(NX) The Warp Five Challenge

[Solluk]

Mission Title: The Warp Five Challenge (for an NX era sim)

Synopsis: Earth Starfleet is contacted by an alien named Numix, a representative of 'The Stellar Confederacy', a government consisting of four young space-faring races who have all recently entered the galactic community.  They have a yearly competition to foster friendly relations with their interstellar neighbors.  It is a warp speed race.  Last year, it was the Warp Four Challenge.  This year, it is the Warp Five Challenge, and the Stellar Confederacy has heard that Earth recently developed a Warp Five Engine.  They invite Earth Starfleet to participate in this year's race, and Starfleet selects your NX class ship to participate and represent Earth.  However, once your ship wins the race, it is soon revealed that this is just an elaborate con by a group of space pirates who want to steal a warp five ship.  Your crew must fight off boarders, and then defeat the other 'contestants' in space battle to escape this con game with your lives!

Starting Point: Earth Starfleet contacts your NX class ship and explains the Warp Five Challenge (race) being held by a newly contacted galactic government, the Stellar Confederacy.  Starfleet would like you to represent Earth in the race, and use it as an opportunity to foster positive relations with this new group.

End Goal: Successfully fight off the pirates, learning a valuable lesson about trusting others too easily.

Story points that must be passed?:

I) Earth Starfleet contacts your NX class ship and explains the Warp Five Challenge being held by a newly contacted galactic government, the Stellar Confederacy.  Starfleet would like you to represent Earth in the race, and use it as an opportunity to foster positive relations with this new group.  Numix, the Confederacy Representative, will join you as an observer to make sure all rules of the race are observed.

II) Your crew begin to prepare your NX class ship for the race, optimizing its systems to give you the best chance of success.

III) Your ship arrives at the course where the other contestants are gathered.  Scans of the other ships reveal that their engines are unlikely to be able to achieve Warp 5, as their designs are more primitive than yours.  Numix transmits the go signal from your ship, and the race begins.

IV) Your ship wins the race easily.  None of the other vessels achieve Warp 5.   When the race is over, the other vessels gather nearby and their captains transmit friendly messages of congratulations.  Numix states that an awards committee will be coming aboard to present a trophy to the senior staff.

V) The 'awards committee' turns out to be a ten-person strike team who emerge from the airlock and open fire.  Numix joins them in attacking the ship, revealing herself to be nothing more than a pirate con-artist who was using the competition as a way to lure a promising Warp Five vessel into a trap, so that the pirates could augment their pirate fleet.  The crew must repel these boarders.

VI) Once the boarders are repelled, the four other 'competitors' open fire on your ship, and a lively space battle ensues.

VII) Your ship defeats the other vessels, and reports back to Earth Starfleet about the true nature of the competition.  You are commended for prevailing over the ambush, and come out a bit wiser for the experience.

Departments: (To make sure everyone has something to do.)
- Flight: The Flight Control officers get to partake in a fun race, and also to maneuver in battle against multiple adversaries.

- Engineering: Engineering has the pleasure of optimizing the ship systems in preparation for the race, and dealing with battle damage during the fight.

- Operations: Operations will likely work with Engineering to optimize the ship, and will perform critical power transfers during the race and during the fight.

- Security and tactical: There will be both a 'ground' battle against boarders and a space battle against pirate vessels.

- Medical: Surely someone will be injured and require medical assistance.

- Science: Science will begin to discover clues about the false nature of the race when sensor scans of the competitors reveal the sub-standard nature of their engines.  However, while this will raise eyebrows, it will not be enough in itself to reveal the nature of the con.

NOTE:  This mission module is for an NX era ship serving at a time when Earth is eager to become a player in the galactic community, and is anxiously responding to all contact from alien races, hoping to make successful first contacts.  Earth Starfleet is also eager to prove that Earth is not the backwards bumpkin that the Vulcans believe.  This all culminates in susceptibility to the con being run by these pirates.  This is a good early mission for a ship that is still shiny and optimistic about exploration, and can add a small amount of needed cynicism about foreign relations while also letting the whole crew figure out 'what this ship can do.'