Massive unrest on Cygnet XIV after revelation of planned bio attack

CYGNET XIV — Protests and demonstrations erupted at the Federation Embassy and across the planet following the announcement that news of a planned bio attack had been suppressed earlier this year by the government and Starfleet Command.

On stardate 239211.09, a terrorist plot to release a deadly bio-virus was detected by Cygnetian Security working with a Starfleet science ship, investigating anomalous power signals. While this would be major news by itself, it was eclipsed by an announcement by the Arellian Cry, a major news network. They revealed that the government had been aware of the bio virus being released as early as stardate 239207, but had placed a gag order on the order of the ruling body, the Council of Matriarchs.

In addition, Starfleet Command had enforced this issue, restricting the knowledge to only two members of Starfleet. While they had made enough strides to isolate that something had been intended to happen to a planet somewhere in the Avalon Sector, the gag order had prevented effective sharing of information and action.

When it was revealed the primary reason of the gag order was that the leader of the Council of Matriarchs did not want her connection to the terrorist, who was a member of the same clan, disclosed, as well as the fact she had gone to the trouble of disowning the terrorist’s daughter to prevent this, the long simmering resentment towards the centralization of power exploded into protests and motions of no confidence.

While at first Starfleet had dodged a black eye, that came to an abrupt halt when it was revealed that the bio-virus was a biological weapon left over from the Dominion War that had not been destroyed. Protests at the Federation Embassy have sharply increased over the last several days.

“I’m unsurprised. The Cygnetian Matriarchy has typically been what Terrans would call a feudal system,” said Professor Emil Arbelaez, chairman of political science at Pike City University on Cestus III. “Roughly three hundred and eighty years ago, the leading clans – the Ariadust, Hakashri, Eolia, Sequri and Fearhi clans – proposed a system that would give more ‘voice’ to the people. In reality, it gave them control of the Council of Matriarchs, the upper body. It actually centralized power, since all clan members now had to pull in one direction to retain their political power, as well as forcing the smaller clans to bond to the larger ones to allow them any political pull. This incident just allowed the simmering tensions to boil over.”

In the meantime, hard calls within Starfleet have started to emerge.

“I would be more than interested in how such a weapon could be allowed to exist past the treaty deadline,” said Anari Kthria, the Chief of Staff for Trill and a presidential candidate, speaking from a campaign stop on Andoria. “I call on the President and Starfleet Command to start an inquiry as to who stopped the destruction and who issued the gag order. Such an act is contrary to the ideals of the Federation.”

Kthria declined to answer any follow up questions, citing a need for more information before baseless speculation.

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About Amanda Krellian

Amanda Krellian has been a journalist for the Federation News Service since 2379. She has extensive foreign affairs experience and wrote an award-winning exposé of the reasons for the withdrawal from the Avalon Sector by the Federation. She hails from the colony world of New Arcadia and lives in New Numbidia.

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