Mission Title: The Last of the Monlicans
Synopsis: Perimeter listening outposts observe a large alien vessel approaching Federation space from Shelliak space, being chased by Shelliak destroyers. The alien ship is transmitting distress signals, and Starfleet decides they would like to intercept the alien vessel when it enters Federation territory and find out what is going on. The USS Yourship is sent to the task. Before the alien ship enters Federation space, they are able to be reached on subspace communication and explain themselves.
The Yourship learns that the aliens are Monlicans, the last survivors of the Monlican Assembly. 100 years ago, they fled their dying system and arranged to settle on a Shelliak-controlled planet in exchange for half of their yearly GDP. Unfortunately, poor crops and hard times brought them to the brink of starvation, and they could not make this year's payment. The Shelliak responded by committing planetary bombardment and complete genocide of the Monlican colony. This ship contains the last of the Monlicans, being pursued by the Shelliak who intend to finish them off. Tragically, the vessel's drive system breaks down a mere five-hundred-thousand kilometers from the Federation border. Now the Yourship must decide whether to render aid, or to watch as The Last of the Monlicans are wiped from the face of the galaxy.
Starting Point: When listening outposts observe an alien ship approaching the Federation border while being pursued by Shelliak Corporate destroyers, the USS Yourship is dispatched to intercept them and find out what is going on.
End Goal: The Yourship must either violate the Prime Directive, entering Shelliak space to save the Monlicans, or watch passively as a genocide is conducted just across the border.
Story points that must be passed?:
I) The Yourship is dispatched to intercept the fleeing alien vessel which is approaching Federation Space.
II) In order to arrive at the border in time to make this interception, the Engines will have to be pushed to their utmost limit, requiring that Engineering and Ops collaborate on ways to optimize engine output and shift power allocation to get the ship in place.
III) As the Yourship nears the border, they are able to reach the alien vessel on subspace radio and receive their tragic tale.
IV) The alien vessel breaks down a half-million kilometers away before they can cross the border, ensuring that the Shelliak will catch and obliterate them.
V) Members of the Yourship may attempt to help diagnose the engine trouble and provide remote tech support, but the Monlicans aboard the ship are not savvy enough to accurately describe their engine tech or to follow repair instructions.
VI) The Monlicans contact the Yourship and request permission to transmit files containing their cultural details, literary works, and scientific achievements so that something of them will survive the end of their race. But while the channel is open, Shelliak destroyers catch up to the Monlican ship, board her, and begin mutilating the Monlican crew on-screen in horrific fashion.
V) MORAL DILEMMA - Does the Yourship intervene to stop this massacre?
V-a) If so, the Yourship will be forced to do battle with Shelliak destroyers to save the Monlicans. The Yourship will then discover that the Monlican ship was actually a Shelliak vessel designed for deception, equipped with faked alien life-sign emitters aboard and advanced subspace masking technology. The subspace transmissions from the Monlicans were faked in order to lure the Federation into breaking their treaties with the Shelliak. This will allow the Shelliak a pretense to declare war and seize several desirable border systems, which the Federation are likely to permanently surrender to them in order to negotiate a new peace treaty.
V-b) If not, the Yourship must watch in horrified impotence as the most sinister genocide unfolds before their very eyes. However, the science officer will presently discover some inauthenticity in the faked Monlican transmissions, revealing the entire scenario to be a hoax designed to get the Federation to violate its treaty and provoke a war. For some, this will be an affirmation of the Prime Directive's non-interference policy. For others, they may wonder... what if this genocide had been real? They were about to stand by and watch it happen. What does that say about them?
Departments: (To make sure everyone has something to do.)
- Flight: In the event of there not being a battle, the Flight officer will only be used to pilot the ship to the border, and perhaps they will use their navigational skills to optimize travel time. If there is a battle, there will be fun space maneuvers.
- Engineering: The ship's engines will be pushed to the limit, requiring optimizations from Engineering and Operations. Both departments might also try to help the Monlicans by giving them remote advice on the repair of their own drive systems. In the event of a battle, Engineering will perform ever-important repairs.
- Operations: The ship's engines will be pushed to the limit, requiring optimizations from Engineering and Operations. Both departments might also try to help the Monlicans by giving them remote advice on the repair of their own drive systems. In the event of a battle, Operations will perform ever-important power transfers.
- Security and tactical: In the absence of a battle, Security and Tactical may perform simulated drills against Shelliak to prepare for a potential conflict. In the presence of a battle, Tactical will have lots of fun shooting to do, and Security might repel Shelliak borders who beam in during moments when the shields are interrupted.
- Medical: Medical staff may receive information about Monlican biology to prepare for potential treatment of casualties. (This may provide a second avenue of discovery that the Monlicans are a falsehood, if there are nonsense details of Monlican biology that do not seem correct on a deeper review.) In the event of a battle, Medical staff will treat injuries.
- Science: Science is the primary route whereby the Monlican transmissions may be ultimately discovered to be false, with subspace masking used to create false images that have minor imperfections that only an astute science officer may discover.
NOTE: This is a dramatic scenario with deep potential repercussions should the Captain choose to go the route of intervention to save the Monlicans. This route is obviously the most shoot-em-up fun for everyone. But it will probably result in the Captain being severely reprimanded by Starfleet.
Alternatively, the Non-intervention scenario lacks the shoot-em-up action, but provides a good opportunity for introspection by the crew. I would recommend this scenario to fill in a space where the characters are ready for deep thought and development. This is the kind of 'episode' that should leave participants haunted as they question their own beliefs and Starfleet philosophy in general.
