Game session: 5/7/18; Joe departed early, and I pulled the Pod and Katala out of my ass.
The senior officers gather in the primary conference room of Starbase 211. It’s an auditorium-style room, with tiered seating looking down on the conference table, and a massive transparent aluminum portal looking out at the deep space towards the Federation core. As they file in, Aaron spots and identifies Betazed, while Kimball picks out the distant star of Earth. They are alone in the room with Admiral Shafiq and Lieutenant Commander Bjornson and as they settle in, they realize the two must have come to some arrangement, as the admiral’s earlier anger seems to have evaporated.
Admiral Shafiq keeps the debriefing informal and allows Aaron to take the lead but occasionally asking direct questions to the appropriate officer. T’kora, Hel-Torin, Ten, and Eleven all seem used to this, so the new officers assume this is simply the admiral’s personal style. Aaron lays things out but tries to determine how much influence SI has in play. He asks them directly if they knew about the extent of the technology left on LV-397. Admiral Shafiq’s honest and open reaction is plain to see, as she states, “Not at all.” Bjornson is much opaquer, but says, “Not there specifically, but we are aware of a large number of ancient technologies in this general region. We’re in an archeological arms race and playing catch-up with the Orions, but Captain Englyss kicked off the race five years ago.” Aaron nods as he realizes Bjornson is referring to his first contact with the T’Kon.
Bjornson looks at them all shrewdly, and asks, “How much do you all know about the Orions as a whole?” Aaron knows they are an old culture with a rich history of interstellar empires that rose and fell repeatedly before the Sundering on Vulcan. He rues the fact that modern Orions are ferociously neutral, obsessed with personal privacy, and don’t care one whit about their history. Kimball is familiar with the infamous Orion Syndicate, and how their ships operate independently with various weapons and crew proficiencies.
Bjornson nods as the officers share what they know, and he admits the Syndicate is relatively new to this region. The Cardassians have no tolerance for them, especially the Obsidian Order, and they are on the verge of a crime war with the Ferengi Alliance. However, a new, almost religious-like fervor has swept a branch of the Syndicate, leading to a dedicated hunt for their past. Any old technologies the Syndicate scoops up are being hoarded, not sold. Bjornson adds, “Captain Englyss and Lieutenant Perrault are on Orion ‘watch lists.’ Not actively monitored, but passively tracked. Now, does the name Marat’teer mean anything to anybody?”
Aaron says he’s heard rumors of this individual but has never met him. Kimball says the name has come up semi-frequently in reports about the Syndicate, but nothing else. Bjornson explains that this Marat’teer is the closest thing SI has seen to an Orion nationalist, and his men were behind the attack on the Wyoming at the beginning of the year. Bjornson also adds that the Orion Syndicate is heavily invested in illegal salvage of wrecked ships. Aaron asks Admiral Shafiq point-blank, “Do you plan on stepping up dedicated patrols to stop the Orions?” The admiral shakes her head and replies, “Not yet, not until things settle down for a bit. My ideal is to have the Boston and the Sacramento as flexible out-runners while the Phoenix and the Philippa Georgiou act as the muscle. But all that depends on whatever the new normal is post-Wolf 359.” Aaron nods in understanding, and Admiral Shafiq continues, “However, once the Boston is repaired, I will be sending you to survey the Argolis Cluster on Monday. We need to know what’s in there.”
The admiral then taps a button to raise a privacy screen and another button to stop the official recording. She then leans forward and says softly, “And unofficially, I want you to look for a suitable colony for the Bajoran refugees.” Aaron nods once again, understanding the implications of the covert order, and replies, “We’ll see what’s out there.” Admiral Shafiq smiles and resumes recording. Aaron then describes the technical findings on LV-397 and their encounter with Harold the Romulan. Admiral Shafiq openly boggles at the description of Harold, while Bjornson once again remains opaque.
Aaron shares his belief that “Harold” is a wild card not working for the Romulan Star Empire, and one with a moral code, albeit a warped one. He doesn’t believe Harold is an adversary, but he admits, “He has control over a network of gateways throughout the galaxy.” He finishes with his science department attempting to collect DNA samples from the Romulan ale. Bjornson asks for everything they find to be forwarded, and then asks, “Did you want to keep the ale?” Admiral Shafiq gives him some serious side-eye, but he shrugs and retorts, “I think they’ve earned it.” The admiral frowns but doesn’t object. Aaron adds, “And finally, I recommend a warning about these devices sent out as ‘captain’s eyes only’ regarding their potential for devastation to subspace in the event of a cascade failure.” Both the admiral and the lieutenant commander nod in agreement.
With that, the debriefing is over, and the crew has three days before shipping out to the Argolis Cluster. While most of the crew returns to the ship, Aaron and Kimball both decide to explore the starbase a bit more. They spend the day together wandering Starbase 211 and determine the different “zones.” The biggest zone is the spacedock itself, and above that is the operations zone, decks given over to the starbase’s administration and offices. The hospital ward denotes the border between the administration zone and the spacedock, allowing rapid relocation of grievously wounded personnel in an emergency. Below the spacedock is the operations zone, which is many decks containing the machinery keeping the starbase functional. In the midst of the operations zone are three decks sealed and shielded by Starfleet Intelligence, and rumors fly about what’s actually going on in there.
Below the operations zone is a series of interconnected “pods” that add modularity and extra functionality to the Sigma-class starbase. Most of the pods contains laboratories or additional engineering facilities, but the primary pod – and by far the largest – is Pod 011, known colloquially as “the Pod.” The Pod contains all non-Starfleet living spaces, a real park with trees, grass, and a small lake, and shops and restaurants. Aaron and Kimball spot Boslics moving around, as well as a handful of Ferengi and a few vendors selling Cardassian foods and beverages; they learn there are some Cardassian merchants who pass through. The Pod is very popular with station personnel and traveler alike and forms the true heart of Starbase 211.
The two officers spot Katala’s, an Orion nightclub that opens its doors at 2000 hours every night. They decide to check it out and are in line in their uniforms at the appointed time. They walk into a dimly lit corridor where the gray Starfleet bulkheads have been covered by Orion pearlescent fittings; Aaron shivers as the memory of the Moban. They are met by a massive Nausicaan who silently points to their phasers and then to a security box. Taking the hint, they put their sidearms in the box, and the Nausicaan hands them each a small pile of chits before waving them through.
They enter a space cleverly arranged to look bigger than it truly is. Straight ahead is an open floor with tables and a few privacy booths in front of the main stage. To the left is a circular area with games of chance, and to their right is another circular area containing a well-stocked bar. Everything is lit in purple, giving the pearlescent Orion fittings a glowing quality. Orion music – similar to Terran classical music but with more drumming – is playing, and they spot a few Starfleet officers in the growing crowd. Then they spot her, and stare. Katala, a graceful female Orion, glides through the crowd straight to them, and she innocently asks, “Are you two together?” with a throaty purr. Kimball replies, “We serve on the same ship,” but Aaron clarifies, “He serves under me.” Katala gives them a wicked smile and Aaron realizes the poor phrasing.
Katala lightly touches both men and brings them to a table. She refers to the Nausicaan bouncer as Bronx, and correctly guesses Kimball is from Portugal. Kimball pronounces Lisbon as a native, and she admits she’s been there and finds the beaches along the Atlantic coast to be beautiful and underrated. Aaron asks for a drink, specifically whatever ale she has on hand, but muses about her supply lines. Katala confirms she has real alcohol and the current tensions between the UFP and the Cardassian Union mean her supply of kanar is a bit thin. Kimball makes a face, but Katala gently upbraids him and says good kanar ages and thins out. However, she acknowledges kanar is unique in that it has a window before it spoils.
Katala turns to Aaron and sweetly asks, “How adventurous are you feeling?” He replies that he’s up for whatever, so she turns to Kimball for his order. Kimball says, “I’ll have whatever the captain is having,” so she glides away and soon returns with two large steins of ale. It has an oddly spicy odor, and she informs them it is Gorn ale. Both men eye each other and then their drinks, but Aaron shrugs and asks, “Is this a sipping or gulping drink?” She laughs and says, “As non-Gorn, I’d recommend generous sipping.” They grab their steins and take generous sips as recommended; both men find the ale surprisingly pleasant, with small chunks of meat in the liquid. The spice isn’t overwhelming, and the meat has a tangy flavor. Katala drifts away, and they drink and talk amiably. They suffer no ill effects from the alcohol but discover the ale does stain their teeth orange.
After they finish their ales, they meander over into the gaming section and find a dabo wheel. They play a round with their chits, and Kimball does quite well. The second round sees Kimball winning once again, taking almost all of Aaron’s chits. Kimball decides to cash out, but Katala pops up behind him and stage-whispers, “You’re supposed to let your captain win.” Kimball snorts, but Aaron insists on a third round, where he wins back most of his chits, although the house takes a hefty percentage from both. Aaron and Kimball then head over to the bar to settle their debt and open a tab. Katala informs them their first round of drinks is on the house but does open a line of credit for future purchases. As she taps commands into the computer, she coyly asks Aaron about the Betazoid royal jewelry that’s gone missing; he deflects with an idle statement about keeping his eye out for it. She drops the matter and invites them to stay for the stage show at midnight, but they decide to call it a night and depart at 2300 hours.