Summary of Events Stardate 0409.05

Fantasy Trek: Summary of Events Stardate 0409.05

Developer's Note: If you're reading this and wondering what it's all about, this is a generally weekly summary of events in the storyline in Fantasy Trek. It includes things done by players and NPC's (Non-Player Characters) over the last week in all three Trek Era's. What does that mean to you? If you have an interest in playing (which can be combat, writing, or both), click the 'comment' tab at the end of the post, and I'll happily get you started with a 'Quick Start Guide". You should also feel free to comment/question anything here, as well as participate in the Commannd College feature. Here's the Quick Start Guide:

To get started, answer the following questions:

Game Type:

Pure Combat

(Do you play for pure combat? You know that other events might decide the nature of that combat, but you just want to blow things up. And think about this: Do you like to micromanage combat, allocating power to personalize your attack/defence strategy, making combat a personal match of wits, or do you just like quick matches that can be over in minutes?)

Non-Combat

(You don't care about the combat. You like to write and you want to explore.)

Mix

(You appreciate both aspects of game play. You accept that the ship you love to write about may lose battles from time to time.)

Alignment:

Federation
Klingon
Romulan
Other (specify)

Ship name

Command crew
(You can stick to the TOS crew configuration of science officer, helm, navigator, communications officer, etc, or you can use the TNG idea of Operations Officer combining some duties.You can also customize your bridge crew configuration. You're the Captain)

Note: unless you have something else in mind, all players in this stage of the game get a Heavy Cruiser to start. The 'something else in mind' I mentioned is if you decide you want a mission-specific ship like a scout or police ship, which is likely to be a frigate or destroyer. Just remember that you might be limiting yourself in a case like that. And don't be intimidated by the need to create a command crew. If you're a story-teller, you're used to this, but it isn't necessary to start. And if you're in it for pure combat, the command crew is recommended but not necessary.

That is really all you need to start. I will happily walk any new players through the first few missions. If you are concerned that you don't have enough time to contribute, don't be. This game is as casual as you want. Exploring takes as much or as little time as you want. Write once a day or once a week. A hundred words or a thousand. The most intense level of this game, heavy combat takes a commitment of no more than one email a day. And even in that case, if you miss a day, it's forgivable. Even the moderator has a RL and the occasional computer issue. The game is turn-based. Combat results will be posted online daily. And if it still doesn't make sense, think of it like your favorite role-playing/writing group gathering for some table-top game playing.

Summary of Events:

TNG Era:

The Kazon-Oglamar Warship Olkunot entered orbit of Oblissa III on schedule and immediately established communication with Ambassador Endara Khan on the USS Exeter. Captain Farrell reports that the Ambassador and the two First Maje's have been in talks for more than twelve hours. There have been no signs of the disabled Romulan Warbird Decius.

The USS Guadalcanal was forced to withdraw from the area of Oshionian VI as an ion storm moved through the area. Survey teams removed all material from the surface as a precaution. The ion storm may be in the area for a week. In the meantime, the Guadalcanal's science department is continuing to study biomechanical DNA recovered from the bodies of Romulan soldiers found on the surface.

Romulan Captain T'Leena has retained command of the warbird RIS D'Shoanna after a court martial hearing in the Nequencia system. She has been assigned to unspecified maneuvers. The Romulan ambassador filed a formal complaint with the Federation Council to protest the actions of the USS Essex in the matter.

A complete sweep of the Coramonde system by the science ship USS Lily Sloane failed to reveal any explanation for the disappearance the USS Sternbach, or the USS Yorktown, which the Sternbach was sent to search for. The Lily Sloane is still studying the system.

USS Archer and USS Arizona report increased clashes between Klingon and Romulan forces in the Triangle Zone. They also report sighting a new Klingon Heavy Cruiser, tentatively identified as an 'Etlh' Class Battlecruiser.

TOS Era:

Starfleet Command reports no further progress in formulating a plan to get reinforcements to Archer IV. The Fast (Penetration) Cruiser USS Xerxes is currently the only Federation starship in the area. Captain Lionidas of the Xerxes reports no new sightings of Klingons in the area. Archer IV is in close proximity to Klingon space and largely isolated from the bulk of Federation space.

The USS Magellan failed to find signs of the USS Coramonde in the uncharted system where its transponder signal was monitored. It is continuing to sweep the system for clues.

ENT Era:

There have been no further communications from, nor reports of the Challenger NX-07 on its mission to circumnavigate Romulan space.

Columbia NX-02 reports finding debris in the Denobula system belonging to a missing Denobulan civilian transport. Spectrascopic analysis of the debris reveals traces of Romulan-style atomic weapons.

The two Sloane Class light cruisers found no further hull plating from the EX-01 Roddenberry, but did pick up traces of ion propulsion exhaust consistent with advanced long-distance sublight craft. They are in pursuit.

Command College

"What Are Your Orders, Captain?"

(TNG Era) "Biomechanical Threat" Resolution

The first step in Captain Decker's investigation is to conduct an intensive scan of the planet-bound starship to confirm the apparent lack of life signs and to search for evidence of weapons fire on the hull. After establishing a synchronous orbit over the Coramonde, intensive scans are directed at the ship. Readings show no discernible weapons fire, and no definitive life readings. There is, however, an unusual and unexplainable electromagnetic signature across the length and breadth of the ship that probes launched from orbit cannot penetrate. The next step is to send an away team. In light of the mystery surrounding the ship, Captain Decker chooses four Hazard team members and the chief science officer to join her. They were all outfitted with Hazard team personal force fields and vital sign monitors continuously transmitting to the ship.

They are transported to the surface, a few meters from the Coramonde. Intensive scans show biomechanical circuitry covering the hull that was not detected from orbit. The circuitry is similar to bio-neural gelpaks found in modern starships, as well as some Borg circuitry, but it lacks the familiar Borg 'footprint' found in every recorded encounter with them. According to scans, the circuitry is covering twenty percent of the hull and growing at a rate of one percent a day.

At this point, Captain Decker determines a potential threat to personnel if they come in physical contact with the ship. At the same time, she knows that they won't learn any more without getting inside the ship. The team does have limited protection thanks to their personal force fields, but they might not protect them from whatever power brought down the Coramonde. What should be her next step?

Captain Decker decides that they have no choice but to enter the downed Coramonde. Since the starboard side of the engineering hull is the furthest from any area covered by the biocircuitry, but also directly opposite of the away team's location, she request a site-to-site transport from the Agamemnon. Seconds later, they are standing next to the Coramonde's engineering hull.

After science officer Solok uses his tricorder to create a small gap in the electromagnetic field surrounding the ship, the Hazard team's leader, Lt Commander Muñoz adjusts his phaser to drill through the hull of the ship and fires his weapon. In seconds, there is a hole large enough for the team to step through. Scanning the interior of the ship, Commander Solok determines that the biocircuitry does not exist in the immediate area within the ship. Captain Decker orders the team to proceed into the ship.

(TNG Era) "Contact"

The Away team proceeds safely through the dark and sharply tilted corridors of the USS Coramonde. Scans show no humanoid forms, but as they move further into the ship, they find small patches of the biocircuitry along the deckplates and bulkheads. More of the small patches move seemingly randomly until Hazard team member Lieutenant Keller accidentally steps on one. The patch reacts violently, trying repeatedly and frantically to break through the personal forcefield covering Keller. In minutes, there are dozens of patches converging on the team. Captain Decker calls for an emergency beam out, but the Agamemnon's scanners cannot penetrate far enough inside the Coramonde. The team will have to get back to hull breach they've created.

Moving quickly, the away team retreats to the hull breach as more of the patches begin to surround them. Soon they are all being attacked by the patches. As Lt. Keller's personal shield finally fails, the away team reaches the hull breach. Captain Decker must quickly decide how best to care for Lt. Keller, safeguard the ship and crew, and continue the investigation...

Choose what you think should be the next course of action, and write a brief summary. You can also feel free to join the investigation with your own ship.

There are no predetermined right or  wrong answers. Feel free to discuss the challenge with other players. Every player who submits an entry receives a "Command College Point". Ten of those equal an experience point. The most popular choice will determine the next step taken.

Captain's Log

(From last week) "...no obvious answer..."

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

15) The landing party finds itself back (seemingly) on it's homeworld. (Earth, Qo'noS, or whatever). But according to sensors on the ship, they're still where they were before.

(TNG Era) IKS NaQ'jej Vor'cha Class Heavy Cruiser

While surveying the gI'tlh system for signs of a viral outbreak threatening several frontier worlds, I led a landing party down to the third planet to discover that we were on an exact duplicate of Qo'noS. The First City had been perfectly duplicated, as well as such landmarks as the Kri'staK volcano and Lake Lursor. There was even what appreared to be fragments of Praxis in orbit. The only thing missing from this recreation was the population. The planet was completely uninhabited. Even with the recreated Klingon architecture and landmarks, we did not expect to find Klingons living here. This world is not a Klingon colony, nor has it ever been visted by the Empire.

While the humans believe in the possiblity of parallel development like this, I find the concept difficult accept. I do not believe in accidents or coincidences. And it makes even less sense considering the lack of a population, or any evidence that one ever existed. Klingons do not have an appreciation for subtlety or mysteries, and where we find no obvious answer we generally provide our own. In this case, the presence of the virus in every body of water on this planet answered every question that matters. From orbit, we bombarded the planet with delta radiation until every sign of life, including the virus, was obliterated.


(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)

For Next Week: "...something we have in common..."

Developer's Diary:

The Simple Combat Tourney is almost over. The RIS Romulus will face off against the USS Guadalcanal in a heavy combat engagement... once I make sure the conditions are properly set. In the meantime, the TOS storyline is going to lead into a mini-campaign with possibilities of simple and heavy combat. And the result of that campaign will determine the fate of the USS Xerxes and the Archer IV outpost.

I am refining the Kri'staK Fleet patch. I just decided I wasn't happy with the finished product. I've also designed a new TNG Era Klingon Heavy Cruiser that has a definite 'wedge' shape to the engineering hull and internal warp nacelles, and I'm looking at designs for a heavier bird of prey. I'm also thinking about a TOS advanced Romulan Bird of Prey. Maybe a TMP Era. What this will lead to eventually is a completely original, non-canon library of ships which players are encouraged to use. Not required by any means, but encouraged. Why? One thing that I've always wanted for Fantasy Trek is for it to be imagination-based. DIY Trek. Most games (including notable upcoming pay-to-play games) allow you to customize your ship, and your character to an extent. Fantasy Trek encourages you to create your ship, your crew, your character, and your career. Something else. While certain notable upcoming games are introducing new ships that copy from the "Enterprise" series, or are kitbashes, Fantasy Trek is the place for new ideas. The Ab'Qaff Class Command Class is a new design, as is the 'Etlh Class Heavy Cruiser. And there are more on the way. And yeah, it's all free. Free to own and share, and, what a concept, free-to-play.

For the future of Fantasy Trek, the Klingons and the Federation are going to square off against a mutual opponent to gain control of an area of space consisting of at least, say, ten sectors. Just like the server 'campaigns' I sometimes take part in for "Starfleet Command: Orion Pirates", factions will have to run convoys to keep starbases and shipyards functioning, and borders will shift and sometimes be defined by line-of-site. It could last, like the original multilevel play, as long as a month. While it sometimes seems like I'll never 'finish' creating this game, I realized that there's a good side to that. How many times have you played through the single-player campaign and suddenly found yourself at the end? How many times have you wondered if that was all you paid fifty bucks for? I sure have. Well, that isn't a problem with Fantasy Trek. And of course, there isn't a monthly subscription. If one of the 15 people who have downloaded a version of "Fantasy Trek" from 4shared.com, let me know how you like it. Keep in mind that some of the rules and tools have changed. Changes are posted here, and I'll try to update the links on the blogsite soon.

Fleet Action. Head-To-Head Bare Knuckles Naval Combat. Boarding Party Action. Solid Interactive Storytelling Like No Commercial Game Can Offer. How Much Star Trek Can You Handle?
Fantasy Trek. Not Just a Game. It's a Star Trek Experience
http://fantasytrek.blogspot.com
The Only Rebel Underground Star Trek PBEMMMORPG