CAPTAIN'S LOG:
A Joint RPG Newsletter of the Star Trek Universe

"Captain ... I believe I speak for everyone here, sir, when I say, 'To Hell with our orders.'"
~ Data, Star Trek: First Contact

Issue 8: April 1999 - http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Hollow/3200/index.html - [email protected]

Happy April Fools Day!!!

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

1. Frustrating Fundamentals: The Trouble With Having a Legacy
2. Team Work: Nit Pick Debate
3. Subscribing Fleet News
4. The Spotlight: USS Broadsword
5. Meet The Members: Steven Marriott
6. Neophite News: Musings
7. Trek Trivia
8. Federation History: Valhalla
9. Classifieds
10. USS Avenger: Infiltration Part III

Frustrating Fundamentals: The Trouble With Having a Legacy
Sean Berg, Fiction Editor   

This month on the Frustrating Fundamentals, we examine the trouble with having a legacy to pass on and to live up to.  I am of course referring to one of the greatest of all legacies, Star Trek and it's respective following, universe, and entire assemblage of material.  What having a legacy means is that everything that follows must attempt to live up to the legacy, or forever be considered a less than worthy attempt.   Star Trek has one such legacy.  

This means that every time they produce something down at the Paramount lots, there is a great shadow towering over all of their efforts, which, by now, surely has started getting to them just a little bit.  For instance, one of the troubles that this legacy has produced is a mass of material to deal with, catalogue, analyze, and correlate across every episode, every script, and every minute of every story.  And it is often that, unfortunately, the sheer volume overruns the best intentions of the writers, and they screw something up, big time.  

Things that are conveniently forgotten to sew stories together as a part of the game, considering that the entire legacy exists as a result of 30 years of creative "flying by the seats of their pants" on the part of some of the most creative people in the television and movie industries.   What becomes a problem is when there are just too many inconsistencies and the fans, especially the sharp ones, have to start suffering from selective memory in order to genuinely enjoy themselves and suspend disbelief once again. 

Just a few crucial points in Star Trek history that make no sense: - The actual name of the treaty that created the Romulan neutral zone, what it entailed, and when it was ratified.  Originally, the treaty of Algeron was supposed to have been signed after the Earth-Romulan wars in the 22nd century, but then later it was said to have occurred in the very early twenty-fourth century, and included the 'no cloaks' clause. - The whole Klingon makeup fiasco.  Everyone admits that something should have been done before, but by now, it's merely a quirk of the business that everyone accepts and carries on with. - The warp speed barrier:  This refers to Branon Braga's idea to introduce the warp 5 speed limit.  This made for a significant story, (for a single episode) but which cost everyone more trouble than it was worth.  Eventually, due to extreme fan outrage, the producers decided to 'forget' this limit, claiming that Starfleet had invented a new 'environmentally friendly' warp drive.  But, I ask the question, would it not have been easier to rewrite the story so that only in certain regions high speeds over long periods could be dangerous? 

When first contact with the Borg was actually made.  According to Voyager's most recent escapades, people at the highest levels of Starfleet and the Federation knew full well that the Borg existed twenty years before the Enterprise made first contact in "Q-who?", and the subsequent disastrous battle at Wolf 359.  Furthermore, when the Enterprise first encountered the Borg, the Borg had interest only in their technology, not in them personally.  It was a later behavior where the Borg would assimilate individuals.  They did not have assimilation 'nanoprobes' and the like at this time.  However, on Voyager, they forgot this, and the entire basis of the existence of 7 of 9 is that the Borg assimilated her as a young child, decades in the past, and had the full collection of assimilation technology as seen in First Contact.  Clearly something does not add up here.  But nobody is filling in the blanks. 

When they introduced Tuvok as a member of the crew of the Excelsior, they should have re-read the script for Star Trek VI more closely.  The Excelsior monitored the explosion of Praxis Three months before Captain Kirk was framed and the entire conspiracy unfolded.  In said mission, at no time did the science officer (his name escapes me at this time) die, since he was present at the end of Star Trek VI on the bridge.  Yet, in the Voyager episode, Tuvok recalls a space of three days.  He recalls his friend the science officer dying.  This is almost a direct contradiction.  (Selective memory again?)     In any case, it's too late to really do anything about any of these inconsistencies other than to acknowledge their existence and hope that more do not follow.  In the end, it's someone else's job to deal with them anyway.  

Next time:  The Borg.  How the writers wrote themselves into a corner and have been trying to find a way out ever since.  

Team Work: Nit Pick Debate
Reprinted from Tango Fleet News and Information Service
All Authors are subscribers of Tango Fleet Info. Service
Used by permission of original author, Relitore Leneir

What about special weaponry and Starfleet protocol?

This war is supposed to be a futile effort for the Federation and does anyone want to know why?

Remember a little thing called a cloaking device? Well, most Federation vessels don't have them now and none of them had it during civil times. This defensive weapon might have made a few people upset but if more Federation Vessels had them then maybe the Federation would have been spared the privilege of being challenged by every known power in the Quadrant like the Dominion, Romulans ect.

And what about common sense and going back to basics. Its apparent that the Borg are immune to Particle weaponry so why not arm all Federation crew not only with phasers but with machine guns with armor piercing bullets or something.

This unique basic weapon would also be the ideal choice for heavy fire fights with the Dominion troops because one unique feature about phasers is that you can see them coming. Id like to see a Jem' Hadar charge toward a spread of bullet fire. ( Its been tried before during the civil war, and it has been proven time and time again to do more harm than good.)

Also, what about temporal weaponry? Did you see how much damage it did to the Enterprise-E without even hitting it, and the Enterprise has an ablative armor matrix hull configuration. What if all Federation ships where armed with emergency temporal weaponry? The Dominion wouldn't last a month.

And don't even let me get into technology....... Ok, Instead of making an EMH doctor, why don't they make an EMH crew so if the CONN or Tactical officer was killed then the EMH could take over. And you could project ship security personnel anywhere in the vessel instantly.

And cloaking devices.......what an overated joke if you just go back to basics. The last time I checked, cloaked vessels where still solid as well as metallic so why not just rig an old sonar/radar device into the sensors and instant cloaking detection. ( It should work if you read up on how the devices function.)

And it is known widely that the Federations most beautiful and powerful vessels in the Sovereign class have various weaknesses:

1. If you hit a Sovereign class vessels deflector array with particle weapons such as phasers then it will fill with anti-protons and destroy half the ship which make them basically bombs waiting to go off. ( I dare anyone to challenge me on this.)

2. Sovereign class vessels are weak if attacked from behind because although it is highly maneuverable if in a forward attacking pattern, but because of its length it can not quickly turn around and it can not fire quantum torpedoes form the rear and there is a design flaw in its rear photon targeting sensors, (it can only target one vessel at a time and its rear photon turrets only have a 35/min rate of discharge repetition.

And personal protection, why cant the Federation ground troops carry mobile shield emitters? The Federation has the technowledgey to make it work so why not use it.

And last but not least, Remember when the Enterprise-D discovered a cloaking device that could allow a vessel to pass threw solid matter, where did that useful sucker come from and where did it go?

Sometimes I think that the Federation wants to loose the war, its not that the captains and crew are not doing their best to repel random Dominion attacks, but the Federation council needs some new blood and a new attitude if we are expected to win this thing.

How can we expect to fight and defeat an archer if we limit ourselves to slingshots.

My name is Relitore Leneir, and this is my opinion.

Editor's Note: Upon its original publication a month ago this article sprung an outpouring of responses and debates that are still continuing on that mailing list today. For space purposes I cannot include them all here, so instead I have included the original article and am now including one of the more recent replies. Anyone who wishes to read the debate in its entirety can e-mail me at [email protected] and I will be happy to pass it along.

It's me again!  The one who was the first to reply! =)

I've enjoyed reading all of the responses so far, some have brought up some very good points.  I also recieved a response privately from Lenier himself, and I have some new comments to add to this.  Rather than including the whole message again, I'll just touch on the stuff I have comments on.

First, Steve made a very good point about the Borg's personal shields. They would soon learn to adapt to bullets and other projectile weapons.  Most races they have fought with probably use energy or similar weapons. Second, he also made a good point about the deflector Dish. Starfleet WOULD have a lot of backups.  They are very safety conscious, as
evidenced in a DS9 episode of which I can't remember the name.  They require THREE backups in addition to the primary system of every important system on the ship. This shows their minds for safety, and I'm sure that would extend to potent areas like the deflector dish too.

Next, he made refernce to Gene Roddenberry's statement as to why the Federation doesn't use cloaks.  I agree with that.  For the most part, anyway.  I think there are times it would be neccesary, as for the Defiant, and during times of war, when they need every advantage they can get. But I would not want to see an entire cloaked Starfleet.

Next, William made some comments about the idea of having a holographic emergency crew. He says that emitters would take up too much power in an emergency.  I don't totally agree, there.  We saw one ship that has emitters installed everywhere, allowing the Doctor to go where needed, in an emergency. If the system didn't have some sort of reserve power supply of its own, it would be useless, because the doctor couldn't get where he needed to if the ship was damaged.  I submit that the idea for an emergency crew would work along similar lines...

Also, William made a very good point about the nature of a phasing cloak. By its nature, he's correct, it ISN'T really a cloak, and therefore doesn't fall into violation of the Treaty of Algeron.

Then, William made a comment about the people of the Federation, how they would have to be in support of a full scale war.  I suggest that they are.  Starfleet is obviously deeply embroiled in this war, and the Federation is committing nearly all of it's resources toward winning. I think it is probably similar to the United States in World War II.  We kept out of the war until it became important to us, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. But at that time, the entire country suddenly rallied behind the armed forces to prepare for war, and not long after, the United States was producing more supplies, both directly for use in the war (tanks, ships, etc) and indirectly, (food, clothing, etc) than all of the other Allies combined.  In fact, there was at least one shipyard in California that by the end of the war could launch a new ship every 36 hours!  This is a documented historical fact.  I personally believe the US shouldn't have stayed out of the war as long as we did, but it can't be denied that the Japanese made a mistake in attacking us.  I suggest that it is similar with the Federation. They wanted to avoid a war, but it was inevitable, because of the nature of the Dominion.  And I would expect that the people of the Federation are committed to it now, because of the heavy losses the Federation has taken.  Thousands and thousands of lives, multiple planets have been occupied, etc.  This makes the war a very real threat for the people of the Federation, as the attack on Pearl Harbor made World War II a threat for the US.

I mentioned that I got a reply from Lenier. Here are a few comments I have about what he said.

In the original article, he brought up the use of Temporal and subspace weapons, to which I replied "What use is winning if you can no longer use warp because you destroyed the fabric of subspace?"  His reply was as follows: "If its going to save my wife and kids if a Borg Cube or a Dominion fleet reached Earth then to Hell with subspace. I'd take us back to the damn Ice age if I had to."

This is certainly one opinion, but consider this. Destroying subspace would mean the end of the Federation.  Not only would Warp be impossible, but so would subspace radio, since it uses susbspace, just as warp travel does. This would collapse the bonds that hold the worlds of the Federation toegther.  Then what would stop an even more advanced race from taking them over?  Remember the saying "United we stand, divided we fall."  Well, if subspace was destroyed, the Federation would certainly be divided, and it would only be a matter of time before the member worlds fell, one by one, to a superior outside force. Gone would be the days of cooperation and working toward a better future.

Lenier also asked why if the Dominion can detect cloaked ships, why can't the Federation?  Well, they can.  They have, on many occasions. As Steve said, it is merely a matter of time, and also how close the cloaked ship is.  DS9 was able to detect the Defiant when it made it's first appearance, several minutes before it decloaked.  DS9 later detetcted a cloaked Romulan warbird orbiting the station. These are just two examples, but there are many more.  Also, the Dominion is slightly more advanced than the Federation, which may explain why they have an easier time detecting cloaked vessels.

Lastly, in his original article, Lenier made the comment "How can we expect to fight an archer and win, if we limit ourselves to
slingshots?"  I have a new response.  My first response was this: "Ever hear of David and Goliath?" My new response is thanks to my friend Kim. She pointed out a couple of other historical examples.

The Battle of Little Bighorn, aka Custer's Last Stand. A group of Native Americans did battle with the US Cavalry. The Native Americans were armed only with bows and arrows and war clubs, while the Cavalry had guns and bayonets. If she remembers correctly, the only survivor on the Cavalry's side was a horse.

Also, consider the American Revolution. The colonies went to war with Great Britain, in an attempt to gain their independance. The colonies were up against what was at that time, the world's most powerful nation. The British were better armed, better trained, and better organized. But the colonists were fighting on familiar ground, and they were fighting for their freedom. This allowed them to emerge victorious, and found a new nation, what we know today as the United States.  In a way, the Federation is like those colonists 200 years ago. They are fighting on familiar territory, and they are fighting for their freedom from the Dominion.

This is what I love about these kinds of discussions, we get new ideas by reading those of others, and their thoughts inspire us to consider things from other perspectives. =)

Sincerely,

Kyle Soderholm
aka Captain Toroca
USS Octavian-A

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 May 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
Editor in Chief
Captain's Log News

Echo Fleet: Echo Fleet recently welcomed two new Flag Officers into the fleet, and restarted the USS Saskatoon after she had a few minor problems. The two new Flag Officers are busy with External Fleet Relations and Affairs, and they are working to get our association recognized. Commodore Waltz's attempt at getting a Unity Game working was unsuccessful due to the lack of interest. The project has been dropped.

We welcomed several new officers to the Fleet, and behind the scenes work on the webpage has been completed. We are currently working on moving the webpage to a faster server. Once the webpage has been relocated, everyone will be able to review the unique exterior designs and specifications of the Trill/Starfleet Fighter Crafts developed by Echo Fleetyards. We'd like to wish everyone and their families a Happy Easter. May you find happiness with yourselves.

- Jeff Johnson, Echo Fleet Consultant

Gamma Fleet: Greetings fellow RPGers (or whatever we are called)! This month, Gamma Fleet is seeing our first large-scale joint mission. The proud and valiant crews of the USS Merlin (under the command of Vice Admiral Rawlens), the USS Falcon (under the command of Commodore Atad), and the USS Lancelot (under the command of Captain Connor), are joining forces to combat an imminent Borg incursion into Federation space.

Oh, one last thing, the USS Camelot is re-embarking after a temporary closure, under a new CO, Captain Cascus Ironwolf. Good luck to him in his new command. Well, that's it for this month, nobody has sent me anything else to add *sob*.

See y'all next month.

- William Haywood, Gamma Fleet Consultant

Tango Fleet: Tango Fleet News?  Hmm, since the Commander-in-Chief, Andrew Grimm, and myself have been on vacation all of this month, we really haven't been doing very much (other than getting thrown out of meetings and told to butt out, that is).  *smiles*  Apparently our staff thought we needed a break? 

Anyway, just recently our Training Manager, Liesel Gresham, resigned her position in the management to her assistant, Haakon Vinje.  Although we will certainly miss Liesel in the administration, we are very happy that she has decided to remain active in the many other things in which she participates, including remaining the Commanding Officer of the USS Endymion. 

Other than that, we have basically had a month of recovering in many areas, and recognition that we need recovery in others.  To address that, there is a meeting scheduled for the weekend after Easter, at which our Executive Council will revise the Tango Fleet rules and create a clear Constitution and Chain of Command.  We are hopeful that this will help to ease some of the growing tensions and allow Tango Fleet to continue to serve our members in the best way possible.  In that same spirit, I'd like to recognize and sincerely thank Steven Marriott and Robert Williams who filled in as Senior Game Manager and Game Manager, respectively, while Andy and I were gone, as well as their (and our) EXCELLENT support staff, consisting of Becky Manes, Phil Barnes, John Gresham, Liesel Gresham (resigned), and Haakon Vinje (newly promoted), as well as many others.  The fleet is sincerely in the debt of all of you.

On that note, Happy Easter, Passover, or just plain Happy Springtime to all of you!

- Amy Lindeman, Tango Fleet Consultant

The Spotlight: USS Broadsword
Will Haywood, Staff Writer

Hi everyone! I've volunteered to do this column now for a bit. This month, I have decided to tell you all about the USS Broadsword. I chose this sim because it was one of the only sims on the list which was just a lone ship, not a fleet, a ship. Anyway, Captain Wells, if you would like to join a fleet then....... only kidding, this is not a recruitment campaign for my fleet so I'll get on with the article. The USS Broadsword is a Sabre-Class starship whose mission it is to permanently patrol the Federation/Dominion border. The main format for role playing is through email.

My congratulations go to the creator of the website due to the fact that it is not graphically intense like many RPG sites are, so it is very "slow connection friendly".  However, I feel it could do with just a couple of more pictures, perhaps one of a Sabre-Class ship.

The content of the site is very good. The site has all the information you need if you want to join the crew, a good set of clear, easy to understand rules, and links to a site which I recommend for technical details about the Sabre, and any other class, starship.

Overall the USS Broadsword looks to be a good sim. I recomend you check out the site at http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Dreamworld/6433/ So until next month, bye.

Meet the Members: Steven Marriott
Amy Lindeman, Editor in Chief

<Amy> Hello Steven.  Today we have the unique privilege of interviewing someone who has had the chance to serve as a Fleet Game Manager, and lived to tell the story.  Steven is a member of Tango Fleet, and served as the Acting Senior Game Manager during the month of March.  But to begin with, Steven, what got you interested in RPGS?

<Jarax/ Imbralie> Arr well, I am an avid Star Trek fan, and having finally got access to the Net, I rampaged around as many Star Trek sites as I could lay my hands on, and came across a ship called the USS Masada.

<Amy> My old ship *smiles fondly* Errr, I'm getting off topic, what I was going to say is, what is it about the games that have made you stay after your initial visit to that exquisite website?

<Jarax/ Imbralie> Already an avid RPGer, I loved the idea of trying it on the Net and was hooked... If somewhat lazy... It took me another two months to get around to it.. When I was cleaning out my old bookmarks and came across the Masada once again, I couldn't resist it this time and I applied that second! lol

<Amy> And how long ago was that?

<Jarax/ Imbralie> Hmmmm, unlike most I couldn't exactly say.. I believe it would be about two years ago this September.

<Amy> That's not that unusual, I've had to do a lot of searching and thinking to figure out how long I was in the fleet as well.  So, in two years time you managed to make it high enough in the fleet's staff to be considered for a temporary senior management position... What is it that you do in the Tango Fleet administration ordinarily?

<Jarax/ Imbralie> Ohh what do I do?  Well.. I'm currently the Director of Fleet Tango Fleet Medical, the Commendations Co-ordinator, I've recently been appointed the Department Manager.. and my major love.. I'm a member of the Design Team... as well as a few other things. lol

<Amy> Wow, you certainly do spread yourself pretty thin!  Where do you find the time to post?  *laughs*

<Jarax/ Imbralie> Well, lately the ships I'm on would say I don't, but I don't take on more than I can handle. Albeit I was overtaken with the work load when I became the Temporary Senior Game Manager. lol.. You should have seen all the mail building up.. hehe

<Amy> *smiles* I can just imagine.  Is there anything that you learned, or any insight you gained, from serving as Senior Game Manager?

<Jarax/ Imbralie> Yes. A simple, but straight answer. You can't take on this type of role and not learn, in my opinion. But what I actually learned.. that would be hard to put into words.. I learned a lot about people, as well as the stress and strain of the job.

<Amy> Is there any advice you would offer to someone considering taking on this position in another RPG?

<Jarax/ Imbralie> Don't, it's not good for your health. I was up late almost every night. lol But seriously if you have the will, and the people skills, take a shot. Just remember, it's a game and you'll be okay.

<Amy> That remembering it's a game part might be the hardest, though.  :-) That's my biggest downfall, I believe.  How about you, what would you say is your most interesting quirk?

<Jarax/ Imbralie> This is public, so I'll keep it clean. *lol* My most interesting quirk is probably my annoying need for accuracy. Many a crew member has befallen to my annoying needs. lol I believe that was how we first came to meet.. Registration numbers. *lol*

<Amy> *laughs* Indeed it was.  And I STILL don't remember how they're supposed to be written.  *grins*  Well, at least that isn't so much of a downfall as a strength.  :-)  We're lucky to have someone to keep us in line on matters like that.  And to save us when we're running on a deadline and need to write an interview.  *laughs*  Well, I'd like to thank you very much for volunteering your time like this, Steven, but before you go, is there anything else you would like to tell our readers?

<Jarax/ Imbralie> Not a problem; a pleasure as always.. Keep well all.. and my door is open.. *smile*

<Amy> Thank you again, and ... until next time ... Live Long and Prosper!

If you or anyone you know may be interested in participating in an interview for an upcoming issue, please contact me at [email protected] for more information. Thanks!

Neophite News: Musings
Amy Lindeman, Editor in Chief

Anxiety, anticipation, and enthusiasm all describe traits that I have seen in some of the best up-and-coming officers whom I have had the pleasure of knowing since their first day in an RPG as a cadet, up until (for some of them) their own command, and promotion to Captain where they become a member of our Command Council.  These are, of course, marvelous qualities, and ones that most experienced RPGers should hope to see in their new recruits. Unfortunately, after these same enthusiastic cadets get their own command and try their hands at it, and oftentimes a good deal before they even reach that point, I am disappointed to see that enthusiasm die away.

My topic for discussion is simply how to retain that enthusiasm that is so fresh and new in RPG cadets, and keep it active and alive in the senior officers of our fleets as well.  It's easy enough to try to re-engage our Captains and Commanders, offering incentives and morale boosters, but in order to really solve the problem, I think we need to catch it before it starts.  Don't get me wrong -- there is no total solution to keeping enthusiasm up, and I've certainly never achieved it perfectly, but I think that it is very important that we all do the best we can do to try.

To that end, I believe that one thing that is likely to discourage newbies from retaining their enthusiasm for very long, is when they join a new ship and it looks like an "Officers Only Club" with no new recruits allowed. This problem is two-fold: number one, we experienced officers need to try very hard to remember how difficult it was for us to write our first posts and push our way into the storyline, and with that in mind, offer a friendly greeting to new people on our ships and cut them a little slack in getting adjusted to the game.  On the same token, to all you newbies out there, the best advice that I can offer is perseverance.  :-)  We really won't bite if you get to know us.  So, even if it requires elbowing your way onto an away mission, or maybe even nudging your way into a poker game in ten forward, try to get involved with the crew, and go about the normal process of adjusting to a social setting with your character -- remember, he is still new to us, and we need to get to know him before it will be easy to include him in our own posts!

Another problem, however, is disillusionment.  As ensigns, people see the game as one huge highly successful organization of dedicated and talented fans (at least I did).  However, once you realize that these people are human just like you and you actually feel as if you're on par, if not surpassing some of them in rank and participation, then the "illusion" begins to wear off.  This is harder to solve, and I still don't really know how.  The biggest thing that I recommend to everyone I get the chance, is to remember we are in this game for fun.  Above all else, if we keep that perspective in mind, then the realization that your fellow players are human ought to enhance the experience rather than hamper it. It will add a more unpredictable aspect to the game and leave it open for continuous improvement and intrigue.  As you're advancing in the ranks, however, don't let yourself fall into an attitude where you feel you're suddenly becoming this "untouchable" writer who is somehow better than everyone else, either.

If you remember that everyone in the game contributes something, and that even the ensign (when you may be a Lt. Commander), who may have a better way of relaying facial expressions, or developing Science storylines better than you do, still has his own unique experiences to contribute to the game. I think it will help you to realize that the game really IS a complex and successful organization of dedicated and talented fans working together -- just one more thing, YOU are a part of it!

Well, those are my musings for the day.  This may seem like common sense to a lot of you, but as Mr. Slover mentioned in the March edition of this column, success has a lot to do with the way you look at things and the attitude you develop, and I think this game will be much more fun for everyone if we all keep a positive perspective and work together to have fun.

Star Trek Trivia
Stacey Lauer, Trivia Guru and Photographer

Answers to those March questions:

1.  In the TNG episode "We'll Always Have Paris", Michelle Phillips guest starred as Picard's former lover.  What famous 60s-70s band is she from? MAMAS AND THE PAPAS

2.  The creature Megaptera novaeangliae saved Earth's tuckus in STIV.  What is a Megaptera novaeangliae? HUMPBACK WHALE

3.  The humuhumunukunukuapua'a (the state fish of Hawai'i) appeared as a kind of MC in the children's computer system on the Enterprise-D.  What episode was he featured in? RASCALS

4.  Who used a right cross to subdue one of his female patients? What was her 'ailment'?  DOCTOR MCCOY USED A RIGHT CROSS TO SUBDUE A RATHER BELLIGERENT PREGNANT EX-QUEEN.

5.  Salome Jens was the ancient humanoid everyone wanted to get their hands on in the TNG episode "The Chase".  She also plays a character whom everyone loves to hate on DS9.  Name the character.  THAT WOULD BE DIFFICULT.  SHE DOESN'T HAVE A NAME.  SHE IS THE FEMALE CHANGELING.

6.  In the DS9 episode "The Nagus", what was the name of Zek's son and heir-apparent?  KRAX

7.  Ensign Samantha Wildman and her husband Kresgrenrik (although he doesn't know it) have a daughter whose name is....? NAOMI

8.  What are the three things to know about being a captain according to Captain Janeway in "Dark Frontier"?  KEEP YOUR SHIRT TUCKED IN, GO DOWN WITH THE SHIP, AND NEVER ABANDON YOUR CREW

9.  What do Zak Kebron's parents do for a living?  HIS FATHER IS A SALESMAN OF MOTIVATIONAL PROGRAMS AND HIS MOTHER IS A POLITICIAN.

10.  After TOS went off the air, a new Trek series was planned and then dropped last-minute.  This series featured a full-blooded Vulcan whose name was...?  XON

For April's Trivia we are trying something a little different. The object is to match the speaker (left side) with the listener (right side) and the quote that the speaker said the the listener.

Classifieds Column
Captain's Log Editing Staff

ITO NEWS ALERTS: 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 (an acronym for "In The Open") 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 to the ITO alert sent to all subscribers of our newsletter! All that we ask is that you please do not abuse this service as a way of getting back at people you don't like. Also, please note that the contents of this column are purely submissions we recieve from concerned readers, and in no way represents Captain's Log taking a side on any inter-fleet disagreements. To become a part of this ITO alert chain, simply subscribe to our newsletter at http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Hollow/3200/subscribe.html.

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!!

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USS Avenger: "Infiltration" Part III
Sean Berg, Fiction Editor

STORY:

Captain's Log, Stardate 50469.5

Following the foiled attempt of a Dominion infiltrator to gain control of the ship, the ship's
computer is locked onto a direct course for the Bengali Nebula, at warp 6, and we are
unable to disengage it. However, we have managed to find and remove all of the remote
interface devices that were implanted into the ship's computer system, so we should regain
control once the engines automatically power down. This incident has left us wondering how
the Changeling managed to so easily bypass security and get onboard at all. It has also left
questions as to whether or not there may be more infiltrators aboard the ship, and why the
Avenger was targeted specifically.

Conference lounge, 11:23 hours…

"Ah, Doctor, any word yet on Commander Chan's condition?" asked an anxious Commander Sanders.

"He'll be all right, if that's what you're wanting to know. I've managed to repair most of his injuries, but he needs a few more hours of rest before he'll be fit to get out of bed. So don't be
asking for any more miracles. It's a wonder the man's alive at all, after what that fiend did to him.
You'd think he was hit over the head with a bulkhead, the way his skull had fractured," replied the
testy medical officer.

The captain harumphed loudly in order to get the meeting started. As silence fell over the room, he nodded at Frambert, who was now standing in front of the large viewscreen at the end of the room. As he touched the small control panel next to the conference lounge's presentation screen, it came to life with a bright star map, labelling the stellar phenomenon in the vicinity. In the lower left corner, a slow moving red dot indicated the ship's current position. The majority of the screen's scope, however, was taken up by a massive purple blotch that signified the location of the virtually invisible nebula. In the far upper section of the map, a curving, dotted line indicated the border of the Demilitarized Zone. Not very far from this point was another dot that indicated the position of Outpost Theta-27.

"As you can see, the nebula takes up most of this sector and two adjacent sectors. The Monaco was here studying the cloud's nature in an attempt to understand it more fully, and possibly map at least parts of it. It's practically invisible, but it is classified as a kind of nebula because of the blinding effect it has on sensors. Until very recently, sensor systems were completely unable to penetrate the cosmic soup of debris and tachyons, so it was largely avoided. However, with the increased hostilities in this area, it has become of significance because the enemy may attempt to place a strike force hidden within the cloud."

As Frambert paused, Stiles felt obligated to jump in. "Based on their early findings, it's likely that the cloud was created as the result of a strange subspace disturbance that has subsequently collapsed in on itself, and even now, some of the electromagnetic and ionic interference from the implosion still lingers inside. The result is that, even with the best equipment available, detailed sensor range is limited to ten thousand kilometres at best. Beyond that, all we have to work with is proximity sensors and subspace 'radar' that extend about a million kilometres. It's basically the galaxy's biggest blind spot."

Seed voiced a question. "Could the disappearance of the Monaco been the result of harmful effects on the ship from the cloud?"

Frambert shook his head no. His left antennae, Sanders noticed as she had watched the
conversation unfold, was wrapped in a dermal regeneration bandage. Apparently it had been
broken during the fight on the bridge. She rubbed her still-sore shoulder where the hot sting of the
phaser blast had torn into her and shuddered at the memory. Meanwhile, Frambert continued. "A
ship would be nearsighted but essentially safe inside of the cloud. We think that's why the
Dominion is interested in it. The nebula has no other effects of any kind on any ship's systems."

Sanders gazed at the map thoughtfully. "Lieutenant," she asked, "was the Monaco the first ship to actually explore part of the cloud?"

"Actually, no. This sector is at the outermost edge of explored space in the Alpha Quadrant. The cloud was discovered by the USS Inverness on a survey expedition ten years ago, but they elected to turn back once they realized that sensors were essentially useless inside of it."

The captain turned to Sanders. "Any suggestions as to how we proceed from here?"

Sanders pursed her lips as she thought about it. "I'd say that we can't trust anything that we see… that saboteur came aboard for a reason, and we still don't know what it is."

"I'd recommend that we remain at yellow alert at all times, sir," added Stiles.

Jeffries nodded. "All right. Dismissed."

***

The doors to transporter room two slid open with a sharp hiss, and Chief Carlyle, busy tinkering with the pattern buffer, looked up and smiled in recognition. "Can I help you with something, counsellor?" she asked.

Lieutenant Seed smiled faintly and shook her head no. "I was just wandering the ship, is all. Thought that I would see what you were up to."

The chief laughed and began to wipe her greasy hands on a towel as she stood up. "Not much going on around here, I'm afraid. Just busy re-calibrating the transporter so that it'll be able to punch through all that mess in the particle cloud. I was just finishing up here."

Seed nodded sagely and leaned against the transporter console. She quietly produced a
hypospray and held it behind her back. "Shouldn't you be getting some rest?"

"Nah, I'll catch a few winks when this shift ends. Working double-duty is no big deal. Why?"

Seed smiled and grabbed the woman by surprise, pressing the hypospray to the chief's neck and pressing the activator stud. "I just thought you were looking a little sleepy, is all," she whispered coldly. The chief fell to the floor, and Seed picked her up and dragged her into the passage behind the equipment that she had been working on. Opening a storage compartment, she dropped the transporter technician gracelessly into the musty darkness and closed the door. Spinning on her heel swiftly, she returned to the control panel and began to enter in a specific set of command code overrides, finally opening up the isolinear panel beneath and placing one of the confiscated interface transmitters within. Closing the panel to complete her work, the counsellor quietly slipped back into the corridor of deck 5 and continued on her way.

***

Doctor Sinclair, after trying unsuccessfully to get some sleep, had marched straight back down to sickbay and now sat, watching the biomonitor next to the bed in which Commander Chan was seated anxiously. All readings seemed to be within acceptable parameters, but the doctor knew how close he had come to losing the engineer. The man's head had been split wide open like a walnut, and he was extremely curious as to what in the world had struck him. He was also worried because it was highly likely that Chan's memory would be full of holes, and he might never get back any of what he had lost. On the other hand, he was alive, and in no further danger.

There was a slight stir from Chan, and the brain activity monitor shot up dramatically as he
regained consciousness and blinked around distractedly. The doctor could see that his eyes were
having trouble focusing, and he imagined that at the moment, Chan felt like a Oldonan antelope
was tromping on his head. He came to the engineer's side and looked down at him, furrowing his
brow and knitting his bushy white eyebrows together. "Commander, do you know where you
are?"

Chan struggled to sit upright but was stopped by the restraining field that had been placed there for his protection. "What the? Doc? What am I doing in sickbay?" he spluttered.

Sinclair sighed with relief. "Looks like I shouldn't be concerned about your mental abilities any longer. You got attacked and struck over the head. An ensign found you on Deck 10 and you
were rushed into surgery. You almost didn't make it."

Chan relaxed and grimaced. "The getting hit over the head part I remember. I ran into a crewman from engineering and then the next thing I knew, a 60-kilo chunk of metal smacked me across the back of the head."

"Well, you should be all right, but you're going to have one helluva headache for a while. Had to completely reseal your skull with the regenerator," the doctor explained.

"So, did you find out who nailed me?" Chan asked anxiously.

"It turns out he was a Founder, a Changeling. He came onto the bridge pretending to be you, and when he realized that everyone already knew that you were in sickbay, he pulled out a phaser. Sarrell managed to shoot him, but there was quite a scuffle up on the bridge. He locked out the computer and sent us on a joyride. We won't be able to get helm control back until we reach whatever co-ordinates were programmed in."

Chan seemed surprised. "A Changeling, you say? How in the world did it get past Starfleet
security? And why would the Dominion be interested in our ship specifically?"

"I don't have any answers for you, Commander. Just sit back and try to get some more rest. I don't feel quite comfortable with you leaving sickbay just yet, and with that headache I doubt that you'll be able to stand up anyway," the doctor said tiredly. "I think I'll get some shuteye too."



Bridge, 01:14 hours…

Captain Jeffries almost stumbled onto the bridge, the generous mug of coffee that he was drinking seeming to do little for him except to keep his eyelids from closing completely. He came forward and sat back on the railing of the tactical station and sighed, asking of the man running the console, "What is it, Ensign?"

The officer looked up and shrugged. "I have Admiral Nechayev waiting on subspace, sir."

Jeffries raised his eyebrows and then moved down to the lower deck and stood under the
approximate location of the bridge's holoprojector and gestured for the ensign to activate it. An
instant later, a three-dimensional image of Admiral Nechayev appeared behind the forward
stations, sitting behind a holographic desk. She nodded quickly and began to speak. "Captain, the
Starship Independence has still not reported in. We're declaring her missing in action. Your
mission now is to find out what happened to the Independence as well as the Monaco."

"Have any other vessels been reported missing in this vicinity, Admiral?" the captain asked after a moment.

"None so far, but you know how little the average trader and smuggler tends to trust Starfleet."

"All right, we'll keep you posted. Jeffries out."

As the holoprojector shut down, the captain sank into his chair and sighed again. "Helm, what's our ETA?"

"Nineteen minutes, twenty seconds, sir."

"Bring us to a complete stop at the outermost edge of the particle cloud. I think I'll go and grab a shower. Ensign, you have the bridge," he said, then walked the reverse course that he had previously followed and slipped into the turbolift.

Fifteen minutes later, shaven and looking far brighter than before, the captain emerged from the turbolift once again, this time to greet the senior staff already at their posts. "You people are supposed to be off-duty. Now come on, let a fresh shift relieve you."

"With all due respect sir, the night shift doesn't generally see much action. We'd like to stay, if it's all right," replied Sanders smoothly.

Jeffries shrugged and sat down, but didn't want to let the matter drop just yet. "I could make that an order, Commander," he pointed out, half-jokingly.

Sanders smiled slyly and shot back, "That would mean you'd have to leave the bridge too, sir."

"Captain, sensors are detecting no signs of any other vessels within sensor range. That doesn't exempt the possibility of a ship inside the nebula, though," Frambert reported.

"Jeffries to Lieutenant Malcom," the captain called.

"Aye, sir?" asked the grinning if droopy science officer from the science station.

"Oh, I didn't see you on the bridge. I was going to ask you if there was any way that we could modify the shields to improve our sensor resolution."

Malcom tilted his head and thought about it for a second or two. "I think we could filter out some of the additional interference if we could alter the shield harmonics to match the base frequency pattern of the energy inside the cloud. It might take me a couple of hours, but I think we could triple our detailed sensor range in there if we tried."

Jeffries nodded ascent. "Go ahead. If you can't get it working inside three hours, we'll head in without it. The rest of you, get some sleep and report back at 0800 hours. That's an order. Ensign Sarrell, plot a search pattern, keeping in mind our minimized sensor range to cover
the maximum area in the least time span. Have it set into the helm. In three hours, we're heading in, ready or not."

Half -grudgingly, the senior staff filed off the bridge and were replaced. The captain went with them.


Captain's log, supplemental.

With helm control restored, we have stopped to consult Outpost Theta-27 and have hence
begun a sweep of the nebula. Some creative tinkering from our science officer,
Lieutenant Malcom, has increased our sensor range and resolution in the cosmic soup of
the particle cloud, but, barring an unforeseen stroke of luck, we may never find any trace
of the ill-fated science ship.

"Mate, check sensor grid 542 again?" Malcom called to Frambert.

"Aye sir. Checking… now that's unusual."

"What is it?" Malcom asked, examining his own readings.

"I could have sworn I picked up a metal trace, but it's gone again."

Malcom smiled with teeth the colour of mother-of-pearl in bright contrast to his dark features. "That's what I got too. Thought maybe I was off my rocker for a second."

"There it is again!" Frambert shouted.

"Now that isn't a coincidence. Stellar Cartography to Bridge."

"Jeffries here."

"Captain, we may have found something," Malcom explained, standing up and staring at the massive holographic display of space that occupied two thirds of the room. "A metal trace in grid 542, which is unusual, because there isn't any metal composition in the cloud."

"Good work. We'll check it out. Sarrell, reverse course for grid 542. Malcom, keep this channel open.

"Aye sir."

Frambert's long, lanky frame draped over the console in front of him. "Let's bring that section up on the monitor," he suggested, punching in several commands, which made the display zoom in on the dull haze of the nebula and focus on a certain chunk of it, which came into clearer resolution an instant later as the ship came nearer to it.

"I'll start a full spectral analysis. The metal trace is getting stronger, but I'm not getting any power readings."

"Mass?"

Malcom almost jumped. "More than… I'm reading several million metric tonnes of material, at least. If this is an asteroid, then the Avenger is a shrimp skimmer. Captain, it's definitely a ship. I'm almost certain that it's the Monaco."

"Excellent job, Lieutenant. Perform a full intensity scan of the ship the instant we're within full sensor range, and report to the bridge. Jeffries out."

Several minutes later, Malcom walked onto the bridge, a padd under one arm, Frambert looming over top of him and ducking to exit the turbolift without striking his head on the frame. Malcom handed the padd to the captain, saying, "That's the Monaco all right. Sensors show no power readings whatsoever, and severe damage to engines and key systems." He gestured at the image of a battered and lifeless New Orleans class starship on the viewscreen, one warp nacelle virtually destroyed, massive hull breaches visible across the stern and what looked like a concussion impact on the forward part of the saucer section. "Whatever hit them, it knew exactly where and how."

The captain nodded grimly, and handed off the padd to Stiles. "Start analysing these readings. I want to know what turned a Federation cruiser into Swiss cheese."

"Aye, Captain."

"Sanders, Frambert, Malcom, Seed, and Doctor Sinclair, report to the transporter room. I want you to go over there and take a look. Wear EVA suits, and above all else be careful. Dismissed."

The officers scrambled from their posts and headed to the transporter room.

Several minutes later, the transporter room door slid aside, to reveal the away team, wearing heavy-duty pressure suits, phasers and tricorders strapped to their sides. The room itself, however, was empty. Sanders sighed. "Where is Chief Carlyle?"

Frambert shrugged. "I'll run the controls, Commander," he volunteered. Sanders nodded ascent and the group stepped onto the platform. "All right, timing out. Ten seconds." He activated the transport slider and then quickly walked up to and onto the platform. Then came the distinct whine of the transporter, but Frambert easily saw that something was wrong. Instead of beaming out the entire group, only Commander Sanders and Lieutenant Seed were whisked away. A second after that, as the group milled around in confusion, Frambert's antennae twitched as he began to feel an ultrasonic pitch in the air, and just as he realized what was happening and screamed out in warning, the transporter system overloaded and began to randomly dematerialize them and disperse their atoms into space. Frambert's mind clutched for anything to keep him linked with reality. The universe blacked out, an electric charge rippling through his consciousness as he began to fade from existence. His final thought was that he was about to meet the gods… and with a brilliant flash he suddenly found himself clutching his throat on the deck a few seconds later. As he faded out again, the last thing he saw was Chief Carlyle, looking particularly harried, hammering away at the transporter controls, dropping a handful of isolinear chips.

***

The Monaco's bridge was a mere shell of itself; literally. All that remained of it was a smoking pile of wreckage that had once been control panels, monitors, the viewscreen, and just about anything else. The captain's chair was empty, but this was unsurprising as the ceiling had collapsed on top of it. The air, that which remained, was still and silent. She moved to take a step forward, but her feet kicked against something with a dull thud. She looked downward, to see the crumpled form of a man, burned beyond recognition, in the tattered remains of a Starfleet uniform. Despite her years of training and experience, the atrocities and the horrors that she had seen, Sanders couldn't help but feel a little bit queasy. A cursory inspection of the corpse allowed her to guess what had happened. The bridge had taken a direct phaser blast.

Sanders straightened up and turned to look at the doctor, except that he wasn't there. And, so it would seem, neither was anyone else. Except for the counsellor. "What the hell?!" she cried, her eyes darting around in the enveloping darkness. She slapped her communicator. "Sanders to Avenger, come in."

Seed, appearing unconcerned, smiled strangely, her face mostly hidden in the darkness of the smashed bridge that they had arrived in. "They can't hear you, Ariel."

Seed glared at the counsellor suspiciously. "Counsellor, what are you saying?"

It was at this point that she saw that the other woman had pointed her phaser at her. "I've arranged for us to have a little private chat. I've got a… friend, that would like so very much to meet you."

"What?!?" Sanders hissed in disbelief, reaching for her own weapon, backing up and stumbling into the captain's chair.

"Ah, ah! Don't think about it. My friend doesn't like it when people get out their phasers. They can be so… messy. Isn't that right darling?" At this last, the counsellor produced a small, scorpion-like creature from a small pouch on the side of her suit. "Commander, say hello to your new master."

Sanders kicked out desperately, connecting with the phaser and sending it tumbling, then lunging forward, knocking the counsellor off of her feet. The victory didn't last long, though, as Seed grappled Sanders by the front of her pressure suit, hauled her above her head with amazing
strength, and with astounding ease, tossed Sanders the length of the ruined bridge where she
smashed against a console and hit the floor, hard.

***

"Transporter room to bridge, urgent!"

The captain raised his eyebrows and replied, "Bridge here. What is it, Chief?"

"Captain, Lieutenant Seed sabotaged the transporter system. Commander Sanders and Seed made it over to the Monaco but the rest of the away team was almost dematerialized into oblivion. I just barely managed to save them."

Jeffries frowned. "What makes you say that it was Counsellor Seed?"

"She knocked me out with a hypospray a few hours ago and stuffed me into a utility locker. I only just regained consciousness a few minutes ago."

Jeffries scowled. "Damn. You don't suppose that it was another Changeling, do you?"

"I don't know, sir. But I can't get a fix on the two of them over there to bring them back. She's disabled the system completely. It'll take me at least three hours to get it working again."

"What about the shuttle transporters?" suggested Stiles from behind the captain.

"No good, their sensors don't have enough power to punch through all this interference, and they haven't been calibrated anyway. I'll get to work on it right away, sir. The away team is on their way back to the…" she said as the doors hissed open, "…bridge. Carlyle out."

"Mister Frambert, what happened?"

Frambert was cut short as the doctor, ill-tempered, flushed, and looking a little ridiculous in his pressure suit, flustered, "I'll tell you what happened! Some damn fool tried to turn us into free-floating atoms!"

"Captain, I'm…" interrupted Ensign Sarrell.

"Now what?"

"Proximity sensors detect an object approaching at approximately one quarter impulse power. They will reach sensor resolution range in approximately seventeen minutes."

"Mister Stiles, take us to general quarters. I'm not taking any chances."

"Aye-aye," the security chief acknowledged as the bridge was bathed in crimson and the
emergency klaxon sounded.

***

Seed was staring down at Sanders, and snatched the phaser off of Sanders' belt. "Now, now. Let's be polite. We have guests you know." The counsellor hit a control and cleared the blurry image on the static-laced viewscreen to reveal the image of the Avenger, and a small blip, coming closer at a rapid pace. "My friends can't collect what they came for, because of that idiotic Changeling. We should never have agreed to work with them. We could have seized enough Jem'Hadar to overcome the Changelings when we infiltrated their command structure. But the mother told us to bargain with the mysterious shape-shifters. In time, we would be able to betray them. And now our plan has almost failed because of them."

Sanders steadied herself and staggered to her feet, to meet the gaze of her apparent captor and the muzzle of her own phaser. "What are you saying? Who is we? What is that… that thing?"

"That is your new master. All will become clear in time. All that you need to know will be revealed when you are joined. Now, off with the helmet. And don't try anything this time, or I'll burn you to a charcoal cinder."

Slowly, her eyes not once leaving the scorpion-like creature, Sanders removed the helmet of her pressure suit and, in a final desperate motion, suddenly fell to the floor, sweeping the counsellor off her feet just in time to feel a white-hot phaser blast burn through the air a millimetre above her head. She grabbed Seed's arm, and wrested the phaser from her grip, being thrown backwards for her efforts. She tumbled and fell into the science console, standing up just in time to catch a sharp fist to the jaw. Tightening her grip over the phaser, she reset it to maximum stun and fired into the counsellor's chest. The woman was barely even dizzy. Backing away, Sanders blasted her several more times before her knees finally buckled and she collapsed in a heap. Just then, a sharp sting caught her in the back of the leg, and she jerked, throwing the scorpion-like creature off.

The hideous thing skittered away, but Sanders stood up again, set the phaser to the second-highest level, and roasted it with a blast that incinerated the carpeting around it. Sanders stood up and coughed, staring around at the smoky ruins. Holstering the weapon, she collapsed into a chair in front of a science console. "Now let's just pray that something still works around here," she muttered to herself. "Computer, status report?"

Though its words were fuzzy and laced with static, the computer sluggishly replied, "Main life support failing. All primary systems destroyed, backups non-functional. Antimatter containment field failing."

Sanders began to sweat, cold and silent. "Computer, how long?"

"Based on current information, antimatter containment will fail in approximately forty-three minutes, ten seconds."

"Computer, status of crew?"

"Unable to comply. Internal sensors non-functional."

Sanders sighed. "Have any escape pods been jettisoned?"

"Unknown. In…"

"Yeah, yeah, internal sensors non-functional. Speculate."

"Define parameters."

She hated computers, always had, always would. Now she was remembering why. "Based on all information that you currently have stored about the attack on the ship and the crew's actions, what is the likelihood that members of the crew managed to evacuate the ship in emergency lifeboat pods and/or shuttlecraft," she spat meticulously.

The computer waited a moment. "Based on defined paramaters, there is a fifty-four percent probability that approximately thirty percent of the crew would have managed to evacuate the ship."

Sanders tapped in a short message, and then rigged it to transmit. The computer balked at her. "External communications non-functional."

"Why me?!" Sanders shouted rhetorically.

"That information is not available."

"Oh, shut up."

She decided to try something else. Pulling out her tricorder, she activated an uplink to the
Monaco's main computer. "Computer, download all sensor records and log entries to tricorder."

"Acknowledged." The computer made several confused noises. "Warning, data fragmentation in progress. The requested information may be corrupted."

"Salvage anything that is readable and execute," she hissed, all but shouting.

Beside her on the floor, the counsellor stirred. Sanders fingered her phaser. "Download complete," the computer chirped.

Sanders elected to stun the counsellor once more for good measure, and then hoisted her
diminutive figure over her shoulder. It took a minute to pry open the turbolift doors, and she
prayed that it would still work. She manually entered the destination to be as close to the shuttle
bay as possible, and then hoped that there was a shuttle there that they could use. It was hard to
say what might have become of the crew.

***

"Could this have been the ship that attacked the Monaco?" Frambert asked out loud.

"They are still too distant to gain any kind of identification signal," Sarrell replied simply. "I would hesitate to speculate on the vessel's actions without first knowing what it is.

The captain cleared his throat. "Gentlemen, please. Can you get any kind of reading on their size, anything?"

"Not yet."

"Are we within communications distance?" Jeffries asked, glancing at the fuzzy image of what seemed to be nothingness on the viewscreen.

"The interference is still strong, but we may be able to transmit an audio message through it," suggested Stiles.

"Hail them."

Stiles entered in the appropriate commands, but to no avail. "No response. Wait…sir, we are receiving a transmission. It's a subspace code of some kind." He examined the readings for a half a second and then blinked in surprise. "What the? The first string is the activation code for those interface nodes we pulled out of the computer system!"

"Sir, I believe that it would be a reasonable hypothesis that whoever is controlling that vessel was working with the Changeling that attempted to sabotage the ship, and they are now trying to gain control of our computer," suggested Sarrell.

"They've cut the transmission, sir."

"They're entering resolution range now," Stiles reported.

"Well?"

"Sir, I'm reading…Okmez!" cursed Frambert in his native tongue.

"Lieutenant! What's…?"

Ensign Sarrell swung around in her chair as the image on the viewscreen focused to reveal the compact form of an unmistakable vessel. It was an Ambassador class Federation starship. "The computer has identified the vessel, sir. NCC-49921. USS Independence."

***

Meanwhile…

Seed began to struggle and Sanders hastily dropped her to the deck and pulled out the emergency medical kit that she had retrieved from a panel in a corridor near the bridge. She grabbed the strongest sedative that there was, loaded the hypospray, and prepared to jab it into Seed's neck when her eyes fluttered open and stared into Sanders' filled with absolute terror.

"Marista? Can you hear me?"

"Ar-ari-el. I-I can't fight it much longer. Too strong. Evil. A sentience inside me but not my own. Must-must break free! I-I can't it's, oohhh…." Seed wailed in agony.

"Marista! Push! Give that creature some bad vibes! Come on, pull out of it! Read its mind, find out what to do to get rid of it! Anything! Don't give up!" Sanders all but screamed into the other woman's face. She held the tranquillizer ready just in case.

"I- I…." she gasped in horror again. "You must… kill me! Now!"

"WHAT?"

"It's the only way to get rid of it! Give me something toxic, an-anything!" she roared, fervently. "Before it gets my mind for good!"

"B-but, I'm not a doctor! I can't just!…"

"Please!"

Sanders snapped open the medkit and whipped out a healthy dose of the strongest drug she could find, and prepared a lethal dosage. She then prepared a countermeasure hypo and hoped against all hope that if she administered it soon enough after the lethal dose, it would counter its effects. If that didn't work, then the counsellor was dead. In any case, she couldn't just leave her there. Sanders crossed her fingers and pressed the hypospray into Seed's neck. The medical tricorder beside her rapidly began to show signs of severe trauma and finally systematic body shutdown. It flatlined. Desperately, Sanders pushed the antidote to her neck and pressed. The vital monitor stayed dead... for a second. Then it began to gradually increase to normal again.

Sanders jumped. The strange parasitic creature had dislodged itself and leapt out of Seed's mouth, a strange gurgling noise emitting from Seed's throat, as the grotesque thing skittered away in a panic. Sanders grabbed her phaser and blasted it on the spot, sending it into unconsciousness.
Then she collapsed with relief in the knowledge that she hadn't killed Seed.

***

Jeffries stared intently at the glistening and pristine surface of the Independence's hull. There was no longer any doubts in his mind. That was definitely Edward McManus' ship. "Commander, what's the status of the Independence?"

Stiles checked his readings. "Their shields are lowered and their weapons aren't armed."

"Anything… unusual, about it?"

Stiles raised his eyebrows in confusion. "Sir?"

"I want a full analysis. Life form, spectrographical, subspace, everything."

Lieutenant Malcom jumped. "I'll get on it."

"Captain, permission to speak freely?" inquired Stiles.

"Of course."

"Sir, I submit that this might be some kind of a trick. The Independence has a spotless record. To simply disappear for days on end isn't like Captain McManus at all. And that subspace signal that they just transmitted was the precise coding sequence for those devices that the Changeling had installed."

Jeffries rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Hmmm. I'm inclined to agree. Something doesn't make any sense about this. But we have no proof as to who transmitted that signal. It could very well be that another infiltrator aboard their ship has sent it. But we still don't know for what purpose," he spoke softly.

"Captain, we're being hailed," Frambert said.

"Put them through."

A short, stocky man with short-cropped, thick brown hair and piercing brown eyes shimmered into existence in front of Jeffries, sitting in a holographic chair similar to his own. "This is Captain Edward McManus of the Starship Independence. Jeffries, is that you?" he asked in a clipped British accent.

"This is Captain Jeffries of the Avenger. Ed. Good to see you again. We were wondering what had happened to you," Jeffries replied smoothly, forcing a smile.

"Playing detective is what I've been up to. There's something funny going on 'round these parts, and I intend to find out what that is, without bureaucrats and admirals getting into the way."

"I think that we'd better discuss this in person. I'll be waiting for you here."

"I'll transport over immediately. McManus out."

"Sir, I strongly advise caution…" Stiles warned.

"What would you have me do, Commander? We don't know what's going on at all, so I'm going to have to listen to McManus' story. He's one of the finest men I've ever known, and his career has shown it. I want to know exactly what it is that has prompted a twenty-five year veteran to throw everything aside in favour of dereliction of duty."

To be continued…