'Dies Irae' Discussion Thread

[Grizz]

The Accobar System has seen impossible treaties forged, it has been sieged by Klingon rebels and has been been infected by a deadly virus. It has played host to unlikely negotiations, prisoner exchanges and political scandal. But nothing compares to the series of revelations which played out over the course of a two hour period in the season finale - with only a skeleton crew to bear witness.

Shall we recap?

- Since her evacuation in the anniversary special, Pioneer remains down to a skeleton crew, with a few senior staffers (Tim Rogan, Daniel Thrace & Archibald) already on the Hera and away from the system.

- The evacuation of Romulus began 22 hours ago due to fluctuations in the Hobus Star. Updates were slow reaching the station.

- The destruction of an unmanned shuttlecraft revealed that Pioneer Station and it's surrounding area was encased in a containment field. No signals or weapons could entirely penetrate it.

- A sudden weapons blast revealed the presence of a cloaked ship. Jemma Etis had been experiencing sensor echoes ever since the rift was originally opened. A timely broadcast message prompted 32 Halkonian vessels to de-cloak - surrounding Pioneer.

- Denara Clarke, of the Shattered Sun Legion, warned that their actions had led to the walls between worlds collapsing much sooner than anticipated. Their timetable had been accelerated, and the 'test' had been moved up.

- A signal was sent from one of the ships to the spatial regulation device on the surface of Accobar III. It was powered up to full strength quicker than ever before, and the effects began to manipulate the source of the subspace rift - at the heart of a weakened Asteroid Base: Alpha.

- A larger craft, carrying the stolen D'ni power crystal, was revealed and soon left the containment area - heading for the Accobar star. Etis speculated that Hobus was never the target, after Clarke refused any involvement with the Romulan crisis.

- Denara implied that David Rush had fed the crew false information when he revealed that the Accobarian civilization had been wiped out. Clarke revealed that they had simply 'left.' But now - they would take advantage of the weakened state of the system in order to return. The circumstances of their departure remain unknown.

- The Shattered Sun Legion planned to open the main rift entirely, then implode the star - sealing the rift permanently, but destroying the entire solar system - promising that the "barrier" would protect them. Mason was sceptical of their claims of protection.

- The crew considered their options, when Etis revealed that they still had control of the Accobar Interface which once hijacked AB: Alpha's systems. It could be used to interface with the weapons platforms on the outside - which could likely have an impact on the barrier surrounding them.

- When the interface was brought online, it took control of Pioneer - but only briefly. Costello gained control of the weapons platforms and fired on the 'bubble.' Halkonian ships were sent to intercept them, but they were in for another surprise.

- A select number of asteroids revealed themselves to be Accobarian weapons, homing in on the Halkonian ships sent after the platforms. Professor Fox all but confirmed their origin. The bubble collapsed under the weight of the weapons fire, and Halkonian ships began jumping away in all directions.

- Now ten minutes out from the star, the crew was running out of time to reach the D'ni-powered craft, and the Hera was too far away. However, before any action could be taken, Asteroid Base: Alpha was completely destroyed by the expanding subspace rift.

- Out of the rift and out of the wreckage, however, came another ship. A large but sleek, golden and majestic craft, which dwarfed everything nearby, including Pioneer itself. Fox deduced that it was pure Accobarian.

- It sped away from Pioneer and scooped up the Halkonian weapon, before returning to the asteroid field. Every inch of the craft was scanned, but it could not be reached by means of communications channels. The ship broadcast a signal across the system, which shut down the weapons platforms and Accobarian interface aboard Pioneer. In addition, it severed the station's connection to the device on the surface.

- The Accobarian ship soared back in to the rift, which sealed behind it - leaving behind the remains of Asteroid Base: Alpha.

- In the final moments of the episode, subspace turbulence rocked the station as the asteroid field began to lose cohesion. As Kimble reported communications were starting to return, Etis made a shocking discovery. All Starfleet units had been ordered to pull out of Tyrella. The Hobus Star has collapsed. The shockwave is travelling at warp speeds. Romulus has been destroyed.



The Accobarians, or whatever they may happen to be called, are still out there somewhere. The Shattered Sun Legion have made an incursion in to Federation space, but could not be traced. The subspace rift has seemingly been closed shut, with no indication as to where it led to, or why the Accobarian ship fled back through. Asteroid Base: Alpha has been destroyed - with sorely needed repairs already delayed, it fell victim to the effects of the rift - which tore it apart from within. Pioneer has been left reeling from the distant effects of the unusually powerful Hobus supernova.

The Accobar System has surrendered many of it's secrets, but now the crew of Pioneer Station faces a new threat. The post-Hobus galaxy will not be a welcoming one, and the mysteries of the Accobarian-Halkonian rivalry are due to take a back-seat as the Federation adjusts to new horizons.

Despite a few last minute changes due to absences, the episode played out as best as it could have. Thank you all very much for attend. The Season Two Report will be up in due time. In the meantime, enjoy the rest of January and.. of course... rate and discuss, above and below!

[Lucas Picard]

An excellent story as always Grizz a job well done for the season finale of AF I wonder what you have planned for the next season

[Martin Thompson]

Yes it was a nice season finale. We got to see closure to a few loose ends which have been coming for a while now, but a few still remain.

I always suspected that 'The Accobarians' would return somehow or someway ever since episode 1 of season 1, even though it appeard that it where the Halkonians which we first discovered later on. I also remember a dark night in the science lab where todays events were already predicted on a viewscreen.

Even though there where a few absences, the episode played out nicely, directed by Grizz of course But everyone was involved in some way and I have rarely seen OPS so busy as the past few episodes, which is also a nice thing. I think this sets a nice base for Season 3 to start with, having a whole new general Federation look on the changed galaxy.

[Grizz]

I also remember a dark night in the science lab where todays events were already predicted on a viewscreen.

Yes, the circle is now complete!  I'm done with prophecies for a long, long time.