FNN NEWS FLASH

Posted on Tue Sep 20th, 2011 @ 8:06pm by Master Chief Petty Officer Daniel Brooke

Mission: In Our Time of Need
Location: Via Subsapce Communication

This is an FNN News Bulletin. Reports have been received by our branch office operating on Starbase 900 on the Delta Quadrant's 'Round Table' area that the USS Arizona, a Prometheus-class Long Range Tactical Assault Cruiser has been declared missing in action. This comes almost a month after the supposed disappearance of the vessel after a disheartening accident on the surface of Archadia III. We now go to Phil McCracken live in the Operations Center of Starbase 900 for further details.

"Thank you Tom. Hello everyone, I'm Phil McCracken here live in the Operations Center of Starbase 900, headquarters of Starfleet's Task Force 38. With me is the Task Force Command Master Chief, Master Chief Daniel Brooke. Chief, why has Starfleet waited this long to make an announcement that one of her own Flag Officers and the ship under his command went missing?"

"Well, Phil... It was something we needed to confirm prior to making any announcements about it. We've sent several vessels to the area where we believe the Arizona went missing, and so far only know for certain that they crossed into the plasma storm cloud a few light-years from this system. So far none of our scouting efforts have yielded signs that the ship was damaged or destroyed in doing so which means there is a possibility they are simply cut off from us on the other side of the storms."

"But Chief, how is it that they could have been cut off. I thought those plasma storms were extremely volatile..."

"That is true, Phil, they are rather dangerous to traverse under normal circumstances... However, there are records from the first exploration of the Solaris Nebula that indicates the storms do lose intensity and open up small 'paths', if you will, that allow a ship to safely navigate the storm currents without suffering any harmful effects. It's much the same way that we can travel through the 'Safe Passage' corridor, only far less stable and predictable. Assuming they discovered such a pathway, they may very well be in a small pocket of open space within the nebula. The region they disappeared near is rumored to be a rather thick area that could house as many as three or four large solar systems. That's purely speculation, mind you, but at least that's a bit more optimistic than saying we've lost all hands at this junction."

"So officially the Arizona is being classified as... what? Missing? Cut off?"

"Officially the Arizona is being listed as Missing in Action pending further investigation."

"And what about Commodore Cowell, has he been replaced as Task Force Executive Officer in light of his disappearance?"

"Yes... Admiral Wegener has decided to replace the Commodore in light of his disappearance to help keep things running smoothly. Beyond that, I can't share many details regarding his replacement."

"That's understandable, Chief. How long will Starfleet search until they declare them Killed in Action?"

"It's not standard practice for us to list anyone Killed in Action until we have evidence to support it. Until we find hull fragments or something solid to support them being dead, they'll remain Missing in Action."

"I see... Thank you for your time, Master Chief. You heard it here first, folks. The USS Arizona is missing in action somewhere in the hostile environment of the Solaris Nebula. We'll keep you posted on any changes should they come about. I'm Phil McCrackin, and you're watching the Federation News Network, the leader in interstellar news across the Federation and beyond."

END TRANSMISSION...