The death of actor Anton Yelchin (Pavel Chekov in three Star Trek films) on June 19, 2016 was a great loss to not only his friends and family, but the Star Trek franchise. Anton did an absolutely amazing job capturing the essence of the rebooted character originally played by actor Walter Koenig.
One of the benefits of playing an RPG, is that diehard fans can rewrite reality to our whims. Hence, in our Star Trek Adventure game, Pavel Chekov lives on, but in an interesting new form.
Here is an excerpt from the Star Trek mini-novel Decision Point.
Synopsis: On Stardate 60123.28 whilst on a mission to catalog a class-S cluster in the Manaq Sector, the crew of the U.S.S. Pioneer, Starfleet’s most advanced science and survey vessel, receive new orders to recover the crew of the S.S. Tesla, a Federation science vessel that has crash-landed on the pre-warp world of Orgun III located in the mysterious Shackleton Expanse. The crew must track down the Tesla’s crew and recover the vessel without violating the Prime Directive.
[Note: This scene takes place after Captain B’Elanna Torres orders an away team to the planet leaving her Romulan XO in charge of the bridge. Nog, the ship’s helm officer, is called to the away mission, which means another officer must take his bridge position. Get a load of what happens…]
Torres headed towards the turbolift. Everyone’s eyes followed her. “Nog. Odo. Bedford. You’re with me. Mr. James, have shuttle bay one prep a type-7 shuttle for takeoff.” Her impromptu away team assembled in the lift. Replacement bridge crew filled their spaces. The captain gave a firm look at her first officer. “Jilel, you have the bridge.” The doors to the lift closed.
Jilel took his place at command settling comfortably into the captain’s chair while making sure that ECHO. The creation of Echo was the combination of some of the most brilliant holo-physicists and computer programmers the Federation had ever seen. Two of the lead creators, Annika Hansen and Reginald Barclay, were on the Pioneer, able to watch their experiment in progress.
Seven looked on proudly at the Echo program. Echo had been her brainchild. She had worked for over three years alongside Voyager’s doctor, an emergency medical hologram (EMH). Voyager had experienced great success with their EMH, which eventually became a significant member of the crew, even developing sentience. Seven even viewed the Doctor as a mentor, helping her develop both her social and vocal skills. Before the Pioneer’s maiden voyage, she approached Barclay with the idea of a more expansive holographic program.
The EMH Mark I was created on Jupiter Station by Dr. Lewis Zimmerman, who based the hologram’s physical appearance on his own. Reginald Barclay had worked on the project, testing the EMH’s interpersonal skills. Later, he had the privilege of serving on the Enterprise, working alongside Lieutenant Commander Data, a Soong-type android, the first and only such artificial being to ever enter Starfleet. Now Barclay wanted to take his experiences with artificial intelligence even further.
Could a holographic officer satisfactorily fill the different and complex roles found on a starship, even standing in for bridge crew? Since the Pioneer’s mission was one of exploration, it seemed like the perfect place to give Echo a dry run. Starfleet agreed.
Seven and Barclay each had a hand in Echo’s creation and therefore a stake in its success.
“Echo, maintain our current position in geosynchronous orbit over the Tesla,” Jilel ordered.
“Yessir,” the holographic officer responded in a thick Russian accent.
Jilel asked, “Status on the away team, Mr. James.”
“They are away, sir.” Franklin grinned back, tickled by his own pun.
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