'Night of the Fiery Serpent' Discussion Thread

[Grizz]

"We have to put this ship down now!"

Picking up right where we left off, four months ago, the Ariana was losing power fast and Chief Engineer McClintock was left writhing in the aftermath of his Vega Drone attack as the modified assimilation virus began flooding his system. With Layton and Etis inhabiting the entire Engineering department, it was soon concluded that the ship had to be put down as soon as possible. Thankfully (or perhaps not so), a planetoid was in range. One which Captain Mason and Lieutenant J. Etis had visited previously in the third season - followed by a fateful return trip in the fourth, when Commander Barnes suddenly lost his life. Yes, good old Rajusca.

Putting down on the surface, the crew split up to perform multiple tasks. While Layton and Etis remained with the ship to identify and repair the source of the power drain, Doctor Rogan moved McClintock to the research facility's medical bay once secured by Costello and Riker. As Menden worked on getting the base's command systems back online, it was discovered that the air purification system had malfunctioned and the increasingly toxic Rajuscan air was leaking in. Riker stumbled upon the source of the breach - the corridor collapse which had incapacitated Captain Mason on her visit to the base. This was not only a medical risk, but a security one. There was access in and out of the base which was not secured... and the Vega Drone was still out there.

"It's going to be a long night."

As Rogan attempted to stabilise McClintock, Costello, Riker and Menden assessed their surroundings while Layton and Etis worked on the Ariana. As Lexi soon discovered, however... they weren't alone. Etis discovered that the main corridor had been forcefielded, and watched as the Vega Drone revealed itself, still aboard the ship. She called for support - a call which Riker answered. By the time he reached the Ariana, however, the drone was nowhere to be seen. Etis could not determine what the drone had attempted to access using one of the Engineering terminals, but she could speculate that it would be trying to contact home. Whether that be Accobar or somewhere else entirely....

It wasn't long before the Drone reached the research facility and made it's presence known. After attempting to download information from the computer core, he stormed the medical bay and kept Rogan at bay as he performed a scan of a deteriorating McClintock. Riker's attempt to intervene did not deter the drone, which left the bay and disappeared in to the bowels of the facility. This event led to the ground team assembling in the medical bay as the drone watched on from a remote terminal. Sealing the bay with the team inside, the atmosphere within was isolated from the rest of the facility and began removing it from the room. With a support call out in the opposite direction, Etis and Layton abandoned the Ariana and double-timed it underground to reach the trapped team before they ran out of air. Once again the drone materialised in the room to briefly examine McClintock - beaming out before Layton succeeded in freeing his crew-mates.

"I'm saving Craig the only way I can."

As McClintock faded away, Doctor Rogan pulled Menden aside to reveal a possible solution. He revealed the vial of the modified Halkonian nano-virus which he and Etis had worked on aboard the Hera prior to her destruction. Effectively the pre-programmed antidote to Vega's virus, Rogan speculated that it may be enough to save the Chief Engineer's life - but at a cost - as it would mean losing potentially the biggest weapon they have against Vega and her creations. Nevertheless, with the staff gathered, Rogan decided that it was the only choice and injected McClintock with the could-be cure.

With the situation on the base seemingly stabilised for now, Layton and Etis scavenged what resources they needed in order to proceed with the Ariana's repairs, but on their way back to the ship, their would-have-been security escort, Riker, had been lured away to another part of the base and contained. Followed on to the Ariana, Etis was attacked while Layton worked unawares. With partial power restored, the drone gained access to the communications array. Etis was able to disable it, but it was likely already too late. If a transmission had been broadcast, then their position was no longer secure and they had to leave Rajusca. Piecing the puzzle together, Rogan mused that the drone was attempted to transmit it's repeated analysis of McClintock - as though monitoring an experiment of Vega's design. Was this a trap the whole time? Was McClintock simply the test subject for Vega's assimilation virus? Was the research facility performing it's intended function for a third party? One way or another, it was certainly time to leave.

"It's in the escape pod hatch!"

With Riker seemingly freed automatically from his confinement, Etis returned to the base to inform Commander Menden of the drone's supposed transmission. Taking her advice, Menden ordered the evacuation of the base. Doctor Rogan prepared McClintock for transport and the ground team moved out. Bringing up the rear, Costello caught the attention of the Vega Drone while leaving the base. She was able to hold it off long enough for the rest of the team to make it on to the ship before she followed them. As Layton restored impulse power, the crew prepared the ship for departure. All the while, the Drone latched on to the outer airlock and attempted to cut it's way through. As the engines fired up, it detached itself from the ship and vanished from view.

While lifting off, however, the drone made it's final assault on the Ariana. Within the escape pod shaft, the drone began climbing its way towards the interior of the ship as the ship itself climbed through the atmosphere. Upon learning of the drone's location, Menden ran to the aft of the ship and brute-forced his way in to the escape pod's manual release hatch. As the drone began cutting in to the underside of the escape pod, Menden dropped the pod. The pod was blasted down the shaft, with the drone pinned to it's underbelly, and forced out of the ship. Within seconds, both the pod and the drone crashed down on the surface of Rajusca with an almighty bang.

This, however, was not the end of the crew's ordeal. Paying the price for the lack of warp capability, the results of the drone's transmission were made almost immediately apparent in the form of a transwarp aperture dead ahead of the ship. From it, the Borg Sphere responsible for the Hera's destruction arrived at the scene (somebody will call it the Vega Sphere eventually, you mark my words). Unable to flee, the Ariana was tractored by the behemoth as Etis revealed an incoming transmission. Menden ordered it put through on speakers as their captor revealed herself. Of course, it was Maria Vega.

Claiming that the team had interfered with her experiment, she declared....

"It seems we'll just have to start again"

Thank you all for attending the relaunch of Star Trek: Asteroid Field. I hope it wasn't too rusty, as I'm certainly still getting back in to the swing of things after these months of absence. Nevertheless, it was good to be roleplaying with you all once again and I look forward to participating in rather more well-rounded role next week.

Speaking of which, just who was Captain Mason expected to meet as a result of her impromptu coffee morning? Hm. I'm sure the truth will be revealed in good time.

See you next week! Please rate and discuss, above and below!

[Scott Archer]

What a return!
This was an incredible episode and I look forward to the rest of the series even more!
It's nice to play a more... not so well rounded character too, and this leads to some rather comical situations, such as not noticing someone else get beat to a pulp below you... (Sorry MT)

Etis was able to disable it, but it was likely already too late.

Layton and his phaser rifle helped too...

[Shoot]

That was one hell of a return! I've been waiting for AF to return for about... 4-5 months now, and now it feels like we never went to hiatus!

I certainly loved it!

And Scott, nice improvising for Mike

[Mutatio Nomen]

My gawd, this was thrilling stuff! I can't believe I had internet connectivity issues. I managed to connect briefly, but that was it. Real sorry folks

[criminula]

It's great to be back. I really enjoyed this episode, and can't wait for the next one.

[Martin Thompson]

Certainly one of the better episodes we had and an amazing comeback to season 6.