Sunday, May 24th, 2015 @ 1:00 PM EDT / 6:00 PM BST.With the deaths of Commander Bonchune and Lieutenant Armstrong leaving critical positions empty, personnel reassignments were needed to fill the gaps. T'Lona and Barnes were given provisional promotions to operations chief and chief of security, respectively. The
Phoenix rendezvoused with the
Ariadne to coordinate the investigation into the Romulan threat, and receive their new first officer and assistant chief of security. Recent events have clearly shaken the crew, with Doctor Peters considering a transfer back to Starfleet Medical.
Captain Prince of the
Ariadne arrives with Commander Vetrel and Lieutenant Winston for the briefing. Peters surmises that the Romulans are making a power play to attack the weakened Klingon Empire, using Starfleet as pawns in their game. Unofficially, she chastises Captain He for her cold detachment, implying that she puts duty ahead of the lives of her crew to an unnecessary extent. Before they can come to blows, another Klingon distress call interrupts the briefing, demanding the attention of the
Phoenix and the
Ariadne.
Knowing what happened last time, Captain He suggests that the
Ariadne take point to gauge the Romulan presence in the area while the
Phoenix lies in wait behind a moon, obscured from sensors. When they arrive, they find a lone
K'Tinga-class cruiser adrift, with Klingon lifesigns still aboard. The
Ariadne moves in and lowers its shields to evacuate the survivors... only to find that it was yet another trap. The
K'Tinga explodes violently, destroying the
Ariadne with all hands. Immediately after, a battle group of
T'Varo-class warbirds decloaks, opening fire on the
Phoenix.
With skill and a bit of luck, the crew was able to disable the lead warbird and tow it away at warp speed, but not without a price. During the battle, a torpedo collapsed the structural integrity field in sickbay, blowing Doctor Peters out into space. Considering all that's happened, one must think, has it really been worth the loss?
LCARS Database references for this episode: •
Landmark: Tarkeeti Nebula