Summary of Events Stardate 0209.28

Summary of Events
Stardate 0209.28

TNG Era:

The Talaxian pilot employed by Ambassador Endara Khan returned to Oblissa Three, reporting that the First Maje of the Kazon-Oglamar had agreed to meet for preliminary cooperation talks. He was told to report that an Oglamar warship was within three days travel time. Captain Farrell noted security concerns, but added that she would do her best to balance security and diplomatic concerns.

Captain Murphy reports that the USS Guadalcanal successfully disabled and boarded the the RIS Decius in orbit of Oshionian Six. His boarding party took casualties, but managed to subdue resistance and download the Romulan computer core. The Decius was severely damaged in the battle, and Captain Murphy is considering what to do with the stricken ship.

USS Archer and USS Arizona report the passage of two Klingon battle groups through the Archanis Sector. At least one of the battle groups contained elements of KristaK Fleet under command of senior General Kapact. That group was led by a previously unseen Klingon warship, believed to be a carrier.

Galaxy Class USS Sternbach has been ordered to investigate the disappearance of the USS Yorktown in the Coramonde system.

TOS Era:

Captain Lonidas has been ordered to hold at Archer Four while a solution is sought to the Klingon threat in the area. Investigation of MZ-5 outpost is hereby suspended.

Long range Starfleet monitor stations detected the transponder signal of the USS Coramonde in the unexplored Barzan system. The USS Magellan has been dispatched to investigate.

ENT Era:

Challenger NX-07 passed out of range of Earth Outpost Xanadu on its mission to circumnavigate Romulan space. It reports no contact with enemy or unknown ships.

There has been no further word from or reports of the EX-01 Roddenberry, missing for almost a week now while on a charting mission towards the center of the galaxy.


Command College

"What Are Your Orders, Captain?"

(Ent Era) "No Good Deed Goes Unpunished" Resolution

Captain Carpenter's gambit paid off initially. After Challenger warped out of the system, the Klingons took advantage of the disabled Kzinti and concentrated their attack on the exposed fire-control component. Robbed of the ability to fight back, the Kzinti was attempting to limp away when the two Birds of Prey launched a barrage of photonic torpedoes, destroying the larger ship. But his assessment of the risk posed by the Klingons was correct. As soon as the combat was concluded, the Klingons detected Challenger's warp trail and took off in pursuit.

They caught up with Challenger in unexplored space, and immediately opened fire. Carpenter's attempts to hail the Klingons went unanswered, and he was forced to retreat to a dense asteroid field. That gave the Starfleet crew a bit of breathing room, but it added another dimension to their challenge. As it turned out, the asteroid field concealed a Kzinti mining operation and weapons facilty. Carpenter has to make a quick, simple choice. He must either:

A: Move deeper into the field, possibly provoking the Kzinti, but probably escaping from the Klingons, or:

B: He can turn and attack the Klingons, using the element of surprise and the hazardous terrain of the asteroid field to overcome or elude his pursuers.

Choose A or B, or a third course of action, and write a brief explanation

Third course of action: Captain Carpenter moved deeper into the asteroid field specifically to lure the Klingons in where they might end up tangling with any defenses offered by the Kzinti. Then he moved out into other areas of the field, hoping to be able to outflank, and hopefully elude the Klingons.

The plan worked. The two birds of prey pushed further into the asteroid field, finally encountering Kzinti defense fighters who chased them out of the field.

Members who chose this solution:
Kapact
Kate

(Ent Era) "Out Of The Frying Pan..."

As the starship emerged from the asteroid field, a Kzinti heavy cruiser hailed them and ordered them to surrender. Apparently the heavy battlecruiser that Challenger had fired on earlier managed to transmit sensor data before it was destroyed. The Kzinti recognized Challenger and wanted revenge. While Carpenter regretted aiding in the destruction of their ship, he wasn't prepared to surrender to a proven hostile force. He ordered Challenger into an evasive course that led to the distant outer cometary cloud at the edge of the system. Kzinti forces followed, firing missile after missile as the ship dodged frantically. Finally passing through a shower of ice shards, the NX-class ship found itself in open space and jumped into warp. But their problems didn't end there. Before Challenger escaped into warp, the pursuing ship beamed a hit and run squad aboard. MACO troops on Challenger defeated the invaders, killing five of the six enemies. Captain Carpenter thinks that by returning the bodies of the dead as well as the survivor, it might be possible to reconcile with the Kzinti before things escalate. Should he:

A) Return the Kzinti prisoner and casualties and hope to quickly reconcile, or:

b) Take all six Kzinti to Starfleet and hope the diplomats can reach an agreement. Keep in mind that while the diplomats might be better skilled at making peace, a quick gesture by Captain Carpenter could impress the Kzinti.

Choose A or B, or a third course of action, and write a brief summary.

(Moderator's Note: There are no predetermined right or  wrong answers. The most popular solution will give the players who chose it a "Command College Point". Ten of those equal an experience point.)


Captain's Log

(From last week)

"...last ship to bear the name..."

Class N Reducing
Age: 3-10 billion years
Diameter: 10,000-15,000 km
Location: Ecosphere
Surface: High surface temperarure due to greenhouse effect; water exists only as vapor
Atmosphere: Extremely dense, carbon dioxide and sulfides
Life forms: Unknown
Example: Venus

12) An inhabitant of the planet tries to take over your ship.

(TNG Era)

USS Potemkin
First Officer's Log

The inhabitants of Rotan Two left almost no evidence of a society that some claim lasted for hundreds of thousands of years. All that is known of the planet is that a cataclysm ripped away a large part of the atmosphere, rendering it uninhabitable almost overnight around the same time that the last ship to bear the name Potemkin visited the planet almost a century ago. The Constitution Class USS Potemkin was on a mapping mission in this system when it vanished without a trace. There are no records of a landing party beaming down back then, and while surface conditions won't allow us to beam down now, holopresence probes do allow us to study the planet in far greater detail than we would get even by walking the surface. Several ambulatory probes were beamed to the surface, with their telemetry transferred from the sensor suite to the holodeck, allowing a team to virtually walk the surface of the planet in a comfortable shirt-sleeve environment.

We found what we expected to find. No sign of life. No wreckage of a starship. But unknown to us at the time, something found us. In the swirling dust and vapor that is Rotan Two on a summer day, something was alive, and it recognized something of what it saw of the Captain's holopresence probe, and entered through an atmosphere analysis filter. Detailed examination later revealed something astonishing.

The Constitution Class Potemkin was in fact lost over Rotan Two. A loss of warp containment forced the ship's Captain, Pete Caruso to separate the saucer section and try to escape on impulse. Tragically, both halves of the ship were caught in the planet's gravitational pull, and it was pulled down. At that point, the non-corporeal inhabitants somehow absorbed the life energy and individual personalities of the Potemkin crew, saving their minds if not their bodies. Minutes later, the antimatter explosion set fire to the atmosphere and decimated the population. After a hundred years, less than a hundred of the Rotan were left, as well as Captain Caruso. He entered our Captain's holopresence probe and somehow traveled up through the telemetry transmission, and into the mind of the Captain. After a brief struggle to take command of our ship, which we learned was more confusion and desperation than anything else, we established communication with Captain Caruso and learned his story. Then, at his request, we transported him back to the surface and left them all in peace.


For Next Week:

(Expand the following into a log entry of at least 100 words. Members post answers to the yahoogroup or the 'comment' feature on the blogsite. Lurkers feel free to leave comments on the blogsite)

"...scattered across space..."


Developer's Diary:

It's been a fairly busy week for Fantasy Trek development. As reported, I completed the Guadalcanal's orbital combat/boarding party action. Mission successful, and a slight refresher course in the boarding party action. Now Captain Murphy has to deal with a large ship filled with angry Romulans. Storyline prompts gameplay which prompts storyline. That's the idea behind Fantasy Trek. I've added a ship I made myself. just drew it, scanned it, and added color. Not as fancy as Lightwave maybe, but it's all mine. That is the Command Carrier IKS Ab'Qaff, the flagship of the KristaK Fleet and the Ab'Qaff Combat Group. Here's the make-up of that Battle Group:

KristaK Fleet
--Ab'Qaff Battle Group
•  Ab'Qaff class Command Carrier KCVC IKS Ab'Qaff
•  Heavy cruiser KCA IKS Perseus
•  Heavy cruiser KCA IKS Stovokor
•  Heavy cruiser KCA IKS DuranQo
•  Heavy cruiser KCA IKS Temujin

•  Light cruiser KCL IKS Hammer
•  Light cruiser KCL IKS Capikus

•  Destroyer KDD IKS G'Koon
•  Destroyer KDD IKS Qeng

•  Construction ship KCS IKS Maj'tarG
•  Construction ship KCS IKS Ketha

There will be Captains for each ship. Before the Ab'Qaff joined up with the gang, it was jumped by two Rom Heavy Cruisers. Note that I could have started with twenty points available against the Roms thanks to my 'Experienced' rating, but I decided not to. I'll repeat the combat logs here:


Heavy Cruiser X12
Carrier X22

1)
IKS Ab'Qaff rolls:6 (132) 9o/57d 9o/57d
RIS Praetor rolls:2 (24) 12o/12d
RIS Senator rolls:6 (72) 57o/15d

Result:
IKS Ab'Qaff: no damage
RIS Praetor: no damage
RIS Senator: no damage

2)
IKS Ab'Qaff rolls:5 (110) 25o/30d 25o/30d
RIS Praetor rolls:4 (48) 30o/18d
RIS Senator rolls:3 (36) 24o/12d

Result:
IKS Ab'Qaff: no damage
RIS Praetor: 7/15 damage
RIS Senator: 13/15 damage

3)
IKS Ab'Qaff rolls: 1(22) 0o/11d 0o/11d
RIS Praetor rolls: 4(48) 24o/24d
RIS Senator rolls: 2(24) 0o/24d

Result:
IKS Ab'Qaff: 13/15 damage
RIS Praetor: 7/15 damage
RIS Senator: 13/15 damage

4)
IKS Ab'Qaff rolls: 6(132) 5o/61d 5o/61d
RIS Praetor rolls: 2(24) 0o/24d
RIS Senator rolls: 6(72) 40o/32d

Result:
IKS Ab'Qaff: 13/15 damage
RIS Praetor: 7/15 damage
RIS Senator: 13/15 damage

5)
IKS Ab'Qaff rolls: 5(110) 30o/25d 30o/25d
RIS Praetor rolls: 1(12) 0o/12d
RIS Senator rolls: 2(24) 0o/24d

Result:
IKS Ab'Qaff: 13/15 damage
RIS Praetor: destroyed
RIS Senator: destroyed

This simple combat play also resulted in a better template.

How Much Star Trek Can You Handle?
Fantasy Trek. Not Just a Game. It's a Star Trek Experience
http://fantasytrek.blogspot.com

Regarding This Week's Summary of Events

Regular readers and players of Fantasy Trek may note that the summary of events is later than usual this week. That's because of two reasons. My RL work schedule has been a mess this past week, and I've been doing lots of technical work on Fantasy Trek that the load of storyline work that goes into the summary has been shifted to the back burner. Rather than putting one out on Saturday, then another a few days later, we'll just skip last week. That should make the next summary you see a pretty good one.

kapact


How Much Star Trek Can You Handle?
Fantasy Trek. Not Just a Game. It's a Star Trek Experience
http://fantasytrek.blogspot.com

Ab'Qaff Battle Group (KristaK Fleet)

This is the makeup of the Ab'Qaff Battle Group, which is part of KristaK Fleet. (OOC: My brother Krom is encouraged to come up with a similar make up for his Battle Group, should he want one)


KristaK Fleet
--Ab'Qaff Battle Group
•  Ab'Qaff class Command Carrier
•  Heavy cruiser KCA IKS Perseus
•  Heavy cruiser KCA IKS Stovokor
•  Heavy cruiser KCA IKS DuranQo
•  Heavy cruiser KCA IKS Temujin

•  Light cruiser KCL IKS Hammer
•  Light cruiser KCL IKS Capikus

•  Destroyer KDD IKS G'Koon
•  Destroyer KDD IKS Qeng

•  Construction ship KCS IKS Maj'tarG
•  Construction ship KCS Ketha



How Much Star Trek Can You Handle?
Fantasy Trek. Not Just a Game. It's a Star Trek Experience
http://fantasytrek.blogspot.com

IKS Ab'Qaff Log Stardate 0902.24

Warship Log
IKS Ab'Qaff Command Carrier
General Kapact

The Ab'Qaff launched from Qo'noS orbit, leading the KristaK Fleet. My brother Krom has been offered command of another of this glorious Ab'Qaff class Command Carrier, along with a battle group consisting of four heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, and two destroyers. Each group has also been assigned two construction ships capable of building a mobile shipyards. Those mobile shipyards will be equipped with industrial replicators, and thus be capable of constructing their own construction ships. From there on, larger bases capable of establishing Imperial power will be built.

My brother does not yet know every detail of my orders, simply because they are not to be transmitted, and I have not had a chance to meet with him face to face. But this will bring us to the missing LIng'taH and dIng'patlh, and it will of course open up new worlds for the Empire. I look forward to hearing from my brother, and seeing which ship he flies.


How Much Star Trek Can You Handle?
Fantasy Trek. Not Just a Game. It's a Star Trek Experience
http://fantasytrek.blogspot.com

Complete Orbital Combat/Boarding Party Action USS Guadalcanal vs RIS Decius

This is slightly modified from the previous post of orbital combat. The fallable computer program (my brain) that calculated the damage to the Decius forgot that since the Decius was caught running cloaked, so the 21 points of damage went straight to hull and internals. As you'll see in the fourth round, the Decius loses just about every major system. At that point, Captain Murphy sent boarding parties over to download the computer core. There was a fierce battle over the computer core (as detailed in the boarding party combat log. Starfleet security specialists were being cut down precipitously when reinforcements beamed over and cleaned up the Romulan resistance. They then downloaded the computer and left the ship. Captain Murphy still has a challenge. He can't leave an angry, resentful Romulan crew to repair and attack. He is currently holding the Romulans under threat of destruction while he decides what to do. One option he isn't considering is capture. That would be a pitched deck-by-deck battle, and, in the end an entire crew of Romulans ready to stick a knife in his back. It would be different if there was a facility close by to leave the enemy crew at, but there isn't. 

Back to production notes. When I transitioned from orbital combat to boarding party action (something that most games don't allow), it took me a few rounds properlyh utilize the superior numbers of the Guadalcanal's boarding parties, but then I repeated the error for the Decius crew. So the mistake was evenly balanced and I let it go. But the real full potential of Fantasy Trek was glimpsed here, where we saw the story land the two ships in this position. Then we went from orbital combat, to boarding party action, but then, rather than some snooty computerized first officer hailing a snooty computerized Admiral to take you to the next preprogrammed step, you have to deal with the random, unexpected, un-preprogrammed results. There's no need for an in-game save on Fantasy Trek. If you fail in your mission (with the possible exception of the Earth being blown up by the Xindi), you pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and examine your options. There are no do-overs. DIY Trek at its best :)


Round 1

A) Roll [16]
A) Helm: Position/Movement[17,13,Orb 135 /Speed5]/[Course Orbital-215 ]
A) Countermeasures/Reinforce shields/Cloak/Tractor/Repair: [10 pts scan for cloak-fail.ECM/ECCM()+retained][Reinforce shields()+retained]Cloak[]Tractor[pts] Repair[]
A) Tactical: Target[B] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [phasers(x)+photons(x)]
A) Auxiliary Craft: Shuttle:Launch shuttle 'a'[ 17,13 /Speed1]/[CourseOrb215] Target[] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [(x)]/(Fighter[ , /Speed]/[Course] Target[] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [(x)]

B) Roll [11]
B) Helm: Position/Movement[ 8,6-Orb 315 /Speed2 ]/[Course Orbital 215]
B) Countermeasures/Reinforce shields/Cloak/Tractor/Repair: [ECM/ECCM8(4)+retained][Reinforce shields()+retained]Cloak[engage]Tractor[pts] Repair[]
B) Tactical: Target[A] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [charge plasma1/4(x)+(x)]
B) Auxiliary Craft: Shuttle[ , /Speed]/[Course] Target[] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [(x)]/(Fighter[ , /Speed]/[Course] Target[] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [(x)]

Results:
Damage to A:
Damage to B:

Round 2

A) Roll [13]
A) Helm: Position/Movement[12,16-Orb 180 /Speed5]/[Course Orbital-315 ]
A) Countermeasures/Reinforce shields/Cloak/Tractor/Repair: [10 pts scan for cloak-fail.ECM/ECCM2(1)+retained][Reinforce shields()+retained]Cloak[]Tractor[pts] Repair[]
A) Tactical: Target[B] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [phasers(x)+photons(x)]
A) Auxiliary Craft: Shuttle:shuttle 'a'[ 16,14 /Speed1]/[CourseOrb215] Target[] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [(x)]/(Fighter[ , /Speed]/[Course] Target[] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [(x)]

B) Roll [12]
B) Helm: Position/Movement[ 10,5-Orb 315 /Speed2 ]/[Course Orbital 215]
B) Countermeasures/Reinforce shields/Cloak/Tractor/Repair: [ECM/ECCM10(5)+4retained][Reinforce shields()+retained]Cloak[on]Tractor[pts] Repair[]
B) Tactical: Target[A] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [charge plasma2/4(x)+(x)]
B) Auxiliary Craft: Shuttle[ , /Speed]/[Course] Target[] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [(x)]/(Fighter[ , /Speed]/[Course] Target[] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [(x)]

Results:
Damage to A:
Damage to B:

Round 3

A) Roll [10]
A) Helm: Position/Movement[7,14-Orb 215 /Speed3]/[Course Orbital-315 ]
A) Countermeasures/Reinforce shields/Cloak/Tractor/Repair: [ECM/ECCM10(5)+retained][Reinforce shields()+retained]Cloak[]Tractor[pts] Repair[]
A) Tactical: Target[B] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [phasers(x)+photons(x)]
A) Auxiliary Craft: Shuttle:shuttle 'a'[ 15,15 /Speed1]/[CourseOrb215] Target[] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [(x)]/(Fighter[ , /Speed]/[Course] Target[] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [(x)]

B) Roll [10]
B) Helm: Position/Movement[ 6,8-Orb 315 /Speed2 ]/[Course Orbital 215]
B) Countermeasures/Reinforce shields/Cloak/Tractor/Repair: [ECM/ECCM10(5)+retained][Reinforce shields()+retained]Cloak[on]Tractor[pts] Repair[]
B) Tactical: Target[A] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [charge plasma3/4(x)+(x)]
B) Auxiliary Craft: Shuttle[ , /Speed]/[Course] Target[] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [(x)]/(Fighter[ , /Speed]/[Course] Target[] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [(x)]

Results:
Damage to A:
Damage to B:

Round 4

...1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
1__________________________________________
2__________________________________________
3__________________________________________
4__________________________________________
5__________________________________________
6___________________1______________________
7__________________________________________
8___________8_______________2______________
9__________________________________________
10___B__7_______________________3__________
11____A____________________________________
12__________6_______________4______________
13_________________________________________
14__________________5______________________
15_________________________________________
16_______________________a_________________
17_________________________________________
18_________________________________________
19_________________________________________
20_________________________________________
21_________________________________________
22_________________________________________


A) Roll []
A) Helm: Position/Movement[4,11-Orb 270 /Speed6]/[Course Orbital-000 ]
A) Countermeasures/Reinforce shields/Cloak/Tractor/Repair: [ECM/ECCM()+retained][Reinforce shields()+retained]Cloak[]Tractor[pts] Repair[]
A) Tactical: Target[B fore] Target Bearing[000] Fire weapons [phasers(x)+photons(x)]
A) Auxiliary Craft: Shuttle:shuttle 'a'[ 14,16 /Speed1]/[CourseOrb215] Target[] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [(x)]/(Fighter[ , /Speed]/[Course] Target[] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [(x)]

B) Roll []
B) Helm: Position/Movement[ 4,10-Orb 270 /Speed2 ]/[Course Orbital 180]
B) Countermeasures/Reinforce shields/Cloak/Tractor/Repair: [ECM/ECCM()+retained][Reinforce shields()+retained]Cloak[on]Tractor[pts] Repair[]
B) Tactical: Target[A fore] Target Bearing[000] Fire weapons [charge plasma4/4(x)+(x)]
B) Auxiliary Craft: Shuttle[ , /Speed]/[Course] Target[] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [(x)]/(Fighter[ , /Speed]/[Course] Target[] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [(x)]

Results:
Damage to A:
Damage to B:  4/4 Fore hull warp 4/4 fire control 2/2 bridge 1/1 Aux bridge 1/1 sensors 1/1 tractors 1/2 batteries 4/4
impulse 2/2 hanger bays 1/2

Boarding Party: Capture Computer Core

Round One:

a)1 a1)1 .winner:tie
b)2 b1)6 .winner: b
c)5 c1) 6.winner: b
d)3 d1)1 .winner: a
e)5 e1)6 .winner: b
f) 3 f1)6 .winner: b
g)2 g1)2 .winner: tie
h)6 h1)6.winner: tie
i)2 .winner: a
j)6 .winner: a
k)4 .winner: a

Round Two:

a)1 a1)3 .winner: a1
b1)6 .winner: b1
c1)6 .winner: c1
d)3 .winner: d
e1)6 .winner: e1
f1) .winner: f1
g)4 g1)1 .winner: g
h)5 h1)6.winner: h1
i)4 .winner: i
j)3 .winner: j
k)4 .winner: k

Round Three:

d)2 a1)3 .winner: a1
g)6b1)6 .winner: tie
i)4   c1)6 .winner: c1
j)5   e1)6 .winner: e1
k)6   f1)6 .winner: tie
    h1)4.winner: h1

Round Four

    a1)5 .winner: a1
g)6   b1)5 .winner: g
    c1)3 .winner: c1
    e1)3 .winner: e1
k)1   f1)3 .winner: f1
    h1)6.winner:  h1

Round Five:

A)2
B)3   a1)3 .winner: A,B
g)5
C)2  b1)4.winner: g,C
D)2
E)5  c1)6 .winner: D,E
F)2
G)6  e1)6 .winner: F,G
H)4
I)2    f1)4  .winner: H,I
J)5   h1)6 .winner:  h

Download of Computer Core Complete. RIS Decius held under threat of destruction while Captain Murphy considers his next move.




How Much Star Trek Can You Handle?
Fantasy Trek. Not Just a Game. It's a Star Trek Experience
http://fantasytrek.blogspot.com

Simplified Combat between Klingon Command Carrier IKS Ab'Qaff and Romulan Heavy Cruisers RIS Praetor and RIS Senator

(Developer's Note: I was starting to sweat just a little towards the end)

Heavy Cruiser X12
Carrier X22

1)
IKS Ab'Qaff rolls:6 (132) 9o/57d 9o/57d
RIS Praetor rolls:2 (24) 12o/12d
RIS Senator rolls:6 (72) 57o/15d

Result:
IKS Ab'Qaff: no damage
RIS Praetor: no damage
RIS Senator: no damage

2)
IKS Ab'Qaff rolls:5 (110) 25o/30d 25o/30d
RIS Praetor rolls:4 (48) 30o/18d
RIS Senator rolls:3 (36) 24o/12d

Result:
IKS Ab'Qaff: no damage
RIS Praetor: 7/15 damage
RIS Senator: 13/15 damage

3)
IKS Ab'Qaff rolls: 1(22) 0o/11d 0o/11d
RIS Praetor rolls: 4(48) 24o/24d
RIS Senator rolls: 2(24) 0o/24d

Result:
IKS Ab'Qaff: 13/15 damage
RIS Praetor: 7/15 damage
RIS Senator: 13/15 damage

4)
IKS Ab'Qaff rolls: 6(132) 5o/61d 5o/61d
RIS Praetor rolls: 2(24) 0o/24d
RIS Senator rolls: 6(72) 40o/32d

Result:
IKS Ab'Qaff: 13/15 damage
RIS Praetor: 7/15 damage
RIS Senator: 13/15 damage

5)
IKS Ab'Qaff rolls: 5(110) 30o/25d 30o/25d
RIS Praetor rolls: 1(12) 0o/12d
RIS Senator rolls: 2(24) 0o/24d

Result:
IKS Ab'Qaff: 13/15 damage
RIS Praetor: destroyed
RIS Senator: destroyed


How Much Star Trek Can You Handle?
Fantasy Trek. Not Just a Game. It's a Star Trek Experience
http://fantasytrek.blogspot.com

New Ship: Ab'Qaff Class Command Carrier

I'm introducing a new Class (Command Carrier) and I've got the STD and a picture. It's already uploaded to the yahoo group, and I'll see if attaching the image to the email to the blogsite will work. Here's the STD (you'll note that it has ECM support shuttles that do exactly as they say):



KLINGON CVC (Command Carrier)

SHIELD GENERATORS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 (1 IN 10 NEEDED)

DORSAL SHIELDS: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

VENTRAL SHIELDS: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

PORT SHIELDS: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

STARBOARD SHIELDS: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

FORE SHIELDS: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 28 29 30

AFT SHIELDS: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Hull

Fore 1 2 3 4 5 6
Aft 1 2 3 4
Port 1 2 3 4 5 6
Starboard 1 2 3 4 5 6
Dorsal 1 2 3 4 5 6
Ventral 1 2 3 4 5 6

INTERNALS

Bridge 1 2
Aux Bridge 1 2
Fire Control 1 2 3 4
Photons 1 2 3 4
Sensors 1 2 3
Tractors 1 2 3
Armor 1 2 3 4 5 6
Cloak 1 2
Disruptors 1 2 3 4
Impulse 1 2 3 4
Hanger Bays 1 2 3 4
Batteries 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Warp 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Boarding Parties: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45

Additional Capture Defenses: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Fighters 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Shuttles(ECM support) 1 2 3 4 5

Internal Damage Chart
Roll 1 dice

1=Fire Control/Bridge/Auxiliary Bridge
2=Sensors/Tractors
3=Armor/Cloak/Disruptors/Photons
4=Impulse/Hanger Bays
5=Batteries
6=Warp
If you roll a number for a system that is already destroyed, you roll again.




How Much Star Trek Can You Handle?
Fantasy Trek. Not Just a Game. It's a Star Trek Experience
http://fantasytrek.blogspot.com/

Re: (Ent Era) "No Good Deed Goes Unpunished"

(I am posting this on behalf of member Kate who doesn't have email account)

(Ent Era) "No Good Deed Goes Unpunished"

Captain Carpenter's gambit paid off initially. After Challenger warped out of the system, the Klingons took advantage of the disabled Kzinti and concentrated their attack on the exposed fire-control component. Robbed of the ability to fight back, the Kzinti was attempting to limp away when the two Birds of Prey launched a barrage of photonic torpedoes, destroying the larger ship. But his assessment of the risk posed by the Klingons was correct. As soon as the combat was concluded, the Klingons detected Challenger's warp trail and took off in pursuit.

They caught up with Challenger in unexplored space, and immediately opened fire. Carpenter's attempts to hail the Klingons went unanswered, and he was forced to retreat to a dense asteroid field. That gave the Starfleet crew a bit of breathing room, but it added another dimension to their challenge. As it turned out, the asteroid field concealed a Kzinti mining operation and weapons facilty. Carpenter has to make a quick, simple choice. He must either:

A: Move deeper into the field, possibly provoking the Kzinti, but probably escaping from the Klingons, or:

B: He can turn and attack the Klingons, using the element of surprise and the hazardous terrain of the asteroid field to overcome or elude his pursuers.

Choose A or B, or a third course of action, and write a brief explanation

(Moderator's Note: There are no predetermined right or  wrong answers. The most popular solution will give the players who chose it a "Command College Point". Ten of those equal an experience point.)

Kate's Solution:
Third Course of Action-
Captain Carpenter moved deeper into the asteroid field specifically to lure the Klingons in where they might end up tangling with any defenses offered by the Kzinti. Then he moved out into other areas of the field, hoping to be able to outflank, and hopefully elude the Klingons.

Sample Sector Map

I made what I think is a good step forward in further 'low-teching' game resurces with this sample sector map. Eventually I'd like to complete similar maps for all major sectors and systems and actually do away with the need for the pretty and flashy but copyrighted Trek Starcharts. But that would really be such a huge undertaking that it would have to always sort of go on in the background. In the meantime, this opens the door for sector-wide scenarios. For this sector I have done a similar map for the major system (like the Sol System for which the Sol Sector is named), and then individual listings for each planet (what class it is). Part of the motivation for this is to make a Sector Assault, or Sector Encounter, if you want to throw diplomacy into it. I am planning to recreate the battle of Donatu Five, fought near Sherman's Planet. I'm also looking at "A Brief History of the General War" from Starfleet Battles for a possible expansion pack. But that will come after the "Enterprise: Xindi" expansion pack. Just a note on this and all text maps that I post here. I've noticed that when I email these things, sometimes the lines and numbers can slide a bit, and the coordinates that I note may not always match. I'm hoping that anyone copying them onto a text document or whatever text editor will find that they correct themselves. If they don't, sorry about that

Sample Sector Map

....1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
1__XXXXXX__________________________________________
2__XoooooX__________________________________________
3__XXXXXX__________________________________________
4___________________________________________________
5___________________________________________________
6___________________________________________________
7_____________ ms1__________________________________
8___________________________________________________
9___________________________________________________
10____________ ms2__________________________________
11_________________________ms4______________________
12__________________________________________________
13__________________________________________________
14o______________________________________MS_________
15xo_________________________________________________
16oxo_______________________________________________
17xoxox_____________ms3_____________________________
18oxoxoxo___________________________________________
19xoxoxoxoxo_________________________________________
20oxoxoxoxoxoxo______________________________________
21xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo___________________________________
22oxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo_____________ms5_________________
23xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo______________________________
24oxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo___________________________
25xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo________________________

XoooooX= Wormhole (2,1)
oxoxoxoxox= Nebula
MS= Major System (21,14)
ms1= minor system 1 (10,7)
ms2= minor system 2 (1010,)
ms3= minor system 3 (12,17)
ms4= minor system 4 (15,11)
ms5= minor system 5 (17,22)


Nebula properties:
No shields
No tractors
No weapons lock outside of range 3  (from range 4+, need 1 in 6 roll to hit)


How Much Star Trek Can You Handle?
Fantasy Trek. Not Just a Game. It's a Star Trek Experience
http://fantasytrek.blogspot.com

IKV Sword of Kahless dispatched to investigate the disappearance of the IKS LIng'taH and dIng'patlh.

IKV Sword of Kahless dispatched to investigate the disappearance of the IKS LIng'taH and dIng'patlh.

LIng'aH Klingon Vorcha Class Heavy Cruiser
dIng'patlh Klingon Vorcha Class Heavy Cruiser

Mission Update:

The LIng'taH and the dIng'patlh transponder codes were monitored through the unstable Barzan wormhole. Federation starship Achilles is overseeing the installation of a science station to monitor the wormhole. Federation scientists are conducting experiments in stabilizing the wormhole. The far end of the wormhole is currently in unexplored territory in the Alpha Quadrant, approximately 7,000  lightyears M92 Quasar. Warp travel to the Barzan Wormhole should take six days from your present location. Cooperate with Federation forces and report and hold position once you have reached the Barzan wormhole.




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Fantasy Trek. Not Just a Game. It's a Star Trek Experience
http://fantasytrek.blogspot.com

Summary of Events Stardate 0209.18

Summary of Events
Stardate 0209.18

TNG Era:

Captain Reggie Farrell, Commanding Officer of the USS Exeter, currently assigned to diplomatic escort duty in the Delta Quadrant, reports receiving a communique from the Talaxian trader who had agreed to convey a conference request and protein resequencer from Ambassador Endara Khan and First Maje Jabin of the Kazon-Ogla to the Kazon-Oglamar. The Talaxian pilot reported that a Kazon-Oglamar representative had agreed to escort him to the First Maje. Further word was expected 'sooner rather than later' according to Captain Farrell.

Captain Mike Murphy of the USS Guadalcanal reports that the Romulan Warbird, tentatively identified as the RIS Decius, has recloaked after receiving moderate damage in battle over Oshionian Six. He is remaining on station and conducting an extensive scan of the area in an effort to reacquire the ship.

The Achilles Class USS Archer has arrived in the Archanis Sector to join the Galaxy Class USS Arizona on patrol duty. Archanis has been the location of several attacks on Federation convoys by apparently rogue Klingon forces.

Contact with the Galaxy Class USS Yorktown was lost. The Yorktown was assigned to emergency relief operations in the Coramond system.

TOS Era:

Communications has been reestablished with the Federation outpost on Archer Four. Captain Lionidas reports that nearby Klingon forces had built an outpost that was jamming all sensors and communications in the area. He has yet to investigate the status of the MZ-5 outpost which falls within Archer Four's area of control.

USS Coramonde vanished on a stellar mapping mission exploring uncharted territory beyond the Izar sector.

ENT Era:

On it's mission to chart the far borders of Romulan space, Challenger NX-07 left the most distant Earth outpost, codenamed Xanadu. Sensor data and telemetry are still being transmitted to Starfleet Command.

The prototype Explorer Class EX-01 Roddenberry was reported missing three days after charting an unknown system on a mission towards the center of the galaxy.

Command College

"What Are Your Orders, Captain?"

(Ent Era) "The Enemy of My Enemy" Resolution

The Challenger NX-07, patrolling what they believe is unclaimed space, drops out of warp in an uncharted system. They are immediately faced with an unusual sight. Two Klingon Birds of Prey are locked in a pitched battle with a ship of unknown configuration. The alien ship is twice the size of the Klingon ships (as well as the Challenger), and is overwhelming the Klingons with a combination of laser weapons, antimatter warheads, and chemical-propelled missiles. Captain Carpenter can see that the Klingons are in danger of being destroyed in minutes, but also recognizes the inherent danger in intervening in Klingon matters, no matter his good intentions. On the other hand, he doesn't want to stand by while anyone is being attacked. Knowing that all three ships will have noted his arrival in the area, he has to make a quick decision. He must:

A: Come to the aid of the Klingons. Willingness to join them in battle might impress the Klingons, but would endanger the Challenger and make an enemy of the unknown ship. He should also consider that Klingons rarely appreciate aliens coming to their aid. Or...

B: He could warp out of the area, hoping that both sides are too busy with each other to care about Challenger. This seems the safer alternative, but both sides could take offense at the lack of assistance.

Captain Carpenter chose a slightly modified version of the first option. Rather than joining the Klingons for the full duration of the battle, Carpenter ordered a detailed scan of the alien. It was revealed to be a Kzinti battlecruiser. The Kzinti, first encountered by the Enterprise NX-01 in 2155, have not been heard from since that encounter. The scan of the Kzinti vessel showed a vulnerable area in the aft shields covering the ship's fire-control component. Coming in at full impulse, the Challenger fired photonic torpedoes and phase cannons at the aft shield, then continued past the fighting ships and went to warp once it was outside of weapons range. This tactic aided the Klingons in a meaningful way without becoming bogged down in the fighting or giving the Klingons the opportunity to turn and attack them.

Members who chose this solution:
Kapact
Kate

(Ent Era) "No Good Deed Goes Unpunished"

Captain Carpenter's gambit paid off initially. After Challenger warped out of the system, the Klingons took advantage of the disabled Kzinti and concentrated their attack on the exposed fire-control component. Robbed of the ability to fight back, the Kzinti was attempting to limp away when the two Birds of Prey launched a barrage of photonic torpedoes, destroying the larger ship. But his assessment of the risk posed by the Klingons was correct. As soon as the combat was concluded, the Klingons detected Challenger's warp trail and took off in pursuit.

They caught up with Challenger in unexplored space, and immediately opened fire. Carpenter's attempts to hail the Klingons went unanswered, and he was forced to retreat to a dense asteroid field. That gave the Starfleet crew a bit of breathing room, but it added another dimension to their challenge. As it turned out, the asteroid field concealed a Kzinti mining operation and weapons facilty. Carpenter has to make a quick, simple choice. He must either:

A: Move deeper into the field, possibly provoking the Kzinti, but probably escaping from the Klingons, or:

B: He can turn and attack the Klingons, using the element of surprise and the hazardous terrain of the asteroid field to overcome or elude his pursuers.

Choose A or B, or a third course of action, and write a brief explanation

(Moderator's Note: There are no predetermined right or  wrong answers. The most popular solution will give the players who chose it a "Command College Point". Ten of those equal an experience point.)


Captain's Log

(From last week)
"...break the laws of physics..."

Class O Pelagic
Age: 3-10 billion years
Diameter: 10,000-15,000 km
Location: Ecosphere
Surface: Liquid water covers 80% or more of surface area
Atmosphere: Nitrogen, oxygen, trace elements
Life forms: Aquatic vegetation, animal life, humanoids
Example: Argo

11) You meet a society that causes you to question whether or not to interfere with their development.

(TNG era)

USS Ulysses S Grant , Nebula Class Command Cruiser

Our survey of an uncharted Class O water world caused me to seriously question blanket application of the prime directive. The inhabitants of this world are approaching the point in technological development where they will be colonizing their solar system within a generation. And while they seem to have avoided the wars and destruction that Earth went through to get there, they also seemed to be behind even the modest attempts at environmental protection that followed the oil riots of the mid 21st century. What mankind did by shifting to renewable energy, the inhabitants of this world are doing through genetically engineered biotechnology. And while that has worked for them so far, a deep scan (while safely obscured by the planet's unusually strong magnetic field and nearly opaque rings) revealed that the mass of underwater biotechnology is very slowly beginning to consume the natural nutrients in the water that sustain the inhabitants. Once these people reach other worlds, this will probably not be an issue, since there are several other planets with similar biospheres, and in fact nearby star systems with suitable planets. Will their environment sustain them for long enough to allow them to reach these worlds? Computer projections put it at an exact 50/50 chance.

There's a lot I could do with this ship. I could fix their problems and give them a future free of environmental concerns. Indeed, their remarkably peaceful nature would make them natural candidates for Federation membership. I might even find a way to break the laws of physics for them. But my hands are tied by a wise and time-tested moral imperative forbidding interference with the natural development of this pre-warp, if possibly doomed culture.



For Next Week:

(Expand the following into a log entry of at least 100 words. Members post answers to the yahoogroup or the 'comment' feature on the blogsite. Lurkers feel free to leave comments on the blogsite)

"...last ship to bear the name..."




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Fantasy Trek. Not Just a Game. It's a Star Trek Experience
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First Four Rounds of the Second Orbital Combat

Here are the first four rounds of my second go at orbital combat. The first attempt vanished in a puff of deleted file. I've just about got the combat log template where I like it. I've started to include the text map with the little place markers, as well as the brilliant idea of numbering each turn in the archives. Makes it easier to track turns between photon launches, etc. You might note that shuttle 'a', launched by the Guadalcanal at 17,3 is hanging back to try to do some additional damage to the Decius. That's me trying to employ some advanced tactics. The warbird will be decloaking when it gets around the curve of the planet and loses line of sight. It can launch a plasma at the Guadalcanal, but Captain Murphy will have the choice of outrunning the torpedo or targeting it. His real challenge will be boarding the enemy ship and either capturing it or downloading the computer core.

Round 1

A) Roll [16]
A) Helm: Position/Movement[17,13-Orb 135 /Speed5]/[Course Orbital-215 ]
A) Countermeasures/Reinforce shields/Cloak/Tractor/Repair: [10 pts scan for cloak-fail.ECM/ECCM()+retained][Reinforce shields()+retained]Cloak[]Tractor[pts] Repair[]
A) Tactical: Target[B] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [phasers(x)+photons(x)]
A) Auxiliary Craft: Shuttle:Launch shuttle 'a'[ 17,13 /Speed1]/[CourseOrb215] Target[] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [(x)]/(Fighter[ , /Speed]/[Course] Target[] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [(x)]

B) Roll [11]
B) Helm: Position/Movement[ 8,6-Orb 315 /Speed2 ]/[Course Orbital 215]
B) Countermeasures/Reinforce shields/Cloak/Tractor/Repair: [ECM/ECCM8(4)+retained][Reinforce shields()+retained]Cloak[engage]Tractor[pts] Repair[]
B) Tactical: Target[A] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [charge plasma1/4(x)+(x)]
B) Auxiliary Craft: Shuttle[ , /Speed]/[Course] Target[] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [(x)]/(Fighter[ , /Speed]/[Course] Target[] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [(x)]

Results:
Damage to A:
Damage to B:

Round 2

A) Roll [13]
A) Helm: Position/Movement[12,16-Orb 180 /Speed5]/[Course Orbital-315 ]
A) Countermeasures/Reinforce shields/Cloak/Tractor/Repair: [10 pts scan for cloak-fail.ECM/ECCM2(1)+retained][Reinforce shields()+retained]Cloak[]Tractor[pts] Repair[]
A) Tactical: Target[B] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [phasers(x)+photons(x)]
A) Auxiliary Craft: Shuttle:shuttle 'a'[ 16,14 /Speed1]/[CourseOrb215] Target[] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [(x)]/(Fighter[ , /Speed]/[Course] Target[] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [(x)]

B) Roll [12]
B) Helm: Position/Movement[ 10,5-Orb 315 /Speed2 ]/[Course Orbital 215]
B) Countermeasures/Reinforce shields/Cloak/Tractor/Repair: [ECM/ECCM10(5)+4retained][Reinforce shields()+retained]Cloak[on]Tractor[pts] Repair[]
B) Tactical: Target[A] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [charge plasma2/4(x)+(x)]
B) Auxiliary Craft: Shuttle[ , /Speed]/[Course] Target[] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [(x)]/(Fighter[ , /Speed]/[Course] Target[] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [(x)]

Results:
Damage to A:
Damage to B:

Round 3

A) Roll [10]
A) Helm: Position/Movement[7,14-Orb 215 /Speed3]/[Course Orbital-315 ]
A) Countermeasures/Reinforce shields/Cloak/Tractor/Repair: [ECM/ECCM10(5)+retained][Reinforce shields()+retained]Cloak[]Tractor[pts] Repair[]
A) Tactical: Target[B] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [phasers(x)+photons(x)]
A) Auxiliary Craft: Shuttle:shuttle 'a'[ 15,15 /Speed1]/[CourseOrb215] Target[] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [(x)]/(Fighter[ , /Speed]/[Course] Target[] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [(x)]

B) Roll [10]
B) Helm: Position/Movement[ 6,8-Orb 315 /Speed2 ]/[Course Orbital 215]
B) Countermeasures/Reinforce shields/Cloak/Tractor/Repair: [ECM/ECCM10(5)+retained][Reinforce shields()+retained]Cloak[on]Tractor[pts] Repair[]
B) Tactical: Target[A] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [charge plasma3/4(x)+(x)]
B) Auxiliary Craft: Shuttle[ , /Speed]/[Course] Target[] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [(x)]/(Fighter[ , /Speed]/[Course] Target[] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [(x)]

Results:
Damage to A:
Damage to B:

Round 4

...1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
1__________________________________________
2__________________________________________
3__________________________________________
4__________________________________________
5__________________________________________
6___________________1______________________
7__________________________________________
8___________8_______________2______________
9__________________________________________
10___B__7_______________________3__________
11____A____________________________________
12__________6_______________4______________
13_________________________________________
14__________________5______________________
15_________________________________________
16_______________________a_________________
17_________________________________________
18_________________________________________
19_________________________________________
20_________________________________________
21_________________________________________
22_________________________________________


A) Roll [16]
A) Helm: Position/Movement[4,11-Orb 270 /Speed6]/[Course Orbital-000 ]
A) Countermeasures/Reinforce shields/Cloak/Tractor/Repair: [10 pts scan for cloak-detected at 4,10.ECM/ECCM()+5retained][Reinforce shields()+retained]Cloak[]Tractor[pts] Repair[]
A) Tactical: Target[B fore] Target Bearing[000] Fire weapons [phasers(3x10)+photons(x)]
A) Auxiliary Craft: Shuttle:shuttle 'a'[ 14,16 /Speed1]/[CourseOrb215] Target[] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [(x)]/(Fighter[ , /Speed]/[Course] Target[] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [(x)]

B) Roll [9]
B) Helm: Position/Movement[ 4,10-Orb 270 /Speed2 ]/[Course Orbital 180]
B) Countermeasures/Reinforce shields/Cloak/Tractor/Repair: [ECM/ECCM6(3)+5retained][Reinforce shields()+retained]Cloak[on]Tractor[pts] Repair[]
B) Tactical: Target[A fore] Target Bearing[000] Fire weapons [charge plasma4/4(x)+(x)]
B) Auxiliary Craft: Shuttle[ , /Speed]/[Course] Target[] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [(x)]/(Fighter[ , /Speed]/[Course] Target[] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [(x)]

Results:
Damage to A:
Damage to B: 21/21 Fore shield 4/4 fore hull 1/2 Impulse



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Fantasy Trek. Not Just a Game. It's a Star Trek Experience
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Summary of Events Stardate 0209.10

Summary of Events
Stardate 0209.10

TNG Era:

There have been no further communications from Ambassador Endara Khan onboard the USS Exeter, in orbit of Oblissa Three. She had stated that she didn't expect to receive a response from the Kazon-Oglamar in less than a week, maybe two. In the meantime, she remains in almost continuous meetings with First Maje Jabin of the Kazon-Ogla.

The USS Guadalcanal detected a Romulan Warbird in orbit of Oshionian Six. It is engaged in combat operations with the warbird, and will attempt to download all data from the enemy computer core.

The USS Arizona remains on station in the Archanis Sector, watching for any further marauding Klingons. The USS Archer has been ordered to join the Arizona, but is not due to arrive for four days.

TOS Era:

There has been no further communication from the USS Xerxes. Based on it's latest communique, Captain Lionidas expected to be at Archer Four by now, investigating loss of contact with the outpost there. There has also been no contact with nearby automated outpost MZ-5.

ENT Era:

Challenger NX-07 left Starbase Five on a long range mission to attempt to chart the full extent of Romulan-claimed space. This mission is expected to last for at least several months. While the advanced starship would be useful on an increasingly dangerous front, it is also one of few starships deemed capable of operating on its own for extended hazardous duty. Captain Carpenter advised Admiral Coto that he would continue to communicate with Earth forces as long as it was deemed safe.

Command College

"What Are Your Orders, Captain?"

"Enemy Action" Resolution

Captain Lionidas is surprised to see the Federation outpost at Archer Four to be devoid of Klingons and seemingly at peace. However, as the USS Xerxes approaches the planet, he finds that they cannot make contact with the outpost. Further investigation of the surrounding area reveals that the Klingons have built a device nearby that is whiting-out all sensors and communications. That outpost is in an uncharted star system just inside Klingon space. While he is relieved that the Klingons haven't attacked Archer, Captain Lionidas believes that they will at some point. He now must decide what to do about the jamming device. He can either:

A: Destroy the outpost immediately and summon assistance from Federation space (simultaneously alerting the Klingons to your presence), or:

B: Find some way to work past the jammer. This would take more time, but would be less likely to bring an immediate attack.

Captain Lionidas determined that discretion was the better part of valor. While destroying the jammer would have enabled immediate communications and sensors, it also most likely would have brought an immediate Klingon attack. Working closely with science and engineering teams on the Archer Four outpost, Lionidas is confident that he'll be able to work around the jammer, bringing Federation reinforcements without alerting the Klingons.

Members who chose this solution:
Kapact
Kate

(Ent Era) "The Enemy of My Enemy"

The Challenger NX-07, patrolling what they believe is unclaimed space, drops out of warp in an uncharted system. They are immediately faced with an unusual sight. Two Klingon Birds of Prey are locked in a pitched battle with a ship of unknown configuration. The alien ship is twice the size of the Klingon ships (as well as the Challenger), and is overwhelming the Klingons with a combination of laser weapons, antimatter warheads, and chemical-propelled missiles. Captain Carpenter can see that the Klingons are in danger of being destroyed in minutes, but also recognizes the inherent danger in intervening in Klingon matters, no matter his good intentions. On the other hand, he doesn't want to stand by while anyone is being attacked. Knowing that all three ships will have noted his arrival in the area, he has to make a quick decision. He must:

A: Come to the aid of the Klingons. Willingness to join them in battle might impress the Klingons, but would endanger the Challenger and make an enemy of the unknown ship. He should also consider that Klingons rarely appreciate aliens coming to their aid. Or...

B: He could warp out of the area, hoping that both sides are too busy with each other to care about Challenger. This seems the safer alternative, but both sides could take offense at the lack of assistance.

(Moderator's Note: There are no predetermined right or  wrong answers. The most popular solution will give the players who chose it a "Command College Point". Ten of those equal an experience point.)

Choose A or B, or a third course of action, and write a brief explanation

Captain's Log

(From last week)

"...make do with visual scanners..."

(Again, I used the random planetary mission tables to spice this up)

Class H Desert
Age: 4-10 billion years
Diameter: 8,000-10,000 km
Location: Hot Zone/Ecosphere/Cold Zone
Surface: Hot and arid, little or no surface water
Atmosphere: May contain heavy gases and metal vapors
Life forms: Drought- and radiation-resistant plants, animal life
Example: Rigel XII, Tau Cygna V

9) The Q entity causes mischief on the surface of the planet and in orbit.

(TOS era)

USS Constellation. Constitution Class Starship.

"We entered orbit around the fifth planet in the Tau Cygna system on a general survey mission. As soon as we started running detailed surface scans, science officer Masada reported strange readings from what is supposed to be a desert planet. We detected readings from all over the planet of five distinct environments, ranging from desert, at the polar regions, to frozen wastelands in the equatorial regions. There was even a large area in the northern hemisphere bathed in thick clouds of methane. I decided that a planet this unusual was worth sending out multiple shuttles to investigate."

"Reports from the surface did little to broaden our understanding of this planet. Rather than find some strange but measurable, quantifiable explanation, we found nothing but an average hot, barely habitable H-type desert planet. Needless to say, I ordered the shuttles to do a complete survey. And considering the fact that our sensors were proving to be completely unreliable here, they were to make do with visual scanners for all information. It made for a less than complete though more reliable survey."

"As it turned out, Tau Cygna Five had one more curve to throw at us. As we began to pull away from the planet, our sensor readings finally presented us with an accurate picture of an H Class planet. Out of curiosity, I went to the observation lounge to get a look at the planet visually. The bright yellow disc suddenly took on an unmistakably red shade, with a bright blue upper-case 'Q' superimposed on the atmosphere."

Commodore Decker considered his log for a moment, imagining the reaction it would get from the Admiralty. "Computer, delete last sentence."

For Next Week:

(Expand the following into a log entry of at least 100 words. Members post answers to the yahoogroup or the 'comment' feature on the blogsite. Lurkers feel free to leave comments on the blogsite)

"...break the laws of physics..."


Developer's Notes

As I'm playing the second round of orbital combat, I continue to learn and tweak, and sometimes I think I'll never finish it. Be that as it may, here are some lessons learned so far:

Batteries are there for a reason. The USS Guadalcanal used batteries for emergency warp to pull out of range before the Decius could destroy it. The Decius had charged up its plasma torpedo and was decloaking when the Guadalcanal accelerated coming around the planet. The Guadalcanal used the Decius's vulnerable decloaking moment to let fly with phasers and photons. At the same time, it used up one of six batteries to add a burst of speed to get out of range before the Decius could return fire. That required (and I seriously debated) changing the rules which stated that a ship using emergency warp couldn't do anything else in the same turn. The rule will now read that a ship using emergency warp cannot fire any weapons on the next turn. This wasn't to stop the Guadalcanal from being destroyed. This was so that a ship could use emergency warp in an offensive manner. Otherwise it would be an impractical, last ditch tactic.

I am going to employ a tractor beam in this combat operation. It is a part of the ship, and any decent captain will find a way to use every tool at his disposal. The rules for tractor beams should be pretty easy. Use points to allocate 1 to 5 points to tractor power. Your opponent can either cloak, if he has a cloak, to break sensor lock, or apply 1 to 5 points to repel. A tie in the tractor lock goes to the one repelling. Battery power can add one point each to tractor or repel power.

Attractive an idea as it may be, overflying to attack is a risky and dangerous tactic. Odds are your opponent has the same advantage of a point blank attack as you do. If you must overfly attack, make sure that your enemy cannot return fire and/or you can get out of range before he can.

Unlike most torpedoes, plasmas move slow enough to result in a pursuit situation. That makes it necessary to track launched plasmas on the text map.

One other thing I've never bothered with in combat is system repair. In the case of orbital combat, when ships move out of Line Of Site (L.O.S.), this is an important tool, which you can use in moments of quiet. Again, any decent commander will use every tool to complete their objective. The L.O.S. issue will come back up once the Guadalcanal starts to beam over boarding parties. Before I get to that point, I need to revisit the STD's to make sure I've determined how many defenders each class of ship has. And speaking of STD'S, I need to go back through them and make sure they are up to date.


How Much Star Trek Can You Handle?
Fantasy Trek. Not Just a Game. It's a Star Trek Experience
http://fantasytrek.blogspot.com

Summary of Events Stardate 0902.04

Summary of Events
Stardate 0209.04

TNG Era:

The latest communique from Ambassador Endara Khan aboard the USS Exeter, in orbit of Oblissa Three stated that an accommodation had been reached to employ a Talaxian trader to carry a proposal from the Kazon-Ogla First Maje to nearby Kazon Oglamar space, inviting the Oglamar First Maje to a peace conference. As a peace gesture, the Talaxian will present one of the protein resequencers provided by the USS Guadalcanal. It is hoped that the gift of the resequencer will overcome a history of mistrust and outright hostility between Talaxians, humans, and the Kazon sects.

In orbit of Oshionian Six, the USS Guadalcanal reports detecting latent quantum fluctuations in the planet's electromagnetic field. This may have been caused by a spacecraft using an artificial singularity drive, such as those employed by the Romulan Star Empire. Away teams have been recalled, and the ship is on yellow alert.

Following the destruction of four Woden Class freighters in the Archanis Sector, the USS Arizona received a distress signal from a nearby convoy. It arrived in time to catch a Klingon heavy cruiser attacking the convoy. Two freighters had been destroyed, and the Klingon was targeting a third. A combination of long range fire from the Arizona and defensive fire overwhelmed the Klingon. It was  disabled, but self-destructed before it could be captured. A manned shuttle launched by the battlecruiser was captured intact. It is unknown what effect the incident will have on rumored negotiations currently underway.

TOS Era:

The USS Xerxes destroyed a Klingon Battlecruiser and escaped the Pheben system undamaged. From there it was due to cross back into Federation space and investigate the lack of communications from the Archer system. It has not been heard from since.

Command College

"What Are Your Orders, Captain?"

"Coincidence" Resolution

The USS Xerxes has almost completed its dangerous passage through Klingon space. But first it must face a deadly challenge in the Pheben system. Another privateer attacked as soon as the Xerxes dropped out of warp, and was just as easily dealt with as the last. But as it exploded, a massive energy well appeared, preventing the Xerxes from going to warp. Sensors showed that the privateer had been using an experimental artificial singularity drive that could be responsible for the gravity well. This would not be outside the realm of possibility for a private vessel that uses technology from a multitude of sources and governments. But this time, a Klingon D-7 Class Heavy Cruiser appeared almost immediately. Captain Lionidas has no choice but to attack the D-7 and warp away to safety. The question facing him is whether or not the privateer with the artificial singularity drive was sent in his path as a deliberate sacrifice in order to hold him in the Pheben system. If it was, then he expects a larger task force to follow him to the Archer system, which already shows signs of trouble with the Klingons. If that is the case, he'll need to change course and lead the enemy away from the beleaguered outpost. If, on the other hand, the privateer was not a pawn sent by the Klingons, then he must get to Archer as quickly as possible. Assuming he can destroy the D-7 battlecruiser, Captain Lionidas has to make a decision without waiting to see who, if anyone, shows up next. He must either:

A: Distract any pursuit by setting course for the nearby binary Narendra system. If there is a task force on his trail, he might be able to elude them in the radiation shadow between the two stars. If there isn't, he'll take an extra day to get to Archer, where every second may cost lives Or...

B: Take a chance that the encounter in the Pheben system was a coincidence (which is possible), and go directly to Archer, which went silent several weeks ago.

In either case, Captain Lionidas must assume that the Klingons know he is headed for Archer. He can only hope to retain some element of surprise by anticipating the Klingons' moves and staying one jump ahead of them.

Captain Lionidas defeated the D-7 with a combination of plasma torpedoes and phasers, and set course for the Narendra system, reasoning that one more day would probably mean little to the outpost that had already been silent for more than a week. But to further confuse any possible pursuers, he altered course before reaching Narendra, cutting across empty space and making a beeline for the Federation border. In this way, he hoped, any defenders diverted to intercept him at Narendra might be momentarily thrown off. As it turned out, he met no further opposition on his way to the border.

"Enemy Action"

Captain Lionidas is surprised to see the Federation outpost at Archer Four to be devoid of Klingons and seemingly at peace. However, as the USS Xerxes approaches the planet, he finds that they cannot make contact with the outpost. Further investigation of the surrounding area reveals that the Klingons have built a device nearby that is whiting-out all sensors and communications. That outpost is in an uncharted star system just inside Klingon space. While he is relieved that the Klingons haven't attacked Archer, Captain Lionidas believes that they will at some point. He now must decide what to do about the jamming device. He can either:

A: Destroy the outpost immediately and summon assistance from Federation space (simultaneously alerting the Klingons to your presence), or:

B: Find some way to work past the jammer. This would take more time, but would be less likely to bring an immediate attack.

(Moderator's Note: There are no predetermined right or wrong answers. The most popular solution will give the players who chose it a "Command College Point". Ten of those equal an experience point.)

Choose A or B, or a third course of action, and write a brief explanation


Captain's Log

(From last week)

"There's only one way to know for sure."

(Again, I used the random planetary mission tables to spice this up)

Class M
Age: 3-10 billion years
Diameter: 10,000-15,000 km
Location: Ecosphere
Surface: Surface water abundant; if water covers more than 80%, planet is considered Class-O or Class-P

Atmosphere: Nitrogen, oxygen, trace elements
Life forms: Extensive vegetation, animal life, humanoids
Example: Earth, Vulcan, Cardassia Prime

10) You encounter an incredibly advanced civilization (optionally, there might be a primitive society existing side by side with them).

Captain Sam Carpenter
Challenger NX-07

Captain's Starlog, November Fifth, 2158.
We are headed for a system known to the Vulcans as Tzenketh, investigating signals received from a long range interplanetary probe launched in the last decade of the 20th Century. Even though the probe was launched almost a hundred and fifty years ago, it is still almost inconceivable that such a primitive liquid-fueled device could have gotten so far so fast. Indeed, if a Vulcan scout ship hadn't been surveying an adjacent system, we never would have known. The problem, and the main reason Starfleet sent us out this far, is that the signal that the Vulcans received indicated that the onboard computer had completed it's data dump. Our new non-interference directive requires that an Earth ship personally investigate any possibility of contamination of any alien culture by Earth technology. Even if that technology is more than a hundred years old. Once we get to Tzenketh, we can start to formulate a  theory to explain how the probe got out so far, and find out who downloaded the data it held.

Supplementary Starlog, November Twenty-First, 2158.
The Tzenketh system consists of twelve planets, with three in a temperate zone, referred to as the ecosphere in our starcharts. While we've come to understand that life can exist in even the most exotic locations, I was convinced that the probe had to have set down on one of the three Class M planets. A concentrated scan confirmed that. The furthest out of the three planets we scanned was still transmitting the signal that the Vulcans had picked up. From orbit, we detected signs of a what seemed to be a fairly advanced (more so than us in ways) if isolated community, based on visual and other scans, but one that for some reason hadn't begun to develop spaceflight, in close proximity to a much more primitive culture, roughly equivalent to Earth at the end of 19th Century that experimenting with crude ballistic projectile technology. Unfortunately our probe was very close to (and being studied by) both cultures. It seems as if we're too late to prevent some degree of cultural contamination.

Final Mission Starlog, November Thirtieth, 2158.
This mission, that I felt excited about at first, has ended up rather ugly because it was only half completed. In order to minimize our effect on these people, we needed to retrieve the probe without making any sort of contact. Because we weren't able to even beam down until some sort of conflict arose between the two Tzenkethi cultures, momentarily pulling their teams away from the probe. So while we did retrieve the probe and limit the damage done, we are faced with the knowledge that this earth probe has no doubt introduced the idea of spaceflight to these warring people, and may have helped to advance the state of conflict on this remote world. How much damage have we inadvertantly done to this planet, and its future? There's only one way to know for sure. We'll have to watch them closely. I've heard people start to describe our first contact with the Klingons as disastrous, and that has been cited as a reason for our non-interference directive. Hopefully we won't add the Tzenkethi to the list of disastrous first contacts.




For Next Week:


(Expand the following into a log entry of at least 100 words. Members post answers to the yahoogroup or the 'comment' feature on the blogsite. Lurkers feel free to leave comments on the blogsite)

"...make do with visual scanners..."


Developer's Notes

I completed the second run of the convoy raid scenario, and I'm getting ready for another orbital combat run. I've revamped and (hopefully) improved the heavy combat log template. Here it is:

A) Roll []
A) Helm: Position/Movement[ , /Speed]/[Course]
A) Countermeasures/Reinforce shields/Cloak/Tractor: [ECM/ECCM()+retained][Reinforce shields()+retained]Cloak[]Tractor[pts]
A) Tactical: Target[] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [(x)+(x)]
A) Auxiliary Craft: Shuttle[ , /Speed]/[Course] Target[] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [(x)]/(Fighter[ , /Speed]/[Course] Target[] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [(x)]

B) Roll []
B) Helm: Position/Movement[ , /Speed]/[Course]
B) Countermeasures/Reinforce shields/Cloak/Tractor: [ECM/ECCM()+retained][Reinforce shields()+retained]Cloak[]Tractor[pts]
B) Tactical: Target[] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [(x)+(x)]
B) Auxiliary Craft: Shuttle[ , /Speed]/[Course] Target[] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [(x)]/(Fighter[ , /Speed]/[Course] Target[] Target Bearing[] Fire weapons [(x)]

Results:
Damage to A:
Damage to B:

As you can see, I've added a line for auxiliary craft (fighters, shuttle, etc), and labelled the lines according to task. "Helm", "Countermeasures/Reinforce shields/Cloak/Tractor", "Tactical", and "Auxiliary Craft".

The helm section includes 'course' which will help make it work in orbital combat. I'm thinking about adding a 'mark' notation to the 'course' notation, to add a third dimension. For example, a course notation of 000 mark 180 would mean due north on the galactic plane (or due north on the current map), and a complete flip based on an imaginary horizontal line running through the center of your ship. So your ship is still moving 'northward', but it has essentially flipped so that it's flying backwards. You might (more realistically) set course 'mark 45' to just angle up. That might protect your forward shields or target your opponent's dorsal (top) shields. I'll test that before I add it to the template.

The Countermeasures section now includes templates for shield reinforcement, cloak, and tractors. Tractor rules should be worked out this week. And of course, just because it says 'cloak' that doesn't mean every ship can cloak. I just wanted a 'one size fits all' template that comes with a spot for everything anyone might have.

I've moved all of the target info to the tactical section. Included in that section is target bearing. For example, if the 'B Aft' is directly facing the 'A Fore', then A would show this in the helm and tactical sections: Helm: Position/Movement[ 3,3/Speed5]/[Course 180 mark 000]. Tactical: Target[B Aft] Target Bearing[000]. That shows that the target (B Aft) is directly in front of (mark 000) A. That sounds complicated, but should make it easier to keep track of shield facings in a 3D environment. Hopefully :) . This is also the kind of micromanagement that would only appeal to heavy combat fans, and would normally be handled easily by a computer program that I don't know how to write. If it's too much of a pain I won't bother. Also, note the "(x)" in the 'fire  weapons' bracket. That is there to accommodate the dice roll or allocation times the muliplier. I'm also envisioning a 'special weapons' section for Lyran ESG's, Hydran Hellbores, Tholian Webs, Borg assimilators and cutting beams, etc., but that is way in the future. Xindi weapons will have to come first for the "Enterprise: Xindi" expansion pack. How about a Star Wars expansion pack.... anybody? Anybody?

The Auxiliary Craft section (for shuttles, fighters, and other small ship-launched craft) has much the same info for helm and tactical, but it's a bit condensed, and obviously doesn't include countermeasures. Position, speed, course, target, target bearing, and fire weapons. Everything that a pilot would need.

Damage section will include any auxiliary craft. Shuttles can sustain 15 points of damage. Fighters can sustain 20. And damage is still noted cumulatively.



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