Previously on the USS Pioneer

Our away team have been assigned to investigate a murder aboard the Oridian Express (AKA the SS Christie). Though their arrival was initially met with chilly reluctance they have begun to delve into this mystery, discovering that few aboard the ship are what they appear and even fewer, if any, passengers had a kind word to say about the victim. During their investigations, Yupaz & Shaw discovered an unusual tea chest in the victim’s sparse cabin that conceals something electronic though inactive. Meanwhile Kaz discovered through his interviews with the witnesses, that they each had their suspicions that the victim was up to no good as well as their disputes with him. Finally, young Ensign Lane identified the source of the computer interference causing the warp systems to fail, where all signs point suspiciously to the as-yet unexamined crime scene. 

Act 1 – Smarter than a box?

Shaw and Yupaz search the victim’s cabin for clues as to what the tea box may contain and how to reveal the secrets. Upon examining the exterior of the box they discover an ornate inscription in a pictographic language that they suspect relates to the box’s contents and when they consult the Starfleet database they find it relates to an unusual Reman dialect, the ship’s computer is only able to translate some parts without additional context and they receive the following translation. 

XXXX XXXX blade XXXX

XXXXX XX slow to my throat

XXXX XX XXXX XX XXX XXXXX XXXXX

Then leave, that I XXX XXXXX XX XXXXX

Atop the box’s lid is a carved scene of two men, one holds a knife whilst the other cowers on the floor in fear. Shaw reasons this is related to the founding myths of Human Rome and their parallels in the founding of the Romulan Star Empire. Unable to discover any further clues (GM Note: Some exceptionally terrible rolls) Yupaz decides to use force and breaks open the box revealing a smooth dark grey object. Unable to gather any further information they decide to move to Engineering to investigate further. As they exit the cabin they catch their steward, Amarilla, in conversation over the comms. “Yes, they’re still here. I know we have a schedule” she whispers before she realises they are present. When questioned she informs them she was speaking to the Captain, they do not believe her but allow her to escort them to Engineering. 

Act 2 – Footprints in the carpet

Lane and the ship’s engineer Nickul are en route to Junction 27, the location where the body was discovered and also the location that houses the device foiling their attempts to go to warp speed. En route, they encounter Kaz who has stepped out to review his statements from his unreliable witnesses. Nickul guides the two to the Jefferies junction that houses both the crime scene and the insidious device, indicating a set of doors down a corridor covered in bloody footprints that the ship’s maintenance synths are in the process of cleaning. After a warning from a hoovering android to mind their step, the pair allow Engineer Nickul to return to engineering when they realise their colleague Gik has beamed aboard to assist them (GM Note: this is the introduction of our newest player). The Saurian operations officer joins forces with Shaw to search for the device that is causing the ongoing interruptions whilst Kaz investigates the crime scene. The Doctor identifies that the blood spatter across the walls originates from the body currently in the sickbay and detects Vulcan, Reman and Suliban genetic sequences during his investigation. Through some application of geometry, he calculates that the blood spray originated from the corner of the room, where Gik and Shaw also discover the device, hidden by a miniature holographic device. The trio surmise that someone discovered the victim working on the device and an altercation ensued, ending with a violent attack on the victim causing massive blunt force trauma and then death. 

The team attempted to disable the device, leading to the mission’s first extended task. (GM Note: this is a task where each member attempts an individual action to complete a shared goal. The difficulty of the individual task is affected by their investigative planning and the use of relevant skills. Each person contributes their success in an attempt to complete the task.) The trio offer the following actions in an attempt to disable the device without activating the signal beacon:

• Ensign Lane scanned the device and established there was a biometric lock, with residue in keeping with the victim’s genetic sequence. He also noted there were still active samples in the room. 
• Doctor Kaz created a fake signature utilising the blood spatter in the room, he created an aerosolised sample that he sprayed on the device, unlocking the biometric lock.
• Lieutenant Gik attempted to trick the device into a diagnostic loop whilst they attempted to deactivate the device, hoping to avoid it transmitting a signal. 

Between the three of them, they were able to deactivate the device but detected that it had transmitted a signal to a location outside the ship. With Pioneer’s help, they identified that the signal was not powerful enough to penetrate subspace and could not have left the system, leading them to believe there may be a cloaked vessel trailing them. Pioneer went to Yellow Alert. 

Act 3 – Translations and Investigations

Shaw and Yupaz arrive at Engineering to find a frustrated Nickul has just returned from escorting Lane, she moans about the constant interruptions but is willing to help. The pair ask her to investigate the subspace beacon they found in the victim’s quarters, she does so reluctantly as she summons the assistance of Synth 241. As she does this Yupaz notices that two nearby synths exchange a confused look before one nods slightly, instructing the other to attend to the engineer, he notes it to be an odd activity but does not share it with Shaw. With the assistance of the synth, Nickul quickly gets the beacon active again but informs the pair that it has complicated encryption that she cannot decipher with Christie‘s aged and limited computer core. They consider contacting Pioneer but without a key, any brute force attempt would be almost impossible, they surmise that the Reman puzzle on the outside of the box would assist and after consulting Federation records find that Hiskel and Alianna both have experience with the Reman language. They depart engineering to the lounge, leaving the beacon behind in Engineering for safekeeping. 

Yupaz leaves Shaw to brief the rest of the team, whilst the diplomatic officer goes to interview the witnesses. Initially, he asks Captain Hiskell (retired) for his assistance as his record indicates he served with a number of Reman troop units during the Dominion War, he can translate some glyphs but is not particularly helpful. Alianna however has a much better grasp of the language having worked with Reman refugees following the Shinzon incident and between them, they translate the poem in its entirety.

Raise your blade high,
Bring it slow to my throat.
Cast it down to the dusty ground,
Then leave that I may quiet my heart

As the two groups begin planning their next steps an alert sounds across the ship. 

“Deck personnel to the Shuttle Bay. Unexpected launch in progress.”