Star Trek: Emergency Deep

S01 E01 “The Deep End of the Pool”

Here’s a new style of Star Trek Adventures session write-up. A Captain’s Log as written by Dan who plays Captain Ellison. Dramatis Personae and GM’s synopsis is posted after the log.

The Deep End of the Pool

Beginning Captain’s Log. Stardate 58457.8

USS Östergötland (NCC-72227). Captain Greg Ellison in command.

Reykjavík Experimental Shipyards, Earth

The day started off, well ,normal enough, with me reporting to Admiral Kathryn Janeway at Reykjavík Experimental Shipyards, Faxaflói Bay. A very straightforward encounter, with the usual pleasantries and small talk. She was much smaller than I had imagined. As she was briefing my orders, it was hard not to miss noting that she had her left hand on her hip. Perhaps it was her way of asserting authority or just a quirk of hers. I wonder what my crew would identify me with.

The USS Östergötland

Also present at the briefing were Commander Morpheus Drake, Conn Officer, and Lt. Commander Tosk, Ops Officer. My other bridge officers will be picked up at Station Alpha, an artificial island conceived under the New Atlantis Project. After the Admiral left, I introduced myself to both Drake and Tosk. According to Drake’s records, he graduated tops in Flight Operations. Tosk on the other hand is a Tosk, not much is documented of his/her species. Tosk is going to be the ship’s Chief of Operations. Certainly the best officer candidates so far. I can’t wait to meet the rest. It’s odd that Starfleet hasn’t given me the list of my other bridge crew to review, especially the Executive Officer.

It’s my first outing as captain. I am to command the USS Östergötland, a Norway class starship with several modifications to make her, thus enabling her to submerge in oceans like the old submarines of Earth in the 21st century. It is certainly a change from missions on my previous starship, mainly spent on exploration and diplomatic missions. Finally, I am given responsibility of my own starship. I have mixed feelings but I guess that is normal to feel this way. Finally, can’t blame it on the captain – the hazards of duty and responsibility catches you eventually – the full weight of command.

Atlantic Ocean

On the bridge, I gave the command to Cmdr Drake to take the ship out, making a heading to Station Alpha. After several minutes, Lt. Cmdr Tosk reported that a hurricane was directly in the path and ordered Drake to be submerged. Might as well test the new caterpillar propulsion system. The ship performed well as it appeared to cut through the ocean like a hot knife through butter even though the surface was being hammered by the hurricane. We made good speed and arrived on time.

The bridge of the Östergötland. Rendered by Tadeo D’Oria

As we were making final preparations to dock, Lt. Lucas Garcia at the Engineering station informed me that the force field surrounding the caterpillar propulsion had collapsed. From the initial scans, the emitters had been damaged somehow and would take an hour to rectify. I immediately ordered Lt. Cmdr Tosk to take a look at it as we have yet to receive our chief engineer. So much for untried new tech, at least we are still on Earth.

New Atlantis Project

The day was still going well, with some inconsistencies when I casually asked to to make a routine check on supplies being brought on board the ship. Ensign Tran informed that there was an extra photon torpedo. At the time, I thought nothing serious about it but as we had time to spare, I asked Tran to verify the numbers. I didn’t expect that 20 minutes later it would prove to be a significant clue to my disappearing sister, Sally.

Cmdr Drake broke my concentration reading on the status reports and crew manifest when he showed me that the new XO was none other than my sister, Cmdr Sally Ellison. I was shocked and confused as it is not a practice for a family to be assigned as Captain and XO on the same ship. The look on Cmdr Drake clearly showed he was thinking the same. Minutes went by quickly and Cmdr Drake once again made an observation. Perhaps he was more excited than I to meet the new XO, so he remarked out loud why hasn’t the XO reported for duty?

It’s been more than 20 mins that she had come onboard. Upon examination, the ship’s record indicated she was already in her quarters. I missed her very much as we had last met over 5 years ago before I left for the Gamma Quadrant. I loved our conversations and her free spirit. Whilst I am still not comfortable for her to be XO here, I am excited to catch up. I would have thought she would equally be excited to see me assuming she knows who is the captain. In any case, she might not be feeling well, so I made my way to her quarters on Deck 3. On the way, Lt. Cmdr Tosk informed me that the maser beam damage to the propulsion system was deliberate.

Generated using this link: https://sta.bcholmes.org/index.html

When I arrived at Sally’s quarters, my mind was racing. Why would anyone want to disrupt our caterpillar propulsion? After my second try on the doorbell and that the ship’s computer confirmed Sally was in her quarters, fearing she wasn’t well, I overrode the security door and found her room slightly disturbed, a fallen fruit basket and a picture hanging at an angle. Upon further inspection, I found her communicator on the bedroom floor.

A Mystery

Quickly, I ordered Cmdr Drake to seal the ship and halt all traffic into and out of the ship.

At the same time, Lt. Cmdr Tosk along with Vulcan Cat Drive Engineer Lt. Sevok whom I had tasked to assist in the repairs of the force field of the propulsion drive provided a more detailed report that it was indeed an act of sabotage. A focused microwave beam with either Klingon or Romulan signature had taken out the force field. Immediately, I ordered Lt. Cmdr Tosk to lead an away team to find the source and the perpetrators.

I reported these developments to Lt. Libby dos Santos, our ship’s Chief of Security who had yet to report for duty to liaise with the island’s security to assist Lt. Cmdr Tosk. In the meantime, I had Cmdr. Drake led the investigation to my missing sister as I headed to the bridge. Having examined the ship’s logs, it appears that Sally was transported to the aft torpedo bay without using the ship’s transporters. When Cmdr Drake arrived at the torpedo bay, there was no sign of Sally. Upon checking the torpedo tube, there were indications that a torpedo was recently launched. Chief Duc Tran also at the same time reported that records now show that we have the correct amount of torpedoes i.e. 60.

TYpe 9 shuttle Vänern

As Lt. Cmdr. Tosk was returning to the Östergötland on the Type-9 shuttle Vänern along with the security detail having found no signs of those responsible, I ordered him to search the immediate vicinity for the torpedo that was launched approximately 20 mins earlier. This is a troubling puzzle to solve as some pieces are clearly missing. Why wasn’t the bridge notified of the unauthorised launch of a torpedo? Who launched it? Why weren’t there any records of the additional torpedo? Who abducted my sister? If I didn’t know of her reporting to this ship, someone clearly did as the preparations to pull this was done in hindsight and executed effectively. So much for a quiet and routine start of my captaincy. In less than 2hrs, I lost the XO and my sister, the ship’s been sabotaged and possibly hacked by unknown threats and is knee deep in conspiracy.

My sister had a 20 mins head start – we needed to catch up.

Dramatis Personae

• GM – Me
• Dan – Capt. Greg Ellison
• Ivan L – Cmdr. Morpheus Drake
• Ivan T – Lt. Cmdr. Tosk the Studious

GM’s Synopsis

Today, the Norway-class USS Östergötland NCC-72227 is being launched, officiated by Admiral Kathryn Janeway. Aboard are Capt Greg Ellison, Conn Officer Cmdr Morpheus Drake and Ops Officer Lt Cmdr Tosk the Studious. The Östergötland, which is a test-bed for a new Submersible Caterpillar Drive, has to pick up the rest of her crew at Station Alpha, New Atlantis Project.

En route to the Mid-Atlantic, Cmdr Drake plunges the ship into the sea and activates her cat drive to avoid a hurricane. They surface and dock beside Station Alpha at water level at the rocky edge of one of the New Atlantis islands.

As the new crew begin to file in from the station, Lt. Garcia at the bridge engineering station reports that the quartermaster Chief Tran has counted 61 torpedoes transferred aboard the ship. That’s one more than requested.

They also find that the port cat drive FOD forcefield has been damaged upon resurfacing. Capt Ellison orders Lt Cmdr Tosk to investigate & calls the new Vulcan Chief Engineer Lt Sevok to the bridge.

Cmdr Drake spots the name of the new XO: Cmdr Sally Ellison. He alerts Capt Ellison who is surprised that his fully tera’ngan half-sister has been assigned to the Östergötland. The captain is half-tera’ngan, half Deltan.

Lt. Sevok arrives & is briefed of the FOD shield damage. She makes her way to Tosk in Cat Drive Engineering Bay where Tosk has identified that the damage was caused by focused microwave. With Sevok’s expertise on the cat drive, they find that it came from a maser weapon made by either the tlhIngan or the romuluSngan, and the exact location from where it was fired.

To be continued

Meanwhile, Cmrd Drake notes that the XO should have reported for duty by now & the ship’s sensor locates Sally Ellison in her quarters. Capt Ellison overrides the XO’s door lock to find signs of a struggle. Her commbadge is on the floor. Capt Ellison instructs Drake to seal the ship.

Tosk & a security team take the Type-9 shuttle Vänern to the rocky promontory on the island 5 km from Station Alpha. They know that something was fired from here, but there is no sign of anyone. Cloaked Romulans? mused Ellison on comms.

Drake finds a transport beam scan records from the XO’s room to the rear torpedo bay. Ellison orders Chief Duc Tran to meet Drake there. Tran tells him there are now only 60 torpedoes, when counted by hand, not 61. Drake is certain something was shot out of the aft torpedo tube very recently. How was this done without alerting security? Why would anyone want to kidnap the new XO?

While Capt Ellison requests for SAR & engineering aid from Station Alpha, Tosk coordinates a search from the Vänern in the sky with the Cetacean security squad, dolphins ensigns led by an orca lieutenant, that fan out from the Östergötland into the Atlantic Ocean to look for whoever, whatever that abducted Cmdr Sally Ellison.