2303 Q2 Snakepit

Admiral Vitalia Kahurangi formally presented a report to the Federation Council on the fate of the Dunwich IV colony and the threat of the Ulith III Biophage is explained in full. The Klingon colony at Tregh'bak is also reported to have been destroyed by the Klingons, after all 15,000 colonists were found consumed by the Biophage, with only the warning from Starfleet preventing it from spreading further. After deliberations, the Council decided that while Starfleet should avoid sparking an unnecessary war with the Romulan Star Empire, any further incursions may be repelled as they see fit.

Quarantine procedures were ordered to be implemented across the Romulan Border Zone, with all traffic from there to the neighboring Andor Sector restricted to the Indi Beta Outpost, which would be scanning all traffic. Anything picked up on long-range sensors outside of this would be interecepted, and if refused to answer hails, destroyed. Any ship employing sensor dampening fields will be forced to lower them or likewise be destroyed. Supply drops to outposts was restricted to one-way only, with no pickups for the duration of the crisis. The sensor profile of the Biophage was also distributed to every Federation ship and outpost, with orders to report to Starfleet if any matches were found.

As for the Biophage itself, preliminary reports from Starfleet Medical's Infectious Diseases division revealed that the plague was defintely genetically engineered, but also extremely hazardous to work with. The research facility was required to employ the most restrictive of protective protocols, with a volunteer only team on site.

Federation Affiliate Diplomatic Progress

 * Betazoids 202/500 + 16 = 218/500
 * Rigellians 155/500 + 6 = 161/500
 * Caitians 120/500 + 3 = 123/500
 * Amarki 140/500 + 0 = 140/500
 * Risa 100/500 + 20 = 120/500

Starfleet Commander Decisions

 * Requested mining colony in the Biroth System [9 PP (6 turns, then +15 SR/year, +5 RP/year)]
 * Requested mining colony on Josephine III [9 PP (4 turns, then +20 BR/year)]
 * Requested Academy Expansion [20 PP (Gain +0.5 O/E/T crew throughput)]
 * Requested new medical Tech Team to be added to the Ship Design Bureau [30 PP]
 * Arranged to have an Old Guard Admiral, Yamada Keiko, convinced it is time to retire [20 PP]
 * Decided to have the Explorer Corps continue normal operations, instead of restricting them to or from the Romulan Border Zone.