FAR TREK Season II

Season II of Far Trek began on 4/14/23, and we had some new crew members join. 

The Crew:

Captain Cade Grimm - player: Zachary

Lt. Junior Grade  Maxine "Max" Holt - player Selina

XO Chief Science Officer Triarius (Andorian) - player James

[new cast members]

Dr. Desuma T'on (Vulcan) - player Deborah

Engineer Lt. Zug Ruffis (Tellarite) - player Dan

Security Ensign Iota-1 (experimental Bio-roid) - player Sara

Intro Scene:

This episode begins on the USS DIANA, a sister Saladin class ship to the USS ARGO. We see the new cast members on the bridge in serious trouble, sparks flying, red alert blaring, a few bodies of crewmen sprawled about.

Dr. T'on is manning the comms station, Iota-1 is at the helm, Zug is at the engineering station, while a seriously injured Captain calls out orders. Whatever is happening can't be good!

USS DIANA

The scene shifts to the USS ARGO where comms alerts Captain Cade to an incoming emergency distress call from the DIANA.

Captain Cade:  Put it on Screen. Davis, what's wrong?

Captain Davis: Cade, ... ship is ...  all around us...  .eed  assistance... .plosive...ecompression, majority of crew dead or blasted into space....  ..ur coordinates are...   ..ome quick....  on't....ast long!

Capt. Cade: Max!

Lt. JG "Max" Holt: I have the coordinates, course laid in and locked sir!

Capt. Cade: Punch it! [ turning to his XO] What do you think, an attack?

Triarius: [Antennae twitching] We have no data to confirm that, but it is a likely assumption. However, what or who has caused this is completely unknown. I suggest we go to Red Alert.

[ Return from commercial break]

The ARGO drops out of warp and is overcome by the devastation they see:

art: John Byrne

As the Diana drifts through space it leaves a trail of debris in its wake. Scans are done and only two life-signs and federation transponder are detected. Also the ship shows signs of severe internal explosions and the warp-core has been ejected.

Capt. Cade: Max, match velocity and put a tractor beam on that ship, steady her so we can get a good lock. Do we have comms?

Lt. JG "Max" Holt: Aye sir, moving into position for tractor beam.

Comms: Sir, nothing on any frequency. I'll keep trying.

Triarius: Those life-signs are weakening, we need to get them onboard as quickly as possible. Why is there a transponder signal on the bridge?

Capt. Cade: Transporter 1, lock on the transponder signal and the life-signs and beam them over. [switching intercom channels] Sick Bay, send a team to Transporter 1 we have possible injured personnel incoming.

[ Scene change - Sick Bay]

Captain Cade and Triarius enter Sick Bay and speak with the Physician on duty about the survivors of the Diana.

Captain Cade: How are they doing?

Doctor: The Vulcan and the Tellarite will be fine, nothing more than scrapes, bruises, and a low grade dose of neutrino-radiation. They will both be done with treatment soon. The third one is very unusual, she's a recently unclassified Bio-roid. Looks to be in perfect condition physically, the psychological trauma may be something else. I'll have to keep an eye on her.

Triarius: Interesting, I haven't had a chance to read up on it... I mean her. She was the transponder code I scanned on the bridge of the Diana.

Capt. Cade: Yes, she was and I spoke with Davis about her after she was assigned to the Diana. She's been through a lot to get where she is and worked harder than most. Anyway, when you clear them send them to conference room 1. 

[ Scene change - Conference room ]

Lt. Ruffis: If I had a few more minutes I'm sure I could have determined what went wrong.

Triarius: You're sure it wasn't sabotage?

Iota-1: That is highly unlikely, since no new personnel or equipment was brought onboard the ship. Our last shore leave was over a month ago, and the Anti-matter refueling was at a starfleet installation. 

Lt. JG Holt: The Diana had just departed prior to our arrival for refueling. Is it possible someone at the station is responsible?

Dr. T'on: Unlikely, but not out of the question. There are civilian scientists at the refueling station. One of them could be compromised. 

[ suddenly the lights flicker, the ship shudders, and metal creaking noises are heard!]

Intercom: Bridge to Captain, we've got power spikes and system failures popping up on every deck.

Lt. Ruffis: This is how it started on the Diana! I need to get to engineering now!

Capt. Cade: Triarius, Max get to the bridge. The rest of you come with me to engineering!

[ Commercial break ]

The crew were able to determine that the ARGO was now showing signs of the same issue that destroyed the DIANA. However, since they were not currently at warp speed the symptoms weren't spreading as rapidly. Ruffis was able to guide the engineering staff in a sequence of tasks that stopped the damage by taking the warp core offline.

With impulse power only it would take months to reach the closest port of call which was the Anti-matter refueling station from which both ships had recently been docked at. Triarius and Ruffis figured out a way to pull off a sort of Warp drive Jump start that would allow the ship to make it back to the refueling station without destroying the ship.... they hoped.

Before leaving, Cade had the crew return to the DIANA and retrieve as many deceased personnel as possible. Iota-1 was especially concerned about this as her creator/mother was on board. Her body was unfortunately not found, and presumed to have been lost through a hull breach. Iota-1, Ruffis, and Dr. T'on searched the crippled ship for any survivors. There were none to be found.

The jump-start was a success and Maxine was able to slow the ARGO down using impulse power and maneuver thrusters bringing them to the location of the Antimatter refueling station. Upon arrival the crew was shocked to see the state of devastation they had hoped to stop! Most of the place looked to have suffered from implosion damage just like the Diana. 

Groups of personnel were discovered to be trapped in various sections of the damaged station. Because of all the radiation leakage and debris, the Argo kept her distance and the crew split up into two rescue parties and went in by shuttlecraft.

Shuttles to the Rescue

Civilians and Ensign rescued.

Medical emergency!

Iota and Dr. T'on perform a miracle.

It takes the combined talents of Dr. T'on and Iota-1 to save the life of the station medical officer who pierced by a metal beam through his chest immobilizing him! They were able to stabilize him and sever the beam on either end and get him and other survivors onto the shuttle.

Once everyone was safe aboard the ARGO, the crew set to figuring out what the cause of all the destruction was. And much to everyone's surprise it not sabotage!!  

It turned out that the most recent anti-matter shipment from which both the DIANA and ARGO had refueled from was filled with a previously undiscovered sentient ant-matter gaseous life form. 

Using science and technological means the beings were contacted and communicated with. It seemed that when the beings were passed through the Dilithium conversion chamber they died (exploded), which was the cause of all the damage done to the DIANA and Station.  

Since none of this was done out of malicious intent, but was from an ignorance of the existence of one another a way to save the remaining beings was worked out.

In the end, the newly discovered alien survivors were returned to the anti-matter nebula from which they had been unknowingly harvested. Federation scientists are now working with the beings to protect and preserve their environment.

The surviving crew of the USS DIANA were reassigned to the ARGO under the command of Captain Cade.

Stay Tuned for more episodes.

FAR TREK: PalmCon 2022 part 2

 Here is the write-up for the second session we played at PalmCon 2022.

Session 2: First Contacts - Order One

 Our Players :

Captain James Gideon - played by Kevin

Dr. Katz - a Caitian played by Adam

Chief Engineer Lt. Jerry Riggs - played by Greg

Lt. Junior Grade Albert, Navigator - an Edoan played by Scott

Lt. Junior Grade Aisha Louvre, Helm - played by Selina

Bridge of the Valiant

Captain' Log, star date date 2022.17. we have been tasked with updating Federation records on the intelligent civilization of the Gastrode star system. Cultural Sciences are monitoring this alien race as they are on the verge of creating warp technology, and it is anticipated they are within a century of doing so. However the close proximity to the Romulan border leaves this system in a precarious place, and we must tread carefully. 

The crew decide to take up orbit around the moon of Gastrode prime and conduct their scans from there. A course is plotted and helm engages, as Dr. Katz relates to the Captain his interest in the biology of this alien species. As the Valiant moves into position scanners detect a small craft moving in an erratic fashion and increasing speed to Warp 1!

the small craft!

The craft zips past the moon and curves back around on an intercept course with the Valiant. The Captain orders a Yellow Alert and raising of the shields. Scans determine that the craft has only one Gastrodian life-form aboard and it's power systems seem to acting erratically! Chief Riggs determines that the craft is indeed a warp capable ship, but something is terribly wrong.

The crew are all puzzled at how the Gastrodians could already be using warp tech so soon, but they feel that they should help as the craft is in obvious distress!

Just then the small ship collides with the port shield and careens off in a spin towards deep space! 

Riggs & Katz beaming over!

"That pilot will be killed for sure if we don't help Jim!" exclaims Dr. Katz.

The Captain orders Helm to match speed with the craft and to get a tractor beam on it as well.

Chief Riggs looks up from his scanner, "Their warp drive is overloading, I could shut it down if I were on board."

Captain Gideon turns to the Doctor, "Alright Katz looks like you get your chance to learn more about Gastrodian biology. I want you and Riggs to beam onto that ship now!"

Seconds later the Chief Engineer and Doctor find themselves on board the cramped ship with a seemingly unconscious pilot. They are able to get the ship under control and stabilize the small alien. Once impulse power is engaged the ship is brought in to the hangar bay on the Valiant. Dr. Katz helps the groggy pilot off his ship while Chief Riggs give the engines and warp core a good looking at. He feels something familiar, but cannot quite determine what it is. The Captain arrives in the hangar and suggests the Doctor take their new friend to sick bay, and he will meet him there shortly. Gideon then joins Riggs on the craft and asks the chief for an update.

Riggs relates his suspicion that there is more here than meets the eye. The Captain agrees and leaves the engineer to it as he turns to head for sick bay.

making a friend

Meanwhile on the bridge, Lt. Louvre has the Conn. and has put the Valiant back on scan mode of Gastrode Prime. The science officer alerts her to a strange reading they picked up in orbit of the planet. "It was there, then it was gone... it could be a sensor ghost as the planet has many small satellites in geosynchronus orbit. I'll run diagnostic to check."

In Sick bay the Captain and Dr. Katz are shocked to learn that the Gastrodian pilot is not only excited to meet aliens but he communicates in Federation standard. He introduces himself as Melonn, and thanks them for saving him and his experimental craft.

The Captain and Doctor are perplexed and ask Melonn a few questions, but the intercomm beeps and summons Gideon to the Bridge. "Keep an eye on our little friend Doctor."

Back in the alien craft, Chief Riggs has removed the warp manifold and made a shocking discovery!

"Good heavens! No wonder this tech seemed familiar!" Leaping to his feet the engineer races to the turbolift.

On the Bridge the Captain learns of the "sensor ghost" and the crew begin to suspect that something is surely going on here. "Have we picked up anything odd from Gastrode Prime?" inquires Capt. Gideon.

"This small installation on the coast of the main continent, is the only place with tech that matches the ship we have in our hangar. Otherwise everything else is where we expected them to be technologically." reports LT. Louvre.

Comms reports that the installation is broadcasting a signal seeking a confirmation of success from the small craft. "Should we reply sir?"

"Not just yet, there's something bothering me..." Gideon stares at the view screen.

The turbolift doors open and Riggs blurts out, "Captain, the gastrodian warp core! It has romulan technology in its design!"

Que dramatic music!!!

a plan is devised

The Captain calls for a conference with his crew, and they all work out a plan of action. There is no doubt that the Romulans are involved here, but how and to what extent is still unclear. They all decide that being open and honest with the Gastrodians is the best course. So Riggs will co-pilot the ship home with Melonn and the rest of them will form a Diplomatic party and beam down to the Launch center on Gastrode Prime.

Contact is made with the Gastrodian Launch center and co-ordinates for the landing party are confirmed. Melonn is overjoyed to have Riggs join him for the flight home and he looks forward to the crew meeting their leader and scientific genius Silgorn.

"Silgorn is singlehandedly responsible for developing our space-drive and as Technocrat of the Science Council they implemented the teaching of  your standard language to all our people in anticipation of meeting intelligent aliens such as yourselves." relays Melonn to the crew of the Valiant.

Once planetside, the crew are greeted by Silgorn the Gastrodian Technocrat. He is accompanied by a brutish looking gastrodian with a large sidearm. Though he is pleased the crew have returned both Melonn and the craft safely home, he seems quite uneasy about them staying for any extended time. During the conversation, Dr. Katz rather ineptly takes a bio-scan of the large gastrodian guard and makes another discovery! Silgorn is notably furious with the action of the Medical officer and demands the party cease what they are doing. The Doctor shows the scan to the party and they all see the guard is actually an altered Romulan!

meeting Silgorn

This information is relayed to Silgorn who does not seem surprised in the least, however Melonn is greatly confused and begs his leader to expalin. Before anything else can happen a female Romulan Commander reveals herself and claims dominion over the Gastrodian people in the name of the Star Empire! 

Commander Kul

Commander Kul's plot to usurp the first contact of the Gastrodians from the Federation by advancing their tech and education just enough to make them useful to the empire is figured out by the crew! the romulans activate a jamming screen over the Launch center so the landing party are unable to communicate or be beamed out by the Valiant. Commander Kul says her ship will destroy the Valiant for the glory of her empire!

Silgorn objects and wants a private meeting with Kul to decide the fate of the federation crew. They leave Melonn and the landing party under the guard of the altered gastrodian guard and go inside the Launch station.

The crew wastes no time springing into action, first taking out the guard in hand to hand combat and then splitting up to handle their situation. Albert and Riggs head into the station to deactivate the jammers and get in contact with the Valiant, while the Captain, Dr. katz, and Louvre go to face Silgorn and Commnder Kul!!

Romulan sentries were battled, equipment was deactivated! A phaser vs. disruptor battle was had in the command center! Just when the crew thought they had her Commander Kul was beamed out of their grasp and back to her own ship! 

Romulan D-7

From her ship Commander Kul threatened the Valiant with swift destruction at the hands of her crew, but Captain Gideon called her bluff and sent the furious Romulan packing! Her last words were "We shall meet again Gideon!"

THE END

Session 2 players

Stay tuned for more FAR TREK action!!

FAR TREK: PalmCon 2022 part 1

 PalmCon was back this year at the Palm Beach Convention center and so was FAR TREK!!!! I was invited to run games again at our local convention and was very excited to introduce the game to some new players.

I had 2 sessions that each ran about two and a half hours. I will now give you a highlight reel of both games. The Missions I used were pulled from the Star Trek Adventures Briefs: First Contacts PDF. This item is a free download from Modiphius Games, if interested the link is listed below.

https://modiphius.us/collections/star-trek-adventures-tabletop-rpg/products/star-trek-adventures-briefs-pdf-007-first-contacts-free-pdf

Session 1: First Contact - "Inner Workings"

The Starship Excalibur NCC-1705 finds itself in orbit around a Class L planet, where the crew are determining the viability of setting up a permanent mining facility. However the landing party have just made a remarkable discovery of ancient alien ruins that may be a clue to the planet being inhabited long ago.

Our Cast:

the ruins

Mara, Andorian 1st Officer - played by Camille

Dr. Jeffrey Cole "Doc" - played by Greg

Lt. Turnover, Andorian Helmsman - played Joe

Ensign Ivor, Edoan Security - played by Jessy

As the landing party investigated the ancient alien ruins they were able to determine that similar ruins have been found in nearby star systems. Speculating these lost people were a star faring race, and hoping to discover more Commander Mara orders the party to scan the area for more remnants of the alien culture. Soon the area is rocked by seismic activity that is so intense the ground opens up and swallows the crew whole!!!

Some time later Mara regains consciousness and discovers she is trapped alone in a small cavern. Her communicator signal is being jammed by the high concentration of minerals in the rock. Meanwhile "Doc" has organized Ivor and Turnover and they set about searching for the Commander. The three crewmen find themselves in a larger natural cavern dimly lit by phosphorescent geodes.  Using his tri-corder the Doctor discovers they are not alone in the cavern as multiple life forms are detected!!

trapped underground

The commander gives up on her communicator and starts banging a rock in an SOS pattern in hopes that her crewmates will detect this and dig her out. Light tremors shake the cavern and remind the landing party that they are in a precarious situation. Within minutes the crew locate a tumble of rubble from which the clack-clack-clack of rock on rock is heard. The use of phasers is deemed to dangerous here and physical activity is used to begin digging the trapped commander out instead. It is of course at this time that the life forms reveal themselves!!! 

A two meter long worm-like creature with lashing feelers that score rock slides from the darkness, and Lt. Turnover uses his phaser in an attempt to drive the thing off! However it takes multiple shots from both him and Ensign Ivor to make the creature retreat. At this same moment Mara comes face to face with another of the worms as it tunnels into the area where she is trapped, she uses her phaser as well but the tough crystal-like carapace of the creature seems to absorb the stunning blast. The worm lashes out with its feelers and tears into the flesh of the andorian officer. 

Ivor finally moves a large rock and clears room enough to drag the commander out the crevice in which she was trapped, and Lt. Turnover fires a blast that disintegrates the rampaging creature at the order of Mara.

A quick scan and a Hypo-shot from the doctor gets the Commander back in action, and she asks for a status report. The party are currently trapped an unknown distance below the planets surface in a series of natural caverns. They are surrounded by roaming worm-like creatures that are very resistant to stun settings, but can be driven off by them if hit with concentrated fire. The composition of the glowing geodes combined with other ionic minerals naturally present in the area are making full use of the communicators and tri-corders sketchy at best. Turnover relates that he was able to get a lock on a nearby energy source of artificial origin to the north of their current position underground.

With little else to go the party begin to navigate the underground caverns heading for the energy source and avoiding any more worms!

It's not long before the party hear the sound of lasers being fired and the sounds of someone in distress. Hurrying along the tunnel they party come upon a pair of alien humanoids under attck by a trio of the worms! Setting phasers for heavy stun Ivor, Turnover and Mara are able to drive the creatures off and Dr. Cole administers first aid to the wounded and scared aliens.

meeting new friends

Using their communicators and Tri-corder as a makeshift translator, the party are able to communicate with the aliens in very loose and broad terms. It seems the pair are headed to the "energy source" as well, and they seem to think the crew are members from other "Nodes" on a similar journey to make a request of the "Guardian" at the "Temple" to stop the tremors.

The group then travels the rest of the way together and soon they reach the source of the energy reading Lt. Turnover discovered earlier. The crew realize this is more than just a temple, it's a high tech geo-thermal power plant! Suddenly a figure emerges and the aliens drop to their knees and call out "Zakhus, Zakhus".

Zakhus reveals all.

Communication is tough going but the party determine that Zakhus is a caretaker/priest of the "Temple" as was the guardian before him etc. The party come to realize that over generations the knowledge to actually run and maintain the power plant has been replaced by a rote system of cleaning and verbal praise. The power plant is in dire need of physical maintenance and resetting of its systems, the tremors are a direct result of the systems being on the verge of failure!! Just then a horde of worms bursts on the scene heading for the plant and the alien pilgrims aided by Ivor and turnover must hold them off! Inside Mara and the Dr. Cole are faced with the task of convincing Zakhus they are not committing sacrilege by attempting to reset the systems of the power plant before a diverted magma vent backs up in a catastrophic eruption destroying everything in a thousand kilometer radius!!!

In the end the crew was successful in saving the everyone, and convincing Zakhus that they were "Guardians" from a different "Node" and showed him old and forgotten tasks to better care for his "Temple". They were soon able to locate a tunnel to the surface and be beamed back aboard the USS Excalibur.

The Landing Party, Session 1.

Next Post is Session 2 of FAR TREK at PalmCon 2022.

 

Far Trek: Long range scanners detect something...

 Been meaning to get back around to this game for some time. Finally happy with my Episodes for a Season 2. So be on the lookout for recaps of our adventures soon! New crew members, new surprises and more!

Got the Tricorder carrycase edition of the STA rpg and will be using it for my Far Trek rules & game stuff.

Life, at what cost: A Star Trek RPG game session

 I finally ran a session of the Modiphius Star Trek Adventures RPG. A short little intro adventure that was inspired by the Intro-adventure in the Starships & Spacemen Rules by Goblinoid Games.

The crew of the USS RAKOTA (a Pioneer Class Ship) have been dispatched to locate, and if needed render aid to the USS ESSEX (a Deadelus class science vessel) that has gone silent while on a standard system survey mission.

Intro: Star Trek theme music plays as we see Captain Jack Roark sit in his command chair and begin a Log entry - and the USS Rakota flies through space.

Cpt. Roark

The crew are busy at their stations and everyone seems a bit tense.

"Captain's Log, stardate 2020.10.8 - The Rakota has been dispatched to the Zeta Herculis system to locate the USS Essex. They are forty-eight hours past due for standard check-in procedures with Starbase Six. My hope is that this is nothing more than an unfortunate technical difficulty, however out here on the frontier nothing is ever that simple."

The Rakota drops out of warp at the edge of the system and begins long range scans. While Captain Roark and First Officer Rodrigo go over what little info they have on the system itself.

The crew is able to determine that the outer most planetoid Zeta VII is giving off severe magnetic interference that makes scanning difficult, however the Essex had already registered this fact and gave information on how to compensate for this. Using this technique they are able to get a good reading and discover no trace of the Essex itself within the star system!

Emile Rodrigo

Emile Rodrigo, First Officer turns to the Captain: "From the last updates the Essex should have been about to start a Class II survey of Zeta IV - a proto-earth planet."

Captain Roark points at the screen. "Zeta IV preliminary data shows an atmosphere not capable of sustaining human life. Zeta V however shows M class but locked in a severe glacial state. If they had to crash-land or abandon ship that seems the most likely candidate." Moving back to his command chair the Captain flicks a button and speaks to the crew over an open intercom.

"All systems Yellow Alert, as of now we are considering this a rescue mission. We have been unable to contact or detect the USS Essex and will assume she and her crew are in dire need of our help. Captain out."

The Rakota then did a complete orbit and deep scan of the planet Zeta V. Upon completion they found no trace of the Essex or her crew there. The ship then turned its attention to Zeta IV, the last known location of the missing ship and this time they found something!

There in a decaying orbit with all but the barest of life-support functioning, the Essex was minutes away from burning up in the atmosphere! The question of using a tractor beam was quickly brought up by the Captain, while scans for life-signs were run and attempts to communicate directly with the Essex were also attempted.

Lt. Rogers, Engineer

"There is no response to hails." said Lt. Sanders.

"I'm getting no life-signs on board either." commented Emile.

At the Engineering console, Lt. Rogers calculated the data he was receiving from scans of the Essex. "At this stage our tractor beam and the gravitational stress would just tear the ship apart. We need to at least get her impulse engines going and we stand a better chance of saving her Sir!"

"Okay then, Rogers your with me. Emile you have the Conn get Dr. T'prel to meet us in transporter room one. We're going to save that ship." Captain Roark and Lt. Rogers enter the turbo-lift.

In the transporter room we see the Captain Roark, Engineer Rogers and a pair of technicians as they prepare to step up on the transporter platform. The doors open and the ship's Vulcan Doctor enters.

"Captain, our scans have shown no life signs aboard the Essex. I find it unlikely the entire crew is deceased as there are no adverse conditions apparent." 

"Exactly T'Prel, something is off over there and I want to know what." Roark looks over the away team and turns to the transporter operator. "Put us in the engineering room of the Essex, Energize!"

"Aye Sir, coordinates set. Energizing!"

[ COMMERCIAL BREAK ]

The away team materializes in the engine room of the Essex. Rogers and his men get to work immediately. Roark looks about and notices that everything seems in place and there is no damage or sign of a boarding action. The Doctor has unslung her tricorder and finishes a scan, her eyebrow cocked she turns to the Captain.

"As I suspected, we are the only five life-signs registering. Although the life-support systems are below general safety standards we will not be adversely affected."

"Any biological anomalies?" asks Roark.

T'Prel, Doctor

"None that our scans are aware of. If there is something unique to the Zeta Herculis system itself we may as yet be unaware of it, however I calculate we are 99.9901% safe for now aboard the Essex." 

Smiling at the Vulcan Doctor, Captain Roark turns to see how Rogers and the men are doing. " I like those odds Doctor. Rogers, how are we doing?"

"The ship has been shut down-systematically. I can get us impulse power but you need to get to the Conn to get us out of this decaying orbit." replied Rogers as he moved about the engine room from console to console.

Turning towards the engine room door Captain Roark motions for T'Prel to follow him. "Alright Rogers, the Doctor and I will head to the Bridge. I want you three to seal yourselves in here and stay in touch, communicators only."

 As the Captain and the Doctor made their way along the deserted halls of the ship, emergency

lighting would flicker from red back to standard. 

"Look at Rogers illuminating our path." Roark thought to himself as he kept an eye peeled for the turbolift. "Our ride should be just up here T'Prel... Doctor?" Roark realized suddenly that the vulcan physician was about fifteen feet behind him looking into a jeffries alcove. The Captain drew his phaser and cautiously retraced his steps back towards his crewmate. "T'Prel, what is it?" he whispered urgently.  As he approached T'Prel he noticed that she was standing stock-still, as if she was frozen in mid-stride. Her gaze was locked in the direction of the red lit alcove. Reaching out he touched her shoulder and queried, "Doctor, are you alright?"

T'Prel snapped back into motion at Roark's physical contact. "Captain, I thought... no I felt...something." Roark was surprised to see the look of uncertainty flash across the vulcan's face before it was quickly masked with a stoic look. 

"Scan again for life-forms, I have a feeling we're not alone on this ship." He turned and scanned the length of the hall, phaser at the ready and motioned her again to follow him towards their original destination.

As the turbolift doors closed behind them T'Prel snapped her tricorder shut, "As I noted before. There are only five life-forms actively registering aboard this ship."

"We'll see about that. Bridge!" The soft hum filled the lift as the pair began their ascent to the command section of the ship. "Doctor, you were frozen in sort of a paralytic state until I touched you. What did you see, or say you felt?" Roark looked at his chief medical officer.

Her brow furrowed slightly, "I have no recollection of being frozen, as you say. As we were heading along the corridor I had the sensation of someone being in the alcove. I glanced in that direction and saw nothing then you asked me what was happening. There was no time loss from my point of view."

"Hmm, some type of phased time-displasia? Something we should keep an eye on. Maybe this is symptomatic of whatever happened to the Essex crew." Roark holstered his phaser and drew his communicator. The gold lid opened as he flicked his wrist and the lift doors swished opened revealing a dimly lit bridge. "Rogers, we're on the bridge. What do have for me?"

Essex Bridge

The lighting flickered and the bridge came to life as power surged back through the circuits, Roark pointed the Doctor towards the Science station, "Find out what they were up to last, and start a data transfer to the Rakota. I'm going to review the Captain's logs." As the Doctor started the transfer Roark pulled out the last data tape and slipped it into the reader on the command chair. A flick of another switch and he was able to bring up a transcript of the dictated log on the main view screen, and he quickly scanned this. The Engineer's voice chirped from the communicator, "Captain, you should have helm control momentarily."

"Good work Rogers." Roark palmed the communicator and swiveled the command chair towards T'Prel. The last entries are referring to anomalies with Zeta IV and a few crew members having Blank-out spells." 

The Doctor leaned in closer reading data from the station screens. "It seems that the preliminary Bolian data on Zeta IV was not matching up with the survey data the Essex was getting. The planet below is not a Proto-earth, but a severely radiated wasteland. Captain it would appear that Zeta Herculi IV suffered a cataclysmic scale atomic bombardment over two thousand years ago." 

Roark moved over and scanned the data being transferred to the Rakota. "Why would someone have changed this information.." The captain pondered, "Is there anything here about the crew issues?"

T'Prel flicked a switch. "No, we would need to go to Medical for any hard information on that subject."

[ For a mili-second Roark thought he saw, or felt something..]

The communicator beeped urgently in his hand! "Captain, captain do you copy? Impulse is restored try the helm now sir!" Rogers sounded a bit frustrated. Roark sat in the single chair at the conn station, it had been awhile since he had logged some flight time and would need to correct that. He quickly plotted a course and engaged the drive. The Essex shuddered against the pull of the planet below and began to slowly climb out of the decaying orbit. The comm station of the Essex lit up and the voice of Lt. Sanders could be heard. "Essex this is the Rakota do you copy?"

T'Prel shifted comms to the science station and responded. "Rakota, this is Doctor T'Prel we hear you."

The voice of the First Officer then came over the link - "Jack, just a few thousand kilometers more and we can aid you with the tractor beam."

A few minutes later the Essex was settling into a safe orbit paralleled with the Rakota. "Emile, I want a thorough review of all the data we sent you on Zeta IV and start a life-form scan of the planet as well I have a hunch our missing people are down there somewhere." The captain looked at T'Prel, "Doctor, I think it's time we visited medical."

The pair entered the turbo lift leaving the bridge.

[ COMMERCIAL BREAK ]

The Captain and Doctor entered the sickbay, and T'Prel went straight to the medical computer. "There

should be all the information we need here." She said. "It seems there started to be reports of Blank-outs a couple of hours after they entered orbit."

"But they never beamed down, meaning something from the planet itself began affecting the crew?" Roark pondered aloud.

"Interesting hypothesis Captain, however I need to review the notes further before I can confirm anything." T'Prel began to scan the information for more clues. 

"While you do that, I'm going to have a look around. I have a suspicion we aren't alone." Captain Roark went to look around the rest of Sickbay.

Stepping into the recovery ward he found only empty beds, the sensation of being watched was overwhelming and he reached his phaser....

"Beep, beep.." the communicator at his side chirped!  "Roark here." he intoned as he spun on his heel to return to the exam room.

"Captain, Rodrigo here. We are getting readings that the transporter is being activated. What's going on!"

A cold sensation ran down the Captain's spine when he realized T'Prel was no longer in the Sickbay! "Emile, I need a reading on who is in that transporter room now!" Roark turned and ran out of the medical room heading for the teleporter. 

"Jack, it's a Vulcan life sign only! What is.." 

"Damn!! I'll call you right back!" A quick flick of his wrist and Roark contacted Rogers.

"Rogers here, Captain where have you been?" queried the Engineer.

"Never mind that, all of you meet me in the transporter room! Someone or something has our Doctor!"

Arriving in the transporter room the Captain and his men discovered that T'Prel had beamed to a location deep below the planets surface. Sensors were unable to penetrate the area where the Doctor had gone and Roark figured he had little time to waste. A pair of security guards were quickly sent over from the Rakota to accompany him in his rescue effort.

 The ships pulled back to a safe orbital distance, and prepared to transport any and all survivors from the planet at the moment Captain Roark called in. He hoped his intuition was right and that not only would he locate the missing Doctor, but the crew of the Essex as well in whatever destination he and his landing party were about to enter on the desolate world below.

[ COMMERCIAL BREAK ]

The hum of the transporter faded and was replaced by eerie silence. Wherever they were it had been fashioned by and for humanoids. There was air to breathe and the temperature was comfortable. This reinforced his hunch that the crew of the Essex and Doctor T'Prel were most likely alive!

A quick attempt to contact the Rakota revealed that whatever was preventing scans of this area was also blocking communication. "Set your phasers to stun, and follow me." Commanded the Captian as he ascended the stairs before him. There was only one way to go so the three men delved deeper into the bunker.

Within moments the trio entered a large chamber with half a dozen rectangular raised platforms, upon one rested the inert form of T'Prel! Roark approached cautiously and could see the vulcan seemed to be in state of calm rest. He reached out and touched her shoulder, "Doctor, are you awake?"

Sitting up and instantly alert, the vulcan took in her surroundings quickly. "Captain, we are no longer in the sick bay aboard the Essex," she stated flatly. "I was looking at the viewer and a motion made me look up and now I am here. Extremely odd?"

"A Blank-out no doubt, I think it might be visually stimulated. But by what I'm not sure." motioning her towards a door that exited the chamber the party started to move in that direction.

"A likely hypothesis Captain, determining the trigger would help us avoid any further inconvenience. Perhaps a robot or drone of some kind, as we have registered no other life-forms as of yet." 

That seemed likely to Roark and made sense. He had those sensations of being watched as if there was ... The doorway slid open silently before them and in the now open portal stood a large humanoid form topping some seven feet in height at least! On instinct Roark turned his head away and shut his eyes.

Humanoid (robot)

There was the sensation of a brilliant flash of light or energy. Roark opened his eyes and found that T'Prel and both security men were paralyzed!

"Stay back, we're not here to harm you. We just want our people back." said Roark sternly brandishing his phaser.

The large figure lunged forward grabbing at the Captain! Deftly ducking under his attackers arm Roark moved to the side away from his frozen crew. "I wish to speak with whoever is in charge, do not force me to use this!"

Again, the large humanoid moved towards the Captain and he could tell that it was only trying to subdue him. Rather than antagonize the situation Roark played a hunch and attached his phaser to his belt and allowed himself to be restrained. Which, to his surprise was done quite gently. The Captain was lifted off his feet and carried out of the room and back the way the humanoid had come from. 

 Roark was set down in front of large fluid filled tube. Inside he could see a brain with many wires and other connections floating within. A sort of buzzing robotic toned voice suddenly spoke from the tube itself. "I AM THE ONE IN CHARGE."

"Hello, I am Captain Roark of the Federation Starship Rakota. I would like to request you return my people as well as those you took from the other ship." 

"THIS CANNOT HAPPEN, YOUR BIOLOGICAL MATTER IS NEEDED TO PERPETUATE US." Some bubbles floated to the top of the tube.

"I see. What do you mean by that exactly, how can our matter perpetuate you?" Roark kept an eye on the hulking figure standing just to his left. Hands loose in case he needed to draw the phaser.

More bubbles swam to the top of the tube, "YOUR DNA IS 98.8% COMPATIBLE WITH OURS. THE DETERIATION FACTOR IS NEGLIGABLE. YOU WILL PERPETUATE US."

"You want to use our matter to what, clone yourself a body to inhabit?"

"CORRECT, YOU AND YOUR PEOPLE WILL REPLENISH THE DAMAGED STOCK IN OUR BODY BANKS. WE WILL THEN BEGIN THE PROCESS OF REINTERGRATION TO PHYSICAL FORMS."

Roark took a step towards the floating brain, but stopped as the humanoid moved in. "What about him," the Captain motioned towards the hulking figure, "Why can't you inhabit that form?"

"THE ANDROID IS ONLY A TOOL, IT IS NOT TRUE LIFE. WE HAVE BEEN TRAPPED TOO LONG HERE AND THE RADIATIONS OF THE SURFACE HAVE SEEPED THROUGH OUR DEFENSES. WE MUST RESTORE OUR BIOLOGICAL INTEGRITY AND LIVE AGAIN AS WE DID BEFORE THE GREAT FIRE."

"The Great Fire?" Roark remembered what the scans told them about the surface of the planet. "At some point a few thousand years ago your planet suffered a planetary bombardment that irradiated the surface, your people were driven underground to survive?"

"CORRECT, WE PLACED THOSE WHO SURVIVED INTO STASIS WITH THE INTENT OF WAITING OUT THE DEVASTATION. OUR CALCULATIONS WERE INCORRECT, OUR STRUCTURES WERE NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO OUTLAST THE RADIATION. OUT PHYSICAL FORMS WERE IRREPARIBLY DAMAGED, BIOLOGICAL INTEGRITY WAS DECAYING AT A RAPID RATE."

"So you removed your brains from your dying bodies?"

"CORRECT, THOUGH MANY MORE OF US WERE LOST IN THE PROCCESS. OUR LIMITED RESOURCES WERE ABLE TO PROLONG THE STASIS OF JUST THE BRAIN MUCH LONGER AND AT A GREATER PROTECTION LEVEL. UNTIL SUCH TIME AS WE COULD FIND ANOTHER SOLUTION. ANOTHER WAY TO LIVE AGAIN...."

"My people can help you, we have broad knowledge in medical and radiation sciences. You don't need to do this."

"WE MUST LIVE AGAIN, IT HAS BEEN TOO LONG. TIME IS SHORT AND WE CANNOT LOSE THIS CHANCE. YOU AND YOUR PEOPLE WILL REPLENISH US. "

"I'll destroy this place and everyone in it before I let you do that." Roark stared intently at the Humanoid.

"YOU CANNOT DO THAT, YOU DO NOT POSSESS SUCH POWER."

"I do not personally, but my Ship does. If they do not hear from me in a few minutes, they will determine that my party and I have been eliminated. My crew will turn away from this world and deem it unsuitable leaving what little you have left to perish."

"YOUR SHIP IS OUTSIDE OF OUR ORBITAL INFLUENCE. WE CANNOT SEND A DRONE TO STOP YOUR CREW. WE MUST LIVE, WE MUST CONTINUE."

"Then let us help you!" Roark intoned, hands outstretched, "At what cost is life? To destroy us so you may live, would that be a life worth living? Knowing you willfully took that from another for yourself. And how long before you begin to sicken again from the radiation?"

"WE MUST CONTINUE, THERE IS NO ALTERNATIVE."

"The alternative lies in cooperation. You've been alone for so long, your hope fading. In your desperation don't destroy this chance you've been given, let us help you."

 [ Later on the Bridge of the Rakota. ]

 

First Officer Rodrigo stands next to a seated Jack Roark. "Jack they might've really turned you into DNA soup. You took a big chance!"

"That's why we're out here Emile. To take the big chances, face the unknowable, and hopefully make a difference."

The turbo-lift doors open and the vulcan physician emerges. 

"The crew of the Essex will be staying on Zeta Herculi IV until a Federation Medical ship arrives. The remaining Zetans will survive as our remedies for the radiation levels they have can be cured." She steps down and stands alongside the captains chair.

"What about their physical forms?" asks Roark.

"Given time, their DNA banks can be de-radiated and the procedures reversed. I approximate the Zetans will be back in their bodies within a decade."

Looking at Emile, Roark smiles "I'll take that as a win Rodrigo!"

THE END 

Far Trek: Kirk Fu!!

Go to Amazon and get in on the Pre-order for this book. I love the animated style and it is just too much fun!!

Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1683835212?ref=em_1p_0_im&ref_=pe_2313400_475454510

I'm seriously thinking of using this in-game as the actual Hand-to-hand combat manual in Star Fleet.

Yeah, I think letting players choose their attack mode from the book would be great!

This is a No-brainer for me, and should add a nice bit of fun to the game. Have fun seeking new life and kicking its butt with Kirk-Fu!

Far Trek for Free RPG Day: These are the Voyages!

I ran Far Trek for Free RPG Day this year at my FLGS. It turned out a bit slow but I did run 1 session of Far Trek. A good time was had by all and I gave away a copy off the rules to a young man that had never played anything besides D&D5e.

Let us begin:

Meet the Crew of the USS GORMAGON

From L to R:
Lt. Junior Grade Mich - Helmsman,    Player: Bruce
Lt. Saprishka  - Medical Officer,   Player: Josh
Ensign Nisun - Security,   Player: Robert
Captain T'Mandlin,    Player: Brian
Lt. Lincoln - Navigator,      Player: Ivan
Lt. Commander Jerry Riggs - Chief Engineer,  Player: Brad

The crew are responding to a strange high frequency signal that is emanating from a newly formed nebula.

The USS Gormagon starts at the edge of the nebula and attempts to see what info they can gather with scanners.

They find the signal is emanating from deep within the nebula itself, it is on a very high frequency band that would normally have gone unnoticed if not for it's similarity to morse code and the mixture of gases and particles making up the nebula itself are of unkown make.

The Captain put the ship on Yellow Alert, asks the Navigator to plot best course to the coordinates of the signal itself.

The crew make some Skill checks, adjusting power levels, modulating shields, navigation, etc.

Soon they get a fuzzy visual on the main viewer, a craft of about half their size of alien make seemingly adrift at the core of the nebula.

The Alien craft

A quick scan of the alien vessel reveals a pair of life-signs, but the Doctor cannot be sure if they are just oddly alien or in a state of distress. Power levels on the craft seem to be in a severe state of flucuation.

The Captain orders the Gormagon to maneuver closer to the alien vessel so if transporters are not an option they can use a shuttle to attempt a boarding.

Suddenly power levels surge and momentarily blackout, when visual is regained the Alien ship has VANISHED! There is no trace of the ship on scanners at all! Even the signal has stopped.

As the crew discuss theories and options, the scanners reveal the return of the vessel and the signal, but everything points to location of the Gormagon itself!? Most of the crew also experience a sort of ghostly mirage and a slight fuzzy headache. They swear they can see the interior of an alien ship occupying the same space as themselves.

The Federation & Alien vessel inter-phased!

The crew quickly determine that the Alien vessel and their own ship have somehow become interlocked in dimensional space, occupying the same location but just slightly out of phase with each other. They also discover that if they concentrate on the alien vessel they can shift themselves from their own reality to that of the Alien craft.

A boarding party led by the Captain with Nisun, Dr. Saprishka, Lincoln, & Jerry shift themselves over while Mich stays in command on the Bridge.

The boarding party are amazed at the use of Crystal technology present on the Alien craft and Lt. Commander Riggs is very interested in figuring out what is wrong with the craft. Soon a pair of humanoids reveal themselves to the party and communications are established. The Humanoids state they are from a parallel dimension and were testing what they refer to as a "Phasic-Drive" when something went wrong and they ended up here and have been trying to make repairs and get back home.

The crew of the Gormagon offer to aid them in repairing their "Drive" and the assistance is accepted. The Humanoids also warn that something they refer to as "The Nuisance" has been roaming about hindering their efforts.

As if on que, a bizarre creature appears out of nowhere, then shifts itself into reality on the bridge of the Gormagon where it proceeds to cause severe damage to the Comms station! Lt. JG Mich and some NPC crew attempt to neutralize the creature to no avail!

The "Nuisance" appears!

They crew find that using phasers set to Heavy Stun drives the "Nuisance" away. And soon they are patrolling both ships with weapons ready. Jerry and the Humanoid engineer begin working on repairs and the Doctor reveals that the dimensional shift seems to be getting weaker, and there is a very real possibility that if the Federation crew are not back on their own ship/reality when the breakdown is complete they could be trapped in the Alien reality forever. Jerry and the alien supplement that there is also a possibility that if the ships are not separated as well they could implode in a matter-antimatter singularity!

Eventually they crew was able to help the Humanoids fix their ship by basically doing a Star Trek version of a "Jump Start" and realigning the Harmonic frequency of the Phasic-drive! There was also a showdown in the Engine room of the Gormagon with the "Nuisance"!!

As the ships began to untangle themselves and shift back to their home-dimensional frequencies it became apparent the "Nebula" was actually a pocket of Null-space between the two dimensions that was inhabited by the Squid-creatures! A giant space-sized Squid appeared ant tried to drag both craft into the Null-space! Lt. JG Mich was a master with the Ship's Phaser banks and a full spread photon torpedo blast that stopped the beast before it could permanently harm either the Federation or the Humanoid craft.

The Crew of the Gormagon head back to Starbase 13 with a great story to tell.