Yoritomo Mission 04: "Civilization Lost"

Captain's Log, Stardate 20103.23 "Civilization Lost"

Commander Kelly Longbow, Commanding Officer of the USS Yoritomo reporting.

The Yoritomo had to stop just prior to going to warp in order to allow a last minute passenger to board. Metsys is a Trill caretaker, and came aboard to assist LCdr Dax in a personal matter.

Our orders were to proceed to the planet of Vandis III and find out the status of a civilian ship named Socrates. They were about to begin an archeological dig involving reportedly alien ruins. All contact was lost with the ship. If we could locate them, we were to assist them, if not, then we were to conduct the dig ourselves.

When we arrived in the system, our worst fears were confirmed. All we could detect was a debris field, which was determined to be the remains of the Socrates. We tried to approach the area with caution, maintaining a safe distance from the evident contact area, but not enough, as we were then attacked from the surface of the planet.

The shot was so powerful that it breached our shields and disabled us completely on the first hit. We had a complete power loss and were at a dead stop in space. As we scrambled to launch a team of Marines to try to disable what ever it was that was firing at us from the planet surface, we were trying to reestablish power to the ship. Still struggling to bring even basic Life Support back on line, matters were further complicated by the arrival of intruders on the ship. They were likely beamed onto the ship once our shields had been disabled. The original shot that crippled us, also injured many crewmembers as it took the inertial dampeners off line at the same time. It was as if the ship had run aground in orbit above these alien ruins.

I sent two shuttles down with Marines to try and do something about the firing on our ship. They made it, but shortly after dropping off the Marines, the shuttles were shot down as well. We began having trouble with intruders of some kind on the ship, and a few of the crew were killed. With an impressive effort, Engineering managed to restore power, but no sooner had we managed to get the engines back on line when we were hit by another shot from the planet. Seeing that we were being held in orbit by unknown forces, with No Life Support, in an effectively helpless state, as well as noting that the number of intruders was increasing in number and the number of casualties they were inflicting, I ordered the crew to abandon ship. We also jettisoned a ship's log that contained sensor data, something I never thought I would have to do as the captain of a ship.

The crew managed to arrive on the planet surface with minimal injuries. LCdr Borik was injured on the ship, but recovered once he had some time to heal on the surface. Being on the surface would prove to have it's own dangers however.

We had regrouped on the surface, about 2.5 kilometers from the site of the ruins, and tended to the wounded. The next day, the Away Team proceeded to the dig site to investigate it for any signs of the crew of the Socrates and to establish a camp for the excavation. Meanwhile, we established a secure perimeter for the Base Camp and began to establish operating procedures for a stay of unknown duration. It would turn out that neither camp would last long.

At the dig site, although there was no sign of the crew from the Socrates, the team did find that some of the creatures were there to greet them. The team eventually sought refuge inside one of the intact structures underground. Meanwhile, at the Base Camp, we were attacked in great numbers once the sun went down. In the course of one night, the crew of the Yoritomo lost over 75% of her numbers to the attacking force. Keeping to the rocks helped when they were attacking from underground, but once they came above ground and were attacking in the open, there was little to stop them. We had never had the chance to establish any kind of defensive structure, and at that time were unaware of the structures that had been discovered at the dig site. Communications were sketchy at best, and it became every man for themselves as the combat swiftly turned to hand-to-hand.

Once the sun came back up, we were able to reestablish communications with the Away Team. Having been notified of the structures, I gathered what remained of the crew and headed for the shelter of the dig site. We were attacked in route by not only the creatures, but also the very ground itself. The ground began to shake, crack, and create obstacles in our path. When that didn't stop us, rock formation began to erupt from the ground and blue energy burst came from them. When they struck crewmembers, they were effectively stunned for quite a great amount of time, and all gear they were wearing was completely disabled and void of energy. It is now my opinion that it was this same type of energy that disabled the Yoritomo in orbit. Due to some fast thinking on the part of the Marines and Security, we were able to get most of the crew safely to the ruins, including the surviving wounded from the previous attack.

It turned out that the structures were not only intact, but still functional as well. There was no detectable power source, yet the walls seemed to function as a sort of biological computer. They required the energy and direction of thought, and having been designed for some unknown alien species, we were heavily tasked to try and make them function, even among the Betazoids and Vulcans of the crew. We managed to discover some form of emergency medical feature though that was able to heal the most critical of wounds after making only physical contact with the walls themselves.

The Science team revealed that the structure was constructed of some of the same material as the creatures, and contained a silicon-based life form of some kind. The walls were made artificially though, while the creatures, which were determined to be some kind of drones, were of a more natural process of some kind.

Lt. Rock, the Chief Medical Officer, had been critically injured while still at the Base Camp. He was placed in stasis and Lt. Patel was made the acting Chief Medical Officer. Due to the crisis, many crewmembers found themselves drafted into the medical services.

Unknown to us, the USS Ticonderoga had entered the system, searching for us, and was conducting its own investigation from a much more cautious distance. We eventually detected an incoming signal, but weren't able to transmit strong enough to warn them about the dangers or the severity of our situation. Our crew discovered the existence of a communications system within the complex of ruins, and they made a heroic effort to get to it and transmit a signal to the ship.

I also deduced by this time, that perhaps what we had been sent here to recover was the alien database within these structures. I had the team at the communications tower transmit as much of the database to the Yoritomo as they could. It appears that the Yoritomo has now been so filled with data in a forced manner of infusion that her entire computer system will have to be repaired or replaced before being operational again.

The Ticonderoga set up a series of relay satellites that allowed them to use transporter pattern enhancers to beam up a few people at a time. Thus the remaining crew of the Yoritomo was rescued.

The Yoritomo itself had begun to fall out of orbit though. I took LCdr Wueste and returned to the Yoritomo in an effort to save her. We ran into some resistance, but managed to get to the Torpedo Bay and attempt a dangerous maneuver. We caused a torpedo to detonate just outside of the ship, propelling us back out of orbit, eventually to be recovered and put safely in tow by the Ticonderoga. The Yoritomo suffered additional damage due to this effort, but considering the alternative, I was willing to accept the responsibility of inflicting this damage if it might not only save the ship, but the mission objective as well.

We now are on our way to Star Base one and should arrive in a few days.

Captain's Personal Note:

LCdr Wueste went above and beyond by volunteering for this task as well. The entire surviving crew each has their own incredible tale to tell, and wish I could recognize each and every one of them. I still intend to submit a number of individual as well as group medals for review at a later date by fleet command, but as far as I'm concerned, they were all heroes, each and every one of them.

We now head back to Star Base 1, our ship crippled, the crew in shambles. We survived and are licking our wounds as we try to come to terms with what happened. It seems that in some way, the planet itself was actually alive. It may take a very long time of experts going over all of the data to figure this one out, but in some way we provoked it, and were lucky to have survived it at all. It appears the Socrates was not so fortunate. Her hull was likely more fragile and her shields not as intended for battle. Perhaps it was only luck that saved us. Either way, there are a great many people who are dead now, and I must face the fact that as their Commanding Officer, I am ultimately responsible for their deaths.