Random Member
Gardener of Human Happiness
- Location
- Behind You
That the Horizon is absolutely perfect and that there's nothing suspicious going on.
To Boldly Go... (a Starfleet quest)
- Thread starter OneirosTheWriter
- Start date
- Sci-Fi
-
- Tags
- star trek exploration fully automated luxury gay space communism top level canon (canon) #hashtagcontent all-encompassing space amoeba cardassian boy bands cardassian magical girls darkest bureaucracy debate makes the qm cackle like palpatine hoh is an empire quest it has to be foreign infiltrators more ships ship happens singers delenda est starfleet this is not an empire quest ur waifu is collective?
- Location
- being near locations is my passion.
I was worried about the Horizon, but this has certainly put those to rest!
I wonder if the Eye of Terror is going to be Biophae-scale problem.
I've never liked the setting of Warhammer :/
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
As Kennedy put it, "Freedom has many difficulties and democracy is not perfect, but we have never had to put a wall up to keep our people in, to prevent them from leaving us."
It's not an expanding problem, there's no evidence of secret evil armies or fleets inside it. It's just a nasty, Badlands-esque nebula with, perhaps, an unusual concentration of the kinds of weird possession threats, behavior-altering mind anomalies, and whatnot that you find ANYWHERE in Star Trek.
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- Location
- alphen aan den rijn
at least that was we suspect it is.
it is as much at we are aware, that all it is.
not that any of those things are not bad on there own.
it is as much at we are aware, that all it is.
not that any of those things are not bad on there own.
- Location
- alphen aan den rijn
unless i was reading that wrong, it was a moon of goldNash got a slap on the wrist for blowing up a moon. Is Zara going to get away with blowing up a planet?
i know we are the fed`s and all but i am sure somebody in the federation has some use for a moon of gold for something
lbmaian
a thirsty squirrel
- Location
- USA
Map update, official-ness pending confirmation from QMs, particularly on Federation-Klingon border adjustment:
Change log
Added:
- H subsectors (tailward)
-- Adjusted Klingon, Romulan, Breen tailward fuzzy borders
- PLY-5000 BR colony site @ 7H
- Eye of Chaos nebula @ 7b (first mentioned in Q1)
- Interstellar Commonwealth label (although a major power, we don't know of the major planets, which could have been used to quickly grasp which nation this is)
Changed:
- Vermillions (Teutida III) @ 3b made Federation affiliates
- Known Bajoran Diaspora colonies (Hajatar, Unbroken Faith) @ -4f made Federation affiliates
- Pushed up Federation borders in KBZ up to Klingon borders, since that space was originally just a "neutral" zone around Caldonia (see 2304-2305 maps)
- Technical: Cleaned up Harmony of Horizon borders a bit
Marked as complete:
- Kappa Tau starbase @ 1C
- 3 Miele Amarki mining colony @ 1e (should've been marked done by 2321.Q4)
- Kohl II mining colony @ -4a (should've been marked done by 2317.Q2!)
- Ruby Eyes' Folly mining colony @ -8d (shared between Federation and Dawiar, shaded accordingly)
- Dark Shoal mining colony @ -6e
Marked as construction in progress:
- Ke'luur starbase @ 4B
- Sael II mining colony @ -5e
- Sigma Delphi mining colony @ 2C
- Pure Intent Array research colony @ 2b
- Ariya Minor research colony @ -3d
Change log
Added:
- H subsectors (tailward)
-- Adjusted Klingon, Romulan, Breen tailward fuzzy borders
- PLY-5000 BR colony site @ 7H
- Eye of Chaos nebula @ 7b (first mentioned in Q1)
- Interstellar Commonwealth label (although a major power, we don't know of the major planets, which could have been used to quickly grasp which nation this is)
Changed:
- Vermillions (Teutida III) @ 3b made Federation affiliates
- Known Bajoran Diaspora colonies (Hajatar, Unbroken Faith) @ -4f made Federation affiliates
- Pushed up Federation borders in KBZ up to Klingon borders, since that space was originally just a "neutral" zone around Caldonia (see 2304-2305 maps)
- Technical: Cleaned up Harmony of Horizon borders a bit
Marked as complete:
- Kappa Tau starbase @ 1C
- 3 Miele Amarki mining colony @ 1e (should've been marked done by 2321.Q4)
- Kohl II mining colony @ -4a (should've been marked done by 2317.Q2!)
- Ruby Eyes' Folly mining colony @ -8d (shared between Federation and Dawiar, shaded accordingly)
- Dark Shoal mining colony @ -6e
Marked as construction in progress:
- Ke'luur starbase @ 4B
- Sael II mining colony @ -5e
- Sigma Delphi mining colony @ 2C
- Pure Intent Array research colony @ 2b
- Ariya Minor research colony @ -3d
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Kolar
Is Not A Robot
Thank you.
I was honestly going to fill in The Gap with Klingon red this time if it was still there.
AKuz
Been Better
- Location
- A Rising Tide of Horrors
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I've mentioned Esper ratings a couple of times; he latest is specifically in regards to the Dreamers
We have Harmony immigrants living in Federation space, mostly a lot of Moy and Tseskiya traders, and Horizonians attending various schools, and more than a few journalists/bloggers whose pastime is
> : P
Not many Tauni, but that seems to be a function of the thing where if they didn't want to live in Harmony space they would just have just left with the rest of the Tauni when that whole thing went down.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Primarily because ships that investigate that nebula tend not to come back. I'm left wondering what might have happened if we hadn't been able to rescue that Harmony/Felis expedition - could the local gribblies have made use of that fleet tender?
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
The "closer" entity sounded a bit too fixated on bringing the people immediately within its reach... closer... to think long-term like that. And I'm pretty sure that the entity that took over Azhlee wasn't native to the nebula.
I mean, not that you're wrong, just that by nature the concern is purely speculative, and we have no specific evidence of any organized hostile force capable of striking out of the nebula into the broader galaxy. Nor is there any concrete measurement to suggest the nebula is growing in a problematic way.
Captain's Log - 2322.Q2.M2
Jenny
anonymous user
- Location
- maryland
- Pronouns
- She/Her
USS Svai
(Miranda-A, Alukk)
...We are in the Sixar system, observing the activities of an Orion research cruiser, the Ballat out of Duaba. She has been jointly contracted by Starfleet Science and Velhan Stellar Dynamics, and is carrying out a mission that will attempt to start limited fusion processes in a gas giant. In addition to the data gathered, there is hope this could serve as a potential energy solution.
Captain Oav leaned back in satisfaction, finished with his log entry. A yeoman placed a teacup in front of the Indorian, and he reached and took a sip. This was not his most thrilling assignment, but with the recent news out of Vulcan sector that the Syndicate was still active and the large energies that could be generated, Command decided that someone from Starfleet should be on hand to watch.
"Captain, a moment?" Oav nodded at his human science officer, Commander Sharon Li. Commander Zles ch'Katen drifted over to listen to the conversation.
"Sir," Li said, presenting a PADD, "I've been going over the initial surveys that the Ballat is working off of. I don't think they were… complete, sir." He rubbed his eyes, "I almost don't believe what I'm looking at, it's so different."
ch'Katen leaned over Oav's shoulders, both of them scanning the document. It was clear what had happened. Someone at Honest Nared's Interstellar Surveying had decided to cut corners, doing a passive scan and then using an algorithm to extrapolate the rest with… poor accuracy.
Then Oav's eyes widened as he noticed a particular element that Svai's sensors had picked up. The test had to be stopped! "Lieutenant Narcasis, raise the Ballat, don't let them--"
But it was too late. The Ballat fired a modified torpedo into the atmosphere of the gas giant, and a few tense seconds later the planet's atmosphere exploded with radiant light, some of it going faster than light. Oav shouted some orders, but the Svai was battered aside, several systems shorting out. Things only became worse as it pushed her right into a collision course with the tiny moon she'd been orbiting…
Captain's Log, Stardate 27891, USS S'harien, Captain Demora Sulu
(Excelsior-A, EC)
We are en-route to a summit with the Chrystovians to discuss normalizing trade routes and security discussions to avoid any further incidents like at ARX-430. I'm looking forward to finally seeing their homeworld and learning more about their culture and customs.
Which, on a deeply selfish note, includes their culinary offerings.
-
Captain's Log, Stardate 27897, USS Hood - Captain Xuggaed
(Constitution-B, Alukk)
It's an all hands on deck burn today. One of our own is in trouble. Docana's racing in as well.
Sixar was initially surveyed by a company more interested in profit than good practices, so they did a basic scan and did some shoddy extrapolation based on a predictive algorithm. That's how they missed the fact Sixar-V contains a core that contains a small concentration of liquid cortenide. Combine that with trellium compounds in the atmosphere, and you've got the chemistry for a, FTL, subspace-distorting, electronics-fusing bomb. There's the danger with missing it.
The effects will fade with time, but Svai's in trouble now. All her internal systems are fried and she's crashed into Sixar-V-XI, a tiny ice-rock moon which is now being drawn into Sixar-V. The heat of her scorched hull has caused her to melt into the surface, making for a more complicated extraction.
We're going to send Docana to sniff ahead for the subspace eddies that will make approach difficult. Her quad nacelles will give her an edge against them. Then, we're going to pull Svai out.
-
Captain's Log, Stardate 27899, USS S'harien - Captain Demora Sulu
(Excelsior-A, EC)
Professor Nilhem Enakew of the Chrystovian cultural commission had invited me to his private residence on campus today. This is a great honor. A renowned sociologist, he's just as curious about us as we are him!
-
Captain's Log, Stardate 27899.5, USS Docana
(Constellation-A, Alukk)
In addition to the intense subspace distortions, the system has been filled with hot, electromagnetically charged gases and debris, increasing in density as we approach the Svai's crash site. This complicated recovery efforts, but Captain Xuggaed was able to use the Hood's larger deflector assembly to push most of the debris aside. Extracting the Svai from the moon proved harder, every additional second dropping them further into the denser debris and Sixar-V's gravity well. Docana generated mass-reducing warp bubble, allowing Hood to slow descent with tractor beams while conducting extraction operations. We successfully pulled Svai out of the crash zone after using phasers to re-melt her out of ice, and towed her to Starfleet facilities for repair.
[Damage to the USS Svai. Three month repair, 5sr.]
-
Away Team Transcript, Stardate 27899.6, USS S'harien
(Excelsior-A, EC)
[Nilhem Enakew] Captain! Captain! I almost forgot that I had a survey for you to fill out for me. We are testing xeno psychological preferences and need some of your insight, given how many different peoples you have interacted with!
[Captain Sulu] I'd be happy to! Right on this tablet, then?
[Nilhem Enakew] Yes.
[Sounds of Sulu tapping away for several minutes]
[Sulu] Alright. That wasn't too bad. A little personal though. Risians or Betazoids will answer it freely, but you might have some trouble with -- are you crying?
[Nilhem Enakew] Yes. Yes, with joy! Captain, the results are in. The survey has said that you -- are my wife.
-
Captain's Log, Stardate 27899.7, USS Triada
[Constellation-A, Ferasa]
We are en route to the 99 Oriolis System, where a Caitian prospecting team has gone missing. The prospectors were following up on recent surveys suggesting useful minerals in the system's primary asteroid belt. Said belt seems to have formed from a collapsed planet, making it unusually dense.
Hopefully, they didn't crash into an asteroid.
-
Captain's Log, Stardate 27899.9, USS S'harien - Captain Demora Sulu
(Excelsior-A, EC)
Well, Dad always said it was going to happen someday. Nilhem Enakew blindsided me with a 'compatibility survey', introduced in the early days of Chrystovian world government to encourage the breakdown of social and national barriers by pairing people up across the globe with their 'statistically most satisfactory partner, 19 times out of 20.' The law is old, but it's still binding.
Soooo I've barricaded myself in his office and I'm preparing to use the curtains to rappel down to the ground level.
Recovered Document, USS S'harien - the journal of Nilhem Enakew
To study another culture requires a deep understanding of everything that makes them tick. The foods they eat, the clothes they wear, the reasons behind traditions that range from simple dinner-time courtesies to societal-wide attitudes on any number of issues. It requires a deep understanding of the other, and in what setting is there deeper understanding and connections made than marriage?
I know the Federation allows Explorer Corps vessels to have spouses onboard. With Demora, I will learn about the Federation, but also so many other cultures and species they encounter!
-
Captain's Log, Stardate 27900.1, USS Triada
[Constellation-A, Ferasa]
The Caitian prospectors crashed into an asteroid. Their distress beacon's signal was faint, but not so faint as to not be picked up by our comms. Unfortunately, they picked about the worst asteroid possible to crash into.
2308 AX1 is hollow... and unusually fragile. According to the prospectors, it has pockets of volatile gases that are liable to be set off by high-energy sensor sweeps. So we can't scan for the prospecting team directly to lock on to them for beamout; we'll have to instead pinpoint their locations using their comm signals.
-
Captain's Log, Stardate 27900.5, USS S'harien - Captain Demora Sulu
(Excelsior-A, EC)
So the curtains were poorly made and snapped while I was still a few meters above the ground. I took that to the ribs; was not very pleasant to be the one getting tenderized. At that point it would have been pretty easy to just ask for the S'harien to beam me out, but that's predictable. I needed to get ahead of Nilhem Enakew. So I went to the Central Court and filed for divorce. And also Violation of Good Methodology.
I am no longer 'married' and after giving the court evidence he rigged the survey, he has been banned from practicing social science. My dedication to the order and customs of the Chrystovians has been recognized, and they also are planning to repeal the laws around compatibility surveys to prevent further incidents.
[Gain +10 relations with Chrystovian Confederacy, now 85/100]
-
Captain's Log, Stardate 27901, USS Triada
Mission accomplished.
I served under Captain Straak; seems I haven't forgotten all his old rock-secrets. This one involved locking onto the rock around the distress beacon, then extrapolating from there to get transporter locks on the missing prospectors.
Unfortunately, the prospectors' ship was destroyed when the asteroid itself collapsed soon after. On the other hand, the collapse of the asteroid exposed a deposit of zownium.
[Gain 15 rp, 5 sr. Caitians lose one prospector.]
-
Captain's Log, Stardate 27902, USS Sarek - Captain Jeanette Devereaux
(Excelsior-A, EC)
We have detected a subspace inversion that has begun to interact with the immense gravitational interactions in a trinary star system. Getting this data close-up and first hand will help us better understand the interactions between subspace and conventional spacetime, with many possible benefits to warp travel.
I feel as if Kanil should be here -- this sort of anomaly was very much in her wheelhouse.
-
Captain's Log, Stardate 27903, USS Seleya - Captain T'Arvit
[Constellation-A, GBZ]
In conjunction with Zarayet, Seleya is responding to unusual sensor readings in the 23 Levar system. Subspace appears to be disturbed in the region, according to long-range scans.
Perhaps it is natural, an extension of the disturbances in the Badlands. Perhaps it is not. In any case, we will find out soon enough.
-
First Officer's Log, Stardate 27903.5, USS Sarek - Commander Khiwuolo
(Excelsior-A, EC)
Here is a fun discovery -- the interactions between subspace and the gravitational waves of the stars? Turns out that they really, really do not play well with our inertial dampeners. Captain Devereaux took a nasty header, and I was spared any injury only thanks to my shell.
I'm finishing the survey while she recovers. We'll need to do some modifications.
I wish Quessa was here, she'd always have a wacky scheme for handling these sorts of things.
-
Captain's Log, Stardate 27904, USS Seleya
[Constellation-A, GBZ]
The subspace disturbances have resolved themselves into a subspace vortex, that has the additional feature of tongues of shimmering fractal flame. I am once again in contact with the entity known as 'Broseph,' who wants to discuss some of the secrets of the universe with me. I have chosen to take a shuttle to within 100 million kilometers of the subspace vortex.
Despite concerns from my XO and the captain of the Zarayet, the survey of the system will continue.
-
Ship's Log, Stardate 27904.5, USS Sarek - Lieutenant Solla Payat
(Excelsior-A, EC)
So, during the initial catastrophe, I noticed that I only had a small bump, as did my friend near the shield generator, but another friend was thrown so hard she broke her nose. And where was I? Why, on nacelle duty, of course. That got me thinking that we could probably use the nacelles to cancel out the weird subspace effects, and the shields to cancel out the weird gravitational stuff, as they operate on those two... planes, I guess.
I suggested it to the Commander and she liked it, so I got right to work modifying software so the shields and warp bubble could integrate more effectively, and respond to the unpredictable waves coming off in sync with some quick mods to the sensor protocols. Last stop was tightening some connectors up here in the nacelle, and voila, you could fly right into the middle of this and not get hurt.
All in a day's-- ARGHG!
I wish Doctor Ginzan was here, because I think I just dropped a wrench on my toe and broke it.
And it's ladders only down from here.
[+12rp]
-
Personal Log, Stardate 27905, Captain Zinch mav Varwe - USS Defiant
[Constitution-B, Ferasa]
More trade negotiations. This time, it's the Apiata and the Caitians, in talks to better coordinate their research and development efforts on the Joint Ancillary Frigate project. Cloudburst is ferrying the Apiata delegation, who should arrive in a few days.
I never really look forward to trade negotiations; I signed up to explore, not to be an arbitrator. Besides, more people in the room just means more things that can go wrong.
-
Personal Log, Stardate 27905.1, Captain T'Arvit - USS Seleya
[Constellation-A, GBZ]
I have made a mistake.
I had presumed that when Broseph wanted to discuss secrets of the universe, he meant scientific knowledge. I am so far incorrect. Instead, he wants romantic advice. He apparently has a partner who he is estranged from, who is arriving 'soon' to meet up - as friends.
He has complex feelings for her. Some so complex they are literally incomprehensible to me. He worries that she has changed her mind about him during their time apart. I have offered what advice I can give from my own experience - in particular, that being open about desires and expectations leads to favorable results. I am not sure if he found this useful.
Regardless, he does want me to be here as his 'back-up' in case things don't work out and he needs someone to talk to or 'bail him out'.
-
First Officer's Log, Stardate 27905.7, USS Voshov - Commander Llyhua
[Excelsior-A, EC]
Alas, our survey of LIR-303 has been cut short. We are responding to a distress call from the Cornit System: A ship is being boarded by hostile intruders. It was an unfortunate but unsurprising event -- Hishmeri prowl the space lanes in this sector. Federation traffic may be barred from being targeted by treaty, but enterprising Hishmeri prey on the non-Federation shipping.
What is surprising is that the distress call was sent out by a Hishmeri ship.
-
Personal Log, Stardate 27906, Captain Alryth th'Gannoth
So, I've been taken by an extra-dimensional entity, who pulled me right from a trade summit on Akaikan, seeking advice. Turns out she's the same one that gave me trouble for going faster than the speed of light -- at least she's learned to distinguish between me and Cheron. And I suppose it is a nice break from fencing verbally with that Horizon diplomat. He was ... tiresome. But the nausea I felt when the energy being took me straight to the other side of Federation space was not pleasant at all. Quite embarrassing to be retching in front of Captain T'Arvit.
Turns out T'Arvit is providing similar advice and comfort to another entity, 'Broseph.' Both entities are trying to get back together after an estrangement of… I'm not sure, actually. We blanked out when they attempted to communicate the concept.
They're ... the closest equivalent I can come up with is that they're essentially 'getting coffee together' - trying to meet casually, as friends. But she thinks she wants more, but doesn't know how to get it - and wants support from a friend, especially if it doesn't work out.
Apparently, we're friends now. One makes interesting friends in Starfleet.
-
Captain's Log, Stardate 27906.1, USS Voshov - Captain Iliae Rurliss
[Excelsior-A, EC]
We've arrived in the Cornit System, where we've uncovered a scene that looks a lot like piracy - an unarmed research cruiser, unshielded, motionless, in transporter range of an Andalusian.
And yet the piracy is apparently going in reverse.
From the descriptions the Andalusian has sent us, we've identified as the Radwin Assault Robots. They've taken control of half the ship, and are soon to break through to Engineering and the besieged forward torpedo bay. I've reviewed the logs of my fellow captains who've had to deal with these bots before, and I think we can stop them.
Or we could just let the bots and the slaver pirates duke it out. Or perhaps, destroy this whole damn ship.
No. That would be wrong. And more practically, we can't allow the bots to take over the ship. Plus we are still detecting Brosmen lifesigns abroad, so it's not like I'm only saving pirates.
So, because they've got transport inhibitors to prevent us from beaming out the survivors, I'm leading security details over to the ship by runabout.
-
Audio Log, USS T'Karath, Stardate 27906.2
(Type-4 Shuttlecraft, GBZ)
[Cpt. T'Arvit] Are you feeling better, Captain?
[Cpt. th'Gannoth] Mildly. I keep getting nose-bleeds.
[T'Arvit] That is a side-effect of looking directly at the entities.
[Broseph] You brought someone too? Cool. That's awesome.
[Female Entity] Why are you talking like that?
[Broseph] Talking like what… bro?
[T'Arvit] I sense we are going to have much ground to cover.
[Broseph] Oh yes.
[Female Entity] Centuries by your time frame.
[th'Gannoth] You -- we die by then, you know.
[Female Entity] But your body will remain functional for longer than that! Oh, right. That's Cheron.
-
Away Team Log, Stardate 27906.35, USS Voshov - Captain Iliae Rurliss
[Excelsior-A, EC]
Well, they're clever bastards, these bots. They've already figured out a solution to the sensor scrambling technique we tried, they cut us off well short of the bridge, and they're now trying to cut off our escape route. Thirty-nine signals between us and the runabout -
[Another voice]: "Starfleet, why are you talking to yourself?"
[Audible sigh]. "It's a log entry, Majestic. For our records."
[Other voice]: "Oh, a war-song, I see. You don't compose those until after your victory! Don't you know anything, Stupid Starfleet?"
"Hey, you're the one who fell for my decoy, last I checked."
[Other voice]: "So where's that guile you are so proud of now, Starfleet?"
"Not gone, yet. Contact whoever's left in engineering, tell them to cut gravity, then do a hard burn up." [Sounds of magboots activating]
-
Personal Log, Stardate 27906.4, Commander Tigre Zal - USS Seleya
(Constellation-A, GBZ)
Never an ordinary day in Starfleet.
Today, we're facilitating the relationship of two energy beings by helping form a 'time bubble'. They will be able to discuss concepts at a high-level for extended periods by their timeframe, while being able to 'peek' out and consult with their relationship experts. Apparently, we've been promised useful information about the universe, not to mention the return of Captain th'Gannoth to the Cheron, in exchange for facilitating their 'date.'
At least there should be interesting scientific data to be had.
-
Security Officer's Log, Stardate 27906.42, USS Voshov - Lt. Commander Luisa Wycombe
There's something of a discrepancy among the people we recovered - we seem to have recovered two people reported dead. It's possible those were misreports - battles get chaotic, life-sign readers fail. But there's something suspicious, when combined with the fact that two of the Brosmen could not identify themselves. We had assumed shock, and ... had ...
Oh. Oh!
Computer, locate Crewers zh'Innysh and th'Baraav, and the two nameless Brosmen.
Right. Security teams to Engineering and Sickbay, immediately!
-
Audio Log, USS T'Karath, Stardate 27907
(Type-4 Shuttlecraft, GBZ)
[Broseph] Yo. T'Arvs.
[T'Arvit] That is… not my name
[Broseph] What? He calls you that all the time!
[th'Gannoth] Who?
[T'Arvit] ...What is it?
[Broseph] Okay so, we're discussing openness, and feelings, and all that, but I'm like, still so mad at her. Which uh, I know isn't chill. It's just the fact she ran when I wanted to start thinking about, you know, having kids.
[th'Gannoth] Well, maybe you shouldn't have pressured her! You put a lot of expectations on her, and her mother, well, you know!
[T'Arvit] That is not a nuanced read of the situation, Captain. Early in their relationship your friend made the commitment to have children, and then reneged.
[Broseph] ...um.
[th'Gannoth] You're the one lacking nuance. Think of the pressure my friend was under! And she didn't want to disappoint him, she wanted to be with him. That's true love right there.
[Female Entity] What's going on?
[Broseph] I don't--
[T'Arvit] That may be true, but she left Broseph alone and heartbroken. So much that he fell to appearing on random starships in an attempt to connect to other life forms. If she didn't want to disappoint him, she failed miserably by fleeing.
[Female Entity] Guys…
[th'Gannoth] Only because he spent the last --- I don't even know how long sulking!
[Broseph] It was [AUDIO RECORDING DAMAGED]
[T'Arvit and th'Gannoth take several seconds to regain their composure and consciousness]
[T'Arvit] … Perhaps we have lost our perspective here.
-
Personal Log, Stardate 27907.1, Captain Iliae Rurliss - USS Voshov
[Excelsior-A, EC]
I failed.
No way around it. Should've known they'd adapt, should've fought smarter, should've done something better. Should've expected they'd try to slip infiltrators on, been more careful... though how they managed such good disguises, I'm not sure. Should've taken out their warp drive when we had the chance, before they warped away. We left behind a dozen dead, and I've got forty of my people in critical condition or worse in my sickbays. All for what?
Six surviving Brosmen; most of them died on the way to sickbay when the Assault Robot infiltrators among them attacked. Fifteen surviving Hishmeri, one of them Silver Claw herself, of course. That's it. Out of a crew of almost five hundred, Hishmeri and Brosmen alike, we saved twenty-one.
Not a good day out in the Frontier.
[-20 relations with Hishmeri Septs, now 69/100. Hishmeri lose one Andalusian. Voshov suffers 1 point of Enlisted casualties]
-
Science Officer's Log, Stardate 27908, USS Kir'Shara - Lieutenant Briza th'Taren
(Renaissance, KBZ)
Aropi IX hosts what was the most diverse offworld agricultural colony in Caldonian space. Native nuts, fruits, grains, vegetables and flowering plants of all kinds, not to mention genetically engineered Caldonian broats - up until six months ago, all were growing well.
Then the plants started dying off. On farm after farm, the soil was being depleted. And in the wild, the locals started noticing dieoffs - and not just of plants. Something is happening throughout the ecosystem.
-
Captain's Log, Stardate 27910, USS Defiant
[Constitution-B, Ferasa]
Well, so much for easy negotiations. Things are breaking down over security issues. The Apiata think that the Caitians haven't done near enough to change protocols since the security breach in 2318 to warrant trusting them with their research data; the Caitians, for their part, are indignant, and have privately told me they cannot work under the proposed terms offered by the Apiata.
The Apiata are asking for too much. The Caitian development team would have to go to Apinae, be sequestered there for the duration of the project, with no contact with anyone else, and the actual blueprints would remain in Apiata hands. At the same time, I understand why the Apiata are so concerned about security, considering the magnitude of the breach in 2318. Doesn't make it right, though.
What they need is a sign that they can be confident in Caitian security measures.
...We can offer them that!
-
Science Officer's Log, Stardate 27910.25, USS Kir'Shara
(Renaissance, KBZ)
Worms.
That's the problem: there's the wrong worms in the soil. Specifically, toxic nematodes, native to Capstone V (home of a research station deeper into the KBZ). They breed fast, they're extremely good at depleting the soil, they outcompete native worms, they're toxic to predators that normally would feed on soil nematodes, and even when they die (which they do pretty fast, since they're semelparous), their remains are toxic, so they don't get biodegraded by local decomposers.
There is a solution - their native range is pretty contained on their homeworld. But that's because their homeworld is toxic.
-
Captain's Log, Stardate 27910.5, USS Atuin, Captain Hassan Aharani
(Excelsior-A, EC)
In light of the tensions with the Ittick-Ka, Starfleet has dispatched us to formal contact with the Ittick-Ka homeworld, and hopefully conduct diplomacy with the Seven Sages. Starfleet Intelligence has collected SENTINT from several sources that show a fleet of almost a dozen Ittick-Ka vessels operating in the vicinity of the Trill and Ruby Eye's Folly. We have detected multiple skirmishes between Gorn and Ittick-Ka vessels out beyond our Trill patrol zones. We need to go down and make a charisma check before anything terrible happens.
Right now we are close to HKP-426, and based on our best estimates, the Ittick-Ka are some 40 light years away. We've got a trip ahead of us. Luckily Commander Quessa has made sandwiches.
Supplemental Log, Stardate 27910.6, USS Atuin, Commander Quessa
~Makin' sandwiches, servin up sliced breads and salad...ses!~
I mean technically I don't need to but I want to.
-
Security Officer's Log, Stardate 27911, USS Cloudburst - Lieutenant Ilan Sanakh
[Centaur-A, Ferasa]
This should be a nice learning exercise. Between us and Defiant, we've assembled a small team of white-hat hackers to do a penetration test on the Caitian Grand Fleet's R&D division. It's a win-win, really. We get to sharpen our hacking skills, they get to learn about any remaining vulnerabilities.
What could go wrong?
-
Personal Log, Stardate 27911, Captain T'Arvit
[Constellation-A, GBZ]
I believe we have successfully facilitated the debate. Perhaps too successfully; he and his partner forgot about us for a stretch of three days. During that time th'Gannoth and I strategized, though both of us agreed that the longer stretches between them asking for assistance was a good sign.
Eventually, Broseph and his partner requested the collapse of the time bubble. They have made several commitments to one another, but are also embarking into unknown territory by opening up their relationship. I asked them to elaborate; the revelation caused me to suffer a minor stroke.
As a final thanks, they leeched valuable resources out of 23 Levar VIII, leaving it in an easily accessible ring around the planet.
[Gain 5 rp. SR colony at 23 Levar VIII, 15 (25) SR/year]
-
Captain's Log, Stardate 27912, USS Atuin, Captain Hassan Aharani
(Excelsior-A, EC)
We are only part-way to our destination, but already Science and Operations are finding the trip very worthwhile. Lieutenant T'Wilit has been hard at work scanning a high-endurance vessel that has been shadowing us for the last week. And when I say high endurance, I mean it has kept steady with us through all our maneuvers.
It matches the profile of one of the ships that came to Ruby Eye's Folly to deliver the Seven Sage's proclamation, which makes the Intelligence officers under Commander Appel's supervision quite happy. I'm very glad they work so well together; we're going to get good info out of this synergy.
The Ittick-Ka have not responded to initial hails. Liacross is concerned, and Quessa is asking that we send a few more to learn their intent. This is standard Starfleet policy -- we pester people until they pick up the phone. Better to over- than under- communicate.
However, based on my xenopsychological analysis, the Ittick-Ka are much like the Cardassians in that they like the feeling of being in a position of strength, or perhaps more accurately, they want you to be awed. I suspect they'll be ignore our transmissions, if not be actively insulted, if we continue to bug this vessel. Instead, I expect they'll open up when they have a suitably impressive greeting party for us.
-
Personal Log, Stardate 27912.4, Captain Kaylee Straite - USS Discovery
(Excelsior-A, KBZ)
While Kir'Shara and the Aropi Agricultural Directorate do their best to contain the toxic nematode invasion, I've taken Discovery to Capstone V to study the worms in their native environment, where we're looking for a solution in conjunction with the research station team. We don't want to introduce yet another species to the Aropi biosphere, but at the same time Capstone's native toxins are very much not things you'd want to get into your crops. And, we've found out, there are small populations of adapted nematodes that can survive those same toxins.
What we want is a way to kill all the nematodes while minimizing the introduction of toxins into the soil. What we have are a few ways to kill most of the nematodes, that make the soils unacceptably toxic.
Wait.
The nematodes themselves aren't the problem; their toxins are. Neutralize those, and we can let natural predators take care of the nematodes.
Now all we have to do is figure out how local predators are able to neutralize their toxins, and find a way to replicate that.
-
Captain's Log, Stardate 27913, USS Atuin, Captain Hassan Aharani
(Excelsior-A, EC)
The greeting party arrived as I expected. A cruiser carrying four frigates intercepted us, and we dropped out of warp to receive them. They were soon joined by another cruiser.
It's an intimidating posture, but after the initial proclamations warning against trespass, the terrible harm that would befall us for any underhanded tactics, and a paean to the wisdom and mercy of the Sages, the Ittick-Ka general was actually quite polite. I told her the purpose of our mission, and she politely rebuffed us. She informed me that the Ittick-Ka do not like outsiders to know or casually visit the location of their homeworld, and based on our actions at Ruby Eye's Folly and with the Trill, the Ittick-Ka see us as more of a threat than a potential friend.
That might explain why we detected three outposts under construction near Daw space.
-
Captain's Log, Stardate 27914, USS Discovery - Captain Kaylee Straite
(Excelsior-A, KBZ)
The toxic nematode invasion is ending. We've sprayed affected soil with Capstone methyltransferase, which neutralizes the toxins released by the nematodes, then brought in populations of predators to replace the ones that had died off trying to eat the nematodes before.
In the process of identifying affected regions, we have found deposits of belerium.
[Gain 20 SR, 18 pp]
-
Captain's Log, Stardate 27915, USS Atuin, Captain Hassan Aharani
(Excelsior-A, EC)
I was not going to let our mission go that easily. I'm now aware that like many in the galactic South, the Ittick-Ka are very paranoid, giving further evidence to the theory that Something Bad happened in the past that has left a deep instinct for secrecy in those nations that survived.
Convincing them of our trustworthiness was key. Much like ourselves with our sources on them, the Ittick-Ka have only really heard of us through second-hand sources, which consist of whatever the Pact is saying, ex-Syndicate officers fleeing south, and the occasional trader with a more nuanced perspective. My initial idea was to freely offer the General our information, but that no doubt would have made her more suspicious, not less. Instead I decided to whet her appetite with a poetic recitation of a Starfleet adventure. Suitably intrigued, she demanded more tales, and I was happy to inform her we have many more on file that we could share with the Seven Sages.
We're on our way to the Ittick-Ka homeworld now.
-
Personal Log, Stardate 27919, Captain Zinch mav Varwe - USS Defiant
[Constitution-B, Ferasa]
Well, at least we know Caitian security is up to snuff. Though I don't appreciate their accusing my team of being in league with the Klingon Intelligence agent they caught up in their dragnet.
All eight of our hackers got rolled up. Lt. Sanakh's team had tried to social-engineer their way in, posing as Starfleet inspectors, and we thought they were getting pretty far... but they aroused just a little too much suspicion. Ensign N'Gir had tried to directly hack in using his mother's credentials, simulating a spy using stolen credentials to infiltrate a network, but the Grand Fleet's network was too locked down to get access and someone on the other end recognized something fishy about the situation. Lt. Commander Rrian's team, finally, had tried to steal the identities of Caitian Grand Fleet officers and gain access from there, but their fakes weren't good enough.
I'm impressed with Caitian security, as are the Apiata. Now if they'd just let my team back out of prison...
[Gain 15 rp. Defiant gains Crew Rating +1.]
-
Captain's Log, Stardate 27920, USS Atuin, Captain Hassan Aharani
(Excelsior-A, EC)
The Ittick-Ka homeworld is fascinating. The Palace plaza in the capital district is a breathtaking spoke of a wheel of a complex and vast government. Interesting to my eye was the main feature -- seven pillars, surrounding an eighth. Inside each was a pane of glass, frosted with a unique pattern of ice crystals. I asked my guide what they were. He said it was the frozen breath of the Seven Sages, and in the center, the breath-pattern of their heroic, mythical Champion. T'Wilit's tricorder told us the central pillar was the focus of no less than four cruiser-grade shield generators, in addition to the more general defenses covering the complex. Having learned of what he did, I can understand why.
We were granted an audience with the Sage Vardegga, able to climb the steps of his palace directly from the plaza. To say Vardegga is different from the other Ittick-Ka we have encountered is an understatement. His exoskeleton is white and lustrous, and his body form is classically humanoid. Atop his head are delicate, almost crystalline antlers. He looks like a ruler, which made me instantly suspect genetic engineering. Not something to accuse someone of on a first meeting, though.
Sage Vardegga interrogated us and the General who brought us to the homeworld for more than three hours, going right through dinner. He is the Sage responsible for the safety of the People, and apparently takes his job very seriously. Eventually he was satisfied. He delivered a semi-poetic speech to us about the resolve of the Ittick-Ka, their capability to inflict great harm on those who attacked them, and their suspicion of those who 'wander this dark forest alongside us.' With that, he bid us pleasant travels.
On our way out of the system, we had an opportunity to observe Ittick-Ka industry at work, although they kept their actual shipbuilding concealed. While their vessels are outfitted with equipment that would be considered vastly out of date by our standards, their industrial processes could well be in advance of ours. This matches scans showing their ships to be remarkably well built.
We are forwarding our information to Starfleet Intelligence and, at the requests of our reluctant hosts, heading for neutral space.
[Gain 15 relations with Ittick-Ka, now 94/100]
[Outrider: C? S5+ H? L? P? D6]
(Miranda-A, Alukk)
...We are in the Sixar system, observing the activities of an Orion research cruiser, the Ballat out of Duaba. She has been jointly contracted by Starfleet Science and Velhan Stellar Dynamics, and is carrying out a mission that will attempt to start limited fusion processes in a gas giant. In addition to the data gathered, there is hope this could serve as a potential energy solution.
Captain Oav leaned back in satisfaction, finished with his log entry. A yeoman placed a teacup in front of the Indorian, and he reached and took a sip. This was not his most thrilling assignment, but with the recent news out of Vulcan sector that the Syndicate was still active and the large energies that could be generated, Command decided that someone from Starfleet should be on hand to watch.
"Captain, a moment?" Oav nodded at his human science officer, Commander Sharon Li. Commander Zles ch'Katen drifted over to listen to the conversation.
"Sir," Li said, presenting a PADD, "I've been going over the initial surveys that the Ballat is working off of. I don't think they were… complete, sir." He rubbed his eyes, "I almost don't believe what I'm looking at, it's so different."
ch'Katen leaned over Oav's shoulders, both of them scanning the document. It was clear what had happened. Someone at Honest Nared's Interstellar Surveying had decided to cut corners, doing a passive scan and then using an algorithm to extrapolate the rest with… poor accuracy.
Then Oav's eyes widened as he noticed a particular element that Svai's sensors had picked up. The test had to be stopped! "Lieutenant Narcasis, raise the Ballat, don't let them--"
But it was too late. The Ballat fired a modified torpedo into the atmosphere of the gas giant, and a few tense seconds later the planet's atmosphere exploded with radiant light, some of it going faster than light. Oav shouted some orders, but the Svai was battered aside, several systems shorting out. Things only became worse as it pushed her right into a collision course with the tiny moon she'd been orbiting…
Captain's Log, Stardate 27891, USS S'harien, Captain Demora Sulu
(Excelsior-A, EC)
We are en-route to a summit with the Chrystovians to discuss normalizing trade routes and security discussions to avoid any further incidents like at ARX-430. I'm looking forward to finally seeing their homeworld and learning more about their culture and customs.
Which, on a deeply selfish note, includes their culinary offerings.
-
Captain's Log, Stardate 27897, USS Hood - Captain Xuggaed
(Constitution-B, Alukk)
It's an all hands on deck burn today. One of our own is in trouble. Docana's racing in as well.
Sixar was initially surveyed by a company more interested in profit than good practices, so they did a basic scan and did some shoddy extrapolation based on a predictive algorithm. That's how they missed the fact Sixar-V contains a core that contains a small concentration of liquid cortenide. Combine that with trellium compounds in the atmosphere, and you've got the chemistry for a, FTL, subspace-distorting, electronics-fusing bomb. There's the danger with missing it.
The effects will fade with time, but Svai's in trouble now. All her internal systems are fried and she's crashed into Sixar-V-XI, a tiny ice-rock moon which is now being drawn into Sixar-V. The heat of her scorched hull has caused her to melt into the surface, making for a more complicated extraction.
We're going to send Docana to sniff ahead for the subspace eddies that will make approach difficult. Her quad nacelles will give her an edge against them. Then, we're going to pull Svai out.
-
Captain's Log, Stardate 27899, USS S'harien - Captain Demora Sulu
(Excelsior-A, EC)
Professor Nilhem Enakew of the Chrystovian cultural commission had invited me to his private residence on campus today. This is a great honor. A renowned sociologist, he's just as curious about us as we are him!
-
Captain's Log, Stardate 27899.5, USS Docana
(Constellation-A, Alukk)
In addition to the intense subspace distortions, the system has been filled with hot, electromagnetically charged gases and debris, increasing in density as we approach the Svai's crash site. This complicated recovery efforts, but Captain Xuggaed was able to use the Hood's larger deflector assembly to push most of the debris aside. Extracting the Svai from the moon proved harder, every additional second dropping them further into the denser debris and Sixar-V's gravity well. Docana generated mass-reducing warp bubble, allowing Hood to slow descent with tractor beams while conducting extraction operations. We successfully pulled Svai out of the crash zone after using phasers to re-melt her out of ice, and towed her to Starfleet facilities for repair.
[Damage to the USS Svai. Three month repair, 5sr.]
-
Away Team Transcript, Stardate 27899.6, USS S'harien
(Excelsior-A, EC)
[Nilhem Enakew] Captain! Captain! I almost forgot that I had a survey for you to fill out for me. We are testing xeno psychological preferences and need some of your insight, given how many different peoples you have interacted with!
[Captain Sulu] I'd be happy to! Right on this tablet, then?
[Nilhem Enakew] Yes.
[Sounds of Sulu tapping away for several minutes]
[Sulu] Alright. That wasn't too bad. A little personal though. Risians or Betazoids will answer it freely, but you might have some trouble with -- are you crying?
[Nilhem Enakew] Yes. Yes, with joy! Captain, the results are in. The survey has said that you -- are my wife.
-
Captain's Log, Stardate 27899.7, USS Triada
[Constellation-A, Ferasa]
We are en route to the 99 Oriolis System, where a Caitian prospecting team has gone missing. The prospectors were following up on recent surveys suggesting useful minerals in the system's primary asteroid belt. Said belt seems to have formed from a collapsed planet, making it unusually dense.
Hopefully, they didn't crash into an asteroid.
-
Captain's Log, Stardate 27899.9, USS S'harien - Captain Demora Sulu
(Excelsior-A, EC)
Well, Dad always said it was going to happen someday. Nilhem Enakew blindsided me with a 'compatibility survey', introduced in the early days of Chrystovian world government to encourage the breakdown of social and national barriers by pairing people up across the globe with their 'statistically most satisfactory partner, 19 times out of 20.' The law is old, but it's still binding.
Soooo I've barricaded myself in his office and I'm preparing to use the curtains to rappel down to the ground level.
Recovered Document, USS S'harien - the journal of Nilhem Enakew
To study another culture requires a deep understanding of everything that makes them tick. The foods they eat, the clothes they wear, the reasons behind traditions that range from simple dinner-time courtesies to societal-wide attitudes on any number of issues. It requires a deep understanding of the other, and in what setting is there deeper understanding and connections made than marriage?
I know the Federation allows Explorer Corps vessels to have spouses onboard. With Demora, I will learn about the Federation, but also so many other cultures and species they encounter!
-
Captain's Log, Stardate 27900.1, USS Triada
[Constellation-A, Ferasa]
The Caitian prospectors crashed into an asteroid. Their distress beacon's signal was faint, but not so faint as to not be picked up by our comms. Unfortunately, they picked about the worst asteroid possible to crash into.
2308 AX1 is hollow... and unusually fragile. According to the prospectors, it has pockets of volatile gases that are liable to be set off by high-energy sensor sweeps. So we can't scan for the prospecting team directly to lock on to them for beamout; we'll have to instead pinpoint their locations using their comm signals.
-
Captain's Log, Stardate 27900.5, USS S'harien - Captain Demora Sulu
(Excelsior-A, EC)
So the curtains were poorly made and snapped while I was still a few meters above the ground. I took that to the ribs; was not very pleasant to be the one getting tenderized. At that point it would have been pretty easy to just ask for the S'harien to beam me out, but that's predictable. I needed to get ahead of Nilhem Enakew. So I went to the Central Court and filed for divorce. And also Violation of Good Methodology.
I am no longer 'married' and after giving the court evidence he rigged the survey, he has been banned from practicing social science. My dedication to the order and customs of the Chrystovians has been recognized, and they also are planning to repeal the laws around compatibility surveys to prevent further incidents.
[Gain +10 relations with Chrystovian Confederacy, now 85/100]
-
Captain's Log, Stardate 27901, USS Triada
Mission accomplished.
I served under Captain Straak; seems I haven't forgotten all his old rock-secrets. This one involved locking onto the rock around the distress beacon, then extrapolating from there to get transporter locks on the missing prospectors.
Unfortunately, the prospectors' ship was destroyed when the asteroid itself collapsed soon after. On the other hand, the collapse of the asteroid exposed a deposit of zownium.
[Gain 15 rp, 5 sr. Caitians lose one prospector.]
-
Captain's Log, Stardate 27902, USS Sarek - Captain Jeanette Devereaux
(Excelsior-A, EC)
We have detected a subspace inversion that has begun to interact with the immense gravitational interactions in a trinary star system. Getting this data close-up and first hand will help us better understand the interactions between subspace and conventional spacetime, with many possible benefits to warp travel.
I feel as if Kanil should be here -- this sort of anomaly was very much in her wheelhouse.
-
Captain's Log, Stardate 27903, USS Seleya - Captain T'Arvit
[Constellation-A, GBZ]
In conjunction with Zarayet, Seleya is responding to unusual sensor readings in the 23 Levar system. Subspace appears to be disturbed in the region, according to long-range scans.
Perhaps it is natural, an extension of the disturbances in the Badlands. Perhaps it is not. In any case, we will find out soon enough.
-
First Officer's Log, Stardate 27903.5, USS Sarek - Commander Khiwuolo
(Excelsior-A, EC)
Here is a fun discovery -- the interactions between subspace and the gravitational waves of the stars? Turns out that they really, really do not play well with our inertial dampeners. Captain Devereaux took a nasty header, and I was spared any injury only thanks to my shell.
I'm finishing the survey while she recovers. We'll need to do some modifications.
I wish Quessa was here, she'd always have a wacky scheme for handling these sorts of things.
-
Captain's Log, Stardate 27904, USS Seleya
[Constellation-A, GBZ]
The subspace disturbances have resolved themselves into a subspace vortex, that has the additional feature of tongues of shimmering fractal flame. I am once again in contact with the entity known as 'Broseph,' who wants to discuss some of the secrets of the universe with me. I have chosen to take a shuttle to within 100 million kilometers of the subspace vortex.
Despite concerns from my XO and the captain of the Zarayet, the survey of the system will continue.
-
Ship's Log, Stardate 27904.5, USS Sarek - Lieutenant Solla Payat
(Excelsior-A, EC)
So, during the initial catastrophe, I noticed that I only had a small bump, as did my friend near the shield generator, but another friend was thrown so hard she broke her nose. And where was I? Why, on nacelle duty, of course. That got me thinking that we could probably use the nacelles to cancel out the weird subspace effects, and the shields to cancel out the weird gravitational stuff, as they operate on those two... planes, I guess.
I suggested it to the Commander and she liked it, so I got right to work modifying software so the shields and warp bubble could integrate more effectively, and respond to the unpredictable waves coming off in sync with some quick mods to the sensor protocols. Last stop was tightening some connectors up here in the nacelle, and voila, you could fly right into the middle of this and not get hurt.
All in a day's-- ARGHG!
I wish Doctor Ginzan was here, because I think I just dropped a wrench on my toe and broke it.
And it's ladders only down from here.
[+12rp]
-
Personal Log, Stardate 27905, Captain Zinch mav Varwe - USS Defiant
[Constitution-B, Ferasa]
More trade negotiations. This time, it's the Apiata and the Caitians, in talks to better coordinate their research and development efforts on the Joint Ancillary Frigate project. Cloudburst is ferrying the Apiata delegation, who should arrive in a few days.
I never really look forward to trade negotiations; I signed up to explore, not to be an arbitrator. Besides, more people in the room just means more things that can go wrong.
-
Personal Log, Stardate 27905.1, Captain T'Arvit - USS Seleya
[Constellation-A, GBZ]
I have made a mistake.
I had presumed that when Broseph wanted to discuss secrets of the universe, he meant scientific knowledge. I am so far incorrect. Instead, he wants romantic advice. He apparently has a partner who he is estranged from, who is arriving 'soon' to meet up - as friends.
He has complex feelings for her. Some so complex they are literally incomprehensible to me. He worries that she has changed her mind about him during their time apart. I have offered what advice I can give from my own experience - in particular, that being open about desires and expectations leads to favorable results. I am not sure if he found this useful.
Regardless, he does want me to be here as his 'back-up' in case things don't work out and he needs someone to talk to or 'bail him out'.
-
First Officer's Log, Stardate 27905.7, USS Voshov - Commander Llyhua
[Excelsior-A, EC]
Alas, our survey of LIR-303 has been cut short. We are responding to a distress call from the Cornit System: A ship is being boarded by hostile intruders. It was an unfortunate but unsurprising event -- Hishmeri prowl the space lanes in this sector. Federation traffic may be barred from being targeted by treaty, but enterprising Hishmeri prey on the non-Federation shipping.
What is surprising is that the distress call was sent out by a Hishmeri ship.
-
Personal Log, Stardate 27906, Captain Alryth th'Gannoth
So, I've been taken by an extra-dimensional entity, who pulled me right from a trade summit on Akaikan, seeking advice. Turns out she's the same one that gave me trouble for going faster than the speed of light -- at least she's learned to distinguish between me and Cheron. And I suppose it is a nice break from fencing verbally with that Horizon diplomat. He was ... tiresome. But the nausea I felt when the energy being took me straight to the other side of Federation space was not pleasant at all. Quite embarrassing to be retching in front of Captain T'Arvit.
Turns out T'Arvit is providing similar advice and comfort to another entity, 'Broseph.' Both entities are trying to get back together after an estrangement of… I'm not sure, actually. We blanked out when they attempted to communicate the concept.
They're ... the closest equivalent I can come up with is that they're essentially 'getting coffee together' - trying to meet casually, as friends. But she thinks she wants more, but doesn't know how to get it - and wants support from a friend, especially if it doesn't work out.
Apparently, we're friends now. One makes interesting friends in Starfleet.
-
Captain's Log, Stardate 27906.1, USS Voshov - Captain Iliae Rurliss
[Excelsior-A, EC]
We've arrived in the Cornit System, where we've uncovered a scene that looks a lot like piracy - an unarmed research cruiser, unshielded, motionless, in transporter range of an Andalusian.
And yet the piracy is apparently going in reverse.
From the descriptions the Andalusian has sent us, we've identified as the Radwin Assault Robots. They've taken control of half the ship, and are soon to break through to Engineering and the besieged forward torpedo bay. I've reviewed the logs of my fellow captains who've had to deal with these bots before, and I think we can stop them.
Or we could just let the bots and the slaver pirates duke it out. Or perhaps, destroy this whole damn ship.
No. That would be wrong. And more practically, we can't allow the bots to take over the ship. Plus we are still detecting Brosmen lifesigns abroad, so it's not like I'm only saving pirates.
So, because they've got transport inhibitors to prevent us from beaming out the survivors, I'm leading security details over to the ship by runabout.
-
Audio Log, USS T'Karath, Stardate 27906.2
(Type-4 Shuttlecraft, GBZ)
[Cpt. T'Arvit] Are you feeling better, Captain?
[Cpt. th'Gannoth] Mildly. I keep getting nose-bleeds.
[T'Arvit] That is a side-effect of looking directly at the entities.
[Broseph] You brought someone too? Cool. That's awesome.
[Female Entity] Why are you talking like that?
[Broseph] Talking like what… bro?
[T'Arvit] I sense we are going to have much ground to cover.
[Broseph] Oh yes.
[Female Entity] Centuries by your time frame.
[th'Gannoth] You -- we die by then, you know.
[Female Entity] But your body will remain functional for longer than that! Oh, right. That's Cheron.
-
Away Team Log, Stardate 27906.35, USS Voshov - Captain Iliae Rurliss
[Excelsior-A, EC]
Well, they're clever bastards, these bots. They've already figured out a solution to the sensor scrambling technique we tried, they cut us off well short of the bridge, and they're now trying to cut off our escape route. Thirty-nine signals between us and the runabout -
[Another voice]: "Starfleet, why are you talking to yourself?"
[Audible sigh]. "It's a log entry, Majestic. For our records."
[Other voice]: "Oh, a war-song, I see. You don't compose those until after your victory! Don't you know anything, Stupid Starfleet?"
"Hey, you're the one who fell for my decoy, last I checked."
[Other voice]: "So where's that guile you are so proud of now, Starfleet?"
"Not gone, yet. Contact whoever's left in engineering, tell them to cut gravity, then do a hard burn up." [Sounds of magboots activating]
-
Personal Log, Stardate 27906.4, Commander Tigre Zal - USS Seleya
(Constellation-A, GBZ)
Never an ordinary day in Starfleet.
Today, we're facilitating the relationship of two energy beings by helping form a 'time bubble'. They will be able to discuss concepts at a high-level for extended periods by their timeframe, while being able to 'peek' out and consult with their relationship experts. Apparently, we've been promised useful information about the universe, not to mention the return of Captain th'Gannoth to the Cheron, in exchange for facilitating their 'date.'
At least there should be interesting scientific data to be had.
-
Security Officer's Log, Stardate 27906.42, USS Voshov - Lt. Commander Luisa Wycombe
There's something of a discrepancy among the people we recovered - we seem to have recovered two people reported dead. It's possible those were misreports - battles get chaotic, life-sign readers fail. But there's something suspicious, when combined with the fact that two of the Brosmen could not identify themselves. We had assumed shock, and ... had ...
Oh. Oh!
Computer, locate Crewers zh'Innysh and th'Baraav, and the two nameless Brosmen.
Right. Security teams to Engineering and Sickbay, immediately!
-
Audio Log, USS T'Karath, Stardate 27907
(Type-4 Shuttlecraft, GBZ)
[Broseph] Yo. T'Arvs.
[T'Arvit] That is… not my name
[Broseph] What? He calls you that all the time!
[th'Gannoth] Who?
[T'Arvit] ...What is it?
[Broseph] Okay so, we're discussing openness, and feelings, and all that, but I'm like, still so mad at her. Which uh, I know isn't chill. It's just the fact she ran when I wanted to start thinking about, you know, having kids.
[th'Gannoth] Well, maybe you shouldn't have pressured her! You put a lot of expectations on her, and her mother, well, you know!
[T'Arvit] That is not a nuanced read of the situation, Captain. Early in their relationship your friend made the commitment to have children, and then reneged.
[Broseph] ...um.
[th'Gannoth] You're the one lacking nuance. Think of the pressure my friend was under! And she didn't want to disappoint him, she wanted to be with him. That's true love right there.
[Female Entity] What's going on?
[Broseph] I don't--
[T'Arvit] That may be true, but she left Broseph alone and heartbroken. So much that he fell to appearing on random starships in an attempt to connect to other life forms. If she didn't want to disappoint him, she failed miserably by fleeing.
[Female Entity] Guys…
[th'Gannoth] Only because he spent the last --- I don't even know how long sulking!
[Broseph] It was [AUDIO RECORDING DAMAGED]
[T'Arvit and th'Gannoth take several seconds to regain their composure and consciousness]
[T'Arvit] … Perhaps we have lost our perspective here.
-
Personal Log, Stardate 27907.1, Captain Iliae Rurliss - USS Voshov
[Excelsior-A, EC]
I failed.
No way around it. Should've known they'd adapt, should've fought smarter, should've done something better. Should've expected they'd try to slip infiltrators on, been more careful... though how they managed such good disguises, I'm not sure. Should've taken out their warp drive when we had the chance, before they warped away. We left behind a dozen dead, and I've got forty of my people in critical condition or worse in my sickbays. All for what?
Six surviving Brosmen; most of them died on the way to sickbay when the Assault Robot infiltrators among them attacked. Fifteen surviving Hishmeri, one of them Silver Claw herself, of course. That's it. Out of a crew of almost five hundred, Hishmeri and Brosmen alike, we saved twenty-one.
Not a good day out in the Frontier.
[-20 relations with Hishmeri Septs, now 69/100. Hishmeri lose one Andalusian. Voshov suffers 1 point of Enlisted casualties]
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Science Officer's Log, Stardate 27908, USS Kir'Shara - Lieutenant Briza th'Taren
(Renaissance, KBZ)
Aropi IX hosts what was the most diverse offworld agricultural colony in Caldonian space. Native nuts, fruits, grains, vegetables and flowering plants of all kinds, not to mention genetically engineered Caldonian broats - up until six months ago, all were growing well.
Then the plants started dying off. On farm after farm, the soil was being depleted. And in the wild, the locals started noticing dieoffs - and not just of plants. Something is happening throughout the ecosystem.
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Captain's Log, Stardate 27910, USS Defiant
[Constitution-B, Ferasa]
Well, so much for easy negotiations. Things are breaking down over security issues. The Apiata think that the Caitians haven't done near enough to change protocols since the security breach in 2318 to warrant trusting them with their research data; the Caitians, for their part, are indignant, and have privately told me they cannot work under the proposed terms offered by the Apiata.
The Apiata are asking for too much. The Caitian development team would have to go to Apinae, be sequestered there for the duration of the project, with no contact with anyone else, and the actual blueprints would remain in Apiata hands. At the same time, I understand why the Apiata are so concerned about security, considering the magnitude of the breach in 2318. Doesn't make it right, though.
What they need is a sign that they can be confident in Caitian security measures.
...We can offer them that!
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Science Officer's Log, Stardate 27910.25, USS Kir'Shara
(Renaissance, KBZ)
Worms.
That's the problem: there's the wrong worms in the soil. Specifically, toxic nematodes, native to Capstone V (home of a research station deeper into the KBZ). They breed fast, they're extremely good at depleting the soil, they outcompete native worms, they're toxic to predators that normally would feed on soil nematodes, and even when they die (which they do pretty fast, since they're semelparous), their remains are toxic, so they don't get biodegraded by local decomposers.
There is a solution - their native range is pretty contained on their homeworld. But that's because their homeworld is toxic.
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Captain's Log, Stardate 27910.5, USS Atuin, Captain Hassan Aharani
(Excelsior-A, EC)
In light of the tensions with the Ittick-Ka, Starfleet has dispatched us to formal contact with the Ittick-Ka homeworld, and hopefully conduct diplomacy with the Seven Sages. Starfleet Intelligence has collected SENTINT from several sources that show a fleet of almost a dozen Ittick-Ka vessels operating in the vicinity of the Trill and Ruby Eye's Folly. We have detected multiple skirmishes between Gorn and Ittick-Ka vessels out beyond our Trill patrol zones. We need to go down and make a charisma check before anything terrible happens.
Right now we are close to HKP-426, and based on our best estimates, the Ittick-Ka are some 40 light years away. We've got a trip ahead of us. Luckily Commander Quessa has made sandwiches.
Supplemental Log, Stardate 27910.6, USS Atuin, Commander Quessa
~Makin' sandwiches, servin up sliced breads and salad...ses!~
I mean technically I don't need to but I want to.
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Security Officer's Log, Stardate 27911, USS Cloudburst - Lieutenant Ilan Sanakh
[Centaur-A, Ferasa]
This should be a nice learning exercise. Between us and Defiant, we've assembled a small team of white-hat hackers to do a penetration test on the Caitian Grand Fleet's R&D division. It's a win-win, really. We get to sharpen our hacking skills, they get to learn about any remaining vulnerabilities.
What could go wrong?
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Personal Log, Stardate 27911, Captain T'Arvit
[Constellation-A, GBZ]
I believe we have successfully facilitated the debate. Perhaps too successfully; he and his partner forgot about us for a stretch of three days. During that time th'Gannoth and I strategized, though both of us agreed that the longer stretches between them asking for assistance was a good sign.
Eventually, Broseph and his partner requested the collapse of the time bubble. They have made several commitments to one another, but are also embarking into unknown territory by opening up their relationship. I asked them to elaborate; the revelation caused me to suffer a minor stroke.
As a final thanks, they leeched valuable resources out of 23 Levar VIII, leaving it in an easily accessible ring around the planet.
[Gain 5 rp. SR colony at 23 Levar VIII, 15 (25) SR/year]
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Captain's Log, Stardate 27912, USS Atuin, Captain Hassan Aharani
(Excelsior-A, EC)
We are only part-way to our destination, but already Science and Operations are finding the trip very worthwhile. Lieutenant T'Wilit has been hard at work scanning a high-endurance vessel that has been shadowing us for the last week. And when I say high endurance, I mean it has kept steady with us through all our maneuvers.
It matches the profile of one of the ships that came to Ruby Eye's Folly to deliver the Seven Sage's proclamation, which makes the Intelligence officers under Commander Appel's supervision quite happy. I'm very glad they work so well together; we're going to get good info out of this synergy.
The Ittick-Ka have not responded to initial hails. Liacross is concerned, and Quessa is asking that we send a few more to learn their intent. This is standard Starfleet policy -- we pester people until they pick up the phone. Better to over- than under- communicate.
However, based on my xenopsychological analysis, the Ittick-Ka are much like the Cardassians in that they like the feeling of being in a position of strength, or perhaps more accurately, they want you to be awed. I suspect they'll be ignore our transmissions, if not be actively insulted, if we continue to bug this vessel. Instead, I expect they'll open up when they have a suitably impressive greeting party for us.
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Personal Log, Stardate 27912.4, Captain Kaylee Straite - USS Discovery
(Excelsior-A, KBZ)
While Kir'Shara and the Aropi Agricultural Directorate do their best to contain the toxic nematode invasion, I've taken Discovery to Capstone V to study the worms in their native environment, where we're looking for a solution in conjunction with the research station team. We don't want to introduce yet another species to the Aropi biosphere, but at the same time Capstone's native toxins are very much not things you'd want to get into your crops. And, we've found out, there are small populations of adapted nematodes that can survive those same toxins.
What we want is a way to kill all the nematodes while minimizing the introduction of toxins into the soil. What we have are a few ways to kill most of the nematodes, that make the soils unacceptably toxic.
Wait.
The nematodes themselves aren't the problem; their toxins are. Neutralize those, and we can let natural predators take care of the nematodes.
Now all we have to do is figure out how local predators are able to neutralize their toxins, and find a way to replicate that.
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Captain's Log, Stardate 27913, USS Atuin, Captain Hassan Aharani
(Excelsior-A, EC)
The greeting party arrived as I expected. A cruiser carrying four frigates intercepted us, and we dropped out of warp to receive them. They were soon joined by another cruiser.
It's an intimidating posture, but after the initial proclamations warning against trespass, the terrible harm that would befall us for any underhanded tactics, and a paean to the wisdom and mercy of the Sages, the Ittick-Ka general was actually quite polite. I told her the purpose of our mission, and she politely rebuffed us. She informed me that the Ittick-Ka do not like outsiders to know or casually visit the location of their homeworld, and based on our actions at Ruby Eye's Folly and with the Trill, the Ittick-Ka see us as more of a threat than a potential friend.
That might explain why we detected three outposts under construction near Daw space.
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Captain's Log, Stardate 27914, USS Discovery - Captain Kaylee Straite
(Excelsior-A, KBZ)
The toxic nematode invasion is ending. We've sprayed affected soil with Capstone methyltransferase, which neutralizes the toxins released by the nematodes, then brought in populations of predators to replace the ones that had died off trying to eat the nematodes before.
In the process of identifying affected regions, we have found deposits of belerium.
[Gain 20 SR, 18 pp]
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Captain's Log, Stardate 27915, USS Atuin, Captain Hassan Aharani
(Excelsior-A, EC)
I was not going to let our mission go that easily. I'm now aware that like many in the galactic South, the Ittick-Ka are very paranoid, giving further evidence to the theory that Something Bad happened in the past that has left a deep instinct for secrecy in those nations that survived.
Convincing them of our trustworthiness was key. Much like ourselves with our sources on them, the Ittick-Ka have only really heard of us through second-hand sources, which consist of whatever the Pact is saying, ex-Syndicate officers fleeing south, and the occasional trader with a more nuanced perspective. My initial idea was to freely offer the General our information, but that no doubt would have made her more suspicious, not less. Instead I decided to whet her appetite with a poetic recitation of a Starfleet adventure. Suitably intrigued, she demanded more tales, and I was happy to inform her we have many more on file that we could share with the Seven Sages.
We're on our way to the Ittick-Ka homeworld now.
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Personal Log, Stardate 27919, Captain Zinch mav Varwe - USS Defiant
[Constitution-B, Ferasa]
Well, at least we know Caitian security is up to snuff. Though I don't appreciate their accusing my team of being in league with the Klingon Intelligence agent they caught up in their dragnet.
All eight of our hackers got rolled up. Lt. Sanakh's team had tried to social-engineer their way in, posing as Starfleet inspectors, and we thought they were getting pretty far... but they aroused just a little too much suspicion. Ensign N'Gir had tried to directly hack in using his mother's credentials, simulating a spy using stolen credentials to infiltrate a network, but the Grand Fleet's network was too locked down to get access and someone on the other end recognized something fishy about the situation. Lt. Commander Rrian's team, finally, had tried to steal the identities of Caitian Grand Fleet officers and gain access from there, but their fakes weren't good enough.
I'm impressed with Caitian security, as are the Apiata. Now if they'd just let my team back out of prison...
[Gain 15 rp. Defiant gains Crew Rating +1.]
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Captain's Log, Stardate 27920, USS Atuin, Captain Hassan Aharani
(Excelsior-A, EC)
The Ittick-Ka homeworld is fascinating. The Palace plaza in the capital district is a breathtaking spoke of a wheel of a complex and vast government. Interesting to my eye was the main feature -- seven pillars, surrounding an eighth. Inside each was a pane of glass, frosted with a unique pattern of ice crystals. I asked my guide what they were. He said it was the frozen breath of the Seven Sages, and in the center, the breath-pattern of their heroic, mythical Champion. T'Wilit's tricorder told us the central pillar was the focus of no less than four cruiser-grade shield generators, in addition to the more general defenses covering the complex. Having learned of what he did, I can understand why.
We were granted an audience with the Sage Vardegga, able to climb the steps of his palace directly from the plaza. To say Vardegga is different from the other Ittick-Ka we have encountered is an understatement. His exoskeleton is white and lustrous, and his body form is classically humanoid. Atop his head are delicate, almost crystalline antlers. He looks like a ruler, which made me instantly suspect genetic engineering. Not something to accuse someone of on a first meeting, though.
Sage Vardegga interrogated us and the General who brought us to the homeworld for more than three hours, going right through dinner. He is the Sage responsible for the safety of the People, and apparently takes his job very seriously. Eventually he was satisfied. He delivered a semi-poetic speech to us about the resolve of the Ittick-Ka, their capability to inflict great harm on those who attacked them, and their suspicion of those who 'wander this dark forest alongside us.' With that, he bid us pleasant travels.
On our way out of the system, we had an opportunity to observe Ittick-Ka industry at work, although they kept their actual shipbuilding concealed. While their vessels are outfitted with equipment that would be considered vastly out of date by our standards, their industrial processes could well be in advance of ours. This matches scans showing their ships to be remarkably well built.
We are forwarding our information to Starfleet Intelligence and, at the requests of our reluctant hosts, heading for neutral space.
[Gain 15 relations with Ittick-Ka, now 94/100]
[Outrider: C? S5+ H? L? P? D6]
@Iron Wolf wrote Sarek, Atuin, Svai/Hood/Docana, and S'Harien logs. We co-wrote the Seleya logs.
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Jenny
anonymous user
- Location
- maryland
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Pleezirra encountered them, then Opportunity (and Zara).
Their playbook has... expanded.
Very neat Ittik-Ka details. I have to say I did not expect a storyteller hat. They'd probably appreciate Homer. Or an epic based on Jim Kirk. Being able to engage them culturally is a really massive boon for our relations even if it doesn't reflect in the score.
pheonix89
Wants to be Seven Of Nine
- Location
- North American Plaguelands
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Those things from the other side of that portal?
How did THEY get here?!
Is this crisis foreshadowing?
Himmelhand
Giant Sinkhole 2020
- Location
- Midwestern US
Now we just need to convince the Ittick-Ka to stop being domineering overlords and then we've got them.
With all the various galactic nations with [Slavery] tags, anti-slavery task force when? USS Emancipation for flagship of that TF.
With all the various galactic nations with [Slavery] tags, anti-slavery task force when? USS Emancipation for flagship of that TF.
The Sandman
So Zetta Slowpoke
- Location
- Wherever I am, which isn't where I'm not
The Orions must have at least one or two epics about the decline and fall of their empire, too.
Guessing that whatever happened on the southern rim is related to the berserkers somehow.
Also think that the TBG episode about doing relationship counselling for a pair of nigh-omnipotent energy beings would be a vast improvement over the IRL VOY one.
Guessing that whatever happened on the southern rim is related to the berserkers somehow.
Also think that the TBG episode about doing relationship counselling for a pair of nigh-omnipotent energy beings would be a vast improvement over the IRL VOY one.
Theunderbolt
"Prepare for trouble..."
- Location
- USoA
Strange how they sound so much like the Borg...
Take our time with them no need to rush at this moment considering how thin we're spread out.
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Thors_Alumni
Proud member of Thors Class VII from Liberl
- Location
- Liberl Zemuria.
So Demora almost got married like Nash did. But luckily managed to get out of it by judicious use of their own laws against them.
Wonder how daddy will react to this incident. Probably would make him yank the Enterprise C out of her assignment and go and visit his almost son in law.
And probably have a nice conversation about his trying to touch his Daughter. 
Wonder how daddy will react to this incident. Probably would make him yank the Enterprise C out of her assignment and go and visit his almost son in law. And probably have a nice conversation about his trying to touch his Daughter.
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Himmelhand
Giant Sinkhole 2020
- Location
- Midwestern US
We don't necessarily need to focus the Ittick-Ka specifically, but I think formalizing some of the assets that came into play back while breaking up the Syndicate slavers would give us an edge into aligning the various slaveholding powers with the Federation. We do have a decent amount of xenopsych experience with doing just that, so if we can expedite clearing those tags it would probably serve us very well.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
That's going to take some serious work. From the last session with the Federation Council, the Ittick-Ka have half a dozen 100-point tags to resolve, largely involving slavery:
That's almost certainly going to need a taskforce to resolve, and unlike the Orion Union, the Ittick-Ka have no reason not to push back with everything they've got. I wouldn't be comfortable sending an anti-slavery taskforce unless it was pretty darn beefy, and it's going to be years before we can find enough ships to fit the bill.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
...Have we seen them use spaceships before? This is becoming worrying.
Ah, I see we have yet again rolled "Captain accidentally gets married to local figure of importance."
Oh sure, each of those are relatively common individually. This is the first time they're all in the same place at the same time.
The Eye of Terror is a pressure cooker slowly boiling over. It could happen next year or in 20 years but eventually we're in for some serious shit.
Always listen to Doc Brown!
Nash got a slap on the wrist for blowing up a moon. Is Zara going to get away with blowing up a planet?
Of course she'll get away with it! Nash's stunt was an accident, Zara did this on purpose!
Not even surprised anymore at this point.
Oh, this old gag again!
Straak strikes again, albeit by proxy.
Always fun when someone makes fun of the Captain's Log.
Could've been worse. Loosing 20 Relatins with the Hishmeri and 1 Point of Enlisted isn't too bad.
Necrons.
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