Star Trek - The Next Generation Stardate: 41176.8 Captain's log. This is my (Captain Jean-Luc Picard of USS Enterprise #NCC-17O1 D) account of the events leading up to and beyond the Federation-Romulan War (AD 2380-2385). Stardate: 32851.2: The Enterprise has received a distress call from a fleeing survey vessel. SOS... I'm... under... attack!! request... asylum... Federation... Space!!... The ship was pushing its engines to the limit as it hurtled out of the neutral zone - the volume of space that serves as a no man's land separating the United Federation of Planets and the Romulan Empire. A powerful Romulan warbird was mercilessly firing waves of disruptor rounds at the small, defenseless scout ship. Once the scout was in Federation space, the warbird aborted its attack and quickly retreated into Romulan space. We called the ship and found out from his captain that he was alone. His name was Shaq, captain of the Check Mate. He claimed to be a Romulan captain seeking asylum in the Federation. I had never heard of such a thing; In Romulan society, loyalty to the Romulan Empire is more sacred than life itself. In any case, I was sure that we would learn much more in the coming days. Stardate: 32851.5: Captain Shaq claimed he was defecting to prevent intergalactic war. He told us that the Romulan Empire plans an abominable new weapon to use against the Federation and anyone else who might dare resist total Romulan rule. The weapon, called the Metagenic Device, would be launched from orbit to any planet and release a deadly virus throughout the planet's atmosphere. The virus would then rapidly infect all life forms and cause fatal mutations in the DNA of its victims. Within twenty-four hours, all life would cease. Within thirty-six hours, the virus itself would have decayed and become inviolable, leaving the planet's resources free to be plundered. At the time we didn't know if we should trust Captain Shaq, so I decided to send an away team to investigate his ship and it's computer log. As I was ordering my No. 1 officer, Commander Riker, to direct the away team to the Checkmate, Shaq warned me against such action by claiming that he had initiated a self-destruct sequence before leaving his ship. Seconds later, the scout ship exploded. We immediately asked Captain Shaq why he initiated the self-destruct. He replied that although he wanted to prevent the war, he was not a traitor and would not willingly reveal the secrets of his life.