Breaking News: Preparing For Velis III

Posted on Fri Feb 13th, 2026 @ 3:13pm by Penelope Haskell

1,242 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: The Hand That Rocks The Babe
Location: USS Dreadnought, Cargo Bay 18

The brunette's face was one of seriousness, though the slight upturn in the corners of her mouth still gave her face the radiance to draw the attention of nearly everyone that would see her. This time, however, she was dressed not for notice, but in a muted grey blouse and dark skirt to match the somber tone of the activity in the cargo bay that bustled behind her.

"This is Penelope Haskell coming to you with a special report from the USS Dreadnought, the Valkyrie-class starship commanded by Commodore Lucian Marshall en route to Velis Three in respond to a viral outbreak that threatens the planet's inhabitants." She made a wide gesture for the camera, "But not only that, it could endanger more than just them, but the galaxy as a whole."

She started to walk backwards towards the activity, the camera following her as she continued on, "A quarantine has been declared for Velis Three by the local government, with local forces on the scene already blockading any ships attempting to depart the surface as well as those already scheduled to arrive at this planet, which lays well outside the core of the Federation. Why, do you ask, is the largest ship in Starfleet responding to this declaration? Let me tell you."

Her motion stopped as she made a gesture, a screen popping up in the corner of the broadcast, an early micrograph of the virus she'd managed to get a hold of. It started to go through an accelerated cycle of division before seeking out other healthy-looking cells and merging with them, "The Velis Three Virus is reported to be a highly adaptive airborne virus with an infection rate of well over eighty percent for a single encounter with it. While no reports of deaths have been forthcoming from the central government, given the speed of the quarantine declaration as well as warnings make it appear to be dangerous if let out into the Federation as a whole." She genuinely hadn't found any reports of deaths, but some of the images she'd managed to see had shown bodybags in a morgue, but no official cause of death had been attached to it.

"One of the most modern and expansive starships in service to Starfleet, Dreadnought is staffed with some of the best medical staff in the Federation along with an unrivalled capacity to provide assistance on a far larger scale than anyone else in the Fleet, even the vaunted Galaxy-class starships of which the USS Enterprise-D made headlines on a consistent basis as the Flagship of the Fleet." Another gesture and the window vanished, "Behind me is one of nearly thirty cargo bays that the Dreadnought boasts that can be converted for nearly any purpose needed. Today it's being converted to a high security medical facility, being cut off from the rest of the ship in case any urgent medical cases need to be brought up from Velis Three."

During her time talking again, Penelope had continued her backwards walking, this time towards an officer in medical uniform, the two pips, one dark, of a junior grade Lieutenant giving directions to several others showing the deliberate activity and the woman's voice was calm and collected, "Run another pressure test and if we still show pressure loss, re-check all of the ducts and doors individually. We can't risk anything escaping to the ship at large." Two of the enlisted personnel nodded and walked off.

"This is Lieutenant Andrea Balcers of Starfleet Medical, an epidemiologist charged with preparing for what may be arriving." She turned and smiled broadly at the doctor, getting a scowl in return, "Thank you for your time, Doctor Balcers."

"So long as you don't get in the way, you're welcome any time." The doctor managed to get out.

"Not a problem, Doctor. I was wondering, can you tell us anything specific about the virus that's ravaging Velis Three at this time and what we're doing to combat it?" Clearly she was hoping to get some professional input on it.

"Absolutely." The doctor sighed slightly, "While we are waiting for samples so that we can do a more in depth personal study of the virus, what we've been able to see from the information shared by local authorities is that the infection is spreading rapidly throughout all of their major population centers. Unlike bacterial infections, viruses can be treated with medication for the most part, but this particular one has already mutated to be very resistant to most of the standard antibiotics that are in use by the Federation. After the initial outbreak was initially contained by the use of Anethrocillin, it adapted to the treatment rapidly as well as penicillin and Vramox. While viral infections can mutate to antibiotics, it tends to make the resulting infections weaker and less transmissible and dangerous."

The doctor gave a wry smile, "Unfortunately, this virus has not exhibited those particular aspects, with the infection rate increasing while maintaining a debilitating array of symptoms." Balcers saw the reporter's mouth opening for the next question, but waved it down, "What are the symptoms of the Velis Three virus?" She asked the question herself with a resigned tone, "Sweats and a high fever are the initial stages, with muscle weakness followed by cardiac arrythmia followed by respiratory distress. Blotchiness on the skin begins a few hours after infection with the blotches being very tender to the touch and growing darker over a few days. Currently there are no reported cases off of Velis Three due to a successful quarantine and we intend to maintain that quarantine while we develop a cure for the population."

"And have there been any reported deaths from this viral infection?" Penelope asked somberly, getting the reaction she expected from the flinch of the doctor.

"Yes, Miss Haskell, there have been." The doctor confirmed, "The first reports regarding fatalities started to arrive this morning, again all confined to facilities on Velis Three. We are confident that we will be able to contain the infection to the surface, however samples of the virus may be brought to Dreadnought for further study under biomedical quarantine conditions. We do not want to risk this being spread off-world and out of our control."

"Thank you, Doctor Balcers, both for your candidness and your expertise on the matter." She shook the doctor's hand and the medical professional walked off while Penelope started walking back towards the camera angle as it moved with her, "It's never meant to panic our viewers, because this sort of situation happens here and there as the Federation explores new worlds and seeks out new life and new civilizations and the illnesses that affect them and others unintentionally. It's far more rare that something is found that jumps species and maintains the same amount of danger or worse when it does, which is why when something like that is found, Starfleet responds rapidly, efficiently and effectively to find a solution that will save lives."

"USS Dreadnought and her gallant crew, along with doctors like Lieutenant Acacia Thomas, her Chief Medical Officer, along with her staff like Lieutenant Balcers, is well suited to take on this task, every member of the crew willing to take the risks that come along with it as part of signing up with Starfleet." She finally stopped, eyes on the camera, "For the Federation News Service, this is Special Correspondent Penelope Haskell, on the way to Velis Three."

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