Star Trek: Venture
- Thread starter Rat Boy
- Start date
It'd be easier to read if it was justified (lined up) on the right
I'll be sure to do it next time, if for no other reason because I wouldn't have to deal with the coding or text limits per post.
Sorry for not keeping you all abreast of what's been going on, but finally I have something to share. Rather than drag this out any further, allow me to present...
The hunt is on for the key to the most lethal force in history...
One man to destroy it...
Another man to use it...
Charged with finding the Master Coordinator hub before it can be activated and unleash an armada of Xentarian war machines upon the galaxy, newly-promoted Captain Mark Henderson of the starship Venture and his crew begin their quest. It will lead them to an isolated section of the galaxy, cutoff from all civilization. Inside, they will discover potential allies and potential enemies in their hunt and a complication that could derail their mission completely.
Meanwhile, Commander Alidar Nelveth also pursues the hub, though not to destroy it but use it as a weapon to conquer the Romulan Star Empire. Reluctantly teamed with the avatar, a creation of the late and insane Doctor Hans Strassmann and the only thing that can activate the hub, they launch an audacious strike to steal the information they need to find the hub's location. But how far can Nelveth trust this AI and will his plans for glory unravel before his very eyes?
The Star Trek: Venture saga continues...
Cover image credits:
USS Venture by DJ Curtis
Foreground from Star Trek: Bridge Commander by Totally Games and Activision
Produced in Adobe Photoshop by M.F. Kidd
Download "Chaos Theory, Part II" from Filefront (Adobe Acrobat reader required). Also available are this story's annotations, though be warned it contains spoilers and is highly recommended you read the story first.
The hunt is on for the key to the most lethal force in history...
One man to destroy it...
Another man to use it...
Charged with finding the Master Coordinator hub before it can be activated and unleash an armada of Xentarian war machines upon the galaxy, newly-promoted Captain Mark Henderson of the starship Venture and his crew begin their quest. It will lead them to an isolated section of the galaxy, cutoff from all civilization. Inside, they will discover potential allies and potential enemies in their hunt and a complication that could derail their mission completely.
Meanwhile, Commander Alidar Nelveth also pursues the hub, though not to destroy it but use it as a weapon to conquer the Romulan Star Empire. Reluctantly teamed with the avatar, a creation of the late and insane Doctor Hans Strassmann and the only thing that can activate the hub, they launch an audacious strike to steal the information they need to find the hub's location. But how far can Nelveth trust this AI and will his plans for glory unravel before his very eyes?
The Star Trek: Venture saga continues...
Cover image credits:
USS Venture by DJ Curtis
Foreground from Star Trek: Bridge Commander by Totally Games and Activision
Produced in Adobe Photoshop by M.F. Kidd
Download "Chaos Theory, Part II" from Filefront (Adobe Acrobat reader required). Also available are this story's annotations, though be warned it contains spoilers and is highly recommended you read the story first.
Since everyone's all a twitter about trailers these days, I thought it'd be only appropriate that I'd do one. Since I lack the time and tools to do a video, this will have to suffice:
The final chapter in Star Trek: Venture's opening saga begins...
As if in answer, there was the sound of a steady thrum. Light returned to the chamber, though it was in a reddish hue, casting a similar blood red glow over the Starfleet officers and the Romulans as the one from the Barrier of Storms. Almost like the sound of a heartbeat, the noise around them grew louder.
“Whereas I was like you, a fragile life form of momentary existence in the cosmos, I am now immortal..."
Seething with rage, Henderson started to get up, but heard the click of primitive projectile rifles being readied to fire if he made the slightest provocative move. As much as he wanted to take action, he was helpless...
"You are still a slave to your primal nature..."
Kulmarin suddenly walked up to Henderson and struck the captain in the chin with the back of her closed fist...
"I have evolved beyond those instincts..."
“My co-parents told me it’d end like this for me,” complained Pret as their executioners raised their rifles.
"I am beyond man, I am beyond machine..."
Logan sat uneasily in the captain’s chair on the battle bridge. Whether or not her plan would succeed would be decided in the next few minutes...
"Before my power, you are nothing..."
"This insane idea of galactic conquest ends here!" Henderson shouted...
Just outside of the window, the massive form of a Romulan warbird passed by, slowing as it appeared to be approaching a berth inside the Sanctuary...
“We can’t afford to have Henderson’s people interfere with our plans!” Kulmarin said sharply...
“We’re going back to Tssar’s Sanctuary," said Logan. "I’m not about to leave Captain Henderson and the others behind when we can still help them.”
Henderson climbed up the Jeffries tube ladder as fast as he could to keep up with Tenari, who seemingly was racing up through the interior of the saucer section...
“Do not try to deny to me that you don’t still feel something for the man,” Kulmarin said sharply...
Shuvane quickly grabbed Henderson by the sides of his head and drew him in for a long, passionate kiss...
“What nonsense, woman!” High Admiral Voltin barked. “How dare you try to dictate how we should behave..."
The doors to the stardrive conference room opened and two armed security guards entered.
“As acting head of security," said Carlton. "I hereby place you under arrest for intent to violate Starfleet General Order One.”
“Fall back!” Nelveth roared. With the Romulan soldiers providing covering fire that didn’t seem to deter the Xentarian war machines, Henderson and his team followed the commander and his officers down the opposite direction of the corridor...
"Are you sure you can really trust the avatar to obey your wishes?” asked Henderson...
“I grow tired of your protests, Captain,” Nelveth replied.
Orange phaser beams and bluish-white quantum torpedoes from the stardrive. All salvos converged on the warbird, impacted against its shields.
“FIRE!” added Voltin enthusiastically.
The torpedoes struck against the forward section of the warbird near some of the ship’s weapons, causing explosions to rip through the warbird’s forward hull...
“This is your last chance," said Kulmarin as the soldier walked over to the Bajoran and aimed her rifle at her head. "If you do not tell me where the stardrive is on the count of ten, Lieutenant Tenari will die..."
“Please state the nature of the medical…” the EMH said before glancing over to the armed guards and pausing briefly. “…emergency.”
“There was a prophecy among my people that I thought was merely a myth until now,” Shuvane stated as she turned away from the window.
The wave continued towards the radiation cloud, towards the Barrier of Storms. All matter in its path was consumed as fuel...
“It said that someone would return from the Realm of the Goddess and lift the Barrier of Storms," added Shuvane, "allowing us to join with Tssar and those who dwealt beyond."
The barrier that encompassed the Cole Cluster and isolated the Tssara Combine and Ryssara Directorate from the rest of the galaxy was sucked in by the force of the wave, pulling it away like rapidly removing a red cloak...
"I guess that someone is you” Shuvane concluded.
Another vessel closed in on the hub at high warp speeds. It was the Venture, now with its saucer section and stardrive combined...
“It’s a lot more fun being on the Venture than being stuck in a lab," said Pret, "people pointing large guns at me not withstanding, of course.”
“I’m just hoping that this isn’t how the rest of our missions will go, sir,” Logan stated...
The final chapter in Star Trek: Venture's opening saga begins...
As if in answer, there was the sound of a steady thrum. Light returned to the chamber, though it was in a reddish hue, casting a similar blood red glow over the Starfleet officers and the Romulans as the one from the Barrier of Storms. Almost like the sound of a heartbeat, the noise around them grew louder.
“Whereas I was like you, a fragile life form of momentary existence in the cosmos, I am now immortal..."
Seething with rage, Henderson started to get up, but heard the click of primitive projectile rifles being readied to fire if he made the slightest provocative move. As much as he wanted to take action, he was helpless...
"You are still a slave to your primal nature..."
Kulmarin suddenly walked up to Henderson and struck the captain in the chin with the back of her closed fist...
"I have evolved beyond those instincts..."
“My co-parents told me it’d end like this for me,” complained Pret as their executioners raised their rifles.
"I am beyond man, I am beyond machine..."
Logan sat uneasily in the captain’s chair on the battle bridge. Whether or not her plan would succeed would be decided in the next few minutes...
"Before my power, you are nothing..."
"This insane idea of galactic conquest ends here!" Henderson shouted...
Just outside of the window, the massive form of a Romulan warbird passed by, slowing as it appeared to be approaching a berth inside the Sanctuary...
“We can’t afford to have Henderson’s people interfere with our plans!” Kulmarin said sharply...
“We’re going back to Tssar’s Sanctuary," said Logan. "I’m not about to leave Captain Henderson and the others behind when we can still help them.”
Henderson climbed up the Jeffries tube ladder as fast as he could to keep up with Tenari, who seemingly was racing up through the interior of the saucer section...
“Do not try to deny to me that you don’t still feel something for the man,” Kulmarin said sharply...
Shuvane quickly grabbed Henderson by the sides of his head and drew him in for a long, passionate kiss...
“What nonsense, woman!” High Admiral Voltin barked. “How dare you try to dictate how we should behave..."
The doors to the stardrive conference room opened and two armed security guards entered.
“As acting head of security," said Carlton. "I hereby place you under arrest for intent to violate Starfleet General Order One.”
“Fall back!” Nelveth roared. With the Romulan soldiers providing covering fire that didn’t seem to deter the Xentarian war machines, Henderson and his team followed the commander and his officers down the opposite direction of the corridor...
"Are you sure you can really trust the avatar to obey your wishes?” asked Henderson...
“I grow tired of your protests, Captain,” Nelveth replied.
Orange phaser beams and bluish-white quantum torpedoes from the stardrive. All salvos converged on the warbird, impacted against its shields.
“FIRE!” added Voltin enthusiastically.
The torpedoes struck against the forward section of the warbird near some of the ship’s weapons, causing explosions to rip through the warbird’s forward hull...
“This is your last chance," said Kulmarin as the soldier walked over to the Bajoran and aimed her rifle at her head. "If you do not tell me where the stardrive is on the count of ten, Lieutenant Tenari will die..."
“Please state the nature of the medical…” the EMH said before glancing over to the armed guards and pausing briefly. “…emergency.”
“There was a prophecy among my people that I thought was merely a myth until now,” Shuvane stated as she turned away from the window.
The wave continued towards the radiation cloud, towards the Barrier of Storms. All matter in its path was consumed as fuel...
“It said that someone would return from the Realm of the Goddess and lift the Barrier of Storms," added Shuvane, "allowing us to join with Tssar and those who dwealt beyond."
The barrier that encompassed the Cole Cluster and isolated the Tssara Combine and Ryssara Directorate from the rest of the galaxy was sucked in by the force of the wave, pulling it away like rapidly removing a red cloak...
"I guess that someone is you” Shuvane concluded.
Another vessel closed in on the hub at high warp speeds. It was the Venture, now with its saucer section and stardrive combined...
“It’s a lot more fun being on the Venture than being stuck in a lab," said Pret, "people pointing large guns at me not withstanding, of course.”
“I’m just hoping that this isn’t how the rest of our missions will go, sir,” Logan stated...
Every thing's locked in now, so here's something to hold you over until it's released:
Tomorrow...
“Connection established,” the avatar reported. “I am beginning the transfer of my program…”
...the end of the Chaos Theory trilogy begins...
On the far end of the chamber, several peacekeeper drones materialized, large bipedal machines with three glowing sensor eyes and with their arms raised and their weapon ports glowing...
“I hate being right all the time,” said Pret.
“Helm, plot a course back to the hub, best possible speed,” ordered Logan...
“We can’t risk the safety of the entire Federation on account of three people,” said Carlton bluntly...
“Why are you so eager to tuck your tail between your legs and run?” asked Vasquez...
“Why are you so eager to trust the judgment of a terrorist?!” hissed Carlton.
The alarms and sirens wailed even louder over the beating the stardrive was taking. The battle bridge glowed orange from a small fire from one of the aft stations...
Every ship in the battle continued firing on each other, setting the screen alight as barrages were traded and more Directorate ships were destroyed in the exchange...
“So what do we do now?” asked Brody. “Throw rocks at them?”
...the doors to the transporter room opened and four Combine soldiers stormed in with their rifles raised. Reflexively, both he and Tenari reached for their phasers, but the enemy soldiers moved so fast that he couldn’t entertain the notion of even drawing his weapon....
“I will not allow anyone to interfere with the activation of the hub,” said Kulmarin.
Kulmarin quickly turned and brought her pistol around to aim at Henderson...
“We’re executing the prisoners,” ordered Kulmarin.
“This will be a difficult struggle,” Nelveth said as he turned to address his crew, “but our lives are already forfeit...”
“An instructor I had at the academy once told me, ‘Don’t set out to be the best captain in Starfleet, just the captain of the best crew,’” said Henderson.
“We will find honor in death and victory!” shouted Nelveth.
“I think after today no one will argue that you all are among the best in the fleet,” Henderson concluded.
“I hate it when captains get preachy like that,” commented Logan
“He doesn’t think he’s coming back,” Shuvane said.
Both the Romulans and the Starfleet team opened fire down the corridor, lighting up the darkened hallway with green and orange weapons fire, revealing three peacekeeper drones with their weapon arms raised...
Carlton saw something flicker through the window out of the corner of his eye and he turned to see a massive D’Deridex-class warbird de-cloak and immediately fire an intense blue beam at the stardrive...
Both teams flattened themselves against either side of the corridor and returned fire. One drone was felled and then the other, but as Henderson checked his weapon again, it was nearly empty...
The battle bridge pitched backwards and Logan was pushed hard into her chair. The lights started to flicker and the deck continued to vibrate...
Then the phaser beam started to fade; Henderson’s phaser was overheating and about to shut off because of all the times he had shot it in this battle...
“...if something happens to you, your wife’s going to kill me,” Henderson said.
“Hell, she’d probably kill me if something happened to you,” Brody joked...
...the phaser stopped and the drone lifted one of its arms and was about to fire...
Tomorrow...
“Connection established,” the avatar reported. “I am beginning the transfer of my program…”
...the end of the Chaos Theory trilogy begins...
On the far end of the chamber, several peacekeeper drones materialized, large bipedal machines with three glowing sensor eyes and with their arms raised and their weapon ports glowing...
“I hate being right all the time,” said Pret.
“Helm, plot a course back to the hub, best possible speed,” ordered Logan...
“We can’t risk the safety of the entire Federation on account of three people,” said Carlton bluntly...
“Why are you so eager to tuck your tail between your legs and run?” asked Vasquez...
“Why are you so eager to trust the judgment of a terrorist?!” hissed Carlton.
The alarms and sirens wailed even louder over the beating the stardrive was taking. The battle bridge glowed orange from a small fire from one of the aft stations...
Every ship in the battle continued firing on each other, setting the screen alight as barrages were traded and more Directorate ships were destroyed in the exchange...
“So what do we do now?” asked Brody. “Throw rocks at them?”
...the doors to the transporter room opened and four Combine soldiers stormed in with their rifles raised. Reflexively, both he and Tenari reached for their phasers, but the enemy soldiers moved so fast that he couldn’t entertain the notion of even drawing his weapon....
“I will not allow anyone to interfere with the activation of the hub,” said Kulmarin.
Kulmarin quickly turned and brought her pistol around to aim at Henderson...
“We’re executing the prisoners,” ordered Kulmarin.
“This will be a difficult struggle,” Nelveth said as he turned to address his crew, “but our lives are already forfeit...”
“An instructor I had at the academy once told me, ‘Don’t set out to be the best captain in Starfleet, just the captain of the best crew,’” said Henderson.
“We will find honor in death and victory!” shouted Nelveth.
“I think after today no one will argue that you all are among the best in the fleet,” Henderson concluded.
“I hate it when captains get preachy like that,” commented Logan
“He doesn’t think he’s coming back,” Shuvane said.
Both the Romulans and the Starfleet team opened fire down the corridor, lighting up the darkened hallway with green and orange weapons fire, revealing three peacekeeper drones with their weapon arms raised...
Carlton saw something flicker through the window out of the corner of his eye and he turned to see a massive D’Deridex-class warbird de-cloak and immediately fire an intense blue beam at the stardrive...
Both teams flattened themselves against either side of the corridor and returned fire. One drone was felled and then the other, but as Henderson checked his weapon again, it was nearly empty...
The battle bridge pitched backwards and Logan was pushed hard into her chair. The lights started to flicker and the deck continued to vibrate...
Then the phaser beam started to fade; Henderson’s phaser was overheating and about to shut off because of all the times he had shot it in this battle...
“...if something happens to you, your wife’s going to kill me,” Henderson said.
“Hell, she’d probably kill me if something happened to you,” Brody joked...
...the phaser stopped and the drone lifted one of its arms and was about to fire...
The thrilling conclusion to the first Star Trek: Venture epic begins...
Trapped aboard his own ship with the Xentarian hub on the verge of activation, Captain Mark Henderson must find a way to stop an apocalyspe before it is unleashed. But with the fanatical General Byrash Kulmarin continues her endeavor to engage the hub with the help of the renegade Romulan Alidar Nelveth, time is running out. While Lieutenant Commander Elios Pret and an injured Lieutenant Shanen Tenari help to plot an escape, Henderson's only other recourse may be to seek the aid of the woman who betrayed him. Meanwhile, Commander Alexandra Logan leads the remainder of the crew aboard the stardrive, not to seek safety as her captain ordered, but to attempt a rescue. Some, such as Henderson's best friend Lieutenant Commander Jesse Brody III, are eager to return, but some are vehemently against it. However, with Nelveth, Kulmarin, and the mysterious avatar on the verge of success, they may be too late. The fate of an entire species, if not the whole galaxy, hangs in the balance.
The Star Trek: Venture saga continues...
Cover image credits:
USS Venture by DJ Curtis
Romulan warbird by LC Amaral
Acclamator vessels by EvilleJedi, Stealth, and Leto Atreides
Background and some weapon effects from Star Trek: Bridge Commander by Totally Games and Activision
Produced in Adobe Photoshop by M.F. Kidd
Download "Chaos Theory, Part III" from Filefront (Adobe Acrobat reader required). Also available are this story's annotations, though be warned it contains spoilers and is highly recommended you read the story first.
Trapped aboard his own ship with the Xentarian hub on the verge of activation, Captain Mark Henderson must find a way to stop an apocalyspe before it is unleashed. But with the fanatical General Byrash Kulmarin continues her endeavor to engage the hub with the help of the renegade Romulan Alidar Nelveth, time is running out. While Lieutenant Commander Elios Pret and an injured Lieutenant Shanen Tenari help to plot an escape, Henderson's only other recourse may be to seek the aid of the woman who betrayed him. Meanwhile, Commander Alexandra Logan leads the remainder of the crew aboard the stardrive, not to seek safety as her captain ordered, but to attempt a rescue. Some, such as Henderson's best friend Lieutenant Commander Jesse Brody III, are eager to return, but some are vehemently against it. However, with Nelveth, Kulmarin, and the mysterious avatar on the verge of success, they may be too late. The fate of an entire species, if not the whole galaxy, hangs in the balance.
The Star Trek: Venture saga continues...
Cover image credits:
USS Venture by DJ Curtis
Romulan warbird by LC Amaral
Acclamator vessels by EvilleJedi, Stealth, and Leto Atreides
Background and some weapon effects from Star Trek: Bridge Commander by Totally Games and Activision
Produced in Adobe Photoshop by M.F. Kidd
Download "Chaos Theory, Part III" from Filefront (Adobe Acrobat reader required). Also available are this story's annotations, though be warned it contains spoilers and is highly recommended you read the story first.
Happy belated New Year, everyone. I know things have been quiet around here lately, but rest assured I'm well into my next story, but first, something a little different. As I mentioned repeatedly in the annotations to the Chaos Theory trilogy, I've been looking for a design for the bridge of the Venture and I think I just have. A modder for Star Trek: Bridge Commander going by the handle hjenterprises recently released a redesigned version of the Galaxy-class bridge refit from Star Trek Generations, which you can see and download here. As you can see, it definitely fits in the post-Star Trek Nemesis era; comfortable, but functional. Warm, yet serious. It's different enough from the bridge of the late Enterprise-D to denote both advancements in technology and make it identifiable as a different vessel, but at the same time clearly shows a continuing design lineage. Here are a few screenshots I took to do this bridge a little more justice, but first here are the appropriate credits:
Original Generation Bridge Refit model by Will Riker, LC Amaral, Sean, and Red Dragon
Lightmapping by LC Amaral
Animations by Mark
Scripts by Mark and Dasher
Original textures by Mark and LC Amaral
LCARS displays by Tobias Weismann
Additiona modifications for the Generation Bridge Refit II by hjenterprise
A view from just in front of the main view screen.
From the forward turbolift...
...and from the door to the observation lounge. Note that for whatever reason, the original Generation Galaxy Bridge flipped the science and communications stations on both sides of the bridge from how it was depicted in the film and this slight error is repeated here. As depicted in VEN, the science consoles manned by Commander Pret are on the starboard side, so it's best to ignore the difference in these pictures.
The aft consoles. Note that according to Star Trek Generations, they should have been labeled Science IV, Mission Ops, Environment, Engineering I, and Engineering II. A similar error was made with the intitial Generation Galaxy Bridge and was again repeated here. In Bridge Commander, these stations are animated and the Environment station cycles through images of various locations throughout the ship, including the observation lounge. If I had seen this bridge beforehand, I might have had Lieutenant Tenari use this to spy on Captain Henderson and Colonel Shuvane in "Chaos Theory, Part III."
The tactical station where Tenari stands (or sits in this case) watch. Note the convienent phaser locker; handy in case intruders randomly beam onto the bridge.
The operations station of Commander Brody.
Ensign Vasquez's post at the helm.
Now, for the final picture in this batch that transitions nicely into our second topic for the day. Here's what the Venture's crew will encounter on their next mission:
USS Star League by Lord Schtupp
I'm pleased to announce the latest tale of Star Trek: Venture, titled "Raise the Star League!" To wrap things up, here's a special preview from the prologue, though note that this is still a work in progress and while this section will hopefully remain unchanged, some minor tweaks and edits may occur before the story is released and contains spoilers for the "Chaos Theory" trilogy:
And that wraps things up for now. Look for "Raise the Star League!" sometime later this winter and be sure to keep an eye out for further updates.
Original Generation Bridge Refit model by Will Riker, LC Amaral, Sean, and Red Dragon
Lightmapping by LC Amaral
Animations by Mark
Scripts by Mark and Dasher
Original textures by Mark and LC Amaral
LCARS displays by Tobias Weismann
Additiona modifications for the Generation Bridge Refit II by hjenterprise
A view from just in front of the main view screen.
From the forward turbolift...
...and from the door to the observation lounge. Note that for whatever reason, the original Generation Galaxy Bridge flipped the science and communications stations on both sides of the bridge from how it was depicted in the film and this slight error is repeated here. As depicted in VEN, the science consoles manned by Commander Pret are on the starboard side, so it's best to ignore the difference in these pictures.
The aft consoles. Note that according to Star Trek Generations, they should have been labeled Science IV, Mission Ops, Environment, Engineering I, and Engineering II. A similar error was made with the intitial Generation Galaxy Bridge and was again repeated here. In Bridge Commander, these stations are animated and the Environment station cycles through images of various locations throughout the ship, including the observation lounge. If I had seen this bridge beforehand, I might have had Lieutenant Tenari use this to spy on Captain Henderson and Colonel Shuvane in "Chaos Theory, Part III."
The tactical station where Tenari stands (or sits in this case) watch. Note the convienent phaser locker; handy in case intruders randomly beam onto the bridge.
The operations station of Commander Brody.
Ensign Vasquez's post at the helm.
Now, for the final picture in this batch that transitions nicely into our second topic for the day. Here's what the Venture's crew will encounter on their next mission:
USS Star League by Lord Schtupp
I'm pleased to announce the latest tale of Star Trek: Venture, titled "Raise the Star League!" To wrap things up, here's a special preview from the prologue, though note that this is still a work in progress and while this section will hopefully remain unchanged, some minor tweaks and edits may occur before the story is released and contains spoilers for the "Chaos Theory" trilogy:
In spite of having faced death and disasters unparalleled to anything he had ever encountered before, Captain Mark Henderson of the starship Venture swore that this was the most nervous he had ever felt. Tonight, he wasn’t facing a power-mad general, a renegade Romulan, or a human-machine entity with an army of robotic soldiers at his command. No, this time it was something that he was far more intimidated by: politicians.
He took a deep breath to calm himself as he led most of his senior officers into the Roth Dining Room of the Palais de la Concorde, the capital building of the United Federation of Planets in the Earth city of Paris, France. The Venture had spent almost a month and a half escorting a ship from a species called the Trinni/ek to a state dinner and diplomatic summit with President Nanietta Bacco. Said dinner was to be held in this room, which took up the whole twelfth floor of the Palais and the entrance of which was dominated by a portrait of the room’s namesake, former President Hiram Roth. Large tables filled the room and on the west wall was a raised platform with another table, presumably where the president and her honored guests would be dining this evening.
“You all right, sir?” asked Commander Alexandra Logan, his first officer. As a reward for escorting the Trinni/ek vessel to Earth and for their efforts during the recent crisis in the distant Cole Cluster, the entire senior staff of the Venture had been invited to attend the dinner. “You look about as white as your uniform.”
“I’m fine,” Henderson said with a calming sigh. As befitting the occasion, he and his officers were wearing their white dress uniforms, which the captain found to be a little tight in places. There was already a sizeable crowd gathering in the Roth Dining Room, mostly members of the Federation Council and of the president’s administration milling about; the sort of people whose decisions and policies were implemented by people like the crew of the Venture. A woman in a long black dress walked up to the captain, making eye contact the whole way.
“Captain Henderson?” she asked.
“I am,” he replied.
“If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you to your table,” the woman said quickly. “The president’s due to arrive in a few minutes.”
“Lead on,” Henderson said and they were all taken to a table some distance from the main one where President Bacco and Trinni/ek Speaker Ytri/ol, whom the captain met when the Venture hosted the Trinni/ek for a short reception before heading to Earth. However, that was the only contact Henderson’s people had with them during this whole trip and it was something else that was making him nervous this evening. “Have you heard from Ambassador Morrow yet?”
“Not since he beamed down before us,” Logan answered as they started to sit down. Ambassador Colton Morrow was the Federation diplomat who handled most of the dealings with the Trinni/ek and seemed as equally puzzled by the Trinni/ek’s sudden silence during their journey, particularly since the Trinni/ek seemed so sociable during their visit to the Venture. “I wouldn’t worry about it, sir.”
“I want to know why I’m supposed to be here,” grumbled Lieutenant Commander Elios Pret, the Venture’s Bolian science officer. “How come Brody got out of this?”
“You know why,” commented ship’s medical officer, Doctor Janell Senara of Trill. Lieutenant Commander Jesse Brody III, second officer and best friend of Captain Henderson, was presently reuniting with his wife and two children, whom he hadn’t seen in several months due to the dangerous and extended mission the Venture had wrapped up before bringing the Trinni/ek to Earth. Henderson gave his friend permission to skip the dinner, though the captain wondered if he should have taken Brody’s invitation to a family barbecue instead of coming here. But, he had his obligations and the last person he felt he should snub was the President of the United Federation of Planets.
“Hey, I’d rather see my family than hang around here,” Pret countered.
“Your family won’t be here for a week,” Henderson noted wryly.
“Great, I’ll be spending the whole night being called ‘Pret the Polluter,’” muttered the science officer, referring to the fact that he was a controversial figure in the Federation thanks to his opinions on warp drive damaging subspace.
“I’d rather be keeping those Starfleet inspectors’ hands off of the engines,” complained Lieutenant Commander Valentina Koroleva, the very possessive and dedicated chief engineer of the Venture.
“Look on the bright side,” commented Counselor Arvax, an Edosian known for being blunt with his patients, “good food, good wine, no one trying to kill us.”
“Boring speeches,” added Lieutenant Shanen Tenari, the Venture’s Bajoran chief of security. “Awkward conversations. Makes me almost nostalgic for all those times someone was pointing a gun at my head.”
“Be careful what you wish for,” Logan commented. “Who knows where Starfleet will be sending us after this?”
“Thankfully not until after our shore leave is up,” Arvax said as he raised his glass of what looked to be white wine up with his middle hand. “To the officers and crew of the Venture. I think we’ve all earned this.”
“Here, here,” added Logan, but Henderson didn’t put his glass in just yet with the others.
“To Captain Stanley,” he interrupted, which quickly turned the toast quite somber. Warren Stanley was Henderson’s predecessor as captain of the Venture, as well as his commanding officer and mentor. He was killed in the line of duty almost four months ago, paving the way for Henderson’s promotion and setting the Venture on a long and dangerous journey that culminated here at the Palais.
Quietly, the senior staff touched their glasses and sipped their drinks quietly. Henderson glanced towards the entrance to the dining room, wondering how rough the hostess’ “a few minutes” figure was. In his experience, politicians rarely started things on time. After setting his glass down, he saw a portly figure walk up to their table out of the corner of his eye, a male who judging by the spots along the sides of his face was a Trill like Senara was.
“Captain Henderson?” he asked.
“Yes sir?” the captain replied as he turned to see who it was who wanted to speak with him.
“Jas Abrik, Federation Security Advisor,” the Trill explained and Henderson quickly got out of his chair to shake the hand of the important member of President Bacco’s cabinet.
“It’s an honor, sir,” Henderson said. “I remember when you guest-lectured at the academy when I was there.”
“That was a while ago, Captain,” Abrik joked.
“Certainly feels that way,” he replied before gesturing to his crew with his left hand. “And these are my senior officers…”
“Captain, if you wouldn’t mind,” the security advisor interjected politely, “I’d like to have a word with you in private.”
“Of course, sir,” Henderson said and they both headed over to a window that looked out onto the Champs Elysées that the Palais straddled and the surrounding buildings of Paris. “Is this in regards to the Trinni/ek?”
“No, this is about your mission before that,” Abrik said before he glanced around to ensure that no one was within earshot. “About Trinity.”
“I see,” the captain remarked. Project Trinity as the organization that the Venture had been attached to when Captain Stanley was killed and during the tumultuous events in the Cole Cluster.
“I’ve read both your report and Admiral ch’Thanek’s,” he prefaced, the latter officer being the current head of Trinity, “and while you’re both to be commended on how you handled the situation, I do have a few concerns.”
“Such as?” Henderson asked, not sure if he liked where this discussion was going.
“The Aiarans, for one thing,” Abrik replied, referring to a species that the Venture’s crew made first contact with inside the Cole Cluster. “I’m not exactly fond of the idea of yet another extended mission of mercy taxing our resources for the foreseeable future.”
“Sir, as the admiral noted, because we’re partially responsible for what happened, we have an obligation to help them,” the captain explained calmly.
“Captain, we’re spread very thin out there,” the Trill said in a slightly annoyed tone, as if he had this argument before and lost. “Cardassia, Romulus, Tezwa, and countless other worlds are receiving our aid. There’s a limit to what we can do without compromising our ability to lend assistance to our people and to defend our territory. Sorry, I’m projecting my frustrations onto you. You did the right thing and while the secrecy around Trinity will probably keep anyone from hearing about it for the foreseeable future, you should be proud of what you accomplished.”
“I am, sir,” Henderson said, “but Nelveth deserves a lot of the credit. He gave his life to stop that Strassmann thing. I think the bigger shame is that his own people may never know what he did.”
Nelveth was a Romulan commander who in an attempt to unite his fracturing empire enlisted the aid of a human scientist named Dr. Hans Strassmann to unlock the secrets of an ancient and extinct race called the Xentarians, whom Project Trinity was tasked with studying. Strassmann merged with a Xentarian artificial intelligence, evolving into some kind of god-like being of pure thought bent on imposing order on the galaxy or wiping out those who opposed it with an army of advanced war machines. With the help of the Venture’s crew, Nelveth destroyed his ship and himself to stop the Strassmann thing.
“It’d be nice to have some good news for that corner of space these days,” Abrik noted, “what with the Remans and now that Mendak person causing trouble. If we could tell them how Nelveth really died, it could rally the Romulan people together; maybe stave off a civil war. Still, I find it hard to think that his sacrifice completely absolves him of the Federation lives he took.”
“I did at first, sir,” the captain explained, “but hopefully what he did could be a first step towards a brighter future for both our peoples.”
“I hope so, too, but somehow I doubt it’ll come as easily as that,” the Trill commented. He paused a moment before adding, “You’ll be happy to know that Lieutenant Bravel’s been granted asylum.”
“That’s good to here,” Henderson said. Bravel was Nelveth’s consort and the only survivor of his forces. She was also pregnant with the commander’s child, ordered by Nelveth to raise their daughter and perhaps one day to teach her what her father did save both of them. “Any idea where’s going to live?”
“I’m afraid that’s classified,” said Abrik. “Considering what she knows about the Xentarians and what went on in the Cole Cluster, Federation Security’s given her a new identity and constant surveillance. The Romulans, despite assurances to the contrary, might try to grab her. Even if she didn’t know what she knows, they still could abduct her to put her on trial for treason. The praetor’s taking a hard line on traitors these days, and ironically there seem to be more of them with each passing day…”
“Excuse me, sir,” interrupted the same hostess that led Henderson’s party into the dining room, “but the president is about to arrive.”
“Of course,” he said before turning back to Henderson. “Good to meet you, Captain. I look forward to hearing about your debriefings with Starfleet.”
“Debriefings?” Henderson asked curiously.
“Everyone in San Francisco with the highest clearance level wants a piece of you now that you’re back,” Abrik answered with a smirk. “One doesn’t go through what you did without having to pay the piper, as you humans put it. If you thought I was being a harsh critic, just you wait until Command gets done with you.”
Great, he thought. I help save most of the galaxy and now they want to drag me over the coals about it. Abrik departed towards a table near the main one while Henderson returned to the one occupied by his officers. Most of them were engaged in idle conversation though Logan glanced up with a look of concern on her face.
“How’d it go?” she asked.
“This is certainly a part of the job that Captain Stanley didn’t warn me about,” he muttered. His attention quickly turned to the doors leading into the Roth Dining Room, where another large group was entering. Henderson quickly recognized President Nanietta Bacco, an older human woman wearing a white jacket about the same shade as her hair plus black leggings. It actually didn’t look too dissimilar to the uniform Henderson was wearing.
“The President of the United Federation of Planets!” bellowed a Tessenite security guard loudly enough to make the glasses on the table vibrate slightly. Henderson and his officers rose and stood at attention to salute their commander in chief as the anthem of the Federation started to play over the speakers. The rest of the crowd rose and applauded Bacco as she and her party made their way towards the platform. The president occasionally stopped to shake hands and trade remarks with people on the way, however the Venture’s crew were on the opposite side of the dining room, meaning that Bacco likely wouldn’t be stopping by until later in the night.
“You still look nervous,” Logan muttered. Since they had known each other since Henderson was an ensign and she was his superior officer (and about ten years his senior in age), such minor criticisms passed without comment.
“I just hope that the Trinni/ek’s sudden shyness doesn’t cause any problems here,” said Henderson anxiously.
“What could possibly go wrong?” she asked in a joking manner.
He took a deep breath to calm himself as he led most of his senior officers into the Roth Dining Room of the Palais de la Concorde, the capital building of the United Federation of Planets in the Earth city of Paris, France. The Venture had spent almost a month and a half escorting a ship from a species called the Trinni/ek to a state dinner and diplomatic summit with President Nanietta Bacco. Said dinner was to be held in this room, which took up the whole twelfth floor of the Palais and the entrance of which was dominated by a portrait of the room’s namesake, former President Hiram Roth. Large tables filled the room and on the west wall was a raised platform with another table, presumably where the president and her honored guests would be dining this evening.
“You all right, sir?” asked Commander Alexandra Logan, his first officer. As a reward for escorting the Trinni/ek vessel to Earth and for their efforts during the recent crisis in the distant Cole Cluster, the entire senior staff of the Venture had been invited to attend the dinner. “You look about as white as your uniform.”
“I’m fine,” Henderson said with a calming sigh. As befitting the occasion, he and his officers were wearing their white dress uniforms, which the captain found to be a little tight in places. There was already a sizeable crowd gathering in the Roth Dining Room, mostly members of the Federation Council and of the president’s administration milling about; the sort of people whose decisions and policies were implemented by people like the crew of the Venture. A woman in a long black dress walked up to the captain, making eye contact the whole way.
“Captain Henderson?” she asked.
“I am,” he replied.
“If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you to your table,” the woman said quickly. “The president’s due to arrive in a few minutes.”
“Lead on,” Henderson said and they were all taken to a table some distance from the main one where President Bacco and Trinni/ek Speaker Ytri/ol, whom the captain met when the Venture hosted the Trinni/ek for a short reception before heading to Earth. However, that was the only contact Henderson’s people had with them during this whole trip and it was something else that was making him nervous this evening. “Have you heard from Ambassador Morrow yet?”
“Not since he beamed down before us,” Logan answered as they started to sit down. Ambassador Colton Morrow was the Federation diplomat who handled most of the dealings with the Trinni/ek and seemed as equally puzzled by the Trinni/ek’s sudden silence during their journey, particularly since the Trinni/ek seemed so sociable during their visit to the Venture. “I wouldn’t worry about it, sir.”
“I want to know why I’m supposed to be here,” grumbled Lieutenant Commander Elios Pret, the Venture’s Bolian science officer. “How come Brody got out of this?”
“You know why,” commented ship’s medical officer, Doctor Janell Senara of Trill. Lieutenant Commander Jesse Brody III, second officer and best friend of Captain Henderson, was presently reuniting with his wife and two children, whom he hadn’t seen in several months due to the dangerous and extended mission the Venture had wrapped up before bringing the Trinni/ek to Earth. Henderson gave his friend permission to skip the dinner, though the captain wondered if he should have taken Brody’s invitation to a family barbecue instead of coming here. But, he had his obligations and the last person he felt he should snub was the President of the United Federation of Planets.
“Hey, I’d rather see my family than hang around here,” Pret countered.
“Your family won’t be here for a week,” Henderson noted wryly.
“Great, I’ll be spending the whole night being called ‘Pret the Polluter,’” muttered the science officer, referring to the fact that he was a controversial figure in the Federation thanks to his opinions on warp drive damaging subspace.
“I’d rather be keeping those Starfleet inspectors’ hands off of the engines,” complained Lieutenant Commander Valentina Koroleva, the very possessive and dedicated chief engineer of the Venture.
“Look on the bright side,” commented Counselor Arvax, an Edosian known for being blunt with his patients, “good food, good wine, no one trying to kill us.”
“Boring speeches,” added Lieutenant Shanen Tenari, the Venture’s Bajoran chief of security. “Awkward conversations. Makes me almost nostalgic for all those times someone was pointing a gun at my head.”
“Be careful what you wish for,” Logan commented. “Who knows where Starfleet will be sending us after this?”
“Thankfully not until after our shore leave is up,” Arvax said as he raised his glass of what looked to be white wine up with his middle hand. “To the officers and crew of the Venture. I think we’ve all earned this.”
“Here, here,” added Logan, but Henderson didn’t put his glass in just yet with the others.
“To Captain Stanley,” he interrupted, which quickly turned the toast quite somber. Warren Stanley was Henderson’s predecessor as captain of the Venture, as well as his commanding officer and mentor. He was killed in the line of duty almost four months ago, paving the way for Henderson’s promotion and setting the Venture on a long and dangerous journey that culminated here at the Palais.
Quietly, the senior staff touched their glasses and sipped their drinks quietly. Henderson glanced towards the entrance to the dining room, wondering how rough the hostess’ “a few minutes” figure was. In his experience, politicians rarely started things on time. After setting his glass down, he saw a portly figure walk up to their table out of the corner of his eye, a male who judging by the spots along the sides of his face was a Trill like Senara was.
“Captain Henderson?” he asked.
“Yes sir?” the captain replied as he turned to see who it was who wanted to speak with him.
“Jas Abrik, Federation Security Advisor,” the Trill explained and Henderson quickly got out of his chair to shake the hand of the important member of President Bacco’s cabinet.
“It’s an honor, sir,” Henderson said. “I remember when you guest-lectured at the academy when I was there.”
“That was a while ago, Captain,” Abrik joked.
“Certainly feels that way,” he replied before gesturing to his crew with his left hand. “And these are my senior officers…”
“Captain, if you wouldn’t mind,” the security advisor interjected politely, “I’d like to have a word with you in private.”
“Of course, sir,” Henderson said and they both headed over to a window that looked out onto the Champs Elysées that the Palais straddled and the surrounding buildings of Paris. “Is this in regards to the Trinni/ek?”
“No, this is about your mission before that,” Abrik said before he glanced around to ensure that no one was within earshot. “About Trinity.”
“I see,” the captain remarked. Project Trinity as the organization that the Venture had been attached to when Captain Stanley was killed and during the tumultuous events in the Cole Cluster.
“I’ve read both your report and Admiral ch’Thanek’s,” he prefaced, the latter officer being the current head of Trinity, “and while you’re both to be commended on how you handled the situation, I do have a few concerns.”
“Such as?” Henderson asked, not sure if he liked where this discussion was going.
“The Aiarans, for one thing,” Abrik replied, referring to a species that the Venture’s crew made first contact with inside the Cole Cluster. “I’m not exactly fond of the idea of yet another extended mission of mercy taxing our resources for the foreseeable future.”
“Sir, as the admiral noted, because we’re partially responsible for what happened, we have an obligation to help them,” the captain explained calmly.
“Captain, we’re spread very thin out there,” the Trill said in a slightly annoyed tone, as if he had this argument before and lost. “Cardassia, Romulus, Tezwa, and countless other worlds are receiving our aid. There’s a limit to what we can do without compromising our ability to lend assistance to our people and to defend our territory. Sorry, I’m projecting my frustrations onto you. You did the right thing and while the secrecy around Trinity will probably keep anyone from hearing about it for the foreseeable future, you should be proud of what you accomplished.”
“I am, sir,” Henderson said, “but Nelveth deserves a lot of the credit. He gave his life to stop that Strassmann thing. I think the bigger shame is that his own people may never know what he did.”
Nelveth was a Romulan commander who in an attempt to unite his fracturing empire enlisted the aid of a human scientist named Dr. Hans Strassmann to unlock the secrets of an ancient and extinct race called the Xentarians, whom Project Trinity was tasked with studying. Strassmann merged with a Xentarian artificial intelligence, evolving into some kind of god-like being of pure thought bent on imposing order on the galaxy or wiping out those who opposed it with an army of advanced war machines. With the help of the Venture’s crew, Nelveth destroyed his ship and himself to stop the Strassmann thing.
“It’d be nice to have some good news for that corner of space these days,” Abrik noted, “what with the Remans and now that Mendak person causing trouble. If we could tell them how Nelveth really died, it could rally the Romulan people together; maybe stave off a civil war. Still, I find it hard to think that his sacrifice completely absolves him of the Federation lives he took.”
“I did at first, sir,” the captain explained, “but hopefully what he did could be a first step towards a brighter future for both our peoples.”
“I hope so, too, but somehow I doubt it’ll come as easily as that,” the Trill commented. He paused a moment before adding, “You’ll be happy to know that Lieutenant Bravel’s been granted asylum.”
“That’s good to here,” Henderson said. Bravel was Nelveth’s consort and the only survivor of his forces. She was also pregnant with the commander’s child, ordered by Nelveth to raise their daughter and perhaps one day to teach her what her father did save both of them. “Any idea where’s going to live?”
“I’m afraid that’s classified,” said Abrik. “Considering what she knows about the Xentarians and what went on in the Cole Cluster, Federation Security’s given her a new identity and constant surveillance. The Romulans, despite assurances to the contrary, might try to grab her. Even if she didn’t know what she knows, they still could abduct her to put her on trial for treason. The praetor’s taking a hard line on traitors these days, and ironically there seem to be more of them with each passing day…”
“Excuse me, sir,” interrupted the same hostess that led Henderson’s party into the dining room, “but the president is about to arrive.”
“Of course,” he said before turning back to Henderson. “Good to meet you, Captain. I look forward to hearing about your debriefings with Starfleet.”
“Debriefings?” Henderson asked curiously.
“Everyone in San Francisco with the highest clearance level wants a piece of you now that you’re back,” Abrik answered with a smirk. “One doesn’t go through what you did without having to pay the piper, as you humans put it. If you thought I was being a harsh critic, just you wait until Command gets done with you.”
Great, he thought. I help save most of the galaxy and now they want to drag me over the coals about it. Abrik departed towards a table near the main one while Henderson returned to the one occupied by his officers. Most of them were engaged in idle conversation though Logan glanced up with a look of concern on her face.
“How’d it go?” she asked.
“This is certainly a part of the job that Captain Stanley didn’t warn me about,” he muttered. His attention quickly turned to the doors leading into the Roth Dining Room, where another large group was entering. Henderson quickly recognized President Nanietta Bacco, an older human woman wearing a white jacket about the same shade as her hair plus black leggings. It actually didn’t look too dissimilar to the uniform Henderson was wearing.
“The President of the United Federation of Planets!” bellowed a Tessenite security guard loudly enough to make the glasses on the table vibrate slightly. Henderson and his officers rose and stood at attention to salute their commander in chief as the anthem of the Federation started to play over the speakers. The rest of the crowd rose and applauded Bacco as she and her party made their way towards the platform. The president occasionally stopped to shake hands and trade remarks with people on the way, however the Venture’s crew were on the opposite side of the dining room, meaning that Bacco likely wouldn’t be stopping by until later in the night.
“You still look nervous,” Logan muttered. Since they had known each other since Henderson was an ensign and she was his superior officer (and about ten years his senior in age), such minor criticisms passed without comment.
“I just hope that the Trinni/ek’s sudden shyness doesn’t cause any problems here,” said Henderson anxiously.
“What could possibly go wrong?” she asked in a joking manner.
And that wraps things up for now. Look for "Raise the Star League!" sometime later this winter and be sure to keep an eye out for further updates.
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Look the pics. I have to say, great way to show the further development of the Galaxy class bridge.
Oddly enough in spite of the fuss I've made about the bridge, it really doesn't play that big of a role in "Raise the Star League!" since a lot of the action takes place on the titular old starship. And based on the outline I have so far for the story afterwards, not a single scene takes place on the bridge.
Forgot to mention, a great tribute to TNG as well.
A century old starship...
A century old threat!
A hundred ten years ago, an accident aboard the USS Star League forced her crew to abandon ship and the dreadnaught was presumed lost...until now. Following the events of the "Chaos Theory" trilogy, the USS Venture heads back out into the final frontier on a routine survey mission only find the Star League intact after entering a time warp and in a precarious orbit around a neutron star. Excited by the chance to explore a ship from the 23rd Century and perhaps meet survivors from that era, Captain Mark Henderson leads an away team over to the Star League to recover the ship and rescue whoever is on board. However, as they will soon discover, the last survivor of the Star League has no intention of being rescued. Under the threat of a murderous intruder, Henderson and his team must uncover the truth about their adversary and stop him before he kills them all.
The Star Trek: Venture saga continues...
Cover image credits:
Generation Bridge Refit model for Star Trek: Bridge Commander by Will Riker, LC Amaral, Sean, and Red Dragon
Lightmapping by LC Amaral
Animations by Mark
Scripts by Mark and Dasher
Original textures by Mark and LC Amaral
LCARS displays by Tobias Weismann
Additional modifications by M.F. Kidd
USS Star League by Lord Schtupp
Produced in Adobe Photoshop by M.F. Kidd
Download "Raise the Star League!" from FileFront (Adobe Acrobat reader required). Also available are this story's annotations, though be warned it contains spoilers and is highly recommended you read the story first.
A century old threat!
A hundred ten years ago, an accident aboard the USS Star League forced her crew to abandon ship and the dreadnaught was presumed lost...until now. Following the events of the "Chaos Theory" trilogy, the USS Venture heads back out into the final frontier on a routine survey mission only find the Star League intact after entering a time warp and in a precarious orbit around a neutron star. Excited by the chance to explore a ship from the 23rd Century and perhaps meet survivors from that era, Captain Mark Henderson leads an away team over to the Star League to recover the ship and rescue whoever is on board. However, as they will soon discover, the last survivor of the Star League has no intention of being rescued. Under the threat of a murderous intruder, Henderson and his team must uncover the truth about their adversary and stop him before he kills them all.
The Star Trek: Venture saga continues...
Cover image credits:
Generation Bridge Refit model for Star Trek: Bridge Commander by Will Riker, LC Amaral, Sean, and Red Dragon
Lightmapping by LC Amaral
Animations by Mark
Scripts by Mark and Dasher
Original textures by Mark and LC Amaral
LCARS displays by Tobias Weismann
Additional modifications by M.F. Kidd
USS Star League by Lord Schtupp
Produced in Adobe Photoshop by M.F. Kidd
Download "Raise the Star League!" from FileFront (Adobe Acrobat reader required). Also available are this story's annotations, though be warned it contains spoilers and is highly recommended you read the story first.
I wish I could read the Venture and Yorktown series again. Filefront or Gamefront doesn't have copies anymore... 
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