vessels were able to positively confirm that it was indeed a group of Klingon's laying siege to the Carrayan system. The Philadelphia was sent along with the USS Armstrong to gain control over a mining outpost in the Carrayan asteroid field.

The Philadelphia attempted to contact the mining outpost, but received no response. A boarding team was assembled, but they never got to launch as three Klingon destroyers began to attack the Armstrong. The Armstrong was boarded and then nearly torn apart as two of the destroyers tractored it. The Armstrong crew attempted to escape in pods, but were fired upon by the Klingons.

The Philadelphia managed to free the Armstrong using a graviton particle beam, and crippled one of the destroyers. The other two left the Armstrong to attack the Philadelphia, and they managed to disable the port impulse drive. Other problems with a sensor and equipment dampening field created by the Klingons left the Philadelphia vulnerable to boarding.

Two Klingon boarding shuttles attacked the Philadelphia, ripping holes in the Bridge and Engineering to gain access. Through heroic efforts, teams on the Bridge and in Engineering managed to repel the boarders and free the Philadelphia. Help from the Sheridan ensured that the Klingon destroyers fled.

The Philadelphia was crippled in space, but through help from the Austin and the Salem they were able to make enough repairs to get towed out of the system, and then warp home to Star Base Delta. There, the ship was fully repaired for the next mission. The Philadelphia never was able to find out what happened at the mining outpost.

Captain's Logs

Capt Aloysia Yvette

Stardate 21101.20

Captain’s Log Stardate 21101.20: Captain Aloysia Yvette recording.

The Omega-4 Rapid Response group has been called back from shoreleave early. A situation had developed in the Carrayan system, and we are being sent to investigate along with all of the other capable ships that were available at Star Base Delta.

We are not sure what is going on and not even the Intelligence reports are revealing anything. Communication with Carraya has been severed after a short message about unknown invaders. We are preparing for the worst: a space and ground battle between our Star Fleet crews and the invader. Right now most people are assuming the Imperial Klingons are at fault, and we are preparing for that.

All of the ships in our impromptu fleet are working together to form a tactical strategy. My role in this, assigned by RAdm Grayson, is to head up planning for medical emergency situations. We’re going to treat the Nova as a hospital ship and transport critical patients there if they need better facilities than the smaller ships can offer. Medical teams are going to be shifted around and we’re going to use some shuttlecraft as ambulance vessels. However, we’re going to have to balance the medical staff taking care of patients on their ships with staff on the Nova. It’s going to be difficult working out the logistics, but I’m confident that with the help of the ship’s CMOs that we will succeed.

Though the odds are very small that this will turn out to be a misunderstanding, I’m hoping that we won’t see combat. I just want to warp back home to my little girl. I don’t like that we left her so suddenly like this. We barely had time to say goodbye. If something was to happen to Nick or I…

End log.

Stardate 21102.06

Captain’s Log Stardate 21102.06. Captain Aloysia Yvette recording:

We arrived at Carraya to find that it was indeed the Klingons that have taken over the system. However, it was not the Imperial Klingons, but rather some kind of rogue faction. We haven’t been able to find out more information than that.

The Omega Response Group was split up in order to take back some of the crucial areas of the system. The Nova, Lejeune and Sheridan were sent to Carraya IV, while the Pegasus and Sheridan were sent to investigate some odd readings at one of the gas giants. The Philadelphia was sent with the Armstrong to secure the mining facility in the asteroid belt.

We have discovered from Star Fleet records that the Carrayan system is known for its high concentration of paralithium, which is used as a fuel for some lower energy devices. It can also be converted to trilithium, which is used for explosive weapons. I would guess that this is why the Klingons want the system. However, the mining facility appears to be unshielded and only 6 Klingons are onboard. It doesn’t look like it would be hard to secure, but I have a tingling feeling on the back of my neck that there are more ships in the system than our sensors can see.

Right now the plan is to contact the facility and try this diplomatically, but I doubt that will work. The next step will be to send in security teams, which Regan is already preparing. As always, I hope this will be quick and easy, but I doubt it will be. We can only hope to minimize the loss of life system-wide.

End log.

Stardate 21102.21

Captain’s Log, Stardate 21102.21. Captain Aloysia Yvette recording:

We still have yet to board the mining facility. Before we could even fully investigate the facility and assemble boarding teams, our escort ship, the Armstrong, was attacked by two Klingon destroyers. Our sensors were already affected by some strange energy particles in the region of the mining facility, but I think a sensor dampening or perhaps energy draining weapon was deployed near the Armstrong because the ship was absolutely decimated even before it was fired upon.

The Klingons appear to be attempting to take the Armstrong rather than destroy it. Last we knew, they had tractored it and launched shuttles presumably for boarding. The Armstrong crew attempted to escape in lifepods, but the Klingons shot them! All of this is very odd for Klingons; I’m wondering if the fact that they are not Imperials has something to do with it. Perhaps there has been some kind of moral revolution because this is not honorable Klingon behavior.

At Lieutenant Codey’s suggestion, we used graviton beams to free the Armstrong from the Klingon tractors. He had to target them visually because our sensors are still down. Science is working on that. We can assume right now that the Armstrong has been boarded but there is nothing we can do about that right now.

We are under attack from a third Klingon destroyer. Our aft shields have failed, and they are launching shuttles toward the Philadelphia now. Our only hope is to call for back-up or flee. I’m not sure we can get away, though.

If I don’t make it through this, I love you Nick and Eleanor.

End Log.

Stardate 21103.11

Captain’s Log Stardate 21103.11. Captain Aloysia Yvette recording-

The Klingons have boarded the Philadelphia. They have entered on both the Bridge and in Engineering. I have relocated the Bridge to Sickbay since it is likely one of the last places the Klingons will look. On Commander Hudson’s recommendation, Lieutenant Thompson and I left deck 1 to assume command of Bridge operations, but we left Hudson, Regan and Codey to defend the Bridge. They are in the midst of battle now.

Xan Macleod is in charge of the team trying to defend Engineering. They are having more success than deck 1, but lives are still being lost.

There is something different about these Klingons. They are in some sort of cybernetic armor or perhaps they are even cybernetic beings. I think that a lot of the crew must be assuming they are Borg, but I doubt that. Perhaps the Empire or this rogue faction of Klingons have been inspired by the Borg and have reused their technology. In any case, they are invulnerable to internal sensor scans and many forms of weaponry, but they are definitely vulnerable in other aspects. They seem confused by strobe lighting at least, and that may be the key to defeating them.

Our internal and external sensors are coming back online, thank God, and communications are as well, though they are still intermittent. We have received word that the Nova has been successful in battle, and so that gives me hope that we may make it out of this yet. We have some of the best crew in Star Fleet in the Carrayan system right now, so we will prevail.

End log.

Stardate 21104.03

Captain’s Log Stardate 21104.03. Captain Aloysia Yvette recording –

Through the valiant efforts of my crew, we have successfully repelled the Klingons boarders. I want to note for the record that Commander Hudson, and Lieutenants Codey and Regan were responsible for securing the Bridge, and that Lieutenant Xan Macleod and his team were responsible for securing Engineering.

However, both battles came with their cost. We now have hull breaches in both Engineering and the Bridge as a result of the Klingons boring through the hull. The Bridge consoles are also unusable due to explosions. What’s more, from the ship-to-ship battles we have two hull breaches on deck five, forward and aft shields are down, and port impulse is down. Engineering has their work cut out for them.

We are currently still operating the Bridge from Sickbay, but we’ll soon be moving to the Observation Lounge. Some reservations about that have been voiced, specifically from Codey, because of the hull breach on the Bridge, but we really don’t have a choice. We need more room to work and more appropriate consoles. Hopefully they can get the Bridge breach fixed quickly.

I am trying to contact Admiral Grayson now to get further orders, but I don’t think there is much we can do in this system anymore. We need to focus on healing our own ship rather than helping others, unfortunately.

End log.

Stardate 21104.18

Captain’s Log Stardate 21104.18. Captain Aloysia Yvette recording –

It seems that the work of the Carrayan response fleet is mostly finished. We have successfully secured the system from the Klingons. A diplomatic situation has turned up on the planet, but the Federation is sending proper diplomats to deal with that. There is also some system clean-up to do, but the other ships are going to take care of that.

Philadelphia has been sent home. We will received assistance from the Salem, patch up as well as we can, and then warp off to Starbase Delta with both the Salem and the Austin. There we can get proper repairs and hopefully a proper shoreleave this time.

I can’t wait to see Eleanor again. We’ve only been away for a few days, but already it feels like too long. Unfortunately, Nick will not be going back at the same time because the Pegasus is involved in the clean-up on the planet. I hope he won’t be more than a couple days; he deserves time with Eleanor and I, too.

Anyway, repairs are underway and I’m confident we’ll get home safely. I can only hope that next mission is less worrisome, but considering my track record, that will turn out to be wishful thinking.

End log.

Crew Logs

Cdr William Hudson

Stardate 21104.26

First Officer’s Log Stardate 21104.26 Cdr William Hudson Recording:

Again it seems, we can’t get a break.

Currently we have just docked at SBD and the Philly is scheduled to undergo repairs and rehab. In that time, I hopefully will be able to sample the local cuisine and continue upgrades with the Liberty Bell.

Our mission was straightforward enough, go to Carraya to investigate an instability in the system. The Philadelphia’s role in this was to board the Carrayan mining facility, which tactically speaking shouldn’t have been a hard task. The original reports of the facility indicated a small contingent of Klingons with an unshielded and little to no usable weapons, spare the trilithium.

As always, the problem seemed to snowball. We encounter hostiles in the form of Klingon destroyers. Before we knew what was happening the Armstrong was taken in a very non-Klingon fashion. Either way, we knew that trouble was brewing.

Finally, we experienced the Klingon boarding, which was both interesting and a little frightening. A tactician should note two things about these Klingons: 1. They did not behave like Klingons. They had the strength of Klingons, the deviousness of Romulans, and the honor of Ferengi. It was a very... unsettling combination. 2. These Klingons appeared to have cybernetic implants. The purpose of these implants... I don’t know, but it would be interesting to see where and how these implants were used.

Apart from my curiosity, due to the efforts of Regan and Codey on the bridge we were able to regain control.

Hopefully our next mission will be less eventful, but I really wouldn’t count on it... after all, life has never been peaceful.

End Log.

Engineering

CE Lt JG Brodie Codey

Stardate 21103.18

Chief Engineer's Log Stardate 21103.18, Lieutenant Brodie Codey reporting.

The USS Philadelphia is a wreck.

After responding with the fleet to the Carrayan System we engaged with the separatist Klingons on all fronts. The Philly was tasked with approaching a mining complex, with the Armstrong, and we locked horns soon after. There are strange spacial anomalies in this part of the region that interfere with Starfleet equipment. When I get some downtime I am sure I will be tasked with looking at the data collected, and coming up with a solution; at the material time though, it proved to be one of our achilles heel's.

The ship received, initially significant damage to the port nacelle; this damage effectively reduced us to thrusters, and warp drive only. Since an asteroid field was close by, it was certain death to jump to warp. So, with the Philly's best card - its maneuverability - totalled, we saw the true nature of the Klingon's...

The Armstrong, severely interfered with by the anomalies was tractored by the Klingon's; the ship tried to launch its escape pods, but they were massacred by the attacking vessels. No honour, even in death.

In a desperate attempt to draw their fire, and release the Armstrong, we used a graviton beam to try and disrupt the tractor hold on the ship. It worked, the Klingon ships then tore apart our shields.

Two Klingon scout craft penetrated our shields and attached themselves to the hull above the Bridge, and on the starboard side of Engineering deck 7. I have serious concerns that information about our emergency protocols have been stolen, or worse sold to the enemy. The hulls were cut into, leaving the ship with two serious hull breaches, and significant damage to the science labs on deck 5. I was trapped on the Bridge, and Master Chief Kuznetsova was in Engineering; I have just learned that Engineering put up a better resistance to the boarding party than the Bridge managed to. The Master Chief certainly knows her stuff. Intense firefights between security and the Klingon's ensued, but these Klingon's were something different...

The intruders were definitely Klingon, but had Borg styled enhancements making them not adapt to weapons fire, but indestructible. Any shot fired at them, kinetic or otherwise, caused damage but they healed almost instantly. What happened next is a blur, but they basically exploded after dropping strange grenade type munitions. We managed to escape the Bridge through to deck 2 by hurling ourselves into the turbolift shaft with a shaped forcefield. Needless to say this obliterated much of the Bridge. Engineering faired slightly better with security causing most of the damage!

Shortly after the explosion of our intruders, the shuttles that were attached to the hull ripped away causing more damage. Environmental forcefields are holding, but there is a lot of damage.

My priorities as Chief Engineer will be as follows:

1. Preserve the structural integrity of the ship, hardening areas that have received severe to critical damage.

2. Prepare the ship's infrastructure for temporary re-routing of all command functions from the uninhabitable Bridge to an area of the ship deemed suitable.

3. Repair the ship's propulsion systems, protecting key components from further deterioration from maneuvering.

4. Begin superficial repairs to ship's interior.

I believe the Bridge is now uninhabitable, the firefight, and the subsequent damage caused by the departing craft will need a spacedock for a complete refit I am sure. Engineering is fixable, but again spacedock is preferred. I believe our next sail will be to limp back home.

End log.

Stardate 21104.25

Chief Engineer's Log Stardate 21104.25, Chief Engineer, Lieutenant Brodie Codey Reporting.

The USS Philadelphia is currently in spacedock at Star Base Delta, undergoing critical repairs to its superstructure, and infrastructure. The recent mission into the Carrayan System proved to be disastrous for the fleet, and fatal for many crewmembers.

I would like to remember, and place into the Ship's permanent log that Engineers Petty Officer 3rd Class Selak, and Crewman Apprentice Bretana, lost their lives as a direct result of the Klingon hybrid incursion upon this vessel; unfortunately for the family of Selak, there are no remains to bring to Vulcan.

The Philadelphia suffered three four major hull breaches; two, in Science and outside Crew Quarters, as a direct result of the firefight; and two, the Bridge and Engineering, as a direct result of the boarding by the Klingon hybrids.

The ship also suffered massive infrastructure damage that will take weeks to repair, as well as propulsion damage that is currently being fixed.

The Engineering teams worked tirelessly around the clock to bring the Philly back online, and stable, and will continue to work alongside visiting engineers during shoreleave to ensure the ship is ready for departure in six weeks time.

What became of the Carrayan system, as of yet, we do not know. We have not been debriefed by command yet, but intelligence has been all over the ship and speaking to various crew members for the past few days; I am sure we will see product at the end of it, and hopefully new strategies to deal with the emerging threat to the Federation from this system.

At the present time, repairs are on schedule. I will be present to oversee the installation of a lot of new features to the ship, as well as the retrofitting of some of the decks.

I will now be writing to the families of Salek, and Bretana.

End Log.

Security

COS Lt JG Jack Regan

Stardate 21104.26

Personal Log, Stardate 21104.26, Chief of Security Lieutenant Jack Regan recording:

This mission has been an interesting one for the whole crew and in particular Security. When I say interesting, I mean dire.

The Klingons decided to retake Carraya IV, somewhat predictably in my opinion, some rogue group of them it turns out. We, being one ship of unfortunate sods who happened to be nearby at the time, got sent as part of a task force to retake the system.

It didn't make sense to me then and it doesn't now, but instead of concentrating our forces on a focused assault, part of the task force was split and stretched thin across the system. The Philadelphia's objective was to retake a mining station. It seemed of little strategic importance in the short-term and I expressed my reservations to the Captain. But orders are orders and those were hers, coming down from above of course.

As it turned out, the jolly to the station was not to be. One of our scout ships, the Armstrong, was attacked by a Klingon vessel. She didn't stand much chance and of course we attempted to provide assistance. The Armstrong crew was forced to abandon ship and then the killing started in earnest. The Klingons began to shoot the escape pods like fish in a barrel... cowardly and despicable. It was clear then that we were dealing with no ordinary Klingons. Little did I know how extraordinary they were...

We managed to divert attention from the Armstrong escape pods, but then it was our turn for a pummelling. We withstood a lot more punishment than the Armstrong had and gave some back, but still we were pretty beat-up. They launched two attack shuttles and these attached themselves to the hull. Through brute force they began to cut their way into engineering and the bridge.

Security were prepared for hostile boarding and well-drilled. Macleod headed the team in engineering while I headed the bridge team. The intruders, well, they turned out to be \b{cyborg} Klingons. Yes, it sounds bloody ridiculous to hear yourself say it, but there you go. I don't know whether they were Klingons that had been augmented, or if they were grown in bloody test-tubes in a lab, but they were nothing like real Klingons. Their speech was odd, computer-like and artificial. Their weapons and armour were highly advanced and we struggled to make an impact in our assault with PR-1s.

The enemies didn't get the better of us though. Our planned strobe lighting defences interfered with the cyborgs' in-built systems of optical targeting (on the bridge this resulted in them shooting themselves in the foot - literally, and arm, leg, head...). We successfully repelled the boarding attempt but it came at a price both in terms of damage to the ship and personnel – two of my men on the bridge went down, Falk and Gerro, and a number in engineering were seriously injured. The bridge became a no-go area after the intruders exploded a series of grenades. We retreated to sickbay where the Captain had set up a temporary control centre.

On the bright side, we can say that the senior officers were all unscathed in the attack, brave lad Macleod was injured but not seriously, and Crewman Nobbs continued his uncanny knack of escape from certain death on the bridge.

It turns out that the news from the Fleet is good too. I just hope they have some damn answers on what we were dealing with here. We may have repelled a small force of the cyborgs today, but if the Fleet has to deal with thousands of 'em in future we'll be screwed. There goes any dreams I had of retiring on Risa...

Now Captain Yvette is wanted for diplomatic duties by Admiral Grayson and the Philly is to rendezvous with the rest of the Fleet. We're moving our temporary control centre from sickbay to the observation lounge until the bridge is patched up. The engineers have a job on their hands repairing the substantial damage across the ship. Grayson is sending help and once we meet up with the Fleet this will speed things along. So, we've got some tidying-up job to do before the Captain gets back...

End log.

Lt Xan Macleod

Stardate 21104.20

Personal Log. Stardate 21104.20 Lieutenant Xan Macleod recording.

It's been an eventful mission and I'd like to say we came through it unscathed but the truth is, we're limping home.

The Philadelphia was boarded by some kind of Klingon Cyborg's, both on the bridge and in engineering. Lieutenant Regan put me in charge of the engine rooms defence while he led the effort on the bridge.

Technically we were successful, they never got any further and the attack was repelled, but I don't feel comfortable celebrating when we lose people. Gerro, Falk, Reynolds... I haven't heard about Rattan and Ystal yet, they looked pretty bad though.

The invaders used specialised grenades. Who says baseball is outdated?! I threw their bomb back down into their ship and I think it must have caused some havoc because they ripped away leaving us with a huge hole in our belly.

The... drones, exploded sending metal shrapnel everywhere as well as a corrosive gunk that burned flesh like a slow working acid.

I don't envy the engineers cleaning all that up!

The situation on Carraya seems to have stabilised, I don't know exactly what happened but I gather the Pegasus and the Nova are staying behind. Hopefully not for too long, I spoke to Laura before we left, they've had a rough time of it too and I know she was worried about Judith but she wouldn't let me see why. She told me Emmy was safe though. I won't be happy until we’re all back together, preferably on a beach somewhere.

It's going to be a boring trip back to Starbase Delta... I hope.

End Log

Science

Mid Savar Feyil

Stardate 21103.21

Personal Log Midshipman Savar Feyil Stardate 21103.21

The ship was hit by what I have found out to be Klingon fire. The Science Labs and Engineering suffered hull breaches.

The casualty list is still be confirmed but I know we have lost a few people. The lab was a complete mess. Partly to the explosion and the decompression that occured. We had two crew who were trapped and we worked to get them free. Thankfully the medical team turned up and was able to take charge of their treatement.

I have to return to the rescue attempt as I have taken a brief moment to rest.

End Log.

Stardate 21105.10

Personal Log Midshipman Savar Feyil Stardate 21105.10

I am still unsure as to what our mission to Carraya was about. We were approaching a mining station when the ship was hit. I have also found out that while we were busy in Science the ship had been boarded. We have returned to Starbase Delta and repairs are underway to the ship.

The initial damage to the Science Lab was caused by the hull breach. The rest of the Lab suffered various minor problems that are easily fixed.

As for myself I am not sure what I will do with my Starfleet career. I orginally chose Science as it seemed interesting, but I have to question if that choice was correct. Just like the Philadelphia I think I am in need of repair.

My decision to enter Starfleet was correct at the time but I have had time to reflect on this and question that decision.

I am required to attend the formal ceremony on Delta. I look forward to the time away from the Philly.

End Log

Medical

CMO Lt Fraser Dunbar

Stardate 21101.23

Personal Log. Stardate 21101.23. Lieutenant Junior Grade Fraser Dunbar recording.

It's been a while since I've had a chance to record a log and since some significant things have happened to me since my last one, it's time I rectified that.

The trip back from the Gondwanan system was dominated by research into the data we accumulated during the mission. It confirmed the theories I outlined in my last log. Knowing that we'd figured it all out did nothing to lift my spirits though. I was very depressed about it all, I must admit. I felt we'd failed. More to the point, I felt I'd failed.

But, as it turned out, I must have done something right along the way.

Soon after we docked at Star Base Delta, there was a reception for the 4th Fleet. I almost didn't go. I was still upset over what happened with the Gondwanans and I just wanted to avoid people, which really isn't like me. I'd learned that Lieutenant sh'Thane was leaving the crew though, so I wanted to see her and make sure she was okay. So, I went to the party after all and I'm glad I did. Seeing everybody perked me up.

During the evening, there was a ceremony to hand out medals and promotions. Captain Yvette honoured several members of the crew, including most of my friends. Brodie was promoted, and Tris was given the Chief Science Officer position, which is wonderful. She'll be great. That department will flourish with her to guide them.

I was one of the officers who was called to the stage, which came as a surprise. I was so down on myself at the time that I was expecting a demotion, if anything. But no, the Captain awarded me the Star Fleet Commendation Medal and promoted me to Lieutenant Junior Grade. And as if that wasn't fantastic enough, she offered me the position of Chief Medical Officer! I said yes, obviously. I'm just delighted about it. Scared, daunted, overwhelmed, but so delighted. Before Star Fleet, years before, I used to daydream about being in charge of a Sickbay. A Sickbay of my very own. I can't believe I've achieved that goal so quickly.

Every day, I question whether I made the right choices, whether the sacrifices I made to get here were really worth it. Times like this confirm for me that this is the path I should have been walking from the very beginning.

One sad thing about that night was that it was Garbo's last night with us. He's been transferred to the USS Gettysburg. I'm not surprised. He's a serious talent so it makes sense that a bigger ship would want him. Shame for us though. I really miss that little guy already. He fainted again at the ceremony. I'm a little worried about the amount of fainting spells he has but I've sent a message to his new CMO about it. Hopefully Doctor Mahal-Tor will take care of him.

The rest of the party was fun. The food was top notch and everybody looked so smart, all dressed up. Must admit, I do like a man in dress whites. Brodie and I just might have had a few drinks too many towards the end of the night. I'm not sure, it's all a bit blurry. Which probably means we did.

Soon after that, he invited a bunch of us to Acamar for a vacation. I decided it'd do me good and I was right about that. I had a fantastic time. Xan came along and so did his sister, Laura, and Emilia Cirrus from the Pegasus, as well as a lovely guy called Az who I later discovered is the Pegasus's First Officer. Emilia's such a nice lady. She and Xan seem very close but I couldn't quite figure out if they're a couple or not. I'll drag the gossip out of him later. I was especially glad Laura came. After the Gondwanan mission, I really wasn't sure if she liked me or not, but she was so charming and she gave me some really good advice about running a Medical department. She's a real lady.

So anyway, that was all great fun but it came to an end when we were recalled to our ships in the middle of the night. I don't know any specifics yet but the general sense I get is that a situation has arisen and it isn't a good one. The team in Sickbay responded brilliantly though, they were running through pre-departure checks before I'd even beamed aboard, and Sickbay was running smoothly in double quick time. There's always room for improvement, of course, but I'm more than happy with everybody's performance so far. Lieutenant sh'Thane left me a well oiled machine. I'm grateful to her. I'll have to send her some flowers to wish her luck in her new role.

Douglas Hauser showed up in Sickbay soon after I returned and I was glad of that. I've lifted his suspension. If we're about to face trouble, it seems absurd not to use my most highly qualified doctor. Besides, I won't let the rest of the staff know but I'm still nervous about heading up Sickbay. I haven't found my feet yet and so I know I'll need his support. He seemed over the moon to be coming back to work too. I'm glad. He's an asset and it worries me that he may have come to think otherwise.

Aaand I've just finished working my way through my outstanding paperwork so now I'm off to see how things are going out there in Main Sickbay. Next time I record a log, I should know more about what's going on.

End log.

Stardate 21102.03

Personal Log. Stardate 21102.03. Lieutenant Junior Grade Fraser Dunbar recording.

It turns out we've been recalled to deal with an infraction into Carrayan space. It isn't clear exactly what's happened or who may be responsible, but it seems most likely that the Klingons have invaded Carraya. All the evidence points in that direction, and that's the scenario we've primarily prepared for. There's a chance that the situation isn't as bad as it seems, or that some other power is responsible which could make a diplomatic solution viable, but it's looking like the worst case scenario is also the most likely.

That means combat, almost certainly. And combat means injuries. There are several ships comprising this armada and we've prepared ourselves for heavy casualties. Captain Yvette was charged with the armada's medical response. I'm glad about that. She understands our needs and responsibilities better than most Commanding Officers would and her guidance has made this whole process smoother and more effective. She gave me even more motivation to do the best job possible too. It would have been embarrassing for her if her own Chief Medical Officer didn't deliver. I hope I met her expectations.

A system has been set up in which the far larger USS Nova will be used as a hospital ship. The rest of us, particularly those on smaller ships, will transport surplus patients and those requiring surgery to the Nova using a series of shuttles manned largely by nurses. Preparing the shuttles was a lot of hard work but Captain Yvette made sure the CMOs were given as much input as possible into their set-up and I'm very satisfied with the results. We've given our patients the best possible chance of survival and that's all I could ask for.

At the same time, several drills have been run, both for the whole ship and for my department in particular. Very happy with the performance of my team. I have absolute confidence in them. Their skills are not in question, I never had any doubts about that, but I was concerned that some of them wouldn't be able to cope with this, especially the younger ones. I shouldn't have worried though. They've all been incredibly brave. We haven't even had to do anything yet and I'm already proud of them.

This feels like a baptism of fire for me. At first, that scared me but actually, I think it might be for the best. I mean, if I can handle a situation like this, I should be able to handle anything, shouldn't I? I just hope we make it through this. One thing I've learned over the years is that you're never as prepared as you think you are. But I'm staying positive. We'll be okay.

We should be arriving in the Carrayan system any minute now so I'm going to start monitoring events as they unfold. The next few minutes should determine whether or not we're about to enter a combat situation. The realist in me already knows the answer to that question but I can't help praying for a peaceful outcome all the same.

End log.

Stardate 21102.10

Personal Log. Stardate 21102.10. Lieutenant Junior Grade Fraser Dunbar recording.

Though we've only just arrived in the Carrayan system, events have already taken a worrying turn.

As far as I can tell from the information available to me in logs from the Bridge, it seems our fears have been confirmed. These are Klingons that we'll be facing here. On one hand, that may be a good thing because it's Klingon ships and tactics that the armada has primarily prepared for. At least we haven't been blindsided by the Breen or something. On the other hand... well, they're Klingons. They're not known for their eagerness to engage in diplomacy and non-violent settlements of disagreements, not when they can shed some blood instead. The heavy combat we'd feared seems inevitable now.

Though I don't know the details of our orders, it seems the Philadelphia has been paired up with the USS Armstrong and sent to some kind of Carrayan mining facility. I'd assume it holds some strategic importance and we're required to retake it from the Klingons. I'm hoping there will be Carrayan survivors there that we may be able to help but we have no reason to believe the Klingons would have taken hostages or, even less likely, that they'd have shown mercy to the workers at the facility. If there's anybody left to save, we will. It's difficult to be optimistic about that though.

Right now, my concern is that we're going to face problems before we even reach the mining facility. A few minutes ago, I received a message of readiness from one of the medical shuttles. It was the one being headed up by Emilia Cirrus, in fact. When I tried to respond with an acknowledgment, I couldn't get a message to them. I thought I might have entered the communication codes incorrectly but no, I couldn't seem to establish communication with Emilia's shuttle.

Since then, I've been unable to make contact with any of the medical shuttles. I can't get in touch with the Armstrong's Sickbay either. As far as I can tell, there's some kind of interference in the local area which is making communications difficult. That's strange, though. If this were a natural phenomenon, Star Fleet would have been aware of it beforehand, I'm sure. We'd have been warned. We certainly wouldn't have set up an armada-wide medical plan of action based on the flow of information and communication. That leads me to the conclusion that we may have stumbled into some kind of trap laid by the Klingons. Not their usual style but it's my best guess.

This has some serious ramifications for my department. Our plan all along has been to deal with what we can in our own Sickbays, then send any surplus patients, including those needing surgery and other serious treatment, to the shuttles so they can be transported to the Nova. Without communications, none of that is possible. Our support network is gone.

That panicked me a little at first, I'll admit. But this is our job, this is why we're here. To take care of this crew. The size of this department, both in terms of space and staffing levels, is considered sufficient to adequately tend to the needs of a crew and ship of this size. The level of potential casualties make these abnormal circumstances, which is why it was decided that we'd take a different approach to triage, but if that approach is no longer viable then we'll handle this in the same way we handle every day on the Philadelphia. We'll give everything we've got to save every life on this ship. Simple as that.

Until communications can be reestablished, I have to work on the assumption that the shuttles and the Nova are no longer going to be an option. To that end, I've instructed a team to prep the Surgical Bay. As part of our preparations, we scaled back the surgical set-up to make more room for non-surgical treatments because we believed we'd be shipping out those in need of surgery. If we're not going to be able to do that now, I have to make sure we're ready to treat the most serious injuries. I've also got Midshipman Cyne working on setting up contact with the shuttles again. You never know, maybe this interference will clear.

End log.