Hello and a happy Captain Picard Day to you all! If you’ve forgotten, this is the holiday celebrated by the families aboard the Enterprise-D where the schoolchildren all make projects to be judged by Jean-Luc himself. The winner of the contest gets… well it’s not explicitly stated in the show but that’s one of the things we plan to change here.
To celebrate our favorite franchise, we at Continuing Mission are looking for some audience participation. Below are four plot hooks inspired by Captain Picard. Vote for your favorite and we’ll turn that into a fully-fledged, three act scenario! If you feel really strongly, go ahead and post in the comments section below. With luck, we can make this an annual thing.
The Legacy of Locutus
The crew is assigned the task of analyzing some sensitive and potentially dangerous data. Starfleet Command wants this done in isolation rather than on Earth because of the origin of the data: salvaged from Jean-Luc Picard’s implants when he was assimilated as Locutus. After setting up an isolated computer system, the crew starts the data and almost instantly a self-replicating virus appears. They have isolated it and manage to shut it down, but not before it hacks its way into a single ship system: the holodeck.
A Study in Burgundy
Tasked with providing security at an important diplomatic summit on Tellar, the crew stumbles on something odd in the facility’s storage rooms. One of the crates is leaking large amounts of chronitons in a slowly-decaying pattern. Opening up the crate reveals that the chronitons are originating from a bottle of wine, specifically a merlot from Chateau Picard labeled with the year 2558. Is the bottle legitimately from nearly two hundred years in the future? Why would a time traveler bring this bottle back with them and what are their plans at this conference?
Survival Instinct
As the Federation and the Cardassian Union seem to be headed for war, the crew’s ship stumbles on a disabled Cardassian Hideki-class ship. Onboard are several dead Cardassians and an unconscious Gul Madred. Although Madred is unwilling to discuss his reasons for being in Federation space, Starfleet Command informs the crew that they should bring the gul immediately to a nearby starbase to be detained for war crimes. This is easier said than done, however, as the ship is soon hounded by Galor class vessels who demand Madred’s immediate release. Caught between duty and enemy ships, the crew is in a difficult situation made even more complex when Gul Madred offers a secret way to disable the ships. Why would Madred not want to return home and can the crew trust what he says?
The Island of Atlas
The Atlantis Project, a massive geoengineering project to create a new subcontinent on Earth, is nearing a point where it can start full-scale operations. Contributions from engineers and geologist from dozens of worlds, including Captain Picard and the head of Andoria’s School of Mining, have led to something truky amazing. Aftet several proof-of-concept tests with promising results the operation has received a green light from the Federation government. However, when things start up, a dangerous feedback loop starts from nowhere. While the crew struggles to stop it, they also need to determine who is responsible.