Yeah! I knew I didn't want to keep that ship and crash landings are always dramatic. Thanks! I was bouncing off another writer so it was very improv.
Author's notes: This was written in July 2017 as a silly entry into a one-off Star Trek Online forums thread someone created about taking the Kobayashi Maru test. This jumps my main, Oroku Seifer, back to his Cadet days, sometime before the year 2409 (before STO starts). Retaking the Test Cadet Oroku Seifer - Starfleet Academy The Trill stood outside the simulator room with his teammates, as the Kobyashi Maru Simulator Test was being prepared. "You think you even stand a chance with this?" Aeris deadpanned in Seifer's general direction. Shrugging, Seifer replied, "I've just inherited the most daring Symbiont ever. It's fought the Borg, travelled through time, and fought countless holographic skeletons." "Your previous host also left Leola Root Tart wrappers all over his ship, and caused a whole fleet of vessels to be caught in a giant molecular reversion field which turned everyone young again," Aeris added. Pausing, before the opening doors, the Trill concluded, "Well, it's time to turn my luck around. I'm full of vigorous, new-bound, muscle-clenching energy and drive and it's that pure will and charm that'll catapult me into implausible success! I'll even be Captain sooner than some alternate universe Kirk would, I assume." "Yeah!" Aeris high-fived him as they both entered with the group and took their stations at the Bridge of the holographic civilian freighter Kobyashi Maru. Seifer stood at his Captain's chair proudly, opening a Leola Root Tart in pure confidence. "Computer! Begin scenario! Give me all that you've got!" "Acknowledged," the computer replied activating the setting with displayed Klingon starships on the viewscreen only seconds before the entire simulation went dark. "Test failed. Please arrange to try again in four to six weeks." The Cadet clutched his face in pure frustration. "Ugghh!! Noooo! The tart was supposed to be an apple! Everyone knows that??" "Man, this test just keeps getting harder every year," commented Aeris.
Big fan of the short sketch. Newton would have liked this one - but for want of an apple... Nice 2009 ref. Thanks!! rbs
Author's notes: These are compiled posts by myself and another player for the Risa Resort RP on the Star Trek Online forums, which takes place in the game's annual Summer Event on planet Risa during the Lohlunat Festival. My characters were the Captains from Task Force Epsilon: Menrow, Reynolds, McCary, Samya and Iviok. This continues on from the last Risa entry. Written in July 2017. Risa Resort, Pages 2-3 Biathlon Race George plowed on ahead at high speed. Captain Nat was nowhere to be seen. Iviok and Reynolds likewise boosted forward, along with several other participants. The Andorian quickly overtook the Betazoid and began to near George. Captain Nat followed in his... unusually fast sailing ship? As Iviok passed George, he took notice of Nat in his sailing ship. "Well, isn't that something?" Nat's sailing ship accelerated alongside Iviok, the wind propelling the unnaturally powerful captain forward. They went through a turn, which the wind effortlessly guided Nat around, changing direction with the course. Iviok would notice a hatch opening atop the ship, as an old-fashioned cannon extended out, aiming upwards. Captain Nat opened a crate, loading a bunch of glowing Lohlunat Tribbles and stuffed them into the cannon. After fitting in enough Tribble to fill several, he aimed the cannon at Iviok, lit the fuse with a match and watched as the cannon fired, propelling a hundred Tribbles toward Iviok, at high speed. Iviok caught wind of the wind and incoming fur-munition. He quickly enacted evasive maneuvers on his powerboard, swinging left and right and dodging tribble after tribble. Each one, splashed in the passing water as he continued forward. "Agh! It's a Tribble Chef's nightmare!" Reynolds continued on, behind, swinging her powerboard left and right around ricocheting tribble; leftovers from Iviok's elusive navigation. Captain Nat loaded the cannon again, along with 2 more cannons, firing them all at once. As Iviok sped along, dodging attack after attack, he found the overload of tribble flow begin to be more than he could handle. Suddenly, he was hit with one, then another, But each hit suddenly increased his speed. "Fascinating," he said. "Except I'm not a Vulcan, so I'll just say the Andorian catch phrase: Blue power!" "Hey, these make you faster," Reynolds said, approaching him. "Oh, I see that you've discovered that." Suddenly, Menrow, McCary and the deadpanned one, Samya, all caught up to them on their own hoverboards. They each held a tribble. "My engineer friend gave me another board," Menrow explained. "Why'd you say 'friend' like that?" Iviok asked, confused. "Seems like people say it like that all the time." Samya interrupted, annoyed. "He means he slept with her." "Is that what people always mean?? Ah, Risa," Iviok said, dreamily. "Anyway, what are you guys doing here?" McCary sped next to him. "Menrow suggested we all work as a team, since we are, after all, in the same fleet." "Teamwork? Is such a concept even possible?" the Andorian speculated. Reynolds caught another tribble and tossed it to him. "That's the whole point of us, you idiot! I may obsess about rank out there, but at least here, we're all the same. You in?" "Agreed," Iviok said, catching an arm full of tribble, suddenly launching him toward the hover rings. The group then activated their floaters and began flying through each ring, faster and faster. George, by now, was already flying alongside the others, keeping up without any difficulties. Captain Nat followed through the rings in his flying-sailing ship at unusual speed. A large hatch on its rear started to open up as he passed them, revealing some kind of engine. It ignited, sending an endless stream of tribbles into all of the other races, knocking them back and out into the water, outside the beach, as Nat sailed in for the flag at the end. "That little--" exclaimed George, getting up out of the trench in the water newly formed by the entirety of the racers. The entire island had now been surrounded by an impenetrable dome of Tribbles, preventing the racers from returning. George deadpanned everyone. "He needs to be disqualified." The group got up and wiped the mud off themselves. "I doubt anyone has the power to stop him," Menrow said. "Is he somehow related to you? Is there some way you know we can stop him, or is there something you can say to him that he'd be more receptive to?" "From my knowledge, he's an alternate universe version of my nephew, Admiral Nat," replied George. "The Admiral would never be like this. These apparent powers he's gained must have gotten to him. Changed him somehow." He wiped the mud off himself as well, sighing, "Doesn't look like we can break that barrier. It's probably unbreakable." "There is one thing we could try," suggested Samya, stepping up to them. "You know that I mentioned dealing with a Q-being myself. Well, I also lost my sister some time ago and have been spending much of my efforts in preparing to get her back. Part of that included acquiring a box-like El Aurian artifact from an otherwise predisposed Captain Elric. It is said to amplify anti-Q power." Menrow looked at her. "How was that supposed to help you get your sister back?" "I believe its abilities would also allow me to nullify alien attack, for wherever she was being kept. My own studies of Q-energies led me to believe that. Either way, it's on my ship right now. I took it from the U.S.S. Amaterasu after Elric's ship was extracted from a Borg sphere." "So you want to fight him?" asked George. "How, exactly, do you intend to get him close enough to use it on him?" "Not fight him but, rather, disarm him of his powers," Samya replied. She then tapped her commbadge. "Samya to Dropzone. Transport me the 'box'." Her Science officer took the call over the air. "Hey, uh, Captain. When do the rest of us get to come down to Risa? Seems odd only the Captain ever gets to go." "You'll do your duty or you'll be relieved!" argued Samya to her shocked co-Captains. "You have to be tough on them if you want them to be survivors," she said to Menrow and the others. Seconds later, the El Aurian box was transported next to her. Menrow picked it up and approached the tribble-wall. "What now?" "Rotate that pictograph to the left," Samya instructed. Suddenly, a wave of anti-Q energy shot itself through the tribbles, annihilating them and opening an entrance back to the island. ...A giant Borg battle-mech-suit was waiting for them, piloted by the ever-so-known Captain. It was, evidently, immune to anti-Q energies, although it didn't appear to exhibit any Q-level powers of its own, either. Just an ordinary Borg battlesuit. Captain Nat's battlesuit taunted them to come closer. "Why are you doing this? What's happened to you?" Menrow said, stepping forward. George stepped forward as well. "I know you better than this. You're better than this. Stand down." The battlesuit's pilot remained silent as the suit armed itself with wrist-mounted starship-grade plasma cannons and aimed at the anti-Q device. Several security teams from each of Task Force Epsilon's ships transported down, aiming various types of phaser assault rifles at the mechanized Q. Menrow tossed the box to Samya, who placed her hand upon its main pictograph, ready to fire it. An Engineer put up a protective force field in front of her. "Well, that escalated quickly," commented Reynolds. Menrow was handed a phaser assault minigun, which he pulled into aim at Nat. "Whoever you are, you're no Starfleet Captain." George deadpanned Nat. "What are you doing?" "You all need to learn a lesson, Captains," said Nat. "Stop wasting your time here or I will make you all suffer every minute of it." George discreetly tapped his commbadge. "Elisa, get me some help out here? Preferably, I dunno, something big with a lot of fire power?" Then, "Anyway, don't be ridiculous!" shouted George at Nat. "We're not wasting time! It's only one vacation! I actually live on this planet!" The Borg mech started walking forward. Various Risians continued running away. George stood his ground. The Captains from the fleet raised their weapons at the mech and opened fire. McCary, Iviok and Reynolds shot bolt bursts from their Omega Autocarbine guns. George pulled a small Type 1 Phaser from his pocket and opened fire, but to no avail. The mech aimed its cannons and fired a burst. As the shots burrowed into the ground in front of them, it boiled the water, scorched the ground below and created a shockwave that sent the captains flying every which way. The shockwave pushed Samya's pressure into the anti-Q artifact, turning the pictograph and causing a blast of amplified anti-Q energy through normal matter and into Captain Nat. She caught the artifact as she landed on her back. Captain Nat glared. "What have you— No!" The mech fired salvo after salvo at the anti-Q artifact. The artifact exploded as Samya leapt out of the path of destruction. Reynolds helped her to her feet as the group beheld the results. "So, does that mean those powers made Nat crazy or did he eat some bad anomaly?" Reynolds asked. Samya stood up. "I guess we'll never know." "He's still in the mech suit though," McCary observed. "Shall we take it down?" Everyone nodded, raising their weapons and continuing fire into the suit. George deadpanned and opened fire. "Give up, captain! You're outnumbered and outgunned!" "I am not," answered the Captain, firing another volley at Samya. "It's built to resist the firepower of starships." "You sure you want to test that?" asked George. "What?" asked Captain Nat. Several phaser blasts impacted the Borg mech from above. A single Centaur-class starship, the U.S.S. Sentinel, passed overhead, firing another volley of phaser fire. The mech started to topple over, only to end up taking a small salvo of photon torpedoes to the rear, knocking the mech over as it exploded, the cockpit launching away as an escape pod. "Damn, that was fast," remarked George, tapping his commbadge again. "Thanks, Sentinel. Not sure how you launched that quickly considering how things went last time, but I guess we're just lucky." "Oh, we found a way," replied the familiar voice of George's friend. "Alright, that'll do for the moment," replied George, walking over to the smouldering Borg escape capsule. It was empty? "Well that was a relaxing vacation," Iviok said, putting his weapon away. "I guess it's time to get back to duty." Menrow nodded. "Probably for the best. Rest, I believe, appears not to be a thing we should ever do." "I'm not sure how Elric is going to take the news his artifact was destroyed. Probably best I text him that information," Samya said. Reynolds crossed her arms. "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I had fun here. I slept with three men at once while you were powerboarding earlier. It's just a thing I'm able to do." "And I ate soooo much cheese. I don't even know if Andorians can process cheese! But I did it," Iviok boasted before his stomach groaned. "Welp. Back to being in charge of people and a starship." Captain McCary grimaced. "I will not be returning to Risa, ever. I won a Risian Tropical bird egg, but didn't realize it wasn't meant to be cooked. Ugh, those animal rights activists and Risian chefs wouldn't leave me alone." Menrow nodded to them as they each began to beam out. When he was the last one left, he walked over to George. "Good racing before," Menrow said. "Are you going to be okay here?" "You kidding? I live on this planet," replied George. "I haven't had this much fun since a group of Ferengi tried to steal last year's Vorgon escort." George looked up to see the Vorgon carrier flying off unannounced, then tapped his commbadge. "Sentinel, who the hell is flying that Vorgon carrier out?" The small destroyer stopped, then turned around and started flying after the carrier. "Of course they're trying again. I don't know whatever happened to this Captain Nat, but I guess the Risian authorities can hold him until we can come back for him, but knowing these hyper-Q, that artifact probably didn't even work. He'll likely be back on his own terms, and hopefully not try to teach us some lesson about who-knows-what with violence. Anyway, I better go. Sentinel, one to beam up. Let's go get'em." George quickly saluted Menrow as he started to dematerialize. "Feel free to help stop those—" But he was gone mid-sentence, obviously indicating the Vorgon carrier in the process of being stolen. "I have a lot of questions," Menrow said to himself, still having no clue what was going on. He then found himself beamed to the Bridge of his near-broken ship. --- U.S.S. Crucial, Bridge There, Hatcha was standing next to him. "Enjoy yourself?" "More than Samya did. She lost a crucial artifact and it may have garnered no results," Menrow replied. "I'm pretty sure that's called a waste." His First officer shrugged. "Either way, various Starfleet ships around the planet are joining the Sentinel in tracking the stolen ship. You sure you don't want to get it for us? The Crucial has seen better days." "Nah. When Nat interfered with the first race, I learned some things. I was pretty eloquent about them too. You should have been there." Hatcha crossed her arms. "I would have if Bridge officers could beam down too! Anyway, Admiral Cloud at Starbase 55 is expecting us. He may have a new ship, after all." "Oh! I hope it has seatbelts this time. I'm tired of scrubbing the carpets for blood. Set course and engage."
lolol Fired at maximum pur! Thanks. I think there are only a few more RP posts to go and then it's the ULCs.
Author's notes: These are compiled posts by multiple players for the Earth Spacedock RP on the Star Trek Online forums. My character was Elric (w Zeta). This continues from the last ESD entry. Written in July-August 2017. Earth Spacedock, Pages 125-129 U.S.S. Marrakesh "Captain's Log. The Marrakesh picked up a distress signal two hours ago and, as per Starfleet regulation, responded to it. What we found was an alien escape pod of unknown origin. Its insides, near-undetectable except for hints of a life-form. Damaged beyond repair, the pod is unable to communicate beyond its distress beacon and neither can it open or be penetrated by transporter. We've taken the risk of tractor-beaming it into our shuttle bay for further study. Our analysis has yet to determine what species it's from, but damage to its exterior lines up with Na'khul weaponry. Perhaps they were nearby and we didn't even notice? In the meantime, the Marrakesh is en-route back to the armada, where we await dangers to be wrought beyond our wildest imaginations." --- Na'Khul Base - Corridors The team was infiltrating the Na'Khul base, with Sek taking the lead. Shivak and Sangok followed. As Lt. Jade followed as well, she would sense a large, black, liquid cloud-like being following her. It seemed overwhelmingly evil. None of the others could see nor detect it. Lt. Jade suddenly turned around, again taking a defensive posture. It was clear now she was on edge. She looked like she was watching something. "What are you?" "Keep walking," said the being, following the lieutenant. "I am a being beyond your comprehension." "And why should I trust you?" Jade replied. "Why should I take the chance of leading you to others? I don't even know who or what you are." "I already know exactly when and where they are," replied the being. "And I am your universe's end if you do not do exactly as I instruct. Follow them, now." Jade grit her teeth, obviously not liking this. After a moment she caught up with everyone else, looking a bit distracted. "Good, good," said the being, only visible and audible to her. "I will have you aware, I do not intend to do harm to you or your allies if it does not need to be, although I will protect my own existence if I am threatened. One of their people plan to destroy me for their own gains. He must be stopped if all your universes are to survive." "If you wanted help you could have just asked," Jade muttered to avoid anyone overhearing her. "You must find the agent of time they call Commander Scott Aughtry. He is an outsider and will betray this mission and cause a temporal explosion that would redirect the river of time where it does not belong." "I'll need evidence, and it would be better not to be doing this alone. I need proof. If I stop him without warning, I come off as the aggressor in an unprovoked attack. And what do I call you? Or should I just make up a name for you?" "I do not need a name," replied the being. "The evidence you will learn yourself in your future. You do not need me to show you." "Whatever you say... Bob," Jade replied. The being let out a dull, red pulse of light. "Simpler to identify me as a being," replied the being. "I exist. That is enough." The group went around another corner and finally arrived back at the flyer. They all got inside (being included), and then took off and headed out under stealth. It was quiet. A single 28th century Breen warship waited nearby. Sek piloted the Nova Scotia out and Sangok made preparations for opening a temporal rift back to the armada. --- U.S.S. Marrakesh - Cargo Bay Elric sighed. The Marrakesh was back with the armada and the escape pod was being penetrated by Jessie's phaser drill. When the alien pod opened, Elric raised his own weapon at the spilling of a short, unrecognizable alien man. "Welcome to the Marrakesh. I'm Captain Elric," he introduced. The creature was humanoid, had a bulky upper torso, scrawny arms, but bulky forearms. His skin was dark yellow-ish/green and his nose was large and beak-like. "Name is Klokian." "We noticed the Na'khul damage to your pod. I assume they destroyed your ship? What species are you?" Gaining focus, the creature got to his feet. His posture was that of a crouching stance. He dressed as if he was poor. "Species, Klokian, from 39th century. Timeship, gone. Take new ship, yours." "Your name is the same name as your species? And, no one's taking anything." Klokian turned to him, menacingly. "That... not is a question," he said just before leaping at Elric, to which the Captain responded with by firing into Klokian. The creature lost momentary strength, as Elric dodged the leap. Klokian landed behind Elric and then ran off out the doors into the corridor. "Great," Elric sighed. --- U.S.S. Sally - Conference room Emperor Nat, Admiral Anna Walker, and Captain Sasha Walker had all already arrived. The two Commodore Nats entered after Krystal, trailed by Rear Admiral Ransom. Prala and Captain Jim Dennison soon made their way in, soon joined again by 11 of 14. Regent Nat eventually showed up, taking a relaxed stride into the room, nodding to Anna who didn't seem very happy. Admiral Nat sat, and waited, looking over all the arrivals. "No Elric?" Krystal just took a seat as her Mirror Counterpart came in. The seats were gone already. Nat sighed. A few minutes passed. No Elric. "Of course not," said Nat. "Anyway, to business. The scouts are back, and with somewhat limited information, but worthwhile nonetheless. We need to form a plan. For that—" "Please tell me you got us a bigger room," remarked Emperor Nat. "I can barely breathe in here." "—we've already prepared one, I was literally just suggesting we move our meeting to there," continued the Admiral. Sarah didn't look impressed whatsoever. Admiral Nat motioned one of the security officers in the room over. "If and when Elric shows up, take him down to join us." The security officer nodded and the Admiral motioned everyone else to follow. --- U.S.S. Marrakesh - Bridge After a lengthy search and continuing intensive scans throughout the ship, Elric entered the Bridge of the Marrakesh. There were no signs of Klokian anywhere, despite seeing the creature run out the Cargo Bay. With triple security lockouts in place, recurring Security teams, sensor sweeps and round-the-clock patrols, Elric came to discover a meeting request for an immediate counsel. Seeing as his success was somewhat limited with the rescued alien, Elric put his PADD down left to make his way over to the Sally. --- U.S.S. Sally - War Room Eventually, Elric was beamed to the Sally without incident. Sensor sweeps made it certain that nothing else decided to tag along with him in the transporter. Everyone eventually arrived at a room guarded by two MACOs. The War Room, apparently. Sarah's eyes widened at the sight. The group entered, passed another pair of security officers guarding the inside of the door, and into the room itself. It had a large, round holographic projector in the middle, with a single station operated by some science officer, who was seated. Further back and around was a lineup of two dozen chairs, in a semicircle. Behind those were another row of more numerous, but smaller chairs. Admiral Nat motioned people to sit down. He went for a right chair, soon joined by Sarah, Jim, Malin, Prala, both Commodore Nats, Rear Admiral Ransom, Sek, Sangok, and Shivak, who'd also saved a seat for lieutenant Jade. Emperor Nat, of course, went left, soon joined by Anna and Sasha. Regent Nat just made his way down the middle, still eyeing Mirror Krystal. 11 then took a seat just behind Admiral Nat. Elric entered, taking notice of the large room. It was bigger than he expected. Then, taking notice of the Admrial. "Sorry I'm late. There was a Na'khul attack one sector over and now the survivor's gone missing on my ship." He took a seat. "Well, now that we're back to business," stated Sek, "we can let you know what we found. We showed up in the area a little while after our fleet had already left. There was a debris field, including a heavily damaged and detached saucer section of our own U.S.S. Sally. 28th century Breen vessels patrolling the area, likely looking for whomever had been fighting beforehand. The Na'kuhl base was cloaked," he went on, motioning the science officer to activate the holoprojector, displaying the base and surrounding area. Even the walls were screens, showing the backdrop of the surrounding space, as Sek continued, "The Breen did discover the station, possibly before or after we arrived. We found one lost person from Lieutenant Jade's universe, and managed to get some detail suggesting the presence of a Doomsday Machine. After that, the Na'kuhl consoles exploded before we could use them. Then we left." By now, another officer was handing out PADDs to the various admirals, captains, emperors, etc., with the more detailed mission reports. Sek went on to say, "Lieutenant Jade may have come across some kind of anomaly spawning... who knows how many different species. She may have imagined it, considering that none of us could detect any sign of the anomaly, although we did later see mysteriously disintegrating Breen, which may have been related." "What's the source of the anomaly?" Elric wondered. "Also, I detected a Na'khul attack nearby. I wonder if that means they know about us." "Well, duh," replied Sasha. "We got an entire armada of temporal warships hanging out not too far from where they ambushed some of you guys. Of course they know. They're just smart enough to not attack us here and now." Lt. Jade immediately got up and walked away from 11. She almost looked like she was fighting herself on something. 11 looked up at Lt. Jade. "You seem distracted, Lieutenant." Lt. Jade clenched her fist and closed her eyes. "It's nothing," she insisted. "That can't be true," stated Kelvin Commodore Nat. "You can talk to us. Really." "Go ahead, tell them," said the being. "Tell them how you just can't stand the thought of them finding out what's on your tricorder, and how you intended to damage the data in it beyond repair before they can retrieve it. Tell them, they will understand, and they can keep you on the correct path." Lt. Jade punched the wall, actually denting it, but didn't turn to face the table. "You are constantly telling me to lie to the very people who saved my life and for what?" she asked seemingly no one. "Self-preservation? I've played along until now. But I will NOT let you manipulate me like that. I am NOT your puppet! You want my help? Then ASK for it! Ask them too! They're involved just as much as I am!" She then turned and pointed at some unseen figure. "What you are doing makes me feel like a frakkin' Drone again! I am NOT! So you know what? Reveal yourself to them! Provide your 'evidence' against this person and let them investigate! I will not act out against someone without proof and make myself look like the enemy if you're wrong!" The being simply loomed, slowly moving around in a circle behind the lieutenant. "Am I wrong? You clearly had a different intended path, and actively resisted it. If it is the truth, tell them so." Scott scanned the area, then slowly turned to Admiral Nat. "I'm not picking up anything anomalous whatsoever..." "Just like before," said Sek. "She did seem preoccupied during our scouting mission. Maybe there's a connection?" "Who were you talking to?" asked Emperor Nat, quite sternly. Lt. Jade looked at the entity again. "The thing that followed me home from the Na'kuhl station," she replied. "Seems to have no name and has its own agenda in regards to our mission. Apparently, according to it... and for the record, it didn't like me calling it Bob... one particular officer is a threat that must be taken care of. But it has refused to elaborate or even provide evidence. Just insists that action be taken and the evidence will be provided later." "You will find the evidence yourself, as it is not the kind of evidence that can be provided directly," said the being, looming around and settling in line of sight of Admiral Nat. "That was already of your knowledge. It requires time." Admiral Nat deadpanned the lieutenant. "So it just... followed you home?" he asked. "It has no name, its own intentions, doesn't like being called Bob, says some officer is a threat, and won't tell you why but continues telling you to do things?" "Do you think it can see the future?" asked the Emperor, almost as though he had already predicted her answer. "He won't say." "I am a being beyond your understanding," said the being. "My thoughts extend further than 4 dimensions." The Admiral asked, "Can you actually prove this being you keep talking to actually exists, or do I have to throw you in the brig just to be safe?" The being began moving erratically and appeared as though it were about to attack the lieutenant. Lt. Jade backed off defensively from the Entity. "The entity wanted me to destroy my own tricorder to prevent it from being analyzed. That's why I got away from it before I would act on the urge." The Admiral pondered, "If this is true, this... being... probably suspected that the tricorder had collected sensor data of it's presence and wanted that data destroyed." "The only way to be certain is to check the tricorder itself," said Shivak. They suddenly heard an explosion from somewhere down the hall outside. --- Corridors A larger portion of the corridor was on fire, although the automated fire suppression systems had activated. 11 of 14 was on the ground, leaning against a wall, and barely even conscious. The tricorder was nowhere to be found. "What happened?" asked Admiral Nat, who came out to see what happened. "Tricorder... exploded..." replied 11, trying and failing to get up. "Some kind of... self destruct system. Turned itself on and... boom." Scott scanned the area. "These readings... that tricorder didn't just randomly decide to overload. It was a Na'kuhl explosive." Admiral Nat looked to Scott. "Are you kidding? How they did they pull that off?" The being hovered around in center, over Scott, and seemingly more visible than before. It appeared to be charging some kind of deadly energy beam, evidently watching Lt. Jade very closely. Everyone else seemed surprised; although they may still have only been looking to Scott. Elric pulled out his phaser and aimed it at the being. "I see him?" Lt. Jade ran towards Scott with Borg-enhanced speed to try and knock him down out of the line of fire. Krystal dove for cover, taking a chair with her to act as a shield. They couldn't see the being, obviously. Why Elric could now see it, even for only a moment, was definitely a mystery, and everyone else seemed to just roll with what the lieutenant, and Elric, were now doing. Admiral Nat and 11 scrambled to get Scott down and out of Elric's line of fire... the lieutenant, still plowing ahead, and past where Scott just was, ending up crashing into the admiral instead. He lurched backward, and with a great snap, hit the wall head first, then fell to the ground unconscious. Prala rushed over to scan him with her tricorder. Her face said it all; it wasn't any good news. Sarah turned to the Admiral, and upon seeing Prala's face of serious alarm, turned back to Lt. Jade, evidently not impressed. Not even saying a word, she motioned two MACOs to come over and take the lieutenant to the brig. Another MACO soon found Lt. Jade's friend they'd found in the Na'kuhl base, and took him down as well. 11 was now over by the Admiral, concerned. Jim, Scott, and Sek were soon there as well, with Sek motioning the others to keep some distance so Prala could continue trying to stabilize the Admiral's condition. Ransom turned to Elric. "Did you see it?" "Apparently it was more visible than before," Elric said putting his phaser away. "At least that's what I thought. Maybe I just thought I saw something with all the suggestive talk. Or did I really see it? Maybe it revealed itself to me? I just don't know." "Can someone explain to me what just happened?" Krystal asked. "Elric thought he saw the entity for a second or so," replied Prala as 11 motioned her back to Admiral Nat. 11 got up and turned to Krystal. "We assumed for long enough this being's existence and interference was possible, but Elric trying to shoot the thing makes it seem more likely." After a couple of moments, Sarah, Prala and the Admiral dematerialized, evidently beaming to sickbay. 11 turned to the various officers. "I'd suggest you all make your way back to that meeting room back there," she said, motioning to the various non-prime universe captains and others. "I and our universe's captains need to have a brief discussion of our own." "That doesn't sound good..." Krystal sighed after the others were gone. "It isn't," replied 11. "In case you haven't noticed, the admiral is unconscious and will probably be useless for days. I'm... guessing... that Sarah just handed command of our little task force to me." "What's the plan?" asked Jim. "The same," replied 11. "And hope nobody else screws things up any worse." "The image of that thing has faded on me," Elric said, struggling with his thoughts. "On the other side, at least we're all still amassed here as one giant armada." "For now," said 11, "I wouldn't be surprised by half the things probably going through the heads of those Terrans..." "How imminent do you think the Na'khul threat is?" Elric pondered. "They'd probably be attacking right now if it weren't for the Terran Temporal Battlefleets here," said 11. Jim nodded in agreement. "We still have to deal with this entity Lt. Jade mentioned," Krystal pointed out. "And I don't know about you guys, but before the mission, I was just fine around her. But during that meeting... I felt threatened. Something changed." "Assuming this entity even exists," 11 shot back. "We still have no proof besides her acting crazy and the fact that Elric might have caught a glimpse of it." "Why Scott?" asked Jim, somewhat abruptly. "Assuming the Lieutenant's not working with the Na'kuhl. Is Scott actually planning on destroying this entity for his own purposes? Is he a threat to this hypothetical being that would need to be swept aside by distrust?" "I've never heard nor seen it," said Scott, who was there the entire time, Sek and Shivak alongside him. "I definitely couldn't have planned its destruction if I don't even know what it is." "Is it possible Scott's a Na'khul agent of some kind?" Elric said, playing devil's advocate. Scott deadpanned Elric. "I've been serving with you guys for years, and have fought the Na'kuhl time and time again. Do you seriously think I'd suddenly start working for them now, especially after they tried to kill me?" "Keep in mind, her tricorder apparently got knocked away by one of those apparent attackers," said Sek, "yet, the tricorder is back, and undamaged. Non-corporeal beings certainly aren't in the habit of carrying around tricorder repair equipment..." "You think they replaced it with a new tricorder, with falsified data and the explosive charge?" asked Jim, "who could do that? Is this non-corporeal being more powerful than we thought, or is somebody else here?" 11 seemed to have realized something, "Jim, did anyone ever tell you the real reason Scott had to have the original U.S.S. Sally shot down?" Jim shook his head. Scott spoke up, "It was infested by a few very hard to locate Na'kuhl agents." "This is the same ship, from the alternate universe," pointed out 11. "Which had their versions of many of the same crew..." "You think those versions of the same agents are on this ship?" suggested Jim. "By now, they'd have already had access to a number of our ships." "They probably added that new tricorder to the mix as well," said Commodore Nat. "However, this still leaves one anomaly, this... being... that Lt. Jade claims has been manipulating her actions." "What if Lieutenant Jade is one of the Na'kuhl agents?" said Sek, now playing devil's advocate himself. "Either from the beginning, or an agent that replaced her later." "Of course, Scott could have been replaced as well," remarked Jim, pulling out a tricorder and scanning Scott. "Fortunately, he isn't, unless Na'kuhl disguises have improved beyond our greatest fears." "That... guy..." said 11 of 14. "That guy from Lieutenant Jade's universe! He didn't even know what he was doing there. He's the Na'kuhl agent, who took the disguise, worked his way among us, and snuck in that tricorder." "Better have the guys in the brig check him out," said Jim. Krystal pinched the bridge of her nose. "Maybe we should try to replicate what Lt. Jade did," she spoke up. "Use a TED linked with a tricorder and cycle through wavelengths." "Not a bad idea," said Scott. "Except we'd probably need to be near where the entity supposedly is. To the brig then?" "Lieutenant Commander Gibbs to Captain Elric," came an over-the-air voice. "We've detected the Klokian creature and he's on the Sally. We're beaming you a tricorder specifically configured to detect his negative bio-molecular patterns." Elric tapped his commbadge. "His what?" "We were basically trying everything until we realized his organic matter isn't anything like what we've seen," Gibbs said. "A sample of his bio-electric hand and footprints on the ceiling told us he's some kind of anti-matter-type entity. Though, he seems perfectly fine not being annihilated for some reason." The Captain pondered. "Fascinating. Anyway, all this has nothing to do with what's going on here. It's almost unnecessary." "Well, you need your own C-plot storyline, whatever that means. Gibbs out." Picking up the beamed-in tricorder, he glanced at everyone's deadpan-sigh-based reactions. "He just likes to make up narrative-rooted concepts in his spare time. Anyway, I'll take care of this while you're checking out the Brig." "How the hell did that thing get on this ship!?" shouted 11. "We've been at yellow alert with our shields up this whole time!" Jim deadpanned 11. "Sarah beamed out of a fully shielded ESD once. I doubt shields really block transporters anymore whenever this... storyline... demands they don't." Commodore Nat got a shiver down his spine. "I feel like we're not supposed to know that." "Anyway," said 11, motioning over another MACO. "Have your officers send over the specifications so we can modify the internal sensors, and I'll send out... well, everyone." 11 turned to a MACO. "Instruct squads of MACOs to cover anything and everything of any importance. Everything, and send out every Omega Operative to track down that... thing!" The MACO began sending out orders. In a matter of seconds, a dozen fully suited and armed Omega Operatives were in the corridor. "Take these guys with you," said 11, as another dozen Omega Operatives arrived, and 11 turned to Jim. "Lead another team and start looking. I'll take the others back to the meeting and come up with a plan." Jim was passed a spare Omega Antiproton Autocarbine Rifle, and turned to Elric. "Let's get him."
Okay... is that a Stargate Atlantis call out or Star Trek Hunter... Love it either way... I knew you'd give that 4th wall a good hard knock at some point. Love digging up these easter eggs. Thanks!! rbs
Haha, credit for that is to user rattler2. They wrote for all Krystal Jade stuff. Yeah, this is definitely my doing. lol
Author's notes: This was written in June 2017 as part of the Star Trek Online forums Unofficial Literary Challenge #36. It focuses on my new KDF Captain, a Ferasan, the opposite-Caitian species based on the Kzinti. STO had to use "Ferasan" for legal reasons. I also promoted Lieutenant Commander Red, the Klingon Exchange Officer and helmsmen from the U.S.S. Phoenix-X in my Double Phoenix and Legends of the Phoenix series', and put him here on a new ship. Unofficial Literary Challenge #36: Prompt #1: "I envy you, taking these first steps into a new frontier." - Capt. Picard Star Trek: First Contact. Whether it's looking back to the voyages of James Kirk, the philosophies of Surak, or the battles of Kahless the Unforgettable, every generation thinks about those that came before. Perhaps the rules were different back then, or times more simple and clear cut between heroes and villains, or what you now take for granted they did without and to greater results. How does your captain look back on history and those that wrote it? Unofficial Literary Challenge #36 "In Their Footsteps" The Birok-class I.K.S. Dragunov arched through space while Captain Kronen, a Klingon Defense Force officer and Ferasan sat, intently at his command chair. "Sir, I report we will arrive at the coordinates of the two warring Houses shortly," said Commander Red from the Helm. Kronen kept a stern look forward before glancing down at him. "Excellent, Commander. By the way, according to rank, you should be by my side delegating ship tasks rather than operating menial functions like some kind of Fek'Ihri Hoardling." "No offence, but the executive officer role is reminiscent of a pet targ in an Orion Slave Girl den. No, I am an able-bodied man, with the capability to operate Bridge processes in an exemplary fashion," answered Red. "A true officer gets his hands dirty every now and then! Please disregard the cleanliness of this console." The Captain groaned. "All those years you spent with the Federation on exchange has given you a messed up work ethic. Enjoy your rank for once. That's all I'm saying. Anyway, our mission here is to negotiate a trade with an enemy House." "Seems like a madman's mission, Captain," commented Lieutenant Commander Linng, another Ferasan and the ship's tactical officer, from her station. The Ferasan Captain snarled. "You would be right, but the Empire wants to unite against our true enemies, whomever the aliens are for this week and what better way to become a stronger people than to make ourselves stronger? Have any of you heard of the ancient Klingon known as Kahless?" "He was some kind of giant floating head, right?" said Bekk Fen, a youthful Klingon and the Operations officer, genuinely confused. Kronen stood. "You fool! He was the strongest warrior known in all the land and he wasn't afraid to make change and lead by strength! Even though I'm not a Klingon, I can respect and admire the enormity of the legend that he was." "He ate the hearts of so many kolar beasts," Red realized. Throwing down his PADD in anger, Kronen declared, "Kahless was renowned for his lessons! Who do you think united the warring states of Quin'lat and Mekro'vak? It was said he threw himself into the field of battle and killed 200 men and women on each side in order to get their attention. He then turned to them all and forced them to join together in holy matrimony— but the warrior version." "I doubt the actions of some Klingon from centuries past could be of any relevance today," said Lieutenant Kaz, the science officer and a Gorn. Kronen nodded solemnly. "Oh, but he does. If only we allow such lessons to ruminate with our actions in the now. Take this Ferasan mouse in my palm," he said, holding it up. "I shall deliver it to the High Council as my contribution to the Empire, and honor will be mine." "Ew! Put that thing down!" cried the onscreen hail of an astonished Captain Zang from the I.K.S. Roku. "You feline beasts are the bane of the Klingon Empire!" The Ferasan commanding officer bared his teeth. "Unlike your kind, I believe in the Empire. I will sacrifice to make it better." "The House of Groth sacrifices all it can for the greater good! Who do you think helped put J'mpok into power?" said Zang. "That's right. We murdered sooooo many Klingons to get him there. Oh, the killing was good. I actually tasted the blood of my brethren from the counter-splash." Kronen waved the topic away with his palm. "Forget your whole dishonour stuff. My job is to unite you with the House of Tochi in order to facilitate a better tomorrow." "Like we would ever do any business with that fool's House!" came the pre-antagonized banter of Captain Nogoth of the I.K.S. Kleckogunam, now dropped out of warp and rendezvoused with them. "We were once like House Groth, pitiful and dishonourable, but we changed and learned to breed Pipius crabs, a delicacy served dead among the elite." The Captain threw up his arms. "We didn't even ask you about that. Do not offer backstory or intriguing peeks into Klingon culture unprompted! As for the joining of your Houses, I am here to propose trade betwixt you both as so: House Tochi's Klingon octopus goods for House Groth's ship parts," offered Kronen. "You are both flying old starships, but the Klekogunam looks like it takes a walking cane into its warp fields." "Though we would greatly benefit from an octopus supply, I would never allow any relations with the Fool Tochi House of Foolish Foolishness!" charged Zang. Nogoth agreed. "That Groth House overuses the word 'fool' more than the average Klingon overuses the word 'fool'. He will pay, that fool!" "You are both petaQ!" interjected Kronen in his best attempt at a Klingon accent. "Kahless once forged an entire army from the ancient villages of Qam-Chee, Tong Vey and Ketha Minor to fight against the armies of Molor. He waited for no bickering and made it so. In his vein, I will also make this so!" He nodded to his Ferasan tactical officer, Linng, who targeted weapons on both Klingon vessels. Zang was taken aback, unprepared for the atrocious gesture. "What are you saying? You will destroy us if we don't agree to this trade??" "Your aggressive behaviour will never hold up with us, Kronen!" argued Nogoth. Kronen nodded before a passionate declamation. "No, but perhaps the spirit of Kahless will. It is through me His legacy flows! I will take the lessons of the Unforgettable and be guided by His wisdom and gile!!" "You... what?" blinked Zang. Nogoth was also left with barely any words. "Kahless? But you're no Klingon??" he said, confused. "Whoever heard of a Kzinti channelling Klingon honour?" Zang continued. "Wait. Is it Kzinti or Ferasan? I heard there was a naming convention?" Kronen launched a payload of overpowered tractor emitters and locked both the K'Vort-class Roku and the Negh'Var warship Klekogunam in place via directed energy. He then dropped two Heavy Disruptor Satellite Turrets over them, armed, and targeted at each Klingon vessel. "We don't talk about that," Kronen winced, suppressing his predator-like instincts. "Oh my, is your destruction looking quite tasty right about now." Zang pointed. "Your species freaks me out, Kronen! It's well known that cannibalism is still rampant in your practices, and perhaps coveting other people's wives, I don't know. The idea you channel Kahless is an insult and a perversion!" "Who's to say he hasn't?" Nogoth questioned. "What we perceive is only limited to our understanding of the Ferasans. It's not our fault we are so self-invested." The House Groth Klingon gritted his teeth. "That is the direct line of reason for self-investing by the mechanism of logic itself! Those cooked pipius crabs are messing with your heads, House Tochi! Trade us those so we can rid you of them and enjoy them ourselves. It was Kahless that slew the Great Klingon Crab, after all, by cutting himself into its backside and out its mouth in slimy, profusely-gunky gore." "Hah! I haven't heard that story since I was a small one. Give us a regular inventory on your ship parts and we have a deal," agreed Nogoth. "Kahless be with us!" Zang raised his fist in passion before the tractor beams on both ships dropped and they both turned to warp out of there. "To Kahless!" "So, how much of that was our doing?" Red asked, turning to the Captain with both problem-vessels now free of the view screen. Kronen relaxed his tense feline muscles, having allowed his prey gone. "It was the power of Kahless, Commander, transcending us all, and proving that an idea can make change in the greatest of scales. The mission was a success, and my convictions validated by their ancestry." "As my convictions are daily, as well," Red said of his work on menial tasks. "Well, perhaps I shall join you by your side after all, since it appears you complete greater, more social-conscious tasks on the management level, as it were. Qapla'!" The Captain gave him a lost look at that last bit. "Are you okay? Perhaps you should use the much coveted Klingon powder room?" "It means 'success'," an astonished Red continued, unable to believe his commanding officer ignorant of the most basic Empire phraseology. Kronen then nodded in understanding. "Ah. Never been one for success. I just do things based on historical research." And then, "Did you know Zephram Cochrane invented warp drive for the humans? I want you to play Magic Carpet Ride by Steppenwolf whenever we go to warp speed from now on." "What?" Red said, confused. Kronen slammed his fist on his chair. "You heard me! Dismissed!" And with that, he watched the Klingon slowly back out of the Bridge, now even more lost than ever.
Author's notes: This was written in July 2017 as part of the Star Trek Online forums Unofficial Literary Challenge #36. It's the second story with my new KDF Captain who is a Ferasan (a species based on the Kzinti). Kurland used to be an STO meme. Unofficial Literary Challenge #37: Prompt #1: The Bajoran wormhole has been displaying strange fluctuations of late. Your ship has been dispatched to DS9 to investigate. When you arrive, Captain Kurland informs you that a Mirror Vessel has recently come through the wormhole. The pilot of the vessel claims to be the Harbinger of the Great Destroyers of the Wormhole. Kurland explains that these Destroyers are actually the Mirror counterparts of the Wormhole Prophets and scans reveal that the Mirror Wormhole has been altered to lead into the Prime Universe. To make matters worse, it seems that the Destroyers are attempting to free themselves from the Wormhole into the Prime Universe. The only person who can help you end this threat is the Harbinger. Write a log detailing the interrogation of the Harbinger or how you managed to stop the Destroyers and end the Mirror threat. Unofficial Literary Challenge #37 "Beware False Prophets" The Birok-class I.K.S. Dragunov approached Deep Space 9 where Captain Kronen, a Klingon Defense Force officer and Ferasan, sat at his command chair. The screen clicked on to an external view. "This is the Dragunov to that pathetic bicycle wheel with six-curved spikes-for-some-reason in space," opened Kronen. "We've responded to your distress signal and are heavily reluctant, as one would expect from our kind." A static transmission broke through. "Kurland here. This is Kurland." "Hmm. We're detecting a distortion from your communications systems being caused by the wormhole. Please repeat?" The Captain on the other end tried again. "It's Kurland. Here is Kurland. Kurland here. Kurland here. Kurland here." "Yeah, we're just going to check it out. No need to keep trying to exist," Kronen suggested before cutting the channel. "I'm not even sure if that was true about the wormhole. I just didn't want to interact with that guy." Standing next to Kronen, Commander Red, a Klingon, monitored the ship's progress. "Nearing the wormhole now, Captain. It's fluctuating and it appears a Mirror Universe vessel is coming through!" "This is the A.K.S. Dragunov and I am Kronen, the Harbinger of the Great Destroyers! Hyyyeeeeeee!" came the excited hail from another Birok-class heavy raptor as its Captain blinked on screen. "Oh, I am just soooo happy to meet you." The Prime Universe Kronen was taken aback. "Ugh! Well, as an open-minded individual, I do not have a problem with your auspicious nature, but I must ask, what are the odds we would run into each other? Seems highly incidental?" "Isn't that what life is all about, though? Events at random! Like how the Mirror Universe version of your Prophets, known here as the Great Destroyers, were able to have me divert our wormhole to your universe!" Kronen looked confused for a second. "So, that means the Prime Gamma Quadrant is feeding into the Mirror Gamma Quadrant? That is abhorrently redundant." "As I am the Emissary to them, also known as the Harbinger! Yeeeeee! I love it! Prepare for your universe to be destroyed! Hehe!" Suddenly: The two Kronen's found themselves in a neutral plain of existence, resembling Operations on Deep Space 9. --- Looking around, the Prime Kronen was then appalled by the Mirror Kronen. "Bro!? Do you shave your arms? What the hell?" Prime Kronen asked, just noticing the devastation before him. Mirror Kronen patted his muscular, hair-free biceps, out of his armless uniform. "How else could I show off these beauties? As a cat-like species, we Ferasans have far too much fur." "It is the right amount of coiffure!" countered Prime Kronen. Suddenly, a Prime Prophet approached from one side and a Mirror Prophet approached from another. "The state of things is not to be the state of things," claimed the Prime Prophet. The Mirror Prophet nodded. "Indeed. As that statement pertains to us: We seek to be free of the Celestial Temple, referred to as the Elysian Gates of Astral Reaches, to a linear place of existence." "Seriously? Just keep the same names for things! You're trying way too hard," claimed the Prime Kronen. "Also, as a contender of my universe, I am obligated to protect it from you, for some reason. I don't know. I was mostly hoping to consume targ wraps for lunch today." Mirror Kronen shrugged. "But why deny them? Who is to say having us here is bad for you or anyone in any way? And, of the countless entities and cross-dimensional beings in space, how are the Mirror Prophets any less or have any noticeable crowding to the vast, infinite realm of your Prime Universe?" "The squeaky, hairless Kzinti— that is, Ferasan— is correct," the Prime Prophet said. "He is truly an Emissary of revelatory nature, unlike our The Sisko who sat around for seven years before doing anything significant." To that, the Mirror Prophet squinted, suddenly realizing where he/she was. "By the loathsome dirt-mongering, scatter-brained Bajorans we all know and hate! You have brought us to the wrong universe??" "Yes! By use of the newly retrieved Orb of Possibilities," claimed Mirror Kronen. "Don't you see? It's all sunshine and lollipops here! Their Picard isn't a blood-thirsty war dealer who drinks black coffee, and their Spock isn't a centuries-long sociopath who manipulates political power by sitting around raising one eyebrow at a time! Hehehehe!" The Mirror Prophet grabbed Mirror Kronen by the throat. "You are the most fail-bound Emissary of the many hundreds we have employed thus far. Linear realms such as this are much like your Klingon-grade rubber pants: The wrong ones do not fit and cause impenetrable uncomfort!" Prime Kronen and the Prime Prophet watched in shock as the Mirror Prophet turned to address them. "Please, accept our apologies for the intrusion," the Mirror Prophet continued. "We will deal with our Kronen by putting him in charge of some filthy Bajorans. Ugh. We hate them so much with their constant losing and their insistence of relevance. Anyway, Mirror Prophets out!" When they disappeared, Prime Kronen and the Prime Prophet glanced at each other. "Well, that was awkward. I guess not all space-time aliens are alike. A lesson only learned through these rare encounters," Prime Kronen observed. "So, is Sisko still around? Do you need a new Emissary or anything?" The Prime Prophet bowed slightly and unconvincingly. "Not at this time. But we'll call you if that changes." And then, diverting for a quick cut-off: "Such a thing probably won't ever change." --- Seconds later, Kronen found himself back on his Bridge, with the other ship disappearing. "Sir, you went completely blank there for a while," explained Red. "We took the opportunity to discuss politics with each other while you were comatose. We all agree the Federation is colluding with the Romulans." Kronen blinked to get his visual focus back. "You know that talk always triggers me! Anyway, it would seem certain attributes are required, even for Mirror Emissaries. Perhaps I should try them next?" "Agreed. Shall we report our findings to the pregnant Captain Kurland?" The Ferasan jumped back in his seat in utter disgust. "NO! No, please no. We will just send them a text message, but only after we're gone and out of communications range. Both those Prophets took his form and I was puking internally the whole time. Set course and engage!" "Aye, Captain," Red acknowledged, before taking out a PADD and using his thumbs to type on its screen. The Dragunov then turned in space and jumped to warp.