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Bells In The Deep Before the Hur’q attack, this room in the topmost level of Deep Space Nine’s inner ring with its expansive windows looking out on the station and in the direction of the wormhole had been a simple storage room for one of the larger shops on the Promenade. That shop, and its owner, had taken a direct hit from a Tzenkethi missile cluster. The storage room had been repurposed for the time being as a secondary conference room. Right now, a distinctly mismatched collection of men and women in the red and gold of Klingon fleet uniforms sat around the table, while a Klingon woman in elaborate armor of red and silver paced back and forth in front of the windows. Petra was reminded uncomfortably of her introduction to the crew, after the Undine assault on Qo’noS. Calling the mood nervous didn’t feel like the right word, now as then. Klingons, and their allies, didn’t seem the type for that. The mood was more… anticipation, a hunger for action and battle, but a sense of anticipation confused and distracted by not knowing what that action would or should be. Petra had no idea what to say, and sat next to a similarly pensive Tylos. Derius, however, had no such reservations. “Is he insane?!” The Ferasan demanded, her words punctuated by her tail twitching furiously. “The Hur’q aren’t going to stop until we render them physically incapable of advancing! Does J’mpok *want* another Night of Falling Stars?!” “All historical records in the databases tell a similar story.” Nelen nodded, his expression tight and focused. “When the Hur’q ravaged this side of the galaxy once before, they went on a campaign of plunder and extermination. They eventually left, but not after doing tremendous damage across both quadrants. The Iconians are very unlikely to have manipulated the Hur’q, but the similarities to the Vaadwuar resurgence are striking.” Gronth tapped the holographic display in the center of the table. “The numbers on this thing aren’t good. Why in the world would J’mpok be withdrawing our forces?” The light in the room dimmed momentarily as a Dominion warship passed by. Odo had brought a substantial fleet with him, much of it comprised of designs the Alpha Quadrant had never seen before. Dominion ships, in protective patrols around Bajor. A loud sigh broke the uncomfortable silence, from the armored woman at the head of the table. "J'mpok's hold on power is weak." T'Kara replied softly. "Over the last two years he's committed the Empire to some very unpopular decisions. Allying with the Romulan Republic. Ending the war with the Federation and allying with them. Joining the Delta Quadrant expedition. Aiding the Lukari. The last two years have also seen the Klingon Defense Force worse than decimated. Qo'noS has been attacked three times during J'mpok's reign. There was open war on the surface of the homeworld twice. We're rebuilding as quickly as we can, but militarily the Empire is at its lowest ebb in centuries. J'mpok's solution, to give our vassal states like the Gorn, Orions, and Ferasans more autonomy and power within the Empire and the Defense Force, has staunched the worst of the bleeding in terms of military strength, but has invited further political opposition to J'mpok from the Great Houses." The room was very, very quiet. "J'mpok's government is likely to fall within the next year or two." T'Kara concluded. “I believe he is as worried about an internal threat as he is about the Hur’q.” “If he doesn’t do anything,” Tila replied, “There may not be an Empire left for him to rule. I hate the Federation, and I hate the Dominion, but if the Hur’q threat is as bad as it looks...” Tylos finally looked up from his datapad. “General Martok is unlikely to abide by a defensive strategy. A significant breakdown in Klingon command and control has been deemed highly likely by the Republic.” “I agree.” T’Kara exhaled. “Which is why I have chosen to not report to Qo’noS with the Fek’lhr. As I am not a member of House Martok, whatever forces the General can muster won’t matter.” Several people began to reply, but T’Kara waved her hand. “Mark my words, I intend to be a part of what happens here.” T’Kara stated flatly. “The Empire won’t support it, and House Martok can’t, but the Khitomer Alliance has… found a ship to commit to this crisis that needs a captain, and senior officers. J’mpok isn’t ready to officially censure me, not after the things I’ve done, and even he admits the logic to me being present at this summit. The rest of you, however… making the same choice I have would be career suicide.” She did not, Petra noted, actually ask any of them to join her. All the same… “I’m with you.” Derius declared immediately. “The Iconian raid on Ferasa killed eighty thousand people. If I can keep the Hur’q from taking their own shot at it, I’m game.” “Like I haven’t already killed my career by being associated with you.” Tila rolled her eyes. “I joined the True Way to protect Cardassia. I joined the KDF to protect Cardassia. Cardassia is right on the front lines against the Hur’q. I’m in.” “So am I.” Gronth nodded. “J’mpok’s strategy is not prudence, it is cowardice. I don’t enjoy fighting. Glory isn’t something I desire. But protecting people… that’s something I can believe in.” “You’ve charted an interesting path through history.” Nelen smiled. “I’m an archaeologist, but this business of making history instead of unearthing it is one I’m warming to.” “I’m in.” Aoede added simply. “The Republic’s tentative strategy,” Tylos looked up from his datapad again, “Is to support our more belligerent allies as much as possible. The Republic’s military capacity at present is negligible, too little to engage the Hur’q directly on a large basis. I’m with you.” Finally, Petra nodded. “As far as I’m concerned, my exchange program was with your command. If your command has changed yet again, that’s your prerogative.” T’Kara’s expression, always difficult to read, finally broke into an open smile. “Then report to pylon four after picking up your new uniforms - the Alliance has issued a series for new personnel. The Jat’layn is better seen than described.” Jat’layn. Petra had encountered that term in her studies of the Klingon language. The term literally meant ‘the taking of the living by the dead.’ Possession, in other words.  "I accepted Captain Walker's apology." T'Kara explained as the officers boarded the ship clearly not of this era. "Malthis persuaded Temporal Command that this would be a fitting apology. The Jat'layn is a reH taH class, known to the Federation of its time as the Eternal class. The temporal fleet has removed most of the inappropriate technology, but what remains is one of the most maneuverable and well armed ships of this era."  "Jat'layn is not always a malevolent possession." The half-breed general murmured from her new chair. "In Chuch'SuS, it is believed that the souls of those slain unjustly and dishonorably may possess the willing bodies of their descendants to avenge their deaths and earn passage to Sto-vo-kor even after their damnation to Gre'thor. Let's hope it doesn't come to that."
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Jun 4, 2021 22:52
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Last Call Captain's Log, IKS Jat'layn Preparations for the diplomatic summit proceed apace. Chancellor J'mpok, Proconsul D'Tan, and Admiral Quinn are all on their way with their entourages. Of the Founder Odo, I've seen little, but more Dominion ships arrive through the wormhole every day. Many of them are not military vessels. The Hur'q, it appears, are focusing their efforts in the Gamma Quadrant and the Dominion was not prepared for an attack of this magnitude. I find myself unsympathetic. If the Dominion has met its match, so much the better. The problem is of course that the situation is not as simple as passing a bowl of gagh while the Dominion burns down. Any force capable of defeating the Dominion in open war is an enemy the Alliance would be hard-pressed to fend off, and we already have ample proof of Hur'q aggression in this quadrant. The Ferengi, Cardassians, Deferi, and Lukari have already agreed to follow the Alliance in this crisis. Commitments from other powers are iffy at best. The Tholians, of course, believe that this is somehow our fault, and the Breen have not responded at all. For the time being, however, I have received a communique from Chief Ro Laren, Deep Space Nine's chief of security. Neth Parr, the leader of the Tzenkethi defectors, wishes to speak with me it seems.  (This is the Khitomer Alliance uniform, a giveaway from Cryptic last year. I've made adjustments to the color scheme, but perhaps it's just as well that the uniform can't be obtained anymore - it's buggy as hell with the color swatches and presentation. The belt in particular drove me nuts, you'd be surprised how hard it is to get it looking dark bronze without messing up other parts of the uniform.)  You should be expecting me, Constable.   Good to see you again, General. Tensions have been running high with the Tzenkethi, but Captain Parr has gone through a lot to help the Alliance. She deserves a fair shake. Agreed. Captain Parr, you have risked much to help us. Why are you in the brig? Chief Ro thought it prudent. Technically, I am under protective custody until the Alliance decides what to do with me. I agree with this decision. The Coalition has much to answer for, and there are many who might be justly inclined to vengeance. Valid, but none are in this room. Thank you, General. Far too many lives have been lost in this crusade, so I'm glad the tactical data I provided was able to help save some. You acted with honor, Captain, something I can say of too few people. I am a Captain no longer. I renounced that title when I committed mutiny. Part of the price I paid to save those lives. As you wish. What did you wish to speak with me about? I believe that you should know why I have chosen to defect.     The planet Eohk. Scans show the planet to be filthy with Drantzuli eggs. Their fleet is no threat, but if even one ship escapes with an egg on board, the contagion spreads. Captain Parr, you will enforce the blockade while ground teams prep the weapon. Of course, Admiral. We will enforce the containment protocol. See that you do. Tzen-Tarrak, out. (Welcome to the gimmick of this mission: you're playing as Neth Parr. Unlike most Cryptic missions where you play as an NPC, Neth Parr and her ship are very powerful and will rip through everything in sight, making this mission a breeze rather than the pain in the rear end these missions usually are.)    (Throughout this part of the mission, the NPCs beg for their lives, with such lovely pleas as telling you it's a hospital ship or an evacuation ship full of children. No, there is not an option to not attack. At least in this case you're explicitly playing a bad guy, unlike how Blizzard would do it in WoW or later STO in poo poo I'm not going to touch?)    Captain, ground teams report that the bomb has been placed and is ready for activation. As this is your first mission, the honor of detonating the weapon is yours. As you wish, Admiral.   Command is a difficult path to walk at times, Captain, but you have done well. My next report to the Autarch will reflect that. You have great promise, Neth Parr, and will be rewarded for your service. Thank you sir. I... do not believe I will ever forget today's events. To eradicate the Drantzuli is one thing. We had no hesitation about that. But to genocide the Eohki, that was another matter. Yet despite my misgivings, I remained a loyal officer, as did my crew. You are not the first person I've met who has killed millions, or more, for what they believed were good reasons. As a captain during times of war, I am not blind to how many lives I have taken. It is not my place to judge you, Neth. Things changed on Draconis III. Draconis III is a primitive, pre-industrial planet, and thoroughly infested. Keep your guard up, we believe the target site to be a temple of some kind. Expect local resistance. Understood, sir.    (There's a lot of chatter between the Tzenkethi crewmembers here, but windows abruptly decided to reboot for an update in the middle of this mission and this somehow messed up my UI and screenshot bindings. So, take it as you will that these people carrying a planet-killer on another mission of genocide are long-standing friends who banter throughout the mission.)    quote: I was on this planet after your strike, and I have an archaeologist on my ship. He theorized this mural depicted the crystals growing or being carved. The Draconians were not the first to worship something that would kill them if it woke up. We supposed that the Drantzuli eggs do look beautiful, in a way. We could see how ignorant primitives might think them valuable. Even Starfleet didn't know they were eggs until they hatched. The notion that the Draconians might worship the eggs was, and is, disturbing. The Drantzuli are connected to the Hur'q. There's a lot of ways that connection could lead to this.  Our scans indicated that these murals were hundreds of years old, but depicted 23rd century Starfleet uniforms. The Admiral didn't give us time for archaeology. We figured it out. Starfleet time travel nonsense. Ugh, Starfleet. Preach it, sister.    Unfortunately, no sooner did I leave than the door closed behind me. Those Draconians you say were doing something to the pillars? That's a locking mechanism for the temple's doors. It sounds like they were in the open position when you arrived. ...We were outsmarted by Bronze Age primitives. Well. Blasting through the doors shouldn't have taken long. The Admiral had other ideas.   In a moment, sir, but my men are still trapped inside the structure. Transporters can't lock on to them. Unfortunate, but we don't have time to extract them. A priority mission just came in from the Autarch himself. Prepare for transport. Sir, give us a little more time! We can break down the structure with heavy weapons! You have your orders, Captain. Your men are acceptable losses, as are you. Would you like to join them? No, sir. I would not.  So the Admiral could reach his next genocide on time. It was madness. And there were no evacuation plans? No contingencies? None. The Autarch's orders were clear, and the Admiral was all too prepared to carry them out. It was at the Atosee system, though, that I realized how far our crusade had fallen.   Scour the moon as you will, it is devoid of life. But please, spare our world. There are four billion people here. In their names, I beg you. Spare our lives. We shall see. Captain, commence scans of both the planet and its moon. Confirmed, no sign of Dranztuli eggs on the planet. And a large number of eggs on the moon. Captain Parr, you know what to do. Captain Parr, we've deep scanned the planet. We are detecting residue from Drantzuli eggs on the planet. We detected nothing conclusive. Forwarding our sensor results now. Sir, with all due respect, Atosee Prime is not a threat! There is no need for this! There is every need, Captain. Since you are incapable of following orders, I will deal with this myself. Tactical, purge this planet. Admiral... Don't do this, sir. Fire.    My crew felt the same. The Admiral refrained from ordering our execution for the moment, but our next mission was Dranuur, where we met. Did you know of the connection to the Hur'q? No. I didn't even know what a Drantzuli was until Dranuur. All I knew was that they were a dire pestilence that could spread across the galaxy. You acted with honor in the end, Neth Parr. I will tell the Alliance as much. I've heard your Alliance is convening a summit. Is this true? Yes. It is not my place to condone or forgive what you have done, but I will tell the Alliance that you ultimately did disobey the Admiral's orders of genocide. Thank you, General. I do not know this path I now walk. May you walk yours with honor.
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Jun 6, 2021 15:49
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To be blunt, I don't understand why this mission exists. There's no challenge to any of it and you don't learn anything new in terms of characters or plot (unless you get really invested in Neth Parr's crew, I guess, who will never be seen or mentioned again). It's a short, easy mission to close out the New Frontiers story arc. There are seven missions left in the LP.
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Jun 7, 2021 14:16
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It's to humanize the former villain, so an alliance seems morally justifiable.
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Jun 8, 2021 01:43
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I wonder how the Drantzuli gain sustenance from eating carbon-based lifeforms when their own biology is so radically different. Do they combust the fats and cellulose in an internal furnace of sorts? I realize I'm probably putting too much thought into this.
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Jun 8, 2021 04:35
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StillFullyTerrible posted:I wonder how the Drantzuli gain sustenance from eating carbon-based lifeforms when their own biology is so radically different. Do they combust the fats and cellulose in an internal furnace of sorts? I realize I'm probably putting too much thought into this. I don't think they do, they actually eat minerals and the like, but those carbon-based lifeforms just get in the way.
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Jun 8, 2021 12:09
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Hunter Noventa posted:I don't think they do, they actually eat minerals and the like, but those carbon-based lifeforms just get in the way. Yeah, later missions IIRC will make this explicit: if you're familiar with Warhammer 40k, Drantzuli (or as we'll learn in the next mission, they're called Attendants by the Hur'q) are basically employed like ripper swarms, devouring useful materials to deposit them back with the Hur'q. Combination strip mining and defense mechanism. Saying it now: yeah, the Hur'q in this game are basically the Tyranids/Zerg/other all-consuming insectoid swarm.
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Jun 8, 2021 15:09
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Huh. An all-devouring swarm that loots cultural artifacts and stores them in a museum is an interesting take. Sorta like a British/Tyranid hybrid.
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Jun 8, 2021 15:15
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StillFullyTerrible posted:Huh. An all-devouring swarm that loots cultural artifacts and stores them in a museum is an interesting take. Sorta like a British/Tyranid hybrid. So, the Belgians?
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Jun 10, 2021 12:40
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Cythereal posted:To be blunt, I don't understand why this mission exists. There's no challenge to any of it and you don't learn anything new in terms of characters or plot (unless you get really invested in Neth Parr's crew, I guess, who will never be seen or mentioned again). It's a short, easy mission to close out the New Frontiers story arc. If I had to guess, I'd say that this mission was a technical proof-of-concept. Over the years Cryptic has experimented with missions where you fly ships other than the one you're currently in, but they've never been terribly satisfying. The ships have bad equipment and abilities, their power trays are a huge jumble that you need to unsort, and they might unequip all your traits. With this mission, not only did Cryptic finally figure out a way to make flying a different ship relatively painless, they also figured out how to do the same thing with your character on ground maps. It's because of this mission that we got one of the best missions in the upcoming Gamma Quadrant arc (as well as one of the worst missions in the Klingon Civil War arc this LP isn't covering, so swings and roundabouts). Also, there's a minor typo in your write-up. In STO's timeframe, DS9's current security chief is Ro Senna, not Ro Laren. Ro Laren ended up as DS9's security chief in the novelverse, and Ro Senna is a legally-distinct reference to that which doesn't require Cryptic to fork over some cash for the rights to Michelle Forbes' likeness.
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Jun 10, 2021 14:25
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Marshal Radisic posted:Also, there's a minor typo in your write-up. In STO's timeframe, DS9's current security chief is Ro Senna, not Ro Laren. Ro Laren ended up as DS9's security chief in the novelverse, and Ro Senna is a legally-distinct reference to that which doesn't require Cryptic to fork over some cash for the rights to Michelle Forbes' likeness. I know, someone pointed it out in the discord. I decided gently caress it, I'm leaving it in. Blame it on the changing timelines.
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Jun 10, 2021 14:28
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Marshal Radisic posted:The ships have bad equipment and abilities, their power trays are a huge jumble that you need to unsort, and they might unequip all your traits. Are you saying that there's something wrong with having beams, cannons, heavy cannons, torps, and mines all on the same ship?  Then how will you use every weapon-modifying skill?Miracle Worker Builds, of course
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Jun 10, 2021 14:59
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Marshal Radisic posted:If I had to guess, I'd say that this mission was a technical proof-of-concept. Over the years Cryptic has experimented with missions where you fly ships other than the one you're currently in, but they've never been terribly satisfying. The ships have bad equipment and abilities, their power trays are a huge jumble that you need to unsort, and they might unequip all your traits. To be fair, the mission that gives you command of the Enterprise C makes sure the ship cannot be destroyed while you're commanding it. Its hull integrity can go down to 1%, but that's as far as it'll drop. Hardly worth having to reset all my powers twice (because you get your real ship back once you unfuck the timeline.)
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Jun 11, 2021 00:08
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The Storm Breaks Loose  Engineering here. No problems from the shakedown, Daniels' friends were kind enough to leave us instruction manuals. Talk about your rapid and autonomous self-repair systems... Science station here. This ship is amazing. Can we keep it? Tactical here. No complaints. Medical here. This ship's medical facilities are far in excess of the Fek'lhr's. I am content. There. Shakedown complete and everyone's happy but you. That was the easy part, Derius. The peace conference is about to begin. Federation, Romulan, Klingon, Dominion, Cardassian, Ferengi, and Lukari ships all on sensors. And ships we don't have entries for in the database. IFFs suggest Dominion subject races, the Karemma perhaps. So what's the plan, Captain? Do you even report to the KDF anymore? For the moment I am to act as J'mpok's attache at the conference given my experience and history with the other powers. Derius, keep weapons and shields on standby. I have a very bad feeling about this. Captain Nog. It has been some time. Nice to be working with you again. I'm Admiral Quinn's attache, and you'll be expected to make the rounds, too. Follow me.  Brigadier T'Kara. I see you have chosen to wear the Alliance's uniform rather than our own. If I am to command an Alliance ship rather than an Imperial vessel, it seemed appropriate. Yes, the 'IKS Jat'layn' that has never appeared on the Klingon Defense Force's order of battle. A lack of resourcefulness has never been one of your shortcomings. What is the Empire's stance on the Hur'q threat? We are still weary and depleted from the Undine and Iconian wars. Most of the High Council sees the Hur'q as a Dominion problem. They are content to let the Hur'q and Dominion fight to the end, then worry about survivors. There are others such as Martok who see that position as... dishonorable. If they wish to fight the war of their ancestors, so be it, but they will do so without the aid of the Empire. Understood, Chancellor. It's the Hur'q, and the Empire is staying out?! J'mpok has decided that he has other priorities. This is the Hur'q! The people that almost destroyed the Klingons! They invaded Qo'noS! I know, Nog. His argument that our standing forces have been badly depleted has merit, but even so... Is... is he afraid of the Hur'q? Is the Empire? Be very, very careful who you ask that question of. In any event, we noticed what looked like refugee ships on approach. These their crews? Yeah. I'm sure Odo will fill you in, but the Dominion's in a bad way. Some of their vassals chose to take their chances making for the wormhole. Is the Alliance prepared for a refugee movement like that? Tough to say. The Federation wants to help, but we're still resettling refugees from the Iconian War.  General T'Kara, it is a pleasure to see you again. The Republic's position is one of pragmatism. We have no more love for the Dominion or the Hur'q than your Empire, but we believe that the Dominion and Hur'q both weakened and preoccupied with fighting each other will be easier to deal with than either one victorious and ascendant. Understood, Proconsul.  General, I understand that the Empire considers the Hur'q to be a Dominion problem. The Federation disagrees. The Hur'q are already attacking worlds throughout the Alpha Quadrant, and the chance to improve relations with the Dominion is one we cannot ignore. Given Federation idealism, does the Federation even desire good relations with the Dominion? One crisis at a time, General T'Kara. Fair enough.  I will be blunt, General. The Hur'q have decimated the Dominion. As badly as the Iconians hit the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, the Hur'q have been just as devastating to the Gamma Quadrant. The Dominion has been forced to pull back to its core systems in the face of staggering losses, and we don't even know why they're attacking or where they're coming from. I'm sure the Empire would be delighted if the Hur'q finished us off, but where do you think the Hur'q will turn next once they've dealt with us? J'mpok does not speak for all of the Empire. General Martok intends to lead his forces into the Gamma Quadrant. One Great House of the Empire. I respect General Martok's skill, but he is not enough.  Hello again, General. I didn't expect to see you again after the New Romulus summit. If J'mpok wants to know where Bajor stands, I'll be blunt. We just barely held off a Hur'q invasion of Bajor. If the Dominion falls to the Hur'q, Bajor is going to be first in line for them to attack. No one on Bajor likes the idea of working with the Dominion, but we like the idea of a Hur'q invasion even less. A common line of thought today. There's also something else I should mention. I've consulted the Orbs on this crisis, and they gave me a vision of a world beyond death's grip. It's a place I've been before, where I left the soul I trust more than any other, and it's in the Dominion. In my vision, I return to that world in the company of friends new and old, and I believe one of those friends is you. Also, you kept... flickering, between a Starfleet uniform, a Klingon uniform, and this new getup of yours. Probably temporal nonsense. I've gotten up to more than my fair share of it lately. You've been keeping company with Starfleet too much, I think. Ain't that the drat truth.  I was hoping you'd come along. It's no secret that the Ferengi aren't a military powerhouse like the Klingons, even after the Iconians. Normally we'd want to stay as far away from this as possible, but the Hur'q attacked Ferenginar last week. I heard about that. You acquitted yourselves well. Thankfully it wasn't a big attack. But you know who showed up to help? Not the Federation. Not the Klingons. Not the Romulans. The Cardassians and Lukari, and even a few Na'khul ships. If we ever thought the Hur'q would pass us by, that's changed, and this is just the latest in a string of enemies who can't be bought. We're in. Strange days when the Ferengi are into the war and the Klingons aren't.  Ah, J'mpok's attache. Cardassia's position is quite simple. The Hur'q are a threat to us all, and the sooner we deal with them the better. We don't like the idea of working with the Dominion, but this isn't a time for playing favorites. Unexpectedly straightforward. Thank you, Councilor.  Chancellor J'mpok's attache, I presume. Doctor Julian Bashir, at your service. Some old friends pulled a few strings to bring be back here, and it looks like we'll need all the help we can get and more. A lot more. I don't like the idea of being back in a warzone, but under the circumstances... Circumstances are what they are.  I know it must be a shock seeing Karemman refugees on this station, but the situation's worse than you know. The Hur'q aren't the only problem. I'm not familiar with your species. What other problem is there? Look, our relationship with the Dominion is simple. We send them resources when they ask and do what they say. In return, Jem'hadar beat up anyone who looks at us funny. Simple arrangement and it's worked fine for a long time. I'm following. The Empire has similar arrangements with many client states. You know what the Dominion did when we told them the Hur'q were attacking? Zilch. Nothing. No Jem'hadar, not even a patrol ship to check on us. They didn't even respond to our distress calls. We got out before the Hur'q swarm closed in on Karemma, but mark my words. Something funny's going on with the Founders. The Karemma aren't the only ones with a story like that. My uncle Quark's been putting out feelers with the refugees, and they're all saying the Dominion left them high and dry. Strange. Given Odo's description of the Dominion's losses, I would have expected more... bloody. Jem'hadar have a reputation for fighting to the last, not for withdrawing from prospective combat zones. No kidding. I used to trust Odo, but it's been almost thirty years since I've seen him. Well, nothing for it now, the conference will be starting soon. Good luck, General. And to you, Captain. Hmmm. The Federation and Romulans are predictable as always, but the Ferengi and Cardassians surprise me. You've served alongside members of these powers for some time during previous conflicts. What is your personal assessment? They all want to avoid this crisis escalating to the point that the Iconian War did. If that means supporting the Dominion as a buffer state then so be it. You have something else you want to say, and you think I won't like it. Spit it out, General. They think we're the weak link, Chancellor. A war showing signs of being as severe a threat as the Borg, Undine, or Iconians ever were has begun, and you have effectively disavowed the only commitment by the Klingon Empire to the conflict. There is talk of weakness in the Empire. As well there should be! The Great Houses hide their true feelings behind reasonable words. They are afraid of the Hur'q! The Hur'q almost destroyed us a thousand years ago! I say it is time for revenge! You will have your revenge, General. That is why you are a General and I am Chancellor. I have to see beyond the battlefield to the future of the Empire. I will not risk the Empire on one poorly chosen battle, and General T'Kara's catastrophic lapses of judgment on the Tzenkethi front leave my view of her estimations suspect. By now, you should all be aware of our strategic situation. The Dominion, as you know it, is on the verge of collapse. We've withdrawn to our core systems, and our lines are holding for now. Without your help, the Hur'q will win this war of attrition.  We're already receiving refugees from those systems. We've consolidated our remaining strength around our core systems. Losses in the rest of the Dominion have been catastrophic, and we're losing ships faster than we can build them and clone Jem'hadar to crew them. Dire tidings for the Dominion indeed, but I fail to see how this concerns us. You've already had a taste of what the Hur'q can do, Chancellor. If you think they'll stop at the wormhole, you're sadly mistaken. I seem to recall that Klingons place a high value on debts of honor. Or has that changed? Mind your tongue, changeling! I will not be insulted!     I have firsthand experience fighting the Hur'q on foot. Some of my officers came aboard for the conference, I'll meet with them and clear out the thickest invasion point. Good! All other captains, to your ships! You called it, Captain. Everyone called it, Tila.    Interesting. They haven't changed at all from the records in the Imperial War Museum on Qo'noS. Away team, open fire!   (So, the Hur'q suck to fight. They're mainly melee, and rush into melee. They also spam aoe attacks, and most of their damage ignores shields. Their non-claw attacks deal phaser damage, meaning they have a chance with every hit to stun you, and this is on top of their main aoe field disabling ranged weapons in the area. The Drantzuli, now called Attendants, also display new behavior - their HP is largely illusory, they have a weird system where the first hit they take is supposed to knock them back and stun them in a long animation, then another hit while they're down kills them. In practice, this is finicky about triggering and they take almost no damage beyond those attacks. They also now have suicide bomber variants, and the big Hur'q in later missions will endlessly summon Attendants. Not helping matters is that the geometry and team pathfinding in this mission is glitchy as hell.)  T'Kara to station, report. This is one of the station's industrial areas, General. A lot of very explosive fuel and EPS lines run through that room, and remote access has been severed by damage. You'll need to activate the containment systems locally. Oh, and more Hur'q are vectoring in on your position.   There's no longer a risk of a station-wide explosion now, but there's one more series of systems to initialize. Understood. Status of the rest of the station? Boarding in the rest of the station has been contained. But that's because the Hur'q are concentrating on your position.   Everyone all right down there?! We'll live. Station status? It looks like you've contained the situation here, but it's still a mess in space. Jat'layn, beam us up. Status, Derius? Keeping ahead of the flood, if just barely. The Hur'q have deployed in force, up to dreadnought size ships. I don't see any dreadnoughts on scanners. It didn't last too long. Don't tell anyone I said this, but the Ferengi apparently can build a hell of a warship when they want to. The Cardassians have deployed in force, too. These new ships the Union's deployed are a lot more impressive than the old Galor and Keldon classes.  (Hur'q carriers are a fresh new flavor of irritating to fight for most people. They have no shields, but as you attack them in any given quadrant they build a stacking damage resistance that culminates in a 10 second invulnerability on that arc, and if you get too close they'll hit you with tractor repulsors for a load of shield-piercing kinetic damage to knock you back, and they continually spawn swarmers)    Admiral Quinn to allied ships, the civilian ships are clear and the Hur'q numbers are thinning. Keep it up!    All sensors clear. We've held Bajor for another day. I trust our position is clear to all of you now. If we don't stop the Hur'q together, this is what all of our worlds will face. So you claim. General T'Kara, I give you leave to follow whatever foolish schemes the changeling and the Alliance have in mind. Bring honor to the Empire. J'mpok out.
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Jun 13, 2021 17:01
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Is that a Kai Kira I see?
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Jun 14, 2021 00:26
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kw0134 posted:Is that a Kai Kira I see? It is indeed! Not the first time T'Kara's met her, either. I intend to do a post later this week about the Klingons and Victory is Life now that we're into this expansion, and how I feel Klingon PCs especially got short-changed by it. Suffice it to say for now that we've already seen almost the entirety of the Klingon involvement in this expansion. Even though you'd figure an expansion about the Hur'q would have a huge Klingon presence. As it is, the dialogue in this mission changes quite a lot in small ways depending on your faction. Klingon PCs are here as J'mpok's attache, Federation PCs as Quinn's (and in which case Nog says he's here liaising between the Ferengi and Starfleet), Romulans as D'Tann's, and Dominion PCs, in their first big shared story mission, are one of Odo's most promising Jem'hadar officers and one he's given a mission to play diplomat and work with the Alliance military.
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Jun 14, 2021 00:36
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I know these are meant to be civilians but lmao at those outfits
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Jun 14, 2021 01:05
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Synthbuttrange posted:I know these are meant to be civilians but lmao at those outfits
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Jun 14, 2021 01:20
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We're refugees from The Sims
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Jun 14, 2021 08:35
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Cythereal posted:(Hur'q carriers are a fresh new flavor of irritating to fight for most people. They have no shields, but as you attack them in any given quadrant they build a stacking damage resistance that culminates in a 10 second invulnerability on that arc, and if you get too close they'll hit you with tractor repulsors for a load of shield-piercing kinetic damage to knock you back, and they continually spawn swarmers) Hey, it's the Andromedans from Star Fleet Battles!
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Jun 14, 2021 10:17
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I have time this morning, so let's talk Cryptic and Victory is Life. The reason why I'm ending the LP where I am, why there's only six missions left in the LP even though there's plenty more in the game, is because that's where this expansion named Victory is Life ends. After ViL, the story abruptly changes gears to be about time-traveling Klingons from Discovery and how they're the true and rightful Klingons where the modern-day Klingons have forgotten what it means to be Klingon. Not only is that a giant can of worms I'm not going to touch for the moment, Victory is Life ends with some big hooks for the future - including for the Klingons. According to Cryptic leaks, Victory is Life was only the first half of a planned duology of expansions/patches, and a big part of the planned part two was a looming Klingon civil war between J'mpok and Martok. Martok was planned to be the good guy in the conflict who players would side with. This is, I believe, the reason why J'mpok is suddenly acting very squirrelly in the story. Before this mission, he's pretty consistently been an aggressive and pragmatic leader. He recognized and allied with the Romulan Republic because they were a useful lever against the Tal Shiar and other threats to name a significant example, and the Hur'q are an enemy with a lot of history with the Klingons. Victory of Life barely mentions this history, and we've already seen the vast majority of the Klingon presence in this expansion. Now, I've tried to square this particular hole in the LP. I've been making a conscious point of talking about the Hur'q and their history with the Klingons ever since I took over the LP specifically in anticipation of this story arc, and unlike the game I've chosen to remember that the galaxy was supposedly devastated by the Iconians less than a year ago. I've been trying to portray J'mpok as a pragmatist here, who's well aware of just how fragile and vulnerable the Empire is. But fact of the matter is, I don't think the Iconians get mentioned a single time in STO after the end of the Iconian War, beyond one particular exception that we'll get to in ViL. Certainly the damage they supposedly inflicted never gets talked about. All of this is why, to be honest, I'm pretty burned out on STO. I'm going to finish the LP, certainly, there's just six more missions to go. But I'm tired of trying to paper over Cryptic's storytelling and random plot decisions, and I'm trying to bodge all this nonsense together into a coherent story.
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Jun 14, 2021 13:40
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Cythereal posted:
I think you've done a fantastic job so far! You made the game world seem very interesting IMO.
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Jun 14, 2021 15:56
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Honestly it's more interesting when you use the game as the basic substrate and then tell your own story. "Then poo poo blew up here in space, for the hundredth time" is not interesting to read; your bridge officer banter while poo poo is blowing up, is. We're here for the fanfic, basically. Taps thread title
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Jun 14, 2021 16:03
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And let's be real here--it would take so much wallpaper to fix the Discovery bullshit they're piping in that it wouldn't really be worth it.
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Jun 14, 2021 16:18
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Jun 14, 2021 16:47
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I'd offer to do the Discovery missions but I'm already running two other LPs. While the Discovery stuff probably deserves my usual mockery as we go back and analyze Discovery Season 1 and mock it, it's just not interesting ultimately and Cryptic seems to have come away with the opposite message of what all Star Trek is saying, even Discovery. Oh well!
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Jun 14, 2021 21:44
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Deathbringers Thank you for allowing us the use of your ship, General. I've never seen anything like it. It's a long story. I assume you've been briefed on our mission. I have. Search and rescue operation for your predecessor, Kai Opaka, on a moon deep in Dominion space - or at least what used to be Dominion space. My question lies with your part in this, Doctor Bashir. You claimed in your mission report that this prison moon has microbes that bring the dead back to life. That seems like... a remarkable achievement in the medical sciences, to be squandered in such a fashion. It's an achievement with many, many caveats. The microbes only work on the one moon, and only for a very small population. We don't even know who did it, the Dominion annexed the system during the Dominion War, and Odo claims that the Dominion has no knowledge of who placed the Ennis there or created the prison. And the Ennis have been there for so long they don't remember who sentenced them or why. The good news is, I believe I've developed a cure. It's based on Klingon nanotechnology, the cure your people developed for the Borg nanovirus. Starfleet called me in as a special consultant on the nanovirus cure's potential for other applications, and this is one of them. Noted. This system is in one of the regions abandoned by the Dominion. Be prepared for Hur'q attack. Metallic debris on sensors, looks like Hur'q wreckage. The defense satellites crippled a Starfleet runabout in one shot. I'd rather not find out how this ship would fare. Our e-war suite has accessed their systems and has begun decrypting their programming. Looks like a simple aggregate swarm response. That's how Miles beat them. Draw them out of position with probes to create an opening to slip through. Proceed, Commander. Aye, sir. Probes away. We have an opening. I don't like the idea of setting foot on that moon again, but... I'm ready when you are. I'll bring some pattern enhancers along, just in case. Aoede, you're up. There's no telling how stable, or not, people may be down there. And here I thought I'd escaped going on away missions into chaos and death. As long as you are under my command, that's probably never going to happen. Can I get that written on the ship's dedication plaque?  The Yangtze Kiang... We never did have good luck with runabouts. Don't remind me. At least now we have some kind of wacky future-tech Klingon battlecruiser. The Jat'layn is a science vessel, actually. Wait. Run that by me again. A Klingon science vessel? You could sound less offended, your Eminence. My doctoral thesis has been provisionally accepted by the Imperial Institute of Science. I'm looking forward to calling myself Doctor Gronth. For a Klingon, you have a very strange crew. You don't know the half of it. Let's find our missing Kai. The Ennis and nol-Ennis camps were hidden in the caves. Following the lit fires is our best bet. Sir! Hur'q lifesigns ahead! Weapons ready!   Alert. Local microbes consistent with 'resurrection microbes' present in Hur'q bodies. Present, but not active. Interesting. We only need to kill the Hur'q once. Lieutenant Commander, was it? Any Borg insights to share? Hypothesis: resurrective immorality only compatible with carbon based biology. Cursory scans of microbes show similarities to Kobali resurrection technology. Kobali resurrection technology is only compatible with carbon based biology. And Hur'q biology is germanium based, very plausible.     Major Kira? Doctor Bashir? Golin Shel-la. Thank you for your assistance. The Kai had a vision of your arrival. She is expecting you, and these strangers. General T'Kara of Chuch'SuS. A Klingon, you match the Kai's description. Come with us. Doctor. Kai. Can we trust him? He wanted the cure when we were here, and he speaks for Opaka. I think we can. Kai Opaka. It's been... more than thirty years. I... took up the role of Kai after the war. It's... strange, coming back here. Take a deep breath, Nerys. This is why we're here. What are you two looking at me for? I'm just your transportation and muscle.         Interesting. General T'Kara, we meet at last. I was surprised at first when the Orb showed me a Klingon heralding the Orb's return. At first? You ushered an era of peace between the galaxy and the Deferi, T'Kara of Chuch'SuS. Then also the Kobali, the Iconians, the Lukari, and the Kentari. You ended the Iconian War. I believe you are a woman of peace, General T'Kara, no matter the uniform you wear. I'll take that under advisement, Kai Opaka. But for now, we need to evacuate you and the Ennis. Yes, these new invaders. They have been most uncommunicative. I see. We must take the Orb with us then, along with the Ennis. Administer your cure, we are all ready to leave this place and begin new lives. A woman of peace. I don't know whether to be appalled or entertained. I think she's on to something, Captain. If your self-loathing allows it. With respect, Captain, you need a vacation. We all do. Yeah. You can drop the long-suffering humility act. We all know you better than that by now. Expecting honest self-analysis from the Captain is, and always has been, futile. You and your friends are the weirdest bunch of Imperial officers I've ever seen. Is it too late to get General Martok?   We've got Hur'q at the camp!   Clear! Casualties? One. Farewell, Golin. May he finally be at peace. Let us leave this place, General. Jat'layn to away team, you're about to have more trouble. Hur'q forces are dropping out of warp from multiple directions. It's likely they're going to slip at least one ship past the satellites and our escape path has been compromised. Our electronic warfare suite was able to access their systems. Status on that? We were trying to shut down the whole network, but I think we can get them to register us as friendly instead. Do it. Bashir, Kais, we'll clear a path so the Jat'layn can beam us out. Understood. Good luck, General.  Question. The Ennis can't die except for the ones we cured, right? Seems to be that way, yeah. So... what's the endgame of the Hur'q and the Ennis? Wouldn't the war of attrition inevitably work against the Hur'q? Or the Hur'q devour everything else and the un-cured Ennis are left on an airless moon scoured bare by the Hur'q. There are worse fates than death, Commander. The makers of this prison appear to have understood that. I think the term is 'disproportionate retribution.' Isn't eternal war supposed to be what Sto-vo-kor is like? Can we save the theology for another time, people?  (Note: This is an Overseer, the Hur'q ground boss. This fight took several tries, as he's surrounded by about a dozen attendants and instantly respawns more if you kill them. He also has a cone pulse he can spam that knocks you back and stuns you, and has a lot of health. His weakness, it turns out, is kiting. Attendants have to stop moving to do their attack, and the Overseer himself does very little damage. If you never stop moving, turns out he's a chump.)  Status on the escape? We've cleared out the Hur'q forces on the ground and my crew has reprogrammed the defense satellites to recognize the Jat'layn as friendly. And the Hur'q fleet? That's a work in progress. I miss just being Starfleet's special consultant. I don't know, I bet Ben would have loved this. Beam us up, Jat'layn.   (so yeah, it's yet another timed survival against endless waves of Hur'q)     Bridge to medical deck, the Hur'q are in retreat. Doctor, Kais, status? We gathered up and cured the rest of the Ennis while you were clearing a path to the beam-out point. We've got a lot of newly mortal people down here. Take us home, General. Opaka and I have a lot to talk about. Understood. Tila, set course for the wormhole.  (a certain male voice comes from the wormhole)   
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Jun 21, 2021 00:42
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Cythereal posted:
*DUN DUN DUNNNN* (did they actually do anything with this was it left hanging?)
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Jun 21, 2021 20:41
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argosaxelcaos posted:*DUN DUN DUNNNN* (did they actually do anything with this was it left hanging?) It is followed up on, but in a way that you might only connect to this if you think about it. I'll be doing a fluff post later this week connecting the dots more explicitly. In case anyone's curious, the episode that this mission is a follow-up on: Battle Lines, DS9 S1E13.
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Jun 21, 2021 20:50
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I have read this entire thread from beginning to end, and my god. Well done, Moon Slayer, Coq au Nandos, and Cythereal. Very, very well done. You all deserve a standing ovation. This thread also made me take a look at STO and.... my god, it's the most Cryptic thing that's ever Cryptic'd. Also. Way, way, waaaaay back, someone speculated on there being something like 20 people working on STO? It wouldn't be the first time Cryptic pulled that. Remember that Cryptic got its start with City of Heroes, and it's a matter of record that they cut the staff of that game from 70 odd people to 15. So yeah, STO having 20 people working on it at any one time would be entirely on-brand.
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Jun 22, 2021 05:36
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Communications Log, IKS Jat'layn Thank you for attending the ceremonies, General. I don't think anyone on Bajor was expecting a Klingon honor guard to herald the return of an Orb, much less the return of Opaka. As worried as everyone on Bajor was about the Hur'q, the Bajoran government is discussing making Opaka's return an official holiday. A sign of the times, perhaps. Quite so. I see why Commander Worf called you one of the Empire's best. Did he? Interesting. Chancellor J'mpok disagrees. J'mpok isn't the first Chancellor I've met who's more interested in his own grip on power than he is in the fate of the galaxy. I've been reading your service history, T'Kara. A lot of it is classified, but the rest paints a certain picture. I was wondering why the Orb of Prophecy and Change showed you of all people, but I believe I understand why now. Tell me, T'Kara. Do you believe in fate? You're not the first person to ask me that, Kai. As before, my answer is no. I suppose you don't believe in any notion of gods or divinity, either. I've fought beings thought of as gods and demons. I have defeated many, killed a few. I am the only being since the fall of Iconia to have slain an Iconian, and I destroyed an aberrant simulacrum of Fek'lhr. I have turned time back on itself and battled adversaries outside the boundaries of space-time. Gods and demons. Both so very mortal. Where is the line between mythology and theology? Where does deception and misremembered history end and soteriology begin? You're asking the wrong questions, T'Kara. Am I? You think of gods and divinity as a man with magical powers who works wonders on the universe, wonders we can understand if not grasp how they were made. You need to look deeper into the cosmos than that. One of the most widespread human religions holds that their creator god cast them out of paradise, and only allowed them into the afterlife after they proved their worth by murdering the creator god's sun and symbolically feasting on his flesh and blood. Adherents still symbolically cannibalize the demigod to this day. An unusual story for a religion that claims to be a message of peace and compassion. One of the most widespread Risan religions claims that all living beings are individual manifestations of a gestalt whole that exists on a higher state of being, and that every act of pleasure and every moment of joy is shared by the cosmic consciousness. Those are just two examples, Kai. This is a galaxy of a million worlds, and billions of belief systems. I have not seen compelling proof of any of them. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, as I see it. That's fair in your position, and I'm not trying to convert you. I don't think you can deny, though, that you are an extraordinary woman living through extraordinary events in the galaxy. How many people could have had your palette of pragmatic belligerence, even-handed practicality, remarkable insight in observing and deconstructing one crisis after another, and a refined sense of honor and responsibility? What do you want, Kai? I believe I have the answers I sought. I also wanted to let you know that there is a reason the wormhole opened when we returned to Bajor, even though no ships came through. Opaka and I had the chance to talk to a very old friend. Benjamin Sisko. The Emissary, your people call him. When I took up the mantle of Kai, I always had a feeling that I was holding this position in trust. Winn did a lot of damage, and Bajor's entry into the Federation was another time of great change. Yet from the beginning, I knew that I would not be Kai forever. After talking with Ben, I know why I've felt that. I am stepping down as Kai of Bajor. That is, and always has been, Opaka's calling. I was only keeping the seat warm for her. I see. What, then, will you do? I've been speaking to Starfleet, General T'Kara. I am no more or less a woman of peace than you are. The next time we meet, I'll be on the bridge of a starship and wearing a Starfleet uniform. Go with the Prophets, T'Kara. And good hunting.
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Jun 22, 2021 13:49
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In other news, STO finally added an endgame version of one of my favorite derpy little Star Trek ships to the game yesterday and I grabbed it immedately.  Yup, there's a tier 6 Oberth now and can be kitbashed or just reskinned to the original. Odd part is, it's actually based on an early concept sketch for the USS Voyager:  As actual play goes, it's not bad, but it's nothing impressive. Just a serviceable, run of the mill endgame quality science vessel. If you want to sail an Oberth class in the endgame, it's a perfectly fine if undistinguished ship. I spent the rest of my zen stockpile yesterday grabbing a couple other ships, too.   TLM3101 posted:I have read this entire thread from beginning to end, and my god. Thank you.  It's been... an interesting journey, and I suspect I'm going to have a lot to say when I get to the post-script retrospective I intend to do on the game and the LP, but I'm always glad to hear people enjoying the LP.
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Jun 25, 2021 16:25
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I'm actually returning to STO in part because of this LP, and I'm wondering if there's going to be any final opportunities for a audience participation?
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Jun 25, 2021 16:33
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wdarkk posted:I'm actually returning to STO in part because of this LP, and I'm wondering if there's going to be any final opportunities for a audience participation? If there's strong interest I could try to figure something out, but after the task force updates wound up being a hash that had to grab a random goon or two from the channel for each I dropped the remaining plans I had for showing group content. There's five missions left to cover in the LP, and narratively it's a straight shot to the end. As I've mentioned before, I am not going to touch the Discovery content at all. If someone wants to take up the LP torch to cover that, I'll be happy to work with you to introduce your characters and lay the groundwork, but my interest in this game and plans for this LP end with the finale to the Gamma Quadrant arc. Though I suppose the summer event is starting next week, so if anyone wants to cover that feel free.
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Jun 25, 2021 16:39
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To Fire And Sword Captain's Log, IKS Jat'layn We've spent the past week now in war games with the USS Defiant and CUV Tain. Kai Kira has been commissioned as Captain Kira, and Bajor has assigned command of the Defiant, flagship of Bajor's Planetary Defense Flotilla, to her. A politically astute move, I'm told, but Commander Sarish would have been a better choice, as opposed to being assigned as Kira's second in command. Kira is dedicated to learning, but starship command is a skill like no other and for all of Kira's justly won fame and experience, this is not her field of battle and I have no confidence in her ability as a captain. Councilor Garak, at least, has had the good taste to find a highly capable captain to command the Cardassian flagship, Councilor Garak's place on the ship is merely political theater. Politics. Politics are why I command the Jat'layn now, and my own stubborn inability to pick a wiser fight. The strategic situation with the Hur'q remains tenuous. No significant ground has been lost against them, but we haven't made any actual progress, either. Hur'q attacks remain ferocious but uncoordinated, their strategic focus seems to naturally accrete wherever resistance seems weak while probing attacks range far across both the Alpha and Beta Quadrants looking for vulnerable targets. More to the point, we still have no understanding of how to meaningfully strike back against the Hur'q. All of their combat ships appear to be equipped to disassemble the wreckage of their enemies or other resources they encounter, and Hur'q dreadnoughts appear to operate as mobile shipyards, gathering resources and constructing new vessels. No Hur'q civilians, for lack of a better word, have been observed. There is no infrastructure to attack, no population centers to threaten, no industrial backbone to break. Just an endless, undifferentiated and self-propagating swarm. As an enemy, the Hur'q are even more problematic to attack than the Borg in some respects. The Borg have objectives beyond consuming every available resource and moving on, and the Collective devotes effort towards those other objectives. The Hur'q are simpler than that. What I have not broached during the tedious semi-formal dinners with Alliance joint services is that I question what victory against the Hur'q would even look like beyond genocide. One thing at a time, I'm sure they'd say. Which is a valid point, but also not an answer. Martok and his followers would say that honor and glory are their own rewards. The Romulans would say that victory will be defined by the Hur'q no longer posing a threat. The Federation would seek to open negotiations with the Hur'q. The Jem'hadar would simply shout 'victory is life!' Each answer as unsatisfying as the last, one platitude after another. For now, the Founder Odo has requested the Alliance accompany Odo's fleet for an investigation into one of the more remote reaches of the Dominion. Captain Kira and Councilor Garak volunteered to join the task force.  Jat'layn to task force, we've arrived at the Dosi system. Hur'q squadron on sensors, they appear to be attacking a Dominion space station. Odo here. The Dosi only joined the Dominion about ten years ago. This station was built for oversight purposes. We're not detecting any other Hur'q ships on sensors. Then form up and engage. Incidentally, the new government offered me a complete pardon and commission in the fleet. I'm surprised you didn't take it... Atara. It's Starfleet that has arrest warrants out for me, not the Union. That's fair.  Impressive vessels from the Cardassian Union. The Republic had been skeptical about the Union's rearmament program, but I see we made a rare error. The new fleet is centered on the Ghemor class carriers, supported by Detapa class destroyers. We don't have the resources or manpower for a lot of ships, so a drone-focused doctrine is the order of the day. Councilor Garak is hailing us.     Probably not. Still... General, you have more experience with starship command and naval strategy than I do. Can you think of any reason for the Hur'q to attack this place? No. The Dosi only recently joined the Dominion, so a punitive strike on the Dosi could have political aims. However, this attack was on the fringe of the Dosi system, nothing likely to intimidate the Dosi or send a message to anyone else. Hmmm. I'm picking up a faint distress signal. It's Ferengi in origin, and seems to be coming from the Karemma system. Rom mentioned Quark doing business with the Karemmas recently, and I have a feeling this isn't a coincidence. If nothing else the Grand Nagus would be grateful. Is this really a good use of our time? The Karemmans are very resourceful, and produce much of the Dominion's weaponry and ships. They can deal with the Hur'q on their own. As for Quark, I am quite confident in his ability to get himself out of trouble. Trouble that he likely as not caused in the first place. I must say I'm surprised, Ambassador. I know Quark is a gambler, but I never realized you were as well. Karemma is a part of the Dominion, and an important part at that. Is risking losing them to the Hur'q wise? Very well. I see there's no talking you out of this. I will accompany you to Karemma. Engaging warp.(there was a visual glitch with the warp-out scene and arrival at Karemma, sorry, but as soon as the Karemma map loads...)     Karemma is a part of the Dominion. We are here to assist them, if they wish it. Odo gave us the impression that his was the Dominion's last fleet. Odo's fleet is an expeditionary force, to seek and destroy the Hur'q as he sees fit. My fleet is a defense fleet. It seems that distinction was unfortunately not made clear to you. Interesting, but irrelevant. We are responding to a distress call from Karemma. I will take responsibility for their actions in Karemman space. One of our operatives requires immediate extraction. Very well. In the spirit of our newfound pact with the Alliance, I will allow you to proceed, albeit at your own risk. Exercise caution, Odo. It would be tragic for you to come so far, only to end it all here over Karemma. That was not a subtle threat. Indeed. It seems we aren't getting the whole story here. So, business as usual then.    I'm trying to hail the Karemmans. No response. Jat'layn to task force. I'm reading heavy electromagnetic interference around the planet. Interference with the Karemmas' standard communications frequencies, no less. Fortunately, I have access to an alternative frequency the Karemmas like to use for certain emergencies. Combat is notoriously chaotic. I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation, one best pursued by finding Quark and saving the Karemmans. Do you really believe that? How delightfully cynical of you, General. For the moment, however, I think we had best find Quark. He should be the only Ferengi on the planet. No need. Quark's broadcasting a new call. I assume you intend to go down there in person, General. Of course. I think I'll join you, while Odo and Kira cover us up here. I've been looking forward to a chance to catch up with Quark. We'd better bring some pattern enhancers. Transporters may be iffy down there. Do give my regards to Commander Otek, General. I hear she's faring well under your command. She acts more Klingon than most of my crew, at times. Well, everyone has their calling.    Interesting. I'm reading a Ferengi lifesign beyond that very secure door ahead of us. Along with Hur'q and Karemma lifesigns throughout the bunker. Karemmans do take their security seriously. Cracking that door's security would likely take more time than Quark has. Perhaps the Karemmans can offer a more expedient solution. Hmmm. And the door's thick enough that blasting it would pose an unacceptable risk to anyone on the other side. Agreed, Councilor.    Thanks for the timely rescue, friends! So, what brings you here? We're looking for a Ferengi named Quark. Ohhh, Quark! I know him! Little guy, big ears, flashy dresser! Yeah, he should be in the safe room! Follow me!(note: there's actually two more NPCs to rescue, who all say almost exactly the same things)  (as you approach the door, there's a certain Armin Shimmerman scream that all DS9 fans know) Yeeeah, that can't be good. Door's open, you'd better move out. Your pal sounds a little... stressed.  (so yeah, it's another Overseer fight that was hard to get good shots of while kiting it and the attendants around)       It does? Good. That makes it more valuable. Indeed it does, my friend. Indeed it does. You'll be hearing from me soon, Garak. I'm looking forward to it. You won't be when you see my bill.  Not the liberators I was expecting, but I'll take it. I'm First Minister Bekelba. Our situation's gone from bad to worse, and we have the Dominion to thank for it. How so? Those of us on the edge of the Dominion were abandoned when the Hur'q attacks began. We voted to secede, since the Dominion wasn't going to defend us anyway. We held off the Hur'q for a while, but their numbers were endless. Eventually we petitioned the Dominion for aid. They refused. When we started to evacuate, they opened fire on our transports. Hardly out of character for the Dominion, but still an odd decision given the circumstances. You have a flair for understatement. We thought they would recognize our value as allies, at least. The Alpha Quadrant is no stranger to how the Dominion treats its allies, Prime Minister. But for now, we've beaten the Hur'q back from your world. Now that this unpleasantness is past us, I think it's time we have a chat with Ambassador Odo. I dare say the good ambassador has some explaining to do. Agreed. Jat'layn, I'll be beaming directly to Odo's ship. Understood, sir.  To what do I owe this unexpected visit? I hope you'll forgive the intrusion, Ambassador. We need to speak - in person.    Do you know what this is? No idea. Some new Karemman military tech, perhaps? Interesting thought, but no.   It does emit a signal, however. A signal very similar to Hur'q communications. Perhaps I should turn it on and show it to you?  Nor I, Captain. Count me for a third.   Captain, scan the device. There's soil residue on it... from the Kendra Province. That doesn't mean that Odo -         (The camera rapidly cuts to everyone staring) Nerys - You put my entire planet at risk! People died, Odo! You have to - I've heard enough! Please continue, Ambassador. You were saying? I did what I needed to do to bring the Alliance into the war. I lied. I risked millions to save billions. But there's more to this than staged Hur'q attacks. Do tell. Right now, my recommendation to Alliance Command will be to abandon you, and the Dominion, to your fate. The other Founders are... hiding things, from me. If I challenge them now, I'll have no chance to find out what. So for now, I have to play the part. Well you're doing a great job of that, Odo. Or should I say, Founder?   The Captain, however... I know. I have a strong lead, but I'll need your help to follow it. You know how to reach me. 
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Jun 30, 2021 03:14
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ah, poor odo. even after all this time the other founders just refuse to trust one who was raised by solids.
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Jun 30, 2021 03:58
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The writer has a good ear for Odo's dialogue, less so Garak and Kira. Some of that may be Garak's weird facial animation (THE EYES THE EYES THE STARING EYES). Still, decent plot twist and something you could see Odo doing if he felt he had to.
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Jun 30, 2021 14:03
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Welp, I'm not sleeping anymore. That's going to haunt my dreams.
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Jun 30, 2021 14:20
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Taerkar posted:Welp, I'm not sleeping anymore. That's going to haunt my dreams.
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Jun 30, 2021 14:33
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A few notes on this mission: The new Cardassian ships in this mission are in fact the same Cardassian ships available to players: Detapa class escorts, Ghemor class carriers, and Damar class dreadnoughts. While I didn't draw great attention to it, additional dialogue after that big closing cutscene that I cut (you wander around the ship talking to people) confirmed what happened on Karemma: the Karemmans voted to secede, so the Founders planted a Hur'q beacon on the planet and brought in a fleet not to engage the Hur'q but to shoot down any Karemman attempts to evacuate, all to make an example of Karemma to other would-be separatist movements. I'm still baffled by Cryptic making the Dominion a playable faction, even if Jem'hadar (and only Jem'hadar, yes the playable Dominion is all-male) PCs are part of Odo's fleet and thus theoretically less fascist than the rest of the Dominion. While I've cut out every scene of dialogue with him (because it's always been irrelevant and didn't fit the flow of the narrative), that is indeed a new Weyoun voiced by Jeffrey Combs hanging around.
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Jun 30, 2021 14:43
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