DAKORA MISSION LOG: EXCALIBUR
This article documents the Missions of Talos Dakora aboard the USS Excalibur-A.
Shadow Out of Mind (239812)
The re-launched Excalibur is sent to investigate a strange radiation signature detected on otherwise uninhabited and unremarkable world, Cytarix V. Upon arrival an away team including Ensign Talos Dakora is sent to investigate strange gravitational forces that had been detected while en route. After a mostly uneventful EV suited sample gathering expedition, the away team encountered a previously unknown metallic orb that seemed to spring erupt from the ground and leave one of the large, smoking craters the team had previously observed. The orb singled out Ensign Dakora, the only telepathic member of the team, and rendered him temporarily unconscious with some kind of energy tendril that pierced his helmet and touched his head. Rescued by Lt.Etan Iljor and Ens. Kirky Bean Talos was carried to the shuttle where they discovered that it and any communications with the Excalibur had been disabled by the unknown forces of the planet. As the ground threatened to swallow the ship whole, they were rescued at the last moment by Yogan Yalu in a runabout.
Upon their arrival back at the ship Dakora was transported to sickbay and the rest of the team dispersed to carry out their duties. Little did they know, Dakora was carrying a payload in his mind that would utilize his telepathy to spread amongst the crew. Shortly after the away team's return, every member of the Excalibur's experienced an unknown phenomenon that caused them to suddenly fall asleep and wake up in a body that wasn't theirs. Dakora and Yalu switched consciousness and after a brief bout of well-earned confusion, the crew set about uncovering the mystery of what had happened to them and how they could fix it. As the crew struggled with the myriad complexities of existing in a body that didn't match their shape, gender and/or species, a second away team consisting of all of the members of the Senior Staff who had wound up in telepathic bodies was sent to the planet again to try and make contact with the orbs. Meanwhile, on Bridge of the Excalibur, Dakora struggled to come to grips with the multiple presences of the Yalu Symbiont that lived inside of him, sharing their knowledge, experience and discomfort with him. The team on the bridge eventually uncovered that the radiation was a form of communication that could be decoded and the away team managed to communicate telepathically that they would help the orbs.
A little over 24 hours after the initial body-swapping incident, the crew of the Excalibur returned to their normal bodies and were able to guide the stranded orb-hivemind to a new home. For many of the crew, Dakora included, the experience of being someone else would stay with them for a very long time.
Following the Mission Dakora was promoted to Lieutenant Junior-Grade and awarded the Explorer's Ribbon and the Legacy Ribbon.