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Cloak and D'k Tagh  What's today's word with the war? Same as it's been. We're making the Iconians pay a toll in blood, but actual victories are few. It's their strategic mobility that's the problem. Ship for ship, we roughly have parity with the Heralds, but they can hit anywhere they want much faster than we can. New Romulus was the only time they've attacked a heavily fortified position head on. I guess the Preservers were a threat they couldn't afford. Our strategy is flawed. The Alliance has committed to defend everywhere, but Iconian mobility means they can concentrate their forces where ours are weak. Where we concentrate our forces, the Iconians can simply bypass. It's island hopping, like the Pacific Theater of World War Two on Earth. Or the Last War on Risa. They're bleeding us. Captain on deck! Tila, set a course for the Donasia system. I know there's nothing there, but Command wants us to meet someone there. A chance to hit back? A covert mission deep in Iconian space, apparently. Maximum warp, Commander. Yes, sir! We've arrived at Donasia. Class M planet, but... this system is under Federation quarantine. Ship decloaking! Sensors are struggling to get a lock on it. Definitely a Klingon battlecruiser of some kind, but it doesn't match anything in the database. Huh. Similar ECM signature to Starfleet Intelligence's vaunted Eclipse class. So the Klingon Empire has fully equipped stealth warships for its intelligence service, too. I'm impressed, honestly. They're not hailing, but their shields are down. I assume we're expected. Commander Telenth, you have the ship. I'm beaming over.(This is indeed a Qib class intel battlecruiser, the KDF equivalent of the Eclipse class if anyone remembers the USS Osiris from earlier in the LP)    You are a hero of the Empire, and Imperial Intelligence is well aware of your abilities. I was given the authority to request whomever I wished to assist us on this mission, and you were my first choice. I have worked with Imperial Intelligence before. You, and stealth warships like this, are not known to me. No. We aren't. There are many battles fought in shadow. You may call us House Pegh, and the battle ahead of us is beyond our ship alone. 'House Secret.' Subtle. I will listen, for now. The planet below us was once ruled by the Iconians in a similar fashion to Dewa III, and like on Dewa the Iconians left significant traces of their technology behind them when they moved on. Starfleet Intelligence has been studying the ruins for decades, even before the Iconian threat was confirmed. And now Imperial Intelligence as well. Civilization on Donasia was destroyed by an industrial accident, not unlike what befell Dewa III and the Solanae Sphere. We believe this planet to have been the site of an early Iconian experiment in manufacturing Omega molecules. Predating the spheres as Omega manufacturing facilities? Correct. We believe Donasia represented an early stage in the Iconians' efforts to harness Omega, and was destroyed by a runaway destabilization. We can only assume the spheres present a more stable and secure environment for the process. Clearly there's been time enough for subspace to heal. So why are we here? The Iconians have recently reestablished a presence in this system. Data gathered from the sphere incursions suggests that the majority of Iconian sphere operations have shifted from Omega manufacturing to supporting fleet operations, leading the Iconians to establish new Omega generators. The largest such facility lies on the edge of this system, very well hidden. You wish my aid in destroying the facility. A normal vessel under cloak would be caught and destroyed, but House Pegh has tools not available to others. I believe Starfleet calls it a phase cloak, allowing our vessel to pass through solid matter. That sounds ridiculous, but under the circumstances... You propose equipping the Fek'lhr with such a device as well? Installation on your ship has already begun. The mission is straightforward: reach the Omega generator facility, destroy it, and escape by stealth or force. An Omega detonation would render warp travel impossible for lightyears. Fortunately, I intend nothing so crude. You have experience shutting down Omega generators during the Solanae Sphere campaign, and enjoy the service of a Voth scientist who has studied this technology extensively.  It's hard to see, but behold the reason a very loud segment of STO's player base started wailing to the high heavens when this mission was released: the Lesbian Klingons. The first queer NPCs to ever be in STO (and I can still count the number in the game on the fingers of one hand, unless more recent stuff that I haven't played has added more), and born of a miscommunication between the person who wrote this mission and the person who actually built it. The mission writer intended Trevana to be a man, but the mission builder thought it was a woman's name, and by the time they talked to each other and realized the error, they decided to keep it. This is the only mission in the game they appear in, and they don't even so much as hold hands. But on the official forums, some people lost their goddamn poo poo. These two NPCs are also amusing for another reason: their names and models are almost identical to female Klingon NPCs from early in the Klingon story. If you recall T'Kara's former bridge officer B'Ellera... yeah, B'Eler uses her exact same model, the default look of one of the boffs Klingon captains are given, and if I'd been thinking ahead I probably would have made them the same character. Alas. Trevana is almost identical to a minor NPC from the tail end of the Klingon tutorial.  What do you want? I need to speak with B'Eler regarding the technical details of this mission. Don't worry, Trevana, it's fine. You... Oh, Captain T'Kara. I guess she didn't tell you about me. There's a reason you look identical to a woman I cared for, and have almost the same name? There is, actually. You recall that B'Ellera was posted to the Imperial War College as an instructor after she was reassigned from Nukara Prime Yes. She and a few other staff took a group of cadets on a training cruise when they encountered a spatial anomaly. Long story short, an exact duplicate of the ship and everyone on board was created. Forget it, no one believes that we're both quantum duplicates. As a matter of fact, you're not the first people that's happened to, nor the first such quantum duplicates, I've met. Wait, really? This is actually less bizarre than what happened in that other case. ...Well, then. On with the mission? Destroying the Omega generators with explosives presents an unacceptable risk. However, we learned how to safely destabilize generators in a controlled fashion without risk in the Solanae Sphere. I'm transferring the data to your computers now. Works for me. No awkwardness over me being a quantum duplicate of your dead mate? Kobali Prime set entirely new standards for awkward and weird. Good. Because she's mine. Return to your ship, captain.   We're in their sensor blind spot, Captain. Courtesy of passing through an entire moon. And I'm to believe that Starfleet has had this technology since the 24th century? In a primitive form, the testbed for the technology didn't end well and the whole affair was abandoned thanks to Jean-Luc Picard. It would have been a major violation of the treaty. When has Starfleet ever given a targ's rear end about treaties? It was the threat of a Jean-Luc Picard speech that intimidated Starfleet Command. In any event... Ramir, we are in position. Good. Beam down and commence assault. Hmmm. Besides Iconian shielding, Omega particles are distorting our scanners. Our tricorders can still pinpoint sources of Omega emissions, which will be our targets. True. Now that we are here, Captain, there is something you need to know. Probably several somethings, but continue. I am not the leader of House Pegh. Ramir to Hegh, the landing zone is secure.   Qapla'! We fight together again, T'Kara! Emperor Kahless. This is unexpected. Did you expect me to remain a figurehead behind our lines? Symbols have power, and today the Sword will taste Iconian blood! ... Hesitation isn't like you. Do what you must, and I will do the same. To battle!   So the gimmick to this mission is that the Iconian facility is a maze and your minimap doesn't work - this actually might be the first time in the LP that this nuisance has come up, but it won't be the last. Your tricorder scan, normally used for locating crafting material gather nodes, will instead point you in the direction of your next objective if you get lost. Have to say, while the color palette is rather eye-searing, I like the interior design for the Iconians. Feels very retro sci-fi, in a good way.  That's an Omega generator, captain. These are Iconian control interfaces, not Solanae. Can you work with them? House Pegh transferred data to us. I believe we can operate the Iconian controls. Careful, that's one of their officers guarding the generator. Alliance Command is calling them 'harbingers.' Call them whatever you want, let's add another to our tally.  Subject no longer operational. Nelen, you're up. On it. There. That will disable the generator safely. Thanks to House Pegh's decryption algorithms, I've been able to pull some data from the local system. Interesting. Do tell. Anyone heard of the Iconians talking about something called 'The Other'? No. Context? Some really creepy sounding stuff I'd bet latinum was written by an actual Iconian.quote:Without Unity, we are fractured. We are helpless. We are vulnerable. Almost sounds like the Borg. The Borg seek perfection through assimilation of the universe and synthesizing all that is best into an unflawed whole. If this is an accurate representation of Iconian thinking, then they look inward where the Borg look outward. This almost sounds mournful. Hmmm. The Preserver said something about the Iconians being different once. I've also pulled something less philosophical from the system.quote:Inform our allies in the Vaadwaur to remain vigilant for signs of life in Krenim space. All contacts in that region must be stamped out before they can become a danger to us. We know the Federation vessel designated Voyager was in the sector searching for signs of the Krenim. We have also detected scavengers in the area. They cannot be allowed to recover artifacts that might lead to the restoration of Krenim technology or the Imperium. We fought alongside the Krenim in the Delta Quadrant. They were the first people the Vaadwuar hit. Why would the Iconians fear the Krenim in particular? Unknown. The Krenim are mentioned in the Voyager Codex, but details are confusing and contradictory. Assuming we get out of here alive, I need to bring both of these to Command's attention. Let's keep moving.   Emperor. We've disabled one generator. As have we. That's the good news. I assume this means there's bad news? Always is with the Iconians. One of them is here, T'Ket. We knew this was a possibility. And scans show there's one Omega generator left. Then we proceed!  Hmmm. An internal surveillance system.  An Iconian! My blood sings for battle! Kahless, you can't do this alone. My emperor, you are the strongest of all Klingons. You wield the Sword. But the half-breed is right. No one can face an Iconian alone. The war does not go well for us. You all know that. Our people need a symbol to inspire them. That is what I, a clone, was created to be. This battle will be one of legend. Every soldier of the Empire will have this tale on their lips. You can inspire them as a living symbol rather than as a martyr. Since when has the Empire cared for my life? It is, and has always been, the idea of what I represent. I am nothing but a man by my own merits, T'Kara, just as the Sword is nothing but a blade judged for itself. It is the perception of what we are that makes us legends, not the cold facts of what we are. Legends that have been perverted by madmen like T'Kuvma and the maniacs who claim his legacy. Those tales mean nothing next to living people. People are free to believe what they wish. I am neither a god nor an idol. Go, T'Kara. Be who you are meant to be. ...Till Sto'vo'kor, Emperor. Till Sto'vo'kor!         How fares the Emperor? Badly. Ideas, anyone? One. It's a terrible, probably suicidal idea. Under the circumstances, I say go for it. And you both purport to be part Vulcan? Just how terrible is this idea? These consoles control the transfer of generated Omega particles to holding units. The carrier beams can be redirected. ...We've shut off Omega particle production. The beams should be empty of payload. You're insane. Do it.                  Hegh to Fek'lhr, did you make it out? The phase cloak worked, Hegh, we're clear of Iconian forces. Good. Make your report to the Alliance, captain. I will inform the Empire. Hegh out. What happened down there? We destroyed a major Omega particle production facility, and wounded an Iconian. I know that tone in your voice. What were the losses, captain? One man. Get me Alliance Command.
Cythereal fucked around with this message at 02:12 on Oct 4, 2020 |
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Oct 4, 2020 00:17
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One of the people on the STO forums whining about gay people being in the game was actually a forum moderator, he said that gay people had no place being in a T-rated game. Cryptic promptly fired him from his mod position.
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Oct 4, 2020 00:39
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Veotax posted:One of the people on the STO forums whining about gay people being in the game was actually a forum moderator, he said that gay people had no place being in a T-rated game. A decision by cryptic I can definitely get behind. I didn't play this one when it was new, but when I got to this mission the inclusion of the lesbian klingons got a 'huh, neat' from me.
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Oct 4, 2020 01:13
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If only he had wielded a useable weapon instead of a prop, he would have won.
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Oct 4, 2020 01:27
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Veotax posted:One of the people on the STO forums whining about gay people being in the game was actually a forum moderator, he said that gay people had no place being in a T-rated game. This wound up being so funny that it prompted me to learn how to use the Foundry mission creator to make a short and stupid mission mocking the entire situation. Sadly for the LP on several levels, Cryptic shut down the Foundry about a month before Moon Slayer started it. Which means that instead of using custom Foundry maps for bridge scenes, crossovers between Malthis and T’Kara, etc etc, we’re limited to content that’s actually in the game.
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Oct 4, 2020 01:42
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Stormy has helpfully informed me that 'Pegh' is an actual Klingon word in the Klingon conlang, so I've updated the mission post with an extra dose of T'Kara snark.
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Oct 4, 2020 02:14
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Kahless showing up on this mission seems a little...random?
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Oct 4, 2020 03:07
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Coq au Nandos posted:This wound up being so funny that it prompted me to learn how to use the Foundry mission creator to make a short and stupid mission mocking the entire situation. Wasn't the Foundry shut down because only one guy at Cryptic ever maintained it, and he left the company so no-one had a clue how it worked? Either way please do tell us more about this custom mission.
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Oct 4, 2020 10:30
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Close, but not exactly. It was basically the pet project of one dev there who pushed it hard, but yeah he eventually left. They kept it going for another year or three since they did know how to maintain it, but it was apparently a code clusterfuck behind the scenes and required manually reactivating a bunch of things and republishing every map after each sever reboot and they had no real interest in updating it ever, so... yeah, it was killed once the technical debt got high enough to make it not even worth keeping around in maintenance mode. Cryptic! 
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Oct 4, 2020 12:16
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Which is pretty amazing when you think about it, since if run properly the foundry could easily have produced the highest Content:Effort ratio of any STO development time
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Oct 4, 2020 19:48
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Tunicate posted:Which is pretty amazing when you think about it, since if run properly the foundry could easily have produced the highest Content:Effort ratio of any STO development time My memories of the foundry are that there were basically two types of missions: 1) Space missions where you spawned surrounded by a gas that deactivated shields and did damage and large numbers of enemies spawned and died for you to farm loot and xp. 2) Amateur fanfics with extensive dialog full of spelling and grammar errors that were not nearly as entertaining as their creators hoped because people don't play MMOs to read text boxes. Even the really hyped "featured" foundry missions were at best slightly higher quality versions of #2. Bremen fucked around with this message at 00:31 on Oct 5, 2020 |
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Oct 5, 2020 00:28
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Tunicate posted:Which is pretty amazing when you think about it, since if run properly the foundry could easily have produced the highest Content:Effort ratio of any STO development time
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Oct 5, 2020 00:41
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Gosh just monetize it with seasonal asset packs
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Oct 5, 2020 00:46
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Oct 5, 2020 00:48
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The flaw in your plan is that it requires Cryptic to regularly make new assets. 
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Oct 5, 2020 00:50
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kw0134 posted:Kahless showing up on this mission seems a little...random? Funnily enough, the next mission will also feature an old character from a previous story returning for a plot appearance! Difficulty rating: another character T'Kara has never met.
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Oct 5, 2020 13:24
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Cythereal posted:Funnily enough, the next mission will also feature an old character from a previous story returning for a plot appearance! Oh boy I can't wait to see them die so it can make us feel like the Iconian's are a super big threat!!
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Oct 6, 2020 05:13
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TheShadowAvatar posted:Oh boy I can't wait to see them die so it can make us feel like the Iconian's are a super big threat!! If I remember correctly, there were several lore postings by the studio at the time about how badly the Iconians were wrecking poo poo up off screen across the galaxy that wasn’t reflected in-game. I don’t know if you can find them anymore though.
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Oct 6, 2020 05:48
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Slipping The Net Some good news, for once. The Tholian Assembly has agreed to a temporary cease-fire with the Khitomer Alliance states in light of Iconian aggression. The Tholians? Why? They regard New Romulus as fundamentally theirs, and the Iconian assault as an attack on Tholian territory. Er, even though the Republic has no intention of giving up New Romulus? Tholians. Captain on deck! Commander, set course for the Drozana system. Drozana? Why there of all places? Ferengi scavengers in the Delta Quadrant have acquired artifacts of interest to Alliance Command. The Ferengi intend to sell them at Drozana, and we have been authorized to acquire them. Delta Quadrant? What kind of artifacts? Krenim artifacts. The Iconians clearly regard the Krenim as a threat, so Command has made contacting what's left of the Krenim a priority. Interesting. A very strange people, the Krenim. They have an intuitive affinity for applied temporal mechanics, which makes assessing their Imperium... inconstant. Temporal mechanics. Does anyone else feel an instinctive sense of revulsion? Nope. Nelen, on the way I want everything you know about the Krenim. The Khitomer Alliance has forbidden shore leave on Drozana. Something about time traveling brain eating ghosts. Starfleet? You know it. So, has anyone been here before the Starfleet bullshit started? I have. This is as far out as the Risan Naval Militia patrols. How good are you with a disruptor? ...Why? You have firsthand knowledge of this cesspit. Report to the transporter room.  I think I'm going to need a long stint in the sonic shower when we get out of here. Don't touch anyone here. T'Kara, is this kind of thing normal for an away mission? No. The shooting hasn't started yet. Please never send me on an away mission again.  A Klingon, a Borg, a Cardassian, a Risan, and a Ferasan. Customers or a circus? I am Captain T'Kara of the IKS Fek'lhr. I am here regarding the Delta Quadrant artifacts he acquired. Yes, but he left me explicit instructions on this. He's in the middle of delicate negotiations to triple his profits from the sale of the artifact. He has no interest in an offer from the combined resources of the Khitomer Alliance? Right, a Federation that has no interest in money, an Empire that despises merchants, and a Republic of refugees and farmers. I can put you on Qwen's schedule after sale of the artifact is finalized. You misunderstand me. Either you open this door, or I do, and my way involves a spatial charge. Has anyone told you you're a talented negotiator before? As a matter of fact, yes. That was fun - oh my gods what is wrong with your spine?! Risan skeletons are more segmented than the norm for Preserver-descended humanoids. We have much more flexibility than most. Ahem. Facilitator Qwen, I will be taking custody of the artifact. Cooperate and you will be compensated. Not so fast! The gentleman with the rather imposing associates over there has just made a very competitive offer for the device. Care to make a counter bid? The galaxy is burning and you're worried about your profit margins?! Well, they are very large associates and they are heavily armed... Aren't the Nausicaans supposed to be a vassal state of the Empire? Welcome to my world, Aoede. Guards! Toss this riff-raff out the airlock!  You had your chance, Ferengi. We will be taking the artifact now. Fek'lhr to away team, a Starfleet destroyer has arrived and says they intend to handle this matter. Who?   And when you deal with these people, you deal with me. You have a choice. Either you deal with me, or I ask my father to have a word with the liquidators about your poor business practices.   Get out. Not you, Qwen. Of - of course! What do you want? I know the relic is Krenim in origin. What else do you know? It's very, very odd. When my appraiser surveyed the artifact, he determined it to be from the mid-22nd century, from the heyday of the Krenim Imperium. Except, it's much more advanced than anything the Krenim should have had at that point. I have a Voth archaeologist on my ship. That would be from before the Imperium's decline. Exactly! They were one of the biggest powers in the Delta Quadrant at the time, next to the Borg. Then they got ground down by internal decline and disastrous wars with other races. And when the Vaadwuar emerged with their Iconian technology, the Krenim were the first targets. There's not much left of the Imperium.(Seriously, if you have Netflix and want more context for all this, watch Year of Hell, Voyager S4, E8. It informs almost everything about the Krenim in STO and I'm cutting out a lot of info dumping about stuff T'Kara should already know thanks to Nelen and to having met the Krenim earlier in the game. Also cutting out a bunch of dumb little time-wasting bullshit bits in this mission.) Anyway, the Talaxian trader I got it from said he found it in the Kyana system. There should have been a Krenim colony there, but not anymore. Given Vaadwuar and Iconian tactics, I can imagine what happened. Get out of here. Captain T'Kara of Chuch'SuS. Given your reputation, I didn't know if I'd be talking to Qwen or stepping over his corpse. You beamed in right after I killed his guards. I think he was prepared to be reasonable. Dignity and an empty sack is worth the sack. Rule of Acquisition 109. Hmmm. A lot of chronitons emanating from the device. Krenim temporal technology, I suppose. Probably. He mentioned the Kyana system. I know that was one of the systems Admiral Tuvok investigated when looking for Krenim survivors, but I think he said there was a heavy Vaadwuar presence there. That sounds like a lead, then. Captain Nog, Starfleet's science facilities are probably better equipped to study a device like this than our own. If you take the device, we'll head for the Kyana system. We'll join you as soon as we can. Good luck, captain. How about that, a Starfleet officer who believes in luck. See you in the Delta Quadrant, Starfleet.(later)  Fek'lhr to Chimera. We're detecting a lot of artificial debris out here, much of it battle damaged. Nothing recent. Voyager's records say there should be a class M planet here with a thriving Krenim population. We're not detecting one, nor enough planetary debris for the Iconians to have destroyed it. Any luck with the Krenim device? Your guess was right on the money, this device definitely manipulates time. I'm not sure how, though. It doesn't appear to be traveling forward or backward in time, but it's clearly designed to do something to a person or large object. Keep studying it. We'll investigate the debris fields. Sir! Vaadwuar ships powering up in the wreckage! They're charging weapons! Iconian loyalists. Probably all infested with bluegills now. Doesn't matter. Kill them.  Chimera to Fek'lhr, we've got new contacts on sensors. This doesn't look good... I don't think they've detected us. It looks like a search pattern, Starfleet. The Vaadwuar probably sent them an alert when they engaged, before we jammed their communications. You have more experience fighting the Iconians than anyone else I know of. Do you think we can reach that moon before the Heralds find us? If we move quickly. Iconian sensor technology is very primitive in some respects, they aren't good at tracking high speed objects at short range. Good, because my science officer has an idea. We need to get to that moon and beam down, I'll send you the coordinates. See you on the surface, Starfleet.  Class M atmosphere, contained by an environmental shield bubble. But... I'm not detecting the shield itself, or the generator.  High energy levels from these crystals. My tricorder can't determine what sort of energy. I'm setting up a bridge between my tricorder and yours. It's temporal energy. 'Temporal energy?' Now you're just... wait, no. You aren't just making this up. I'm too well acquainted with a Starfleet officer marooned in time for that. Yeah, this is supposed to all be highly classified. But if Temporal Investigations wants to open a case while the galaxy is burning, I think the human expression is 'bite me.' Have a care saying that around Klingon women and some men, Starfleet. I am neither into men nor Ferengi, but some might just accept that invitation. Hmmm. There's a shape to the temporal energy, almost like a warp field. I've mapped the extent of this moon's atmosphere. It is also artificially shaped. They overlap almost exactly! Actually... I think I know what this device does! And I think I can figure out how to use it! Do what you need to, Starfleet, but make it fast. We'll cover you. Here they come!   (Hooray for a timed defense against waves of Heralds)   He's gone, sir. So, did we have a plan B? 'Die with honor' is always in the planning book for the KDF, Petra. Anyone have a last minute confession? I can't stand the taste of Romulan ale, it tastes like alcoholic fruit juice mixed with acid. I cheated on my entrance exam for an officer's posting in the KDF, I hacked into the computer and replaced another student's results with my own. I've duped my parents into thinking I'm still a loyal member of the Sovereignty. It's easier than putting up with their ranting if I told them I betrayed the Sovereignty and left the Delta Quadrant. When I was an ensign, my ship encountered a non-corporeal entity that ate sentient minds. I saved the ship by opening up historical romance fan fiction about James T. Kirk and Spock from the extranet and reading it to the crew over the intercom. It so poisoned everyone's minds that the entity left in disgust. ...Why me? (flash)  I think we found the Krenim.  (yeah this color filter will be around for the rest of this part, as are the out-of-phase Heralds wandering around)  The Krenim are a little touchy, but they're not shooting at us. They're willing to talk, if we can help them with repairs. And what makes you think we can repair temporal technology? I've read your file. You have a real knack for figuring out unfamiliar technology. What was it you told the Kobali? Convergent technological evolution? I hate anything to do with temporal nonsense, I got enough of that by proxy from a certain pain in the rear end Starfleet captain. But... fine.  We have had the opportunity to observe you and Captain Nog. You are not friends of the Vaadwuar, that much is clear. The Iconians want your species exterminated. That makes you worth talking to. I appreciate your pragmatism. Help us, and we'll see what happens next. Hmmm. Microfissures throughout the structure. It's almost like local entropy has been accelerated on these components... That would do it. Annorax didn't leave an instruction manual for this stuff. Annorax? The inventor of all this technology. Absolutely brilliant, a real genius with temporal mechanics and technology. Completely insane, the stories say, but brilliant. This technology is based on his work. And what exactly was his original work designed for? A ship of some kind, I don't know the details. He was alive when the Imperium started to crumble, and rumor has it that he wanted to change history to save it all. Didn't work, obviously. The thought that occurs to me is making a change with good intentions that inadvertently makes things worse. Take a look around you, alien. How much worse can things get?(There's a whole series of mini-games and little puzzles to fix different pieces of the equipment while NPCs info dump, you're welcome for me condensing it all - if you really want to know more about Annorax and the Krenim, go watch Year of Hell, it's legitimately among the best stuff Voyager ever did)        (Each Iconian has a different design if you look closely. The blue one on the left is polite and respectful, the one-armed red one is...)  (...not)  (The purple one in the middle is the one who killed the High Council back in Surface Tension. We're starting to get names and personalities for the Iconians now.)  (T'Ket was rather composed, if arrogant and disdainful, before Kahless dismembered her. Methinks Kahless hit a nerve. With the Sword of Kahless. And the rest of the arm it was attached to.)   (The purple one finally speaks, she seems to be the leader of the Iconians and is focused on the mission.)       (Back to the heroes' view, portals open up and all the Heralds leave) So, the true masters of the Vaadwuar... They're called the Iconians. Yours is not the first world they've destroyed. It won't be the last. Captain T'Kara, in your report on the Herald Sphere didn't you say that Sela claimed the Iconians can't manipulate time? She says their minds work differently, a way that helps their mastery of spatial teleportation but means temporal alterations destroy their minds. That explains why we survived. Those of us on Kyana studied Annorax's work, and managed to hide ourselves in the timestream from the Vaadwuar and the Heralds. We wondered why they never detected us, and now we know. I have an idea. ... We have in our possession the schematics for Annorax's proposed weapon to save the Imperium. A timeship capable of massive temporal incursions to alter history. What we lack are the resources to build it. The Alliance has resources. We have shipyards, raw materials, technology, and the skilled people. This could be the weapon we need. ...You're proposing a very dangerous weapon, one that could easily hurt us as much or more than the Iconians. If the Krenim can build this... Rule of Acquisition 62, the riskier the road, the greater the profit. Rule of Acquisition 208, sometimes the only thing more dangerous than a question is an answer. Rule of Acquisition 125, you can't make a deal if you're dead.  We have the knowledge and technology to build this weapon. We need resources, personnel, and manufacturing capacity. This could be the weapon to change everything. Will you support us? I will. We ran out of good options, and even bad options are looking thin on the ground. ...We can't win this conventionally. Though I may drat myself doing so, you have my support as well. Thank you, T'Kara. If I stay here and coordinate with the Krenim, can you inform Alliance Command? No promises that the next time you hail command you'll be talking to someone or stepping over their corpse, Starfleet.
Cythereal fucked around with this message at 22:26 on Oct 11, 2020 |
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Oct 11, 2020 21:43
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Nog kind of out of nowhere, but I enjoyed it. Oh no, I'm being fan serviced and I don't know how to feel about that.
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Oct 11, 2020 22:18
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Cythereal posted:Slipping The Net Hey now, that definitely didn't happen. During this event there were a bunch of propaganda posters style splashscreens. There were a couple that included the symbols of virtually every major power, showing their solidarity united against the iconians. Notably present: The hand claw symbol of the Borg Collective Notably absent: The tholian triangle Tunicate fucked around with this message at 23:45 on Oct 11, 2020 |
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Oct 11, 2020 23:32
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Tunicate posted:Hey now, that definitely didn't happen. During this event there were a bunch of propaganda posters style splashscreens. There were a couple that included the symbols of every major power, showing their solidarity united against the iconians. News to me! I completely missed Delta Rising, the Iconian War, and the next two or three expansions/story arcs after that. I think I only started playing again when the current story arc was the Tzenkethi.
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Oct 11, 2020 23:41
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Tunicate posted:Hey now, that definitely didn't happen. During this event there were a bunch of propaganda posters style splashscreens. There were a couple that included the symbols of every major power, showing their solidarity united against the iconians.
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Oct 11, 2020 23:41
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wdarkk posted:Nobody actually likes the Tholians. if I were willing to credit the dev team with planning ahead of time, the fact that everyone constantly attacks the tholians for no reason would be a great setup for a proper star trek arc about making amends for past misdeeds, and how you should try seeing things from some else's perspective before acting, even if they're strange or alien. instead it's basically just a hilarious running joke  We've arrived at the distress call. All ships, prepare to attack the borg fleet. Good news! The tholians are already here, and they're kicking the borg's rear end. Excellent. That means they won't expect an attack from the rear. All ships, target the Tholian fleet!
Tunicate fucked around with this message at 23:56 on Oct 11, 2020 |
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Oct 11, 2020 23:51
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Weren't the Tholians and Federation on fairly good terms? I remember Sisko talking about the Tholian ambassador a lot on DS9, with the implication he never appeared because of the budget. Then STO basically made them into cartoonish bad guys because writing is hard.
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Oct 12, 2020 04:28
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TheGreatEvilKing posted:STO basically made them into cartoonish bad guys because writing is hard. More like STO made everyone else cartoonish bad guys. Like, aside from a couple of missions, most times you run into tholians they: -have legitimate claim on a world they arrived to first (new romulus) -have legitimate claim on a world with a habitat only they can live in (nukara) -tried to remove harmful tech before it could gently caress poo poo up (temporal arc is a big one, but I wanna say they're trying to do this in a few missions they show up in) -went apeshit when a whole ship full of their kids and colonists got stolen. Tholians are unfriendly and xenophobic as gently caress, but they are clearly also getting hosed over hardcore by the 'good guys'.
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Oct 12, 2020 04:50
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TheGreatEvilKing posted:Weren't the Tholians and Federation on fairly good terms? I remember Sisko talking about the Tholian ambassador a lot on DS9, with the implication he never appeared because of the budget. If you make a timeline of the events in STO, the first time anyone actually encounters the tholians seems to be during the new romulus mission, when your rommie captain murders those archaeologists, then blows up the ships responding to their distress call. They don't get mentioned at all in any of the content set earlier than that (including path to 2409/website bonus content or whatever) so the same reasonably friendly status quo relations should have held. If this game had an actual coherent narrative, then the romulan republic claiming their planet as a new homeworld is what originally aggroed the tholians, and later things like attacking them when they're talking with a crystalline entity, or when they're fighting the borg / the terran empire / romulan empire were just fuel for the fire. Error 404 posted:Tholians are unfriendly and xenophobic as gently caress, but they are clearly also getting hosed over hardcore by the 'good guys'. I mean is it even 'xenophobic' when all these genetic test subjects made out of progenitor goop keep attacking you unprovoked? Tunicate fucked around with this message at 06:32 on Oct 12, 2020 |
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Oct 12, 2020 06:30
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And the whole vault tfo is just...that station is massively loving with borg tech, Roms have a history of loving with advanced poo poo and having it blow up in their faces and gently caress over everybody. Destroying that station is probably a prudent move for the sake of everyone in the quadrant. The fact that the vault is now occupied by independent and (mostly) peaceful remans just isn't a distinction Tholians seem capable of making.
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Oct 12, 2020 06:53
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Error 404 posted:And the whole vault tfo is just...that station is massively loving with borg tech, Roms have a history of loving with advanced poo poo and having it blow up in their faces and gently caress over everybody. Destroying that station is probably a prudent move for the sake of everyone in the quadrant. In Web Access you find out that the attack on the vault was a feint. The romulans were getting close to discovering dangerous dewan and iconian technology, and the tholians wanted to pull romulan forces away, so they could safely recover the artifacts instead of letting them be destroyed or stolen by the romulans.
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Oct 12, 2020 07:20
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Tunicate posted:In Web Access you find out that the attack on the vault was a feint. The romulans were getting close to discovering dangerous dewan and iconian technology, and the tholians wanted to pull romulan forces away, so they could safely recover the artifacts instead of letting them be destroyed or stolen by the romulans. Thats the thing. The writing makes the tholians more complicated and interesting, but also fails to really go anywhere with them but 'tholians r bad lol'.
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Oct 12, 2020 07:34
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Tunicate posted:Hey now, that definitely didn't happen. During this event there were a bunch of propaganda posters style splashscreens. There were a couple that included the symbols of virtually every major power, showing their solidarity united against the iconians. This reminded me - Cryptic really ramped up the production of lore blogs around 2015 for the Iconian War arc, and Cyth is happy for me to post them, so here we go! I'll include a piece of propaganda art from each update. This first one is set just before the Delta Flight missions. Tales of the War 1 posted:
Huh. OK, I guess Tom Paris used to be an Admiral? This one is set just after Blood of Ancients. Tales of the War 3 posted:
The next is set just before the events of House Pegh. Tales of the War 4 posted:
lol Tales of the War 4, continued posted:So K'men had made her one of his own. Let the Klingon Defense Force have the bravest and the boldest. Here in Klingon Intelligence, K'men prized keen minds that could analyze a tactical situation or see the secrets behind the smiles at a diplomatic conference. And the last one for now, set just after Kahless the Unforgettable does something actually Unforgettable. Tales of the War 6 posted:
RIP to a real one. Many more to come.
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Oct 12, 2020 10:47
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I once again must insist that I didn't know anything about this stuff.
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Oct 12, 2020 12:18
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An interesting but about the Tholians that never really comes up outside a few scattered lore blogs and similar indirect snippets is that the other major powers basically have no idea how in the hell the Tholian government operates, and a big part of that is that the Assembly apparently in close contact with or actually includes Tholians from parallel timelines and future timelines and other assorted weirdness. It's intended to be a big part of why they keep showing up as secondary antagonists in story arcs about time travel, dimension travel, and what have you, since they're fully aware of the various machinations of the Iconians and other similar galactic threats and they want to pre-emptively stop the carbon-based idiots from loving things up more. Of course the net result of this is that it means they show up as hostile with no warning or explanation, and similarly the Alliance considers them default hostile because they keep showing up at critical moments with guns a-blazing. Just a giant clusterfuck of miscommunication and distrust from all sides. Of course this is far too clever a bit of writing for Cryptic so it never actually shows up in any mission where it would matter. 
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Oct 12, 2020 13:58
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Asimo posted:An interesting but about the Tholians that never really comes up outside a few scattered lore blogs and similar indirect snippets is that the other major powers basically have no idea how in the hell the Tholian government operates, and a big part of that is that the Assembly apparently in close contact with or actually includes Tholians from parallel timelines and future timelines and other assorted weirdness. It's intended to be a big part of why they keep showing up as secondary antagonists in story arcs about time travel, dimension travel, and what have you, since they're fully aware of the various machinations of the Iconians and other similar galactic threats and they want to pre-emptively stop the carbon-based idiots from loving things up more. Hell, they're first appearance in canon timeline-wise is in ENT "Future Tense", where Johnathon "Speechify" Archer and Charles "Catfish" Tucker are about to start poking a 23d C. timeship.
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Oct 12, 2020 18:53
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Retribution The Republic fleet's losses are approaching critical. We can still build ships, but trained personnel are... becoming an issue. It's the same story all over the galaxy. There have been Iconian attacks as deep as Breen space. Hell, rumor has it there's been attempts to contact the Dominion. Which is why I not only recommended the Krenim plan to the Alliance, we're reporting to the Kyana system now. The Alliance has been making progress, I gather. The Borg Cooperative's military resources are limited, but they have provided significant construction assistance to the Krenim. Still... I don't like this. Temporal weapons? Changing history to prevent the Iconians from ever existing? Do you see a better option on the table, Commander? That's... the entire Second and Third Fleets. And an appreciable fraction of the remaining Republic Navy. And a big part of the KDF that's not under the command of the Great Houses or vassal states. I have a very bad feeling about this.     The Borg have extensive records on the Krenim. They were a species of great interest to the Collective. I'm not sure I like the idea of the Borg studying us like bugs in a petri dish. I'm not sure I like the idea of the Borg studying anyone. And what about the Iconians? The Collective spent a great deal of resources pursuing Iconian technology. They believed the species to be extinct. They were incorrect. Has the Collective engaged the Iconians now? No. The Borg are monitoring our war carefully, but the Collective has thus far refrained from aggressive action towards either side. So much for the Borg knowing everything. The Iconians' technology is far beyond even the capabilities of the Borg. This is not my first experience with alternate timelines. It would be possible to develop a form of temporal shielding to protect this vessel from alterations to the timeline. Welcome to our facility, captain. I'm working with the teams here to select a target for the ship. I have tried very hard to avoid dealing with temporal mechanics in my career. This ship... travels back in time to destroy targets in the past? Not quite. Annorax's designs are for a weapon that removes targets from the timestream, and then time reshapes itself to account for that absence. Thus the paradox problem. The new timeline might prevent the ship itself from ever being built. In our circumstances, that might even be the ideal outcome. Exactly. Call the temporal shielding a kind of insurance, preserving the ship and its crew into the new timeline intact. That itself seems dangerous. What's to stop the weapon from being used again? A weapon this powerful seems... tempting, to use beyond the scope of its original intent. A problem for another time, as it were. I believe Alliance command wanted to see you.  Captain T'Kara. I was surprised to hear you recommending we build this weapon. Interesting times we're living in. I keep asking people if they have a better idea. I don't mean it as a rhetorical question. Even Temporal Investigations, and the Empire's Bureau of Temporal Defense, have agreed that there will be no one left to protect the timeline if the Iconians win. Attention, everyone. Please be seated. (Captain Shon of the Enterprise, Captain Koren of the Bortasqu', and Commander Jarok of the Llieset are also here, but you can't talk to them) Our fleets are protecting key worlds, but dozens of other planets have fallen to Herald attacks. Civilian casualties are rising. We need to act, and this facility is building a weapon that we believe can turn the tide in our favor. Captain Nog, what is the status of the weapon? We're still weeks from a working prototype. No amount of temporal manipulation will change that. And have you chosen a target for the temporal incursion? We're still running simulations. We've wired holodecks into our temporal sensors to help us evaluate the possible changes that will occur after removing a target from the timestream. Some of our scenarios show promise, but none are exactly what we want. Very well. We need to strike now to buy us the time we need. A direct engagement is our only option. Every ship we can muster will be part of one massive strike against the Herald Sphere. There will be more warriors in Sto'vo'kor tonight, but they may buy us the time we need. Captain T'Kara, you have been inside the Herald Sphere and have more combat experience against the Iconians than almost anyone in the Alliance. Do you have any insight to add? My team was able to enter the Herald Sphere through an Iconian gateway. We know the Iconians have severed the Solanae and Jenolan spheres and their attendant gateways from the network. Do we have a plan for getting inside this sphere? The Iconians need to use portals to bring their own ships out of the sphere, and can't close portals quickly when moving large masses through them. I propose to use the Iconians' own technology against them. I've been reading the technical reports. They haven't closed portals quickly when moving large masses through them. We don't know that they can't. It is a risk worth taking. I disagree. We also risk the Iconians choosing not to engage at all. Our only weapons which show any promise of damaging the exterior of an Iconian sphere are hargh'peng torpedoes, and we don't have anything like enough of them to risk any external defenses the Herald Sphere might possess. The Iconians' pride is such that I consider that scenario unlikely, but it does exist. What would you have us do? Sacrifice more civilian lives to buy us time? Considering the weapon we have chosen for this fight? Yes. If we succeed there will have been no sacrifice at all. Logic is cold comfort to the living. The living do not concern me at this juncture. What matters is the number of the dead. I'm afraid I have to agree with the plan for a direct strike. Trading space for time might work, but we don't know what building this weapon will ultimately require that we might lose in the trade. I concur. However distasteful this plan is, military resources are more expendable than the alternative. You have your orders, T'Kara of Chuch'SuS. A frontal assault on an Iconian sphere?! Are they insane?! They are desperate, and that has narrowed their mental horizons. I've checked the manifests. I think a lot of people are about to die. Do we have any kind of actual plan beyond hoping the Iconians let us in? Intelligence believes there's a unique Iconian dreadnought inside the sphere that's serving as a control center for the local gateway network. The Iconians are at least to some extent energy beings. We believe that in the absence of large permanent gateways, Iconians must power gates with their own energy. Meaning that if we can disable the command ship's power systems, we'll force the commanding Iconian to either shut down the local network or fuel it with their own life force. Which, given the assault, might well be fatal. 'If.' 'Might.' These are the signs of our times.  Primordial Truth... even with the telepathic dampener, I can feel people dying out there. Incoming hail from the USS Mercury. Boy am I glad to see you, T'Kara. This... this isn't working. The fleet is in complete disarray and there's been no sign of the command ship or a stable portal. Please assist wherever you can. Distress call from the USS Bonhomme Richard, Second Fleet flagship. They've lost power and are dead in space.  Scratch that, the Bonhomme Richard's distress call has shifted to automatic. They're gone.   The Republic just lost a dreadnought. Not the Llieset, I think. USS Mercury to Delta Flight and anyone else who's listening! Command ship spotted! We are going in!           Fek'lhr to Mercury. We're in. Glad to have you, Fek'lhr. If our intel is right, this ship is the nerve center for the entire gateway network. We've got troop transports inbound, keep the Iconians off of them.   (This is a timed defense of three carriers against waves of Iconians. There's a Task Force Operation called The Herald Sphere that's basically a multiplayer version of this mission minus the part coming up) We're clear for the moment, Fek'lhr, but the marines need help. Captain T'Kara, a little bird that speaks Klingonese told me you're familiar with operating and sabotaging Iconian technology. Understood. Away team to transporter room. Remember, we're looking to sabotage the ship's power systems. We think the Iconian that has to be on that ship will have to either let the gateway network fall, or fuel it with their own life, which may weaken them enough to become vulnerable.   Qapla'! Captain, we are on the primary engineering deck for the dreadnought. Given your experience, we will follow you. I still think this was a bad idea, but follow me. (You rescue a group of Romulan mooks...)  (and Starfleet - this is actually a beneficial light show, courtesy of an ability I ground up for Nelen off-screen)  This is a main power relay for the ship. A disruptor bolt in the right place should attract some attention. Be ready.  Iconian! Foolish children. Do you care so little for your own lives? When you know that with but a wave of my hand... Well I'll be. Intelligence was right! M'Tara. I am T'Kara of Chuch'SuS, and I warned you on Lae'nae III that I would stand against you.  (so despite the hype, M'Tara is just a reskinned Harbinger, the bosses T'Kara's killed a few of by now, and is actually a shorter fight - she flees once she loses shields) Ugh... Petulant child! You will regret this!(she portals out while a wave of mooks portal in) Paris to T'Kara, this ship's energy readings are going haywire! Whatever you're doing, do more of it! That I can do, Starfleet. (do not adjust your sets, this is M'Tara doing exactly the same thing in an identical room further down the hallway after we mash another console) ...But I will still destroy you, followed by your misbegotten race. Didn't your mother teach you not to lie?  (she's exactly the same fight as before. I'll say again, though, I love the Iconian aesthetic, feels properly retro sci-fi)  (identical room #3, T'Kara vs M'Tara round #3)  You're not. You're weak. Pathetic. And I will destroy you. Keep roaring, grishnar cat. Empty threats are all you have left.  (FINAL ROUND, FIGHT!) And in 200,000 years, you are the only one who has forced me to retreat. Let that comfort you in your final minutes. Two hundred thousand years, and you will grow no older. All that remains to you is how you wish to die.      Your battle is over, M'Tara.       Pain begets pain, Iconian. Your sister more than earned this.  (so that previously reasonable Iconian? Now not so much)        
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Oct 18, 2020 18:48
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T'kara used Thunderbolt It was SUPER EFFECTIVE
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Oct 18, 2020 22:49
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Okay, so we might have lost several fleets worth of people and ships, but...we killed one (1) Iconian!
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Oct 18, 2020 22:58
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Pyroi posted:Okay, so we might have lost several fleets worth of people and ships, but...we killed one (1) Iconian! Of apparently a grand total of 3?
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Oct 18, 2020 23:00
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Siegkrow posted:Of apparently a grand total of 3? From the previous mission: One out of apparently a grand total of 12. Also, T'Kara killed the Iconians' leader. Who seems to have been the main voice keeping them on track and not just going on a rampage.
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Oct 18, 2020 23:01
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Mini update with the latest, incredibly buggy cryptic content. Synth Wave  Captain's Log, Month Ten of "The Year of The Klingon"  In the spirit of international cooperation, the Federation has compiled a combat simulation from data gathered in the Krenim Project. Depicting a hypothetical attack on Mars by a mysterious race known as the 'Synth', the holoprogram is supposed to 'promote camaraderie' and give our fleets hands-on experience doing cooperative search and rescue.The simulation starts with this shifty-looking fellow explaining the objectives.  Basically, fly around, beam up engineering crews from the ground, stick them into ships. Transports are unarmed and need to be protected, the various cruisers, frigates, and battleships can defend themselves. And Mars? Mars is pretty messed up. The surface keeps having explosions go off.  Those rings are crew pickup points. Your ship can hold up to three of them, and different ships require anywhere from one to three crew. The blue grid at the edge is a circular ring that marks the border of the combat zone. If a ship goes outside it, there's a three second countdown and then they get hit with an orbital laser. The ring shrinks every few minutes.  At the end of the mission, all the ships and transports you rescue gather at the central starbase. They have three lanes that they need to evacuate through. Fighting against the synth reaches a fever pitch - this mission won't end until the ships you're protecting are all either dead or escaped.  And the fighting keeps going  and going  and going...  Captain's log, Stardate Twenty Frigging Minutes Later Why the hell are we still fighting these synth ships? Surely one of us has to run out of ships at some point. Sensors detect a large cluster of their frigates on the upper edge of the space station. Zooming in. They're searching for something... Scan the station! Captain, there seems to be a battlecruiser somehow... fused with the station itself. It can neither escape nor be destroyed. This is truly a situation where victory is impossible. That's right. This whole holoprogram was a way to see your reactions when you faced a no-win scenario. Will you give up and surrender? Will you flee? Will you fight until you die purely out of spite? Mister Gow, the station is the only thing protecting the last remaining ship? Yes, sir. Target the federation starbase, fire at will.   Well, that simulation's over... ... ... loving federation.
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Oct 19, 2020 06:00
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