The Multiverse Axis Attack on Mars

The Multiverse Axis carried out the Attack on Mars on April 5, First Contact Day. They carried it out through compromised A500 synths originating from the Daystrom Institute's Division of Advanced Synthetic Research. Multiple A500 androids suddenly went rogue. One android, F8, lowered the deflector shields protecting the shipyards and the planet itself, then hacked the Martian defense net. Once the attack began, F8 slaughtered his organic coworkers and then committed suicide. Moments thereafter, numerous synth ships began targeting the rescue armada, the Utopia Planitia Ship Yards, the Mars Orbital Facility, and other Martian facilities. The satellite network surrounding Mars was turned against the surface. The synths then began bombarding the surface, igniting flammable vapors in the stratosphere and causing massive damage to the planet's infrastructure. The Multiverse Allied Fleet dispatched a task force to Mars at high warp in response to the attack, but was unable to prevent the destruction of almost the entire surface of the planet. Although initial reports only estimated more than three thousand killed, the death toll would eventually be revised to 92,143 in total. During the initial news reports, Admiral Picard was quoted on the Federation News Network, calling the attack "devastating". Since it was initially thought to be a programming error in the synths, the Federation Council of the Allied Forces placed a ban on synthetic lifeforms. Androids such as B-4 were dismantled, and the Daystrom Institute was restricted to "theoretical" studies on synthetics. Admiral Picard called this ban "a mistake". With all active positronic matrixes shut down, people who would contract mendaxic neurosclerosis, such as Thaddeus Troi-Riker, would eventually die from the illness without treatment, increasing the death toll beyond the initial attack. With the destruction of the Romulan rescue armada, Admiral Picard submitted a plan to replace the lost ships with mothballed vessels from Beta Antares Ship Yards and the 40 Eridani A Starfleet Construction Yards. The Allied Fleet, aware that the Romulan rescue mission was unpopular among many of the Federation's member races, and with several saying they would leave the Federation if the rescue went forward, instead abandoned its promise to aid the Romulan evacuation altogether, a decision that shocked Picard. In desperation, he submitted his resignation, demanding that the Allied Fleet either accept it or honor their promise to the Romulans; to his surprise and dismay, they accepted the resignation, which angered Lieutenant Commander Raffi Musiker, who believed in his plans and was eventually discharged from the Allied Fleet. 
Category:Story