Randal Shayne: Difference between revisions

[[Silent Night (Darwin-A)]] Shayne's first mission aboard also turned out to be one of the strangest. A catastrophic malfunction of the life support systems necessitated the immediate evacuation of the entire crew. With limited notice and a ship that was rapidly becoming uninhabitable, Captain [[Renos]] ordered all hands to abandon ship, and seek refuge on a nearby Class M planet, populated by a pre-industrial civilization. Because of the extreme distance between the crew and any sort of outside Federation assistance, all hands were encouraged to take up some sort of employment, in order to sustain themselves while help made the journey to the Delta Quadrant. Shayne's reclusive nature and tendency to prefer isolated settings led him to take on the unfortunate position of nightman. During his time there, he encountered a sickly young girl who was suffering from a deadly infection, brought on by a botched amputation. Compassion immediately overrode his commitment to the Prime Directive, and he insisted on bringing the poor girl into the warmth of his cabin, shared by three others. Shayne nearly exposed their true identities to the girl as a result of his actions, but Doctor Graeme Cook was able to operate and save the girl from the infection, without giving away their status as aliens. For his actions on the surface of Turisan II, Shayne was awarded that Captain's Commendation, something he still doesn't understand fully to this day.

[[Outpost Unity (Darwin-A)]] With the events that took place on Turisan II behind them the crew began a much more happy duty; beginning a cooperative effort to establish the first stationary Federation presence in the Delta Quadrant. Shayne and the crew worked together with Talaxian engineers and officials to create Outpost Unity, an enormous station, built for both civilian and Starfleet use. The facility was bound to a Dyson Sphere, where a previous Talaxian colony had been destroyed by an invading threat known as the Numiri. As part of the building process, Shayne, Todd Manius, and Talaxian observer Praxo were ordered to observe what they could of the unexplored sections of the Dyson Sphere. During that particular assignment, a minor disruption in the shuttle's thruster assembly caused all three pilots to crash unceremoniously into the enormous sphere. All three managed to escape without serious injury. While Shayne was being treated for a badly broken nose, a slight overdose of painkillers caused him to exhibit extremely joyous emotions, bordering on a drunken stupor. It was here that he announced that his attending physician, Isabel Pond, was "pretty." In no other point in history has such a drug overdose resulted in something so fantastically positive.  

[[Awakening (Darwin-A)]]  Borg. Lovely. Shayne had suspected that being stationed on the Collective's back door would lead to some close calls, but inwardly he'd hoped that such an encounter might be avoided. No such luck. Communications had picked up a Borg transponder signal nearby, and the Darwin-A was ordered to investigate. Upon arriving at the planet in question, PR-652, sensors reported a strange phenomenon- a cloud, miles across, rising from the surface, and approaching the ship. After a short time, it became clear that said cloud was composed solely by Borg nanites- trillions of them. Fleet Captain Renos ordered that First Officer Maxwell Traenor take a team to the surface, to scan for other Borg lifesigns, and to assess the situation. Shayne was assigned to that team. After a bumpy start, the team finally made it to the surface, finding the world a scorched, barren wasteland. An investigation revealed the presence of a Borg crash sight. A highly unusual sight awaited them. One barely functioning Borg drone was attempting to re-assimilate another equally damaged drone- with little success. The team slowly realized that the nanites in space had left the bodies of the drones. As such, their bodies were collapsing, and their minds- as they soon found- were beginning to reassert themselves.  

The group of Borg had lost contact with the hive mind, and were confused- dangerously so. A shield was activated, preventing the shuttle from leaving. The team set about attempting to disable it. While Lieutenant Logan set off an explosion to distract the Borg, Shayne and Lieutenant Brell proceeded to approach the now unmanned command center. To their horror, they came across another half-functioning drone, asking for their help. Despite their better judgment, Shayne and Brell attempted to communicate with it, and ask for its help. Highly suspicious, it refused to help them in their endeavors at first. However, after realizing that the Human-Bolian duo was not a threat, Six of Seven, as she had identified herself as, lowered the shields surrounding their shuttle. Traenor, Logan, and the two officers, along with Six of Seven, converged on the shuttle, but Commander Traenor refused to bring the unstable drone with them. Shayne protested this decision with great heat, and bordered on gross insubordination, before reluctantly relenting and leaving her there. Mere hours later, Renos ordered the entire planet scoured of all life, to prevent the Borg from resurfacing there.

[[The Ties That Bind (Darwin-A)]] Shayne didn't realize there was to be a mission until it was sprung upon the crew. His captain, a runaway J'naii pursued by his own people for failing to adhere to the general consensus that their species should be genderless, was captured by a traitor in their midst. For many months, Iy, another J'naii taken under Renos' wing, had been a loyal and helpful member of the staff. However, this facade was quickly dropped when the opportunity presented itself. Spiriting Renos away to a waiting J'naii starship, the mutinous backstabber proceeded to begin torturing Renos, attempting to reprogram his "deviant" beliefs. Meanwhile, aboard the Darwin, evidence was quickly indicating that a massive problem was present. Renos and Iy were missing, and as both had no shortage of enemies, it was logical to conclude that something or someone had happened to them. The search lasted several weeks, with the Darwin just barely managing to keep up behind the far more stealthy J'naii vessel. All the while, Renos was subjected to miserable interrogations and force-fed psychoactive drugs, in the hopes of disorientating the fleet captain. At last, the Starfleet crew cornered the escaping vessel, and began to engage them. Iy's status as a trusted member of the crew had afforded nem plenty of oppurtunities to tamper with the starship's functionality. All it took was a simple code, sent into the right system, and the Darwin crew found that their shields had been neutralized without a shot being fired. The battering then began, and while the science departments and engineers scrambled to find some way to correct the sabotage, Shayne was left with little choice but to try and dodge, weave, evade and avoid all the incoming weapons fire that he could. The damage being dealt to the science vessel was considerable, and, though he tried valiantly, the bulbous fish bowl with nacelles was nigh impossible to maneuver. WIth more and more damage shattering the starship's hull all the time, the scientists finally managed to raise the shields. Now it was on. With protection from the incoming fire, Shayne was able to coordinate with tactical officer Logan, and smash through the enemy's shields with blast after blast of well-placed phaser fire. Without warning, the battlefield became ripe with subspace anomalies, another worry to the helmsman. A particularly powerful shot from the phaser array set the J'naii starship adrift, and with it's disabled engines, the small craft found itself being inexorably pulled into the pocket of anomalies. All aboard knew that, as Starfleet officers, they were obligated to try and save the traitor's life, regardless of their (understandably intense) desires toward the contrary. However, the ruined state of the Darwin's engines and structural frame meant that any attempt to rescue the traitor was out of the question. They could only watcha as Iy drifted into the anomalies, where ne was quickly winked out of existence. Meanwhile, a search and retrieve mission to find Renos successfully brought the tortured J'naii back to safety.