Part of Hecate Station: Beneath the Surface and Bravo Fleet: The Devil to Pay

Bs-6) The infestation

HS - Observation Dome
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The observation dome, is a stair accessible room above the operational center that is meant to be used as a meeting room to show the beauty of space. The room ceiling was a reinforced, thick glass that was barely visible to the naked eye that it was there. From the inside you could see 360 degree all around you, yet from the outside it was not visible and even better the location seemed more like a small array that was build on top of the operational center. So about eighty procent of the view was clear, the additional layers blocked by the array infrastructural framework were replaced by the computer. But the previous commanding officer choose to make this his office and take the glory of this place for himself, Sazra choose to reverse this and take the old office back rather than keeping this dome for herself.

However, she was staring at the direction of the Grim Wall, with a red glow dancing from the Betreka Nebula that slowly fades away as it stretches in Hecate direction. Ships passing by, docking or leaving to resume their duties or trade. It was quite mesmerizing to witness. But with this daunting beauty was also growing, crawling through hallways, stores and houses in Hecate. Sazra narrowed her eyes, hearing a few voices getting up the circle formed stairs that would bring them to the dome.

The first person her eyes met were those of Kossaal, a veteran medical officer that had seen various dire situations from the Blood Dilithium Operation to the Underspace sudden expansion, followed by the young Asipa, a Ferengi woman that had faced her horrors in Delta Quadrant and was a vital key in delivering the message to the Dominion Lost Fleet. K’Nala, an inspiring and ambitious woman that showed the will to grow within the role of command, but her love for piloting had saved the Damascus and Mariner countless times. Domam was a relative new person, but not to be underestimated for the amount of work he had to move during the Underspace crisis.

Sazra nodded to them as she moved to her own chair as her eyes glare to some latecomers. Yozria Deem, the former first officer of the USS Tokyo, was the vital key in dealing with the Borg Intrusion, but paid the ultimate price by losing her brother. They manage to get them back, but at the cost of her rank and position. Sazra remembered in the report that she would do it again if it would happen. Then there was Tamaz Alavidze, a vital key also on the Tokyo in the operations, his experience would be of great value on this station. Sazra looked at the final two arrivals as their eyes are glued to the mere view of everything that was aroudn them.

Dacio was for a long period of time the asst chief science officer and with Commander Scott out of commission in the Underspace crisis, he stepped up his game and made it possible for their safe return. Sazra gave him a shot at the chief position, but at a station is a different play and no one at this table at real experience with it. Sazra gave a friendly nod in the direction of Palema, who had been a comfortable source of diplomatic knowledge to her for quite some time. “Welcome, please take a seat so we can begin”

Most of the people at the table were still distracted by the sight that was around them. But they saw the serious look of Sazra and focus on her. Taking a deep breath, it felt like the air was heavier, as if she was sitting on the top of a mountain. “Some of you know me, some of you don’t. My records are access to everyone in Starfleet and if you have questions I am open to them. So I will spare you my life story, but what I will tell you is my way of commanding. I am a stubborn, direct and maybe even sometimes sarcastic and insensitive person. But what you need to know about me is that I will go through any kind of fire to make sure anyone is safe. This might take a heavy toll on me being the lead person of a station that has about 4,500 people on it, both civilian and starfleet. But that won’t change my personality, my character”

She saw some people nodding in acknowledgment of that, knowing all too well what kind of person Sazra is. She lets her hands slide over each other and shrugs a bit “So let’s get over with it, what is this station condition and don’t sugarcoat it” Sazra had it rather straight to the facts then do a dance around the reality of the situation.

The people at the desk looked at each other for a brief moment as Kossaal, the elder Andorian looked up and at Sazra direction “Medical Hub is to say it nicely a dramatic scene to behold. We have a serious shortage in personnel, supplies, and our machinery is barely holding out as it is.” He was not in the mood to sugarcoat the situation, but he saw a glimpse of gratitude from Sazra to take the leap.

“What about the medical condition of the people?” Sazra looked with a bit of concern at the doctor.

Taking a deep breath, “Starfleet personnel is fairly doing okay, we do see a raise in usage of recreational drugs with certain officers. The other thing our files have noticed are the waiting list that were on purpose delayed. Civilian care was placed on a lower priority and not based on severity of sickness” Kossaal shrugged at that last point. “Suspicion is there that a plague is roaming around in certain civilian areas”

Tapping her finger on the table letting it sink in, Sazra nods to the rest “Next”

“To follow-up, anything related to engineering is delayed due to a lack of resources but also lack of maintenance as priority was given to only essential systems” Yozria tied her fist trying to let the frustration not get to her “We are aware of the sense of urgency in all departments, but it seems focus was laid on something or somewhere else rather than keeping all systems going”

Nodding to Yozria statement, Tamaz followed-up “The backlogging of engineering reflects in operations, we are getting tons of request of things that need to be done, ships that want to dock, and we are trying to regulate what is possible. But we are at a stretch, Captain”

Giving a brief nod to both Yozria and Tamaz “Thank you”  Sazra let it get quiet for a moment as her eyes met those of Domam “Chief?”

He swallowed for a moment and slowly nodded as comforting himself, “The situation with security is dire, we are dealing with corruption within our own department, criminals roam free on the decks, and we do believe Orion Syndicate have a firm grip on the lower decks of this base. Our weapon inventory is compromised and supplies as stated before is low. It will be quite a challenge to get things back to how it should be, merchants and traders on the Promenade are afraid, yet they won’t leave as the coin is too good to let go…”

“Science is dealing with stolen equipment, low supplies, sensor arrays in the asteroid belt that the people call the Grim Wall is barely functionable.” Dacio leans back in his chair with some disappointment, “But we can still work with what we got”

Asipa shrugged “On terms of communications I am dealing with outdated software, arrays that barely work and translation requests from various representatives”

“The situation in the region is very unpredictable at this current moment Captain” Palema continued on Asipa mention of representatives “The Klingon Empire intention are still at a guessing phase which brings uncertainty to the station. There are factions that wish to have a more fixed sit on this station, I will forward my report to you after the meeting”

“Thank you all for the given information and your delicate approach of it. I know that it is much asked of you to not immediatly get your hand dirty with how this statin was being treated for quite some time. Please foward your findings as a report to me. I am building a case to the previous command team and his chiefs”  Sazra shrugs that she asked a lot of them “I asked you to be treating this with a soft hand, delicate and slow approach because they lost faith in what Starfleet and the Federation stand for. We can’t rush this and as Lieutenant Ze said, we are dealing with some rats that might be feasting deeper into us than we might consider”

With that said, “I will wrap it up, for now. Focus on your duties, Engineering will gain support from Operations to get caught up on requests. Science will back up the Medical up and focus on what people need, not their status. K’Nala help coordinate any crossover work requests to get things done, I will provide help where I can as well” Sazra saw all of them nod in agreement “Palema try to focus on the relationship with the Klingons”  She took a deep breath “Dismissed all” with that said, everyone resumed their duties as Sazra rubs her hands over her face letting the weight of responsibilty rest for a moment before she left the dome as well.

Comments

  • Sazra probably wants to hand the previous Commanding Officer upside down from a tree, or at least something along those lines. If everything has been left to get this run down, out dated and in need of urgent repair, what anyone been doing the past few years. Did they all take a holiday!? I'm waiting for something good to happen, just that glimmer of hope this station can be put right. But this is a brilliantly crafted story, never the less.

    November 13, 2024
  • I really enjoyed reading this! Sazra’s leadership is so strong and relatable—her mix of directness and care for her crew really stands out. The way you’ve captured both the beauty and the challenges of the station makes the story feel alive. It’s clear how much heart and thought you put into developing the characters and the dynamics. Truly a great read!

    November 16, 2024