Previously on USS Pioneer

Torta, Fox and Brough have infiltrated Valkoran base under guise of smugglers and traders looking to sell high quality dilithium so as to investigate intelligence that a sample of the Neo-Phage virus is being auctioned of there. The base is heavily guarded by assets of the Klingon Empire hostile to the Federation and Pioneer is several light years away. Following an interaction with a young woman claiming to be an asset of a Mistress Devra (who the base’s shady Ferengi proprietor, Grittle, recommended as a buyer) Torta is separated from the team as a Breen soldier is revealed to actually be a Starfleet Intelligence asset with grave news. 

Part 1 – The road to the Cargo Bay

In a secluded side room, Starfleet’s asset Cerberus (in the guise of a Breen soldier) reveals to Lieutenant Commander Charlie Fox and Ensign Daniel Brogue that the auction is happening imminently and it appears that the offer is for a great deal more than just a simple sample of the virus. Her investigations reveal that Grittle found some of the spores after finding the Cardassian ship Pioneer fought off drifting in space, the crew devolved and dead. He has managed to weaponize it and will be selling it to the highest bidder. There is likely a sample for House Ghalan as his employers but Starfleet agrees this weaponised version cannot be released. The trio agree to attend the auction surreptitiously under Cerberus’ guard and decide on their next plan. Ensign Daniel (who again asks to go by the code name Darren) shares a worry with Charlie as he remembers the neolithic humans they witnessed on Zercan 2. 

Whilst the rest of the team make their way to the auction, Torta is taken deeper into the station by the decorated woman on the promise of meeting Mistress Devra. He is brought before a manufacturing lab, large cylinders full of swirling green gasses line the wall whilst several Klingons in hazard suits and rebreathers work at benches. Initially a disembodied voice address Torta but it is quickly revealed to be Grittle, who uses the Mistress Devra as a guise to trade. After some discussion Torta manages to suggest to the station proprietor they may be interested in purchasing something more ‘interesting’ than Dilithium and secures an invite to the Auction. He is escorted by Grittle’s agents, the woman and the Gorn down to the Cargo Bay. 

Part 2 – The Auction

Assembled in the cargo bay are a plethora of interested parties, many have been operating round the station in the background and include representatives from the Cardassian Union (or possibly the True Way), the Tal Shiar, Other Klingon Houses as well as several unaligned but interested groups (suspected to be the likes of the New Maquis). As the team is reunited and share their information Grittle steps forward and beings his sales pitch to the assembled parties. As an example of the effectiveness of the virus he has a Klingon prisoner brought forward who is exposed to the virus and begins to quickly devolve, much more rapidly and horrifically than the team saw on Zercan 2, into a screaming, blood thirsty primordial Klingon, barely restrained by its keepers. Grittle then displays a control chemical to inhibit the inherent aggressive tendencies in the neo-phage victims, which is applied to the prisoner and quickly sedates him, reducing him to a drooling mess. Grittle is auctioning both the weapon and the control chemical in a prepared state for immediate delivery. The team quickly recognises the danger of the weapon which could reduce an entire planet’s population to servile unthinking drones from orbit and whilst discussing their plan miss the remainder of Grittle’s pitch. Their attention returns to the Ferengi as he indicates that there are those in the room who have come to destroy the virus and as an added bonus demonstration he will be releasing the virus in gas form throughout the base so the buyers can watch it in a real world scenario. He turns his attention and that of the room to the team and bids them ‘Good Luck Starfleet’.

Part 3 – Take back control

As the assembled guests begin to evacuate and the team begin to asses their situation Grittle taunts them over the comms channel. The team decide to make their way to station operations in an attempt to take back control of the station and prevent the release of the gas. Before leaving the bay they prepare their carried antidotes for rapid usage and take a sample of the Klingon prisoners blood for later reference and investigation, their initial scans indicate the virus has been genetically modified and their carried antidotes may only combat the virus temporarily should they be exposed. As they depart Cerberus indicates they will do towards the cargo bays and attempt to secure the base’s civilian population. 

With Torta’s advanced research of the base’s design they quickly make their way to the central operations and prepare a tactical plan to crawl through the Jefferies tubes beneath the room whilst Charlie trips the local lighting to surprise the soldiers in the room. Whilst they cannot access internal sensors to survey the room in advance they believe that the darkness should give them the element of surprise, Torta and Daniel/Darren make their way beneath the deck plates and on Charlie’s instruction jump out and being laying down phaser fire. 

Unfortunately the room is empty and following some investigation the team discover the base has been completely locked down and without the assets of Pioneer and a large computer system they cannot break the encryption. Grittle appears to be remotely controlling the station from his D’Kora nearby. As the team attempt to survey what access they have and Torta attempts to delay the release of the gas the trio hear the sound of air systems churning and a green gas creeps through the halls of the station. They quickly apply their prepared antidotes but Charlie is already noticing his concentration falter and his control warning, Torta reminds him that he was infected on Zercan 2 and surmised he may be at higher risk of accelerated infection. Down to one antidote the team decide to journey to the medical bay to replicate more and possibly enough to neutralise the virus released on the base already. 

A short journey later they arrive at the medical bay to find it ransacked and damaged but with no sign of any infected beings. Whilst Torta investigates the Med bay’s replication system, David/Darren helps Charlie into a biobed, securing him to the bed as his symptoms begin to worsen. The team manage to surmise that a combination of their prepared antidote combined with protien sequences from the control spray in the prisoner’s blood could be used to generate a more effective anti-virus which could be delivered across the station via the environmental systems. As Torta begins to replicate it the system has an overload and produces only two doses of the new antidote. They decide to administer one to Charlie in an attempt to prevent his accelerated conversion whilst keeping the other for dissemination throughout the station. Torta and David/Darren will risk this as their first exposure with the basic antidote created by Katsu. 

As the three consider their options, Grittle taunts them a final time across the base’s comm system. 

They are alone, and they are being watched.