Dr. Virax

Assignment #17-306-A: Federation Starship Arcadia As hypothisized by Benai Tickva, the Arcadia emerged from the transwarp conduit connecting Coalition Sector C47-3B with Romulan Sector 001. What Tickva did not anticipate was the condition of the Federation vessel. Numberous battle scars were evident from both Romulan phase disruptors and unidentified energy distortions, presumably caused by the unknown race that prompted the Arcadia to enter Romulan territory in the first place. I will attempt to secure samples for analysis. En-route, the Arcadia also encountered a Borg cube, which they boarded for spare parts. Their Chief Engineer, Jaruq, feels these parts are sufficient for repairs. He is not unknown to me from my prior service on this vessel. Like most from the Federation, he resents that which he does not understand, and is resisting help from the Gyome Shipyard. He is being defensive and brash, and is persuing his own agenda. I suspect this is in response to his recent demotion from the First Officer position. Regardless, his temperment works to our advantage. He can be easily manipulated if needed. Their Chief Medical Officer, a Bajoran named Telano Ren, retrieved the body of a Borg drone from the cube and managed to reanimate it in the course of his studies. This provided an impromptu opportunity to field test Experiment #13-626-E. The experiment failed, and Agent Smith was unable to erradicate the Borg nanoprobes from the original organic host. But we did learn that there are multiple types of Borg nanoprobes that can exist in a single organism. The next revision, #13-626-F, must include software to compensate for this condition. Smith alerted me to the fact that the drone was once Paktaran. Further investigation identified the organic base as one Tor Duval, a Paktaran Security officer who accompanied Ambassador Moose and the Federation Delegation on their journey to Paktar. This confirms that the Borg cube was not destroyed, but instead is trapped inside the transwarp conduit. I claimed protection for the organic as a Coalition citizen, and insisted that he be extradicted into my care. This will ensure us a test subject for nanoprobe extraction. But the Federation has made many advances along similar lines and their Chief Scientist, a Lt Cdr Lo'Ami, was extreamly interested in assisting with our research. I have filed Petition #35-947-J for an Exchange of Information, and would like to involve them in this project. Our work is not classified, and they are on the verge of the same discoveries. We will be revealing very little, but will be doing much to calm their doubts about us. Utilizing my considerable skills as a Psyciatrist, I was able to draw out of their Tactical Officer his feelings of apprehension about the Borg. John Anderson shared the view that the Borg are evil and foes of live, when in fact, they strive more than humans do towards a productive and cooperative society. This simply illustrates their lack of acceptance of opposing viewpoints, and their fear of technological superiority. Benai Varden's strategy of revealing only slightly more capabilites than they exhibit will serve us well. If the Federation became aware of our true cababilities, they would certainly panic and cast us in the role of villians as they have done with the Borg. This would turn them into a serious liability and make them most difficult to manage. Respectfully submitted, Dr. Virax Attache to Benai Varden

A Farewell To Arms... Staci Howard was resting by the mouth of the cave, sleeping off her injuries. The rapid regeneration of her damaged arm tissue had obviously taken its toll on her energies. That is what gave Virax the idea, or at least made clear to her the painfully obvious. The planet had healing properties. Virax had been overly concerned with Tracy Pratt's mental condition, so the radiation from the planet had affected her mind. Staci had been concerned with her arm. The planet had fixed it for her. Repairing Virax's spinal injury should only be a matter of concentration and bio-feedback ... and radiation. The cave shielded the radiation, therefore the cave had to go away. Slowly, painstakingly, Virax pulled herself along the uneven ground with her elbows. It was hard work, and physically demanding. But the planet had an "Earth normal" gravity and Virax was a Vulcan. Her lithe body often caused people to overlook her strength. But it exhausted her none the less. She emerged from the cave and gave herself one last push, causing her to roll away from the cave down the hill. She finally landed on her back. Her muscles hurt, as did the additional bumps and bruises her torso had collected on the way down. But she had reached her objective. She relaxed her body, basking in the natural radiation of the planet. It should just be a matter of time, she thought. She was a patient woman, she was good at waiting. Whether it was due to the exertion of her journey, or that her body needed all available energy for its repairs, Virax found herself unable to maintain consciousness. Staci was sleeping, it seemed to be helping her. She stopped fighting and allowed herself to drift off to sleep. She never saw the glow that thickned in the air before her. Nor did she see the two shapes that stepped out of it. But they did see her. Rulah Paghe had been assigned to Coalition Surveillance Team G-6 over three years ago, and had visited this planet every three months since then. This was the first time she had seen one of the Federations up close. Coalition research on this system had been temorarily suspended when the Magellan got stranded, and the Federation survivors were put on a watch list. Mostly, they were considered harmless, seeing that they were cut off from the Federation. But one of the Federation scientists had actually detected the folds in space created by the Coalition ships, which remarkably in this sector did not close like they did everywhere else. In an attempt to escape, they had started experimenting with creating their own folds. The Coalition was not about to let the Federation succeed in developing the "fold drive", not here and not yet, so for the past ten years, the Coalition had been keeping their eye on the Federation outpost. As long as the fold experiments were unsuccessful, there was no reason to interfear. Rulah had specific orders on the definition of "interfear," but up until now, it had been a moot point. She hoped "interfearance" would be unnecessary. "Look at the ears," she said to her aide. "Vulcan, I believe." Gemma Lamm scanned the body with a tricorder-like device. "She's injured," he reported. "Minor spinal damage. It's already started to repair itself." "She's wearing a uniform," said Rulah. "She must be from the ship we saw in orbit." Gemma bent over and placed a device on the gold pin attached to the uniform. "Virax, Doctor, 2nd Officer, USS Arcadia." "Arcadia? Isn't that the Federation ship they found in orbit around Paktar?" Gemma removed a portable data terminal off his belt and initiated a quick data query. "You are correct," he reported. "It says here that Federation Ambassador Moose was formerly Captain of the USS Arcadia." "Then this would have been one of his former officers. She could be very usefull to us." Virax groaned and opened her eyes slightly. She was disoriented and it was difficult to focus. "Commander Pratt, is that you?" "Shhh..." said Gemma. "You don't know us. You've been injured, but we can help. We are scientists. Will you come with us?" "Scientists? Help... yes," muttered Virax as unconsciousness took her again. She was heavier than she looked, her body was dense muscle. So it took both of the newcomers to lift her off the ground. Once they held her, the air shimmered again and a thick glow filled the space that was no longer occupied by humanoid forms. Soon thereafter, there was nothing to mark Virax's presence other than a new fold in space which lingered near the fourth planet. Dr Virax Ship's Psychiatrist USS Arcadia, NCC-1742-D