USS DISCOVERY RETURNS TO UTOPIA PLANITIA
Federation Starship returns home after bittersweet victory
By Justin Hayden

With three quarters of their original nacelles and about the same percentage of hull remaining, the scorched and battle-torn USS DISCOVERY returned home early yesterday, dropping out of Transwarp and sending a strained hello to Starbase One.

The Investigator-class USS DISCOVERY was recommissioned two years ago, and has since become the most avidly followed starship in the United Federation of Planets. Originally commissioned in 2414, the DISCOVERY's first mission was a recovery of their sister ship the USS INVESTIGATOR, the only other Investigator-class starship to be built. The Investigator class was originally created for Intelligence and Diplomatic missions.

The ship's return from the Beta quadrant - and their military action with the mysterious Calnarian people - marks a firm boost in Starfleet morale.

"We have shown the Federation that we will not be threatened," said Commodore Julia Brennan in a press statement last night. Commodore Brennan commanded the USS DISCOVERY during their rescue mission of their commanding officer, Captain Michael Turlough Kane.

Months ago, the USS DISCOVERY made first contact with the Calnarians in an overtly hostile way: the DISCOVERY was attacked and captured, two-thirds of its killed ruthlessly and the rest enslaved or tortured. The ship miraculously and courageously escaped with the help of then-Commander Kane (who was lost in the escape attempt, captured once again), only to be caught up with at the Gamma-Quadrant station GATEWAY. The DISCOVERY and GATEWAY worked together to fight away the Calnarians and followed them back into their own space with a fleet of ships, reclaiming the commanding officer.

A number of details about the rescue have been deemed classified.

"Not everything about a military action is suitable to be shared," Rear Admiral Charles N. Konicki of Starfleet Intelligence tells us. "It is simply unimaginable some of the injustices done to the crew of the DISCOVERY during their time with the Calnarians, and we have decided that for the sake of their privacy that the information be kept classified to only the highest level of authority."

No member of the DISCOVERY's senior staff could be reached for comment.

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