Sustridians

Not much is known about the Sustridians. From the remains following their atomic war in 2287, they seemed to be quite developed, with high technological knowledge. A number of satellites in space, a small space station in orbit of Sustridies IV, and what appears to be the groundwork of a colony settlement on Sustridies V have been discovered. Several robots were seen to be working and surveying Sustridies II, III, and V, in 2397, but all of these have since stopped operation.

Analysis of the type of building design shows a diverse range of designs, but these all broadly fall into twelve to thirteen "cultures". From the radiation hotspots, it can be assumed that the planet suffered mutually assured destruction, with several hotspots in a variety of "cultural" areas, all which seem to have appeared within minutes of each other. Simulations projected that around 74% of the population would have been wiped out within hours of the explosions; 96% of the population would have been killed within two months, whilst the remaining survivors would not have been able to survive on the planet after six months.

From building types and remains, the Sustridians were, on average, seven feet tall, of slim build, with large legs and arms. This was confirmed when the USS Endeavour visited the planet in 2419. The survey located Sustridian survivors who were living underground. The Sustridians were attempting to recolonise the surface using data gathered by the satellite system around the planet. However, due to Prime Directive protocol, the USS Endeavour was not able to assist the Sustridians. In addition, the Sustridians appeared to still be locked in some sort of territorial warfare underground.

Sustridies IV is a former Class M planet, located in the Nwr Sector, that is now uninhabited due to nuclear radiation following an atomic war in the year 2287.

Sustridies IV was first mapped by the Molin in 2347 by the MV Livma. At this time, radiation levels from the planet prevented any sensors from working, and the Molin departed. It was later surveyed again in 2380 by the MV Tyin. This time, they were able to survey the planet though radiation levels were still too high to allow for the Molin to do a surface survey. This survey was then done by the VSS Chila, a Vayttian vessel, in 2394. The Vayttians were able to get boots on the ground and proceeded to take detailed scans, unveiling the details of the planet as well as the fate of the Sustridians. Two more surveys gathered more information, both from Vayttian vessels, the last being done in 2401.

The nuclear war killed most of the Sustridians within three weeks. By week five, all Sustridians had been killed. Most other lifeforms followed a similar extinction pattern, although some animals and insects underwent genetic mutation due to the radiation. These animals were surveyed by the MV Tyin, but had died out completely by the time the VSS Chila arrived. Vegetation continued to mutate, but no other life forms survived. These scans were confirmed by the last survey in 2401. The planet could begin to sustain more advanced forms of life by 2454, as the radiation levels begin to fall and the atmosphere begins to repair.

SYSTEM INDEX

Sustridies	Main Sequence A4
Sustridies I	Class H
Sustridies II	Class K
Sustridies III	Class O
Sustridies IV	Class M
Sustridies V	Class P

Reference Documents:

AAR: CAPT Bishop

SUBMITTED: Stardate 96280 FILED BY: CAPT S. Bishop SECURITY: Level 3 - Restricted

LOCATION:Sustridies IV, Sustridies System, Nwr Sector

MISSION: Survey planet.

OUTCOME: Planet surveyed. Possible Prime Directive breach.

KEY PERSONNEL:

CAPT S. Bishop CAPT A. Nimitz CAPT T. Nimitz CMDR A. Samaras LT(JG) T. Shinwa ENS R. Mitsuki ENS A. Terik SCDR E. t'Cyklaas

NARRATIVE: The Endeavour began it's mission to survey the Sustridies IV, last surveyed in 2401 by the Vayt. The planet was incapable of sustaining life so the crew were surprised when we detected biological signs on the surface. An away team consisting of Captains Bishop and Nimitz, Subcommander t'Cyklaas, and Lieutenant Shinwa, beamed to the surface to investigate these biological signs. These biosigns appeared to come from cybernetic robots who were working on the surface, collecting material to place machines to take down underground. It was theorised that the survivors of the Sustridian nuclear war lived underground.

The away team returned to the Endeavour and we formalised a way to potentially contact the Sustridians, if they did live underground. As we were configuring the comms for this, we also detected a signal from the planet that was masked by the radiation before, though it was too degraded to receive. We proceeded to contact the Sustridians, who warned us to not beam down to the planet because of the radiation. It would seem that the signal was a similar warning.

The Sustridians proceeded to ask for a favour done; that we recover the data in their satellite network to give to them, in order for them to begin to try to clean up the damage on the planet. Even though the data was theirs, it was decided that this was a potential Prime Directive breach, so an away team (consisting of all the officers listed above with the exception of Commander Samaras and Ensign Mitsuki), beamed down to the surface in order to gain more information about the Sustridians before any data was exchanged.

It was on the planet that the away team realised, though the Sustridians were advanced technologically, they were still primitive and were even in a war with their neighbours, though this last point was concealed by the Sustridians. Upon realising this, the away team excused themselves and returned to the Endeavour. It was finally decided that there was to be no information exchange, to any parties. We told the Sustridians that we were unable to transmit the data across, and they thanked us for our time. After this, we departed the system.

RECOMMENDATION: Data of the Sustridies System should be updated to include the survey data we gathered. This mission skirted us close to the borders of the Prime Directive, but it is this officer's belief that the Prime Directive was upheld at all stages; the Sustridians did not gain any information that they did not already have, and with the exception of revealing our presence to them, something that this officer believes they already knew from our entering orbit, the Sustridians were not influenced by any of our actions. The away teams took steps to ensure that the Prime Directive was upheld throughout.

AAR: SCDR Eviess i-Ra'tleihfi t'Cyklaas

SUBMITTED: Stardate 96280.6 FILED BY: SCDR Eviess i-Ra'tleihfi t'Cyklaas SECURITY: Level 3 - Restricted

LOCATION: Sustridies IV, Sustridies System, Nwr Sector

MISSION: Investigate anomalies on planet. Make contact with local sapients.

OUTCOME: Departed upon discovery of volatile political situation.

KEY PERSONNEL:

CAPT S. Bishop CAPT A. Nimitz CAPT T. Nimitz SCDR Eviess LTJG T. Shinwa ENS R. Mitsuki ENS A. Terik

NARRATIVE: This operation could be divided into two parts. The first was our initial survey of the planet which could be classified as a post-apocalyptic tomb world. We found several buildings and automatons that we later discovered to possess organic brains that were used for the purposes of direct control from the local sapient government.

We beamed down to investigate what looked like prefabricated buildings down in the surface where everything but these structures were ruined. Bishop and one of the Endeavour crew departed to investigate a nearby automaton while Nimitz and I remained at the structure.

We discovered a dumbwaiter that was constructed to prevent radiation from entering, and further scans by myself discovered that the inside could not be detected. Captain Nimitz chose to break open the dumbwaiter and position an exocomp inside. The exocomp proceeded to repair the broken lock but we could not lower it due to what looked like internal alarms and warnings. We hypothesized that the dumbwaiter had to be radiation-free for any success. I recommended that we set up a clean room in the prefabricated building, but we were recalled following the return of Bishop and his people.

The second time we were over the planet, we started to receive communications from the planet below. The sapients contacted us and Nimitz handled the pleasantries. The locals managed to build small communities underground to escape the fallout. I warned the captains in a private setting that they'll likely want something that would break Starfleet's first general order but they seemed unconvinced at first. The sapients requested that the Endeavour provide them the data from the orbital satellites. Upon investigation, we discovered that it also included the locations of unused nuclear warheads.

The away team moved to one of the prefabs where we then went down an elevator to an underground municipality. I confirmed that we still maintained communications and a transporter lock with the Endeavour. We went to meet with the local leader where more first contact was established. Following conversations regarding how their society exists and functions, we learned that the municipality was under attack by a nearby state. This was contradictory to what they told us about them being the only state. Deciding that giving these people the satellite data would give them a weighted advantage over their neighbors, the party proceeded to exfiltrate back to the Endeavour.

RECOMMENDATION: I think the decision to cut off talks of aid were the right decision, given the seemingly volatile nature of the local polities and our lack of knowledge of it. Everybody performed as expected, though I do have some concerns as to what the Captains' plan was regarding diplomacy. It seemed far too eager and I had bad feelings about it the entire time, and Captain T. Nimitz's statements that the first general order had to be bent sometimes did put into question what I should do as an exchange officer and what the cohesive plan was.