The following items are taken from Captain Gideon's Official Log of the events involving the starship Hyperion and her crew.
Captain's Log: Final Report, Stardate 61221.9
The shakedown cruise of the Hyperion has been a rather challenging one. We had been ordered to the planet MUROM II to deliver supplies to Genetic Research Station 464. We were also asked to check on the staff of the station, the husband and wife research team of Lon and Mary Jacobs. MUROM II is a class M world, registered as lifeless, apparently due to the severe geological and electromagnetic storms which ravage the planet's surface. I formed a landing party of myself, Dr. Pendergraft, Lt. Commander Osworth (my XO), and Ensign Davidson. We were unable to beam down initially due to a power grid which protected the research facility. This grid also made communications difficult at best, and at times impossible. It was not long after beaming down, however, that we discovered the true nature of Dr. Jacobs' work. Dr. Jacobs pulled a phaser on the landing party and began telling us his story. He had discovered a non-carbon-based life form hidden within the very rock of the planet itself. This was apparently a species which was on the verge of dying out, and he used the DNA patterns of his wife and himself to give one of these beings a humanoid form. His wife did not survive the process. He revealed to us that he planned to use our DNA patterns, as well as those of the rest of my crew to awaken the literal thousands of beings who remained dormant beneath the surface of the planet. When Ensign Davidson attempted to stun Dr. Jacobs, he was phasered on the disintegrate setting. After this, the remaining landing party members were placed into a holding cell, and it was at this point that Dr. Jacobs' plan went awry. The being who he had awakened (a young female named Raana) apparently had plans of her own. She had watched Dr. Jacobs' work closely enough to be able to duplicate the process by which she had been transformed and had awakened another of her species, named Velkar. The two of them placed Dr. Jacobs into the holding cell with us and beamed up to the Hyperion. After a short time, we broke out of the cell through an ingenious use of a bench and a belt buckle by Lt. Commander Osworth. Unfortunately, that short time was not short enough. Upon their arrival aboard the Hyperion, Raana and Velkar proceeded to auxiliary control, where they took over the ship and attempted to initiate a warp core eject. However, Lt. Lisius was able to manually stop the ejection process. By this time, the landing party had returned, leaving Dr. Jacobs on the planet until the situation aboard ship could be resolved. When the intruders went to engineering to attempt to manually eject the warp core, Lt. Commander Osworth and Ensign Brooks were able to regain computer control by removing some gelpacks and initiating a system restart. Unfortunately, this left transporters offline until they could be repaired. In regaining control of the engine room, security officer Bowman killed Velkar and severely wounded Raana (Phasers had to be set as if they were cutting rock to do any damage to the life forms). Meanwhile, on the bridge, Ensign Skelton had discovered that the life forms within the planet's crust were actually the crew of an alien ship in some sort of suspended animation. At this moment, sensors detected a power surge on the planet's surface. Dr. Jacobs had discovered the true nature of the aliens, and was planning to blow the station's reactor to destroy them. We attempted to beam him out, but he had activated the power grid. I took over helm and weapon control and destroyed the power grid. Moments later, Ensign Brooks got the transporters back online and Lt. Commander Osworth beamed Dr. Jacobs to the ship. I took the ship out of orbit, narrowly escaping the shockwave of the exploding reactor. Raana's injuries were beyond Dr. Pendergraft's expertise, and she succumbed to them, but not before telling us that the ship in the planet was only a "vanguard." The appropriate documentation has been forwarded to Star Fleet Headquarters with my recommendation that a research vessel return to MUROM II to discover if any information about these aliens might be able to be recovered from the site of the explosion.
Let the record state that Dr. Jacobs has been charged with the following crimes: 1. Two counts of violation of the Prime Directive in the "creation" and destruction of Raana and Velkar's ship and crew. 2. Two counts of murder - Ensign Louis Davidson and Mrs. Mary Jacobs. Note that Ensign Louis Davidson, Lt. Charles Johnson and Midshipman Harold Adams were killed in the line of duty. Send my personal condolences to their families.
APPEARING IN THIS EPISODE:
Captain Jeremy Gideon
Lt. Cmdr. Alexander Osworth
Lt. Dmitri Petrovsky
Lt. Jason Lisius
Ensign William Brooks
Ensign Gordon Skelton
Dr. Abraham Pendergraft
Episode: Heart of Darkness Aired: October 12, 1996
Captain's Log: Final Report, Stardate 61226.2
Several days after our shakedown cruise, the Hyperion was on routine patrol when I was contacted by Admiral Hawkins on a secure channel. He was concerned about Captain Victor Drake, my former commanding officer when I had served aboard the U.S.S. Republic. Captain Drake was apparently a thorn in Starfleet's side, and had to be transferred from assignment to assignment, each growing more remote and more isolated from the Starfleet chain of command. His current assignment was the command of a dilithium mining colony on Tropos IV. Over the past several months Starfleet had received no communication from the colony, despite repeated attempts. Our mission was to go to Tropos IV with the intent of bringing Captain Drake back. I have a great admiration for Captain Drake, being my first commanding officer - I have said on many occasions that I have learned all I know about command from Captain Drake. Thus, I approached this mission with some reluctance. Upon our arrival at Tropos IV, a preliminary scan revealed a small colony with rather primitive technology - there was a surprisingly low energy signature for a mining operation of this size. Also in orbit around the planet were the Republic, a Ferengi Marauder and a Romulan Warbird. A man named Conrad (who we later discovered was Drake's First Officer aboard the Republic) "greeted" us as we arrived, giving very specific beamdown coordinates. Lt. Commander Osworth formed a landing party of himself, Lt. Petrovsky, Lt. Smith, Ensign Morgan, and Ensign Yamato. I joined the landing party, wanting to talk to Captain Drake personally. When we beamed down, we noticed a number of Ferengi and humans off in the jungle, apparently workers in the mining operation. They looked none too well-fed or cared for. Conrad seemed angry about the number of persons in the party and said that Captain Drake would only speak to me. I agreed, but Ensign Morgan insisted upon accompanying me. My Exec agreed, and Conrad did not object so we continued to a large white domed building while the landing party remained behind. At the building, I was escorted in to see Captain Drake alone. He did not seem happy to see me. I asked him to explain the presence of the Ferengi and Romulan vessels in orbit as well as the workers we had seen. His reply was that he had made this colony the most efficient mining operation in the Federation, and that he was going to make it even more so with the addition of my crew to the work force. He then invoked seniority and claimed, as the senior captain, that he would be taking command of my ship. Under strict interpretation of Starfleet guidelines, I was forced to comply. I also discovered later that he had acquired the command prefix to Hyperion. Meanwhile, the landing party escaped being pressed into service and managed to remove themselves to a safe area. When Drake beamed up to the Hyperion, they began an operation to take over the control center of the mining operation. On the Hyperion, Drake ordered me to give the general evacuation order, but I refused, at which point Drake placed me under arrest and confined me to quarters. He then commenced the evacuation of my ship to the planet's surface. I managed to send a secured message to Admiral Hawkins informing him of our status and asking for recommendations for removing Drake from command. Hawkins replied that Drake had been so far removed from Starfleet, and that they had covered for him for so long that I should consider him no longer within the Starfleet chain of command. I showed this message to the to security men guarding my room, and we proceeded to the transporter room as Drake was preparing to beam the last of the crew down to the planet's surface. On the way, Lt. Commander Osworth informed me that he had regained control of Hyperion from the control room on the planet. I had him shut down all transporters, and he placed a force field around the transporter room where Drake was located, effectively isolating him. Upon our arrival, I informed Captain Drake of the message I had received from Admiral Hawkins and ordered him to stand down. He attempted to beam to the surface, but was unable. He refused to willingly stand down, so I was forced to place him under arrest. I lowered the force field and the security officers went to escort him to the brig, but he fought with one and took his phaser. I tried to stop the situation from escalating any further, and he suddenly set the phaser on disintegrate and turned it on himself.
APPEARING IN THIS EPISODE:
Captain Jeremy Gideon
Lt. Cmdr. Alexander Osworth
Lt. Dmitri Petrovsky
Ensign Gordon Skelton
Ensign Kevin Morgan
Lt. Wally Smith
Episode: The Black Orb Aired: November 9, 1996
Captain's Log: Final Report, Stardate 61232.5
The Hyperion was assigned to transport Dr. Ben Matthias, a noted archaeologist, and his Vulcan assistant Doctor Shira to the planet Bykos. Dr. Matthias had been searching for an almost mythical artifact called the Black Orb for the better part of fifteen years. His research had come to a point where he believed he had located the precise location of the orb in a cave on the surface of Bykos. Upon our arrival at Bykos, a preliminary scan of the area in question was made more difficult by the presence of the nearby Bykosian Nebula. Sensor readings of the cave in which the orb was though to rest was also difficult due to the presence of what we later discovered to be thurium in the igneous rock. Because of the presence of thurium, transport and into and out of the cave were rendered impossible. Dr. Matthias and his assistant beamed down to the mouth of the cave, along with Lt. Petrovsky, Dr. Pendergraft, Ensign Skelton, and Ensign Lisa Williams as security backup.. Upon entering the cave, the landing party discovered that there was an object beneath the floor of the cave which was somehow absorbing all of their scans. This object was revealed through excavation to be the orb. After carefully removing the layers of rock and soil, Dr. Matthias' assistant brought the orb to the mouth of the cave. Both Dr. Pendergraft and Lt. Petrovsky experienced what they described as a strange, almost hypnotic effect as the orb passed by them. When Dr. Shira reached the mouth of the cave, however, she turned her phaser on the roof of the cave, causing a rockfall which sealed the away team in the cave. At that same moment, a Romulan Warbird decloaked and beamed up Dr. Shira. It then cloaked as it headed into the Bykosian Nebula. Ensign Skelton successfully tracked her, and we initiated pursuit after beaming down a rescue team to the planet's surface. The crucial element seemed to be the diminishing supply of oxygen for the away team. However, a more immediate threat soon appeared in the form of amphibian beings who lived within pools of water in the cave. Their life signs were apparently masked by the presence of thurium in the water. One of them attacked and overcame Ensign Williams. The beings were bipedal with definite humanoid traits, however their bodies were covered with scales and very fish-like in appearance. The away team strove to keep them at bay with their phasers (they were resistant to low-level stun settings) while also searching for a way out of the cave. Ensign Skelton began tunneling at the rock using the excavating tools which Dr. Matthias had brought. It was uncertain whether he would have sufficient time to break through before the oxygen in the cave ran out. Meanwhile, in the nebula, Hyperion caught up with the Romulan vessel, who refused to answer all hails. Neither, however, did she turn and fight. She just continued in a straight-line course through the nebula until she suddenly came to a dead stop, all her power drained. We beamed a small away team over to the vessel to discover the entire crew complement dead. We located the Orb and brought it back to the Hyperion. As we headed back to the planet, however, we noticed that the orb seemed to be draining energy from Hyperion. Mr. Lisius had set up a containment field around the orb, but it didn't seem to do any good. He determined that the element thurium would be able to shield us against the energy draining properties of the orb. Upon arriving at the planet, the rescue team had broken through the rockfall and was able to get the away team out in time for us to beam the orb back into the cave in which it was originally found. We then had the rescue team reseal the cave and place a warning marker outside the cave. The questions of the orb's creators, its purpose, and its full properties still remain unanswered, but the data we have gathered may provide insight into future research of this mysterious artifact.
APPEARING IN THIS EPISODE:
Captain Jeremy Gideon
Dr. Abraham Pendergraft
Lt. Dmitri Petrovsky
Ensign Gordon Skelton
Ensign Kevin Morgan
Episode:Deus ex MachinaAired: December 14, 1996
Captain's Log: Final Report, Stardate 61240.5
Preliminary sensor scans of the planet Epsilon Gamma II had revealed a class M world with large energy readings and signs of heavy mechanization, but no life form readings above the lower animals. Hyperion had been assigned to a planetary survey, but we knew little of what lay in store for us. Lt. Commander Osworth, Lt. Petrovsky, Ensign Skelton and myself beamed down to the planet surface nearest the center of mechanization.
The planet appeared to be an idyllic, forested world with a vast array of flora and fauna, but no apparent sentient life. Upon further investigation we found what appeared to be an agricultural field being tended by a sophisticated robot. The robot had a humanoid body placed upon two treads, and was highly animated for a robot, with a great degree of expression especially in the facial area and the limbs. A tricorder reading by Ensign Skelton revealed that it was powered by an incredibly efficient and well-shielded renewable fission power plant. We introduced ourselves to the robot, which seemed rather alarmed upon seeing us. After a brief conversation, the robot identified itself as Koturnis. We asked Koturnis if we could meet some others of its kind, to which it readily agreed.
On the way to the center of the mechanization which our orbital scans had revealed, we engaged Koturnis in conversation and discovered that it was apparently part of a race which called themselves the "Mecha." They were all robotic devices as Koturnis was, and had apparently achieved a high level of sociological as well as technological sophistication. According to Koturnis, the Mecha had a social structure, appreciated the arts, and had space travel capabilities through which they had even begun colonizing other planets. When asked why we had never heard of their race, Koturnis replied, "Space is very big."
After a time, we arrived at a large articulated door set into the canyon wall. The door opened to reveal a huge underground city. I placed the size of the city as somewhere around the size of San Francisco on Earth. Within the city, which was connected by a series of suspended catwalks and elevators, we saw a great variety of robots. Some were able to fly through the use of what appeared to be sophisticated anti-gravity control. Others were on tracks, wheels, or even legs. Each one appeared to have a specific design to fill a specific function, and yet the design was more than functional - there appeared to be aesthetic value in the design of the robot bodies, and the architecture as well. All of the robots who saw us showed the same degree of alarm that Koturnis had upon first seeing us.
After passing down several levels, Koturnis brought us to a room with open doors, but what appeared to be a scanning field in the doorways. However, when we passed through the field, we found that our communicators and other devices had gone dead. I then tried to leave the room, but found the fields had become impassable from the inside. It was then that Koturnis informed us that the magistrate would be coming to determine if we were true life forms, and if we were, we would be free to go.
Eventually a bipedal robot came through the field (which apparently only blocked organic material) accompanied by a smaller, wheeled robot. The bipedal robot was wearing a long hooded robe and identified itself as the magistrate, Liticus. It identified the other as the librarian, Register. It then began questioning us about whether we were true life forms, identifying five criteria: 1) true life forms process nutrients, 2) oxidize, 3) reason, 4) reproduce, and 5) are immortal. There followed a lengthy argument about the Mecha's definition of what true life forms are and whether or not it was valid. Finally, however, Liticus decided that although humans fit most of the requirements for true life forms, we were not in fact true life forms and that some of us would be kept as specimens, and some for scientific research with the rest of the crew being disposed of. It said that we should not be too disappointed, however, since it was determined that one of our number was indeed a true life form - the one called Hyperion.
Liticus left us and we began formulating a plan for escaping the room. A short time later the wheeled robot Register returned to our cell and informed us that it was against Liticus' decision to destroy us. It said that it did not wish to see any creatures destroyed, and would arrange it so that the force fields would go down temporarily, giving us a means to escape. It left us and a short time after that, the fields went down.
We began calmly walking down the suspended catwalk and had almost made it to the elevator when one of the robots spotted us. We dashed for the elevator, only to find a large array of buttons whose functions were a complete mystery. We began pushing buttons at random until we finally got the elevator going in an upward direction. The car was transparent, and the robots could see us at every floor, but seemed more frightened of us than we were of them (at one floor, my XO actually said "BOO!" The robots scattered.).
When we reached the top, Liticus was there waiting for us with a large contingent of robots. We attempted to flee in the other direction when Liticus said,"Wait! I believe we can resolve this without anyone being destroyed! Our laws allow for true life forms to keep lower life forms as...pets. Hyperion has claimed you as its pets. You are free to go."
To date, Hyperion has yielded little information about the dialogue between the Mecha and itself. The only answer given to our queries is the enigmatic quote of Asimov's First Law of Robotics: "No robot can, through its action or inaction, allow harm to come to a human." I have ordered a level 1 diagnostic of all heuristic circuitry aboard Hyperion, but frankly I am dubious as to what kind of success it will have.
APPEARING IN THIS EPISODE:
Captain Jeremy Gideon-Randy Stoda
Lt. Commander Osworth-Mark Oxner
Lt. Dmitri Petrovsky-Tom Roof
Ensign Gordon Skelton-Shane Taylor
Episode:"The Illyri Clock" Aired: January 4, 1997
Captain's Log: Final Report, Stardate 61271.4
Hyperion was assigned to play host to a diplomatic summit concerning a small, uninhabited class M planet called Ganosia IV. The planet was considered disputed territory between the Illyri and Otiku races, and they had asked for Federation help to arbitrate. Starfleet saw an excellent chance to strengthen diplomatic relations with whatever species ended up controlling the planet's substantial dilithium and trilithium deposits. Thus, Lt. Petrovsky and I were called upon to mediate the talks which would take place on board Hyperion en route to rendezvous with the Illyri and the Otiku starships. The introductory ceremonies consisted of a small, but formal dinner followed by an exchange of gifts between the ambassadors of each species. The Otiku, a reptilian race with bright head crests, presented the Illyri with a gem set in gold from their home world. Mellus Poh, the Otiku ambassador, stated that gold was very rare, thus highly valued among his people. Dara, the Illyri ambassador (tall and statuesque, with what appeared to be gills along her temples - typical of Illyri), presented the Otiku with a beautiful and complex clock set to galactic standard time. Mellus Poh greatly appreciated the gift. His assistant, Jiran Tah silently recorded the entire proceedings with a small metallic cylinder. As the talks proceeded, it was clear that Dara had no intention of working out an even distribution of the resources of Ganosia. She saw the Otiku as barbarians with whom one could not reason. Her assistant, Krell, was of a more equitable nature. He stated that "Any outcome other than a mutually beneficial compromise shows a failure of intellect." Dara, however, was clearly in the position of authority, and showed no signs of moving. It was shaping up to be a tricky summit. Meanwhile, on the bridge, Ensign Skelton and Lt. Commander Osworth had detected the presence of a null signal, possibly a homing beacon, as well as some anomalous readings which could indicate the presence of a cloaked ship. They began some minor course changes and other means to try and verify the presence of the ship. Once they were certain that a cloaked ship was in fact shadowing us, I was summoned to the bridge. However, as I was just about the leave the conference room, there was a blinding flash of light and the intruder alert sounded. Several humanoids appeared, one of whom grabbed Mellus Poh and then dematerialized, taking Mellus and the clock. One of the boarders, however, was killed when the dematerialization process went wrong. Dr. Pendergraft determined that the being (who seemed to be human) died of massive cellular disruption, as would be the result of a transporter malfunction. Although the vessel we had detected earlier was cloaked, Lt. Commander Osworth had discovered a means of tracking the vessel, triangulating upon the null signal reading. The vessel had slowed down when the ambassador had been abducted, so we had to reverse course, possibly delaying our rendezvous with the Illyri. At this time, Dara arrived on the bridge, expressing her discontent with the talks in general, as well as being adamant about making the rendezvous with her ship. She and Lt. Petrovsky began to get into a rather heated discussion when we finally located the alien ship. We locked on a tractor beam, at which point we were hailed by the vessel. The commander of the vessel identified himself as Peletir, a native of the planet Ganosia. He was very upset and claimed that his people were being exploited by both the Illyri and the Otiku who were mining their planet without permission. I invited Peletir to allow us to beam over Mellus Poh (who was on the alien vessel - still holding the clock) and himself, and we would straighten this whole business out, to which he readily agreed. Once the ambassador was safely back aboard Hyperion, we set out for our original rendezvous, the Ganosian vessel trailing behind. Dara was very upset with my decision to bring Peletir aboard, and, according to Dr. Pendergraft and Lt. Petrovsky, she was quite afraid of something, but the other ambassadors willingly admitted that they had misled us about the inhabited state of Ganosia IV. It was at this point that Peletir announced that Dara was the head of the Illyri secret police, which even surprised her assistant, Krell. Dara became indignant and said that she would not participate in the talks. She then stormed out of the conference room escorted by Lt. Petrovsky, who insisted that she take the clock back (Petrovsky later admitted to having a gut instinct that something was wrong with the clock) and gave Krell permission to speak for her in the talks. Mellus Poh became indignant at Lt. Petrovsky taking the clock, so Dr. Pendergraft volunteered to take the clock to sick bay for safe-keeping until the problems were settled. I settled down, finally ready to begin these talks in earnest. However, I was soon summoned to the bridge- Dara had sent a subspace message to the Illyri ship, telling them that she must be off the ship by the designated rendezvous time and told the Illyri ship to take an intercept course. Arriving on the bridge, I found that the vessel had raised shields and her weapon systems were powered. I attempted to hail the vessel, but got no response. They fired a warning shot across our bow, at which point we raised shields and engaged the enemy vessel. She was a powerful warship, and we sustained some damage, but none of our weapons could penetrate her shields. The Illyri captain hailed us and informed us that they had come for Dara and that we were to beam her over immediately. Lt. Petrovsky took the clock (which the doctor and Lt. Commander Osworth had determined was actually a highly sophisticated and powerful explosive device capable of destroying our ship) and met Dara at her quarters, informing her that he was taking her to the transporter room. She showed visible fear at the sight of the clock, but continued with him to the transporter room. The captain of the Illyri vessel was still demanding that I lower shields for transport, but I would not until he did. This stalemate continued until the communication was piped through to the transporter room and Dara ordered the Illyri captain to lower shields. He complied, as did I, and as the Illyri transporter beam engaged, Lt. Petrovsky threw the clock into the beam and it dematerialized with Dara. Seconds later, the Illyri ship met the fate meant for us and exploded - totally destroyed.
Afterward, we met once again with the delegates from all three races. I asked if they had worked out the details for a mutually beneficial arrangement on Ganosia. Krell replied, "No Captain, we haven't worked out all the details, but it is a beginning. And, after all, we have nothing but time."
Commendation noted - Lt. Petrovsky for extreme bravery in the face of danger.
APPEARING IN THIS EPISODE:
Captain Jeremy Gideon-Randy Stoda
Lt. Cmdr. Alexander Osworth-Mark Oxner
Dr. Abraham Pendergraft-Paul Wagner
Lt. Dmitri Petrovsky-Tom Roof
Ensign Gordon Skelton-Shane Taylor
Episode: "Nantucket Sleighride" Aired: January 11, 1997
Captain's Log: Final Report, Stardate 61286.2
Hyperion was assigned placing deep-space communications relay buoys, expanding Starfleet's communications net. I decided to deploy a small landing party in a shuttle to a nearby, unexplored class M world (c.f. Dr. Pendergraft's mission log). While in the process of deploying one of the buoys, a small ship was detected towing one of the buoys away. We doubled back and attempted to communicate with the vessel, but no response. I then ordered a tractor beam upon the ship. Suddenly, the ship accelerated, well off our velocity scale, towing Hyperion along with it. There was a blinding flash of light and a coruscating effect ahead of us. I attempted to release the tractor, but too late.
When the vessel stopped, damage reports came in from all over the ship. We had severe warp engine problems as well as a dilithium chamber failure. However, this was not the greatest of our problems. I hailed the alien ship, which appeared to have been as damaged as we were by the trip. A small, bluish creature with a prominent nose and teeth greeted my hail, and none too pleasantly. He informed me that our tractor beam had caused problems with his "dimensional drive," and that we were now stuck in a null-space between dimensions. Occasionally, an object or ship would pass through the manifestation, putting the ship in jeopardy. A larger problem was the fact that the null-space appeared to be moving past us, and within two hours we would be forever trapped between dimensions.
I tried maneuvering Hyperion to keep pace with the manifestation, but our engines seemed to have no effect in the null-space. I then sent our engineer, Mr. Lisius, and my XO over to the alien ship to try to repair his drive, under the condition that we would work together to get out of the portal. At first, neither Lt. Commander Osworth nor Lt. Lisius could make sense of the alien drive, but then Lt. Cmdr. Osworth noted that the drive was really more akin to our transporter technology than to stardrive. After this, repairs proceeded apace.
Once the Cheli (this was the alien's self-designation) drive and our own engines were sufficiently repaired, we returned in tandem to our own dimension. Upon arrival, we were hailed by the away team, which had apparently come under attack by an indigenous life form on the planet. We returned just in time to transport the away team to safety.
"Nantucket Sleighride" Mission Log StarDate 61285.93 Dr. Abraham Pendergraft
As the Hyperion is placing space beacons in this frontier region of space, myself, Ensigns Skelton, Lester, and Howard embark in Hyperion's shuttle Nobile, bound for a biologic survey of a nearby class M planet; the fourth planet around Star TK377-WH92, as yet an unnamed planet. The planet is 97% aquatic with a thriving biosphere, although Ensign Skelton's sensor readings detect no higher biological life forms.
We land on a beach on one of the larger islands and proceed with our survey. Without a warning a large ropy arm-like tentacle erupts out of the water and attaches itself to the side of the Nobile. Several more follow in quick succession. The Nobile starts sliding to the edge of the small cliff we had landed on. Quickly Ensign Skelton fires his hand phaser into the tentacles, I follow suit. Ensigns Lester and Howard run back down the beach towards us. Our phasers have no affect on the tentacles, and the Nobile is pulled off the cliff and slams on to the beach. We all run to the slightly damaged shuttle and leap on board. We are pulled into the surf, and begin descending beneath the waves. Taking the helm I attempt to start the impulse engines and pull away. No response! Readings detect that we have no impulse power and that something has penetrated the impulse engines. We are pulled down swiftly, deeper and deeper into the depths. With Ensign Lester's help Ensign Skelton attempts to recalibrate the varistor of the shield generator, and they get the shields up. A blinding flash fills the cabin as the ensuing electric charge runs through the shield field - I see a huge eye gleaming at us in the Nobile's view port. The charge has no effect. I attempt to raise the Hyperion to beam us aboard. There is no response! I activate the shuttle's MAYDAY beacon. As we continue to plummet we hear banging sounds at the hatch. The shuttle hits, presumably we are at the bottom, sensors show several life forms outside in the darkness as the shuttle creaks from the pressure. Ensign Skelton's reading reveals that we have 40 minutes of life support and any further use of the shield-charge would take all the remaining power. The warp pods are being dismantled, in a desperate effort we jettison the pods. The Nobile begins to rise but is pulled back down. Still no word from the Hyperion. In the shuttle's lights we see another huge eye slithering by. I attempt to barrage the creature(s) with sonics but there appears to be no effect. We make a final plan to overload our phaser's one at a time and transport them directly outside the ship into the midst of the beast. A breech at the hatch shoots a jet of water pummeling into the opposite side of the shuttle's interior, as the hatch begins to crumple in almost slow motion we are hailed by the Hyperion. "Four to beam aboard, immediately! Jeremy, get us out of here!" I admonish the Captain. We are beamed aboard as the hatch blows and the Nobile's cabin is flooded. We are rushed to sick bay.
There was little damage, only to our raw nerves.
APPEARING IN THIS EPISODE:
Captain Jeremy Gideon-Randy Stoda
Lt. Cmdr. Alexander Osworth-Mark Oxner
Dr. Abraham Pendergraft-Paul Wagner
Lt. Dmitri Petrovsky-Tom Roof
Ensign Gordon Skelton-Shane Taylor
Episode: "Projekt Janus." Aired: January 11, 1997
Captain's Log: Final Report, Stardate 61299.5
We were ordered to rendezvous with the starship Ophion, commanded by Capt. Rebecca West, at starbase K-52. Upon our arrival, she informed me that she was handing over all information and responsibility for a research project called "Projekt Janus." The official information about the project was that it was highly secret but had something to do with matter and energy conversion.
Aboard station K-52, I met with the project's head, Dr. Malin Andersson, who was no more forthcoming about the nature of Projekt Janus. My responsibility was to provide security for the project, since the research was taking place aboard a civilian station. The necessity for such security became soon apparent as Commissioner Farnsworth, the diplomatic liaison for this sector, explained how she planned to take the doctor and her project to a nearby planet called Legestis 9 as an expression of good will. The station administrator, Carlisle Trout was little help in this matter, content with allowing us to settle the issue ourselves, and making himself scarce.
Very soon, however, the situation became more than a diplomatic incident. There was a containment field breach in the experiment, and Ophion immediately broke away from the station. Hyperion, however, remained docked. Dr. Andersson seemed very upset about the potential danger of the experiment, but she could offer little in the way of practical advice on what kind of a threat the project posed. She was again reticent to expose any details until systems onboard Hyperion and the station as well as personnel began to be affected. Apparently, the experiments had been very tightly controlled and had not progressed very far. She did say that the "Andersson Effect," as she had called it, was very subtle and slow - difficult to detect immediately. It interacted with matter in unpredictable ways.
We were then informed by Captain West that Starfleet had been monitoring the situation, and that we had 15 minutes to contain or reverse the effect or she had been ordered to destroy both Hyperion and the station. Dr. Pendergraft found that cordrazine would temporarily counter the Andersson effect on living beings, but this was only a stopgap measure. Lt. Cmndr. Osworth beamed over to the station, and he joined Dr. Andersson and I in trying to stop the effect. He had Dr. Andersson begin the experiment again and noted that matter of different types was used as a catalyst for the effect. He then had a small quantity of antimatter beamed over and repeated the experiment, using antimatter as the catalyst. It appeared to reverse the effect somewhat, but time was running out. We left the doctor in the room to bargain with Ophion for more time. Then Dr. Andersson routed the station's full power through the experiment, creating a tremendous discharge of energy, and quickly reversing the Andersson effect. However, the burst of energy proved too much for her, and she succumbed to her injuries. I have made a recommendation to Starfleet that she receive the Medal of Valor for her act of heroism.
It was later discovered that it was Carlisle Trout himself who was responsible for the initial containment field breach. He was a member of the Fundamental Rights Movement and saw the research as a danger to the Federation. He has yet to be formally charged.
APPEARING IN THIS EPISODE:
Captain Jeremy Gideon-Randy Stoda
Lt. Cmdr. Alexander Osworth-Mark Oxner
Dr. Abraham Pendergraft-Paul Wagner
Lt. Dmitri Petrovsky-Tom Roof
Ensign Gordon Skelton-Shane Taylor
Episode: "The Torn Veil" Aired: January 18, 1997
Captain's Log: Final Report, Stardate 61305.7
Federation Commissioner Timor McClane had been murdered on planet Soru II, and we had been sent to investigate. He was a delegate to the planet, and the two other delegates, Commander Jerred French and Elise Dumont (a civilian) were being held on charges of espionage, possibly related to the murder. When we arrived, the First Commissar of Soru, Naga Pran, informed us that they had already begun their investigation, and that they were close to a conclusion. Since these were Federation citizens, we requested to conduct our own investigation, to which the First Commissar reluctantly agreed.
Soru II is a spacefaring race, with technology roughly equivalent to 20th century Earth. They are somewhat xenophobic and isolationist, and are apparently very sensitive about divulging information about their planet. What little information we had was gleaned from our own scans. Revealing information about the world itself was considered a major crime, punishable by death. It was exactly this sort of espionage of which the delegates were accused.
I beamed down with Dr. Pendergraft and Lt. Petrovsky to investigate the situation. After receiving a rather cold greeting from the Pran, we asked to see the prisoners. Commander French seemed very confident and not at all troubled by the allegations made by the Soru. Miss Dumont, however, was very agitated. Dr. Pendergraft completed a preliminary medical examination of the prisoners, after which he asked to return to the ship. I asked the Commissar if Lt. Petrovsky could remain and continue the investigation on the planet. Pran at first balked at this, but then allowed it. However, he also insisted that several of his security crew be beamed aboard as "observers."
Upon returning to the ship, the Doctor informed me that Commander French had given him a piece of his fingernail, which turned out to be a sophisticated data storage device. When we examined the data contained in it, we discovered that it was extensive information on the geological resources of Soru II. I immediately contacted Admiral Hawkins at Starfleet Command, informing him of the situation on Soru II. He could neither confirm nor deny that French was working under Federation orders, but if he was, the Federation could not protect him if he had been caught.
As for the murder allegation, the evidence seemed to weigh heavily against Elise Dumont. The murder weapon was found with her fingerprints on it. Dr. Pendergraft confirmed this. I decided that I must confront the delegates with what we had found. We were going to set up a lie-detector test, but Commander French refused it. I asked a few moments alone with French, to which the First Commissar reluctantly agreed. I asked French to come clean with me, but he refused. Finally, I told him that we had hard evidence against him in the espionage charges. Immediately, the door burst open, and the First Commissar came in, informing us that we were now all guilty of espionage and subject to immediate execution. After a brief struggle, however, we were able to contact Hyperion. My XO beamed all of us aboard, including the Soru security men and the First Commissar. Their two "escort" vessels began firing on us with atomic weapons, until we informed them that Naga Pran was aboard.
The delegates were escorted to their quarters under guard, and I informed the First Commissar that we would be taking the delegates to the nearest Starbase to be tried under Federation law. Dr. Pendergraft suggested that the Soru send an observer to the proceedings, but the Pran refused, stating that he was sure that they would receive, "as fair treatment as we have here."
APPEARING IN THIS EPISODE:
Captain Jeremy Gideon-Randy Stoda
Lt. Cmndr. Alexander Osworth-Mark Oxner
Dr. Abraham Pendergraft-Paul Wagner
Lt. Dmitri Petrovsky-Tom Roof
Ensign Gordon Skelton-Shane Taylor
Lt. Jason Lisius-Bart Harlan
Episode: "Universal Donor" Aired: January 18, 1997
Captain's Log: Final Report, Stardate 61312.3
While on routine patrol, Hyperion received a distress signal from a small shuttle of unknown registry. The shuttle was on the verge of destruction, having burned out its engines. There was only one life form aboard, who we beamed over just prior to the destruction of the ship. The passenger was a woman named Jallen from the planet Ebron She told us that she was fleeing her homeworld.
Apparently the indigenous population of Ebron had fallen prey to a devastating plague. Jallen seemed to have a natural immunity. The scientists had failed to come up with a cure for the plague, but could synthesize a vaccine from Jallen's DNA patterns. Unfortunately, because of the sheer volume of vaccine necessary, Jallen herself would not survive the process. Obviously wanting to avoid this situation, she requested asylum aboard Hyperion.
Not long after this, a vessel arrived from Jallen's homeworld. The captain's name was Restin, and his first was Yon Dap. He requested that we hand over Jallen, and basically confirmed her story. I told him that she had requested asylum, and that we were currently reviewing her case. Dr. Pendergraft,was also involved in trying to discover if there was another way to beat this plague. Restin seemed dubious of our efforts and asked to observe them. We beamed he and his first over into isolation in sick bay.
However, this proved to be a trick to try to retrieve Jallen, as intruders began beaming over. Soon, large areas of the ship were exposed to the plague, but it seemed to have no effect on humans. The intruders were soon contained, and Dr. Pendergraft continued on his work, aided now by our best science and engineering staff, including Lt. Lisius, Lt. Cmdr Osworth, and Ensign Skelton. However, our best efforts were fruitless, and it seemed as if the Ebron scientists were right.
When Jallen discovered this, she apparently stole the shuttle Elcano and left Hyperion. I tried to hail the shuttle, but there was no response. At a loss for what to do, I locked a tractor on the shuttle. The Ebron ship locked on simultaneously, and would not release their tractor. At the critical moment, I hesitated. The shuttle buckled and was destroyed under the strain of the two tractors. I wish to make it clear that I take full personal responsibility for this tragedy.
First Officer's Note: Star Fleet has been informed of Ebron's plight and all data gathered by Dr. Pendergraft and staff have been turned over to Star Fleet Medical, along with all remaining samples taken from Jallen. Hopefully a vaccine or treatment for the plague will be developed before the entire Ebron race is wiped out.
APPEARING IN THIS EPISODE:
Captain Jeremy Gideon-Randy Stoda
Lt. Cmdr. Alexander Osworth-Mark Oxner
Dr. Abraham Pendergraft-Paul Wagner
Lt. Dmitri Petrovsky-Tom Roof
Ensign Gordon Skelton-Shane Taylor
Lt. Jason Lisius-Bart Harlan
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Last Modified 9-Mar-1997.
Copyright © 1996, 1997 Mark L. Oxner, Tom Roof, Randy Stoda