The Right thing to do
Lydes Erson is well known on the Phoenix Colony. She oversaw the Vidiian Invasion and masqueraded as the Captain of the USS Washington in Star Fleet to gain access to the colony and to Federation space in the region. It was only after the phage was revealed that the Vidiian plot was revealed. The Vidiians were forced to withdraw and the sodality returned to the Delta Quadrant.
A small contingent of Vidiians remained in the Beta Quadrant forming a loose alliance with the Zaranites and using exploring vessels to help fight the phage. The scavenging history of both races is well documented. Erson and her body part pirates would on occasion work with the Zaranites in taking a vessel. The Vidiian scavengers would take the body parts and the Zaranites would scavenge the ship.
These tales of lore are known to all exploratory ships including the Hellraiser Task Group on the colony and the USS Providence which has spent the most time in the Beta Quadrant as an exploratory vessel. Erson was once rumored dead even out of the end of the Vidiian conflict with the Phoenix Colony only to resurface almost as a zombie or reaver ghost in the region scavenging body parts for the Vidiians. Her history has almost made her a spectre in the region. These are stories told little children on the colony to help keep them in their homes at night.
In early April 2391, Erson herself came to the Phoenix Colony to inform Commodore Viceroy and Captain John Warren that the Vidiian colony known as Beta Vee on the fringes of Beta Carmac, the Hynarian Empire in the beta quadrant had been attacked by the Retarnee. The attack had left the group decimated and their hospital and research facility in ruin leaving nearly 244 phage sufferers without medical care or long term support.
Vincent had a very difficult decision to make. These people attacked the Phoenix Colony. One of their ships remains a monument here on the colony and now they are asking for help. Vincent reported the contact scenario to Governor Varno. This was also a test of his role as Governor.
It is well documented on the colony that Governor Varno is not overly popular. Most citizens are aware that Varno used the influx of Cardassian refugees from the newly free Hebetian Republic to create enough of a popular vote to get elected even though most of the Cardassians do not actually live on the surface but rather inhabit Terok Beta.
Varno informed Vincent to proceed with the humanitarian mission. The Phoenix Colony has always had a reputation for being welcoming to all races, including known enemies. The colony must be seen as haven for peace and beacon for the very ideals of the original Star Fleet explorers and the basic ideals used in the formation of the Phoenix Federation in 2388.
The USS Providence returned to the Beta Quadrant in support of the Vidiian humanitarian mission earning praise from as far away as New Terra and Paris on Earth. This only serves to enhance the history of the grand vessel as well as the Phoenix Colony.
The colony is a place of peace and a beacon for all that is good in the universe.
Posted by:
Captain Vanessa Sanders
Commanding Officer - USS Providence
Phoenix Colony
Phoenix Federation
Written by Christine T'Nley
