Incident of Stardate 100310.77

General

One of the deadliest Starfleet enagements located in the beta quadrant, the Incident of Stardate 100310.77 serves as a cautionary tale to Starfleet veterans and recruits alike of the dangers of space exploration and the instability of unknown cultures. On this day, during an attempt to fold the population of Damitar IV into the United Federation of Planets, a planetary civil war broke out on a scale not unlike Earth's 3rd World War. During the opening moments of the nuclear event, a strike in a ceremonial location on the surface, 20 senior Starfleet officers were killed, leaving the U.S.S. Electra without any senior officers aboard. This event serves as a tale of tragic heroism on behalf of the Electra's crew, as well as another cautionary tale about the danger of weapons of mass destruction.

Precursor Events

The Damitarians developed warp technology and warp signatures are detected by a federation scanning post.
The U.S.S. Electra is sent to investigate and potentially instigate first contact.
After first contact, Captain Lianne Marcus offers Federation candidacy for Damitar IV on the condition that the hostile factions mend their relationship.
U.S.S. Electra bridge crew begins negotiations to end hostilities between the Democratic Peoples Republic of Galoth and The Confederate States of Menoth
During negotiations, the religious leader of the Damitarians please for the factions to vie for peace.

Event Details

Stardate 100310.36: The U.S.S. Electra senior staff beams down to the surface to participate in the signing ceremony, which would induct Damitar IV into the Federation. Acting captain Evrosa Ailyn and her crew monitor a subspace anomaly
Stardate 100310.77: The U.S.S. Electra detects a massive energy surge originating from the planet's surface, quickly identified as a nuclear event
The U.S.S. fails to raise or beam up their senior staff as they are fired upon. They take heavy damage in a matter of minutes, destabilizing warp capabilities.
Acting Captain Ailyn orders U.S.S. Electra to veer into the subspace anomaly which is detrmined to be a worm hole.
The U.S.S. Electra emerges in the beta quadrant at location <66728.9, 707542.2>.

Greater Ramifications

A damaging event of this magnitude so close to acceptance into the Federation, this incident ruined any chance Damitar IV had of becomming a Federation member state. Additionally, due to the instability in the area, the warp capabilities of the Damitarians, and the willingness to fire on the Electra, the Damitar system and surrounding territory has been declared forbidden for travel until such time as peace is restored. The tragic loss of so many senior Starfleet personel convinced Starfleet High Command to institute a new ordinance, mandating extreme caution when interacting with nuclear capable cultures that are suspected of being violent.
While Acting Captain Ailyn managed to protect the Electra with minimal losses, the Electra became stranded deep within in the beta quadrant, having sustain heavy damage to vital systems. Though Ailyn acted quickly and diligently in her efforts to retain order onboard the Electra and to repair these systems, her success was in the face of the daunting task of trying to safely navigate back to Federation space without any support from Starfleet resources and without the experience of the Electra's senior staffers. This incident was the first of many events which ultimately lead to the tragic destruction of the U.S.S. Electra and the total loss of her crew.