In a once-in-a-thousand-year event, the Iuvat system in the Alpha Quadrant is paying host to a family of gargantuan spaceborne creatures known as ‘Pilgrims’. Incredibly rare, it is understood these creatures – the size of several Galaxy-class starships when fully matured – travel between galaxies, only pausing to graze at mineral-rich systems along the way.
Starfleet Command has issued a quarantine order around the entire sector close to the system, with a desire to avoid contaminating these creatures’ normal migration patterns while simultaneously deploying a small science team to study the massive beings up-close. Rumours still persist that a rogue group of poachers have been sighted en route to the system, seeing an opportunity for profit. Early reports indicate that these Pilgrims are known to secrete incredibly valuable compounds used in medicines and stimulants, posing a tempting target for anyone with malicious intentions.
In order to allay any fears of illegal activity and to safeguard the wondrous creatures themselves, the USS Athena has been dispatched to the area with orders to protect the Pilgrims and the research team at any cost.
More updates as they happen.