Author Topic: The Horizon Event  (Read 582 times)

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Offline Kalro Zolarim

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The Horizon Event
« on: January 12, 2018, 10:49:02 am »
Mission Title: The Horizon Event

Synopsis:

Prologue - A Magellan Class Science Vessel named 'USS Horizon' (NCC-176-C) is conducting an experiment on a black hole (singularity) called Cygnus X1, about 6,200 light years away from Earth.  Their mission is to test a Decalithium Inversion Warhead, a device designed to transform stellar black holes, transforming them into simple neutron stars.   Such a technology, if successful, would reduce galactic navigational hazards and potentially safeguard systems located near black holes.  However, as the crew is preparing to launch their warhead, they are suddenly paralyzed by a psionic attack.  Only one crewmember- a Betazoid- is able to fend off the psionic paralysis.  Then, much to her horror, the other crew re-animate from their paralysis and turn against her.  Fleeing, she is barely able to send a distress signal before a crewmember finds her and savagely murders her.

Starting Point: The USS Yourship receives a distress call from a crewmember on the USS Horizon, which has been assigned to conduct scientific experiments on the Cygnus X1 singularity.

End Goal: The USS Yourship activates their improvised anti-psionic weapon, releasing the crew of the Horizon from Reman control and ending the crisis.

Story points that must be passed?:

   1) Upon arriving at the Cygnus X1 singularity, Yourship discovers an old 23rd century Romulan Warbird floating nearby, apparently derelict.   Within, they discover the bodies of hundreds of Remans, barely alive, in apparent comas.  The Captain's seat on the bridge of the Warbird is equipped with a heavily modified Romulan Mind Probe, and one of the Remans- the apparent Captain- is locked into it, also in a coma.  Engineers will discover that the vessel's cloaking device has been recently and hastily removed. Computers on the Warbird indicate that the ship was stolen by members of a Reman terrorist splinter cell from an old Romulan ship graveyard, refitted at a secret Reman base, and then piloted here.   The exact purpose of the modifications to the Captain's chair are a mystery.  The device is not tied into the ship's computer beyond providing an icon to activate it, so the computer records are of little help in that regard.

   2) A trail of tachyon particles suggests to science personnel that a cloaked ship left Cygnis X1 at low warp.  It could be that the cloaking device recently removed from the Romulan Warbird was installed in the Horizon, allowing the ship to leave the sector under cloak.   But because the cloaking tech is so outdated, Yourship should be able to track them.

   3) A medical examination of the comatose Remans shows that they are effectively brain-dead, with their conscious minds utterly stripped of neurological function.  Further, the Reman Captain shows high development in brain structures related to psionic talent, suggesting he had possessed psionic ability.  The modified Mind Probe was apparently designed to access these brain structures directly.  Further, the Mind Probe was tied directly into the Deflector systems on the Warbird.  It could be that the entire apparatus was designed to amplify Psionic abilities.   

   4) Yourship arrives at the current position of the cloaked Horizon, and the ship decloaks and begins to attack Yourship.  Although not designed for combat, the Horizon is a modern advanced science vessel with defensive weapons that make it much more than a nuisance.  Further, it can deploy 'science tricks' and stolen Starfleet knowledge to confuse sensors, bypass shields, and perform other meyhem.  In one incident, members of the Horizon crew will beam through Yourship's shields using some clever means, and Yourship must repel the boarders (hopefully without killing them, as they are fellow Starfleet officers.)  The Horizon crew, however, attack with full vigor and brutality, sparing no one.  The challenge of the encounter is heightened because one party is trying to kill the other, while the other party is trying very hard not to kill anyone.

   5) Medical, Engineering, and/or Science teams figure out that the Mind Probe from the Romulan Warbird was modified into becoming a psionic Mind-Transfer device.  This allowed the Remans on the Warbird to transfer their consciousnesses to the minds of the Horizon crew.  However, it seems likely that the technique would prove ineffective against targets with natural psionic abilities.  This is probably why the distress signal was able to be sent by the Horizon's Betazoid crewmember.  Once the nature of the Mind-Probe's modifications are understood, officers will realize that if the Mind Probe is tied into Yourship's deflector systems, it should be possible for a Neurolitic Disruption Pulse to be sent out by Yourship, calibrated to Reman thought patterns.  This would 'reboot' the Horizon crew's brains, destroying the Reman consciousness patterns and allowing the Horizon crew's normal personalities to re-emerge.

   6) In a climactic final moment, Yourship makes the necessary modifications to their systems and deploys their anti-psionic weapon at the Horizon, successfully disrupting the Reman personalities.  The Horizon crew members return to their normal selves, and are horrified at the possession they endured and the actions they were forced to perform.   Yourship escorts the Horizon and their crew back to a nearby Starbase for debriefing and psychological evaluation.  Along the way, the Horizon crew reveal what they learned from the Reman thought patterns that had puppeteered their bodies:  The Reman Terrorist cell wanted the Horizon's Decalithium Inversion Warhead because the device could possibly be converted into a weapon for use against Romulan ships (which use artificial singularity power cores.)  Such a weapon could have been a tide-turner in the Reman's continued resistance against the Romulan Empire.

Departments: (To make sure everyone has something to do.)

- Flight: There will be a great deal of fun maneuvering against the Horizon during combat.

- Engineering: Will be needed to analyze the Romulan Warbird, and also to tie the Mind Probe into Yourship's systems to deploy an anti-psionic weapon.  In addition, the battles will require repairs.

- Operations: Will doubtless aid Engineering in analyzing the Romulan Warbird's computer systems and tying the Mind Probe into Yourship's systems.  Not to mention the usual emergency power and damage control stuff that happens in every battle.

- Security and tactical: Space Battles and efforts to repel Boarding Parties will provide plenty of action, and the Security and Tactical personnel may have insight that helps unravel the mystery of what the Remans are up to, and what's gone on with the Horizon.

- Medical: Besides treating battle injuries, Medical personnel must study the Reman bodies and the Mind Probe to figure out what is going on.

- Science: Science personnel may be instrumental in helping to track the Horizon while it is cloaked, develop countermeasures against the Horizon's Sensor tricks, and help Engineering and Ops to figure out the Psionic countermeasure.

 

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