Where Angels Fear to Tread

Where Angels Fear to Tread is an adventure for new players of Last Unicorn Games’ Star Trek: The Next Generation. In this episode, the Crew of the Starship Twilight is sent on a routine planetary survey mission, when they discover something is rather odd going on with the indigenous population. Careful study of the Mal-Awk’s genome reveals more than simple genetic drift and natural evolution—somebody is deliberately resequencing their DNA. The Mal-Awk people are a pre-warp society, with a technological level of 3 on the Industrial Scale, somewhere in Earth’s Middle Ages, so the Prime Directive is in full effect.

Background

It is Stardate 49244.2, April, 2372, just prior to the onset of the Dominion War. The Crew are all recent graduates of Starfleet Academy, and having completed their Cadet Cruise, have been assigned to the U.S.S. Twilight, with the rank of ensign. At least one of the PC Crew is a medical doctor, doing his residency on board; at least one other has training in espionage as a field operative for Starfleet Intelligence. Both of these fields will be necessary during the mission to Kobheeria-B IV, called “Avem” by the Mal-Awk who call that world home.

Kobheeria is a binary star system with two type-A blue-white stars, orbiting each other. The Kobheeria, who hail from Kobheeria-A III, are a starfaring race. They are freely able to travel through Cardassian space with their merchant vessels, though they occasionally must submit to searches. Avem is the fourth world from the neighboring binary star, and has been declared “hands-off” by mutual agreement between the Federation, the Cardassian Union, and the Kobheerian people, until the native Mal-Awk people develop into a modern society with space-travel.

Starbase 129 -- On the Frontier LCARS 1.0 – The Crew report for duty.

The new Crew have traveled to Starbase 129, which is located on the border of Cardassian Space, about 22 lightyears from Deep Space 9. Four starships are docked here, at present: the Twilight, the Exeter, and two Cardassian freighters. They have traveled here either via the U.S.S. Exeter, or runabout from Earth. Either way, the PCs get to know each other during the trip, and while exploring Starbase 129. As a group, they report aboard to Lt. Cmdr. T’Lura, Twilight’s prim and proper Vulcan first officer. The Crew are assigned quarters aboard, and report to their duty stations, while '''Captain Jaryd Harker''' meets with Cmdr. Elias Kagan in the Station Commander’s office, being briefed on the general situation and the upcoming mission.

At 1400 hours, U.S.S. Twilight departs from the starbase and sets course for Avem, at Warp 6.  The trip will take approximately 38 days, going through 2 sectors of Cardassian Space (skirting the Union would take 79 days.)   Aboard are two Cardassians, Dr. Nelissa Grell, a physician, and Lony Sotek, a Xenoanthropologist, in guest quarters. The Detapa Council has agreed to allow this Federation science vessel to conduct a 6-month planetary survey of Avem and to travel through their territory, if these two civilian scientists are included. Naturally, Starfleet Command agreed to the mutual venture. Unknown to the Cardassians, Twilight is attached to Starfleet Intelligence (i.e. it really is a “Federation spy ship.”)  A secondary mission undertaken by the captain and senior officers is to surreptitiously make scans of the Cardassian fleet; the admiralty suspects that war is looming with the Dominion, and Uhura has information that Cardassian military personnel are arranging a secret alliance with them. During the 2.5 month journey, Twilight is stopped in space and searched four times by Keldon-Class warships and one Sardon-Class destroyer; the ship’s hidden compartments and cloaking device are never found. If you choose, you can role-play a scene where the PC Crew is relaxing while playing a game of poker, when the Cardassian squad walks in on them, searches the rooms with a tricorder, and leaves.

At least twice, have the PC SI agent report to the bridge, to conduct a Shipboard Systems (Sensors) Test, Challenging (10) to determine position and type of Cardassian fleet vessels.

LCARS 1.2 – Briefing for the Crew

12 hours from entering standard orbit of Avem, the Crew is called to the Briefing Room on Deck One. Present are Captain Jaryd Harker, First Officer T’Lura, and Tactical Officer Thavgaren Ch’Serth, an Andorian. The captain informs the PC’s all about Planet Avem, and the native Mal-Awk people, emphasizing their technological level, and that the Prime Directive is in full force. Under no circumstances should the Crew make direct contact with the natives, or to allow them to know there are worlds beyond their own, or such things as phasers, tricorders, or starships.

The Mal-Awk people are humanoid, greatly resembling young humans up to 20 years of age, but with large feathered wings growing from their shoulder blades; they can use these wings to fly. The Mal-Awks thus greatly resemble angels from Earth’s major religions.

The Mal-Awks also possess a high-degree of psionic ability, notably telepathy (both receiving and transmitting) and telekinesis (which is generally used for levitation, to assist each Mal-Awk to fly.)  A personal holographic belt device would enable the Crew to resemble native Mal-Awks, but, obviously they could not fly, and the illusion would only last as long as the sarium-krellide batteries, for two hours. In addition, these belts are only available in limited quantities, and are reserved for the anthropology staff, and Dr. Lony Sotek.

The Crew’s mission is simply to perform a standard geological survey, and a botanical survey, which requires gathering a number of plant and animal samples from the surface. They are to limit their activities to the southern continent, which a prior long-range survey by the U.S.S. Odyssey indicated was uninhabited, as of 6 years ago. The captain then leaves the Crew to decide the particulars of their mission.

The initial surveys should take no more than 3 or 4 days. The PC’s can elect to beam down from orbit, however a shuttlecraft, or the Waverider Shuttle, are also at their disposal. The Crew has to decide what equipment they are taking with them on the survey mission; i.e., the doctor decides what drugs to pack in his medkit, the science officer decides how many sample cases are needed, etc.  This is besides tricorders and phasers (locked on a strong stun setting) for each Away Team member.

LCARS 1.3 – Away Team Preparations

Once in standard orbit, the Crew is free to use lateral sensors to gather more information on the world. A Nova-Class Starship has enhanced sensor suites, which make this task easier. (Add a +4 to each officer’s sensor Test.)  Each officer’s search for data is reflected in a Test that varies from person to person. To research planet Avem, the Crew must make a routine (4) Shipboard Systems (Sensors) Skill Test. If successful, hand the player Avem’s planetary template. Most importantly of all: Avem only has a technology level of 3, equivalent to the Middle Ages. With a moderate (6) Computer (Research) Skill Test, the crewman discovers the U.S.S. Odyssey’s planetary survey from 6 years ago, along with detailed information on the Mal-Awk species. (Hand the Mal-Awk species template to the players; this is all the information the Odyssey gathered by long-range sensors and Type-V planetary probes.)

With a Difficult (14) Shipboard Systems (Sensors) Test, the Crew will discover evidence that the Mal-Awk people have begun to explore the southern continent; play this down. The objective is for the Crew to eventually make contact with young Aaryn Windsdale, and learn that his psionic powers have grown far beyond what was reported in the records. With a nearly-impossible (15) Shipboard Systems (Sensors) Test, the officer will discover the other starship in orbit, hiding in the magnetic field above the North Pole. Otherwise, the crew notes this as a Sensor Ghost.

Local Space: Starbase 129 and the binary Star System Kobheeria are marked in yellow. The other vessel is a Cardassian Tyrek-Class Science Vessel, roughly the same size as the Twilight. The PC’s Ship outguns it, but just barely. Crew of 50, commanded by Gul Jonnet Novat, an infamous geneticist known to Starfleet Intelligence. Novat’s record is in the computer, but requires a Level-7 Security Clearance to access it. Either a senior officer with a rank of Lt. Cmdr., or an SI agent has this clearance. If read, the record makes clear that Novat is the one who’s been experimenting on the Mal-Awk people. Do not let the PCs know this yet, but drop hints, first that the native people have enhanced psionic powers, then that some outside force has altered a number of their population, then that this ship is hiding in orbit above the North Pole, and finally the name Novat. When he hears it, Captain Harker will react with barely-contained anger, that this war-criminal has been allowed to flaunt the Prime Directive and the agreement between the Cardassian government and the Federation, that the Mal-Awk people be allowed to develop naturally. If Sotek is revealed to be an Obsidian Order agent by then, Harker throws him in the brig. (Dr. Grell is just a civilian scientist.)

A Mal-Awk is a humanoid with feathered wings, enabling flight. They have powerful psionic abilities, including telepathy and telekinesis. Their culture is Medieval, their world equivalent to Earth circa 1212 AD, so the Prime Directive is in full force.

A Shipboard Systems (Sensors) Routine (3) Test, from orbit, detects the following: a scattering of stone castles with high towers, surrounded by primitive farming villages, all on the northern continent. Life signs are abundant, and the entire population of the planet is 15 million. The northern continent is mostly composed of high mountains, with the fertile valleys between them farmed. The southern continent is uncolonized and unexplored. The Odyssey’s old survey indicates that some local plants and herbs may have medicinal properties; this is the primary reason Twilight, a medical research planetary surveyor, was assigned this world. The PC doctor has been briefed on what plants to search for, and given instructions to gather as many samples of the local flora as possible. Research will then take place later, in the Ship’s science labs.

LCARS 2.0 – Away Team Beams Down / Flies Down in a Shuttlecraft

When the Away Team Crew beam down to Avem (or take a shuttle down to the surface) they find a totally alien world, with a crystal clear sky that varies from deep purple to aquamarine, and off-white clouds. The sun is obviously a brilliant blue, and there’s another bright dot in the sky, which is the Binary star, Kobheeria-A. They’ve materialized in a clearing surrounded by lush temperate forest, and the trees go on for hundreds of miles in all directions. There are some hills to the southwest, an outcropping of rock. Half a kilometer to the east is a cool lake. Animals, birds, and plants are abundant. It’s paradise.

The Crew Away Team begins taking scans with tricorders, gathering plant samples, and putting them into appropriate containers (these containers are equipped with a limited status field so the organic matter within them doesn’t decompose.)   If the Crew took a shuttle down, in the evening, the doctor begins preliminary tests with the equipment he has on hand. A moderate Life Sciences (Exobiology) (7) Test reveals that several of the samples show promising results to be converted into medicines. This world is a veritable gold mine to an apothecary!

The following morning, the Crew is awakened by a surprise they weren’t expecting: one of the Mal-Awk people has found them! This comes as a complete surprise, because according to all reports and scans, this continent was supposed to be uninhabited.

The alien is named Aaryn Windsdale (Knight, of Royal Blood) who has been outcast since he began displaying unaccounted powers (pyrokinesis and clairsentience.)  He greatly resembles the picture above, a youth with long brown hair flowing around his shoulders, lithe and lean, with a breastplate, bracers, pauldrons, and helm of gold over steel, a steel shield with a scarlet device, and he’s bearing a long spear with razor-sharp barbs on the end. In Aaryn’s hands, the spear and belt dagger are as deadly as a phaser. (If the Crew beams away, Aaryn’s clairsentience will give him visions of them on board a starship.  He will be able to describe the Twilight and her crew in painstaking detail.)

LCARS 2.1 – First Contact

In response from Aaryn’s challenge to stand and identify themselves, the Crew has one of several options:

1)     Stand and talk (which violates the captain’s orders AND the Prime Directive): In which the Crew will have to explain who they are and why they’re in the middle of nowhere; the shuttlecraft will take a lot more explaining, as Aaryn has never seen a house made of metal before.

2)     Fight (which will probably end up with Aaryn getting stunned unconscious.)

3)     Flee, which means running away by beaming back up to the Ship.  In which case, the crew will have to bring the shuttle back by remote, and Aaryn will know psionically where they went.

If the Crew chooses Option #1, they will in the course of discussion, learn a great deal, such as the fact that Aaryn has been aboard a spacecraft before. If the doctor begins to examine him, Aaryn will remark upon this, that the other alien in the sky did similar things to him with beeping boxes. This info will inevitably lead the Crew to learning about the other ship in orbit, and a Moderate (7) Shipboard Systems (Sensors) Test will result in the officers detecting ion trails and a warp signature they hadn’t earlier; the trail leads to an object orbiting over Avem’s North Pole. If the Crew chooses Option #2, they will be left with two choices: beam back to the Ship and leave Aaryn there, or beam back with him. If the Crew thinks to contact the Ship for instructions, the captain gives them orders to keep Aaryn unconscious and beam back with him, to later erase his memories. The captain will also suggest that the doctor take detailed scans of the native Mal-Awk with his tricorder, including DNA; this requires a Moderate (7) Personal Equipment (Medical Tricorder) Test. If the Crew doesn’t think of this, have Captain Harker call down for a status report. If the Crew chooses Option #3, then Aaryn will be left with a mystery on his hands. He will eventually (after a day or two) suddenly appear on the Twilight bridge with a friend, Eriaris Blackwing, who has the psionic ability to teleport himself and two others, anywhere within 10,000 kilometers. In any case, the jig is now up.

The captain, in the natural course of diplomacy, talks their Mal-Awk guests into an examination in sickbay. A detailed scan requiring a Difficult (12) Shipboard Systems (Medical Systems) Test, reveals that the DNA of these aliens were deliberately altered by genetic resequencing, which by Federation law, is illegal in the extreme (not to mention the Prime Directive violation in whomever did this nefarious deed!)  If the PC doctor fails his Test, give him enough information to know that something very weird has occurred with these natives on a genetic level; the Ship’s CMO then performs the Test and discovers the genetic resequencing.

In the course of conversation, probably in the Ship’s VIP lounge (all white simulated leather furniture with a spectacular view of the stars and Planet Avem through the transparent aluminum windows) the Crew learns that the “altered” Mal-Awks know about starships and other cultures from other worlds, because they’ve been aboard a starship before. A moderate (6) Diplomacy Test reveals the names “Parm” (name of a Cardassian science vessel) and “Gul Novak” come up in the conversation. With this information, if one of the PC’s thinks to look up these names in the computer, it will respond “That file is classified Level 7.”  If one of the PC’s happens to be a SI agent, he has this clearance; otherwise, the captain or other senior officer can access it.

Now is the time the Crew uses the ship’s sensors, and detects the ion trail in space, which leads to something in orbit, hovering over the North Pole.

The Crew can either choose to interrogate their “civilian” Cardassian guests themselves, by asking them via ship’s comm to report to the VIP Observation Lounge on Deck 1, or, immediately report their findings to the captain.

If Harker is informed at this point, jump to 3.0 Red Alert. If they choose to question the Cardassians themselves, a Difficult (9) Diplomacy Test will reveal that Sotek is definitely hiding something. The Crew’s Mal-Awk guests will immediately recognize Cardassians, although these are not the same Cardassians they met before. Dr. Grell is completely innocent; either a Personal Equipment (Tricorder) Test (7), or a Telepathy Test (6) will reveal this, and confirm that Sotek is lying; he knows all about Novak and the Parm, and the genetic resequencing. LCARS 3.0 – Red Alert 

When the Crew reports this information to Captain Harker, he calls security to escort their “guest” Sotek to the brig, and orders Lt. Cmdrs. T’Lura and ch’Serth to interrogate him. Have the Crew report to\ their battle stations; give them appropriate positions on the bridge. As the Ship’s senior Tactical Officer is busy down on Deck 3 in the Security Corridor, one of the PC’s can take Tactical. Another should take the Conn, and still a third can take Ops. The PC doctor’s normal battle station is in sickbay, but, for this instance, make up some excuse to have him here. The Captain orders Red Alert (this automatically raises the Ship’s shields.)

A Moderate (5) Shipboard Systems (Conn) Test will alter the Twilight’s orbit, so that it is now approaching the North Pole. A Routine (5) Shipboard Systems (Sensors or Tactical) Test reveals that the Parm has just left orbit. Putting the other vessel on the main viewscreen, Captain Harker comments, ''“It seems our sensor ‘ghost’ has materialized. Load Torpedo tubes 1 and 2, and lock phasers on target—but wait for my order to fire. Conn, lay in an intercept course, full impulse.”  ''(This requires coordination between Conn, Ops, and Tactical to follow these orders and the ones to follow.

Harker will of course open hailing frequencies and order the other vessel to stand and explain themselves. The Parm is in neutral space, and has violated the agreement between the Federation and the Cardassian Union regarding Planet Avem. The Cardassian science vessel’s response is to fire a spread of photon torpedoes through her rear tube, directly at Twilight.

Role play the combat out. The Parm has opened fire on Twilight, so the PC Crew is cleared to enter combat. There are several exchanges of fire; most likely Twilight will sustain damage to her shields, and at worst, light damage to her lower decks and warp nacelles; at which point, the Parm jumps to warp to escape.

Combat: If you are using miniature starships and a battle mat, each hex is representative of 10,000 km.  A move at full impulse is six hexes, with a single turn to one side of a hex counting as one. The phasers at normal power deal 12 points of damage; if overpowered, they can deal a maximum of 20 points damage for 22 points of power. Type-VI photon torpedoes deal 21 points of damage, and the firing tubes cost 5 power points for each tube (there are two of them, for a total of 4 torpedoes and cost of 10 power points per firing.)  The warp core and impulse reactors deliver 120 Power Points every other Round. Emergency Power is available from the auxiliary fusion reactors: 20 more points every 4 rounds—usually this power is kept in reserve for shields. (There is also 120 more power points available in the Batteries—use this power wisely; battery power is a one-shot deal.  The batteries are an absolute last resort in case all reactors are damaged and off-line, for powering life support for 12 hours till repairs can be made.)  The Ops manager (PC player) has to play a balancing game with the power, ensuring sufficient power is available for phasers, torpedo tubes, shields, impulse engines, and life support. The Ops manager therefore has to stretch 120 power units out for the two rounds. The Tactical officer has to keep the total energy available in mind, as well as the PC manning the Conn. If the Tactical officer fires phasers at half power, that frees up 6 power units per shot to be used elsewhere. If Tactical overpowers the phasers (costing 22 power points per shot) that means the impulse engines are strained, and probably the Conn has less than six hexes of movement per Round. If the Crew coordinates with each other while role-playing the combat, give them an extra 2 points at the end of the episode adventure.

LCARS 3.1 – Secure from General Quarters

The captain orders damage control teams to all decks, and tells the bridge crew (PCs) “''Well done. We may not have captured the perpetrators, but at least we scared them off.''”

Captain Harker leaves command of the bridge (the conn) to one of the PC’s, and retires to his Ready Room to make a report to Starfleet Command; he needs a secure channel with the transmission scrambled (this requires the Ops or Tactical officer to make a successful Shipboard Systems (Communications) Test at Difficult Rating of 12.)  Two officers can run a combined Test should this task prove too difficult. Routing the call to Starfleet to the captain’s desk in his Ready Room, across the corridor, is a Routine (3) Communications Test.

The narrator/Gamemaster must now roll to see what ship systems were damaged (if you haven’t done so already.)  The Ops PC player, along with the duty officer the captain left in command, must coordinate with engineering to make these needed repairs. Ops, Tactical, and Conn can roll a combined Engineering (Repair) Test at Difficult (13) to make needed repairs.

The doctor will have to report to sickbay at this time, to deal with 1d6+4 wounded crewmembers. The Ship only has two regular doctors aboard; the EMH is only activated in the very rare event one of them is killed or seriously wounded.

See if the PC in command thinks to return to Avem’s orbit on his own (if so, he gets an extra 1 point for command.)  The Conn officer must plot a course to bring Twilight back into a standard orbit, normally a Routine (3) Shipboard Systems (Conn) Test, unless the impulse engines were damaged during the fighting, in which case it becomes a Moderate (6-8) Test.

LCARS 4.0 – Conclusion of the Adventure

The Crew must decide what should be done to repair the damage to this culture at this point, or even if they should. (The captain informs them, informally, “You didn’t hear this from me, but Starfleet Command has an unwritten policy of backing the decisions of their captains in difficult situations like this, provided they did not commit some serious faux, like violating the Prime Directive.  Since we’re not the ones at fault, there’s no need to inform them of our little accidental contact with Mal-Awks, and if we do, it is easily explained away.”

 

Option #1 is to have the ship’s CMO erase Aaryn’s memory of being aboard the Twilight. This would be a nearly-impossible Sciences (Medicine or Surgery) (15) Test, which for Dr. Trask or Captain Harker, is merely a Difficult (12) Test, or a Moderate (7) Test for the EMH.

Option #2 is to make peace with the Mal-Awks, and inform them that they are placing half a dozen probes in orbit of Avem, which will immediately alert Starfleet if any other ship ever enters orbit again.

Option #3, is to have the PC Crew beam down with Aaryn to his king, and explain to the local government (a medieval society) what the Cardassians did to these honorable people. It is not witchcraft, nor is it a curse—they were changed by illegal means, and if caught, the ones who did this to them will surely be punished. This will require a combined Challenging Diplomacy (11) Test to get the local government to see reason. Remember that this is a primitive culture with very strong religious ideas and superstitions. Aaryn Windsdale and others who have displayed unusual powers, have been banished from the kingdom, never to return. If the Crew interferes more than this, merely explaining what happened, that strange creatures from beyond the stars did this to these innocent persons, then that would be a clear violation of the Prime Directive. Indeed, merely going so far as to explain to the local king what has happened, could be considered a violation. If the Crew does not think of these things themselves, then suggest the options to them from a senior officer, most likely, the CMO, Dr. Maurine Trask. If attempted and successful, award the characters 1d6+2 points for diplomacy.

The remainder of the six-month mission to Avem goes without incident. The doctor and one other PC officer can work in one of the Ship’s science labs. A Difficult (12) Medical Science (Pharmacology) or Shipboard Systems (Sickbay Systems) result will find 1d6 +1 cures to diseases from the local plant life, resulting in as many points (1d6+1) awarded to the doctor and whomever helped him.

If the Crew worked in concert during the Combat, award them 2 Points each.

If the Crew succeeded in establishing friendly relations with the local government (perhaps by explaining away the Federation as a people from a “distant island”) award them an extra 2 points each.

If the PC Crew only performed adequately, award them 1 Point each for every situation they successfully completed. (+3 Points)

If the PC Crew did exceptionally well, award each of them 5 points, and 1 Courage Point Each.

Our little science vessel, Twilight

The following are handouts to give to the Player Character Crew when appropriate:

[Alert]: DNA shows evidence of Genetic Resequencing

The above Planetary Template is to be given to the characters, upon the Twilight achieving standard orbit, and at least one of them passing a Shipboard Systems (Sensors) Test.

Additional Information: this world is home to a pre-warp society (Tech Level 3); the Prime Directive is in Full Force. '''All Away Teams are only to beam down at captain’s discretion, and if so, the Crew is to avoid any and all contact with the native population (Mal-Awks.)'''

The northern continent is mostly mountainous, with the fertile valleys between them well watered and used for agriculture. Sensors indicate a number of medieval castles dotting the landscape, with forested lands that have not yet been cleared for farming in outlying areas. The southern continent is uninhabited, and is mostly covered by temperate forests, with wild animals in abundance.

Planetary Survey B2-B5 5233 (U.S.S. Odyssey) indicates that numerous plant life may be suitable for medical experimentation; it is recommended that a planetary survey vessel return to this world to research the flora adequately.

The Mal-Awk people are basically a humanoid looking species, good looking, with large, feathered wings sprouting from the shoulder blades; the Mal-Awks use these wings to fly. They also possess powerful psionic abilities, including telepathy (both receiving and transmission) and telekinesis (which is usually used for levitation, to assist in flight.)  The World of Avem has a gravity slightly less than Earth-normal, but even so, flight would be impossible without some form of psionic assistance.

The above classified file is to be given to the PC who has training as a Starfleet Intelligence agent, and who has an initial Security Clearance Level of 7. The PC agent could choose to reveal part or all of the file’s information with his crewmates, but must make clear the information is classified. Normally, the rank of Lieutenant Commander is required to view this file, because it was felt that an experienced command officer stands the best chance of apprehending this individual.

Your Captain: Jaryd Harker, M.D.  (Roleplayed by Lawrence Cohen since 1991—he started out as a Vulcan doctor named Salen, but I couldn’t play a non-emotional Vulcan.)  Joe Sanchez (the real creator of Star Trek: The Next Generation Roleplaying Game, before he sold all rights to Last Unicorn Games) was my original narrator/gamemaster. Later on, Tony Mendez was my GM, and had my character Dr. Harker “kicked upstairs” to the center seat of a refit Nova Class starship named Twilight. (“You’re one of the original game testers?  Fine.  You have more Trek gaming experience than anyone else here.  You’re the captain.”)   Note: Courage pts, Renown, and Sworn Enemy (Tal Shiar, Sela) all jumped after the episode “Emerald Shadows.”

We had fun.  Refit with a Federation Cloaking Device and ordered to deliver the cure to a biogenic weapon tailored to the Romulan Royal Family by Sela—(you’re not technically violating the Prime Directive, Captain, because the Head of the Romulan Government is requesting our aid) we nearly got our little science vessel shot out from under us. '“Engineering: this is the Captain. We have three D’deridex Class warbirds shooting at us. I could care less if the cloak overloads our warp core. Push the damn button!”'   Needless to say, the Interphasing Cloak did not overload the warp core; however, by the end of the mission, Sela’s Tal Shiar had found a way to see right through it. To role play this episode, see “Emerald Shadows” on this website.

Command and control of Primary Systems are located here, on the Ship’s Bridge. There is command seating for the captain and first officer; the Conn which controls the Ship’s course, navigation, and speed; Tactical, which controls the vessel’s combat shields, 11 phaser arrays, 2 forward torpedo tubes, tactical sensors, and also communications; Ops, which control power allocation and allocation of the Ship’s resources, such as which departments use which sensor arrays, communications, and sensors. At the rear of the Bridge are consoles for Engineering, Science (which have priority sensor input), Environment (ship’s atmosphere, temperature, humidity, and gravity), and finally, an auxiliary console that is usually used by a visiting scientist during research missions. All of these consoles are software driven, which means at a command and access code to the Main Computer, any station can be reconfigured to control any system on the Ship.

The Starboard doors lead to the Turbolift (there are 8 Decks), while the Port doors open to Deck One, where are located the captain’s Ready Room, the Officer’s Conference Lounge, two senior officer’s quarters, the posh VIP quarters, a VIP Observation Lounge, Deck One emergency life support, and two small science labs (a general science lab, and a small astrometrics lab.)  All of these facilities are available to the PC Crew (and in fact, the two senior officer’s quarters on this deck might well be assigned to two of them.)  The captain’s and first officer’s quarters are much larger than any others aboard, and are located on fore Deck 2, port and starboard of the Mess Hall.

Main Engineering houses the Ship’s Matter/Anti-matter Warp Core, which generates most of the vessel’s power. Control panels manage all systems aboard, and divert power where necessary. Located here are entrances to the Ship’s Jefferies Tubes, which access most vital systems and allow repairs and routine maintenance to be made. In an emergency, Main Engineering can also serve as an auxiliary bridge, although on Twilight, there is a dedicated Auxiliary Control Room located on Deck 3.

Also located on Deck 7 is the Main Astrometrics Lab, which can comfortably accommodate 9 officers and crew, and a Visiting Scientist Conference Lounge, complete with a desk and computer terminal, a large conference table, food replicators, and large, transparent aluminum windows for viewing the stars.

The Twilight has 14 science labs, which include specialized laboratories: 3 General Science Labs,

2 Medical Labs, 2 Astrometrics/Stellar Cartography Labs, 1 Xenobiology/Genetics Lab, 1 High Energy Physics Lab, 1 Engineering Lab, 1 Botany/Arboretum, 1 Planetary Studies/Geology/Atmospherics, and

2 Classified Starfleet Intelligence Labs, for examining captured alien technology.

·        The Xenobiology/Genetics lab is separated from the rest of the ship by two internal airlocks, and in case of accidental release of viral agents or biogenic weapons, the entire lab can be vented to space. (If there is a known biogenic weapon aboard, the Ship is at Yellow Alert.)

·         The 2 Classified SI labs are totally secured; it requires a Level-9 Clearance just to enter this lab, which requires the captain or first officer to order the computer to allow a PC to enter these labs.

·         The High Energy Physics lab is for potentially dangerous experiments, and there are dedicated localized Level-10 containment force fields in place around this laboratory.

·         The Planetary Studies Lab is for working on planetary surveys, including detailed analysis of the geology and atmosphere of a world.

·         The General Science labs can be configured for analysis and running most experiments, from chemistry to physics to biology, and of course medicine. Science Lab 1 on Deck 3 also has a full medical biobed.

·         Med-Labs 1 and 2 are connected to Sickbay, and are used for analyzing and curing patients.

·         There are also available 2 holosuites (6x8 meters) on Deck 4.

    

Author’s Notes

The names are not “made up.”  “Avem” is Latin for “bird.”  “Mal-Awk” is Hebrew for “angel” or “messenger.”

“Kobheeria” is a binary star recorded in “Star Charts: The Complete Atlas of Star Trek” by Geoffrey Mandel

Where Angels Fear to Tread                 Author: Lawrence Jeffrey Cohen

                                                  Star Trek: The Next Generation Role Playing Game   originally created by: Jose Sanchez*

Line Developer: Ross A. Isaacs

Last Unicorn Games Web Developer: Don Martin

Star Trek™ ® & © 2017 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved. STAR TREK and Related Marks are Trademarks of Paramount Pictures Corp. Last Unicorn Games, Inc. Authorized User.

©2017 Last Unicorn Games

* My friend, Jose Sanchez, originally developed this Star Trek: The Next Generation Role Playing Game  and the Icon Game system, and we his close friends, game-tested it in his basement in the early 1990’s, all sworn to secrecy. Joe eventually sold it to the people who became Last Unicorn Games; I am mentioning this because Joe never received proper credit for it.

We were the Crew of the U.S.S El Dorado, a Galaxy-Class Starship; I played the Chief Medical Officer, Ricky was Chief Engineer, Ian was Ops Manager, and Joe roleplayed the captain, as well as being narrator/gamemaster. My medical officer eventually became Captain Jaryd Harker, captain of U.S.S. Twilight.