Solo Play – Star Trek: Poseidonis, S01E01

As mentioned in a previous article, my first foray into Captain’s Log is with Vaw Mimeer’non, the Xindi Aquatic Captain of the U.S.S. Poseidonis, NCC-59202. After re-creating the character, I first chose the year and setting, then assembled her senior staff as of January, 2373.

Era

Star Trek: Poseidonis takes place after Operation Silk Roads ended prematurely due to Leyton’s failed coup. That incident forced Starfleet to recall all ships for investigation into possible involvement in the conspiracy. Though cleared of all charges, the Poseidonis was temporarily taken out of commission for an upgrade to her power systems, as well as the installation of bio-neural circuitry for the entire ship. In the meantime, her former Executive Officer, Adavu Kinif, was promoted to Captain and assigned her own ship. Her Chief Engineer, Lt. Commander Renak nd’Osh, was given a promotion as well and accepted the post of Mimeer’non’s new Executive Officer. Replacing him as Chief Engineer is Lt. Commander Wyatt Berg, the first human to be given a role as senior staff aboard the Poseidonis. She realizes he will have challenges, but the scrappy engineer seems up to the task.

Poseidonis Senior Staff

• Executive Officer: Commander Renak nd’Osh (Arkenite male)
• Chief Conn Officer: Lt. Commander Barari (Bottlenose Dolphin female)
• Chief Engineer: Lt. Commander Wyatt Berg (Human male)
• Chief Medical Officer: Lt. Otak’ka (Rigellian Chelon male)
• Chief Operations Officer: Lt. Iyidiy (Takaya’s Whale male)
• Chief Tactical Officer: Lt. Torox (Xindi Reptilian male)
• Chief Science Officer: Lt. Yamala (Megarite female)

S01E01: Subspace Waves

Captain’s Log, Stardate 50017.1. We are escorting the merchant vessel S.S. Aristophanes on its way to resupply the Federation colony, Verring IV. Three previous attempts by civilian ships to reach the colony had failed due to subspace mines deployed by unknowns in the system. Starfleet has ordered the U.S.S. Poseidonis to accompany the Aristophanes, in the hope that our advanced sensors will be able to detect the subspace mines, and perhaps solve the riddle of who set those mines in the first place. This will be the Poseidonis‘s first mission since being recalled from the Sargon Region, and its refit for bio-neural circuitry and upgraded power systems. It will also be the first time Commander Renak nd’Osh will serve as my Executive Officer, a new role for him since his promotion from being the ship’s Chief Engineer. I am eager to see how he adapts to the role. I also wonder how his replacement, Lt. Commander Wyatt Berg, will fare in his stead. He is an accomplished engineer but how will he adapt to an almost entirely aquatic ship?

Captain’s Log, Supplemental. We deployed several Class 2 probes into the Verring system to search for the subspace mines, and discovered a swarm of them in subspace centered around Verring IV. Commander nd’Osh also detected an unusual subspace rift near the center of the cluster. He requested permission to take the Verne shuttlecraft to take a closer look with Chief Science Officer Yamala, a request I granted. However, the subspace rift expanded suddenly and the Verne was caught in the widening vortex. Despite their best efforts, the Verne is pulled into the rift.

Hoping that the Poseidonis‘s shields will hold strong against the rift vortex, I commanded Lt. Commander Barari to pilot the ship to the rift, while diverting all power to shields. With the upgrade to our power system working as it should, our shields held as we entered the subspace rift after the Verne. However, sickbay reported that something within the rift appears to be affecting the cetacean crew members onboard, a narcoleptic effect. I relieved the cetacean crew and took the Conn myself. Within view of the shuttle, we attempted to tractor beam the Verne as transporters would not function within the subspace rift. Thanks to Chief Tactical Officer Lt. Torox, we were able to pull the Verne to safety into our shuttlebay.

Weathering the ravages of the subspace rift, I ordered a deep scan of the rift from within, and sensors picked up a strange ‘ship’, if you can call it that, a nebulous construct composed of xenon gas held together by an unknown energy. We seem to have found a pocket within the rift where we have found temporary refuge. I have instructed my crew to regroup, analyze the rift data, investigate the narcoleptic effects on the cetaceans, and prepare for first contact with the xenon-cloudship.

Captain’s Log, Supplemental. With Cmdr. nd’Osh in sickbay for treatment for his injuries sustained aboard the shuttle, I turned to Lt. Commander Berg for assistance. He and I analyzed the structure of the xenon-cloudship and confirmed it is of similar design to the nearest subspace mine we were able to scan. These subspace xenon-clouders are setting the mines, but why? We also received the results of Dr. Otak’ka’s analysis of the cetacean narcolepsy syndrome: kinoplasmic radiation from this subspace anomaly is interfering with cetacean unihemispheric slow-wave sleep. I attempted first contact, but they are unresponsive to our hails through normal frequencies. Theorizing that they might be able to detect complex patterns in kinoplasmic radiation, we modified our signal but receive no reply in return. Yet we have drawn their attention – they’ve deployed a subspace mine towards our pocket of subspace.

I quickly consulted my senior staff. Why did they deploy a single mine and not a torpedo? We theorized that it was their test of our motives, of how we might react. Perhaps the route to understanding is to accept the detonation of the mine against our shields. I opted for non-violence, and asked everyone onboard to brace for impact. The mine detonated against our shields, which held, though the explosion seemed to have destabilized the subspace pocket. But our theory may be flawed. The xenon-cloudship is sending out more mines our way. We can’t take more of this. We’ll have to make contact quickly, or escape the subspace rift for our crew’s safety.
Captain’s Log, Supplemental. I decided to stay in the collapsing subspace bubble to attempt another contact. What if the cetacean narcolepsy syndrome wasn’t a side effect, but integral to communication with the xenon-clouders? I went down to sickbay to speak with Lt. Cmdr. Barari, our dolphin Chief Conn Officer, and Dr. Otak’ka. Would Barari consent to us amplifying the effect rather than dampening exposure to the kinoplasmic radiation, in case she was meant to be a go-between?

She agreed. Dr. Otak’ka prepped Barari for receiving more intense kinoplasmic signals, which caused a shift in Barari: something had taken hold of her and was speaking through her. The semantic differences are vast between this incorporeal spiritual species, called the Ginix, and corporeal species. Our linguists assisted me in establishing common ground: first peace between us. Thankfully, the dialogue was assisted by our previous choice for inaction against the mine.

Further discussions revealed that their home, the xenon-cloud in this subspace manifold, was being destabilized by subspace transmissions from the Verring IV colony and the civilian supply ships. If subspace communications could be terminated within the Verring system, and an alternate solution found for communications, the Ginix were willing to deactivate their subspace mines and cease further interference with normal space. We carefully exited the rift. I issued an order to the colony and the Aristophanes to terminate their subspace communications immediately, switching to EM spectrum communications for now. Leaving the rift also ended the kinoplasmic radiation’s effect on our cetacean officers, save for Barari, who remained as our contact with the Ginix.

Within the next thirty-six hours, Commander nd’Osh, having been cleared to return to duty, teamed up with Lt. Commander Berg to deploy a subspace relay station in Verring’s Oort cloud. In the future, the colony will be able to contact the rest of the Federation through EM spectrum communications to the relay, which will then broadcast safely outside of the Ginix’s territory. All ships in and out of Verring IV will obey the ban on subspace communications within the system itself. Already our sensors are detecting the removal of the subspace mines. After a final round of diplomatic discussions with the Ginix, Lt. Commander Barari has been released from her role as intermediary. I am proud of my crew for all they’ve done to make this mission a success.

Episode Notes

• The episode started off badly, with the first four Tasks each generating Threat!
• When the shuttle got engulfed in the subspace rift, Mimeer’non challenged her Value “Weigh All Options Carefully” to remove the Threat, not hesitating to attempt a difficult rescue the Verne with the Poseidonis. After this episode, she will replace the Value with “Trust Runs Deep Between Me and My First Officer“, as she realizes that she and Renak nd’Osh have worked so long and so well together, there is an unspoken trust between them already.

Looking for a Star Trek Adventures module with the ship and crew? Here’s the debut appearance of the Poseidonis!