Orb of Renewal (Denali Station)
| Denali Station | ||
|---|---|---|
 ACTIVE STATUS | ||
| ||
To be announced
Characters
| Senior officers taking part in the mission | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Position | Notes | |
| Oddas Aria | Fleet Captain | ||
| Tomas Falt | First Officer | ||
| Gogigobo Fairhug | Chief of Security | ||
| Alex Forsyth | Tactical Officer | ||
| Neshala | HCO Officer | ||
| Alan Letts | Ops officer | ||
| Dekas | Chief Engineer | ||
| Kettick | Engineering Officer | ||
| Freck | Science officer | ||
| Elonat | Science officer | ||
| Sasus Raimor | Medical Officer | ||
| PNPCs & MSNPCs | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Position | Notes | |
| Ebiss Ton | Intelligence officer on Denali Station | PNPC simmed by Oddas Aria | |
| Nan Hesan | Marine Gunnery Sergeant on Denali Station | PNPC simmed by Tomas Falt | |
| Xern | Official title to be sorted later | MSNPC simmed by Kettick | |
| Delmer | Captain of the mercenary vessel, Proficiency | MSNPC simmed by Freck | |
Mission
START
In the conference room of the USS Eagle, Commander Ton delivers a comprehensive briefing on their mission to the Oslau System. He recounts his and Lt. Commander T'Lea's previous journey to the planet Osalu III, revealing that it undergoes erratic and significant temporal shifts every ten to fifteen minutes. Through scans of a leaf, science officer Elonat discovered evidence of tachyon radiation affecting the city.
Ton then continues on by saying an ancient Bajoran artifact, known as the Orb of Renewal, is believed to be the cause of these temporal anomalies. He emphasizes it is crucial for Starfleet to secure the Orb to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands, as both the Orion Syndicate and a rogue Cardassian agent named Dal Selta are actively seeking to obtain it.
Despite the profound personal impact due to the Orb's connection to her Bajoran heritage, Captain Oddas maintains a professional demeanour during the entire meeting.
Commander Ton shares the challenges they faced when approaching the planet via shuttle, including difficulties navigating the energy waves and something what appeared to be a massive subspace knot. Commander Falt assigns tasks to various crew members to address these challenges, including finding a way to shield the away team from the Orb's effects once they beam down to the planet. The crew members acknowledge their assignments and Oddas concludes the briefing.
Part II
As the Eagle is en route to the Oslau system, the crew works on the various challenges that will await them.
Science Lab
Raimor, Elonat, Dekas, and Oddas explore methods for safely transporting an away team to the city while avoiding the effects of the tachyon radiation. They consider the possibility of employing an anti-tachyon beam to mitigate the interference caused by the Orb. Eventually they settle on a portable shielding device, ideally in a backpack-sized form, to create a tachyon reflection system.
Recognizing that blending in with the local population will present a challenge upon arrival in the city, the team faces their next hurdle. Fortunately, Commander Ton captured a snapshot of the inhabitants, revealing them to be a diverse mix of unfamiliar alien species. Doctor Raimor expresses confidence in finding a solution to enable the crew to alter their appearances and seamlessly blend in with the locals.
Bridge
Commander Fairhug and Tactical Officer Forsyth delve into the ship's extensive database, conducting an analysis of Orion ships and their weaponry. Simultaneously, Commander Falt and Ensign Letts engage in a brainstorming session, seeking a method to penetrate the disruptive interference in the Oslau system to obtain clear readings of the planet's surface. After careful consideration, they decide on employing a chain of probes. However, to keep them hidden from the planet’s inhabitants and other interested parties in the system, they devise a plan to utilize tachyon bursts emitted by the Eagle. To anticipate any potential adverse effects, Falt instructs the team to conduct simulations first.
Conference Room
In the Conference Room of the USS Eagle, Commander Ebiss Ton engages in a discussion with Freck, Kettick, and Lieutenant Neshala regarding the best approach for navigating the challenges posed by energy waves and subspace distortions in the Oslau System. They consider using a shuttle instead of probes due to their manoeuvrability and ability to withstand the energy spikes. Kettick suggests assigning Marine officer Hesan to handle the shuttle while Lieutenant Neshala takes the helm aboard the Eagle. Ton raises concerns about the shuttle's power and the potential need for a rescue mission. Kettick proposes reinforcing the shuttle's shields and equipping it with additional power sources. They discuss overlapping standard and exotic particle shields and the importance of sharing information between the shuttle and the Eagle. Ton raises questions about the sustainability of the shuttle's shields, prompting further discussion on the duration and potential limitations. The team acknowledges the risks involved and continues to strategize for various scenarios.
Part III – Present-Day
Eagle
First Officer Falt stood on the Bridge of the Eagle. The main viewer was filled with the back end of the shuttle currently flying in front of the ship, pathfinding a way for them to the planet through the subspace distortions that plagued the system.
The Away Team had just been beamed down to the planet when suddenly the ship lurched violently. The klaxon sounded as the unexpected impact triggered the red alert status. As the first reports came in, it became clear that the spatial distortions had returned. But what was perhaps even more dangerous was the fact that an unknown vessel suddenly appeared out of nowhere at the Eagle’s port side.
Falt immediately contacts the shuttle, urging them to return to the shuttle bay. After a complicated manoeuvre, Neshala manages to steer the shuttle inside the Eagle.
With the shuttle safely returned, Falt tries to contact the Captain down on the planet, but his call is met with static. Science officer Elonat tries to scan for the Away Team’s biosign only to find out that they are gone.
Falt then immediately calls for a meeting in the conference room.
As the crew starts discussing ways to get back into contact with Captain Oddas and the Away Team, they receive an urgent call from the Bridge. Lieutenant JG Forsyth reports they have received an emergency signal with a Starfleet signature. Suddenly, the crew's combadges start chirping. Kettick explains that it is a “dead man’s switch”. An automated signal that can be triggered manually with a few discrete taps, for instance when someone is under duress, or triggered automatically for retrieval.
Falt decides to prepare a shuttle to send down to the planet's surface, while the Eagle will focus on the mysterious distress signal coming from the other vessel.
Falt returns to the Bridge and hails the alien vessel, but they do not answer. Instead, the vessel is changing course, putting itself behind the Eagle.
Suddenly, the ship rocks back and forth. Tactical reports the alien vessel has fired. Falt orders not to return fire as there is a possibility that the Captain is aboard the alien vessel. Instead, he asks Letts to execute evasive manoeuvres.
As the hostile vessel continues to target them, Lieutenant JG Forsyth proposes deploying a feedback pulse to disable their systems. Falt approves the plan and instructs Letts, Hesan, and Vahin to proceed with taking a shuttle down to the planet.
Aboard the shuttle
In a high-speed maneuver, Letts takes the shuttle, Condor, on a daring flight path towards an enemy ship instead of the designated planet as was ordered. Hesan very quickly realizes Letts' plan is to prevent the enemy from obtaining a firing solution. However, their risky strategy relies solely on Letts' piloting skills to evade being hit.
As they wonder why the Eagle ship hasn't fired their feedback pulse yet, a large special eddy appears in their path, causing the shuttle to collide and lose control.
Hesan desperately tries to regain control, but the shuttle continues careening towards the enemy ship. Right then the Eagle finally fired its pulse, knocking out, not only the enemy ship’s shields and power grid, but also the Condor’s own systems.
As the shuttle crew braces for impact, the shuttle pierces through the hull of the enemy vessel. Hesan and Doctor Vahin fortunately only end up with a few bruises, but Ensign Letts is unconscious and suffering from internal injuries. Realizing she has to get Letts back to the Eagle as soon as possible, they place the Ensign inside a pod and launch him into space, hoping the Eagle will be able to beam him over to Sickbay.
Back on the Eagle
The crew witnesses the sudden activation of a spatial eddy, emitting crackling blue energy discharges. The eddy rapidly expands, posing a threat to the escape pod. Falt, realizing the danger, orders Neshala to move the ship away while attempting to secure the pod with a tractor beam. The growing distortion becomes engulfed in energy tendrils, and one of them connects with the escape pod. A blinding flash occurs, temporarily disabling the sensors. As the sensors are restored, both the distortion and the pod have vanished.
Part III - Osalu III
Captain Oddas, driven by her personal connection to the Orb as a Bajoran, leads an away mission to the planet, accompanied by Commander Ton, Lieutenant Commander Fairhug and Lieutenant JG Freck. As they materialize in an alley between tall buildings, they start observing their surroundings and conclude they have arrived in a pre-warp period. Discussing their next move, Lieutenant Freck suggests exploring the sewers or jumping rooftops to navigate the city discreetly. Eventually, they decide to venture into the sewers, relying on their tricorders to avoid getting lost.
As they proceed through the city sewers, a sudden flash and rumble disrupt their progress, causing disorientation. When they regain their bearings, they realize they have been transported to the past, several hundred years earlier than their original timeline. The sewers they were traversing are now exposed, revealing the night sky. Surprised by this unexpected turn of events, they exit what was once the city’s sewer and spot a town in the distance, which features a prominent temple.
Freck proposes that they present themselves as travellers from a distant region, capitalizing on their genetic resemblance and similar clothing to blend in with the local population. With the plan in place, Commander Ton advises the team to conceal their gear and adopt the guise of pilgrims visiting the renowned temple, to avoid suspicion.
As the team approaches a stone gate, ready to enter the town, they are startled by one of the villagers. As they try to explain that they are visitors from a distant land, there to see the temple, the villager seems surprised. Apparently the town has fallen victim to a ‘curse’. The villager continues by describing more details about the curse's effects. Some victims suffer from rapid ageing, while others experience a peculiar reverse ageing process. Additionally, there are those plagued by maddening visions that drive them insane. Apparently, the trouble started when a monk arrived with some sort of box.
As the team absorbs this information, they quickly realize the Orb is undoubtedly the source of this curse.
Despite the villager's insistence that they should turn back and leave, the team explains to the man that they have journeyed too far to simply abandon their pilgrimage.
Upon entering the town, the team divides into two groups. Commander Ton and doctor Raimor take the task of procuring necessary supplies, while the other members - Oddas, Freck, and Fairhug - proceed to explore the temple.
Oddas, Freck and Fairhug walk up to a market stall, hoping to gain more information on the temple. The vendor tells them about a star that fell out of the sky. Seven monks set out to find where it had landed, but only one returned, carrying the star in a box. Freck buys some trinkets in exchange for his communicator, after which they find a quieter place to discuss their next course of action.
Meanwhile, Commander Ton notices a building that might be a local clinic. As they step inside, they are met by a nurse who appears distraught. It becomes evident that she is at a loss on how to provide aid to her patients, and to make matters worse, the priests have prohibited the villagers from entering the temple for prayer. Realizing the situation offers an opportunity to gain more intel, Commander Ton offers the nurse their help.
Realizing their limited options to enter the temple unnoticed, Captain Oddas devises a plan to distract the monks and priests. Freck informs the Captain of an anomalous life sign reading inside the Temple. Fairhug concludes it might be the monk who found the Orb.
Freck is dispatched to start a fire to distract the villagers, and Fairhug searches for suitable robes they can wear to infiltrate the temple. Meanwhile, Oddas reaches out to Commander Ton to brief them on their plan.
Suddenly, the town bell rings, and the villagers scatter in all directions, likely rushing to extinguish the fire. This serves as Oddas's signal to make her way towards the Temple, where she eventually reunites with Freck. While they discuss ways to gain entry, a door unexpectedly swings open, revealing Commander Fairhug standing before them, dressed in monk robes.
As Oddas and her team make their way into the temple, Ton and Raimor find themselves in a bar, brainstorming ways to distribute an antidote to cure the disease caused by the radiation resulting from the temporal shifts. They proceed to carry out their plan, with the first step being the search for the necessary components to create the antidote.
Inside the temple, Freck’s tricorder indicates increasing radiation levels. As they navigate the temple, disguised in monk robes, they suddenly find themselves standing in front of a heavy wooden door. With some effort, they open the door and enter a chamber, where the Orb of Renewal rests atop a column. The Captain is overwhelmed by emotions but manages to keep them hidden from her team. Just as she’s about to step forward to pick up the Orb, Freck warns her of the dangerous chronitons emitted by the Orb.
Right at that moment, a robed figure emerges from the shadows, introducing himself as a Xern. He urges them not to get too close to the “Star” as it is dangerous to do so. Freck quickly surmises they are talking to the monk who brought the Orb to the temple, and asks him how he brought the “Star” here without getting sick. The Xern explains to them the “Star” was inside a special box. However, the box has been lost.
To Oddas’s surprise, Freck suddenly pulls out his tricorder and waves it in front of the Xern. The Away Team notices a change in behaviour coming from the Xern. It is soon revealed that the Xern is not a Xern but an alien, just like them, sent down to the planet to retrieve a sealed package. Realizing they need the help of this alien posing as a Xern, the Captain decides it’s best to work together to find a way to get the Orb off the planet.