Our second session of the Monthly Far Trek launches with a few minor changes. Our Crew has seen a bit of a change. Our Pilot episode Communications Officer Player changed out the human Mr. Capri for a Caitian Officer F'Riid Dasso. It was also supposed to be the first appearance of our new Chief Engineer Zav the Tellerite. Due to unforseen circumstances, the player could not make the game so he was just an NPC for this game. Also our Navigator had real world duties and wasn't able to make the game. Bonus though, late in the evening we were joined by a new gamer looking to try something different, and he is a Star Trek fan so we may soon see an appearance by this new player as an additional Science Crewman.
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| USS ARGO crew. |
Navigator - Lt. JG Maxine "Max" Holt
Chief Engineer - Lt. Cmdr. Zav
Chief Medical - Lt. Cmdr. Salec
Captain - Cade Grim
Comms. Officer - Lt. Cmdr. F'Riid Dossa
Exe. Science Officer - Cmdr. Vesara Tess
The Adventure we played is "A Vulture Among the Stars" by Fred Love. I made a Far Trek conversion of the adventure and got things in order for play.
Turn on your TV and settle in for Episode 02 of Far Trek: A Vulture Among the Stars!
Intro Scene: The Argo zooming through space as we hear the voice of Captain Grim reading the log.
Captain’s Log, Stardate 2017.20.10.
We have received a distress call and are currently traveling at maximum warp to investigate. The signal appears to have originated from Federation transport vessel the S.S. Malorin, traveling near an expansive group of asteroids known as the Pinicon Cluster. The message, a garbled voice recording from the transport’s Captain, sounded panicked and made it clear the vessel was under attack. I know the Captain of the Malorin personally, he is an academy friend and I hope that Steven and his crew are okay.
The scene zooms into the Bridge of the Argo and we see the crew intent on their tasks as they head towards possible danger! Vesara gives the Captain some generic info about the Pinicon Cluster, while F'Riid monitors communications for anything more from the Malorin. Salec enters the bridge from the turbolift.
Captain Grim: "Salec, you may have some patients in need of care if this turns out as bad as it sounds."
Salec: "Understood Captain, my team is ready."
Turning from his station the Comms. Officer relates the following -
F'Riid: "Captain, I'm picking up a lot of Orion chatter. They are referring to merchant transactions but I think it has something to do with what's going on."
Captain Grim: "Hmm, anything else from the Malorin?"
F'Riid: "No sir, their signal has either stopped or is being jammed."
Captain Grim: "Keep at it Mr. Dossa, let me know if you get anything else."
[The Argo drops out of warp at the edge of the Pinicon Cluster and visual scanners can just make out a pair of craft deep in the asteroid field.]
Chief Engineer Zav: "Captain if the second ship is Orion we could be up against Pirates, or worse, Slavers!"
Captain Grim: "Tess I need more information, what is happening in there."
Vesara: "Aye Captain scanning now."
Captain Grim leans forward in his chair -
Captain Grim: "All hands RED ALERT. All right Steven you better be ok, you still owe me from our last poker game."
-COMMERCIAL BREAK-
Scene 1 - The Pinicon Cluster
The bridge of the Argo is abuzz with activity as the crew assess the current situation. 1st Officer Tess has determined that disruptor weapons have recently been fired in the area, and the two ships have been identified as the SS Malorin and an unidentified Orion Marauder class. There are also traces of radiation indicitive of a warp core breach!
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| The Pinicon Cluster |
F'riid: "Captain, the Orion vessel is in contact with an undetermined party. They are talking about the "relocation effort" in progress."
Salec: "Cade, the Orion Syndicate is known for slave trading and ransoming hostages. This could be bad for the freighter crew."
Captain Grim: "I don't tolerate either action Doctor. Helmsman get us through this field we need to help that ship!"
Vesara: "Captain, I have four life-pods ejecting from the Malorin. The Orion craft is powering up tractor beams and targeting the closest pod!"
[Jumping into action Captain Grim commands his crew and the Argo begins to wend it's way through the dangerous Pinicon Cluster!]
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| Capt. Grimm using the Command Talent! |
1) In the first round the Argo makes a successful Navigation roll while the Orions lock-on to a life-pod.
2) The Argo makes the second Navigation roll, the Orion ship moves in on a second life-pod.
3) The Argo just fails the third Navigation roll, but the shields absorb the damage!
-COMMERCIAL BREAK-
Scene 2 - Inside the Cluster!
As the Argo emerges from the asteroids the "photon distraction" goes into effect! The Orions are taken by surprise and lose initiative. The Argo opens a hailing frequency and commands them to stop what they are doing. The torpedo detonation causes multiple smaller asteroid chunks to head directly at the Orion craft! Unfortunately the life-pod is also in the path of the photon debris!
F'Riid: "The Orions were unaware of us, they are unsure what is going on."
Zav: "Shields are holding at 85%"
Vesara: "They have stopped the tractor beam and raised shields, however the life-pod is in extreme danger from the incoming asteroid debris!"
Salec: "We have to get any survivors aboard quickly."
Capt. Grim: Hitting the Intercom button on the command chair, "Transporter room 1, get the survivors off that pod and beam them directly to Medical!"
F'Riid: "Our own comms have been hit by debris, they are offline."
The crew of the Argo is barely able to get the survivors off the pod before it is torn apart by the debris. The Orion craft weathers the strike and begins to power up their disruptors. With their own shields down Captain Grim orders a phaser strike on the Orion craft in an attempt to take out the weapons systems.
The gamble pays off and not only does the attack penetrate the Orion's shields but it takes out both their weapons and communications!
Meanwhile, Salec arrives in Sickbay and discovers the survivors are in a more dire situation than first thought! Rushing to the Intercom he contacts the Bridge.
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| Sickbay |
[The Doctor makes a couple of Medical Skill rolls here to stabilize the survivors.]
Capt. Grim: "I read you Doctor! Tess get me a reading on the state of the Malorin. Zav what do think?"
Chief Zav: "Nucleonic radition would mean the warp-engine manifolds took heavy disruptor damage, the crew didn't just abandon ship because of the Orions. They got off because their warp-core is going critical!"
F'Riid: "Captain, even though their main comms are down I'm getting an odd signal being tight-beamed from the Orion craft to somewhere out beyond the cluster, I'm attempting to jam it!"
Vesara: "Zav is correct, the Malorin is in the final stages of a critical warp-core breach. At this range both us and the Orions could take severe damage, but the remaining life-pods would be vaporized!"
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| Dramatic music! |
-COMMERCIAL BREAK-
Scene 3 - Last moments of the Malorin
At this point the Orion ship began to withdraw from the inner cluster in an attempt to escape with the survivors from the initial life-pod they brought on board. The Crew of the Argo knew they had to place their attention upon the remaining two pods adrift in space. The Crew devise a dangerously ingenious plan!
Capt. Grim: " Mr. Dossa, how are comms?"
F'Riid: "We are back online at 50% capability, the Orions are either still down, or just not responding."
Capt. Grim: "Tess, Zav. Do think a heavy Phaser barrage on the Malorin engineering section could effectively cause an internal reaction resulting in total disintegration?"
Zav: "It could also destroy us all, but it could work...maybe!"
Vesara: "Zav is correct, if this fails our own shields won't protect us. We have a .05% chance it goes our way!"
Capt. Grim: "Transfer fire controls to my chair, Helmsman get us between the remaining life-pods with a line-of-sight on the Malorin. Zav, get ready to raise our shields on my command!"
Salec on Intercom: "I'm sending a Trauma team to the transporter room now."
Helmsman: "Moving into position now sir!"
Zav: "I'm ready!"
Vesara: "Transporter is locked on the pods! Malorin core is going critical in 3."
Capt. Grim: "Transporter Go!"
Vesara: "2"
Capt. Grim: "I was the best shot of my class, Firing Phasers!"
Vesara: "1"
[The full phaser barrage strikes the engineering section of the freighter, and for a brief second everyone holds their breath! Then a bright red flash fills the viewscreen and the Malorin disappears!!!]
F'riid: "Transporter room reports survivors are aboard!"
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| Malorin survivors are safe! |
Capt. Grim: "Now, what is the staus on that Orion craft?"
Vesara: "They are on the verge of leaving the cluster, we can't overtake them at this point without.."
Capt. Grim: "Without going at full impulse back through the cluster."
Zav: "Full impulse is too fast in this type of field the asteroids are too numerous. The shields can't handle the beating we would take!"
Capt. Grim: "I can't let them get away with our people. Helm, intercept course with the Orion vessel full impulse power. Zav, give those shields everything you can!"
[The gamble at this point in game is that pushing through the asteroids at full impulse means a TN 20 skill test to make it with no damage. Failing this roll puts the ship in the position of suffering a 1d6x5 damage hit!
The Players go for it!!!
The Argo fails her Starship Navigation/Piloting roll and takes a beating bulldozing out of the cluster to beat the Orion ship!]
The Bridge lights flicker, as the crew is jostled back and forth from asteroid impacts on the shields and hull! 1st Officer Tess is thrown from her station and knocked unconscious.
F'Riid: "Captain, we have damage on decks 4 & 5, minor injuries reported!"
Salec: "What are you doing up there, my patients are falling out of their beds!"
Zav: "We took quite a beating shields are at 75%, no hull breaches."
Capt. Grim: "Helm, I want us facing the Orion ship when it emerges from the cluster. Prepare Phasers and Photon torpedo tubes."
Helmsman: "Weapons ready sir."
Navigator: " We are in position sir, here they come."
[The Orion craft emerged from the asteroid field to find the Argo facing them down! In a last ditch effort the marauding craft attempted to fire disruptors only to again suffer at the cruel hands of fate!]
Zav: Checking on Vesara and reading the scanner info, "The Orion weapon systems have completely failed, however the appear to be going to warp."
F'riid: "Ah, I've got it! That tight-beam transmission is a coded Orion pirate channel, they were trying to call in help."
Helmsman: "Captain, they are coming straight at us!"
Capt. Grim: "On my mark, target their engines."
The Orion craft picked up speed and came head on at the Argo, then suddenly veered straight up!
Capt Grim: "Fire! All weapons!"
Zav: "The ship has lost all engine power, we have them!"
F'Riid: "Captain, I have used their encoded sub-space channel to contact them directly. I can put you through."
Capt. Grim: "Attention Orion vessel, this is the USS Argo. You will turn over the survivors you have and stand down."
There is a moment of silence, the view screen crackles with an image from the Orion vessel.
Orion Capt.: " Federation vessel, your unprovoked attack upon our merchant vessel will not go unpunished! We.."
Just then another badly scarred Orion appears in the background and pulls out a disruptor pistol and fires it upon the captain!
Scarred Orion: "This is the acting Captain of the Violator. Argo, we will comply with your wishes."
-Scene 4- A message for the Syndicate
Within moments the remaining crew from the Malorin was beamed over to Sickbay, as well as a handful of Orion crew who had injuries. Captain Grim made an executive decision to give the Orions just enough aid to allow them to limp back home. Also Comms Officer F'Riid was able to imbed a log of what had transpired between the two ships on the coded channel and set it to transmit continuously.
Zav: " I'm not sure I get why we are letting them go, shouldn't we take them in. They are obviously slavers!"
Capt. Grim: "Yes they are, but if we took them in the rest of their kind would continue to do what they do regardless. This way, we give them pause. Now they know just how far the Federation, and more importantly the Argo will go to stop them."
F'Riid: " I made sure this story will be all over the Orion syndicate. Captain Grim & the Argo will be a thorn they won't soon forget, or seek to tangle with again anytime soon."
[Once the Argo was underway to Starbase 13, Captain Grim went to sickbay.]
Capt. Grim: " Salec, how is the Captain of the Malorin?"
Salec: "Your friend is doing fine, however he is under sedation and cannot speak to you right now."
Capt. Grim: "I'm glad he'll be okay, he owes..."
Salec: " Owes you from your last Poker game. I know he mentioned that when I told him what ship he was on. But really Cade, I do not think him owing you "money" is pertinent at this juncture."
Capt. Grim: " Ah Salec, it's not really about money. It's about well, it's about... I'm glad he is okay."
Salec: Eybrow raised, "Yes, I think I know what you mean."
Vesara: slowly opened her eyes, head throbbing from the fall she took. "Ohh, what happened?"
Standing beside her bed was the collected bridge crew.
Capt. Grim: "This happened Tess." Cade then held up a red shirt for Vesara to see. "Welcome to the team." he said with a wide grin.
Vesara: "oh nooooo!"
Collected Crew: laughing & smiling....
Fade out
THE END
FANTASTIC adventure and after action episode report! Damn that was right out of TOS! Well done sir, great stuff!
ReplyDeleteThanks, once again this is all possible because of Far Trek!
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