Trek Away

[P. Fingh]

Author’s note: I’ve worked out a storyline for the following that’s about 500 words or less. This is an attempt to expand the storyline into something interesting. I’ve been working on different aspects of the story which will likely never get finished. The story has sat on my workstation for a number of months without changing much, so I’m trying to jump-start it by posting and getting feedback.
The basic gist of the story is that a wide-spread calamity occurs and a number of rescue missions are required and documented in the story.
I’m not sure where and how this would fit in with existing Trek canon. It’s probably best as an alternate time-line. It could be viewed as a lead up to a war with the Klingon’s, or as happening after the war.
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Segment One:
“Do you believe ?” The freedom fighters recruiter asked.

Banff Zanderhall wasn’t sure how to respond. He’d been looking for a cause to help define himself, he just wasn’t sure this was the right one. Banff just generally wasn’t very sure of himself. At the age of 19 he’d decided to go out and explore the world. His friend Alayah had suggested someone he might like to meet. That was how he ended up in a bar sitting across from two gentlemen who seemed very dedicated to their cause.

After a moment’s hesitation with no response a second recruiter piped up: “War with the Klingon’s is inevitable. We all know it. There can be no doubt.”

“It’s up to the strong to carry our cause forward.” The primary recruiter continued, cutting in on his alternate. “Will you be one of the strong, or fall into weakness ?”

Federation Freedom Fighters was a small organization dedicated to the idea that war with the Klingon’s was inevitable. Members were also convinced of their vitality in ensuring that the Federation would win any future war.
The recruiter knew he had Banff at a pivotal point, he just needed to find one thing that would push this new recruit into the group. He had trusted Alayah’s judgement about this fellow. She’d said the fellow was young and impressionable still, but with enough skills to be useful. She was also sure he’d never betray their cause regardless of the outcome of their interview.

“I need to think about it some more.” Banff said quietly. “Can I get back to you ?”.

“There is no getting back to us. There is no putting off the decision until tomorrow.” “You must decide now if you are with us or not.” The recruiter said earnestly. Then the recruiter got an idea. “Come let me show you something that will help you decide.”
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It started as a response to the Klingon’s colonization of a nearby star system. The colony was right next to Federation space. Technically it used to be in Federation space, but the Federation had traded the space for another system along the border. The star system was rated uninhabitable and basically useless by Federation engineers; but the Klingon’s had managed to come up with a way to make it habitable. A new Klingon colony world right next to Federation space sparked an organization in a neighbouring star system whose purpose was to prepare for an oncoming war with the Klingon’s. The organization was called the “eff’cubiq” or F3 for short. The F3spent years developing a highly complex plan which was designed to tip the scales in the Federation’s favor for any future battles. They sought to create a physical barrier that would be difficult for the Klingon’s to pass through and easy for Star-Fleet to manage. The idea was to give Star-Fleet the ‘high ground’ to shoot from. The plan was un-realistic and could never work but the group leader was single-minded in his obsession with the plan.
Star-Fleet intercepted a short message on an illegally encoded com signal sometime prior to the eff’cubiq’s plan being carried out. But the context of the message was not understood.

“Is the last one ready ?” ___ asked.
Response by ____. “Yes. When do we go ?”
“The best time is 13 days from now.”
“Okay, setup the tournament.”

The ‘eff’cubiq’s plan involved using a number of older Klingon atmospheric interceptor’s just barely capable of space-flight. The Klingon interceptors, stripped of the armaments and other military equipment, could legally be reused for private enterprise. Klingon’s had numerous of these vehicle available; they were one of the cheapest vehicles available. Even the Ferengi noted them as a good value. Typical use by private businesses was for transporting goods between a planetary surface and space-docks in orbit about a planet. Occasionally they were used for interplanetary trade but it wasn’t recommended. The vehicles weren’t FTL capable.
The interceptors were a small craft, just barely large enough to haul a nova explosive device. The nova explosive was modified by the F3 engineer and used as a hybrid warp core as well. The craft had been modified to have FTL capability. But without proper radiation screening. Anyone flying in one of the modified interceptors would’nt last a week before they died of radiation poisoning. For their mission however, they needed to last only a day.
The interceptor’s were modified to be essentially flying bombs controlled by remote.
eff’cubiq’s plan involved the recruitment of 100 of the best video game players they could find. The video game player’s didn’t know they were being recruited for the F3 plan. As part of the opening sequence of a video game, the game player had to accelerate his spaceship towards the star; then activate the worm-hole drive. Unknown to the game player, the game was being used as a piloting system for the modified Klingon interceptors. Activating the worm-hole drive in the video game detonated the nova explosive. The game console also exploded, eliminating any evidence.
The F3 setup a multi-player video game tournament for a specific date and time. Each player was given a specific lift-off time. Points were awarded for those who could most accurately follow the flight-plans. It was expected that there might be attempts to halt the interceptors hence the use of remote pilots. In actuality nobody attempted to stop the interceptors before their mission could be carried out. The plan had been so well thought out that it didn’t trigger much suspicion.
The cover for the F3’s plan was a small communications company called Nova Communications Group (NCG) that was installing high-powered com-link booster satellites for long range interstellar communications. It was the type of thing that had to be installed in a close stellar orbit for best operation. Inventory listed for each interceptor was simply ‘one: high-powered com-satellite’. Proper flight plans were filed designed to bring the interceptors close the target stars.

 

[P. Fingh]

“Poor Fellow, probably never imagined something like this happening.” The police investigator commented. The same type of investigation was taking place at 99 other residences in 99 other star systems. There was a gaping hole in the apartment complex where once had been a small apartment.
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Julie was talking on the phone with her mom while playing a new video game. She’d just received the prototype console system as part of a prize for winning a video game tournament. Winning the tournament offered entry into another tournament being held exclusively to test the prototype game system.
The game Julie was playing was touted to have one of the most realistic simulations of a Klingon fighter craft.
“It’s taking a while to get to the jump point, the game drags a bit at the start.” Julie commented to her mom. “There doesn’t seem to be a lot of action. They maybe made the game too realisitic at startup.”
Julie was sitting on the floor playing the game with her prosthetic legs folded in front of her.
Julie had lost both her legs in a prior accident, and her body had twice rejected replacement limbs grown in a tissue vat, so for now she was stuck with prosthetics.
“Almost there…” Julie commented. “And pow!.” Julie turned on the wormhole drive in the game. Then everything went dark.
EMS found Julie impaled through the shoulder with a kitchen table leg, and up against a wall. It was amazing she was alive. Just a foot or two from Julie’s position was a gaping hole in the apartment building that revealed a 20 story drop to the next level of roofing.
Julie’s prosthetic legs had been blown to pieces, and that saved her life by absorbing much of the explosive force.
There were only three survivors of the high-powered explosives contained in the video game system. Investigators had lucked out. While the explosive device completely destroyed all evidence, in just one case the explosive fizzled out leaving behind evidence for the investigators.
One of the survivors had accidently poured Vulcan Ale on his game console before beginning the game. The survivor said he liked to have a swig of Vulcan Ale before game-playing in order to give himself an edge. The Vulcan Ale contaminated the explosive chemicals making up the case of the game console. Rather than exploding quite forcefully, the game console had only fizzled and caught fire. The game player escaped with only minor burns to his foot, which had been resting near the console. Using the remains of the game console, investigators were able to determine how the explosives were put together. They determined it was not an amateur’s explosive device, the explosive component was quite cleverly done. The game console’s case was composed of plastic explosive, and the detonator was well hidden in the electronics of the console. Investigators concluded the console’s had to have been made by an explosives expert.
It was several hours before everyone realized that the same thing had happened in other star systems.

 

[T'Girl]

Can't help but wonder if Banff Zanderhallis going to be a stand up kind of guy and report "his recruiters" to the police, or is going to allow himself to be manipulated. The hard sell should be setting off alarm bells in his mind,.

"Hey, let's go start a war, what's the worse that could happen?"

I could read more of this, maybe have Banff co-operate with the authorities and join this group as a double agent of sorts, but grow to have sympathies with the beliefs of it members (victims in some way of the Klingons), while also being aware of the evil of their ultimate aims.

 

[P. Fingh]

Unfortunately Banff is the type to allow himself to be manipulated. The F3 organization vanishes overnight after their initial plans go haywire, everybody decides to lie low.

 

[P. Fingh]

Banff had seen enough. Classified secret film footage of the Klingon’s turning conquered people into slaves. Film footage of Klingon’s brutal rule, oppressing any challenge to the Klingon way of life. Diagrams of the Klingon’s constant expansion of the empire. Estimates of how long it would be before the Klingon empire and the Federation would be at war. Banff got so enraged by the images that he didn’t think to check out the source. He decided he’d join the group, they seemed to have a just cause.
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The space-port security inspector thought he ran into something suspicious. One of the vehicles docked was registering unusual levels of radiation for that particular type of vehicle. The inspector decided to have a closer look at the vehicle. The inspector carefully opened the cargo door at the side of the vehicle and stepped inside. Cargo was listed as “one high powered com-satellite”. To the inspector it didn’t look like a comm satellite. IF he didn’t know any better he’d say it was a miniature warp coil / generator. The inspector figured he better get a second opinion as he knew sometimes the advanced tech stuff could be difficult to identify properly. Perhaps it was legit after all was what he was thinking as he filled out a flight plan delay notice pending confirmation of cargo. He thought “better play it safe” then he heard the door behind him close with a click. He was locked on-board.
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One of the tasks that F3 assign to Banff was being on lookout at the space-port for any “snoopers”. He essentially was on guard duty for the modified Klingon space-craft. He was supposed to report back about anybody suspicious hanging around the vehicle and that’s all he was to do. However when he saw someone enter the vehicle he just couldn’t resist locking them inside. He was pleased with himself that he’d managed to not just notice the snooper, but trap him as well. His superiors in F3 would be pleased, so Banff thought.
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Alayah’s weapon of choice was a high-powered air pistol, made completely of plastic. Even the bullets were made of plastic. The gun was fairly quiet even without a silencer. It also passed through the typical security checks undetected. The gun had just enough power to be lethal when used properly, while also minimizing collateral damage if she missed the target. Alayah never missed her target.
To Alayah Federation Freedom Fighters seemed like a more or less harmless organization. She figured they were more like reserve militiamen. They seemed to her to be mostly talk, with a total lack of activity. She’d stumbled across the organization while spying on a target’s house. Alayah Goodman was a Federation Spy. She had a petite 5’ tall frame which belied her capability as a hand-to-hand combat expert.
Being involved in an organization might help her friend Banff to grow up a little bit was what she figured.
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The newsfeed blared on the monitor: A group known as the “Federation Freedom Fighters” have set off a dangerous sequence of stellar explosions. Apparently the crew of small spacecraft performed a suicidal run into a star with a nova class explosive on their spacecraft. This has resulted in the destabilization of several other nearby stars. There are however no reports of any casualties; none are expected. If you happen to be close by, enjoy the fireworks and put on some extra sun-block for a few days.

What the newsfeed didn’t say, and what only a handful of senior Star-Fleet personnel knew was that the “Federation Freedom Fighters” had targeted 71 stars simultaneously, mostly in uninhabited star systems. The planning of the ‘Federation Freedom Fighters” had worked almost flawlessly. This has resulted in the destabilization of not just a few, but thousands of other stars. It was all along the Federation border with the Klingon’s. Numerous habitable worlds had been impacted with excess radiation; several worlds were destroyed out-right by solar debris.

F3's efforts had changed the gravity map all along the border with the Klingons.