The Last Outpost

Twenty years (and eight / fifteen days) after Voyager's "Eye of the Needle" aired on UPN, Star Trek: Asteroid Field explored the fate of the information entrusted to Telek R'Mor what became of it after his death. The Romulan equivalent of chinese whispers followed and it would be our very own Taval who would seek out the information - believing it to contain information on their future, unaware that the relevant time period has long since passed.  With the Etis family embroiled in Taval's quest - it seemed almost inevitable that one of them would pay the price for his ultimate disappointment....

The episode opened with Taval gloating over his seizing of Pioneer on the Promenade - burning the Federation flag, smashing the 'Pioneer Station' sign and calling out to Renee Hampton (http://www.last-outpost.net/forum/index.php/topic,4718.0.html) - who directly prevented him (http://www.last-outpost.net/forum/index.php/topic,5089.0.html) from claiming Accobar (http://www.last-outpost.net/forum/index.php/topic,6927.0.html) for Romulus on two previous occasions aboard the station. He was then called to OPS to deal with the USS Hera - as we returned to where we left off last week...


Henry Etis promised to deliver the tricorder to Taval - providing they could recover it from Devlin Marks (http://www.last-outpost.net/forum/index.php/toic,7799.0.html) - throwing the Hera on a search operation, while simultaneously piecing together an operation to retake Pioneer and prevent Taval from escaping with possible information from the future - all the while guaranteeing the safety of the hostages aboard Pioneer, including the staff forced to abandon the Hera at Taval's request. Mason was helpless in preventing the act - knowing that her previous attempts to interfere with a trade negotiation resulted in Michael Barnes' death. She wasn't taking that risk this time, but something still had to be done about Taval.

Menden, Costello, Klaw & the Etis' all devised a means to infiltrate Pioneer during the trade and secure the station while keeping Taval distracted. But before they could put Henry's Romulan shuttle to good use, they still had to find that tricorder. Between Costello's shady contacts and Jemma's feminine wiles (by Mason proxy), the crew both tracked down and retrieved the device from Marks. From then on, it was a sprint back to Pioneer - to make the trade, secure the station and rescue the hostages. All without Taval finding out until it was already done. No pressure.


Back on Pioneer, Taval met with Selar to boast once more and explain how he was able to learn of the tricorder and the information it apparently contained. Before long, the Hera had returned to the system and a shuttle was dispatched from Pioneer to pick up Henry Etis and the device. This was the team's opportunity to follow in the cloaked Romulan shuttle and infiltrate their own station. From there, it was up to them to take down what guards they could and secure vital areas silently - as Mason and Etis followed Henry to the trade location within the Romulan Embassy.

Between Menden & Costello's teams, Operations and the Promenade were taken down. The modifications to the tricorder allowed it to tap in to Pioneer's mainframe and cut power across the facility - plunging the station in to darkness at the opportune moment. Unfortunately, this also meant that Taval had accessed the tricorder and learnt the terrible truth. The information he had long since sought out, believing that it would allow him to reshape the fledgling Romulan Empire, was useless to him. Letters from the USS Voyager, and other communiques from a time now in their past. A furious Taval blamed Henry for deception - arming himself and threatening Selar. By the time Sophia & Jemma stormed the room, it was too late.


Henry had been shot, defending his wife - and by the time Doctor Rogan could reach the scene, there was nothing that he could do. Jemma's father passed away in front of her, and Taval beamed away before Mason could apprehend him. The Captain left the room, knowing that the man she had distrusted every step of the way, made the ultimate sacrifice in helping them. Jemma was understandably distraught, and Pioneer set about trying to catch Taval before he escaped the system. But it was already too late. Unknowingly to the crew, Taval fled out of Accobar and to an increasingly familiar location within the Alpha Quadrant.



Taval arrived at The Director's office aboard her station. She strongly expressed her disappointment in his attempt to claim Pioneer for himself in search of a tricorder - and not for their original objective. Taval tried to talk his way in to her letting him continue to assist her - but she made it clear that his time was up. He desperately lunged, attempting to attack her - grabbing a discarded disruptor on her desk as he missed.

However, upon taking aim and firing the weapon, it discharged right back in to him. Taval received instant karma for his actions that day - and was immediately vaporized. With both Walter Peirce & Taval meeting their ends in The Director's presence, this season... the question is... who is next? You'll have to wait for the second half of the season to find out - as Operation Dark Star is finally launched.

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Special thanks to Martin Thompson for putting this 4.5 hour journey together and managing the roleplays as a result (and the screenshots)! It has been a long time coming and I couldn't have thought of even attempting it myself. Attendance has been superb - as it has been for the entire run so far, this season. Thank you all very much for that. It really does make all the difference and I'm sure he will have a few things to say after me.

Details of the second half will be revealed in the weeks ahead - so I hope to see you all back here, then! Until then, please do take a few moments to drop a vote in the poll and share your thoughts on this two-part story. Martin and myself would greatly appreciate it. Also stay tuned for a special Season 5 Part One Poll, to make your final decision on your favorite episodes, this half of the season - and why!

Thanks again for attending - and your patience during the server troubles - rate and discuss, above and below!

Bonus Questions:

- How will Jemma react following the death of her father, and how will she react upon learning that Mason has been hiding certain truths from her for years?
- Why is Mason secretly taking small doses of Desegranine - and will Bennett keep the secret?
- To what extent had Peirce & Taval been connected to The Director's organisation - for what ultimate purpose?
- Who is The Director? What is Dark Star? Answers are coming.

Do consider commenting, guys. (http://i.imgur.com/9bANKmi.png) These episodes are planned for weeks just to find out what you liked / didn't like about them. It helps to do more down the line  ^-^

Bennett may or may not keep his secret.  8)

As an outsider coming in, I felt engaged, and believed that - what I grabbed from the story, was well orchestrated.

I look forward to popping in more often :)

QuoteI look forward to popping in more often

I hope you will! With our 2 engineers CBT the 2 non-regulars showing up (you and wesley) saved the day in the engineering department!

Quote from: Martin Thompson on March 08, 2015, 05:57:53 PM

QuoteI look forward to popping in more often

I hope you will! With our 2 engineers CBT the 2 non-regulars showing up (you and wesley) saved the day in the engineering department!

:'(

I greatly enjoyed both sides of this two parter, but personally I think the second part was my favourite.

Honestly,  I don't know how MT was able to manage multiple characters at once. It takes enough of my concentration to channel a single alternate persona, let alone switching between several. It really paid off.
Great work, MT.

Still missing a vote or 2! Thanks for rating this so highly btw, I'm happy you all enjoyed it.

If you are interested, stay tuned for a short story this weekend in the writers lounge "The road to Family Day"...