The Omega Paradox (Veritas)
| USS Veritas | ||
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 INACTIVE STATUS | ||
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Evan Delano assumes temporary command as the crew takes on an urgent mission - an investigation of a Borg signal detected by an Ohanze patrol deep in the Shadows. Shortly after entering the system, the Veritas becomes trapped in the ancient past. The crew's efforts to return to the present without affecting the timeline become complicated when the Veritas computer restricts access to systems under a top secret protocol known as "The Omega Directive."
| Veritas Mission History |
|---|
| Year 1 (2393-2394) |
| The Forgotten Land · Rag and Bone · Aftershock · The Mother Road |
| Year 2 (2395) |
| The Irresistible Prize · Kallo Ver & The Hunt for the Lost Romulan Treasure Fleet · The Omega Paradox · Hope Lost · Flashpoint |
| Year 3 (2396) |
| Limbo · Dawn · Home · Sentinel · Play the Part · The First Colony · Tour de Ketar V · Charybdis · Lost and Found |
| Year 4 (2397) |
| E Pluribus Unum · Nadira · Free Flight · Pirates of the Quantum Realms · Forever and Always · Heartbeat · Home Is Where the Heart Is · Wandering Star |
| Year 5 (2398) |
| Here Kitty Kitty · Reunion · Chasing Shadows · Endeavour · Loopy · Fissure |
| Edit this Nav |
The Omega Paradox
- Stardate 239506 to 239507
Setting
Located at roughly the halfway point between the Widowmaker Trail and the Tholian border, the Shahrazad System is deep in Ohanze territory. Several gas giants and barren rocky worlds are believed to be orbiting the Type-G yellow star, though the region has never been directly surveyed by Starfleet. Long range scans of the system are unreliable due to its location in he Shadows.
Plot Elements
- Probe 7434: A Borg probe with a crew of approximately 60 drones.
- Oracle: The Ohanze representative chosen by the Circle of Five Suns to deal with the Federation, akin to an ambassador. Originally from the Red Sun Tribe and a teacher, she has served as their representative for the past twenty years, she is probably the single Ohanze individual with the most experience dealing with the Federation and non-Ohanze.
- Three of Ten (Mary Audron): A Borg drone captured on Veritas, later liberated from the collective.
Mission Summary
Act 1
Responding to a strange distress call, the crew of the Veritas recovers versions of Roshanara Rahman and Mei'konda from a temporal anomaly. It quickly becomes clear that the two appear to have traveled five years into their futures. Before the Veritas can fully analyze the situation and return Rahman and Mei'konda to their own time, Rear Admiral Joseph Washington issues priority orders to investigate an Ohanze sighting of a Borg vessel in the Shahrazad system. Veritas rendezvoused with an Ohanze vessel and brought aboard Lieutenant Commander Raissa Moonsong and The Oracle, an Ohanze representative.
In the Shahrazad System, Veritas encountered a Borg probe running some kind of scan on an apparently dead world. As Veritas approached, the ship became hostile. During the ensuing battle, the Veritas was forced to overload its deflector to disrupt a Borg tractor beam. While the strategy proved successful, resulting in the apparent destruction of the Borg vessel, an apparent malfunction in the Borg systems caused both vessels to travel almost 600 years into the past (Terran year, 1804). Almost immediately, Veritas systems began to lock up as the computer began to display the greek symbol for Omega. Attempts to override the lockout were met with "insufficient security clearance" error messages. Evan ordered Veritas to orbit a Lithium-based gas giant at the outer edge of the solar system, where the strong magnetic fields would help to protect the ship from sensors while the crew got a handle on their new situation.
Act 2
Veritas dispatched an away team to the fourth planet to locate the Borg wreckage, retrieve the temporal device that had caused the time travel, and destroy any remaining wreckage to prevent timeline contamination. The away team left Vertas via the modified type-10 shuttlepod Shadow (outfitted for stealth), and eventually found the signal. On the surface, they encountered at least one surviving Borg drone and a massive "ice serpent" creature that attacked the group. In the struggle, Lt. Cmdr. Dugoras was badly injured, but the temporal device was retrieved and the Borg wreckage began descending into the ocean depths beneath the ice. The team evacuated to Shuttle and prepared to return to Veritas.
Meanwhile, the remaining Veritas senior staff were focused on overriding the computer lockout caused by Omega. As part of the process, Lt. Cmdr. Rahman and Ensign Mei'konda discovered that their future selves were the captain and first officer of the vessel. However, the team was able to use this information to grant access to an Omega data file. After a cursory review, Lt. Cmdr. Delano, as acting captain, authorized the entire datafile to be declassified for senior staff members. Using the information contained in the data file, the crew began working on methods of destroying the Omega molecule. Further complicating issues, Borg modifications were discovered to the ship's sensor array on Deck 11, and an active Borg drone was discovered on Deck 7.
The drone was subdued with minor casualties and transferred to a stasis field in one of the engineering labs. Examination of the drone found it to be an assimilated human, with limited contact to the collective due either to the time travel or the ship's position in the Shoals. The individuality of the drone was trying to reassert itself, which made it possible for interrogation. The crew soon realized that Omega particles were already present on Veritas, as well as on the planet's surface (where the Borg ship had been).
While one team quickly made plans to deal with the particles on the ship, a group of Borg managed to board Veritas using long-range transporters. Delano made a command decision to use three modified isometric torpedoes to fire on the planet surface and destroy the Omega particles. The maneuver was successful, but a group of Ohanze patrol vessels quickly detected Veritas and moved in to intercept. Veritas was able to elude the Ohanze using a modified "gravity bomb" torpedo, devised by Cmdr. Alex Blair, while a device in the form of a unique "dust buster" created by Dr. Timothy Alentonis was able to neutralize the Omega on Veritas. With the crisis over, and their away team retrieved, Veritas left the system.
The recovered temporal device was used several days later to return Veritas to its normal time.
Log Entries
Acting Captain’s Log. Stardate 239507.05 After sixteen days at warp, we’ve successfully rendezvoused with the Ohanze vessel just outside the Shahrazad system. The Oracle, the Ohanze representative, and Lieutenant Commander Raissa Moonsong have been welcomed aboard as we prepare for the final stretch of our journey. While we’ve received a few more details from our guest, the exact nature of the Borg threat remains a mystery. Lieutenant Commander Blake, and Commanders Kelrod and Blair have been leading the crew in a series of battle drills and simulations over the last two weeks, and the entire crew - including Ensign Mei’konda and Lieutenant Commander Rahman - have been working tirelessly to ensure the ship is as prepared as it can be for any confrontation. The prospect of facing the Borg is direct conflict something most cadets have nightmares about at some point during their tenure at Starfleet Academy. They’ve been responsible for some of the greatest losses of life in the history of the Federation, and their ruthless desire to eliminate individuality seems anathema to everything our culture, and Starfleet's mission stands for. I never imagined I’d be coming face-to-face with them during my first mission in command of a starship; nevertheless, I have every confidence in this crew and this ship. |
Acting Chief Engineering Officer's Log, Stardate 239507.03 While I’d heard stories about the Borg, I’d never actually encountered them...until now. We managed to come out of the battle with the ship still intact, but it’s badly in need of repairs. Decks 8 through 10 took some heavy damage and will likely be the primary focus of our efforts. Teams are working around the clock to get crucial systems fully functional. I’ll be sitting down with Acting Captain Delano later this morning to discuss the status of the ship among other things. |
Acting Captain’s Log. Supplemental. Stardate 239507.04 It was a near thing, but the Borg vessel we encountered in the Shahrazad System has been destroyed. Unfortunately, it appears that whatever it was doing here triggered some kind of temporal event. We’re now almost 600 years in the past. This previously dead solar system, is now buzzing with Ohanze activity. I’ve enlisted the aid of The Oracle to help us plan for retrieving the Borg technology that brought us here - both to preserve the timeline, and as an essential step in getting us home. I’m now meeting with our chief engineer in hopes of getting a handle on our… other problems. |
Acting Chief Engineering Officer’s Log, Supplemental Stardate 239507.07 Recent events with the Borg ship have landed us 600 years in the past. With Lieutenant Commander Rahman temporarily needed elsewhere, myself and the rest of the Engineering team are working on getting power restored and repairing the damage to the most critical systems first. As I told Acting Captain Delano, I believe this should take about three days barring any material shortages or other interruptions. I was reassured that we should have the materials we need, so here’s hoping we don’t run into any pirates or anyone looking to take these spare parts off our hands. |
Acting Captain’s Log, 239507.07. Encrypted Entry. I’ve spent the last three hours pouring over the special datafile created by our computer that’s meant to brief us on this threat. Frankly, I’m bothered by the language in this “Omega Directive,” which effectively sets aside the core mission and values of Starfleet. The fact that any action we take could disrupt the timeline also weighs heavily on my thoughts. And yet, the devastation Omega can cause if left unchecked makes it clear that we simply don’t have time to consider the ethical and philosophical questions of what needs to be done here. Worse, if the Borg have designs on assimilating Omega, we have no choice but to stop them, whatever the cost. |
Personal Log Stardate 239507.23 I have no idea what happened. I have no idea what I’m looking at. Heck, I barely understand how I just became a living fossil. When they said to return to field work, I didn’t think this was quite what they meant. And I’m an anxious wreck because I should be studying time, not travelling through it. It’ll probably make for one heck of a paper when we get home. |
Acting Captain’s Log, Stardate 239508.11 The Borg device we recovered from the Ohanze planet has proven to be more complex than we anticipated. Nevertheless, thanks to the stellar work of our engineering and science teams, and a bit of assistance from the liberated Borg Drone, we were able to modify it to work with our systems. We’ve returned to our rightful time - albeit, a few weeks later than when we left. I’ve sent messages to Starfleet to report on our situation, including encrypted mission logs regarding the classified aspects of our mission. I’ve also requested a rendezvous with an Ohanze vessel so that The Oracle will be able to return to her people. While we wait for responses, we’ve returned to the coordinates of the temporal anomaly from which we recovered the Mercury shuttle containing Ensign Mei'konda and Lieutenant Commander Rahman. Using the Borg technology, which we believe may have triggered the anomaly in the first place, we believe we have a way to send them home. |
Captain's Log, Stardate 239508.31 Veritas is continuing on course to Havley, and we are scheduled to arrive within the next few days. Before then, I've assembled the senior staff in the officer's mess to recognize both their efforts in this past mission dealing with the Borg threat and Omega and to say farewell to one of our own as he embarks on the next chapter of his career. |
Acting Chief Engineer’s Personal Log, Stardate 239509.01 Though I wasn’t here for much of what transpired during the crew’s last mission, and as tempting as it is to skip the awards ceremony tonight, I feel a certain obligation to attend regardless, if not to support my friends and colleagues...to acknowledge their efforts. What’s making me the most reluctant to attend is Alex. There’s a good chance that the Captain will be formally announcing his transfer tonight. Though I support him and anything that will make him happy, it also saddens me to see him go. He’s been an amazing friend to me these past months and has been an ear when I’ve needed it. With Chythar taking a neutral stance on my relationship with Jon, Alex’s honesty and perspective has been helpful. I’m going to miss him, but I have faith that we’ll serve together again someday. |
Personal Log SD 239509.03 Transfers are a way of life in Starfleet. I understand that and have more or less come to grips with it. We got lucky when our transfers to the Za coincided within a week of each other. We were luckier still when all 3 of us transferred us to the Veritas after the recall of the former. Now, many months later, Alex is being offered a chance at being the first officer of another vessel, far away from me. |
