Act 1 – Aboard the waverider

We join our team aboard Pioneer’s waverider shuttle as they receive a briefing via holographic comms from the ship’s XO. A young colony nearby has suddenly gone quiet, having missed two consecutive scheduled check-ins with colonial operations. Shortly before going silent, the colony reported several strange occurrences including; failing equipment, an unusual wasting illness and a series of unexpectedly underwhelming crops. Carina VII, known locally as Vandel, is a relatively new colony, settled in the last 20 years following the fracturing of the Romulan Star Empire, intended as a joint effort with the Klingons to populate and secure this region of space. As a result of the recent changes to the political landscape, the colony has continued with its work in relative peace, with neither side in a position to flex their muscles to exert control. As a new venture, Vandel only has a small population who are focused on establishing the colony prior to developing further with plans as a starbase. In their current phase, they are primarily solidifying large-scale agriculture and initial infrastructure in preparation for an influx of colonists. Pioneer has been tasked with re-routing to the colony and investigating the sudden lack of contact with the following directives;

1. Confirm the status of the colony and provide aid as necessary.
2. Confirm, and if necessary prevent, the Klingon Empire from exerting undue influence on the colony.
3. Where necessary secure the colony from dangers presented by any party, including the nearby Romulan Free State.

The XO confirms that help is several days away at high warp and Pioneer is essentially one on it’s own. He also confirms that nearby listening posts at the Romulan border have detected the approach of several signatures matching Klingon vessels from House Ghalan, a banner house of Duras the team have previously encountered. The signatures have been detected en route before disappearing, likely under cloak. Pioneer will patrol the system whilst the team take the waverider down to the planet to investigate, the shuttle will then act as a mission hub as the ship leaves planetary orbit. The team are assigned a support crew of 4, one from each main department (Engineering, Security, Medical and Sciences) to assist them during the mission as Pioneer will be out of immediate reach.

The team depart the ship and begin their approach to the planet as Pioneer banks away to begin it’s patrol.

Act 2 – Morgan’s Hope

As the shuttle banks into the atmosphere, the team run a series of scans, including atmospheric survey scans and long-range sensor analysis. Katsu confirms that there do not appear to be any unexpected issues with the atmosphere or life-supporting aspects of the planet, all indicators falling within expected parameters for a Minshara class planetoid and the colony’s recent reviews. The team note that the buildings of the colony are spread far apart and large-scale farmlands fill the spaces between, with most farmsteads separated by hundreds of kilometres. They also note a significant amount of automation in use on the colony, with machines working throughout the fields as well as transporting materials to and from locations without direction. In a distant series of mountains they detect a faint power source indicating the presence of a matter-antimatter reactor, this matches colonial records as the Klingon compound, built deep into the mountains overlooking the main colony hub of Morgan’s Hope.

Seeing a large cluster of buildings built around a central landing pad, Orlan effortlessly brings the waverider in to land where they are greeted by the colony governor Syreeta, a human woman dressed in muddy working clothes and a welcoming smile. Several other groups of colonists have turned out to see the arrival of the team and as the engines of the waverider power down the quiet sounds of muttering can be heard from these nearby groups.

Syreeta welcomes the team and offers them the best of the colony’s hospitality with locally produced tea, fruits and cakes. Whilst they take a moment to enjoy the welcome, Katsu enquires as to the colony’s overt lack of technology. Drawing on her sociology & anthropology training she notes many manual and traditional farm features as well as an absence of computer terminals and similar parapherinalia. Syreeta explains that the planet is not filled with luddites but rather the colonists take pride in the labour inherent in good craftsmanship and believe that hard work makes their experience more worthwhile. The colony still makes use of advanced technology as evidenced by the automation in the fields but doesn’t currently need extensive tech, preferring to let the colony establish naturally instead of imposing it upon the planet.

Shaw takes the lead in enquiries regarding the colonies’ unexpected silence, Syreeta confesses that two weeks ago the comms array building collapsed unexpectedly, killing 6 people and neutralising their deep space communications ability. The colony has no dedicated interstellar support vessel and depends on regular visits from both Starfleet and the Klingon Defense Force; as they were not in direct danger they opted to wait for the next scheduled visit. The colonists do not have the expertise to establish what caused the collapse other than the mechanical failure of the building’s metallic members, which is unexpected as they are less than 20 years old and are constructed of the same fabric as starship hulls. She mentions this is the most recent in a series of unusual occurrences and explains that in addition to the collapsing building, several farmers have reported entire crops failing and wasting overnight and a wasting condition spreading throughout the farmlands. She also mentions the unusual medical situation of the Mackley family but prefers not to talk about it, offering to take the team to meet them instead.

The team enquired as to whether the Klingons could help, Syreeta confessed that the Klingons retreated to their compound almost a month ago and have not been in contact since. All attempts to make contact have been ignored and suspicion is growing amongst the colonists that they are responsible for the colony’s bad luck.

The team split up to investigate two locations; Katsu and Gik will head to the collapsed comm building to follow up with two ensigns they sent ahead to begin surveys; whilst Shaw, Orlan and Kaz head to the Mackley house to investigate the family’s unusual medical condition.

Act 3 – The Mackley House

As they arrive at the Mackley house Syreeta warns the trio that the parents of Efren are very concerned, unsure what to make of the boy’s condition. As they step in they meet Wes and Gadeen Mackley who sit at the table, watching a young boy of 6 years play with toys in the corner of their small homestead. Wes appears to be a human in his early 40’s and is the more panicked of the two, pleading with Starfleet to help them. Gadeen on the other hand appears in her late 20s and sits quietly at the table, her attention laser-focused on the young boy making babbling noises as he lays on the floor playing with letter blocks. As the trio converse Orlan notices that Efren seems woefully under-developed for a six-year-old, his actions more akin to a small babe. When they enquire further the parents inform them that Efren was born only six months ago, having grown rapidly into the boy before them. The colony’s medics had no explanation and they were awaiting a response from Starfleet Medical. Kaz takes a number of scans and confirms that the boy’s physical body is consistent with a six-year-old, noting a number of unusual chroniton readings from the child.

Concerned that Wes may be overwhelming Gadeen, Kaz takes him off under the guise of taking some medical scans, whilst Orlan enquires further with the mother. He manages to draw out from her disassociated state that she is struggling with reconciling the boy’s condition, believing she has done something during the pregnancy to affect him despite her attempts to protect him. Following some further probing she reveals that she stopped working in the fields a month before the birth following medical advice and began working in the comm array instead, she’s been working there ever since. When asked if she noticed anything odd, she says she ‘never really noticed anything about the building’. She did remember an odd incident a few months ago when a Klingon cruiser made a scheduled visit. There was a high number of encrypted transmissions and transports between the ship and the Klingon compound, including reports of a storm on the edge of the system. She also overheard a number of comments regarding high levels of chroniton radiation in the storm and the system generally but thought little of it at the time. The cruiser then left orbit without notice having delivered its supplies, at the same time the Klingon colonists retreated back to the compound in the mountains.

Kaz confirms via a number of scans on both the parents, the child and Syreeta that there is some unusual chroniton activity; each seems physically older than they should. The team suspect the reported storm may the cause but note that Pioneer did not report seeing it on their arrival. The trio decide to return back to the shuttle and rendezvous with the other team with Kaz confirming that currently, no one in the trio seems affected.

Act 4 – The Collapsed Comm Array

As Gik and Katsu arrive at the remains of the comm array they spy the two ensigns waiting outside. They report that the building has collapsed due to apparent fault of the structural members, though they note this is unexpected as the life of durasteel construction is in the hundreds of years. When Katsu asks if they have investigated further they note they haven’t found a safe way in yet. The Lieutenant points at the open door and for a moment the pair of ensigns think she is ordering them into the building ahead of them. Gik notes the structure appears relatively sound and not at risk of further collapse so he and Katsu enter the ruins and begin picking their way through the rubble after detecting a barely functioning power source. As they enter the building they realise the damage is extensive, the building is mostly useless now and they can see where the casualties have been extracted but it appears no further attempts have been made to enter the site. Throughout the building is evidence of the daily activities that were interrupted by the collapse, scattered work padds, empty mugs strewn across the floor, and still flickering consoles displaying sensor data.

As the pair make their way to the central console Katsu is able to call up recent data, drawing on the last trickle of power in the building’s batteries. She identifies a number of maintenance reports of increasing severity, starting as minor reports of inefficient power batteries (the engineer thinks they got sent old stock), broken and faulty furniture, reports of a broken fridge when all the food got spoilt and finally reports of micro fractures in the ceiling a day prior to the collapse. Gik begins to investigate the main collapsed joist and after initially promising evidence of chroniton radiation, fails to get further details. He reaches out to take a physical sample for investigation but the durasteel crumbles to dust in his hand, appearing as if it has been on plathe net for centuries rather than decades. It’s clear the collapse was due to the main joists failing from fatigue, he takes a sample of the dust for later reference.

Before returning to the landing platform to check-in, the pair manage to decode a number of encrypted messages from the recent visit by the Klingon Cruiser. They reveal a number of ‘research materials’ were delivered to the outpost and the messages contain several instructions regarding an ongoing investigation into a storm on the edge of the system. Though the pair cannot fully break the encryption they are able to see that the Klingons received instructions to further the investigation above all other considerations.

The two teams rendezvous at the landing pad and after some discussion decide the next step is to visit the Klingon compound. As they begin preparing to leave, a farmer rushes up to the group shouting about Klingon murderers stalking around the edge of the field last night. He proclaims through his furious tears that they are the cause of the colony’s issues before presenting two bundles to the assembled group. One contains the body of his dog, clearly killed by a disrupter weapon. The second contains the familiar shape of a Klingon Disrupter pistol, on it’s hilt the curving sigil of House Ghalan.

Act 1 – Touching Down

Our team continues their approach to the Klingon base, only a short ride away from the colony in the waverider shuttle but sufficient to be considered remote by the colonists. Set into the dark mountain face, the only exposed element of the base is a simple landing pad, capable of supporting two runabout-sized craft. As the team approached they undertook a number of scans in an attempt to establish the extent of the base, they confirmed the base was relatively small but as much was unpowered they were unable to establish a complete map. Katsu also took the opportunity to undertake detailed scans for chroniton radiation, comparing them to the scans taken at the colonies.

After several passes they were able to establish that the chroniton damage to the exterior of the base was significantly increased compared to that at the colony and deeper in the mountain (presumably the core of the base) there was a massive chroniton anomaly. Katsu and Kaz decided to modify their earlier chroniton protections, creating a formula that should protect them from the radiation for 2 hours at a minimum. They distributed this to all the team members, including the support team on the Waverider.

As Orlan deftly brought the shuttle into landing, the team found the landing pad in a terrible state. Though the integrity of the platform was stable cracks and signs of decay were apparent throughout the structure. When the team were not met with any welcome, hostile or otherwise, they opted to take Mr D. with them as security support but left the two engineers aboard the shuttle in reserve.

Act 2 – Attempts at Athletics

Upon entry through the main dock doors, which sat ajar and partially collapsed, the team found the landing bay severely damaged. In the corner, near the bay controls, a plasma fire continued to burn from a ruptured EPS line; across the bay a thick black liquid poured from a ruptured wall panel, dripping caustic liquid onto the floor and blocking the main stairs up to the entrance. Across the bay, numerous cargo crates and storage containers showed signs of decay as well as damage indicative of disruptor fire.

At the far end of the bay, Orlan noticed a fully prepared but unlaunched Klingon shuttle. Kaz undertook a life sign scan, whilst limited by the base’s construction and the capabilities of his tricorder, he was able to confirm that there were no life signs in the base beyond the team. He was confident the base was uninhabited though cautioned his scans were not extensive.

Gik suggested scanning the shuttle after he noticed the shadow of two figures in the cockpit. Drawing the short straw, Katsu moved forward to scan the shuttle and found it was damaged by chroniton radiation, though not to the same level as the base. They also noticed the disruptor damage to the forward cockpit and on investigation found evidence that the two bodies in the seats had been killed by powerful and direct disruptor fire. The team considered that they may been attempting to escape but Orlan confirmed via a nearby console that the shuttle had a clearance to launch. The team also confirmed that the shuttle was loaded with scientific equipment including spatial probes and test panels, it seems that the shuttle at least was a planned launch.

In an attempt to avoid the caustic liquid that covered the base of the main steps to the upper gantry, Kaz attempted to channel his athletic youth and use the shuttle as a springboard to leap up to the gantry. He failed, though only just.

Orlan then attempted to lift himself up onto the gantry in a show of athletic skill. (And in an attempt to one-up Kaz.)

He failed miserably, falling to the floor after slipping on the shuttle’s roof.

The team took a moment to enjoy a laugh at Orlan’s expense, including a jibe from Gik that ‘even the dead Klingons are laughing at you’.

After some encouragement Mr. D attempted to make the climb and expertly leaps from the shuttle to the gantry and moves to clear a nearby lift, allowing Gik to activate it for the rest of the team. After Orlan joins the team, his cheeks flush with embarrassment they move forward into the base.

Act 3 – Corridors and Mysteries

The first room the team entered appeared to be a central work space, a number of consoles line the wall with a crosswalk gantry. Several cases line the walkways, including three large open crates on the far side. Spread throughout the room are also three Klingon bodies, each located near what appears to be a main control console. Gik tests the steps up to the main walkways and satisfied they are stable, the team moves forward into the main room.

Kaz examines the first two bodies nearby, they appear to have been shot with disruptor weapons from behind as they attempted to work at the consoles. Like the pilots in the shuttle bay, the attack seemed to have been instant and overwhelming. He makes his way over to the third body and examines it, expecting to find a similar cause of death. Strangely, it appears this Klingon died following a massive physical trauma and signs of a massive blunt force and piercing trauma are apparent, a large gash in the deck behind suggesting he had been impaled. With Katsu’s help, they identify that the weapon does not appear to have been any traditional Klingon melee weapon but does bear a resemblance to a massive dagger or D’k tahg. There is no residual evidence to suggest what the weapon was made from, only that it would have been massive and unwieldly.

The team continued their investigation of the room, opening several of the boxes where they found numerous pieces of silver hull debris. Gik opened one large box to find an unexpected but familiar sight, the corner of a seal that when extrapolated was that of the United Earth and Space Probe Agency; the precursor to Starfleet and the organisation responsible in part for the early NX era space launches. The other boxes contain debris consistent with the same starship and quantum dated to the mid 22^nd Century.

On the far side of the room Katsu noted the three large open boxes appeared different and whilst empty, had labels reading “House Pegh, Operation Unit 001, 002, 003”. She also noticed these crates featured passive anti-scanning material in their construction and when closed would not be visible to tricorders or base sensors.

Satisfied they had garnered all the information they continued forward. Gik offered a walking stick to ‘old man’ Orlan as the friendly ribbing continued.

Act 4 – Controlled Explosions

The team then entered what appeared to be the base’s control room, the main section of which was protected by a powerful security forcefield. Beyond it, they could see the darkened control room and the body of another Klingon collapsed over the console. Whilst unsuccessful in finding a way to override the console they did discover a power trunk leading to the next room.

As Gik and Orlan went to investigate they discovered the base’s main power core to be barely active but severely damaged. From the top of the large reaction chamber, a plume of orange gasses erupted, alongside a number of flames and apparent explosions. These eruptions appeared frozen in time, the orange blossoms of flame and erupting plasma held suspended by a flickering blue forcefield. Kaz noted the room was filled with chroniton radiation and Katsu warned their radiation inoculations may not be as effective in this environment, and dangerous exposure was likely. Gik sadly mourned the fact they had not brought EVA suits from the shuttle.

The team made a number of attempts to secure the explosion further, reinforcing the forcefield with what little power was left available and making adjustments to the forcefield’s frequency. They appeared successful but realised there was a massive chroniton explosion at the centre of the forcefield. System reports and their own scans confirmed the explosion appeared to loop continuously; the forcefield would not hold much longer and the explosion would be massive. Concerned that continued exposure would be harmful they decided to retreat to the control room to strategies further.

A number of options were considered including; levelling the mountain from orbit with tricobolt devices fire from Pioneer, allowing the explosion to occur in a managed fashion and evacuating the base and colony completely. The team believed more information was in the main control room and after spending some time examining the Klingon security interface Katsu was able to trick the system into dropping the forcefield blocking the entrance to the main operations room. [Katsu rolled a number of critical successes.]

In the ops room, the team found the base commander’s body had similarly suffered from deadly disruptor fire. On the console was a final message, recorded by the officer in an unexpectedly fearful tone.

“The artifacts in the lab have damaged the integrity of the base and the security systems have engaged their failsafe command to destroy the base and all our records. I have sent two of my officers to evacuate via shuttle to the Van’Cha. I fear this will be my last message. The base is lost.”

Act 5 – A Lab Full of Mysteries

The team decided to investigate the lab prior to deciding their next actions, having to pass quickly through the reactor room to the central point of the underground base. As they enter they notice the security systems in full effect, across the far side two large automated drones hover menacingly, a laser sensor sweeping slowly across the room. Testing a theory, Orlan throws a nearby discarded padd across the room, interrupting the sensors and causing the drones to fire on it with their inbuilt disruptors. Orlan and Gik note the source of the laser sensor and along with Mr. D fire upon it, destroying the sensor sweep as the rest of the team prepares to retreat.  The sensor is destroyed and after throwing another discarded padd across the room the security system seems to be unable to sense their presence any longer.

The team opt to send Mr. D in first [he is after all a handy redcoat] and as he crosses the room it appears to be safe. Gik took a number of focused scans of the drones and noted they appeared to be made of an unusual chroniton-resistant material, their quantum signatures not aligning with those found in the rest of the base. Along with Kaz they pooled their knowledge and recollected something similar in a log from Voyager but without access to Pioneer’s library could not deduce any further information. They both agreed that the design and fabrication of the drones were significantly beyond what the Klingon Empire had previously shown the ability to produce. Kaz also noted that their dagger-like shape was consistent with the injuries found on the Klingon body earlier and the team surmised these were the security drones the Klingon Commander had referred to.

Whilst the others considered the drones, Orlan and Katsu examined a number of artefacts held in stasis chambers throughout the lab. They appeared to be simple mechanical and equipment systems, familiar though not current and initial quantum dating indicated they held a signature from the mid-22nd century. As Orlan scanned a damaged deuterium injector, his tricorder bleeped with an unexpected notification. A note in the Starfleet registry of the serial number printed onto the injector.

“USS Pioneer. NCC-63. Intrepid Class. Launch date 2157.”