Captain’s log: Captain Toron Pax
Stardate: 73039.53
Season 3, Episode 1 “Into the Targ Pit”
The Potemkin was routed to Starbase 364 on the edge of the Shackleton expanse to aid in bringing the station back to full operational status. We arrived to find the station’s new commander; Rear Admiral Jeffery Harrison ordered me to send an away team over to deal with an out-of-control Targ farm. He dropped hints that he did not approve of the way I ran my ship. Regardless, I ordered my senior officers to get their gear together and head on down to the station to fix some of the systems that were preventing the station’s crew from just beaming the Targ out and into containment.
Pax could only watch and listen as his away team gained access to the massive level. First sending down a drone through the central access shaft to access the ground level they discovered that there were a good five hundred individual Targ, many more than had been left and all living in the overgrown crops left behind. Overall, it presented as a creepy indoor Targ infested forest.
With Security Chief Scott leading the way the team descends the shaft, coming out through an access door adjacent to the control room door. With little effort he unlocks the door, but it opens with a squeal as the motors chew up plant matter caught in the door mechanisms after years of not being used. The high-pitched noise draws the attention of nearby Targ, so they hurry inside, only to discover that the door is stuck open.
Doctor Artopolis knows of a compound that he can use that could destroy the embedded plant matter that will free the door to close. Otherwise, it could take hours to take the door apart, clean it out and put it back together again. The control room is home to a small lab, this was after all, a farm. While the door is guarded Alex makes the substance and in time applies it to the door. Thankfully, it works, the door closes.
Now that they are safe, they turn their attention to turning the systems back online, after a few moments of convincing the computers to switch to Federation standard they are able to bring several systems back to their functioning state… except they start to feel faint, a little lightheaded. Checking the life support Chief Elli-Navine discovers that the air vents had been one of those systems they were unable to bring back online. At least those inside the control room, the easiest solution is to crack a door open a little.
Luckily for the away team, the lab also contained programmable solutions which can be configured into an anaesthetic that they could them release into the external spaces to knock the Targ out. But they need a read on just how many Targ there are, so sensors are next, Elli sounds frustrated as she reports that the sensors are of Klingon construct! While more sensitive than the Federation version, at least in this environment they are also very reliant on each node working together, should one node fail the whole network fails. And would not you guess it, a node is not working.
Not wanting to risk the others Scott and Executive Officer Hedley head on out to fix the node, under strict instructions from Elli and using a countermeasure that should repel the Targ. While not far it was a bit of a trek due to the overgrown crops. It was an easy fix, one of the lenses was out of alignment and damaged, replacing the lens and then aligning it took mere minutes. However, as is always the way the reactivated sensor node was just powerful enough in proximity that it jammed their tricorders, and thus the countermeasure. Before they had taken a dozen steps a large female blocked their path. As it charged, and under the direction of my XO Chief Scott fired, the aim was perfect, and the big female fell sliding to a stop just meters from the pair. They waste no time in beating feet back to the others only to be confronted by a massive albino Targ. it stood on all fours taller than either man, somehow had the expression of an angry Klingon!
After a tense engagement, in which both Scott and Hedley were injured they managed to bring the beast down, stunning it!
With the sensors repaired and the programming aligned, Elli scans the compartment, 512 Targ, most having been knocked out in an earlier attempt, but 30 remained, and all of them were now within meters of their position. Time for the anaesthetic, the problem, well that would be ‘more’ plant matter blocking the nearest vents. This one was easy to deal with though, send the drone up to clear the vents to allow the anaesthetic to be released.
End Log
Captain’s log: Supplemental
The away team is back aboard the Potemkin, I have made it clear that any further missions my crew undertake for the Admiral will be planned by my people. One security officer on a mission such as that was bad planning. As a result, the Potemkin will be pushing up the start date of their primary mission by a month. We will enter the Expanse proper by the end of the week.
End log