You are the Captain... 14

[Trek Writers Room]

Every week, I will present a challenging situation that you, as a Starfleet captain, must deal with. If you like, keep track of your answers, and over time, your command style will be revealed. Here is this week's question:

Your ship has responded to a distress call from a remote Federation colony on the edge of Romulan space. Upon arrival, you discover a virulent pathogen is spreading rapidly through the colony's population of 3,000 civilians. Your chief medical officer confirms that your ship's entire supply of experimental antiviral compound, the only known treatment, is enough to save roughly half the colony.
However, your science officer has identified a second option. A nearby Romulan research station has been conducting illegal bio-weapons research, and their database almost certainly contains the genetic key to synthesizing more of the antiviral within hours, enough to save everyone. To obtain it, you would need to conduct a covert, unauthorized infiltration of the station, violating the Treaty of Algeron and potentially igniting a diplomatic crisis, or even open conflict, between the Federation and the Romulan Star Empire.
Starfleet Command is too far away to consult in time. The pathogen will become untreatable within six hours.
You have two choices:

Distribute what you have. Administer the antiviral now, saving approximately 1,500 colonists. The other half will die, but you will have upheld Federation law, honored the treaty, and avoided risking your crew or interstellar peace.

Infiltrate the Romulan station. Send a covert team to steal the research data, potentially saving all 3,000 colonists. But if your team is detected, you risk the lives of your away team, a major diplomatic incident, and possibly war.

 

[Shawnster]

Why can't I do both? A covert infiltration team would be a small team utilizing a shuttle. The team goes to retrieve the Romulan research while my ship stays to distribute what we have.

Or the opposite. A small medical team, one big enough to administer what we have stays at the colony while I take my ship to the Romulan research station and retrieve their research.

Regardless, choosing only the infiltration mission is too risky. What if the intelligence data is incorrect and they have nothing? Or what if the infiltration mission goes south and nothing is retrieved?

 

[Starflight]

We could ask the Romulans for help directly; if we're aware they're conducting research that's illegal under a shared treaty, we've got leverage enough to ask for a favour and offer to look the other way.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

I wonder if the science officer has contacts who can grease the wheels for negotiations.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

I suppose choosing both defeats the purpose of the exercise.

I’d distribute what I had while exploring the feasibility of infiltrating the Romulan base of course. I think most would.

But if I *had* to make the hard choice, if it wasn’t possible to steal what I needed to steal successfully, I’d save who I could and let the rest die. Better than potentially starting a war.

Future-historically, directly asking Romulans for help rarely, if ever, yields great results and their security is infamously tight.

 

[Trek Writers Room]

Why can't I do both?

Bravo, Sir!
I had not consider that possibility when constructing this scenario.
However, I am curious, which way would you do both, and why?

 

[Trek Writers Room]

We could ask the Romulans for help directly; if we're aware they're conducting research that's illegal under a shared treaty, we've got leverage enough to ask for a favour and offer to look the other way.

I love that you're thinking beyond the two options on the table. That's exactly the kind of creative problem-solving a good captain needs.

One thing to consider, though: the moment you open a channel to the Romulans, you've essentially taken the infiltration option off the board. If diplomacy fails, they'll be on high alert, and any covert mission becomes exponentially more dangerous, if not impossible. So contacting them is itself a commitment. You're betting everything on their willingness to cooperate.

That said, if that's your call, own it! This is a command decision scenario, so don't frame it as something you "could" do. Plant your flag and say, "I'm hailing the Romulans." What's your play if they say no?

 

[Trek Writers Room]

I suppose choosing both defeats the purpose of the exercise.

You're right, that was the original intent of the exercise. The idea is to put you in the captain's chair and force you to wrestle with two imperfect options where there's no clean answer.

That said, I appreciate your approach. You'd distribute what you have while weighing the feasibility of infiltration, and if it came down to it, you'd save who you could rather than risk a war.

 

[Shawnster]

Bravo, Sir!
I had not consider that possibility when constructing this scenario.
However, I am curious, which way would you do both, and why?

I thought I explained that in my response.

I would send an infiltration team in by means of using a shuttle (or other similar and appropriate small craft) that could no doubt be configured through technobabble to be undetectable or, at least, reduse detectability. This infiltration team would slip in, acquire the relevant research, exfiltrate and return to the colony. Meanwhile my ship medics would administer the available (but apparently non replicatable) drug/vsccine/cure.

On the other hand, if you threw in a curve that required my ship go to the research facility instead, then I'd do the opposite. I'd send down a small team to treat who we could with the supplies we have, then take my ship on the covert mission.

Sending the covert team via shuttle feels like the better chance of maintaining culpable deniability and avoiding detection.

 

[Turtletrekker]

There are many potential moving parts to consider. Are the Romulans experiencing the same problem? Are the Romulans behind the issue? Is there a third party involved? If it as straightforward as the opening post suggests, I would certainly save who I can, but I wouldn't just leave the rest to die without considering some alternatives.