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Enroute to Narell System | Communique index 55 |
Our mission was to deliver some medical cargo to the Narall system. However, during routine cargo inspections done by our chief security officer Ensign Ripley, he was assaulted by an unknown organism residing in one of the cargo containers. Ensign Ripley seemed to recognize the creature and immediately met with Captain Andrea Cade on the matter.
Around the same time Lt. Commander Danna Rystal recorded spikes of gamma radiation coming from Cargo Bay Four and surrounding areas. By this time, the Farragut was well on the way to the colony in the Narall system.
Cade sent search parties to look for the creature, including Ensign Ripley. Ens. Ripley's team confronted the creature, now known as the Shikaar, which resulted in a huge explosion on Deck 7. The Shikaar also attacked Engineering.
At this point, Cade and I decided that they should help the crew and search for the Shikaar to try and contain it until more help had arrived. We stopped by Engineering and met up with Rystal who had an encounter with the Shikaar, but survived. Cade and I helped Rystal to sickbay bay for treatment. Doctor Deischel had transported to ten forward to assist in the search for the Shikaar but had been caught up in one of the attacks. At sickbay, we met up with Ensign Ripley who had survived the inital attack.
From there, Ensign Ripley and I joined to search for more survivors and for the Shikaar and a possible way to contain it. We ran into the injured Doctor by Ten-Forward. But at that time the Shikaar started chasing us. We ducked into Astrometrics and set up a Level 5 containment field while Ensign Ripley explained to me about the Shikaar.
Apparently the Shikaar was genetically engineered specifically for assasinations. They are very volatile and leave no trace of their presence except in the massive destruction they cause to their surroundings. As far as I could tell, there was no reason for someone to send the Shikaar to the ailing colony, except for the fact that a very important Cardassian ambassador was stationed there. Also, the only way to contain it is with a polaron shielding device.
At this point, Rystal managed to get communications up partially throughout the ship and Cade and Rystal contacted us in Astrometrics. They soon joined us. From Astrometrics, Rystal found that we had lost nearly two-thirds of our crew and that life support and auxiliary systems were failing, as well.
It was then that Cade and I decided that it would be best to abandon and self destruct our beloved Farragut so that the Shikaar would fail to continue its mission. After sending a distress call, the Captain sent out a final message to the surviving crew instructing them to abandon ship and set the destruct time to fifteen minutes.
I managed to recover the Farragut's plaque before the destruction.
We were rescued by Captain Matthew Hurley and the USS Bonaventure. Starfleet reassigned most of our crew and several of us managed to stay on the Bonaventure.
Captain Cade resigned from Starfleet to resume her career as a intelligence officer for the Sulaan.
The Telstar sisters also resigned to return to their home.
I have served aboard the Farragut since the beggining of my Starfleet career and I am very sad to see her go. I would like to conclude by saying that the crew of the Farragut were one of the most noble and strong in the fleet and that they served the ship well until the end.
Commander Sako out.