After Action Report: Mnhei'sahe Dox

Posted on Sat Jan 19th, 2019 @ 12:04am by Lieutenant Commander Mnhei'sahe Dox

Mission: Section 31-B
Location: U.S.S. Hera
Timeline: 2396, aftermath os Section 31b Mission

After action report:
Lt. Mnhei'sahe Dox
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Hera

The following is my official report regarding the activities both performed and observed while in the execution of duty during the away mission to the Section 31b Instillation asteroid.

Ingress to the station was made on the Runabout THOR with a landing party consisting of myself, Commander Rita Paris, Chief Medical Officer Asa Dael, Yeoman Ila Dedjoy, Lieutenant Alex Sexton, and security personnel Reynolds, Jones, Johnson, Smith, Palmiotti, and Bunche. We were all outfitted with Starfleet MACO EVA suits and advanced weaponry. Inside the hangar bay, the team encountered our initial resistance in the form of seemingly deceased but reanimated former humanoid creatures that, upon further medical scans from Doctor Dael had been both augmented with cybernetics and subject to extensive biological agents rendering them in a predatory state.

Security officer Jones was killed in action upon exiting the Thor by one of the creatures, but the remaining security team cleared the hanger of threats. Security personnel, Palmiotti and Bunche were ordered to guard the Thor while the rest of the team made its way to the primary turboshaft where we split into groups. I was assigned to accompany Lt. Sexton and the remaining security personnel to descend down to locate and set the stations reactor to self destruct while the remaining members of the away team headed up to retrieve the data and search for the source of the distress signal.

On our way down, the security team and I eliminated a number of humanoid threats. Near the bottom of the shaft, we encountered additional hostiles in the form of reanimated, cyborg enhanced creatures resembling Pirannah that were capable of controlled flight due to the limited, toxic atmosphere and the zero gravity environment. The creatures were too numerous to contain or force back with our weapons as they advanced in greater numbers for each wave destroyed. At this point, Lt. Sexton ordered the team into a nearby Jefferies Tube for cover.

At this point, I had informed Lt. Sexton and the team of the dangers of attempting to use grenades in the shaft due to our proximity to the reactor core and instituted a plan to reinstate limited gravity for approximately ten minutes in our section of the shaft to immobilize the Pirannah creatures.

Once gravity was reinstated, Lt. Sexton proceeded to release two grenades into the shaft against my prior recommendation. I voiced my objections to the actions but failed to do so as an order nor did I choose to take command of the situation when I became aware that the behavior of the security team had become erratic and potentially dangerous to the success of our mission. We then proceeded to the bottom and made our way to the computer interface of the reactor core.

Once there, I proceeded to interface with the reactor systems and began the process of setting up the system to self destruct. Due to the complex security of the computer system, this required several minutes which allowed additional humanoid creatures to advance on our position. During this time, Security crewmember Johnson was killed by a creature that had advanced on his position from behind with a bladed weapon that penetrated his suit's helmet.

While I have no data from the killed crewmembers suits to corroborate this, I observed during this mission that the security personnel appeared to be relying purely on visual information and were not utilizing the sensors built into the MACO EVA suits which provide a heads up display of three dimensional scan data of your complete surroundings in 360 degrees.

At this time, I completed the procedure and set the stations reactor to self destruct on a timer cued to begin when station sensors detected the Thor’s egress.

Upon attempting to make it back up the turboshaft, we were nearly overwhelmed by an advancing wave of humanoid creatures and Security crewmembers Reynolds and Smith began behaving extremely erratic, appearing to have lost control of themselves in the intensity of the moment. Lt. Sexton ordered me to begin my ascent up the shaft and in spite of my personal reservations, I deferred to his security experience and began heading up when I should have remained to assist. I incorrectly assumed that Lt. Sexton and the remaining team members would be right behind me. At this point, the artificial gravity was deactivated again.

Moments later, Lt. Sexton passed me in the turbolift shaft and informed me, and I quote, “They did not suffer.” When It was clear that Reynolds and Smith were not following, I called up my suits scan recordings which had been recording the entire mission as a point of standard procedure. The 3-D scan data showed that after their emotional breakdowns, Reynolds and Smith’s helmets had been compromised by creatures allowing the toxic environment in. At this point, while the two were still firing wildly at the approaching hostiles, Lt. Sexton pulled a firearm from his suit and shot the two crewmembers in the back of the head before evacuating.

While they were possibly infected, it would have just happened and with Doctor Dael in the station and the resources available on the Hera, I believe this action to have been premature and unnecessary. While panicking, they were still speaking and in control of their own faculties enough to continue firing and therefore could have been saved in a number of possible ways had I remained in the bottom of the shaft and assumed command of the situation when I determined that the security team had become emotionally compromised. While I was assigned with Lt. Sexton, as a senior staff officer I had the authority to assume command and failed to do so properly.

As such I assume responsibility for the losses incurred during this mission.

Signed:
Lt. Mnhei'sahe Dox
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Hera