CAPTAIN'S LOG:
A Joint RPG Newsletter of the Star Trek Universe
CAPTAIN'S LOG:
A Joint RPG
Newsletter of the Star Trek Universe
"If Spock were here,
he'd say that I was an irrational, illlogical human being for
going on this mission....... Sounds like fun!"
~ Captain James T. Kirk, Star Trek:
Generations
Issue 4: November 1998 - http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Hollow/3200/index.html - [email protected]
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
The Frustrating
Fundamentals: Phasers Fire!
Sean Berg,
Fiction Editor/Trekkie/-er/whatever/nitpicker
I wanted to correct a minor error
from my previous column. The speed of light is actually
2.998 times 10^9 m/s, not 3.0 times 10^8 m/s. I apologize
for the minor mistake I made in looking that up.
Perhaps one of the most interesting influences in Star Trek has
been the excitement of space battles. Ever since the
episode "Balance of Terror" in the Original
Series, every once in awhile our heroes must battle it out with
some foe, despite their peaceful intentions. Right now on
DS9, there's even a war going on; a sign of the social times, I
suppose. In fact, generally speaking, the best episodes and
Star Trek movies have involved space battles in one sense or
another. But, just in the same way that there should be no
sound in space, there are certain things that just wouldn't quite
be the way that they are on Star Trek in space battles.
(Even though we can ignore it because it takes away from the
monotony of lacking sound. To see how weird this is you
should try watching the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey.
There's just something that doesn't feel right about
having something with no sound).
First off, let us discuss distances here. To normal people
on the ground, something that's five kilometers in distance seems
pretty far away to us. Airplanes high in the air above us,
turn out not to be very far, even high-altitude fighter
jets. Now, in outer space, distances between things are
huge. Astronomical! (pun fully intended!) Phaser
beams and other directed energy, for example, move at the speed
of light towards a target. So how can they miss when the
target is right in front of the ship attempting to
maneuver? Better yet, why can we SEE the beams hit their
target. Here's a real-life connection. If you were to
go out somewhere dark with a powerful spotlight, say, for
example, a dark clear field, where there was a large rock or a
barn or something maybe a few hundred metres away, and then turn
the light on, what would happen? Well, the beam of light
would travel at the speed of light to the barn, and shine on its
side. But it would happen so fast that you wouldn't be able
to actually SEE the light traveling. It would be there in a
fraction of a second. Even at larger distances, light takes
less than a second to get there. Light, and all other forms
of radiation, are FAST. So, why can we see the Defiant
fire its phasers, and then proceed to watch the pulses travel
through space and hit the bad guy ship? Why can we see a
weapon discharge in the first place? That at least can be
understood. A phaser beam or disruptor or whatever is
simply a stream of energized particles and released energy.
When you take a substance and excite it, its particles will gain
energy, and when that energy is lost to the surroundings, light
and other radiation such as heat or gamma rays are emitted.
 |
A different question. How is it that two ships can be so far away from each other (thousands of kilometers) that they cannot even see one another, and yet be firing weapons at each other? While it might be possible, the nature of the special effects is misleading. Since starships can travel so quickly, even at impulse (a fourth the speed of light is no laughing matter!) you would think that actually hitting an enemy ship would be impossible. And since the ships can travel so fast and across so great a distance, tthis should all be happening very FAST, much faster than the battles on DS9 against the Dominion fleet would lead you to believe. Battles at WARP speeds are even harder to believe! And, finally, if weapons ranges are so large that you can fire across thousands of kilometers, why even bother closing to a measly 15 or 20 kilometers, where you can be easily hit? Even if you did get that close, you would roar past the other ship so fast they could barely see you. A blink of an eye. Think about it. You're standing next to a race track, and an Indy car roars past you at 200 MPH -- to you, that's blindingly fast. But these ships are moving at thousands of kilometers PER SECOND! Relative velocities would mean that if two ships were traveling at the same speed relative to someone sitting and watching, and headed towards each other, from the perspective of one of the starships, the other would be going TWICE as FAST! Relativity is a real bugger. That's why they don't even go anywhere near the speed of light, and for good reason. |
Why do photon torpedoes
glow? They're essentially just a matter-antimatter
missile. Why are they called 'photon' torpedoes?
Photons are another term for describing light. And light
doesn't explode like that or have nearly as much energy. Is
it the containment field between the matter and antimatter that
releases the glowing corona? Do they glow because their
engines emit that bright light? And don't even go into the
bizarre concept of 'force fields'. Technically, the earth's
gravitational pull is a result of a gravitational field of force,
or 'force field' which cannot be explained. How do starships emit
a field that blocks weapons as if it was a physical
barrier? You have to stop and wonder about these things
sometimes...
Ah, but now we have to get philosophical about things as
well. As Ben Sisko's father said, "You'd think that
the galaxy would be a big enough place for everybody to go around
without bothering anyone else." Why do we have battles
in space at all? (I know, this is starting to sound REALLY
like nitpicking. ;) In a sense, it's illogical to go out of
your way to fight another intelligent species over territory or
resources, because there's more than enough territory and
resources out there to go around. How can space 'belong' to
anyone? That's a curious question to ask.
But, there aren't really any answers. Besides, I'm the
first to admit that I enjoy a good, spectacular, explosive battle
scene. (And lets not go into how pyrotechnics should
actually LOOK in a vacuum.) We'll just have to, as usual,
sit back and enjoy it, suspending our disbelief for the hour that
it takes to watch the Star Trek episode. Despite the
drawbacks, the experts at Paramount actually have done a
very good job of keeping things at least partially realistic, and
we can't ask for anything more.
Next column: Aliens that aren't really... well, all
that alien. :)
Federation History: War
and Peace
Nigel Lake,
TFCTH Cadet
[Editor's Note: The material contained here conflicts with the cannon storlyline set up in Star Trek: First Contact, conforming instead, to the ideas presented in the Star Trek Novel Federation.]
The on-going war with Dominion and Cardassian forces is dispiriting to us all. Many see the bleak prospect of defeat as our probable fate. Yet we must also give pause to consider the aftermath of a Federation victory. Unless prepared, we could easily find peace deadlier to the survival of the UFP than the invasion ever was...
Should we prevail, we shall find
that the echoes of war linger long after the weapons are silenced
and the fallen honored. Our expenditures in ships and material
will have to be made good. All that was damaged or destroyed will
need to be rebuilt. Peace and order will again have to
extend to contested or occupied regions.. Worst will be the toll
on those who lost loved-ones in the fighting. Left with only
grief and memories, they will take the longest of all to recover,
if ever. It is during this period of restoration and readjustment
that history says holds the potential for disaster. An example
from Earth's recent past serves well to illustrate both the
danger and its aftermath:
The Eugenics Wars consumed the closing years of the Twentieth
Century. The turn of the millennium found an Earth ravaged by
war, savaged by the environmental excesses of preceding
generations and a surviving populace too exausted to rise to the
tasks facing them in their own recovery and restoration. Things
began to come apart under the strain and gradually chaos and
anarchy spread. Conditions were ripe for a new voice speaking the
old promises couched in new euphemisms: Order, Security and the
Utopian dream. Despite the aftermath of the struggle to topple
Khan Noonien Singh and his genetic supermen evident all around
them, people flocked to the red banners and black eagles of
Colonel Green and his Optimum Movement in Pursuit of Perfection.
They forgot the lessons of history and were doomed to repeat them
all.
The Optimum's 'perfection' was whatever they said is was. They
decided who would inherit the coming perfect world. Doctors were
eliminated; natural selection would weed out those who were
less-than-optimal. Other, more direct means hastened the process:
the Optimum 'deleted' those infirm due to age, health and
genetics. They expanded their criteria to include those of the
wrong political beliefs, skin colour, and religion. Those that
remained were kept in check by drug-addicted armies comprised of
mercenaries. They had less success trying to influence off-Earth
colonies and Zefram Cochrane's successes at faster-than-light
travel ensured they never would gain the complete control the
Optimum lusted. They sought vengeance but Cochrane, like
Humanity, had forever escaped the confines of the Sol system. The
conditions on Earth became even more repressive by the 2160's, to
the point that Human colonies could only watch when W.W.3 broke
out in 2179 and the Post Atomic Horror ensued.
What we must keep in mind is that more bitter and protracted the
war, the narrower the focus becomes for those involved. People
learn to live only for the moment. They concentrate on just
surviving and their immediate needs to do so. Come the war's end,
this myopia continues during the period transition back to peace.
This is what befell Humanity three centuries ago and what might
befall the ederation in the near future. It will be then, when we
are unsuspecting and vulnerable that the Colonel Greens lurking
in the dark side of Human nature will step forward again.
-Is this mere scare-mongering? Perhaps. Still, Humanity fought a
horrific war to overcome a menace they would embrace in a
different guise a half-century later. The end result would be
another, worse war and an estimated thirty-seven million dead...
We would be wise to be mindful of that should we triumph in this
conflict, or suffer the consequences at our peril.
I.n T.he O.pen
News Letter
Editing Staff
Often times rumors will escalate to a status where they will pit different role playing organizations against each other because of one fundamental lie that was started by an unknown prankster. In an effort to prevent this kind of thing from happening, we have established ITO as a way of getting these things out in the open so that everyone is aware of potential disturbances, and can thereby prevent anything from every coming of it. If you know somebody who has been disruptive to your RPG group, or perhaps an anonymous person who has been spamming your ship, things like that, please e-mail these reports to [email protected] and we will be happy to post such reports in the ITO section of next month's newsletter! All that we ask is that you please do not abuse this column as a way of getting back at people you don't like. Also, please note that the contents of this column is purely submissions we recieve from concerned readers, and in no way represents Captain's Log taking a side on any inter-fleet disagreements.
"Admiral Rawlens Impersonation"
[email protected] wrote:
I have something for the In The Open section for the next
Captain's Log newsletter...
Recently in several various Fleet's guestbooks, someone has been
posting rude messages and signing my e-mail, character name, and
URL to them. These messages bad-mouth Tango Fleet, Bravo
Fleet, the Seventh Fleet, and Gamma Fleet (of which I am the XO
of). The most recent one was in the Seventh Fleet message
board saying
that the Seventh Fleet "sux" and that if you "want
to meet cool people" go to Alpha Fleet. The 7th Fleet
message board recorded this person's IP number at the time he or
she wrote it, and I traced it back to America Online, but
unfortunately therre is no way to find out who was using that
number at that time.
In the next issue of the Captain's Log, could you print something
about this, telling people that these are faked messages and
asking for anyone with information on who is doing this to e-mail
me.
Thanks,
- Mike Bell
Addemendum: In the "In
The Open" article about me, could you put in there
"Admiral Rawlens would like to think all those who helped
him try to catch the impersonator"?
Thanks again...
- Mike Bell
Rear Adm Marcus Rawlens (GF)
Commodore George Rawlens (AF)
Subscribing Fleet News
Newsletter
Consulting Staff
NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: If you are a subscribing member and did not get your RPG news included in this month's issue, please send us a brief summary of important events that you would like to see posted in the December issue by the regular deadline for article submissions. If anything major happens after that point you can contact us and we will try to add it to the newsletter as events happen. I look forward to getting news from more fleets for next month!
Amy Lindeman
Co-Editor in Chief
Captain's Log News
Bravo
Fleet: Bravo Fleet
has recently added another Task Force to the fleet, giving us
over 120 Starships and Starbases and nearly 2,000 players
worldwide. Current missions include a joint mission with the Pegasus,
George Washington, Calidorn, Bonnaventure,
Thunderchild, and Wildchild. The force is
protecting a new Starbase, Deep Space 12 from a
Dominion/Cardassian attack. The Bravo Fleet HQ site has
recently won yet another Award, the 'My Star Trek Home Page Award
-Level 4' (The site was rated a 4 out of 5). Also, the HQ site is
listed as one of the 'Top 100 Star Trek Sites' at <http://www.phantomstar.com/trek.html>. The USS Pegasus is also
listed. Several other ships in the fleet have recently won
awards. Winners include the Pegasus and Melbourne.
We have added a message board and monthly poll to the BF HQ site
in the last 2 weeks. Both are doing quite well. They can be
reached by going to the HQ (www.bravofleet.com) and clicking Guest Logs on the left
LCARS.
-Fleet Admiral Michael Bremer
Seventh Fleet: We added a new ship, the USS Majestic an Ambassador-Class ship to the manifest of the ships. Staffing is slowly increasing as we are expanding our reach out. We've been working very hard to improve the 7th Fleet and are currently working on an incredibly awesome holodeck project involving command of a Klingon Bird-of-Prey. Additionally, Command of the Academy has oficially been turned over to Captain Carter who also commands the USS Soverign. Captain Carter was also recently promoted! Commodore Thomas Warwick has been promoted back to his former rank of Rear Admiral. The promotion comes from a combination of widescale recruiting efforts and for continued service in the 7th Fleet. This does not seriously affect the fleet standings, as Commodore Warwick will remain as Fleet Vice-Head. Commander Mitchell Tate (Former OPS Officer onboard the USS Lion Heart) has been promoted to Captain and placed in command of the USS Valiant. Captain Tate served for over a year as a suitable officer onboard the USS Lion Heart and Starbase 12. When a command position came open Tate was assigned to the Valiant. Assigned as his first officer is Lieutenent Commander Dark a former Lion Heart officer as well and a very experienced RPGer. Lieutenent Commander Michael Jeffries was promoted to Commander recently for his dedication and long service time. Commander Jeffries is a personal friend of the 7th Fleet's Commander Bremmon and currently serves as the Helmsman onboard the USS Lion Heart. Commander Jeffries is also active in maintaining webpages for the fleet. The 7th Fleet has also began scheduled updates to the Starfleet SSM. The SSM is a large network showing not only 7th Fleet data but also general starfleet data including ship descriptions and maps of the galaxy. This is a potentially huge resource for any RPG although graphics are not to be copied without the permission of Craig Pichach.
-Fleet Admiral Beau Llerroc & Rear Admiral Thomas Warwick
Starfleet
Command RPG: Hello, My name is Fleet Admiral George Seeds IV. As
of November 1, 1998 I have taken command of the Star Fleet
Command RPG. Fleet Admiral Swift has stepped down to persue
personal interests outside of the fleet. I find my self looking
to fill big shoes. Well, my plans for the fleet are that of any
good commander. Slow... I hope to make SFC RPG one of the
premiere RPG's online. Some may say that it's going to take a lot
to do that. Well, I find myself looking into the future. And I
see better and more fufilling things for the fleet. I've been a
member of one other RPG. That being Tango Fleet. I've learned a
lot of things from my time there. Within the 10 months that I was
there, I learned the rules and regulations needed and used
through out the RPG realm. With my moving up within the fleet
ranks to hold the position of Diretor of Fleet Security before
leaving the fleet to run SFC, I find myself looking to longer and
better times within the fleet. So please, if any one has
questions or comments, my door is always open. Email me at [email protected] or ICQ me #7224508.
-Fleet Admiral George Seeds IV
Tango
Fleet: This has been a relatively quiet month for us here
at Tango Fleet Headquarters, however, there are still several
notable events to be mentioned. Sadly, Tango Fleet has lost two
great Commanding Officers this month -- Captain Casey Dengar of
the USS Phoenix and Vice Admiral Matt Decker of the USS
Pegasus -- both of whom left due to lack of time in their
real life, and will be dearly missed. However, in their places,
two bright new commanders have come into service, and look to be
following quite well in the footsteps of their predecessors. A
great congratulations to Commander Meruke Lenore Yofan and
Commander Deidre MacTaggart for their promotions to Commanding
Officers of the Pegasus and Phoenix
respectively! Commander Blaize Mendak, otherwise known as
"Cadet Lawrence" has also resigned his commision as
First Officer of the USS Atrius for personal reasons,
and in his place, Lt. Commander Tzipora Simcha, a new graduate of
command school has come to the Atrius! The final new
addition to our command staff this month is Commander Yofan's
replacement as XO on the USS Avatar, Commander Gerheart
Holmann Reichmann. Aside from these changes, Tango Fleet has also
developed a brand new Language Lab for our members who
speak English as a secondary language to reference to at http://www.tangofleet.com/languagelab.html as well as establishing an
Out Reach team, under the command of Lt. Sasek of the USS
Hyperion, to make a concentrated effort on spreading our
name throughout the web!
-Admiral Amy Lindeman
The Spotlight: Below the Decks
Grace Kelly,
Tango Fleet
Below Decks Star Trek role playing
game was started in 1997 by Sherrie Morris and Jeff Mullen. While
most of the Star Trek RPGs take place in the time period of the Next
Generation or Deep Space Nine, this one takes place
in the Original Series timeline.
One of the ships in the fleet is the USS Enterprise. A
person has the chance to interact with some of the most
famous crew of any Science Fiction series. You can interact with
Sulu or Uhura, and let's not forget Spock or Scotty.
If you want more adventure, these are ships that explore the
universe, boldly going where no one has gone before. Each ship
has between seven and ten members of the crew filling all of the
positions. There are also postions open on all of the ships.
You can visit Below the Decks, one of our newest subscribing
members, from their link at: http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Hollow/3200/fleets.html
Meet the Members: Sarah's Little
Interviews
Sarah
Wohlmuth, Interview Coordinator
This month we have decided to go
for something on a different side of the coin so to speak. I
thought that some of you might get a kick out of learning a
little bit about me... So, here's a look into the life of yours
truly...kinda weird interviewing myself, but hey, the Broncos did
win the superbowl!
Tell us a little about yourself, if you would.
Well my name is Sarah Annabelle Wohlmuth...Everyone pretty much
just calls me "Sarah". I am a junior in college and I
am studying Communication and theater.
Have you been RPGing for long?
Actually I just started, I was goofing off on the decipher
website with a freind and I saw a post for the Seventh Fleet...It
kinda sparked my interest so I visited the page....I've never
been too into RPGs -- I've tried...but I always seem to loose
interest, nevertheless..I gave it a shot, and Two months later
I'm still kicking. =)
With the Background in Communication and Theater I am
sure that comes in handy when writting to your E-mail sim...
You'd be surprised at how much I actually rely on the skills of
Character Development and portrayl in my sims. I believe it's
important to really think about the Character and what he/she
acts like and maintaining that behavior and developing it as time
goes on.
When you're not writting for The Captain's Log or the
Seventh Fleet what do you do?
I actually keep myself very busy; I play the piano, and I also
enjoy sitting with some good friends and watching movies and
analyzing them, not to the point of being anal about it...but
just trying to interpret the vision of the director is always
intriguing to me.
Any favorite movies that spring to mind?
I really enjoyed the movie Titanic, Se7en..and I have to put Star
Trek: First Contact in their..or I'll get Lynched by the readers
=)
Tell us a little about your interests in music.
Well I started in junior high, in our schools, those of us that
are not exactly athletically inclined usually latched on to
music, and since I am the latter it's something I've always held
onto. I look at music as a way for people to express the things
that they sometimes can't say or wouldn't dare think of
saying....It's an emotional thing. Completely useless.
When you say completely useless what do you mean by that?
Well, music is one of those things that just really serves no
pertinent need in life...You can't drink it, drive it, eat it, or
wear it...but it's so intregal in our lives...just think of how
boring life would be without it...All the useless things in life
are what make our lives worth living...Whoah that was deep. =)
Tell us a little about the Character you play in the
Seventh Fleet.
Well...I went original...no bonus points on the originality
scale. Her name is Sarah Wohlmuth...she is the Cheif Medical
Officer aboard the USS Sovereign. I tend to use a lot of
my personal life experiences and experiences of those that I am
close too when writting her character...She's very carreer
driven, and also has this "green from the Academy"
mentality that makes her the most endearing. Since she is a
doctor, she is very driven by the Hippocratic Oath, and she will
often let her emotions override her better judgement. She also
has this really bad habit of getting herself hurt in some way or
another..quite frequently. If you want to know more, you just
have to join the Seventh Fleet and serve with me aboard the Sovereign
;)
Any Plans in the Future for Sarah in the Seventh Fleet?
Not that I know of I am currently working with our ships CEO and
resident Webpage editor on graphic designs for our ship...I
consider him my mentor, so to speak =) Other than that I just
hope to keep writting for the newsletters and of course
"my"..(I know it's weird to say I own it, but I think
it's okay to put a little emotional attachment onto it),
sim.
Well that's pretty much me in a nutshell, I hope you all enjoyed
this small venture into my world, and I hope I didn't get too
philosophical on you...and of course I am so glad you made it
back in one piece. Until next month.....
Sarah
Gallactic Gossip: Star Trek:
Insurrection, Not Long Now...
Will Haywood,
Staff Writer
 |
Yes, Star Trek IX is almost upon you lucky people in the USA. The release date is lurking ever closer now, as December 11th is less than two months away. Anyway, us unlucky people over here in the UK have to wait until January. |
 |
For the people who do not know, Insurrection means rebellion, uprising, mutiny, or that sort of thing (I looked it up), now does that sound like a sinister title or what? For some time now, you have been able to download trailers for the film off the internet, these are all very well and good, but what is actually going to happen in the film remains a mystery. |
 |
Some time ago I downloaded a file that is supposed to be a script for the film. I haven't read it yet, because it came with a warning saying how accurate it was, and how it is a complete spoiler for the film (if anyone wants it, just email me). But I have heard gossip on newsgroups, and I have read different interviews. I have also downloaded the trailer, from the Star Trek Official Web Site, and believe me, it is well worth it. |
 |
The plot is that the crew find a planet, which has what many people dream of finding....... the fountain of eternal youth. However, the alien world where the healing waters are located (called Ba'ku), is under threat. To protect the people of the planet, the crew of the Enterprise have to take up arms against the Federation itself. |
 |
In an interview with Rick Berman, he said, "It's not a story you can thumbnail as easily as in the last movie. You can't say Picard battles the borg in the past to free Earth. It's not that simple. It's a more complex story that deals with a great, heroic arc for Picard. It deals with a lot of romance and humor. It also deals with a great struggle on an alien planet in which our people get involved. And this planet has certain magical qualities." |
I have heard that
Riker and Troi get back together again, and I have heard from
several sources, that Sirtis (Troi) would bare her breasts.
Frakes (Riker, and Director of Star Trek IX) laughed these
rumours off, but confirmed that Troi and Riker would rekindle
their relationship, but it is not going to get as hot and heavy
as some fans have been expecting. In an interview, Frakes said,
"This is a PG movie, there is a bubblebath scene, that much
is true," but, "I don’t think you’ll be
seeing full frontal nudity in a Star Trek movie anytime
soon."
Another thing I should add... In Star Trek: Insurrection,
we will be seeing the return of "Baby Face". In other
words, Will Riker will be shaving off his beard.
The film will feature all of the Next Generation cast, along
with: F. Murray Abraham, Anthony Zerbe and Donna Murphy as guest
stars. Also Armin Shimmerman will be appearing as his character Quark, along with Max Grodenchik (who plays
Rom on DS9), but he will not be playing his usual character in Insurrection.
I believe that is all I have
to say, but it's not long now until it is actually released, so you will be able to find out if what I
said was true. Anyway time for me to sign off. Bye.
Neophite News: Taking Command
Robert
Williams, Tango Fleet
Greetings "Captain's
Log" readers, my name is Meruke Lenore Yofan, and I serve as
Commanding Officer aboard the USS Pegasus, in Tango
Fleet. I am fairly new to the Pegasus and her
crew, as I only recently joined as the ship's Commanding Officer
(CO). I previously served as Executive Officer aboard the USS
Avatar-A, Tango Fleet.
I have been requested to inform you of 'my' story on how I picked
up command from another CO and the importance of a participating
CO.
It all started about 3 weeks ago, when I was offered command of
the Pegasus. The news came as a huge shock to me
because I had only been serving as an XO for 3 months, and now I
was being asked to take command of a ship! But in the
transfer I was told that the Pegasus wasn't in the best
of shape, and that her CO had neglected her, due to his hectic
real life -- posting was low, and there was a circulation of
rather negative messages going around the crew. I was told,
before I joined, that I would be more comfortable to remain on
the Avatar, due to that ship's stability. However, I'm
never one to turn down a challenge, so I accepted the position,
and transferred my XO character (Cmdr. Meruke Lenore Yofan) from
the Avatar to the Pegasus. I removed all
my other characters (except Meruke) from Tango Fleet so that I
could concentrate 100% on the Pegasus and her crew.
When I joined, the previous mission of the Pegasus had
just ended, and the crew had just began their shoreleave at Starbase
315. I took it upon myself to restore the Pegasus
to her former glory. I created information packages, with
data regarding posting, promotions, guidelines, etc., providing
the crew with a refresher course in the basics of a PBEM RPG
:). The XO (Cmdr. Monica Elvier) provided me with the names
of officers who should receive commendations and promotions, and
I as soon as I received my XO's report, I gave out the
promotions/commendations. What shocked me most was that
promotions/commendations hadn't been given out for 4
months!!! Hence I took quick action to give out their well
deserved awards.
As the days past, posting began to pick up, jumping from 0-1 a
day to 5-8, which is a great increase!! Once I got
used to the crew, I started the Pegasus on her next
mission, which was in essence my first mission aboard the ship as
her CO.
We have been doing the mission now, for about 2 weeks, and I'm
pleased to the say that the Pegasus is doing
great!! Each and every crew member has contributed to the
plot, and we are easily clearing any hurdle that comes in our
way. The mission is also proving to be very exciting...only
due to the interesting twists and additions that the CREW have
created :).
I have also taken it upon myself to maintain the Pegasus'
webpage which had fallen to waste in the last several
months. I have had a positive feed back from members of
Tango Fleet, but I would also like some comments from members of
other RPG fleets. To visit the Pegasus webpage
please follow the below URL:
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Dunes/1370/
The most ironic thing about my command of the Pegasus,
however, is that I first served aboard the Pegasus as
the Asst. Science Officer, I left the ship several months ago
when I was offered higher positions aboard other ship's within
the fleet, but I always regretted leaving my original ship.
Now I'm back, serving as her Commanding Officer, a great
privilege and honor for me to behold :)
Pegasus motto:
"To turn and wind a fiery Pegasus and witch the world with
noble horsemanship" - William Shakespeare.
Good combinations to you all,
Commander Meruke Lenore Yofan
Commanding Officer, USS Pegasus
Tango Fleet Role Playing Game
The Language Barrier: An Inside
Look
Thomas
Lederer, Tango Fleet
An essay from a nonnative English
speaking person.
Where to start.....? Well perhaps I start with thanking Amy for
asking me to write this thing. I wanted to add something to the
Captains Log, but I never knew what to write. Now I do this litte
thing to tell you of my experiences.
-----------------------------
Important note: Apologizes for any mistakes in grammar and
spelling in advance. :)
[Editor's
Note:
Although
edited for minor errors in spelling, etc., this essay has been
left in pretty much the form in which it was written so as to not
detract from the intended meaning, so, in effect, our apologies,
as well, for any mistakes in grammar and spelling.]
-----------------------------
I joined Tango Fleet on January the 5th, 1998. I just had
downloaded the newest version of ICQ and added myself to the
random chat feature. One of the first persons that I had such a
chat with was William Roesch. I think I was very obtrusive in the
chat (sorry) but he told me of some fascinating PbEM
(Play-by-Email) about Star Trek. I got interested immediatly. I
am playing RL(Real Life)-RPGs(Role Playing Games) since 1990, the
last 5 years mostly as a GM (Game Master). Mostly I played and
still play Star Trek.
So I just had moved to Berlin, Germany (oh, did I mention already
that I am German? Well I am!) from Munich, and had no party here
to do some RPGs. So i really looked forward to join Tango Fleet.
I must admit that I first was a little bit disappointed, because
I expected some RolePlaying game, where I am playing ONE
character, but now I must admit that this way is MUCH more
interesting. To write about all those interesting people in the
game is a VERY fascinating and demanding task. But rewarding
also!
However, back to the topic. I had of course doubts if I could
handle the other language; if I am good enough in English to
participate. Well I had English in school for eight years and I
were pretty good, but to be honest the most things I learned from
English RPG-rulebooks, and Star Trek novels.
So I did join. Well, I really often had to look up unknown words
in the dictonaries and in the Technical Manual (which I own in
English). And even now I have to look up many words, but I have
improved.
Ok, I finished the Academy and got assigned to the Pegasus. Then
on July the 2nd I started my second character on the Cambrian. I
got very firm with the language by that time. I even was asked to
be a Mentor and I applied for an instuctor position.
Now, I return to the language thing. As I said, I always have my
dictonary here with me. It helps me a lot. You have to differ
reading and writing a post. First when reading, you want to
understand the post, the happenings. Therefore any unknown words
are bad :(. However, the more "fancy" and strange words
are in the post the better it can describe the situations and the
feelings. So it is good to have many different words. They make
the post more interesting. For the reader who is not that good
with English they are of course a burden.
The more you read, and the longer you are in the game the better
you get, of course, but some new words will always appear. I had
the word "obese" in a post recently. Do you know it ?
I did find a very good solution for those things indeed: There is
a very nice Freeware tool in the Internet. It features several
languages, and usually only translates text on the screen with a
click from English to your language. It even translates idioms,
well some of them at least. It's called Babylon, and you can get
it at: http://www.babylon.com/
Check out if your language is available, it is free. Only thing
is you have to update it every 100 days.
The other side is to write a post, which is for me a little more
harder to do. I sometimes have a really good description of a
thing, in German, but I simply can't write it down in English.
Mostly I withdraw to rephrase the sentences and so at least tell
something alike.
And when you get better, you will find that the native speakers
themselves make many funny errors. They make much more errors
than "the statistical chance of typing errors" allows
them to do ;).
[Editor's
Note:
LOL Sorry, I
just couldn't resist this one. Very good Celok. *grin* Guilty as
charged.]
But the two worst things are slang and idioms. These are
sometimes real pains.
You might have to read a post several times to get its full
meaning sometimes. But you will remember those words. Same is
true for the technical specific terms. All you need is time to
get into it. So there is no need to surrender. If you can at
least understand the posts, you will be ready to do those
wonderful posts yourself in no time.
Personally, I think English has gotten a lot of importance in the
world nowadays. And I think it is a benefit to have certain skill
in it.
The only advice I can give to non-native English speakers is to
get some English books to read and perhaps some of the Star Trek
series, like the Tech Manual, an Episode guide and perhaps the
Encyclopedia. Reading them is always easier than writing, but the
more you read the better you get in writing too.
And all I would ask of the native speakers is to keep writing the
high standard of writing, and if there are some VERY unusual
words to explain them. Oh, and I ask you to be understanding and
helpful. I would prefer to be corrected if I make major mistakes,
but not everyone likes that. So be patient. Oh, another one,
please try to write good English yourselves. You are from whom we
learn how to write that neat language.
If you have any comments of questions, don't hesitate to write to
Captain's Log or to me.
Yours,
Tom <[email protected]>
Ships of the Fleet:
Intrepid Class
Thomas
Warwick, Seventh Fleet
Accessing Command Database: Intrepid
Class
The Intrepid Class series is a widely used class of star
ship for exploration and as a scout vessel. It is often found
serving alongside Galaxy, Defiant, Pegasus
and Excelsior Class starships. This class is lightly
armed with a small crew and is generally used for short missions.
Comissioned:
2376
Notable Ships:
USS Voyager (Lost in Delta Quadrant), and various RPG
ships that can be found by visiting the respective webpages
listed at http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Hollow/3200/fleets.html
Internal Structure:
One of the notable features of the Intrepid class is the
uniquely styled bridge. This bridge is designed more like a
diplomatic reception room with command chairs than a bridge
designed for tactical usage. This is for good reason. With the
Intrepid series being used for first contact and often traveling
on the outer rim of known space the bridge area may be the first
area seen by alien encounters. Also the wide bridge space allows
crew members that are injured to be thrown from their stations
without hitting consoles. In addition 2 aft stations of Tactical
and Operations are self enclosed into booths to allow them
additional shielding.
The Intrepid Class design is also equipped with a large
shuttlecraft bay at the expense of the cargo bay. This
shuttlecraft bay contains several small shuttlecraft each warp
capable. Also several of these shuttlecraft have comparable
weapons capability to a Greenfield class Runabout and
can be used to create additional angles of attack.
Also a prominent feature of the Intrepid class is the
spacious design of the internal structure. Longer than a Galaxy
Class but with one tenth the crew the Intrepid series
would be considered luxurious by all but the most generous
standards. The wide open mess hall is a prominent point on the
ship and the quarters are designed with additional space.
Weapons:
34 Type A1 Photon Torpedoes
17 Quantum Torpedoes
2 phaser emitters (One forward one rotating and used to defend
against small particles within the shield perimeter).
2 forward torpedo tubes,1 aft tube.
2 Tri-Cobalt Devices
Shielding:
Dual-reflective Starfleet Class Q Shielding. Reflective shielding
means energy passing through outer shields are reflected until it
is dissipated.
Crew Compliment:
121
Marine Status:
No Marines usually assigned
Scientific Research Facilities:
Starfleet Astrometrics Lab (Stellar Cartography).
Star Trek Trivia
Stacey Lauer,
Trivia Guru and Photographer
And now, the answers you've all been waiting for from the October trivia:
1. This woman, who died recently
after a long bout with cancer, played the first Deltan in Star
Trek. Name her and her Deltan character. PERSIS
KHAMBATTA. SHE PLAYED LIEUTENANT ILIA IN ST:I.
2. 'Imzadi' is Betazoid for...? BELOVED, BUT ALSO
MEANS 'THE FIRST'
3. In the TNG episode "Imaginary Friend", what is
Clara Sutter's friend Isabella wearing? A BLUE DRESS WITH
WHITE BUTTONS.
4. Aboard what ship was Benjamin Sisko serving as first
officer during the battle of Wolf 359? THE USS
SARATOGA
5. Odo's name was shortened from a longer Cardassian word
meaning...? ODO'ITAL WAS CARDASSIAN FOR THE WORD
'NOTHING'. SAD, ISN'T IT?
6. PADD is an acronym that stands for...? PERSONAL ACCESS
DISPLAY DEVICE
7. Before starting Quark's Bar, Quark did what for a living? HE
WAS A COOK ABOARD A FERENGI FREIGHTER
8. In "The Omega Directive", Kim tries (unsuccessfully)
to beat Tuvok at a Vulcan game called...? KEL'TOH
9. For those (wonderful people) who read and keep up on the
New Frontier series, what race is Captain Mackenzie Calhoun? XENEXIAN.
HIS NAME BEFORE HE CHANGED IT WAS M'K'N'Z'Y OF THE CITY OF
CALHOUN.
10. And those even MORE wonderful people who try to keep
abreast of current changes, what is the name of Dax's NEW host,
who will join the cast in October or November? (After
Jadzia) EZRI, PLAYED BY NICOLE DEBOER
Now for the new questions:
1. What is Keiko O'Brien's maiden name?
2. In "Imaginary Friend", Guinan suggests that papalla
juice always be served with extra ________ ?
3. What is Quark's brother's name?
4. This ship was commissioned with an all-Vulcan complement
that later died when it exploded; Sergei Roschenko, Worf's
adoptive father served as warp field specialist on a later ship
of the same name. What was the name of the ship(s)?
5. Who played Jennifer Sisko?
6. In the recent Voyager episode "Drone", where Seven's
nanoprobes assimilate the Doctor's holo-emitter and create a 29th
century Borg, what is the designation that she gives him?
7. Who played Dr. Noonien Soong?
8. Fal-tor-pan was first seen or heard about in
ST:III. What is it?
9. When Q came to Voyager the second time, to what Terran
historical event did he compare the war the Continuum was
fighting?
10. And for those wonderful New Frontier fans out
there...Lieutenant Zak Kebron has an intense dislike for one of
the 'passengers' that the Excalibur picked up. Which one of
the central characters was it?
Have more fun!
Stacey
Armada: Starfleet at War (Role Playing During the
Dominion War, Part I)
Craig Pichach,
Co-Editor in Chief
It is no surprise that the future
of Star Trek RPGs is largely dependent upon the current
"canon" material surrounding Star Fleet Command. Star
Fleet Command is an organization based upon both exploration and
defense of the ideals and principals of the United Federation of
Planets.
Prior to the Dominion War, our adventures were largely
exploration based, or centered upon small scale skirmishes. Other
then the occasional battle with the Romulans or the Cardassians,
role-playing was of a ST:TNG format. Our missions centered on
boldly going where none had gone before, and expanding the
reaches of the utopia that is the United Federation of Planets.
With missions basically designed around a single starship each
RPG grew accustomed to these circumstances.
Now, however, things have changed. For the first time in
centuries, Star Trek has expanded into the realm of full scale
war. Consider this a temporary exploration of a whole new type of
frontier. An opportunity to explore far different scenarios,
situations and options for our characters to face. No longer can
a Federation starship be assumed to be technologically superior
and the enemy to simply be stagnant. For the first time, the
Federation faces an "alliance style" enemy --
numerically superior, and with a competing ideology. The United
Federation of Planet's itself must answer a call to arms, lest it
be conquered by those who invade.
For the first time, we get to see the real workings of the United
Federation of Planets; how a crisis can bring out the best and
the worst in a people. The Federation is now a real government,
faced with paramount concerns. At war, it can no longer simply be
described as "the utopia which we call home". While
before a single Federation starship was considered a massive
undertaking, that same ship would be completely overwhelmed on
the front lines. Quality cannot be considered the only barrier to
a small degree of quantity, especially when it is 16 Jem'Hadar
fighters versus a single Galaxy class starship. Having a quantum
torpedo tear through the saucer section is no longer an anomaly.
Our characters now must face a new reality, one where death,
destruction and violence are an actuality.
How they deal with death, is just as important with how they deal
with life. The relationships which they have forged must now be
expanded ten fold as they face the terrors of war together. This
is the true test of our characters' friendships and
relationships, as well as one of the best times to start new
ones. The skills of each crew member now are more then ever
before, the determining factor between life and death, victory
and defeat.
We all remember watching Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and
ST:TNG Best of Both Worlds, and now it is our chance to face the
action. What morals and strengths does this bring out in our
characters? It forces them to enter the reality of those that had
fought such wars in years past and the realization that
something’s are worth fighting, and quite possibly dying
for. It is a battle to determine if the ideals of Gene Roddenbery
will survive. The fate of the galaxy is in your hands.
In addition, missions no longer need to be limited to a single
ship. Now, crews can come together in "fleet joint
missions" to handle the realities of interstellar combat.
Exploration, now must include such items as time constraints,
potential hostiles, military aid, and defense against aggression.
Your characters now must wake up each morning, and wonder if this
truly is the last day of their life.
Don't think of this as the end to the traditional RPG mission,
think of this as an expansion, and chance to explore a whole new
arena. Boldly go where none have gone before. Who shall be
triumphant, the Dominion or the Federation - Klingon - Romulan
Alliance? That question, is up to our characters to answer.
The CO's Guide to Aliens:
Andorians
Andrew Brack,
Gamma Fleet
Have you ever been stuck trying to
think of an alien race who can fit the criteria that you have
established for your mission? Are you stuck fighting the Jem
Hadar mission in, mission out? Well, this column introduces to
you some of the lesser known aliens featured in Star Trek and
gives you a few hints on how to use them effectively. This month
the focus is on the Andorians, who are first seen in: Journey
To Babel (TOS).
CHARACTERISTICS
 |
Name:
Andorians Planet: Andor (or the Andorian Homeworld) - Class M Planet. Appearances: The Andorians have blue skin pigmentation and possess antennae. Their hair is naturally white. The women have jewels in their hair, while the men wear jewellery on their shirts. The members of the military often carry Flabjellahs -- a combination musical instrument and weapon -- on a highly elaborate, decorated belt which hangs around one hip and drops down so that it is just below the top of the thigh. Attitudes: Andorians know that they are highly violent and so they attempt to restrain themselves from behaving violently to other Federation members. This tendency makes them valued tactical and security crew members, although as Counsellor Troi says, in The Offspring (TNG), there were none aboard the Enterprise-D. Culture: Music is perhaps one of the most important factors in Andorian society. The Flabjellah is just one example of the lengths that they go to, in order to listen to music. Andorian Blues are a popular form of music and you can hear them performed at any Andorian Bar. First Encountered By: Unknown but most likely the Vulcans. Episodes They Appear In: Journey To Babel (TOS), Whom Gods Destroy (TOS), ST:TMP, ST IV: TVH, Captain’s Holiday (TNG), The Offspring (TNG), Star Trek: Star Fleet Academy (CD-ROM), Klingon Honor Guard (CD-ROM). |
HOW AND WHY SHOULD I USE THEM?
The Andorians are very interesting in terms of character. They
have many different uses, the most useful of which are:
Assassins, crew members, Federation members, rogue Andorians (of
which there are sadly too many). Rogue Andorians have been known
to attack Federation ships. Having an Andorian crew member often
means that you can have lots of arguments with him or her, but
they are good scientists and warriors. If anyone is trying to
think of a character to play in an RPG I would urge them to
consider the Andorians, because:
1. You can have lots of fun playing them.
2. They are unpopular because they aren’t well-known.
3. They can be used in lots of posts due to the amount of
conflict that they generate.
They’re good enemies too! Andorian ships have never been
featured so it’s a CO’s job to think up what they
should look like, how powerful they are, etc. An Andorian Captain
can be the start of a very interesting mission so bear that in
mind the next time you need to come up with a new mission
quickly. I think (if I remember correctly), that I have used
Andorians twice. Once as an enemy and once as a crew member. They
are a challenge, but one that is ultimately rewarding.
Happy RPGing!
Andrew Brack
Ask The Admirals: An RPG Help Column
Andrew Grimm,
Associate Editor
Amy Lindeman, Co-Editor in Chief
Do you have any questions regarding RPGS or Star Trek? Maybe we can help. Ask the Admirals your questions by e-mailng us at [email protected] and look for the answer in next month's edition of Captain's Log!
Classifieds Column
Captain's Log
Editing Staff
WINTER HOLIDAY SEASON: Wow! Can you believe that it is already November? That means that the next time you hear from us Thanksgiving will have already passed, and we will be well on our way into December -- and all of the holiday spirit that accompanies that month! If you have any good Trek stories, antics, jokes, etc., to fit this holiday season of Christmas, Hannukah, and the New Year, please send them to us at [email protected] so that we can include them in our special "Holiday Edition" of Captain's Log!
CONSULTANTS NEEDED: Dear readers, in order for us to better service you, we need consultants from our subscribing RPG groups that can supply information and news on your RPG group to be added to the upcoming issues of Captain's Log! If you think you would be interested in this position, or know somebody else who would be, please talk to your fleet commanders about it and if they agree, check out the Captain's Log Staff page to see if the consulting position for YOUR fleet is open, and if it is, email us at [email protected] and let us know what you would like to do!!
SUBSCRIBE YOUR RPG: In our effort to include as much of the Trek RPGing community as possible, Captain's Log is continuing to accept subscriptions for Trek RPG Groups that are interested in being listed as Subscribing members of this newsletter! We are no longer accepting charter members, however, anyone who wishes to subscribe their RPG group is ALWAYS welcome to do so! Just email us at [email protected] or see our webpage at: http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Hollow/3200/fleets.html for more information!
WRITERS NEEDED: As always, anyone interested in writing a column for Captain's Log, submitting a piece of fan fiction, or even submitting an article describing something that you would like to share with your fellow Trek/RPG community, we would LOVE to hear from you! Drop us a line at [email protected] and let us know!!! Deadline for all submissions to be placed in the upcoming issue is the 20th of the month.
PLACE YOUR ADD HERE: Is there something you're dying to share with the rest of our readers? Submit your classified add to [email protected] and we will add it to this column in next month's issue, as long as it follows all of the submission guidelines listed at http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Hollow/3200/rules.html
Fan Fiction: The Journeys of the USS
Avenger
Sean Berg,
Fiction Editor
BIOGRAPHY:
Chan, Commander Gary Ian
Position: Chief engineer
Age: 50
Born: April 25, 2323
Birthplace: San Francisco, United States of
America, Earth
Parents: Matthew and Sarah Chan
Physical Attributes:
Human, male, Asian
Height: 6’0" Mass: 74
kg Hair: Black-grey Eyes: Brown
Senior most engineering officer on active duty in Starfleet (aside from Captain Montgomery Scott, brought out of stasis). Occupied several positions, becoming Chief Engineer of the USS Kennedy in 2350. Became an Academy instructor in warp physics and applied engineering at age 37. Returned to active duty onboard USS Phoenix in 2366. Was offered a position as head of San Francisco Fleet Construction Yards, but turned the promotion down in favor of his current assignment. Has been noted in numerous journals and texts; is generally regarded as one of the best engineering minds in Starfleet. Has no immediate family.
STORY: (Continued from October 1998)
The deep green of the Romulan battleship hung silently inside of the misty cauldron of the nebula. Obscured from the prying eyes of whomever might be watching, the Romulans sat. And they waited. The young commander hated waiting.
The young Romulan commander gazed at the viewscreen thoughtfully. High Commander Terstok had ordered that they engage and destroy the Federation ship. The officer frowned. Terstok had seized this battle group undergoing refit at the Central Imperial Shipyards, in orbit of Romulus. He had overheard a conversation between high ranking officials of the possible discovery of evidence of another Iconian weapons arsenal, similar to the one that had been found in the Neutral Zone. A passing ship had recorded similar sensor readings. He knew the sector, and once he had heard that, he organized a force of loyal officers, and had stolen a small fleet of older D’deridex class warbirds, and headed away for the sector of the discovery at top speed. But so far, his actions had reflected badly on his intentions of glory for the Empire instead of the peaceful cooperation that they had fostered recently towards the Federation. He believed that the proud and strong Romulan Empire was decaying under the watch of the newer generation, and he was determined not to see that happen. However, the young commander had found no reasons of late to believe in Terstok any longer. And, based upon the fruitless search that they had been engaged in, the officer had no reason to follow Terstok’s orders, except for one.
Terstok had ordered the ships to attack the Federation ship without reason, and, arrogantly underestimating the enemy, he had sent the ships to their doom. The young commander knew that the Federation was not weak, or stupid, and that a Galaxy class starship was a very powerful vessel, despite any peaceful intentions. For that reason, Terstok did not deserve to be in command any longer. But more pressing was the fact that Romulan soldiers had been sent to die for him in a senseless battle, and their deaths would be avenged. After that, Terstok could be dealt with appropriately.
"Subcommander! We have spotted the Federation starship! They are emerging from the shadow of a planet in the Cynalla system. They seem to be abandoning their search. Shall we pursue?"
The young commander turned to the even younger officer at the helm of his mighty warship. The Federation starship would be the first target in this quest for glory. "Pilot! Engage cloak, and take us out of the Cyngal nebula. Set a parallel course, warp six. We will match them move for move."
The shimmering effect of the barrier which bent light and radiation around the ship began to take hold as the falcon-like warbird cleared the swirling, colourful gasses of the nebula. The young commander smiled privately. They would not make the same mistakes again. The first attack had been sloppy and arrogant. That would be rectified soon enough.
***
The Avenger swung away from the planet, her brightly lit surface glinting in the light of the nearby star, as she rocketed away at high subwarp speed from orbit. Jeffries gripped the arms of his chair, feeling the power that coursed through his ship. The way she vibrated ever so subtly. The touch that countless ship captains had felt before, and this was what drew them... the siren call of the center chair. The crewman at the conn looked back towards him. "Ready for your orders, sir."
Jeffries smiled thinly. This little joyride had its purpose, after all. "Set course bearing 211 mark 73. Full impulse."
The crewman tapped in several controls. "Course plotted and set."
"Engage"
The Avenger began to cruise towards the outer reaches of the star system. A sudden alarm toned at the ops console, and Frambert’s temporary replacement frowned slightly.
"What is it?" Jeffries asked, concerned.
"An unusual distortion at the edges of the nebula. Getting no readings on an actual ship, though, sir... The closest approximation that I can make is that whatever it is will enter the system in about 2.3 hours, if my readings were correct."
Frambert sighed audibly. "Captain, recommend we go immediately to battle stations. We know who that is, sir."
Jeffries acknowledged him with a nod. "Understood, Lieutenant, but we need to make it seem that we have no idea that they’re coming. It will give us an advantage. Put the ship at Level 4 security alert, and have all personnel move to emergency stations, though. We had best be prepared."
"Aye, Captain."
Jeffries glanced at the small chronometer at the bottom of the main viewscreen, a design that had once been in use on older starships, but abolished. Jeffries had seen fit to bring the device back into practice. The yard engineers had humoured him enough to install the clock just before they had left starbase.. the captain’s request, after all. He tapped an intercom control on the arm of his chair. "Avenger to away team. Please respond, Sanders."
There was no response. The ensign at ops diverted her attention momentarily. She shook her head. "Nothing, Captain. Either they can’t respond or won’t respond."
"I find it highly unlikely that they would simply ignore us. Maybe they found the gateway."
"Sir, I am reading no signs of the away team on the planet. They have simply disappeared, sir," said Frambert.
"Keep monitoring. Who knows what they’ve found. If they don’t respond in two hours, we’ll send down another landing party to investigate."
Frambert nodded.
***
There was a brilliant flash and the away team rippled into existence. Sanders became mildly disoriented, and stumbled forward. Sarrell seemed much better off; she withdrew her tricorder and began to scan the massive cavern. Lights at the top surrounded a huge fusion generator. They pulsed softly in the manner of the ship’s warp core, in time with a soft thrumm noise. She cocked an eyebrow as she studied her readings.
"Is this the chamber which you were in before, Commander?" she asked.
Sanders nodded slowly. "Yes. This device is different from what I’ve heard of the Iconian gateway. This seems to be more like a very long range transporter beam. Where are we?"
Stiles tapped his communicator pin, but there was only a soft pulsing noise. "We’re outside of communications range. There’s no response."
Sinclair had began to run his medical tricorder over the group of them. His grizzled and somewhat haggard appearance added to the effect of a tired old man that he seemed to enjoy playing. "I wouldn’t recommend using this device too many more times. There’s evidence of disruption in our nervous systems. We’re all right for now, but a few more times, and it’ll kill us."
"Understood, Doctor. Move out. Let’s see what we can find," said Sanders.
Commander Chan had already moved away from the group, and was looking around, excitedly. He shone his lamp ahead into the darkness to reveal a computer terminal that took up the majority of the far wall. It seemed hat the room was a huge control center of some kind. He beckoned to the rest of them. "If we can access this computer, then we can find out what this entire place is for. And, we can find out why there was a moldy storage room attached through a transporter."
As they marched forward, a large, reptilian humanoid flung itself in the direction of the team from the shadows. Its body was reminiscent of an erect crocodile, in the general shape of a humanoid. It wore no clothing, and its greenish scales glistened as though they were slimy.
The creature roared deafeningly and leapt into the air. "Commander, look out!" cried Sarrell, as she dove out of the path of the beast. The creature flattened Sanders, knocking her onto her back, and she yelled out in pain as the creature savagely ripped into her arm with a claw. Stiles pointed his phaser at the creature and fired a long, continuous burst. The creature was knocked backwards, but seemed mostly undaunted.
"Sir!! The creature registers as an extremely resistant life form. Stun will have little effect!" Sarrell yelled, as she ran to Sanders’ side. The Vulcan pulled her closer to the wall, away from the creature.
The monster slavered, roaring even louder, and began to charge again. Stiles reset his phaser to maximum and fired. The blast of crimson fire send the creature hurling backwards, and it screamed in pain as it was vaporized in a wash of red fury. Stiles reholstered his weapon and headed over towards where the doctor was now treating Sanders.
"What the hell was that thing?" asked Chan, who had rushed back over, weapon drawn.
"I don’t know, but a stun didn’t affect it. I want everyone to reset your weapons to kill. There might be more of those things."
Sanders had returned to her feet. Sinclair was finishing repairing her wound with a large dermal and muscular regenerator from his medical kit. "She’ll be fine. The cut was large but superficial. That thing is a predator, no doubt."
Sanders had a no-nonsense look on her face. Her jacket had been slashed and ripped across one shoulder, but she looked none the worse for wear. "Let’s just figure out what the hell this place is, and then get ourselves as far away from here as possible," she said, low and intense.
Chan turned back to the computer station. Sanders groaned inwardly to herself. That hadn’t been fun. The place was beginning to seem more and more like a decaying ruin than a place that housed weapons of unimaginable power. Even so, they had to continue. Chan had used his tricorder to create an interface with the control panel. He smiled widely. "I used references made by Lieutenant Commander Data in his mission report from 8 years ago to provide a language matrix. We should have things set.... ah. Here we are. Let me see."
Foreign symbols flashed across the panels, and a low rumbling was heard in the distance. The engineer was lost in his work, and Sarrell began to survey the area.
The Vulcan looked at her tricorder for a long moment. "No other life signs in this area. The cavern is almost 2 kilometres long, and at least a hundred metres high. There is evidence of some left over computer components in operation, and power is being generated by the fusion reactors above. The planet surface is not very far up. However, I am reading lethal radiation approximately 17 kilometres above us... the planet’s surface seems to have been seriously damaged by weapons fire. There is also a subtle electromagnetic signature... and some very deep craters in the planet’s crust. Without knowing what happened, it is difficult to say, but I would say that nuclear warfare is a possibility."
"So, this is all that’s left?"
"Correct. And from what I see, this was nothing more than a large storage and power generating area."
Chan stood up, smiling. "Got it. Computer interface. This structure was the main reactor room for a large colony of an alien civilization. They were, in fact, simple people that had stumbled across the Iconian transporter hard-wired into that room back where we landed. The computer indicates that the Iconians had set up a laboratory there, and a small colony here. They isolated the lab because it was so dangerous, but then dismantled it for some reason. The left the transport device hardwired in, though. Then, they left. The alien colony was established here only 200 years ago. They had used the lab room as a storage bunker for crops. Their demise was unknown to the crew that worked down here. That feral creature we destroyed was an alien inhabitant. Several of them survived, but they soon degenerated into their present form."
Sinclair voiced a question. "Do we know when the colony was destroyed?"
"71 years ago, by the system’s count. Whoever it was that destroyed them didn’t find this cavern."
A hissing sound echoed through the chamber. Sanders let down her icy gaze long enough for a twinge of fear to leak through. "This place is useless, then. Let’s hurry up and take our report back. No weapons to be found here."
Chan turned back to the monitor, recording as much information as he could. Stiles stood impatiently. "Commander, do we have any way of knowing where we are?"
"I believe that this is system J-69, in the Delta Quadrant."
Sanders wondered silently. "Unexplored space."
Sarrell cocked an eyebrow. "Technically, yes, although the Starship Enterprise was brought within several sectors of here by the Q entity several years ago, in a demonstration."
Sanders tried to remember the significance, but the dull throbbing in her arm prevented her from reaching any conclusions. They could worry about that when they were out of danger. "Hmmn. No time for contemplation, though. Pack up," Sanders ordered. The group complied, and they headed back to the entrance, and reentered the storage cavern. Sanders tapped her communicator pin. "Away team to Avenger. Five to beam up."
A reply came from Captain Jeffries. "Good to hear from you, Number One, What did you find?"
"I’d prefer to discuss that in person, sir."
"Stand by, then."
Sinclair harumphed grumpily. Sanders agreed with the moody doctor, for once. Now what?
***
The young commander grinned. A perfect opportunity had presented itself. Having tapped into the starship’s communication channel, he now knew they had a team stranded, ready to be transported. "Excellent," he whispered quietly to his second in command.
***
Jeffries sat in his chair thoughtfully. Sanders’ tone of voice indicated that they probably had found no weapons, or any other devious devices. But, the Romulan rebels weren’t likely to believe them. He had to get them out of there, and fast. He turned to the conn officer. "Set course to pull a tight turn around the planet, catching the away team in transport range for only an instant. Then, we drop shields and take them aboard, while jetting out of the system. Clear?"
She nodded, confidently. "Yes, sir."
"Jeffries to Sanders. Prepare for beam-out. Maintain position."
Sanders voice was questioning. "Affirmative."
***
The young commander glanced at the tactical monitor of the immediate area, and was briefly confused, but then understood the starship’s movements perfectly. Indeed, he had once used a similar tactic. That meant he knew what to do now. "Pilot. Set course on a tight reverse orbit across the south magnetic pole of the planet. Prepare to disengage cloak for firing on my mark."
The Federation ship completed its parabolic turn, and headed straight into their grasp. The weapons officer nodded. "Their shields are falling..."
"NOW!"
The Avenger completed its transport, and headed away. But, as it cleared orbit, the fierce warbird shimmered and launched a single salvo. The blast rocked off the hull of the Federation ship, scarring it, and causing a large hull breach to collapse several decks. The young commander relished the strategy. "Set course to pursue, maximum speed. Have the others follow us!"
***
Jeffries, you’re a damn fool, he thought. That stunt had worked ten years ago, but standards and tactics changed. A hazy smoke hung in the air on the deck. He raged silently. It was his fault. "Get us out of here, maximum power!"
The ship lurched slightly, then complied. Chan had made it to engineering, and his voice suddenly rang on the intercom. "Sir! The forward shields have been seriously damaged, and the warp field is ripping up the saucer section because of the hull integrity breaches. I’d say we have ten minutes before the ship is torn apart!"
Frambert glared, his warrior instincts taking over. "Romulan warbird on a pursing vector... closing."
Jeffries turned to the conn. "Set course for the nearest edge of the nebula, maximum speed!" He stopped and looked at a systems readout on the arm of his chair. The enemy ship was so concerned with pursuing them that their shields were at lowered power levels. Jeffries glared. "Mister Frambert. Aft torpedoes, now!"
Four fiery sparkles cleared the aft bay, and streaked towards the Trestal. The torpedoes sailed into the berth of the warbird, and punctured the forward shields of the vessel. The explosion flared across the twin hulls of the ship, causing it to lose speed, and spin out of control.
The doors to the turbolift hissed open, and Stiles, Sanders, and Sarrell emerged. Sanders eyed the image on the viewscreen of the warbird flying out of control and grinned in Frambert’s direction. "Good shooting."
Stiles relieved Frambert, and frowned at the readings. "The first warbird has lost control and is dropping to sublight speed. A second one has begun to chase us. They’re cloaking.... gone."
Ensign Sarrell had taken the helm. "Sir, we are losing momentum, and hull stresses are visibly increasing." She stopped for a moment to think, her calculating, logical face revealing that she was going over the options. "I believe we should find a place to hide, sir."
Jeffries face was non-committal, but the kindling fire in his eyes told another story. "Sanders?"
"There is no weapon, sir. Just an old transporter beam. This whole mess is a farce cooked up by that leader of the Romulan faction."
Jeffries blinked. People had died in order to stop that Romulan commander. The pulsing tone of the ship’s alert sirens sounded in the background noise of the bridge. "Mister Chan. Damage report."
Chan groaned audibly in the background noise of the intercom. "Primary hull has suffered four separate hull breaches, causing several power disruptions. Casualties are high, unfortunately, and the forward dorsal shields are non-functional. Warp drive stresses are draining the structural integrity field rapidly. We have less than four minutes until the ship is torn apart. Secondary hull is mostly undamaged, and majority of weapons are still functional."
"With all due respect sir, we won’t survive another battle." Stiles drew himself up at his post. "I recommend we separate the saucer section and leave it behind."
Sanders eyed Stiles with a quizzical expression. "That will leave the saucer section defenseless!" she argued.
The security chief put up a hand. "I request permission to take command of the saucer, sir. I have an idea." They looked at him. "If we head into the most dense area if the nebula, the Romulans’ cloaking device won’t function. They’ll wait for us to come out. If we separate the ship while their sensors are blind, the stardrive section could emerge, and as the Romulans decloaked to fire, the saucer could creep up from behind, and blast them. We could catch them in a crossfire."
A slow smile crept across Jeffries face. "That might just work. Attention all decks! Prepare for emergency saucer separation!" Jeffries nodded his approval. "Clear the bridge. Sanders, Sarrell, and Frambert: secure the battle bridge. Auxiliary crew report to duty stations."
Chan’s slightly irritated voice came across once more. "Losing integrity... manually disengaging now."
The Avenger shook violently with her sudden loss of power. The main lights flickered, to be replaced by the crimson glow of the emergency systems kicking in. The ship hurtled through space, making an uncontrolled deceleration from warp speed. "Slowing sir.... estimate 0.6 warp power in 2 minutes," Sarrell reported calmly as she cleared her station. Jeffries entered a brief log report in the main computer, and then headed for the emergency turbolift. Heaven help them if it didn’t work.
***
Frambert looked up as a status indicator blinked on. The military layout of the battle bridge was slightly more cramped and efficient than the main bridge. To the young Andorian, it felt right at home. All around them were damage indicators, weapons readouts, and so on. The mighty vessel was an effective and more compact weapon when removed from the bulk of the primary hull. "All systems report ready sir."
"Engage maneuver," was all that Jeffries said.
The two hulls suddenly began to lift away from one another, like a giant knife had carved the two sections apart. With several audible thunks inside the ship, the two halves moved away from one another, and turned to their new destination, with relative synchronization. The cobra-headed stardrive section moved ahead, cruising at a faster impulse velocity. Sarrell had the conn, and expertly her slender fingers darted across the main control board. The two pieces of the ship shifted and drove forward, their impulse trails hidden in the swirling mists of the nebula’s cauldron of gasses.
Jeffries opened a secure channel to Stiles. "We have only one shot at this. The stardrive section will lower her shields, so as to offer the Romulans an opportunity they can’t give up. The instant they are visible you have to hit them with everything you have, understand? No time for a weapons lock. You have to fire it manually."
Frambert watched silently as Stiles tried to appear confident on the viewer. It was his idea to begin with. Still, Frambert felt compelled to voice his own opinion. "Sir, if Commander Stiles is unable to disable them in time, we will not be able to respond....."
Jeffries smiled back at his student. "At ease, Mister Frambert. I know... but, it’s our only reasonable shot."
Frambert noticed that Doctor Sinclair had taken a seat on the aft deck of the battle bridge. Without any further patients to administer to, the CMO had apparently chosen to coordinate the emergency triage teams onboard the battle section for the almost inevitable casualties. He could have sworn he heard the doctor mutter to himself, "You call this reasonable?" Frambert smiled inwardly. Truly, the gods help them.
Stiles and the captain, meanwhile, had been coordinating his directions with the other officers. It was Frambert’s turn. Jeffries turned his chair. "Lieutenant, when the Romulans have taken the bait and Stiles has taken his first shot, your primary objective is to put the shields up as fast as you can, and use the aft phasers to specifically take out their defenses. We want to disable them, not kill them. Is that understood?"
"Perfectly, sir."
Sanders had taken charge of the ship, meanwhile. She sat down at the secondary tactical systems station-a post which any officer could fill-but she had chosen communications. In decades past, communications were handled by specialists that served as a primary member of the bridge staff. By contrast, on modern starships, much of the communications had been delegated to the computer, which was now capable of such duties. But, onboard the Avenger, the designers had recognized that in a battle, the computer might fail, and that a capable crew member would be better off handling communications. For that reason, they had placed a tactical communications console on the battle bridge, and a similar auxiliary post also existed on the main bridge, in case of an emergency. She had fallen into place immediately, and coordinated communications smoothly.. "All stations have reported ready, sir."
"Then take us out." Jeffries eyed a small tactical repeater display next to him. "Drop shields.... now."
The ship floated slowly out of the dust and gas of the nebula, her veil of defensive fields falling, leaving her slightly marred surface naked to the cosmos, and the Romulans’ disruptors with it. The silence was thick in the air, the only noise the soft pulsing of the proximity sensors beneath the main viewer. The blinking alert lights played all across the faces of the crew, bathing them in a crimson glow. The sudden harsh tone of the ship’s sensors at Frambert’s station nearly startled them all to an early grave. Jeffries tensed, his eyes narrowing, watching the flickering distortion of the Romulan battleship appearing on the viewscreen. Words were unnecessary. It was now or never.
Apparently, now had won. The blood-red streaks of fire that preceded the saucer’s running lights emerging from the mist, scoring across the hull of the warbird. Frambert hated to think what was going through the minds of the Romulan crew. "Firing main phaser barrage. Shields up," he reported.
Sarrell threw the ship into a tight turn, so tight that it gripped the stomachs of the crew as the inertial dampers tried, but didn’t quite succeed, to compensate. Meanwhile, the Romulan ship had been all but sheared apart by the white-hot phaser beams that had ripped through her surface. The firing had stopped. Sanders opened a channel voluntarily, and Jeffries spoke in a clipped, terse tone.
"Romulan vessel. This is Captain Micha....."
The sudden, unexplained explosion of the Romulans’ engines caught them by surprise, but not entirely. Death before dishonour was the Romulan way. Sanders looked at her screens, and removed a small, almost obsolete transceiver from her ear. "All stations report no damage, Captain."
Jeffries shook his head, smiling faintly. "Then, set course to intercept the other warbird, warp 9."
The ship streaked off into subspace with a brilliant flash. On the bridge of the saucer section, Stiles wiped the sweat from his brow, and left the tactical console. It had worked-but just barely. The thing that he would never admit to, though, was that he had almost missed the Romulans’ engines with the first shot... in which case, they would have been dead. He smiled tightly. It was unfortunate for the Romulans he hadn’t missed.
***
The young commander spat blood from the gash at the side of his mouth, and it’s green trail trickled down his chin. He was finished. He had caught the enemy by surprise, because they had underestimated him. He had been guilty of the same crime as they made their escape. Diverting most of the shields’ power to the engines had seemed prudent, but he had not considered that the Federation ship’s weapons would still be functioning. That ship was tough... and her commander was tougher. The long range sensors had just monitored the destruction of their compatriots that had continued the chase for them. The young commander idly considered that they must be next. As it was, he wasn’t surprised that the cobra-headed and compact battle section of the Federation ship left warp and brought her weapons to bear on his crippled starship. What did surprise him was the sudden appearance of High Commander Terstok’s glaring sneer on the viewscreen. The young commander attempted to look more dignified, but failed.
Terstok, on the other hand, did nothing to conceal that he looked very angry. "The Saalatona has been destroyed. She attempted to flee, and I had no choice but to execute them. And you have failed. I will decloak, and when I am finished destroying the Federation ship, you will be next. I am very disappointed, Commander. Now, you will die." Terstok blinked off the screen.
The young commander grimaced in pain at the multiple bruises he had received when a section of the upper bulkhead had landed on him. He turned to the weapons officer. "Status?"
"We have three photon torpedoes able to fire, and that is all. No shields to speak of, and the engines are down. The Federation vessel has locked its phasers onto us," answered the gunner.
The young commander pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Open a channel to the Federation starship," he decided.
The face of a middle-aged human filled the viewer, his eyes giving away no emotions of hatred or malice. Odd. The human actually smiled. "Romulan commander, we feel that you should be aware that there is no weapon on the planet, or any other device. This has been a futile quest. We don’t need to fight one another."
The young commander wasn’t at all surprised. "I expected as much, Captain. I recommend you ready yourself. The ship of Terstok is about to decloak, and we are going to shoot him down ourselves. We are proud, and intend to die with him."
The human seemed taken aback. "We can assist you...."
The young commander was even more surprised this time. "Then have your gunner stand by to fire torpedoes on my mark. I will give the word."
"Hopefully, Commander, we..." the human began. The young commander ignored him. Terstok’s ship began to decloak at point blank range. The human was still continuing. "... and stop this nonsense when this is all..."
The young commander spoke but a single word to his crew and to that of the peculiar Federation vessel. "NOW!"
The transmission cut abruptly, and the green streaks of fire from the Trestal punctured the command tower of the Shakara, accompanied by four carefully aimed torpedoes from the Federation ship. The Shakara soon was no more than a burning hulk on a direct collision course for the Trestal.
The young commander opened a channel to the Federation captain briefly. "Farewell. You were a worthy adversary, even if the cause was wrong. We will soon die, and end this madness... Terstok’s and all of our dishonours shall end here and now. Good-bye, Captain." The young commander left the channel open.
The two ships collided, and with a final grim look of satisfaction, the young commander was blown out of space.
***
The Avenger, en route to Starbase 469, 7 hours later.
Captain’s personal log, Stardate 48438.9
The pride of the Romulan rebels was unusual, as they embodied what many in their empire hated. The look of grim fulfillment on the young Romulan commander’s face still haunts my memory. How can we have come so far, and yet, we have to destroy things just to learn our lesson? The ship is headed back to starbase for extensive repairs, but I hope that we will be able to learn something from this experience. Our journey is useless unless we can stop and think about all of the sacrifices that have been made by so many along the way.... and the look in the eyes of the Romulan as he died in front of us seemed to me that he had learned this lesson the best of all. He said ‘we’ when speaking of his ship and crew... a sign that they implicitly trusted him. Truly, they did represent the Proud. But, also the foolish. And the many.
Jeffries sat silently in the observation lounge, the stars streaking past in subspace. He was thankful that this journey was just beginning.
(The End)
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