The Dragon: Once per episode, at the beginning of combat place an Advantage on the field representing a cunning tactic or strategy devised by Danara Pel.
NAME
USS Voyager
PROF.
MULTIROLE
CLASS
Sovereign Class Heavy Exploration Vessel
CONST
2371
SHIELDS
13/13
RESISTANCE
6
SCALE
6
POWER
13/13
CREW SUPPORT
6
SMALL CRAFT
5
COMMS
ENGINES
STRUCTURE
COMPUTERS
SENSORS
WEAPONS
BREACHES
0/6
0/6
0/6
0/6
0/6
0/6
9
11
10
11
9
10
COMMAND
3
12
14
13
14
12
13
CONNING
2
12
14
13
14
12
13
ENGINEERING
2
11
13
12
13
11
12
SECURITY
3
13
15
14
16
13
14
SCIENCE
2
11
13
12
13
11
12
MEDICINE
2
11
13
12
13
11
12
TALENTS
Command Ship: Can give advantages using Command within range to Away Missions or to supporting ships.
EMH: Has an EMH!
Improved Warp Drive: When going to warp, roll 1cd on an effect, regain the power point.
Quantum Torpedoes: Can use Quantum Torpedoes! (60 total)
Secondary Reactors: +5 to Power
High Resolution Sensors: +1 momentum to out of combat sensor checks.
TRAITS
Federation Starship – A highly sophisticated and advanced vessel, with holodecks, replicators, and similar comforts, primarily designed to handle multiple operations. Highly sensitive and requiring constant maintenance, the vehicle is less rugged than other interstellar craft
Maquis Crew - a good chunk of the crew are former Maquis troublemakers. Expect discipline problems and unorthodox plans.
WEAPONS
Phaser Arrays
Power Cost: 1-3 | Range: Medium | Damage: 9cd [+1 per extra power spent]
Can Use Spread: Hit +1 time at ½ damage per effect OR Area: hit +1 ship per effect within close range.
Versatile 2: Gain 2 bonus momentum with a successful hit
Photon Torpedoes
Power Cost: 0 | Range: Long | Damage: 6cd
High Yield: If it causes 1 breach, it causes +1 breach
Quantum Torpedoes
Power Cost: 0 | Range: Long | Damage: 7cd (Vicious 1 - +1 damage on effects)
High Yield: If it causes 1 breach, it causes +1 breach
Calibrations: Requires 1 minor action to calibrate
Tractor Beam (Strength 5)
Power Cost: 0 | Range: Close | Damage: None
Effect: If successfully established, enemies face a diff 5 check to escape.
SCIENCE: Tuvok (Skilled: Science | Weakness: Emotionless)
COMMS: Lt. Bian T'are (Skilled: Communications | Weakness: Combat)
MEDICAL: The EMH (Skilled: Doctor | Weakness: Kind of a Dick)
ENGINEER: B'lanna Torres (Skilled: Engineering | Weakness: Also a dick)
SECONDARY CHARACTERS
Ensign Steve (Useless Security Goon)
Ensign Becky (plural fighter jock)
Petty Officer Third Class Jessie (Hard working engineer)
Crewman Billingsly (Dude, Billingsly!)
Crewman Chandra (Concerned Crewman)
Bifurcate (bidimensional robot girlfriend of Harry Kim)
Princess Lyan Positron (runaway daughter of magician most foul and girlfriend of Harry Kim)
Soria Flyte (Pegasus girl and girlfriend of Harry Kim)
Mirror Universe Trevor (he's fine!)
NAME
MRSS Val Jean
PROF.
TACOPS
CLASS
Keldon Class Heavy Cruiser
CONST
2370
SHIELDS
12/12
RESISTANCE
5
SCALE
4
POWER
7/7
CREW SUPPORT
4
SMALL CRAFT
3
COMMS
ENGINES
STRUCTURE
COMPUTERS
SENSORS
WEAPONS
BREACHES
0/4
0/4
0/4
0/4
0/4
0/4
9
9
9
8
7
10
COMMAND
3
12
12
12
11
10
13
CONNING
2
11
11
11
10
9
12
ENGINEERING
2
11
11
11
10
9
12
SECURITY
3
12
12
12
11
10
13
SCIENCE
1
10
10
10
9
8
11
MEDICINE
2
11
11
11
10
9
12
TALENTS
Electronic Warfare Suite: Whenever making a Jamming or Intercept communications check, can spend 2 momentum to select +1 target (repeatable.)
Fast Targeting Systems: No +1 diff for called shots
Improved Hull Integrity: +1 Resistance
Cloaking Device: Spend 3 power, and make a Control+Engineering + Engines + Security check with a diff of 2. If successful, gain the Cloaked Trait (impossible to detect, cannot attack, shields are down.) It takes a minor action to decloak.
TRAITS
Cardassian Ship – Durable, uncomfortable, close, cramped and cheap. Thinks creature comforts are for other people and technical sophistication is for people who haven't spent decades starving to death. The fact that the starving could have been avoided if the government were less...you know, monstrous doesn't seem to have occurred to that many of them.
Okampan Crew – the crew are bright, perky, cheerful, and incredibly psychically powerful. Individually, they're all better than Vulcans, and as a gestalt? Who knows!
WEAPONS
Phaser Arrays
Power Cost: 1-3 | Range: Medium | Damage: 7-9cd (Spread: Hit +1 time at ½ damage per effect OR Area)
Versatile 2: Gain X bonus momentum with a successful hit
Disruptor Banks
Range: Medium | Damage: 8-10cd (Vicious 1: Each effect adds +1 damage)
Crewman Stadi - Age 23, Betazoid, born Beta Colony-5 to Zani and Talwyn of the House of Riis, survived by her sisters Tari and Batri.
R'mor - age 182, Vulcan, burn on Romulus to R'tan and Leslali, survived by his twelve nieces and nephews across the Empire
Would have to make an IC knowledge check about the limitations of diplomacy, but... safe passage through Talaxian territory with necessary material support to speed our journey wouldn't go amiss. Particularly if it comes with military support or at least Intel vs the Kazon.
Idk what Janeway and staff think would be something the Talaxians could reasonably help us with.
[X] Run a recruitment drive (skill challenge - if successful, gain a new ship with its own crew!)
-[X] Pre-commit to a few months on the Ocampan planet to refit the Val Jean for deep space operations if enough crew can be found. Also gives us time to salvage the Caretaker station debris and make a copy of the cloak for Voyager.
[X] Strip the cloaking device from the ship, and ask Neelix what the Talaxians might be willing to offer for one slightly used Cardassian battlecruiser. We can use it as a drone until we reach his chain of command in order to negotiate with a decision maker if he is unable to contact them.
Diplomacy is the Federation's hat. We should wear the hat.
[X] Run a recruitment drive (skill challenge - if successful, gain a new ship with its own crew!)
-[X] Pre-commit to a few months on the Ocampan planet to refit the Val Jean for deep space operations if enough crew can be found. Also gives us time to salvage the Caretaker station debris and make a copy of the cloak for Voyager.
I mean, in the interests of not technically violating the Treaty of Algernon, and getting a new crew. Would be nice to get a head start assembling a fleet..
[X] Run a recruitment drive (skill challenge - if successful, gain a new ship with its own crew!)
-[X] Pre-commit to a few months on the Ocampan planet to refit the Val Jean for deep space operations if enough crew can be found. Also gives us time to salvage the Caretaker station debris and make a copy of the cloak for Voyager.
[X] Run a recruitment drive (skill challenge - if successful, gain a new ship with its own crew!)
-[X] Pre-commit to a few months on the Ocampan planet to refit the Val Jean for deep space operations if enough crew can be found. Also gives us time to salvage the Caretaker station debris and make a copy of the cloak for Voyager.
Battlestar Galactica was supposed to be Voyager done right which means if we want to do Voyager right we need a fleet. Val Jean can be Galactica and Voyager, Pegasus, and hey she's already got a trigger happy lady captain!
Following up on this because this just occurred to me: The thing is, since they have replicators and transporters, they have molecular manipulation. What's stopping them from taking a scan of someone's body in their physical prime, then just resetting everything but the brain to that state every few years? And to tackle brain related aging, you could use more conventional targeted medicine as well as transplanting newer replicated neurons to replace ones that are wearing out on a case by case basis, maintaining continuity.
Having two hulls also means more space for unique one off upgrades that we wouldn't be able to fit onto a single ship. The ships also being built with different techbases could mean that technologies that for whatever reason don't play well with Federation or Cardassian tech could potentially still be used on the other ship.
[X] Run a recruitment drive (skill challenge - if successful, gain a new ship with its own crew!)
-[X] Pre-commit to a few months on the Ocampan planet to refit the Val Jean for deep space operations if enough crew can be found. Also gives us time to salvage the Caretaker station debris and make a copy of the cloak for Voyager.
-[X] Pre-commit to a few months on the Ocampan planet to refit the Val Jean for deep space operations if enough crew can be found. Also gives us time to salvage the Caretaker station debris and make a copy of the cloak for Voyager.
[X] Strip the cloaking device from the ship, and ask Neelix what the Talaxians might be willing to offer for one slightly used Cardassian battlecruiser. We can use it as a drone until we reach his chain of command in order to negotiate with a decision maker if he is unable to contact them.
To get a Basic Crew (8+1 skill for their averages, augmented by the ship), you need to accomplish 20 work required, with 3 breakthroughs, with a resistance of 3! But since you're training a bunch of relatively sheltered newbies quickly, the complication range is increased by 2.
You basically roll "attacks" against this, with doing "work" (instead of damage), and getting 5+ work in a single "shot" counts as a breakthrough!
Each roll is a week of training, and the base difficulty is 2! If you succeed on a check, you'll be rolling 6d6 damage dice (remember, 1 = 1, 2 = 2, 3 = 0, 4 = 0, 5 = 1+Effect and 6 = 1+Effect.) There's no damage effects for this roll, so you can ignore those.
Each moment rolled can be spent to add +1d6 to your damage roll or you can spend 1 momentum to re-roll as many damage dice as you want (a good way to nix those 3s and 4s everyons hates.)
Now, either, I can roll all this, or you guys can! Or you can roll until you're bored and I can roll the rest. Or you can roll till you get a Complication (which is any 18-20 result) and then I will post what the complication is and offer up votes on how to deal with it!
-[X] Pre-commit to a few months on the Ocampan planet to refit the Val Jean for deep space operations if enough crew can be found. Also gives us time to salvage the Caretaker station debris and make a copy of the cloak for Voyager.
[X] Strip the cloaking device from the ship, and ask Neelix what the Talaxians might be willing to offer for one slightly used Cardassian battlecruiser. We can use it as a drone until we reach his chain of command in order to negotiate with a decision maker if he is unable to contact them.
To get a Basic Crew (8+1 skill for their averages, augmented by the ship), you need to accomplish 20 work required, with 3 breakthroughs, with a resistance of 3! But since you're training a bunch of relatively sheltered newbies quickly, the complication range is increased by 2.
You basically roll "attacks" against this, with doing "work" (instead of damage), and getting 5+ work in a single "shot" counts as a breakthrough!
Each roll is a week of training, and the base difficulty is 2! If you succeed on a check, you'll be rolling 6d6 damage dice (remember, 1 = 1, 2 = 2, 3 = 0, 4 = 0, 5 = 1+Effect and 6 = 1+Effect.) There's no damage effects for this roll, so you can ignore those.
Each moment rolled can be spent to add +1d6 to your damage roll or you can spend 1 momentum to re-roll as many damage dice as you want (a good way to nix those 3s and 4s everyons hates.)
Now, either, I can roll all this, or you guys can! Or you can roll until you're bored and I can roll the rest. Or you can roll till you get a Complication (which is any 18-20 result) and then I will post what the complication is and offer up votes on how to deal with it!
My assumption is that the "attack" dice here are d20s because of the range you give for Complications, and given the write-in mentions "a couple of months" the maximum we should roll (assuming no Complications) before stopping is eight.
So I will try rolling 8d20s, stopping when I get the first result between 18-20. The you (or someone else who better understands the system) can roll the "damage" die for the "attack" die which are successful.
EDIT: Got a Complication on the fifth one!
EDIT 2: Looking back at an earlier post, you mention that each roll is actually 2d20s! I am very dumb! I have thrown another dice, to complete the "third" roll, which hilariously is also a 19, and therefore I think a complication?
Not sure if that was a vote closed or just a status check and mechanics update so here ya go.
[X] Run a recruitment drive (skill challenge - if successful, gain a new ship with its own crew!)
-[X] Pre-commit to a few months on the Ocampan planet to refit the Val Jean for deep space operations if enough crew can be found. Also gives us time to salvage the Caretaker station debris and make a copy of the cloak for Voyager.
The drama involved with recruiting and training a bunch of Okampa to go on a one way trip with us/make our ship an Okampan generation ship should be good fuel for writing. They're leaving their home forever and have different views on acceptable behavior, probably will be the least isolationist but also the most naive. Starfleet academy was a 3-4 year program, I couldn't find anything for the Starfleet Technical Services Academy for enlisted but based on real world military it might ballpark around 18-52 weeks depending on amount of vocational training. Plus none of them have experience with spaceflight and they may use tech without actually understanding it so their science background may be a bit iffy. Would bring a bunch of interesting dynamics. Quick wiki says a sovereign crew is about 700 and a Keldon holds 500 not counting flight crew or troops aboard.
If we bounce around near Okampa for resources and tech for a bit we could train up some folk, keep the best or most committed and then leave them a stripped/down-gunned cardassian ship for trading and light defense.
As far as the talaxian/kazon option goes there has to be some non-hostiles we can trade a crapload of water (or some improved water recyclers) to give us some maps and basic information.
Edit: @Skippy does that mean we have 4-5 successes (depending on how that 3 counts) and we'd then need to roll 4d6 or 5d6 and hope to get 5s and 6s (3 of them, any combination). Our 4 or 5 d6 rolls then get added to see if we break 20?
If the Ocampa are aware enough to be operating a resistance cell, then I'd be thrilled to have some along for the ride. Kes turning into a Crystalline Entity and eating dark matter in the EU books was one of my favorite viewpoints to read, so more Esper shenanigans can only be a good thing. Just in case the vote is still needed:
[X] Run a recruitment drive (skill challenge - if successful, gain a new ship with its own crew!)
-[X] Pre-commit to a few months on the Ocampan planet to refit the Val Jean for deep space operations if enough crew can be found. Also gives us time to salvage the Caretaker station debris and make a copy of the cloak for Voyager.
Edit: @Skippy does that mean we have 4-5 successes (depending on how that 3 counts) and we'd then need to roll 4d6 or 5d6 and hope to get 5s and 6s (3 of them, any combination). Our 4 or 5 d6 rolls then get added to see if we break 20?
I honestly am unsure how many successes we got, or if those rolls are right (whilst I'm pretty sure we should be rolling 2D20s for actions) - I am reading the Quickstart PDF now to actually try and get a firmer handle on the system. The actual Target Number we're rolling against, or the Skill + Stat we're rolling with, are also not a hundred percent clear to me.
Also I'd assumed, since DC started their post with a tally, that the vote was called, or I would not have rolled - very bad form to roll dice for an option of it's not been finalised yet. (I was actually going to vote for stripping down the ship, since a lone vessel seems to fit the "Voyager but better" premise we're committing to a little better.) The vote seems pretty much a landslide in favour of crewing the ship, though.
EDIT: Reading the PDF, the way Tasks work is that you roll at least 2D20s, (but more if you spend resources/add Threat), and to succeed you need to roll equal to or under the TN, which is your officer's Attribute + Discipline. (Referred to earlier in the thread as Stat + Skill.) You need at least as many Successes as the Difficulty of the check, which for us is two, which means we need both D20s to succeed.
So the middle pair is almost certainly a success, I think, and the first one is if we're using our generic bridge officer statline, which is Talented and has a value of 13. This gives us one or two rolls which resolved positively and can let us roll for work done, then we'll have to deal for the complication.
Think the Talaxians might be good for a trade? IIRC while it's not up to Federation standards, the Val Jean should be better than anything they have right now. Trade the equivalent of a battleship for a lightly used but sustainable and upgradeable cruiser + supporting documentation necessary to keep it afloat.
You've got two successful rolls! I'll roll damage dice so I can show you how it's done - using roll20 for rolls cause I'm going to be doing re-rolls!
So, 3 and 13 is 3s (since we're assuming your crew is using your best dude, so your TN is above 13, and your skill is above 3.)
That's success with 1 momentum! We'll keep it for re-rolls!
3, 5, 2, 5, 1, 2! That translates to 0, 1+E, 2, 1+E, 1, 2 for a total of 7+2E. Since there's only one flub die, we'll instead spend the momentum to reduce resistance from 3 to 1! So, that's 6 work done out of 20 and since we got 5+ work done, that's a breakthrough!
The next roll is with 2 momentum, which we'll also keep for re-rolls/reductions in resistance!
6, 5, 6, 6, 3, 2! That's 6+4e! If we spend 2 momentum to drop the resistance to 0, that means you've done 12 out of 20 work and gotten two breakthroughs - so one more roll will do it! ...or would have, if you hadn't rolled TWO COMPLICATIONS.
Our little Fleet is making me think it's only a matter of time until this quest turns into Homeworld.
I for one, look forward to us upgrading to industrial scale replicators and entombing Kess or Seven on Voyager's bridge so they can become Fleet Command.
[X] Strip her for parts, give her to Okampa (+1 to Voyager's weapon systems, gain Disruptor Bank, and trait Semi-Functional Cloaking Device)
The Drone option sounds like a short term gain. Sure it'll be useful for a while, but then it's gone and we're permanently down on a really useful and life-saving cloak.
The recruitment drive option seems destined to give us long term problems. Recruiting a group of fast-aged children, who until recently regarded the concept of leaving their home town as ridicules fantasy, so we have no idea how they'll cope with the idea of "leaving home and never coming back," and the consequences of long term space travel. Plus, they're from a less advanced tech base who'll need years of education to get them up to speed with the ships systems,
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Did you know that this remake of Voyager, ontop of being written by Ronald D. Moore, is also running on HBO! That's my fun way of saying there's a sex scene in this update! ...I should add that to the intro. It's funny, I don't need to put "warning, this quest will have graphic particle beam explosive amputation" in the intro, but I do put "warning, this quest will have banging" because we live in a SOCIETY! Anyway, it'll be spoilered and summarized for people who don't wanna read it! Also, like, you put an Orion on the ship, you have no one to blame but yourself, I'm not liable here! I'll show you! i'll show you all!
"...well," Janeway said. "You know, if we're here to bring the ideals of not just Starfleet, but the Federation, that would mean spreading those ideals. This isn't a pre-warp civilization. We have the openings..." She shrugged. "Why not? We're going to need allies out here. Lets start off with that in mind." She nodded. "Train up a crew of Okampa and pick officers to help them handle the ship. Get it done."
B'lanna grinned, slowly. "I think I'm going to like you, Kat."
"Captain," Janeway said.
But B'lanna was already gone.
Janeway sighed.
"...you are always saying Starfleet isn't a military," Brian Wacoche said, shrugging.
"I've never said that in my life," Janeway said. "We're the only military the Federation has. We just try and be better than everyone else."
"Try?" Brian arched an eyebrow.
Janeway cocked her head. "See to it that we succeed, Mr. Wacoche."
Brian nodded. "Got it, Captain."
***
Amy Strong was fairly confident in her ability to handle the recruitment for security. The Keldon class heavy cruiser, under the CUSN, shipped with five hundred people. That was a staggering overstaffing - cramming them in there, because the Keldon was made for short duration, high intensity conflict zones, meaning it was designed to board ships, drop off marines, show the flag, run the guns, stay watch on watch, and...absorb a staggering amount of casualties.
They were going to be flying with half that, which was still double the number of Maquis who had run the thing. When she had asked Cat-
C'nola, she reminded herself, hard. Just like how you're Amy now.
She had asked...C'nola...
About that.
And, well, she'd said: Well, yeah, how the fuck do you think Seska hid in there?
Amy had pointed out Seska had not only hidden effectively in the most highly populated area of the ship, but she had also then escaped, effected repairs to bring the cloaking device back online, rewired the disruptor banks, and then engaged a hostile alien spacestation, all by herself, using nothing but automation and three hundred extra meters of EPS conduits laid, frantically, in a single twenty three hour period.
To which C'nola had snorted, shrugged, and said: Yeah, and?
Then all thoughts of Seska and the Keldon class and C'nola scattered as Amy and her second, Shives, walked around the corner of the street to where the recruitment drive was being run - to find that the lines were literally around the block. Extra tables were being set up, and a few more Voyager crewmen were being beamed out, their uniforms bright and eyecatching in the sea of the more staid Okampan fashions. "Oh," Amy said, gulping.
"Think we'll get enough candatates?" Shives asked.
"Uh..."
"We can bring up the excellent retirement plan," Shives added.
"Steve," Amy said, dazed.
"Oohh, we can mention we get dental."
"Steve...shut up...for...for a second and let me panic," Amy said, rubbing her temple.
"Got it, Lieutenant."
Amy, sitting at the desk, looked at the first resume given her. "You're a...gardener," she said, slowly. The smiling Okampan man nodded to her. "Do you have any experience in security and tactical operations?"
The man stuck his thumbs into his suspenders, rocked back on his heels, and beamed. "No, but I'm a quick study!"
"...right," Amy said. "We'll...get back to yo...u..." She dragged out the U. The man nodded, and the next person walked up. Amy looked down at her list of names - the not a chance in hell list was very long and the maybe pile was scanter than she liked. She had zero people in the need to get. She lifted her eyes and then froze, her cheeks burning as she saw the beautiful, slender, elfin woman before her. She was dressed in a red tunic and black leggings and had a disruptor rifle slung over her shoulder.
"Kes," she said, smiling cheerfully. "Here to sign up for security detail, if you'll have me."
"W...wu...wuh...what are your...backgrounds?" Amy asked. "Back ground skills, I mean. Things! You've...done."
Kes chuckled. "Well, I was an Okampan resistance fighter for two years, and I was trained by a commando sent by Talaxian intelligence. I was the best marksman in my squad, played undercover as a lounge singer, and I'm pretty handy with plants." She smiled. "Hows that?"
"Yeah, uh...heh...uh...yeah! Yeah, yeah, you're great, perfect!" Amy said, hastily scribbling the name Kes down on the maybe pile, before hastily erasing it and putting it on the need to get list.
***
One week later, and the Val Jean was sweeping, smoothly past a nickel-iron asteroid. Their prow mounted Type-2C phaser arrays warmed up and fired. Streaks of orange light blazed glowing lines along the asteroid as the ship smoothly cut their forward impulse, then spun along its Z axis, keeping the same arrays angled, while also bringing the aft torpedo launchers to bear. Two bright white points of light slammed into the asteroid and it blew to pieces.
Janeway whistled, softly as she and D-91 watched. "They're handling themselves quite well," she said. "Better than most cadet crews would."
"I still worry," D-91 said. "They're technically proficient - we're not trying to bring bronze aged civilians up to task. But they're not trained professionals. Ships...always seem to be flying themselves, right up until something unexpected happens." He turned to face his captain. "Even with officers to help - their skill may be more due to the automation that they're using than their actual abilities."
"T'are says they're picking up skills via psionic bleedthrough," Janeway said.
"That's...something, I suppose," D-91 said, quietly. "But still. I worry."
Janeway breathed in, then breathed out. The sigh was long and slow and very tight.
"Me too."
***
T'are sighed as she skimmed through her reports while sitting in the forward commissary on deck thirteen. The tables were modest and the room was little more than a crescent, but the wall screen very nearly perfectly replicated a view of the space out of the nose of the ship. The Val Jean clearly visible, tumbling sideways in their damage control drills. A shadow fell across the table and T'are lifted her eyes to see the handsome features of Neelix looking down at her. He was dressed in...well, a vest of a sleek orange fabric that suited his spotted skin, which was mostly exposed - showing off the thick slabs of his muscles and the curve of his belly. His tufted cheeks were drawn to fine points, and the faint streaks of gray in his hair added a dignified edge to him that levened out the 'rough and tumble spacer' that the rest of his outfit suggested. T'are felt a flicker along her spine as he nodded to her.
"Miss Bian. I got that right, right?"
"You can call me T'are, but yes," she said. "And not Miss. When I'm not on duty, I don't use the human honorifics."
"Orion ones then? You are Orion, right?" Neelix took a seat across from her.
"Orion honorifics are...fraught," she said. "Our culture had a long period of matriarchal dominion and an equally long period of...I suppose you can call it, pirate kingdoms." She smiled, wryly. "A lot of the honorifics that stuck around are from that time. So, you'll be calling me stuff that translates to things like Honored Master of Men, or Pirate Queen, or something like that."
"All highly complimentary if you ask me," Neelix winked at her.
T'are blushed and smiled despite herself. "What are you doing on this ship, Captain Neelix?"
"Oh..." He shrugged. "Subspace radio came in from Talax - they want me to stick with you for the time being. Always on the lookout for new allies."
"You are aware that we're going to be traveling far, far, far away from this region of space, right?" T'are asked.
Neelix opened his mouth, then closed it. He sighed. "Yes." He looked away. "...and that's why I accepted."
T'are's brow furrowed. "Really?"
"...I...am from Rinax. It's one of the megalopolis moons around Talax, our homeworld," Neelix explained. "It had a population of three billion people - we'd moved most of our planetary population into orbital environment...easier to control for waste pollution and we Talaxians like living close together." His eyes sparkled. "The cities and spires on Rinax were something to behold...like...cities of fire and ice, all on blue-white sand, with Talax, rising over the horizon like an emerald shrouded in sapphire. You could see the food launches from the equator...falling stars in reverse, bringing up everything from the tailored ecosystem."
"It sounds lovely," T'are said, then paused. "...I...notice you use the past tense."
Neelix looked aside. "In...the last battle before the armistice, a Hak ship took a hit through their command bridge while pulling 0.05C at impulse. They...ah..." He smacked his lips, a loss for words. T'are, though, didn't need any details. A starship, going that fast, would strike with the force of thousands of photon torpedoes, all going off at once. A tightly populated moon, filled with megacities and those cities filled with people. "...the...Haakonians were nearly as horrified as we were. Doesn't...really make it better. Does it?"
T'are reached across the table, then gripped his hand, leaning close. "No, it doesn't," she said, softly. She noticed him tensing. His nose flared and she blushed, hard. "Oh! Sorry!" Her hand went to her pheremone masker, dialing it up a notch or two. "P-Physical contact, uh, makes it a bit more intense."
Neelix shifted in his chair, laughing huskily. "I, uh...I thought the crew was pulling my leg w-when they said that."
"Oh, no, we Orions are the most completely and utterly indiscriminate species in the Milky Way." T'are was grinning, playfully.
"...wanna test that?" Neelix asked.
***
Neelix and T'are get laid something good. T'are talks about Orion pheromones, maskers, cultures, and Julian - you learn that he had been about to propose to her before his death.
Neelix tugged T'are's top open as she took hold of her masker and tugged it off, over her head, and threw it into the corner of his quarters. His, not hers, because hers currently had three other Orions in it...and after the last month she'd been having, T'are wanted to be godsdamned selfish.
Her nipples were hard, aching, needy. Neelix, despite the sudden hit of pheromones, knew what to do. His hands gripped her ass, drawing her close as he kissed along her neck, down to her breasts, and sucked, first on her left, then her right. T'are bit her lip, a needy whine escaping from her throat as she rolled her head back. The pleasure of touch bloomed through her - not just the sexual pleasure, but the tactical delight of another touching her. The fact Neelix's tongue flicked against her, then his teeth applied gentle pressure, just enough to ride the line between hurt and heart throbbing...
"F-Fuck..." She gasped.
Neelix drew back and let out a gutteral groan, before shaking himself from his head to his toes. "M...Maker that's strong."
"You get used to it." T'are said, shoving him back, pushing her pants down. She straddled him as he landed on the bed, his bulge straining against his pants, against her sex. Her hands went to his shoulders and she leaned forward, kissing him on the mouth. His hands glided along her back and she molded herself against him - feeling the comforting softness of his belly, the strength of his chest. Her hands slid along his shoulders, enjoying how broad they were.
She kissed the top of his head, while Neelix whined, bucking his hips. "Mmm, you wanna get free?" she purred, enjoying the thrill of riding someone who had never been exposed to Orion pheromones before. Her finger slid down, and she unzipped him, her eyes half closed. His girth slapped against her...and Neelix utterly lost control. T'are squeaked as she was rolled around, and pressed into the mattress on her back. HIs hands grabbed her wrists, pinned them, and his mouth smothered hers, his bulk feeling delicious against her skin - every inch of them touching.
T'are groaned into him.
"Don't worry..." she whispered as he started to buck, grunting softly. "We're not humans. Those...ah...fuckers are...cross compatible...with...fucking everyone."
Neelix ducked his head down and T'are...
T'are laid back to enjoy the ferocity of a first time pheromone head.
Round two was a lot more languid. For one thing, Neelix's body had built up enough resistance that he was capable of speech - and for another, T'are was enjoying her favorite part of the act. Watching her partner's face as she slid her hand along their member. Or between their thighs, or along their gills, or whatever she was working with. Neelix tried to play it cool, but by his expression, he was still...very sensitive. Hair trigger, too, she had to grip him to keep him from going to round three too soon.
"Thank you," she said.
"...I...ah...heh...normally...I'm the one who says thank you," he said, chuckling. "Not...ah...many people are...interested in a washed up old commando."
"Now, that's a lie," T'are said, grinning. "You were, as the humans say, slaying Okampa pussy, weren't you?"
"No....no...my moms raised me to never, ever, stick your dick in something a quarter your age," he said, shuddering and clenching his teeth. "...normally, following this dictate is a lot easier, but, well, it's a big weird universe." His eyes closed. "F-Fuck. Maker. Fuck! Fuck."
T'are chuckled, quietly, then leaned down and...occupied her mouth and kept round two from being...too messy. When she had a chance to wipe her mouth off, and Neelix had caught her breath, he asked, raggedly. "Are you okay?"
T'are blinked. "Yes, I..." She blinked, and realized...all of a sudden, she was crying. "Y-Yes, I..." She rubbed at her cheeks. "Oh hell." She sniffed, then sniffed again. Neelix slid up, then drew his arms around her. They were broad, muscular arms - so different from Julian's sleekness, his pot belly, his absurd little mustache and chin beard. Julian was the kind of man that had always struck every female on the ship as absurd - which was what T'are had liked about him. She closed her eyes, but the tears were coming even faster now. "S...Sorry, just...I...ah...sorry!"
"No, no, it's all right," Neelix said, caressing her. His voice was a quiet rumble. "You have your own Rinax, huh?"
T'are nodded.
"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked, his cock nestling against her ass - another point of contact, a warm touch that flooded her with comfort. Things were as they should be - two people, intimate and close and wallowing in one another's scent and touch. She leaned into it and sniffled. She nodded.
"Okay," Neelix said.
And haltingly, slowly, T'are began to speak. She spoke of meeting Julian. She talked about his pot belly, and his little mustache. About the way he had tickled her thighs. About the way she and he had played chess a thousand times. She talked about how he had been her vantru, her primary sexual partner.
She talked, at last, about how he had died...and...only a week later, during the funerals, that she had found the wedding band and the vows he had written her.
She talked.
And Neelix did what had made him such a shockingly effective covert agent - even if he did it for no government or military right now.
He listened.
***
A week later, and two Okampan crew aboard the Val Jean were about to put the lives of two hundred and fifty people in danger.
And they had no idea they were about to do it.
Ton and Lom were brothers. They'd been born from the same mother, in the same clutch, at the same time. Despite this, Ton was tall and skinny, while Lom was short and muscular. This was, again, by Okampan standards - most humans giving them a glance over would have only really noticed the differences in hair color. Ton was blond, like 99% of all Okampans.
Lom, meanwhile, was pink haired.
He dyed it.
"Yo! Ton, Lom, we need EPS jocks on the forward manifold!" Chief Perry shouted from the second level of the warp core, hunched low - the upper levels of the catwalk were alarmingly close to the ceiling, giving the whole warp core a kind of close in, underground bunker feeling. "We're going to warp in five."
Excitement buzzed through the brothers. They started through the hatches, Ton whispering. "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god."
"We're actually doing it! We're doing it!" Lom breathed as they came to the forward EPS conduits. Their job was simple - they were here to watch for any overloads and shunt the power in the right directions. Power output and routing in starship was fiendishly complex. So complex, in fact, that programming a computer to do it had a worrying habit of (according to their instructors, at least) turning the computer sentient, which meant that it was a crapshoot on whether or not the computer would try to kill everyone or not.
Apparently, that was kind of a big problem.
This meant that while automation could route power through simple solutions, the EPS conduits needed trained crew to watch the overall picture.
Automation is a tool, their instructor had said, again and again. Any computer that needs crew can seem really smart - but only in the narrow fields that computers are good at. We hit those upper limits in the Eugenics Wars - and that's where, at the end of the day, you always need an actual person on watch. AI, biological, cybernetic, a fucking dog, it doesn't matter. You need a person, who can hold the problem in their head and apply their knowledge intuitively. Remember that.
Tom and Lom remembered that.
They stepped up to the consoles, reading the converted Cardassian outputs. Fifty distinct power routing problems pinged up during powering up. Forty nine of them were resolved by automation before even alerting the two crewmen.
The fiftieth question came up and Ton had about ten seconds to allocate the power reserves properly - shunting it into the nacelles and powering up the warp core without overloading any EPS conduits or detonating the warp core or melting the hull to slag. He made the right call for almost the entire operation course...
Until, at the last moment, he put 5% of the power he had to shunt into the cloaking device's power buffer. He had misread the values here.
He thought he was working with gigajoules.
Not terajoules.
He put a full factor of ten more energy into the cloaking device's buffers, at the same moment the warp bubble for the Val Jean was being formulated.
And Lom...
Lom didn't realize it either.
He keyed in the authorization, gave his brother a thumbs up and-
-bink-
-froze as an entire mountain seemed to burst from his chest. Thick, hard rock thrust through his ribcage, pinning him against the console. Rock and stone emerged from the walls, smoothly intersecting with metal hull and bare deck plating. In the dim, yellowy lights that Cardassians preferred, Lom could see that his brother's head had been completely subsumed by a cleft of rock. THe entire ship shuddered.
Lom opened his mouth, expecting blood to fountain out of his lips. Instead, a confused: "...whu?"
He tried to move.
Couldn't.
The PA crackled and a tight, tense voice came over the line. Brian Wacoche, the captain.
"All right. Everyone. I want you all to remain...very. Very. Very still. And whatever you do: Don't. Panic."
Lom nodded.
Ton lifted an arm and blindly gave him a thumbs up.
Then both Okampans began to scream their heads off.
***
The USS Voyager arrived at the edge of the solar system. There, on pins and needles, the waited for the Val Jean to arrive.
When it did, Janeway sighed, slowly.
"Well, fuck," she said.
"Yeah, that's...that's definitely the right response, Captain," Tom Paris said.
"What the hell happened?" Harry asked, his eyes bugging.
On the screen, they could see the forward curve of the Keldon class cruiser was visible - but only partially, emerging as it did like a buried fossil from a massive grayish-brown asteroid. The interface between Val Jean and the rest of the asteroid was completely smooth and seamless.
"It appears the Val Jean has become partially phased with an asteroid," Tuvok said, his voice dry. "A highly improbable occurance."
"Yeah, how the hell does it randomly phase like that?" Harry asked.
"That is not the improbable effect," Tuvok said, turning to look at him. "Cloaking devices have been known to alter the phase state of matter when malfunctioning. The improbability lies in the ship's course intersecting with an asteroid. Most unfortunate. If it had not, then the phase change would not have mattered."
"Life signs?" Janeway asked, a stone in her gut. Had she just gotten...kids...
"Two hundred and fifty - everyone's alive," Tom Paris said. "But they're running terajoules through their cloaking device - we only have a few minutes before it overloads."
---
CURRENT MOMENTUM: 2
SCENE TRUTHS: "Oh god, the ship is phased with an asteroid!" (Val Jean), "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" (Val Jean)
What do you do?
[ ] Beam the crew off. Their shields are down and its best if we evacuate them now.
[ ] Beam B'lanna and Seska over. Cardassian tech wiz and Maquis engineering genius can sort this out in five minutes, right?
[ ] Modulate the tractor beam to shove against nickel, then gently push the asteroid away.
[ ] Write In
Janeway does a science - by directing Tom to do the science: 3s! That's 4 momentum, thanks to advanced sensors. 2 questions answered, 2 momentum banked
I have an extra Tent of Hiding From Game Mechanics +3 and you're welcome at the Campfire of Narrative. Provided you bring marshmallows as we're running low
