It had been the longest two hours of her life or at least it felt that way to Harper as she felt the jolt of the ship as the USS Sausalito dropped out of warp. The federation colony, Haven’s Reach fills the viewscreen in front of her. She watches in shock as smoke rises from the planet’s surface with power grids flickering and distress beacons flashing weakly.
“Captain, we are receiving multiple distress signals from the colony,” Ensign Hazel interrupted Captain Harper from her trance-like state watching the chaos displayed before her.
“Sensors are reading suggesting major surface infrastructure damage. Shields and comm relays appear to be failing intermittently.” LtCo T’Penne reported.
“Ensign Hazel, get me someone, anyone from the colony on screen now,” Captain Harper ordered.
“Aye, Captain,” Ensign Hazel responded and began working right away.
“This doesn’t look good, Captain. I am reading signs of a major natural disaster. Based on these readings, my best guess is some sort of quake, but I won’t be able to say for certain until we know more.” Commander Piya, the Chief Science Officer relayed. “I’d like to get some additional scans, Captain.”
“Very well, Commander. We need to know what we are dealing with her and the more we know the better. You have my permission,” Harper responded.
“Thank you, Captain. I will keep you updated,” Commander Piya replied as he began to make his exit from the bridge.
“Lieutenant Roders, prepare our medical team. We need to be prepared for emergency triage on site. Brief our team on what little we know now and prepare them the best you can. We will need you all,” Harper looked to her Chief Medical Officer.
“Yes, ma’am, we will be ready. You can count on us,” Lt Roders responded with a salute and headed for the turbolift.
“Captain, open a channel now with the Site Administrator now,” Ensign Hazel chimed in.
Harper looked to the viewscreen in front of her just as a middle-aged Bajoran female appeared on the screen. The woman was clearly in distress as it reflected in her appearance. Her dark auburn hair with streaks of silver was pulled back into a practical braid and was starting to fall out. She had distinct Bajoran nose ridges, with a delicate, well-worn earring on her right ear. She had dark circles under her eyes and clearly was in need of rest.
“Starfleet! You have no idea how happy I am to see you! Thank the Prophets you’ve come! I am Administrator Haleen Rix and we need your help,” the bajoran woman spoke quickly but shocked Harper with how composed she seemed to be under the current situation.
“It is a pleasure to meet you Administrator Rix. I am Captain Harper and you have the crew of the USS Sausalito ready to help. I hate that our meeting has come under such circumstances, but I am glad we were nearby and able to receive your distress signal,” Harper responded.
“As am I, Captain. Our colony, Haven’s Reach is in complete shambles. What little medical facilities we have are overwhelmed and unable to keep up with the need for services. Our fusion reactor is unstable and dozens of our citizens are still missing. We are searching frantically, but we’re barely holding it together down here,” Administrator Rix provided.
“We will do everything that we can, Administrator. Please tell us what your priorities are, and we will start there,” Harper stated.
“I believe that medical aid and power restoration are our biggest priorities. But….there’s more to it than that. One of our chief engineers, Taren Vos, hasn’t been seen since the disaster occurred. He’s a…he’s a unique individual. He’s a liberated borg and one of our most trusted citizens. Without him, we are struggling to stabilize the reactor. I’m afraid we may now be able to restore power without him,” Administrator Rix informed.
“I understand. Do not worry. I have my own engineers who we will send down to see what aid they may be able to render. We are also sending medical and security teams as well. We will prepare and beam down right away,” Captain Harper gave the administrator a head nod hoping it would offer some form of reassurance.
“Thank you, Captain. See you soon,” Administrator Rix spoke before ending the communication and cutting the feed.
Harper turned away from the viewscreen and looked to her bridge officers. “Have our away teams reading to go in fifteen minutes. Any remaining crew on board, we need you to continue running scans and investigated exactly what happened here. Let’s be quick and help these people the best we can,” Harper spoke aloud and not to one person in particular before entering the turbolift and heading towards the armory and then the transport room to prepare to head down to Haven’s Reach.