The Let's Play Archive

Star Trek Online

by PoptartsNinja

Part 23: Episode 23: "Devil in the Sky with Klingons"

Episode 23: "Devil in the Sky with Klingons"

Captain's Log posted:

The Von Braun feels almost as shaky as I do after our battle with the Romulan Scimitar. She always had her quirks, but I can tell she's in desperate need of a refit after that fight. To be completely honest, I still don't feel fully recovered from my fight with Thot Trel, so I understand how she feels. Tre'gata and Doctor Tamora have done their best-with both of us, respectively, but those Breen weapons are designed to cause permanent harm and, well, there's still a piece of the Scimitar embedded in the hull near deck three. We can't do anything about it until we get an overhaul, but we've had to reroute power through several nearby EPS junctions. I fear overtaxing our weapons could cause an overload and take our entire weapons array offline.

In happier news, we haven't been assigned a combat mission. We're to pick up Admiral Leonard James Akaar, who's been conducting negotiations with the Aelesans for their Topaline ore. Topaline is vital to life support systems and extremely difficult to replicate. With all the starships the Federation has been constructing, our stocks of Topaline are extremely low. I'm told that with access to the Aelesan's Topaline, we'd have enough for thousands of new starships.


BlipTV version











"… Urgh.."
"Captain, you made it!"
"Thank the Prophets!"
"… Did the rest of the crew make it down ok?"
"I got everyone off, sir, don't worry. You gave me five whole minutes, I even had time to beam down the contents of Cargo Bay one and two…"
"I have the department heads doing a headcount. So far, everyone's accounted for."
"Good work, Zero; and thank you, Lieutenant.
"It was you I was worried about, sir. It's a long run from the bridge to the Transporter Bay down in Engineering. You should've let me stay aboard and beam you right off the bridge."
"I'll keep that in mind the next time I have to use the self destruct to save a peaceful, unarmed planet from a giant rock. I almost didn't make it because of this little guy. What do you make of this, Lieutenant?"



"I have no… Is that a…?"
"NULL SET! Oh, Captain, you found him! Thank you thank you thankyouthankyouthankyou! Eeeeeeeeeee I gotta go tell Billy!"
"… Borg tribble?"
"Borg tribble."


"… I think I know the feeling."
"… I'm just going to pretend that didn't happen for now. How are we for supplies? Weapons?"
"Good. Molly was thorough. We don't have enough phasers for everyone, but two thirds of the crew is armed."
"Good. We don't know how many Klingons are still down here; and Ja'rod could decide to come back. He has no idea that last shot we took at him crippled the Von Braun's weapons; and if he stuck around to watch us ram the Sky Devil… well, things could turn out poorly for us and the Aelesans. I want everyone in groups at all times, with no less than two weapons per group. Tre'gata?"
"Yes, sir?"
"I know it's not your usual, but I want you and the rest of your engineering team to work on temporary shelters. I doubt we have any prefabs available, so do what you can. Try to build them close to the Topaline deposits. Natural Topaline interferes with sensors, so if Ja'rod does return he'll have difficulty finding most of the crew. Lieutenant Galti!"
"Yes?"
"I know we've got plenty of concentrated rations, but I'd like to see if anything down here is edible. Nobody eats any of the native flora or fauna until you've scanned it and made sure it's not going to kill anyone. Scrubs has enough injuries to worry about, we don't need to add any poisoning or allergic reactions to the mix."
"Understood, sir."
"Huff.. huff… Molly just… Are you giving out assignments?"
"Yes I am, Ensign… I'd like you to assemble your security personnel, and set up a defensive perimeter. Three shifts, I want at least a third of your people awake and aware at all times; and keep security in pairs as well. The last thing I want is someone getting picked off because he's alone and some animal mistakes his bright red shirt for an easy meal."
"I'm on it, sir! Once I've done that… permission to hold another 'hog roast'?"
"Granted, assuming you can find a decent substitute. Anything to raise morale while we're on our little, er… 'vacation'."
"Already shot a couple've Targs the Kling's must've left behind. They should work just as well."
"Huff-huff… Did I just see Zero with a Borg tribble?"
"Yes."
"Huh… weird."
"Subcommander. I'm sorry this voyage wasn't what you were expecting."
"It's given me some new things to think about, that's for sure. I can't imagine a Romulan commander sacrificing his ship to save a pack of Luddites from an asteroid, though."
"If it makes you feel any better, neither can I."
"Hardly a move I'd expect from a Cardassian, either."
"I think you'll find our captain is full of surprises, Subcommander."
"Subcommander, I know it's not your field, but Doctor Tamora could probably make good use of your talents right now."
"You'd trust me to help perform surgery on our injured?"
"Now would be a pretty foolish time for a betrayal, so I suspect I can trust you, Subcommander. You've been nothing but helpful in the past, so if you are intending to murder us one-by-one while we sleep and strand yourself on a planet of Luddites…"
"Ha, I knew it, you do have a sense of humor! Ayna owes me a bar of gold pressed latinum. I'll just, er… go check and see what Doctor Tamora wants me to do."
"Please."
"What are you going to be doing during all of this, sir?"
"I'm going to move away from the Topaline deposits. We're near the edge, so I'll only be a mile or two away, but… someone needs to stay out in the open to let Starfleet know where the rest of the crew is, and with Ja'rod around, I'm not about to let anyone else do the job."
"Who are you bringing with you?"
"What? Nobody."
"Nope, captain's orders. Everyone in groups, no group with less than two weapons."
"I'm carrying two weapons."
"And I'm coming with you. The last thing we need is for our captain to get picked off because he's alone and some animal mistakes him for an easy meal."
"Th…"
"Don't pull a Janeway, captain, and don't tell me the crew needs me here. The crew needs you here. You and I can plant a locator beacon outside the Topaline's interference and leave a coded message. I don't know how it's done in the Cardassian Union, but here in the Federation, our Starship captains can read."
"Ha… haha, alright. You make a compelling argument, Lieutenant."
"It's the first officer's job to point out when her commander's being an idiot, sir."
"Yes, it is indeed. Thank you, Lieutenant Janzer."
"You can call me Hela, sir… but only in private."
"I… thank you, Hela."
"eeeeeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeee…"
"… C'mon. Let's go make sure that Borg tribble isn't going to assimilate us all."
"You distract Zero while I scan?"
"It's always worked for us before."