The Federation Tribune - January 2005
Rob Versteegt
chiefeditor at frontierfleet.com
Sun Jan 16 19:21:15 CET 2005
==== The Federation Tribune ====
==== January 2005 ====
Got a question? Visit the Newspaper FAQ!
(http://www.frontierfleet.net/lcars/newspaper/newspaper_faq)
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Chief Editor's notes:
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A new year, a new newspaper. Well, not really new though. Still, if you
think that the newspaper should have a new look, or if you have other ideas
to improve the Federation Tribune, then by all means, mail me at
chiefeditor at frontierfleet.com.
Again, don't forget to look at the IRC Quotes! ;-)
http://www.frontierfleet.net/lcars/newspaper/irc_quotes is where they are.
And even though it's a little too late... still, happy new year! ;-)
Regs,
Rob.
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USS Calhoun / Delta One Status Report, by Adrian Rodd.
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STARDATE
2391.05.25
STORY
Having safely rescued everyone from the past, the crew of the Calhoun enjoy
some well-earned shore leave, and celebrate the first anniversary of the
launch of the USS Calhoun! Returning back to the Delta Quadrant, however,
brings new threats and challenges, as aliens come to Delta One, demanding
that a man who has requested asylum on the station be handed over to them,
and a mysterious disease sweeps through the crew at the worst possible time;
Sickbay is filled to burst while the doctors are still baffled and the
number of crewmembers able to stay at their post drops steadily. . .
(Note: New episode, "Countdowns", based on ideas by Jeremy Beeler & Kelley
MacKinnon.)
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USS Odyssey Status Report, by Dennis Church.
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Stardate 2391.04.26, or is it?
With the existence of the Tarr verified, the crew is ordered into stasis to
cure the disease. Now normally, the story would end here, however this not
being a normal disease, most of the crew finds themselves in nightmares of a
kind during stasis; and not only that, but that they can enter each other's
nightmares. The crew slowly begins to link up and try to find a way to wake
up in order to find the cause of these nightmares...
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USS Valkyrie Status Report, by Brandon Allard.
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Stardate: 2391.04.30
Reports show that the modifications to the nebula exploring shuttle are
proceeding exactly as expected. With a little help from supporting
departments, Engineering offers assurances that completion may even be ahead
of schedule. Even the resident Borg have been drafted into the project to
make sure it doesn't fall behind. An action some feel to be an unnecessary
risk. However we will have to wait until the investigation is complete to
see just how big a risk. Elsewhere on board there's a party taking form.
Brought about by nobody quite knowing just who that stranger is in the
center seat upstairs. So somebody has decided to gather everyone together
and serve alcohol. Talk about unnecessary risk.
-FO Maiek
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Pandora Station Status Report, by Rob Versteegt.
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Stardates 2391.05.17 - 2391.05.19
2391.05.17:
In a standard Starfleet shuttle, Commander Jalando, together with ASTC
Keening and Helmsman Ban, brought the Dholari Mr. T'hims home. T'hims had
been stranded on Pandora since may 2nd, because he had sneaked on board a
Venoghrian ship. And since the relationship between the Venoghrians and the
Dholari wasn't all that swell, Commander Jalando and his team decided to
take Mr. T'hims home themselves. After all, they might even come up with
diplomatic solutions to the Venoghrian/Dholari conflict.
But something went horribly wrong. Out of nowhere, a few ships started
attacking the shuttle. In no-time, the shuttle's shields and weapons systems
were disabled, letting aliens in space-suits beam on board. They stunned
both Lt. Keening and Mr. Ban, and abducted Commander Jalando and Mr.
T'hims...
2391.05.18:
Completely unknown of what happened just the day before, life on Pandora
Station continued the way it normally did. However, when, by an accident, a
weather program was activated, it started snowing in the Park! This was only
holographic snow, but still, it was snow. Most of the children of Pandora
Station quickly came to the Park in their lunchbreak, and started playing in
the snow. But not only children were there: also Security Officer Zang, Lt.
Vrass, Prylar Nivas, and Reporter Darnena were there, enjoying
this -probably once in a lifetime- experience. After all, how often does it
snow inside a Space Station?
2391.05.19:
While Commander Jalando was captured, he was being tortured quite a lot...
until Mr. Zytl, the Ythokan leader, brought him along for medical treatment.
Once Jalando lay on a biobed, he was partially paralysed, so that the Doctor
could treat him easily. Or would they use Jalando's inability to move as a
way to get the information they needed?
On Pandora Station, meanwhile, Captain Kane was rudely woken up because of a
transmission, coming in from an unknown source. This transmission stated
that they had kidnapped Commander Jalando, and that they would contact
Pandora Station later with their demands. Almost immediately Captain Kane
ordered a staff-meeting, in which it was decided that the Solstice could at
least be prepared, so that they could leave and search for the Commander,
and the shuttle with Keening and Ban, whenever they knew where to look.
About an hour after the staff-meeting, Pandora Station received a message
from the Huygens Array, which told them that they had received an automated
distress signal, coming from a Starfleet Shuttle! So, the order was given to
prepare for launch... the Solstice would go look for the missing shuttle!
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USS Atlantis Status Report, by Ben Versteegt
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Stardate 2391.04.19. / 2391.04.20.
The three hijackers turned out to be androids who had taken the form of
three dead crewmen. Demanding that the crew of the Atlantis heal the
so-called Creators, they kept control of the ship firmly in their metallic
hands. This stalemate was broken when the leader of the androids, who had
taken the form of crewman Zhora, discussed their situation with Commander
Torn. Contact with the away team was lost, and Zhora had to answer for it.
The android recognised the place where sensors had last seen the away team;
it was where the Creators were supposed to be. When Torn informed Zhora that
there were no Creators there, the death of the Creators became a fact to
Zhora as well. This fact clashed with his programming, which said that the
Creators couldn't be dead. Unable to cope with this contradiction in his
programming, Zhora crashed to the ground, dead.
Zhora's death sent a signal to the other two androids, who upon receiving
the signal, deactivated as well... But not before typing in the access code
that would restore control of the Atlantis to the crew. Meanwhile, the
ship's EMH and Medical Orderly Zimmerman discovered that the virus that had
killed the Creators was synthetic; it had been created by the Creators
themselves. Their own biological weapon, it appeared, had killed them. While
the crew on the Atlantis is tidying up after the androids, there is still
the matter of the lost away team on the surface. Believed to be dead, they
are actually still very much alive...
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Starfleet Academy Status Report, by Rob Versteegt
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==================
Instructors: (6)
Instructor Joran Moore, played by David Susman.
Instructor Vivienne Creenan, played by Rob Versteegt
Instructor Randy Orsolo, played by Dennis Church
Instructor Miranda Winter, played by Ben Versteegt
Instructor Sophie Jaune, played by Rob Verlinden
Instructor Liz Bronson, played by Laura Elliot
==================
Instructors on LOA: (3)
Chief Instructor Sedaq, played by Adrian Rodd
Instructor T'Pott, played by Bram Peeters.
Instructor Sophie Jaune, played by Rob Verlinden
==================
Cadets lost: (1)
Cadet Tirin Keep, played by William Terry.
==================
New Signups: 21 (14 useless, leaves 7)
==================
List Cadets: (3) (List instructor: Bobby)
Cadet Straden Kile, played by Shawn Prince. (LOA)
Cadet Alenis Kallen, played by Matt Cobble
Cadet Jadin Tucker, played by William Barett
(]Mission Summary:[)
Stardate 2389.03.23
Since there wasn't really anything going on at the Academy, Academy
Commandant Baine and his granddaughter were planning a flight over San
Francisco. To operate the shuttle, they needed 2 cadets... Cadet Alenis and
Cadet Tucker were quickly called in. But just when the shuttle was flying
steadily, Sarah, Admiral Baine's granddaughter, accidentally managed to
upset the shuttle's helm control. Thanks to quick thinking from the Cadets,
a crash was spared, but a landing seemed wise nonetheless.
(]New Crew:[)
Cadet Alenis Kallen, played by Matt Cobble
Cadet Jadin Tucker, played by William Barett
(]Posting stats:[)
Rob Versteegt: 5 Posts.
William Barrett: 5 Posts.
Matt Cobble: 3 Posts.
Total posts: 13.
==================
Individual Cadets: (8)
Cadet Andrei Brovchin, played by Andrei Brovchin (David)
Cadet Lichfield, played by Mike Hutton (Adrian)
Cadet Ahmar, played by Joshua Willerton (Dennis)
Cadet Alex Greystone, played by Daniel Balding (Dennis)
Cadet Arlek, played by Rhys Godfrey (Bobby)
Cadet Gerard Lafayette, played by Irsan Olii (Ben)
Cadet Illias Cartura, played by Michael Yarbo (Bobby)
Cadet Matthew McPeterson, played by Andrew Elliot
==================
Graduates: (1)
Cadet Erik Nylén, played by Rickardh Karlsson --> ASTC, USS Atlantis.
==================
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Public Relations Status Report, by Rob Versteegt.
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In the last month of 2004, we got more signups than in November! 21, to be
exact. The voting seems to have helped... (Yes, you can vote at
http://www.frontierfleet.net/comm/vote ;-) ). Out of those 21 signups, a
total of 7 were good enough to actually join... not a lot, but again, more
than in november! So keep voting everyone!
Where did the signups find us:
6: Google, or other search engine.
4: Voting site
6: A Friend
1: Played here before.
1: Pbem.com
1: Startrek.nl
1: Startrek.com
1: Unknown
And that's about it... This voting does seem to work, so keep voting every
day! ;-)
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"All that Glitters" part 4, by Bram Peeters.
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Summary:
On the planet Ding'hes VII, a research team, lead by Commander Kane, was
studying several strange crystals found on this planet, which seemed to be
able to absorb matter. The team was surprised when they found the remains of
hullplating, without any bodies. However, their surprise (and shock) grew,
when they learned that Lt. Bor had been exposed to the Tiberium gas. The
team decided to bring the Lt. back to the Station, to examine him.
The next day, however, they were shocked to find that Lt. Bor was missing..
And now, the continuation.
Chapter 4 - Metamorphosis
June 7, 2386, 01:30 - Din'ghes VII, Tiber Station
"Could I have a look at the sensor data from sickbay?" Kane asked when the
two female officers had left.
"Of course," Krel said. "I'll transfer the data to this console." He walked
to the console and seconds later they were looking at the recorded data.
"Strange. Really strange," said Kane a few minutes later. "Are you sure
there is nothing wrong with the sensors in sickbay?"
"I've already ran a level 5 diagnostic on the systems in sickbay to check
that myself; everything seems to be working perfectly."
Kane frowned. "Well, perhaps a more thorough check is necessary."
"I agree," Moebius said. "And at least we have something to do while we wait
for a message from the away team."
Krel, Moebius and Kane walked to the sickbay and entered. Moebius followed
Kane to the biobed that had been monitoring Lt. Bor, but Krel seemed to be
looking at something else.
"That is impossible," he said, and both Moebius and Kane turned around to
see what he was talking about. The Trill was looking at the vials that had
contained the blood samples he had taken from the injured Andorian and
everyone else in the outpost. Three of them were shattered and a green
substance was oozing over the desk.
"What happened to them?" Moebius asked.
Krel picked up a tricorder and started scanning the substance. "The three
shattered vials contained samples from Bor's blood, but nothing had changed
for several hours, and this hadn't happened when Bor was still here." The
Trill paused. "I have no idea what caused this..."
"I'll have a look at the sensors in the biobed," Kane said and picked up a
tricorder himself, "while you figure out what caused that."
Several minutes later, Kane had finished the diagnostic of the biobed.
"There is absolutely nothing wrong," he said and looked at the two
civilians. "What about that... green stuff?"
Krel looked at his tricorder. "It is really odd... I am still picking up
traces of Andorian DNA here, but there is also other DNA present."
"How is that possible?" Moebius asked. "A virus? Could the creature that
attacked Bor have carried a virus of some sort?"
Krel shook his head. "This doesn't look like a virus..." The Trill looked at
the tricorder again. "Bor's DNA seems to be rearranging itself... It's like
the gasses he was exposed to, are causing mutations, but these do not appear
to be random."
"And he has only been exposed to the atmosphere?" Moebius asked. "There was
nothing in the samples I studied that was big enough to be a virus or even a
prion."
"Bor didn't have any injuries, and the damage to his suit was not caused by
the creature directly," Krel said. "It was ruptured by a crystal when the
creature tried to drag him away."
Kane, who has been silent throughout the conversation suddenly spoke up.
"You said Bor's DNA in that blood sample is being rearranged... What if that
is also happening in Bor's body?"
"Well, if we don't find a way to reverse the process, Bor will most likely
die..." Krel said. "I really need to study th..."
"That's not what I meant," said Kane. "What if that creature we think may
have taken Bor, is Bor himself?" The Starfleet officer paused. "That would
explain why sensors did not detect the creature entering, because no
creature ever did try to enter the outpost. It, or Bor, only tried to get
out."
"Is that possible?" Moebius asked, looking at Krel.
The doctor shrugged. "With the current data, I cannot explain what happened,
but it is unlikely." He looked at the green substance on the desk. "It is
possible though."
"Away team to Tiber Station, we have something on sensors," T'Pek's voice
suddenly was heard.
"The away team! They have to know this," Moebius said and tapped his
communicator. "Go ahead, lieutenant."
"We may have detected some movement one kilometer south of the outpost," the
Vulcan science officer said. "We are going to take the shuttle closer, if
our sensors are not working properly, we might be able to get visual
confirmation."
"We think that the creature you're after might be Lieutenant Bor," Moebius
said. "Dr. Krel is still working on it, but something may have caused him to
mutate into the creature that we thought had taken Bor from sickbay."
"Even if it is not the lieutenant, it did break into the outpost and went to
sickbay," Kane said. "It didn't attack anyone else."
There was a short pause before the Vulcan replied. "Should we attempt to
capture the creature, Commander?"
Kane looked at Dr. Moebius. He nodded. "Yes Lieutenant," Kane said, "but be
careful."
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Promotions in December 2004, by Rob Versteegt
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>From Cadet to Ensign:
Cadet Erik Nylén, played by Rickardh Karlsson => ASTC Ensign Erik Nylé, USS
Atlantis.
>From Lt.Cmdr to Commander:
STC Lt. Cmdr Lorvok, played by Jake Hanlon => STC Commander Lorvok, USS
Calhoun.
Other promotions:
CMO Lt Truesdale, played by Sussie Andersson => 2O/CMO Lt. Truesdale,
Pandora Station.
Congratulations all!
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Posting Stats December 2004, by Rob Versteegt.
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Top 10 Posters December 2004:
10. Ben Versteegt: 21 (Ody 13, Panda 8) PC: 6
9. Matt Brown: 24 (Ody 5, Valk 19) PC: 19
8. Ruben Hilbers: 28 (Valk 28) PC: 14
7. David Susman: 29 (Ody 7, Valk 5, Panda 4, Atly 13) PC: 7
6. Sussie Andersson: 31 (Cal 5, Ody 4, Panda 22) PC: 13
5. Mark O'Bannon: 34 (Cal 34) PC: 26
4. Laura Elliot: 37 (Cal 37) PC: 18
3. Bram Peeters: 45 (Ody 9, Valk 8, Panda 21, Atly 7) PC: 10
2. Kelley MacKinnon: 56 (Cal 56) PC: 13
AND THE NR. 1 POSTER FOR DECEMBER 2004 IS:
1. Rob Versteegt: 85 (Cal 7, Ody 6, Valk 17, Panda 39, Atly 16) PC: 5
Posting Statistics December 2004:
1. Rob Versteegt: 85 (Cal 7, Ody 6, Valk 17, Panda 39, Atly 16) PC: 5
2. Kelley MacKinnon: 56 (Cal 56) PC: 13
3. Bram Peeters: 45 (Ody 9, Valk 8, Panda 21, Atly 7) PC: 10
4. Laura Elliot: 37 (Cal 37) PC: 18
5. Mark O'Bannon: 34 (Cal 34) PC: 26
6. Sussie Andersson: 31 (Cal 5, Ody 4, Panda 22) PC: 13
7. David Susman: 29 (Ody 7, Valk 5, Panda 4, Atly 13) PC: 7
8. Ruben Hilbers: 28 (Valk 28) PC: 14
9. Matt Brown: 24 (Ody 5, Valk 19) PC: 19
10. Ben Versteegt: 21 (Ody 13, Panda 8) PC: 6
11. Aaron DeLay: 20 (Cal 20) PC: 19)
12. Adrian Rodd: 19 (Cal 18, Panda 1) PC: 10
13. Richard Clogston: 17 (Valk 17) PC: 17
14. Jake Hanlon: 16 (Cal 16) PC: 16
15. Werner Knoesen: 15 (Cal 15) PC: 15
16. Gael Imaddedine: 14 (Panda 14) PC: 7
17. Dawn Johnson: 12 (Ody 5, Panda 7) PC: 5
18. Angelic Noble: 12 (Cal 12) PC: 9
19. Dennis Church: 11 (Ody 7, Panda 4) PC: 7
20. Jeremy Beeler: 10 (Cal 10) PC: 8
21. Aaron Langston: 10 (Panda 9, Atly 1) PC: 5
22. Martin Miller: 9 (Atly 9) PC: 6
23. Brandon Allard: 7 (Valk 7) PC: 3
24. Michael Smith: 7 (Panda 7) PC: 7
25. Abby Leib: 6 (Ody 6) PC:6
26. Alonzo Soban: 6 (Atly 6) PC: 3
27. Rob Verlinden: 5 (Ody 5) PC: 2
28. Gareth Davies: 4 (Atly 4) PC: 4
29. Patrick Buidin: 3 (Cal 3) PC: 2
30. Guido Dorssers: 3 (Valk 3) PC: 3
31. Rickardh Karlsson: 3 (Atly 3) PC: 3
32. Jed Cohen: 2 (Valk 2) PC: 2
33. Richard Bowes: 1 (Atly 1) PC: 1
34. Cody Ferro: 1 (Cal 1) PC: 1
35. Ann Montague: 1 (Valk 1) PC: 1
36. Mike Sheinin: 1 (Atly 1) PC: 1
Top 3 USS Calhoun:
3. Mark O'Bannon: 34 Posts.
2. Laura Elliot: 37 Posts.
1. Kelley MacKinnon: 56 Posts.
Top 3 USS Odyssey:
3. Dennis Church / David Susman: 7 Posts.
2. Bram Peeters: 9 Posts.
1. Ben Versteegt: 13 Posts.
Top 3 USS Valkyrie:
3. Richard Clogston / Rob Versteegt: 17 Posts.
2. Matt Brown: 19 Posts.
1. Ruben Hilbers: 28 Posts.
Top 3 Posters Pandora Station:
3. Bram Peeters: 21 Posts.
2. Sussie Andersson: 22 Posts.
1. Rob Versteegt, 39 Posts.
Top 3 Posters USS Atlantis:
3. Martin Miller: 9 Posts.
2. David Susman: 13 Posts.
1. Rob Versteegt: 16 Posts.
Total per dutystation:
1. USS Calhoun, 227 Posts.
2. Pandora Station, 137 Posts.
3. USS Valkyrie, 107 Posts.
4. USS Odyssey, 67 Posts.
5. USS Atlantis, 61 Posts.
Total in ST Frontier Fleet in December 2004: 599 Posts!
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Star Trek Trivia, by Clare Bradley.
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Star Trek Trivia by Clare Bradley
Here are the answers to last month's trivia quiz. The difficulty rating
indicates the percentage of responders that got the question incorrect.
1. Answer: O. Alfre Woodard played Lily Sloane, an engineer who worked with
Zefram Cochrane in "Star Trek: First Contact". Alfre Woodard has starred in
numerous movies and television shows, including "K-PAX", "Miss Ever's Boys",
"Primal Fear" and the soon to be released "Beauty Shop". (difficulty: 20%)
2. Answer: M. Kelsey Grammar played Captain Morgan Bateson, whose ship, the
U.S.S. Bozeman, was trapped in a temporal causality loop with the U.S.S.
Enterprise-D in the TNG episode "Cause and Effect". Kelsey Grammar is best
known for playing Dr. Frasier Crane in the sitcoms "Cheers" and "Frasier".
(difficulty: 40%)
3. Answer: Y. Keith Carradine played A.G. Robinson, a friend and rival of
Jonathan Archer in the Enterprise episode "First Flight". Carradine has made
numerous appearances in movies and television, but is best known for his
role as Caine in Bruce Lee's television series "Kung Fu". He is also
starring as Nick Savage in the new sitcom, "Complete Savages". (difficulty:
40%)
4. Answer: J. Iggy Pop played Yelgrun, the Vorta who kidnapped Ishka, mother
of Quark and lover of Grand Nagus Zek, in the DS9 episode "The Magnificent
Ferengi". Iggy Pop has made appearances in television and film, but is best
known for his music career. (difficulty: 40%)
5. Answer: L. Jill Ireland played Leila Kalomi, a botanist from a colony on
Omicron Ceti II, who loved Spock in the TOS episode "This Side of Paradise".
Jill Ireland, wife of actor Charles Bronson, has made many appearances in
movies and television, including "Death Wish II", and "The Man from
U.N.C.L.E.", but she is best known for her struggle with cancer, and her
efforts on behalf of those suffering with the disease. (difficulty: 40%)
6. Answer: S. Jane Wyatt played Amanda, wife of Sarek and mother of Spock in
the TOS episode "Journey to Babel" and in "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home".
Jane Wyatt has had an acting career that has spanned over 50 years. She is
best known for her work in the television series "Father Knows Best" and the
film "Lost Horizon". (60%)
7. Answer: R. Kirsten Dunst played Hedril, the daughter of Cairn Ambassador
Maques, who reminded Lwaxana Troi of her lost daughter, Kestra, in the TNG
episode "Dark Page". Kirsten Dunst has appeared in many films, most notably
as Mary Jane in the "Spiderman" movies. (difficulty: 20%)
8. Answer: W. F. Murry Abraham played Ru'afo, leader of the Son'a in "Star
Trek: Insurrection". F. Murry Abraham is an accomplished actor who is best
known for his performance as Salieri in "Amadeus" for which he won the Best
Actor Oscar. (difficulty: 60%)
9. Answer: Q. Ricardo Montalban played Khan Noonien Singh, a genetically
engineered madman in the TOS episode "Space Seed" and in "Star Trek II: The
Wrath of Khan". Ricardo Montalban is best known for his role in the
television series "Fantasy Island". (difficulty: 0%)
10. Answer: H. Virginia Madson played Kellin, a mysterious woman who loved
Chakotay in the Voyager episode "Unforgettable". Virginia Madson has
appeared in many films including "Dune", "Highlander II: The Quickening",
and "Sideways." (difficulty: 60%)
11. Answer: D. Iman played Martia, a Chameloid inmate of Rura Penthe in
"Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country". Iman is best known for her
modeling career. She has also appeared in "L.A. Story", "No Way Out", and
"Out of Africa". (difficulty: 60%)
12. Answer: P. Ed Begley, Jr played Henry Starling, CEO of Chronowerx who
used the wreckage of the time ship Aeon to create computer innovations in
the 20th century in the Voyager episodes "Future's End, Parts I and II". Ed
Begley has had a notable career in television and film, and is best known
for his role in "St. Elsewhere". (difficulty: 60%)
13. Answer: C. John Rhys-Davies played Leonardo da Vinci, or at least, a
hologram of him, in the Voyager episodes "Scorpion, Part I", and "Concerning
Flight". John Rhys-Davies has appeared in many films, including "Lord of the
Rings: Return of the King" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark". (difficulty: 20%)
14. Answer: X. Michelle Phillips played Jenice Manheim, wife of Dr. Paul
Manheim and former girlfriend of Jean-Luc Picard in the TNG episode "We'll
Always Have Paris". Michelle Phillips is best known for her singing career
as part of the 1960's group The Mamas and the Papas. (difficulty: 60%)
15. Answer: E. Kim Catrall played Valeris, a Vulcan officer who was part of
the conspiracy to assassinate Chancellor Gorkon in "Star Trek VI: The
Undiscovered Country". Kim Catrall is best known for her role in the series
"Sex and the City". (difficulty: 60%)
16. Answer: F. Famke Janssen played Kamala, a Kriosian empathic metamorph,
who was trapped in an arranged marriage to Chancellor Alrik of Valt Minor in
the TNG episode "The Perfect Mate". Famke Janssen has had many film roles,
most notably in "X-Men", "X2", and "Goldeneye". (difficulty: 20%)
17. Answer: V. Christopher Lloyd played Kruge, a Klingon Commander who
attempted to steal data on Project Genesis in "Star Trek III: The Search for
Spock". Christopher Lloyd is best known for his role as Doc Brown in the
"Back to the Future" movies, and in the television series, "Taxi".
(difficulty: 20%)
18. Answer: A. Jason Alexander played Kurros, a member of a think tank, who
attempted to acquire Seven of Nine in the Voyager episode "Think Tank".
Jason Alexander is best known for his role as George Costansa in the
television series "Seinfeld". (difficulty: 60%)
19. Answer: Z. Andy Dick played the EMH Mark-2 in the Voyager episode
"Message in a Bottle". Andy Dick is best known for his roles in the sitcoms
"Newsradio" and "Less than Perfect". (difficulty: 20%)
20. Answer: K. Julie Newmar played Eleen, wife of High Teer Akaar of Capella
IV in the TOS episode "Friday's Child". Julie Newmar has appeared in many
films, including "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers". (difficulty: 60%)
21. Answer: G. Joan Collins played Edith Keeler, a social worker in the
1930's, whose death shaped the future in the TOS episode "The City on the
Edge of Forever". Joan Collins is best known for her role in the television
series "Dynasty". (difficulty: 40%)
22. Answer: N. Kirstie Alley played Saavik, a Vulcan officer who served on
the U.S.S. Enterprise in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan". The role was
played by Robin Curtis in later films. Kirstie Alley is best known for her
role as Rebecca in the sitcom "Cheers". (difficulty: 20%)
23. Answer: B. Steven Weber played Colonel Day, a Bajoran military officer
who was a member of the Circle in the DS9 episode "The Siege". Steven Weber
is best known for his role in the sitcom "Wings". (difficulty: 40%)
24. Answer: T. Ray Walston played Boothby, the Starfleet Academy gardener in
the TNG episode "The First Duty" and the Voyager episodes "In the Flesh" and
"The Fight". Ray Walston is best known for his role as Uncle Martin in the
television series "My Favorite Martian". (difficulty: 60%)
25. Answer: I. Gabrielle Union played N'Garen, a Klingon weapons officer on
the I.K.S Rotarran under Martok in the DS9 episode "Sons and Daughters".
Gabrielle Union has had many film and television appearances including "Bad
Boys II" and "Bring it On". (difficulty: 60%)
26. Answer: U. Paul Sorvino played Nikolai Rozhenko, brother of Worf, in the
TNG episode "Homeward". Paul Sorvino has appeared in television and many
films including "Goodfellas", and "Law and Order". (difficulty: 60%)
Scores:
1. Pat Buidin: 26 points
2. Rob Verlinden: 26 points
3. Rob Versteegt: 11 points
4. Bram Peeters: 10 points
5. Adrian Rodd: 3 points
All cheaters get twenty lashes with a wet noodle!
Cumulative rankings:
1. Pat Buidin: 26 points (1 quiz)
2. Rob Verlinden: 26 points (1 quiz)
3. Bram Peeters: 18 points (2 quizzes)
4. Rob Versteegt: 18 points (2 quizzes)
5. Sussie Anderson: 6 points (1 quiz)
6. Adrian Rodd: 3 points (1 quiz)
Now for this month's quiz. Please avoid researching answers, as we want this
to be fun for everyone, and not a research project. :>
1. Which of the following is NOT a former host of Dax?
A. Lela
B. Aldara
C. Tobin
D. Emony
2. When is a Blue Alert used?
A. When there is a medical emergency on board.
B. When undergoing saucer separation.
C. When landing the ship on a planet.
D. When encountering space storms.
3. Where was William T. Riker born?
A. Boulder, Colorado
B. Fargo, Montana
C. Valdez, Alaska
D. Yakima, Washington
4. Which is NOT a Ferengi Rule of Acquisition?
A. Enough ... is never enough.
B. Never ask when you can take.
C. More is good ... all is better.
D. You can't be too greedy.
5. Who was the barber on the USS Enterprise-D?
A. Mot
B. Morn
C. Movar
D. Mok
6. How many intelligent species evolved on the planet Xindus?
A. Six
B. Four
C. Five
D. Three
7. Who did Charles Evans a.k.a. Charlie X have a crush on?
A. Uhura
B. Nurse Chapel
C. Yeoman Rand
D. Yeoman Lawton
8. What is the quote on the dedication plaque on the U.S.S. Voyager?
A. "To boldly go where no one has gone before."
B. "No matter where you go, there you are."
C. "All I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by."
D. "For I dipt into the future, far as human eye could see; Saw the
vision of the World, and all the wonder that would be..."
9. Who is Draylan?
A. The Akaali mythical ruler of the afterworld.
B. The Prime Ossemite of the 19th Dynasty in the Verathan Civilization.
C. The Xindi Scientist who created the Xindi weapon.
D. A composer of Vulcan etudes.
10. What is the name of Commander Shran's ship?
A. Kumeh
B. Kunivas
C. Kukalaka
D. Kumari
11. Who did Mudd claim to be when the U.S.S. Enterprise first encountered
him?
A. Captain Jaheel
B. Captain Walter Baxter
C. Captain Jose Dominguez
D. Captain Leo Walsh
12. What race was Federation President Jaresh-Inyo?
A. Bolian
B. Zakdorn
C. Grazerite
D. Human
13. What is the name of Wesley Crusher's father?
A. Joe Crusher
B. Jack Crusher
C. Jim Crusher
D. Josh Crusher
14. What was the name of Captain Janeway's pet Irish setter back on Earth?
A. Kathleen
B. Shannon
C. Deirdre
D. Molly
15. What gave the Platonians their telekinetic powers?
A. Advanced technology
B. Theta radiation from their sun
C. Kironide in their food supply
D. Genetic engineering
Please mail your answers to clarerose at yahoo.com no later than 2005.02.03.
Please include the word 'trivia' in the subject of your email.
Note:
Be sure to check the forums often, since 1 extra question per week will be
put online there. This can be your chance to gain some extra points!
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Posting Stats 2004, by Rob Versteegt.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Top 10 Posters in 2004:
10. Jake Henlon: 184 (Cal 184)
9. Ben Versteegt: 233 (Cal 7, Ody 150, Panda 69, Atly 7)
8. Martin Miller: 248 (Cal 31, Ody 45, Valk 1, Panda 2, Atly 169)
7. Sussie Andersson: 258 (Cal 5, Ody 34, Panda 219)
6. Bram Peeters: 269 (Ody 24, Valk 40, Panda 168, Atly 37)
5. Laura Elliot: 300 (Cal 300)
4. David Susman: 371 (Ody 84, Valk 19, Panda 68, Atly 200)
3. Kelley MacKinnon: 455 (Cal 450, Valk 5)
2. Adrian Rodd: 594 (Cal 305, Ody 35, Valk 53, Panda 148, Atly 53)
AND THE NR. 1 POSTER OF 2004 IS:
1. Rob Versteegt: 927 (Cal 76, Ody 67, Valk 99, Panda 510, Atly 175)
There are 3 players that have posted on all the dutystations, in 2004. And
those are: Martin Miller, Adrian Rodd, and Rob Versteegt! Congrats!
Posting Stats 2004:
1. Rob Versteegt: 927 (Cal 76, Ody 67, Valk 99, Panda 510, Atly 175)
2. Adrian Rodd: 594 (Cal 305, Ody 35, Valk 53, Panda 148, Atly 53)
3. Kelley MacKinnon: 455 (Cal 450, Valk 5)
4. David Susman: 371 (Ody 84, Valk 19, Panda 68, Atly 200)
5. Laura Elliot: 300 (Cal 300)
6. Bram Peeters: 269 (Ody 24, Valk 40, Panda 168, Atly 37)
7. Sussie Andersson: 258 (Cal 5, Ody 34, Panda 219)
8. Martin Miller: 248 (Cal 31, Ody 45, Valk 1, Panda 2, Atly 169)
9. Ben Versteegt: 233 (Cal 7, Ody 150, Panda 69, Atly 7)
10. Jake Henlon: 184 (Cal 184)
11. Aaron Langston: 182: (Panda 174, Atly 8)
12. Dennis Church: 153 (Ody 103, Panda 50)
13. Chantal Marie Sellers: 150 (Ody: 102, Atly: 48)
14. Aaron DeLay: 121: (Cal 121)
15. Gael Imadeddine: 120 (Panda 120)
16. Jonathan Hardy: 109 (Cal 1, Ody 99, Panda 6, Atly 3)
17. Rob Verlinden: 93 (Ody 93)
18. Werner Knoessen: 91 (Cal 91)
19. Jeremy Beeler: 85 (Cal 85)
20. Matt Brown: 81 (Ody 5, Valk 76)
21. Brandon Allard: 70 (Cal 6, Valk 64)
22. Michael Smith: 68 (Cal 7, Panda 61)
23. Wes Buchanan: 65 (Panda 65)
24. Richard Clogston: 63 (Valk 63)
25. Vincent Rapoza: 62 (Atly 62)
26. Alonzo Soban: 61 (Atly 61)
27. Angelic Noble: 52 (Cal 52)
28. Patrick Buidin: 47 (Cal 29, Atly 18)
29. Clare Bradley: 46 (Valk 46)
30. Dave Church: 44 (Ody 44)
31. Dawn Johnson: 40 (Ody 33, Panda 7)
32. Cody Ferro: 36 (Cal 36)
33. Mark O'Bannon: 36 (Cal 36)
34. Jed Cohen: 35 (Cal 35, Valk 32)
35. Eric Hess: 35 (Cal 35)
36. Merijn Donders: 34 (Atly 34)
37. Ruben Hilbers: 33 (Valk 33)
38. William Lea: 30 (Ody 30)
39. Ann Montague: 30 (Valk 30)
40. Guido Dorssers: 29 (Ody 10, Valk 19)
41. Astrid Henricsson: 22 (Panda 22)
42. Chris J.: 22 (Valk 22)
43. Mike Sheinin: 21 (Atly 21)
44. JD Coughlan: 19 (Cal 19)
45. Craig Dannenberg: 16 (Atly 16)
46. Jamie Davison: 16 (Cal 1, Atly 15)
47. Shannon O'Dain: 16 (Ody 16)
48. Treassa Cumpston: 14 (Cal 14)
49. Reed Aiken: 13 (Panda 13)
50. Matthew Baldwin: 13 (Panda 13)
51. Abby Leib: 13 (Ody 13)
52. Brandon Wooten: 13 (Ody 3, Atly 10)
53. Richard Bowes: 11 (Atly 11)
54. John Wenerowicz: 11 (Valk 11)
55. Alessio Arleo: 9 (Valk 9)
56. John Gibson: 9 (Atly 9)
57. Tom Shilakes: 9 (Valk 9)
58. Sandy Alexandra: 8 (Cal 8)
59. Penelope Stubbs: 8 (Panda 8)
60. Mark Cornelissen: 8 (Valk 8)
61. Linia Saddington: 8 (Valk 8)
62. Gareth Davies: 7 (Atly 7)
63. Chris Alexander: 6 (Ody 6)
64. Benjamin Dover: 5 (Cal 5)
65. Jan Willem Schuurman Hess: 5 (Ody 5)
66. Wuli Pawlat: 4 (Cal 4)
67. Rickardh Karlsson: 3 (Atly 3)
68. Mark van de Laan: 2 (Valk 2)
69. Karl Shakespear: 2 (Ody 2)
70. Mark Tucker: 2 (Valk 2)
71. Katy Crocket: 1 (Atly 1)
72. Bobby Demonthenis: 1 (Atly 1)
73. Simon Harris: 1 (Valk 1)
74. Jeremy Shaffer: 1 (Ody 1)
Top 3 Posters USS Atlantis:
3. Martin Miller, 169 Posts.
2. Rob Versteegt, 175 Posts.
1. David Susman, 200 Posts.
Top 3 Posters USS Calhoun:
3. Laura Elliot, 300 Posts.
2. Adrian Rodd, 305 Posts.
1. Kelley MacKinnon: 450 Posts.
Top 3 Posters USS Odyssey:
3. Chantal Marie Sellers, 102 Posts.
2. Dennis Church, 103 Posts.
1. Ben Versteegt, 150 Posts.
Top 3 Posters USS Valkyrie:
3. Brandon Allard, 64 Posts.
2. Matt Brown, 76 Posts.
1. Rob Versteegt, 99 Posts.
Top 3 Pandora Station:
3. Bram Peeters, 168 Posts.
2. Sussie Andersson, 219 Posts.
1. Rob Versteegt, 510 Posts.
Total posts per dutystation:
1. USS Calhoun: 1911 Posts.
2. Pandora Station: 1715 Posts.
3. USS Odyssey: 1003 Posts.
4. USS Atlantis: 961 Posts.
5. USS Valkyrie: 652 Posts.
Total posts in Frontierfleet in 2004: 6264 Posts!!!!
Special thanks to:
Bram Peeters, for making the Panda and the Valk 2004 Posting Stats
Rob Verlinden, for making the Ody 2004 Posting Stats.
Ben Versteegt, for making the Atly 2004 Posting Stats.
And of course:
To all the players in Frontier Fleet, for making this possible!
--------------------------------------------------------------------
The Alpha Centauri Mystery, part 18, by Ben Versteegt:
--------------------------------------------------------------------
The Alpha Centauri Mystery - Part 18 - Reunions, Part II
Summary:
The samples, now on board the Iapetus, hold everyone's attention. While
trying to rescue Sandra Burke and recapture the samples, Captain Ayer and
his team get ambushed and are knocked unconscious by a stun grenade. Zaag
and Enbek can escape and manage to rescue Sandra from the Iapetus' sickbay.
Hiding from the crew of the Iapetus and from the Romulans who also roam the
ship in search of the samples, Sandra, Enbek and Zaag plan to make their way
to the brig to free Ayer, Zjavick and Watters.
And now the continuation...
The corridors of the Iapetus were swarming with security personnel. Most of
the security teams had been dispatched to keep the Romulans at bay, though,
so eluding the rest of the teams was going to be a lot easier for Sandra,
Zaag and Enbek. This did not mean that sneaking their way towards the Brig
was going to be easy, but luckily for them, they were able to move through
the various jefferies tubes without being seen. It had taken them long
enough to reach the Brig deck, but finally they had arrived. According to
the schematics on a computer console they had passed, they only had to
traverse a few dozen metres of corridor from the jefferies tube exit to the
Brig. So far it had been easy; but the trio knew that the easy part was now
over.
Carefully, Sandra opened the jefferies tube access hatch, her disruptor at
the ready in case there was anybody here. They had no tricorder, and no way
of knowing if there were any crewmen here. It was likely that there were,
patrolling the corridors around the Brig. It was Sandra's hope that whoever
was out there wasn't paying attention.
The luck hadn't run out yet; the corridor seemed empty. Sandra pressed
herself against a bulkhead, hoping to avoid detection, should a crewman walk
around the corner now. She listened for footsteps, and heard them too. They
seemed far away, so she nodded to Zaag and Enbek, who quickly got out of the
jefferies tube as well and, like Sandra, tried to make themselves part of
the bulkhead.
"There are at least three crewmen down that corridor," Enbek whispered, and
strained to hear more. "I hear footsteps... One of the guards is coming this
way."
Sandra sighed quietly. She knew it wasn't going to be difficult to take out
one crewman, but the sound that accompanied such a disruptor blast would
definitely warn the other two, and possibly any other brig guards as well.
As the footsteps were getting closer, Sandra looked at Enbek questioningly.
The Cardassian just nodded.
The footsteps became louder; they portrayed the casual walk of a man who did
not know what awaited him. To be sure, Sandra didn't know what awaited that
man either; Enbek seemed to have a plan of his own. She looked at Zaag, but
the Ferengi shrugged. He didn't know what to do either.
There were only a few moments left before the guard came round the corner,
and Sandra was still doubting what to do when he got here. Enbek seemed to
have a plan, but she didn't know if he could be trusted -- for all she knew,
he would use the coming situation to escape for himself and leave Sandra and
Zaag to be captured. Enbek's methods of disposing of an enemy were, Sandra
had observed, crude, cruel and very possibly unethical, but they were
effective. If Enbek was indeed on their side, he would be a powerful ally.
But Enbek could only have his way if Sandra chose to trust him. The guard
had now almost reached them; this was going to be a split second decision,
Sandra knew.
So she did nothing. It turned out that she would only have been in the way,
for Enbek leaped at the security crewman as a wolf at its prey. Before the
crewman could make a sound, he had fallen unconscious already. There wasn't
even a thud when the crewman hit the floor; Enbek eased him down and dragged
him away. He motioned for Zaag and Sandra to help him get the guard through
the jefferies tube access hatch. Reluctantly, they complied.
The other two guards were just as easily taken care of. Enbek had shot them
down even before Sandra and Zaag had closed the hatch. "All clear," the
Cardassian told them and sped off towards the brig, while Zaag and Sandra
looked dumbfounded at each other. Whatever it was that Enbek did for a
living -- and it was bound to have something to do with illegal
activities -- it was clear that he was good at it.
The brig guards inside were as surprised as their colleagues who had been
patrolling the corridors. Before any of them could react, they were both
incapacitated by the energy discharges that came out of Enbek's disruptor.
Sandra didn't have the nerve to check whether the crewmen were still alive,
or dead. Knowing Enbek, she grimly realised, the case would most likely be
the latter. She tried to push away her guilt at being an accomplice to all
this -- for now, she had more urgent business.
"Uncle Pete..." The soft voice of his niece reached Ayer's ear, and the
Captain carefully opened his eyes. Still feeling rather drained from the
stun grenade which he had been too slow to evade, he tried sitting up, but
failed. The blur that was the world now focused, and to Ayer's surprise, the
blurry shape took the form of Sandra sitting on the floor next to him,
smiling at him. The sight of his niece made him forget how tired he was, and
he forced himself to sit up.
"Sandra!" he cried, not believing his eyes for a moment. "How did you-" he
frowned and sighed when he realised what must have happened. "You've been
thrown into the brig here as well. And when we were hit by that stun
grenade, we were thrown in here too. I am so sorry you got captured, Sandra.
I would have stopped them if I could have, I swear."
Sandra chuckled and shook her head. "I'm no prisoner. Not anymore. Zaag and
Enbek rescued me, and now we're helping you escape too."
Ayer's look was one of confusion. "But... Zaag and Enbek were in those
quarters together with the rest of us when the stun grenade went off. How
could they-"
"I had the brains to duck behind a table," Enbek said. "As for the
Ferengi -- he was just plain lucky."
Zaag ignored the Cardassian's comment. "We managed to escape just before the
security team got there. We proceeded to free Sandra from sickbay, and then
went down here. We'd better get moving, or we may be detected."
"Just let an old man get his bearings first," Ayer replied with a slight
smile and stood up with Sandra supporting him. In the other cell, Zjavick
and Watters were beginning to wake up as well when Zaag called their names.
However, they did not wake up fast enough.
The door opened again and Ayer and his crew once again find themselves
looking into the barrel of a weapon. But it was not a Starfleet phaser this
time. "Fancy seeing you here," said the Romulan Commander. "Drop your
weapons. Now."
Ayer rolled his eyes and nodded at his crew to do what the Romulan demanded
when he saw a full contingent of Romulan soldiers in the corridor. The
weapons were subsequently picked up by a Romulan guard. Even Enbek threw his
weapon away, reluctantly. There was a time for fighting, but this was not
one of them. The Captain sighed. "Hello again. And what brings you here to
the brig? Did you loose some prisoners, perhaps?"
"As a matter of fact," the Commander replied with a grin on his face, "I did
receive word that my prisoners had escaped. I find it only fitting to find
them back in a holding cell again."
Sandra did not hide her surprise. "Who are you?" she asked the Romulan. She
had heard from a conversation between Donovan and Hall in sickbay that there
were Romulans on the ship. She just hadn't thought that those Romulans might
know Ayer and the rest of the crew.
"You must be Ayer's missing officer. I have heard much about you, Ensign."
The Romulan gave a slight mock bow, while still pointing his disruptor at
Ayer and his crew. In the corridor, more Romulans had gathered and were now
aiming their weapons at them as well. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am
Vraal, Commander in the Romulan Empire."
Ayer raised an eyebrow. "I was your prisoner during the entire trip here on
your ship, and you never even once mentioned your name. And towards my
officer, whom you have never met, you suddenly introduce yourself?"
Vraal cocked his head. "But Captain," he said, faking a serious expression,
"it would not be proper for me to withhold my name from a woman. My honour
as a gentleman is at stake. I'm surprised you even ask, Captain Ayer."
Ayer smiled slightly, not finding the Romulan's comment amusing at all. "In
that case, why don't you tell Ensign Burke here everything you know about
this ship, its crew, and the status of its security teams."
"I'm afraid I can't do that, Captain. Sharing with you my name is one
thing -- sharing strategic information with a potential foe is quite
another."
"Then what about a potential ally?" Everyone now looked in surprise at Zaag,
who continued to explain. "It is obvious that you want the crystals. We also
want the crystals. Why not work together? It seems to me as if we have a
common enemy. A co-operation seems most profitable."
Vraal laughed loudly but stopped laughing as suddenly as he had started.
"Spoken like a true Ferengi," he said. "But why should we want to work
together with you? What have you to offer us?"
Zaag thought about it for a moment. "Forty percent of the crystals?" he
offered tentatively but realised his bid was rejected when Vraal started to
laugh again. "Forty-five? Fifty? Sixty, and that's my final offer."
Ayer took over. "We are familiar with Starfleet security protocols," he told
Vraal, who stopped laughing as the Captain spoke. "We are familiar with the
technology aboard this ship. We can make this a whole lot easier for you if
you just let us come along."
"Do not take me for a fool, Captain Ayer." Vraal waved his disruptor at
Ayer, who forced himself to stay where he was instead of taking a few steps
backwards. "This is just a ploy to get yourselves near the crystals. And a
very transparent one, I might add. You simply want the crystals for
yourselves and want us to do the hard part of fighting our way onto the
Bridge."
Ayer shrugged. "Maybe. But you have the weapons here. We don't. And since
you are expecting us to try something, we don't even have the element of
surprise, like last time." He grinned, pausing at the end of the sentence to
make sure Vraal remembered that they did escape from the Warbird.
Watters, who was standing now, cut in. "You have nothing to fear from us.
The way I see it, we are now your prisoners again, and you can benefit from
the information we may have." He threw a quick glance at Ayer. "Again.
Besides, if you leave us here, we may escape and make it difficult for you
to get to the samples."
"It's your choice," Ayer finished. "But I don't know what you're worrying
about."
Vraal shook his head. "If you think you can pull any trick whatsoever on us,
you are all fools. Come with us," he finished briskly and walked out of the
brig. Ayer and his crew followed. They were uncertain allies once again. Of
course, this time, Ayer had no intention of working together with the
Romulans. But pretending to supply them with information would get him and
his crew on the Bridge in relative safety -- they would deal with the matter
of the samples when they got there.
****
Lieutenant Enwabi, the Halian CEO of the Iapetus, did not particularly enjoy
being surrounded by security personnel. The Captain's orders were clear,
though: she carried one of the crystals with her, and that made her a
potential target for the Romulans. Security guards were of course necessary
on any Starship -- and particularly this one -- but that didn't mean she had
to like it. She had often wondered why Section 31 had crewed this classified
ship with so many security officers. They comprised the half of the crew.
Section 31 was about stealth, not direct offence. Still, at a time like
this, she was glad that there were this many security officers on the
ship -- the Iapetus might already have fallen into the hands of the Romulans
without the ship's abundance of security personnel.
It was unthinkable that the ship would fall into enemy hands. Captain
Donovan -- one of the most capable operatives of Section 31 -- would destroy
the ship before he'd let the Romulans take its secrets. In one way, it was
comforting for Enwabi to know that the many secrets of this ship and the
organisation it belonged to, would not fall into the hands of an enemy of
the Federation. On the other hand, she didn't want to die.
But the situation with the Romulans on board was out of her control. She,
together with Lieutenant Neba, the Trill CSO, was responsible for building
an energy conversion matrix to harness the power of the crystals. If they
were lucky, the could hook it up to the ship's weapons, supplying the
weapons (those which were still functional, at least), with twice as much
power as the entire warp core could muster. Their goal was to fire an
overpowered phaser beam onto the Romulan Warbird; their already weakened
shields would be no match for the destructive power of the enhanced phaser
beam.
"Nearly finished?" Neba asked her.
Enwabi nodded. "Almost." Building the contraption hadn't been a problem;
construction on it had started even before the Romulans boarded the ship.
After a few finishing touches, the CEO placed the crystal gently into the
slot of the machine. There was an audible 'click' and all readings showed
that the crystal was now connected to the machine. "There, that should do
it." Enwabi tapped one of the controls on the machine, and the crystal
suddenly started to hum slightly. "We've got power."
"Great. Now all we need to do is hook it up to the ship's weapons," Neba
replied. "The Captain will be pleased."
"I trust he will," Enwabi said, "but only if we are successful in connecting
this matrix directly to the weapons." Her eyes narrowed as she stared at the
bulkhead -- but she saw no bulkhead; she saw a future where the Federation
would have superior weaponry and would be able to fence off any threat that
came to it. "Wouldn't it be great," she said to Neba, "if this technology
proves to work? Starfleet would have the most powerful weapons in the entire
galaxy."
"That's why we stole the technology in the first place," answered Neba. "We
couldn't afford to risk the crystals falling into the wrong hands." She
shrugged. "It is regrettable that we had to attack another Federation
Starship to get the technology, but since our intelligence reported Romulan
activity in this sector... Well, let's just say I agree with the Captain's
decision."
Enwabi nodded. "Me too. This technology is too powerful to be handled
through normal Federation channels. It needs to be developed in utter
secrecy. No one else should know about it."
"Too late for that," sighed Neba. "The Romulans must have as good an
intelligence service as we do." She paused and a rare hint of a smile
appeared on her face. "Let's just blow that Warbird out there to whatever
the Romulan word is for Hell, and get it over with."
The trip to the weapons control room was -- thankfully -- uneventful. It was
a strange experience, though, having to scout for enemies in each corridor;
the same corridors they had walked through hundreds of times before. Now,
the situation was different; there were enemies on board and there could be
a Romulan behind every bulkhead. Fortunately, the Romulans seemed to be kept
busy on another deck, for the corridors were empty. Upon arrival in the
weapons control room, Enwabi and Neba immediately walked towards the manual
phaser controls and hooked up the energy conversion matrix with the crystal
in it. It attached itself to the console's power input device more easily
than either of the two officers had thought.
It was clear from the status displays that a lot of power was now running
through the phaser banks, but they appeared to be able to handle it.
"Incredible..." Enwabi said softly. "Phaser power output is now at 438
percent and holding."
A faint glimmer appeared in Neba's eyes. "That'll knock those Romulans out
for sure." She sat down at the console and began to input commands into the
system. "I'm activating the targeting scanners. Targeting their main power
core."
Enwabi just smiled and tapped her comm badge. "Enwabi to Captain Donovan."
=/\= Yes? =/\= came the gruff voice of the Captain.
"We have hooked up the energy conversion matrix to the phaser arrays. I am
happy to report that the crystal is now powering the phasers: phaser power
output is not at 438 percent, sir," Enwabi reported. "We have presently
targeted the Romulan's main power core and are waiting for your order,
Captain."
=/\= Excellent. =/\= Enwabi thought he heard a chuckle in the man's voice.
=/\= Then, by all means... Fire! =/\=
Enwabi nodded at Neba who couldn't resist to prolong the moment of
anticipation with a sly smile. With force, she pressed her finger on the
button that would discharge the phaser array.
In space, one of the functioning phaser arrays of the Iapetus began to glow.
A large spot of phased energy, more than four times more powerful than
before, lit up until it was so bright that the surrounding hull of the ship
shone as well, reflecting the bright light that was the start of a phaser
discharge. The light moved along the length of the phaser array, growing
brighter as it moved. It had soon reached an intensity so strong, that
anyone who looked into it would be blinded by the light.
And then the phaser discharged. A brilliant beam of light took off from the
phaser array, with the Romulan Warbird as its goal. Within moments, the
Romulan ship was hit. Its shields -- what was left of them -- couldn't cope
with the force of the phaser beam, and collapsed on impact. The beam, hardly
diminished in its strength, found its next target immediately; it
obliterated the lower decks of the Warbird before sending out power surges
throughout the Romulan ship which resulted in numerous explosions on the
outside and the inside of the vessel. When the beam finally died out, it had
managed to destroy most of the lower sections of the Warbird, and a lot of
critical systems.
But at a price. The beam had just fired, when Enwabi noticed that all this
power was simply too much for the phaser array to handle. She could barely
jump away -- and take Neba with her -- before their console exploded, and
many others went up in flames as well. The phaser array, not designed to
handle this much power at once, got destroyed in a series of explosions.
Enwabi looked up, but immediately wished she hadn't. The movement only
served to remind her of the burns that now plagued her face and the rest of
her body. Neba, she saw, was unconscious. "Medical team to the Weapons
Control Room!" she shouted into her comm badge. "And get the fire
suppression system working!" she yelled at the other crewmen in the room.
=/\= Enwabi, answer me! =/\= The CEO didn't know whether Donovan's apparent
genuine concern was for her and Neba, or for the mission, but that didn't
matter at the moment.
"I think we did it, sir!" Enwabi cried, trying to muster all her strength to
get up. She finally did, and managed to walk to a relatively undamaged
console. The burns felt like being stung by thousands of needles when she
moved, but she had to ignore that for now; the Captain wanted a more precise
status report. Despite the pain, she smiled when she accessed the newest
readings. "We succeeded, Captain. We blew out the phaser array while doing
so, but we did it. The Romulan ship has lost all power, and is trying to
switch to backups. Their weapon systems have been destroyed, their
propulsion systems badly damaged and their four lower decks have been wiped
away. They're no threat to us anymore, sir, but maybe our tactical officer-"
=/\= Hall's dead, =/\= Donovan cut her off abruptly, and Enwabi did
everything not to gasp or cry. She was a Starfleet officer, not to mention a
trained operative of Section 31, but still it was difficult not to be
shocked at the sudden death of a fellow officer. =/\= How's the crystal?
=/\= the Captain continued.
Enwabi looked at the place where the energy conversion matrix had stood with
the crystal in it. The device was now located several metres away, thrown
back by the force of the explosion. It was in shambles. "The conversion
matrix is ruined, sir," she told her Captain.
=/\= Damnit, Lieutenant, I asked about the crystal, not the bloody
conversion matrix! =/\=
The Lieutenant nodded briskly (even though the Captain couldn't see her) and
walked towards the destroyed piece of equipment to see if she could find the
crystal. She could -- but it didn't look good. "The crystal is fractured,
sir," she said after a careful but quick inspection. "Any radiation waves it
sends out now will be totally out of sync with each other. It's useless."
=/\= Damn. Very well, Lieutenant. Are you hurt? =/\=
"I am, sir," she said as if it were nothing, but even as she said it, she
felt as if her face was on fire. "Lieutenant Neba and I have suffered severe
burns. Neba's unconscious. Medical teams should arrive shortly."
=/\= Good, =/\= Donovan replied. =/\= We'll have an emergency meeting here
in Sickbay. Get here as quickly as you can, Lieutenant. We have much to
discuss. =/\=
"Aye sir," replied Enwabi. "And sir," she said before Donovan had the chance
to close the channel, "we sure eradicated those Romulan bastards, didn't
we?"
Now she was sure she heard a chuckle. =/\= We sure did, Lieutenant, we sure
did. Donovan out. =/\=
****
Meanwhile, the Romulan bastards had taken the Bridge, swiftly and silently.
Together with Ayer's team, they had surprised the Bridge crew. The Bridge
was theirs... And so were the samples. Originally, Vraal had planned on
disposing of Ayer and his team the very moment they had secured the Bridge,
but something had come up; he had lost contact with his ship. It didn't take
long before he found out that his ship had been dealt with. Until
communications were restored with whatever was left of his ship, he couldn't
ask for a beam-out. Chances were that the transporters were also off-line,
and even if they weren't, the crew of the Iapetus had set up a transporter
scattering field -- Vraal would have to go back to the beam-in point for any
beam-out to take place.
He was too busy thinking about what to do, that he didn't notice until it
was too late that a few of his soldiers lay unconscious on the ground, next
to the dead Starfleet officers. When he looked up, he suddenly felt the cold
touch of a disruptor pistol against his temple, and the firm grasp of Ayer's
arm around his neck. "Put down your weapons," Ayer shouted to the other
Romulans, "or he dies." He pressed the disruptor harder against Vraal's
temple to prove his point.
Ayer smiled and noticed that Zaag, Enbek, Sandra, Watters and Zjavick were
already aiming their newly acquired disruptors and phasers onto the other
Romulans. "Looks like you're the prisoner here," he told Vraal.
What he didn't see was the Romulan guard sneaking out of the conference room
towards him, ready to hit him with a large and blunt object -- the sample
container.
To Be Continued
by Ben Versteegt.
=====
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