The Mother Road (Veritas)
| USS Veritas | ||
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 INACTIVE STATUS | ||
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| Veritas Mission History |
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| 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 Mother Road
- Stardate 239410 to 239411
As two Veritas teams prepare for a friendly competition to test their new retrofitted shuttles on the proving grounds of the Mother Road, an investigation begins on a derelict way station when stores of the addictive narcotic felicium are found hidden behind its bulkheads.
Setting
- The Mother Road: A historic route through the Shoals mapped out at the turn of the 24th century to make travel through the region safer. Unlike the rest of the Shoals where warp travel is restricted to a maximum of warp 5, ships traveling along the Mother Road are able to achieve warp speeds up to factor 6, effectively cutting travel times in half.
- Outpost 3: Also known as Coalition Outpost Loa, Outpost 3 is a small survey station approximately seven lightyears away from Antor II. No larger than a Saber class vessel, Outpost 3 was attacked by a band of Klingon pirates in mid-2394, leaving the station practically destroyed and only one survivor. The Starfleet Corps of Engineers began to commit officers and resources to rebuild the station, with the assistance of civilian construction workers from Ketar V. Led by Lt. Cmdr. Tristam Core, its scientific focus shifted to circumventing the area's tetryon fields in hopes of improving long-range communications.
Plot Elements
- Felicium: A highly addictive narcotic originally developed as a vaccine and produced on the planet Brekka. Introduced to the Federation in 2364, the underground spread of felicium into the Shoals began in earnest only in the last several years once Klingon drug cartels and the Orion Syndicate became involved in the trade of the drug.
Mission Summary
The USS Veritas departed the capital of the Colonial Coalition to assist in the repair of a badly damaged Shoals outpost, Outpost 3. Meanwhile, the starship’s crew also poured resources into an experimental shuttle refit project. The project was centered on the development of modular attachments for two of the Veritas’ type-10 shuttlepods. If successful, the redesigns ships would have access to a variety of interchangeable loadouts that would allow for extreme versatility when dealing with the region’s unique physical properties and challenging political situations.
While conducting space worthiness trials in the shuttle modification project, the crew of the Veritas happened upon the wreck of an old prospector vessel adrift amidst a field of strong electrostatic radiation. The derelict was an ancient Claim Jumper class prospector vessel, the S.S. Rockhound, discovered in a region of the Shoals near the Mother Road. While the Veritas’ crew continued to investigate how much the radiation field had to do with the Rockhound’s loss, they were able to confirm that there were no survivors among the prospector’s crew. Suspicions are that the Orion syndicate may be involved.
Log Entries
Captain's Log, Stardate 239410.12 The ship has entered orbit of the local gas giant in the Antor system to begin gathering resources. While the crew tends to their tasks, I have my own to take care of that concerns our chief medical officer, Dr. Ryan. |
First officer’s log, Stardate 239410.17. I’ve occasionally imagined what it must have been like in the twenty second and twenty third centuries, for crews on those older ships to be exploring at the speeds we’ve been traveling through the Shoals at. The Veritas is a fairly comfortable vessel. Under other circumstances, we’d be traveling much faster, and have more frequent access to shore leave. Back then, it must have been an entirely different job. In about fifteen minutes, we’ll be passing one of the road waystations and entering the road itself. It feels almost like we’re about to reach a new warp factor for the first time. I’m looking forward to it. |
Captain’s Log, Stardate 239410.18 Veritas has arrived at Outpost 3, a small way station just under a week’s travel from Antor. The station was heavily damaged after a Klingon pirate raid earlier this year, and despite several months of repairs, it looks to be in a dilapidated state. I’ve beamed over to conduct a tour of the facility with the engineer in charge of the repairs to see just what exactly he’s supposedly been doing for the past sixty days.
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Operations Officer. Personal Log. Stardate 239410.19. A few days ago, I was feeling good about the shuttle retrofit project. We had a solid plan that would get both shuttles operational and up to the SAR team specs within a few weeks. Today, half of the senior staff, including yours truly, was assigned to find a way to make it happen in a few days. And we’re doing it as a competition. Normally, that wouldn’t bother me, but Mei’konda’s been assigned to lead the opposing team. I haven’t had the chance to work much with Commander Kelrod, who will be leading my team, so I'm looking forward to getting to know him a little better. That said, if we’re going to win this thing, he's going to have to be a damn good pilot to keep up with Mei. |
SAR Leader's Log (Stardate 239410.20) The last days have been... unique, to say the least. We've been to Antor II where the Klingon Jilor attacked the planet with a quantum torpedo, pressumably stolen and created a subspace tear within the planet, on the impact site. More surprisingly the tear didn't dissapear inmediately, but remained, threatening to grow and provoking a genocide. We've averted it and found a secret installation but before we could discover what's there, we found some mercenaries, including a Cardassian and we were forced to leave. But what make those last days really unique were a... incredible news. I've been dating Ensign Stiftani Harik, here and there, we shared some ... chemistry, she wasn't afraid of me, nor suspicious, just gentle, caring, ... we've had our passionate days, somehow she made me feel ... free, to be myself, made me feel important, on a personal level, no distrust, no doubts... she was like Raj, but being a woman. Oh my... when Raj finds out... he won't believe it. The important fact is that ... oh, it's amazing,.... she told me that... I'm to be a FATHER! Me! Can you believe it? Oh, maybe you're listening to this. I still don't know if you're a boy or a girl, but I don't care. I was stunned, shocked, freezed, when she told me. I've reacted like a retard, I confess. But after ... how much it was... two hundred,... three hundred years bodyless, then merging with Marcus and seeing life through his eyes, seeing him with Vojana, I'd lost all hopes for something like this to happen to me. But,... here we are.... with me realizing that my hands shaked, my voice trembled, my legs melted... My father left my mother when I was so young, I never forgot nor forgiven him for that, even when he reached to me when I was coming of age. He didn't deserves me, my mother raised me alone, fell ill and finally died without having the chance to live a full life, I had to grow up quick, be strong, no time or money for good comodities or to enjoy summers together as we would have liked. Because of this I've realized that I don't want you to doubt that I'll love you forever, I might become hard on some aspects with you, but it's only because I plan to be the father that I lacked. Forgive me for any mistake that I might make on the road that we'll walk together and I hope that someday, you'll be able to walk your own path and that you'll have the tools and the assurance that I love you and hope that you'll love me too. Anytime, anywhere, no matter what, no matter when, no matter why, I'll be your father and I'll be with you. |
Personal Log, SD 239410.31 Ever had to work outside your element? Here I am, working on an engineering project. Lt. Greyson makes some crack about me in a gold uniform, then I'm suddenly reminded of when I was teasing Alex about wearing teal. Alex replied "If that ever happens, run away." I guess I can't make the same joke about gold, but here's hoping I don't amputate a crucial system off my patient, Prospero. I wonder if I'll be needing to find all my engineering PADDs from the academy just to keep up with Alex. I also wonder if I can get away with dressing up as an engineer for the Halloween party. |
Captain’s Log, Stardate 239411.05 With our shuttle teams currently away conducting their trials, Veritas has remained at Outpost 3, continuing to assist in the repair efforts while also investigating the felicium. On the latter effort, the trail has mostly gone cold, but Dr. Ryan and Lt. Commander Blake have been busy sweeping the outpost to make sure every last bit of the drug has been accounted for and safely secured.
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Chief Medical Officer's Log, Stardate 239411.05 The last few weeks have been tedious and exhausting. The trail seems to have gone cold… as if it had ever been anything else… in our investigation of the felicium found hidden in the bulkheads of Outpost 3. I am, however, happy to report that after testing the crew of the Outpost 3, none of them tested positive for drug usage. Lt. Commander Blake and I have been busy sweeping the outpost to make sure every last bit of the drug has been accounted for and safely secured. With the help of Paxton and Lt.jg Sepek, we are in the final stages of securing and cataloguing the felicium. |
First Officer’s log, Stardate 239411.09. The last two weeks have been filled with hard work, but it’s the sort I find particularly gratifying. It’s not often that I get to dig into the guts of a spacecraft any more, not in my position. I may not be as good at it as Walker and Blair, but what I’ve done has been satisfying. We’ve just launched the Prospero, and we’re en route to the coordinates laid out by the Ferdinand to begin the trials for our modified shuttles. |
SAR Leader's Log (Stardate 239411.13) We've finally made it a reality. The modification of the Type 10 shuttle for the SAR team that will be known from now on as Shadow. We've also been tasked to modify a second shuttle, the Prospero, so the Veritas will be even more versatile and we'll be engaging some trials in a few hours to check their performance in the Shoals. I'm confident with the Shadow as I've had the help of Luna, commander Walker, the Chief engineer of the Veritas. I've served with her for a few years on different ships and if she says something will work, I'll believe her. I'd like to recognize too Lieutenant Commander Delano and ensign Wolfe, a new science officer, that helped with the sensors and scientific approach of the shuttle. So, it seems that I'm settling in as the SAR leader, gaining confidence everyday, with every mission. Once I'm back from this trials I'll need to have a talk with the captain, I'd like to tell her that I'll be the father to Harik's child and that we intend to live together. I still have to talk and meet her parents, that'll come with time and I hope I'll be ready for it. It still amazes me that I could feel this way after more than a century of existance... But I've never been a father, so... I guess it's normal. Aside from that personal feeling, I still find difficult to interact with some of the crew, they're specially,... ellusive, or just not interested in interpersonal relationship with my persona. I wonder if it's something natural on them but something tells me that they still don't feel comfortable with me as they still can see Marcus on me. Talking about that, he's also happy for the baby news, but is somehow hesitant to feel the full extent of joy, because in his mind he expects something to go wrong and be deceived again. I have to admit that part of those thoughts and feelings permeate me and I can't avoid it, but I'm eager to try to put them aside and be happy with Harik and the baby. Just in case something happens I'd like to leave here that I love Frankie a lot and that despite that I still don't know you, I love you my child and I want you to grow happy and strong, be good with your mother and made us both proud of your accomplishments. |
Captain’s Log, Stardate 239411.21 We’ve retrieved all three of our shuttles. The trials for our modified Type 10s are on hold for now as we look into the strange electrostatic radiation field that Commander Mei’konda reported responsible for an unexplained power loss to both shuttles that were participating in the trials. I’ve ordered everyone to their stations as we investigate now with the full resources—and protection—of Veritas at our disposal. |
First Officer’s Log, stardate 239411.22. With the shuttles back on board, maintenance crews are looking them over down in the shuttle bays, working to diagnose the problems each individual craft faced. For now, though, we’ve got other work to do. The Captain has decided to go ahead with using the Veritas to investigate the massive electrostatic discharge. We’re preparing to move into the area now. |
Captain’s Log, Stardate 239412.01 As soon as we informed the Klingons of our detection of a small Orion vessel, they hastily departed to give chase into the Shadows. Veritas, however, will be sticking around Outpost 3 for the time being. The outpost still needs much work done—especially if Commander Core is intent on seeing it brought back to operational status. Furthermore, there is still the matter of our shuttle trials that have yet to be concluded. We might not have gotten all the answers yet over these last few weeks, but we’re left with a number of substantial clues we’ve begun deciphering. And with the appearance of that Orion vessel, there is one thing I have no doubt about: this isn’t the last we’ve seen of the infamous Orion Syndicate. After re-emerging into the galactic consciousness during last year’s so-called “War of Shadows,” it seems they’ve decided to make the Shoals their newest territory. Their mistake. |
First Officer’s Log, Stardate 239412.04. I’ve got a chair on the Bridge. Now I guess we’ll see if the Captain will let me keep it. Several days ago, we left the derelict Rockhound along with a warning beacon about the radiation. We still haven’t completely determined whether it was an intentional trap, but my gut says yes. Engineering is still working to see if they can restore any of the damaged isolinear chips that we recovered from the Rockhound, and I’m hopeful that we’ll get something off of them. At first glance, the Captain’s log appears to be entirely routine, aside from a mention of sensor shadows picked up the day before their last log entry. Could this have been the Orion ship, shadowing them? If there are sensor records on those isolinear chips, maybe they’ll be able to tell. I’ve ordered a briefing to discuss the results of the first trials of the two type ten shuttles. Computer, conclude log entry. |