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USS Darwin: Episodes, Characters, and FAQL
USS Darwin Episodes
The initials after some of the episodes refer to the episode GMs. The most common are Jules (JM), Richard (RR), Michael Collins (MC) and myself (IKM). The others are David (DB), Lorna (LD), and Michael (MH).
Season One
Played by a handful of us - sometimes only player and GM - using the FASA rules..Old Soldiers Never Die
When an old battleship is stolen from Memory Alpha, the heroes, then in the USS Mahatma Gandhi, are assigned an investigation that involves the criminal backwaters of the federation, computer hacking, and several photon torpedoes fired in anger.The Prisoners
In a tribute to another cult TV program, mysterious powers kidnap two heroes and place them in a village controlled by "Number Two" Captain Mirova . .Board of Enquiry
A difficult rescue is forgotten as a new Engineer pushes the Gandhi's engines too far. He, and Mirova, are court-martialled and the heroes are given the scientific scout ship the USS Darwin.Fair Trial
In orbit round a federation world, the Darwin is approached by a stranger in a stolen shuttlecraft requesting political asylum.Nobody is Perfect
A mysterious powerful race harasses the Darwin and then makes contact with it. The contact party goes to the new race's homeworld and finds a hypnotised slave workforce. The beings turn out to be renegade Organians, and the villians from "Prisoners".Here be Dragons
The landing party are awaiting transport back to the Darwin and staying with settlers who know Lt Solrac. They investigate a powerful native life-form that is terrorizing the settlers and threatening relations with the aborigonal intelligent life, and arrest Haricourt Fenton Mudd.The Temple of Descisions
A team is sent on a mission to open relations with a planet of displaced Aztecs in the neutral zone. They find all the problems of 20th Century Latin America.The Kuve
Investigating the dissapearance of a Vulcan ship, the crew discover a race held in slavery by the Klingons, and a listening post that has breached federation security. Sert is injured . .Recalled to Life part I
T'engwar receives a telepathic distress signal from his long lost father, which leads the Darwin to a mental institution on a disused space-station, where the inmates have taken over and his father is languishing.Recalled to Life part II
Trapped in a mind meld with his father, T'engwar comes face to face with memories of civil war on the Eltanin colony of New Horizon thirty years ago.Life and Death
The Darwin races against time and Klingons to understand how to help the alien survivors of a wartime minefield. Against the background of Sert's death, the aliens turn out to be remnants of an people believed extinct long ago.Season Two
Starfleet Academy - ULU Sector was born in part to give us somewhere to play the game in this season. From here on, seasons began and ended with an academic year.The Nature of Knowing
Dr Orengo, a Darwin scientist that happens to be a mysterious crystalline entity disappears into the ships computer in an explosion and is presumed dead. Its own kind turn up and threaten force if the Darwin does not extradite it for sharing scientific secrets.Genetics
The Darwin stops at Dorida for research to take place, but the crew become engaged in the search for a serial killer. The killer turns out to be an unfortunate genetic construct, who develops a sense of right and wrong and as a results requests his own destruction.Deeper into Black
A diplomatic team is forced to engage in the unusual rites of passage of an alien culture. They suddenly find themselves having to race against the clock as the aliens wrongly accuse the diplomat, and Cap Mirova wrongly accuses Ensign Devliol, of the theft of a spiritual artifact.Return to New Horizon
The Darwin takes a diplomatic mission to Eltanin. The civil war that wrecked New Horizon is meant to be over, but extremists from the larger side attack the Darwin. The UFP diplomat turns out to be a rebel agent. She seizes the Darwin and uses it to attack the city. Captain Stormike retakes the ship with Klingon help. The Klingons try, but fail, to double-cross the crew.Mudd in Your Eye
Haricourt Fenton Mudd turns up, fleeing the treaty zone and pursued by Klingons. The Darwin defeats the Klingon ship easily. Mudd has a gem, that the Klingons claim he stolen, embedded in his chest. It gives him enhanced powers, that he uses to control the Darwin. Captain Fife is incapacitated by a booby-trapped computer. T'engwar tries to use the captured Klingons against him, and gets overpowered and court-martialled. Ensign Devliol works out a scheme to shatter the gem and retake the ship.Cats
The dark Organians, under their guise as "Number One" (see "The Prisoners" and "Nobody is Perfect"), transfer a group of Darwin personnel to another dimension while they are transporting. They find themselves in a world where magic is real and women hold the positions of power. They have to solve a mystery before "Number One" transports them back.The Morpheus Incident
Starfleet sends the heroes into Klingon space to recover an experimental vessel, the "Morpheus". The heroes hire an Orion ship and are quickly found by the Morpheus. The race who built part of the Morpheus' circuitry are jamming it. Contact is made. Starfleet then spends a week wiping everybody's mind.Morusha
A female intruder confronts Captain Fife in his quarters and threatens his life. She has a telepathic self-defence mechanism which forces crewmembers who attempt to rescue Fife to face their worst fears:- Devliol's childhood beatings and Barnes' exam nerves. She is satisfied when Fife relives the accidental killing, by Fife, of Morusha's father two decades earlier.The Fortune Teller
A future Solrac is discovered floating in space in a fluctuating warp field. The field is a non-intelligent life-form that attacks the Darwin, takes over Barnes and is eventually sent back to its home dimension. The future Solrac is placed in suspended animation until the present Solrac is sent back in time.Planet of Devils
A monastic colony reports harrassment by devils from Terran and Tellarite mythology. Anaway team discovers a malfunctioning defence system designed to protect an ancient hibernating race related to the Iconians. Devliol is nearly killed in is first assignment as a qualified security officer, trying to bypass the defences. The hibernators are woken, and positive diplomatic relations are established.Backwater
Whilst the Darwin attends a medical emergency, Mutella leads a warp shuttle to an SOS from a Klingon-setttled planet in the treaty zone. Orions, hoping to supplant the colonists, secretly plan to help the native intelligent life to attack the few remaining Klingons. The Klingons leave, but the Orions are prevented from profiting.Season Three
The best season, IMHO.Imbalance of Nature
Stardate 8402.2 (IKM)The Darwin investigates the disappearance of an unmanned UFP base on the planet Azheril and discovers a base of the dark Organians. It becomes clear that the plant-like life form that covers Azheril is dying, and that this will compromise the structural integrity of Azheril enough for it to be torn apart by the close approach of two other planets. The dark Organians are forced to flee and some of Azheril is saved but some debris is set to collide with Aleriad. This adventure begins the "Denial of Destiny" story arc.
Mathematics of Mercy part I
Stardate 8409.3 (AP Hooper)With a asteroid storm that would obliterate the primitive Alerian civizalisation imminent, Starfleet puts the Darwin in command of a fleet of ships and permits it to break certain parts of the prime directive in order to save as many Alerian inhabitants as possible. Expecting an impossible choice of who to save, Alerian society turns out to be factionalised and religously intolerant. The "Kembali" Alerians hold a banquet for the Darwin's crew, at which the Darwin shows a hologram of the catastrophe. The Alerians react by referring to a "Time of Testing" that it would be sacreligous to evade.
Mathematics of Mercy part II
(AP Hooper)Relations with the "Kembali" Alerians degenerate badly, to the point where the Darwin away team are practically being held prisoner. The Darwin hears of a group of Alerians whose religon allows them to be rescued, and the away team survive attacks by another faction in order to reach them. Caverns are created to house other rescuees, and as many of the asteroids are deflected as possible.
The Journey
Stardate 8460.1 (AP Hooper)After the bombardment of Aleriad is over, it becomes obvious that Aleriad is no longer "Class M". The rescued Alerians drop into a contemplative trance. Some of them, under the leadership of an Orion agent disguised as an Alerian, stage a revolt, and use their psychic powers to overpower the crew and take over the Darwin. A core of officers regain control of the central computer and hence control of the Darwin. The Alerian leader reasserts control and the fleet reaches Starbase 12 without incident. Captain Fife is promoted to Commandant, and Masaryk is promoted to LtCmdr and full Engineering Chief. Solrac, who was in command when the ship was taken, loses his first officer position, but stays as communications officer.
The Accused
Stardate 8573.9 (JM)The Darwin, now led by Captain Steven Bandu, attends the celebrations on the planet Pegasus II of 20 years in the UFP. Patrick Garrett is acting F.O. Someone uses a laser to communicate a plea for help to the Darwin - he claims he has been hounded by Pegasus security. Research shows that the man is wanted for numerous violent vigilante crimes. A Darwin away team succeeds in finding him. Garret is transported back with him after "arresting" him under a different name. when surrounded by Pegasus security. Pace is not so lucky, he is captured. Psychotricorder scans show that he was hypnotised into committing vigilante acts of which he has no memory. Circumstantial evidence implicates the government, but cannot be corroborated. Pace is freed by the UFP consul, who extends him diplomatic immunity.
Family Values
Stardate 8605.8 (IKM)An accident occurs in the Intelligent Botanic Linguistics laboratory as new first officer Lt Cmdr Gl'inn joins by shuttlecraft. A plant has filled the air with irritant particles as its natural defense mechanism was - somehow - triggered. A shipwide search for Barnes' dog, which left the lab shortly after the accident, proves to be red herring, as the DNA in the irritants is matched to shapeshifting Ensign Devliol. Visiting scientist Luke van Derkayman transports out onto an industrial plant on the small planet that the Darwin is orbiting, followed by Devliol, who has disguised himself as another security Ensign. Solrac discovers that van Derkayman was Devliol's foster brother and killed her fiance just before the wedding on the planet Vulcan. Devliol is shot by a security guard, relapses into a green Orion unable to survive in a vacuum, and asphyxiates.
Ship Shape
Stardate 8834.6 (Charles G Weekes)Gli'nn: I didn't want to make this a direct order. Make chocolate butternut doughnuts. It is for the good of the ship.
The Darwin is scheduled for an inspection by Commodore Dooley, who is known for strictness and has just failed six out of six ships. In a desparate attempt to avoid losing their shore leave they succeed in discovering Dooley's secret love (Chocolate butter-nut doughnuts with Irish coffee) and making him some. He fails Gl'inn, Solrak and Bandu, but passes the ship as a whole.
Somebody Else's Conflict
Stardate 8845.2 (IKM)Klingon bird-of-prey N'choma engages the Darwin and gives chase at Warp speed. Captain Bandu recognises Garagh'er as a Klingon he rescued on New Horizon. It succeeds in intercepting and, despite heroic efforts, crippling the Darwin causing 10 deaths (including Roxun) and five permament disablements (including Groom). Captain Bandu surrenders himself. Garagh'er explains that she defeated Bandu to recover her personal honour and, bound by family traditions, gave Bandu a Bat'leh as a token of him saving her from the even greater dishonour of being captive, then returned him to the Darwin.
A Doomsday Like any Other part I
(JM, FASA published adventure)The Darwin is hailed by a merchant vessel pleading for help. The captain claims he is being chased by a giant ship that destroys all in it's path. The Darwin discovers what is chasing him. Quickly cross-referencing files allows the giant ship to be recognised as a Doomsday device which was encountered by the USS Enterprise. The Darwin scientists quickly get to work on studying it. The composition of the hide prevents direct analysis. Alison Tang and the life sciences dept get to work on understanding the algorithm which makes it "tick". The Darwin then discovers Romulans in the area.
The device is heading for a planet nearby. Cpt Bandu tries to re-enact the original conditions which Kirk used to destroy the first one. After bargaining with the goverment of the planet (a planet of traders and businessmen) for a ship with sufficient warp capability, a team of engineers set it to warp-core breach in the mouth of the Device. It fails.
A Doomsday Like Any Other part II
(JM, FASA published adventure)The trader captain hails The Darwin. He says he has the control box to the doomsday machine but he can't work it so he's willing to give it to us... for the right price, of course. A small team from the darwin beam aboard his vessel including Gl'inn, Garrett, Pace and de Corentin, the new M.O. on beaming to the ship the are confronted by Romulans.
The trader captain of the merchant vessel explains how he found the Doomsday device dormant with a small lump of the same material as it orbiting it. he captured the orbiting element which he claims is a control box because after he took it, the Doomsday Ship became active and followed him. He explains that he can't operate it and so will sell to the highest bidder. After striking a deal with the Romulans to be allowed to see the interior of the device TOGETHER, Cpt Bandu, Pace, Garrett, de Corentin Solrac and a small security contingent went aboard the ship.
Pace and Garrett slipped away from the main group and linked tricorders with the device. They hoped to learn the language of the device and program it. 3 romulan warbirds uncloaked by the Darwin. The Romulan threatened the trader to sell them the device at the price of his life. Pace and Garrett kept Bandu informed as to thier progress. The Romulan noticed they were missing. Bandu called a senior officers meeting to buy some time. Pace and Garrett announced they had done it but they needed to leave a tricorder behind. Bandu and the Romulans agreed to leave, with the Romulans in control of the control device. De Corentin and Pace planted the tricorder.
As the self-destruct on the Doomsday device became obvious, the Romulan Captain uttered "Oh very well done, Captain!." The Darwin sped off at maximum warp.
Dark Reflections
(JM,IKM)There is a crossover between parralel universes in the warp-speed computing project similar to the one that afflicted the USS Enterprise in the ST:TOS episode Mirror, Mirror, and O'Brian and Kira in ST:DS9's 'Crossover'. This affects Pace, de Corentin and Bandu, amongst others, who struggle to outwit the evil versions of themselves and find a way to return to their own universe. The heroes succeed in surviving long enough for simple physics to throw them back into their own universe.
This is the episode where Pace survives being squashed by a quickly descending lift by shapeshifting, establishing his perhaps undeserved reputation for invulnerability, and confronts his evil half disguised as de Corentin.
Celeste Syndrome
(JM)Captain Bandu has been temporarily re-assigned by starfleet. The Darwin is in a planetary nebula after a supernova to take readings for the SNP project. as a result, Lt Cmdr Garrett is acting captain. While in his quarters, a female face appears on his viewscreen pleading for help. There are no logs of this happening, no intercepted messages at all. After finding the source of the distress signal An away team of volunteers beam aboard to find a ghost ship. The dead captain tries to get rid of the team and one security member dies. The tragic story of a bitter love triangle that ended in a ship dying unfolds. After some discussion on the appropriate action, the lovers were re-united peacfully in death and the crew are left with more questions to ask of the universe, the questions of life and death, and the power of love.
Time will Tell
(RR)The Darwin is approached by a small box-like thing with weird markings on it. It probes the object to ascertain it's function, but decides not to take the object on board the Darwin.
Part by part, the Darwin discovers that the Federation, and its rivals in the alpha quadrant, has been wiped out. Each starship showed the individual crewmen were disintegrated, but the starships themselves almost unharmed. This was ascertained when the ship downloaded the logs of a derelict ship.
The Crew then transfered to Dreadnought class ships and Garrett and Pace took a long disused Enterprise and downloaded the science files in order to reverse the effect. The Mahatma Gandhi, piloted by Solrac, attempted to contact the Organians.
A skeleton crew aboard the darwin attempted to use the box-like device to go back in time. This was succesful and they managed to prevent the war that had spread into the federation from escalating. The future was saved. As a result of the "Future" now not happening, the crew were returned to the Darwin in the present.
The Defector
(IKM)The ship is approached by a humanoid in a shuttle craft, claiming to be a Dark Organian who wishes to defect. The figure is mentally unstable, and unable to contain his own Organian powers. As a result the crew experience a variety of shared hallucinations. The figure is shuttled to a 'safe' space station by Pace.
The Real World
(JM)This is a crossover with Roger Zelazny's Amber novels. You have been warned. On a diplomatic mission to assess a scientists work for possible purchase by the federation, Gl'inn, Garrett, Pace and Bandu beamed down. The device was a room that created holographic illusion that felt "real" to the touch. The device was in it's early stages but was still impressive. The scientist left the room to control it from outside. Suddenly the away team found themselves in a forest that was not of the devices making. This was real. The team were hunted down and caught by what appeared to be bailiffs. The next day the team were taken to the capital city of wherever they were. There, after several wierd happenings, Some of the team started to wonder if they were in the same universe. Perhaps a place where magic and technology co-exist. While there, they caught a glimpse of de Corentin who had been missing for a long while. After cornering Tirion, Gl'inn and Garret began finding out where they were. Tirion just said: you wouldn't understand. Garrett then told de Corentin exactly what he did understand and Tirion realised that there was nothing more to hide. The crew learned that they were in a place where all universes met and strange energy biengs lived there. One had possessed Tirion when he died befor he joined the Darwin. De Corentin was returned unharmed and the crew sent back to the ship. But was de Corentin the same man they had known?
Parralels
(MC)[Information lacking]
In the side-effect to an obscure scientific project, the boundaries between parralel universes become weakened, and several alternate Darwins and several alternate histories collide. T'Engwar and T'Inawan join the Romulans to continue the search for T'Engwar's mother at the end of the episode.
Metagenics
(IKM,CYM)The Darwin hosts a meeting the exchange plans for a space station between the ritualised humanoid Federation member world "Darokan" and the bolus-shaped creatures that inhabit "Darokan Beta". A virus from Darokan Beta gets through the Darwin's screening and begins to mutate the crew. The virus proves resistant to the medical techniques of the Darwin, and most of the crew is put into suspension for the journey to a starbase. De Courantain considers using illegal metagenic technology, which could cure the virus, but could also become a terrible weapon of war if it slipped into the wrong hands. G'linn and De Corentin secretly come out of hibernation to apply the metagenic technology.
The crew proved unable to remember subsequent events, as part of the psychological disorientation of the following episode. But the metagenics evidently worked and remained covert.
The Day That I Die part I
(IKM)I am Lieutenant Commander Data of The USS Enterprise NCC 1701-D. The future of the Federation is in jeapordy.
Several of the crew start to experience strange alternate realities where they go back to events in thier past. The effect gets larger and larger. Suddenly the crew find themselves in a parallel universe living one of Bandu's experiences. The crew discover expanding spheres of different realities that threaten thier lives in each one. The crew get split up and in one reality Lt O'neil is Killed. Still the crew press on until they encounter another sphere. garret gets his right foot blown off by romulan disruptor fire! One half of the seperated crew discover the spheres are in a weapon of some sort and they dig outside of the weapons walls, trying to get to the centre to destroy it. Bandu, Pace and Garrett are met by a strange, Pale man with yellow eyes. He asks to speak to Bandu alone. He says: "I am Lt Cmdr Data of The USS Enterprise ncc 1701-D. The future of the Federation is in jeapordy."...
Season Four
Many thanks hereon to Chris for his writeups.The Day That I Die part II
(JM, IKM)The rest of the Captain's contingent meet Data who introduces himself as Matthew. Garret surmises that he is an android. Suddenly, Gl'inn and de Corentin arrive on the scene by phasering through the rock. Romulans come bursting through , disruptors blazing. Data catches Garrett who is immobilised by a wound. Garret converses with Matthew and surmises that he is from the future. Data tells Garrett that the Romulans are here because they want him dead. Data rigs the weapon to destruct and the crew find their way to the centre of the device. Due to the interference caused by the device the Darwin can beam only one person at a time! Romulans burst in, a firefight ensues. Bandu, last to beam out, is hit by a disruptor...and dies.
In the future, Data and Picard discuss what the implications of Garrett dying in the device would have been. The Darwin crew try to come to terms with thier losses and the significance of what happened. Garrett has a prosthetic foot fitted.
This episode establishes that Garrett is the father of Rachel Garrett, Captain of the Enterprise C.
Smokescreen
(RR)A new crew are assigned and Cpt Sorahl takes over as commanding officer. A 300 year old Space hulk is found by the Darwin. An Away team discover it to be full of hundreds of thousands of cryogenically frozen bodies. Back aboard the Darwin, controls are going off-line slowly. The ship is reduced to bare life support and emergency lighting and is taken over by Romulans. Dr Jenner and Cpt Sorahl free themselves and Lt Cmdr Garrett. Garrett hacks into the ship's computer. Jenner realises the Romulans are alone and there is no ship nearby to defend them. A security contingent help take the battle bridge back and secure it. The Captain then re-starts the computer. With no advantage the rest of the Romulans storm the battle bridge... and are cut down by a swathe of phaser fire. Garrett is hit in the arm. The crew now with the ship back but badly damaged, proceed to a starbase for repairs and to study the hulk.
Oedipus' Inferno
(JM)The Darwin is assigned to convey a team of social scientists from the O.G.W. (Organisation for Galactic Welfare) to the planet Banala III to convince the planets leaders to change their barbourous system of promotion to one based on a more meritous means. The planet is based on the rule that, if you kill someone then you gain the right to their job/possesions or whatever you covet. Loosely, there are no laws regarding killing save that it is considered not done to kill prone people like pregnant women etc... The O.G.W. are beamed down with a contingent from the Darwin as guests at a dinner. A Banalian Beaurocrat is murdered and her replacement is congratulated. The crew are disgusted. When a member of the O.G.W. is murdered by a Banalan that would like to join them to take their place, Captain Sorahl beams everyone back to the ship. Solrac and the head of the O.G.W. discuss thier next move. Sorahl arranges for the O.G.W. to return to the planet after he is convinced that there will be no more "misunderstandings". The talks continue without event and without success.
The Naked Day
Stardate 8854.1 (IKM)Cpt Sorahl conducts a review of the scientific projects, both Starfleet and civilian. Alison Tang tells Sorahl of a family of spacefaring, non-intelligent life-forms that will be intercepted by the Darwin and excuses herself from the review half way through. The Warp Speed Computing project creates a small fluctuation in space-time outside the ship with no apparent consequences other than creating a nice rainbow effect. Sorahl shuts off the project and Garret and Masaryk re-route the power surge to the phasers. Garret, Tang, Sorahl and Dr Raymond leave for Shuttle Bay 1 to meet the new life-forms. Alison Tang moves over and touches one of the aliens, then excitedly pats Sorahl and slings her arm round Garret. Tang and Sorahl then start exhibiting strange behaviour. Sorahl leaves for the bridge. Slowly but surely, most of the crew are affected. Garret hails Dr Mrr'sstac as he is affected to explain the situation. He explains it badly because he is affected. On the bridge, chaos ensues. People are stunning each other, fighting, each accusing the other of being affected by the epidemic of extreme intoxication. The Chief Medical Officer is stunned leaving Mrr'sstac in charge of medicine. Sorahl runs onto the bridge screaming: "It's the Romulans isn't it!" and puts the ship on Red Alert. At which point, he too is knocked unconscious. Then a perimeter alert sounds and Garret takes Tang out of harms way and accesses a computer to find out what is happening. So does Jenner. A Romulan Bird Of Prey uncloaks and powers up phasers. Garret hails the bridge and yells to whoever might still be able to do anything about it to hail the Romulans, otherwise he will. Lt Tia, the only unnafected bridge crew hails them. They give the Darwin one minute to surrender. A short-lived battle ensues. When the Darwin has no shields left, Tia orders a warp speed retreat. The warp engine fails to cold start. The Romulans are about to fire a finishing volley. Dr Mrr'sstac Announces he has found the antidote to the intoxicating effect and pumps it into the air. The crew start to come around. The viewscreen with the Romulan vessel on it changes to a screen saying " Simulation Over " with the logo of Dr. Raymonds project on it. Lt Tia had the last word over internal comms: "BAAAASSSTAAAAARRRRD!"
Plague
(MH)The Darwin is under attack from a Klingon Battle cruiser. It has been hit by an asteroid hence has only 30% shields. Ship's phasers were innefective against its shields. Sorahl summons Garret to the bridge and Pace and Garret devise two ways of disabling the cruiser's shields scientifically. The Darwin is being pummeled and its shields are failing fast. Sorahl orders the science and helm officers to execute their ideas and the Klingon vessels shields fail. The Darwin cripples it with ship's phasers and the viewscreen reports "Simulation over: total score: 75%". Suddenly Commander Gl'inn leaps out of her seat and attacks Sylik, killing him. Gl'inn is stunned by Tia and taken to the brig where she is attended by a medical team. It appears she has a high level of carbon and silicon in her bloodstream. Sorahl starts to cough and sneeze so takes himself down to medbay. Mr'sstac attends to him and then attacks him! Quickly a security team immobilise the Catian, who shows the same symptoms as Gl'inn. Lt Pace is left in charge. Slowly it becomes apparent that the whole ship is infected with these silicon carbon particles. Dr Raymond recognises them as Nanites. Cpt Sorahl makes his way back to the bridge but falls unconscious. When he comes around he attacks Solrac, who uses a nerve pinch to immobilise him. Dr Raymond attempts to assess how the Nanites work and fails. The Darwin is put in general quarantine. Garret, who is aiding acting Chief Science Officer McPherson with scans, detects an exotic particle that he has never seen or heard of before, entering the ship and striking Cpt Sorahl. This kills off the Nanites in Sorahl. Dr Raymond is informed. Garret gives Dr Raymond complete access to the Supernova Prevention lab to use the data there. Lt Cmdr Masaryk accompanies him to Warp Speed Computing and they use the ships defenses to knock out the rest of the crew. After generating a field of these particles in Main Engineering, Raymond and Masaryk take the ship past the nearby star with navigational deflectors turned off. This irradiates the ship both with these particles and other radiation. The Nanites are killed but the crew suffer a high dose of radiation which results in one death. Masaryk takes the ship to a nearby Starbase and the situation is reported. Dr Jenner attempts to kill Sorahl and is analysed with a psychotricorder. He is found to have a Romulan brain implant and is implicated for the whole affair. His fate is undecided.
Final Analysis
(MC) Cpt Sorahl gets a "Captains Eyes only" message from Starfleet. He orders Pace to set a course for the Mutara Sector. A small planetoid recognised as from the Ceti system comes across the Darwin's path and Garrett finds a beacon. The beacon says: "Genesis active...Meteor collision...beware of Romulans through wormhole... majority of crew planetfall on Ceti alpha VI...Dr Carol Marcus believes planet was preserver experiment...Large underground caverns." Garrett gets the message against the wishes of the Captain. Sorahl sends a shuttle containing Pace, Masaryk, Raymond and a science officer to co-ordinates in deep space. Here they rendevous with the USS Defiant NCC-1764A, a constitution class starship under the command of Commodore Fife! Garrett, Tia and a small security contingent are sent to the planet Alpha Ceti VI in Enviromental Suits. The Darwin, relising the danger of Romulans, is sent racing to the shuttle. There, after seeing the wormhole open up and determining it's end as the Devron system in the Neutral Zone, it sees the Romulan Stormbird Quatel. A fire-fight ensues, the Quatel is severely damaged, the Darwin's warp capability is damaged. The stormbird is observed to be changing at the sub-molecular level. When one of its nacelles changes into an organic shape, they cloak and dissappear. Garrett and Tia locate the Defiant's crew and discover a red stone of unknown age and composition, that defies all scans. The Darwin and the Defiant return to the planet to discover that the Genesis effect has covered half the planet! Evacuation of the Defiant's crew is organised and Commander Cyan of the Defiant is beamed down to aid in understanding the relationship between the stone and the wormhole. Cyan and Garret work out a way of closing the wormhole that would mean destroying the planet. Sorahl and Fife have no objections so they do it. Cyan takes the Red Stone just before a timely beam out. With the Defiant in tow and only impulse power, the Darwin only just escapes the Gen-active protomatter debris! Garret uses the large deflector on the defiant to send out an anti-proton pulse that de-activates the protomatter debris. One long range tight beam pulse is sent to deactivate a small cluster of protomatter encountered in deep space. Commander Cyan hands Garrett the Red Stone for further analysis... Because several of the crew disobeyed several direct orders, Sorahl threatens to resign...A Time To Live
(DB, LD)Tang: No time to explain, just do exactly as we say!
Garrett is in his Lab when he is hailed by Alison Tang from Medbay... "Darling, I'm pregnant!, It's a girl!" Garrett heads down to medbay immediately and while there, the Darwin suddenly jolts. Commander Gl'inn has the bridge because Sorahl is taking some much needed rest. The ship is pulled through an unstable wormhole which closes behind it. A brief scan of the area shows the Darwin in uncharted space outside of the galaxy! The Darwin heads for a nearby planetary system orbiting a Sun-like star. There is one M-Class planet and there are no Fauna on it, only flora and what appears to be the remains of a civilisation. A Senior officers' meeting is called and an away team is sent to the planet after much discussion. They see plants monopolising ruined cities, all over the place are plants. One ruin contains two artifacts that are of unknown technology, best guesses are a mechanical/ electronic hybrid. Intelligent Botanical Linguistics find an intresting plant specimen. Dr Raymond is given the artifacts to put his electronics expertise to work on them. Alison Tang follows, interested in the ruins of a space faring culture. Garrett, who was following Tang, is called to the bridge to put his knowledge of astrophysical phenomena to use on the wormhole problem, working with Dr McPherson. They announce they cannot find a probable, safe route back. Suddenly the ship is hit by some unknown force. A ship de-cloaks on top of the Darwin... Meanwhile Raymond and Tang cannot scan the artifacts, which seem to be a box, belt clip and some batteries. They decide to try them out! They find themselves in the same room, lights out and dead bodies everywhere, covered in frost. They find the same all around the Darwin.
The rest of the crew are boarded by some heavily armed and armoured Aliens beaming over through the shields. Lt Tia is sent with a security contingent to find them and lock them down. All are cut down by the aliens. Gl'inn sets a collision course at warp for the aliens' ship, but Masaryk gets shot in the arm before she can activate it! An alien enters the bridge. Again, Masaryk tries to move towards the console and is shot again. The alien holds position, shooting anyone who moves towards the console and watches them die. Gl'inn leaves the bridge by moving down a hole in the deck that had been blasted open and McPherson slowly backs away out of the bridge. Slowly all the crew are killed, Garrett and Gl'inn, the last, as Gl'inn cautiously moved towards an Alien and Garrett just stared at the alien on the bridge, trying to make sense of it. Then, the alien being stalked by Gl'inn turned around and shot her in the head; she died instantly. Garrett was suddenly shot in the stomach, the last to fall.
Time resets, an the bridge crew were all on the bridge consisting of Gl'inn, Garrett, Mcpherson and the others, including Sorahl and Tia. Suddenly, Tang and Raymond burst onto the bridge, Tang screaming: "No time to explain, just do exactly as we say!" with Raymond saying: "That plant we picked up from the surface, connect it to the Warp Speed Computer!". Sorahl gave them permission and they linked up the plant - it was reaching out for the connection - to the computer. The plant said "Take me home". Suddenly the ship jolted and an alien ship de-cloaked on top of them! As the aliens beam aboard, they encounter an energy field and they disintegrate as soon as they materialise. When the alien ship is empty, sensors show a warp breach on the alien ship and the Darwin speeds away at warp. The wormhole opens and the plant is beamed back to its planet. The Darwin enters the wormhole and heads home.
Sorahl calls a meeting and Tang and Dr Raymond explain: the plant life on the planet is the sentient life-form and the dominant life-form. It knew how to stop the alien invasion and re-open the wormhole but needed a powerful yet adjustable warp system such as the Warp Speed Computing Project. In return for its release from captivity it helped out the Darwin. The Intellegent Botanical Linguistics project had a glimpse of sentient plant life close up and Warp Speed Computing was, for once, the saviour of the Ship.
Title Unknown
(IKM)The Supernova Prevention Project tries to prevent a Supernova. The Supernova endangers the Darwin. A vessel of Cassandra Tia's species encounters the Darwin, and Tia elects to leave the Darwin.
Don't Look Back
The Darwin was in starbase to take on new crew after the loss of Andrew Sorahl and Cassandra Tia. Mirova returned to Captain the Darwin and met with Gli'nn, Garrett, Solrac and other senior officers. The mission briefing was that the ship would go on route to do a geological survey and Starfleet auditors were in to assess the budgets of the projects. As Gl'inn, Mirova et al go to the Darwin, a man stumbled out of a door, steadied himself on Solrac and walked off. Solrac began to feel unwell and went to the station sickbay at his own request. Gl'inn asked station security to put an A.P.B. on (all points bulletin, ie keep a look out for) the man, describing the problem. Station medical told Mirova that Solrac needed to stay on the station for further treatment.The Darwin detected a light speed emergency signal is detected and headed off to investigate. They found a 150 year old Orion ship. An away team beamed over consisting of Gl'inn, Garrett, 2 security officers and the new C.M.O. They found drugs, federation weapons and weapons grade gemstones!
Suddenly a scream was heard from a security officer and he collapsed dead! Something burst out of his chest! He was beamed out immediately and the M.O. saw something crawl VERY fast away! Tricorder scans by the team showed nothing...except engine fluctuations! Masaryk beamed over, so do Dr Decker and six security personnel. Gl'inn assigned three each to Garrett and Decker. Garrett hacked into the ships computer and found his ability so speak Klingon suddenly useful! He learnt of a company called "The Firestone Corporation" who appeared to have something to do with the gun-running. Gl'inn and Garrett headed for the bridge as Garrett needed better computer access. Masaryk headed for Engineering to stabilise the engine. The C.M.O. headed for sickbay. All three were scenes of carnage! Phaser blasts had riddled the ship and dead bodies covered the floor of all three areas. The Dr found one person dead but with his chest intact! The Darwin beamed the CMO a stasis field which he slapped on the corpse. Gl'inn and Garrett found phaser blasts all over the ceiling; everyone was dead. Garrett accesses the Captains logs and finds nothing useful.
Gl'inn suddenly screamed "Darwin, Emergency beam out now!" and the away team were beamed aboard into a quarantined transporter room. The CMO had had the body he found beamed into a cargo bay without running it through the biofilter. He beamed a laptop he found to Garrett who finds a medical video log which he patches to the Bridge. The medical log described the creatures. Gli'nn told Mirova that the reason she screamed for the beamout was that phaser fire seemed to have no effect on these creatures, who were silicon/carbon based: this meant only projectile weaponry would work against them.
Meantime, the ships doctor discovered a small creature in the thorax of his corpse. this, he quickly put in stasis. Masaryk let it be known that the engine in the Orion ship was brand new, not 150 years old! Gli'nn tried to persuade Mirova to let a small, heavily armed away team including Lt Cmdr Garrett and his pride .44 Automag circa. 20th century that, unlike phasers, he assured Mirova, he could use well, back aboard. They beamed into the Orion Captain's quarters and piled the contents onto the floor. Garrett found a book full of 0's and 1's and ASCII squiggles. Masaryk warned that she was wrong, the Orion ship's engines will explose in less that a minute. Mirova beamed the cargo of the Orion ship on board the Darwin. Garrett, Pace and Mirova set about trying to de-crypt the code in the book. The Darwin heads back to the Starbase.
Four days later, after the deciphering is nearly complete, Mirova, Gl'inn, the CMO, Dr Decker and Garrett are commended for their efforts in a meeting with some Starfleet men in suits and an Admiral. The Admiral stressed the need to keep this silent and asked if there was any evidence left on the darwin that had not been handed over for investigation and checked that Garrett had handed over all copies of the code he found. The answer was yes, to both. Back on the Darwin, in Garrett's quarters, he pulled out his last copy of the code and finished deciphering it...
"Garrett to C.M.O...I have some 'readings' you might find interesting..." "Whatever they were, they were packed and ready to go to Earth... and Firestone...well, that's another story..."
Season Five
A very short season. Instead of launching back into the Darwin game, we ran some one-session live action games for the new students. Only a few Darwin games were played before we decided to end the old Darwin and start a new one that was set in the same timeframe as the next generation. Those games mainly reflect the Firestorm conspiracy. Unfortunately, there was no write-up at the time. The final game was designed to tie the players, the old, and the new together ...Starfleet
(IKM)The Darwin encounters the time-travelling creature that had previously ejected Solrac in the Season Two episode "Fortune Teller". To minimise damange to the time line, the "present" Solrac deliberately enters the creature. As well as taking Solrac, the creature ejects a 24th century Starfleet Captain by the name of Esteban. During the operation, the Darwin is critically damanged, and Mirova orders an abandon ship. Gli'nn refuses, and is stunned and carried off. The impetuous Chief Engineer actually succeeds in stabilising the ship at great personal cost, but by that stage half the bridge crew has been intercepted by the creature and tossed back in time ...
... to 1995 London at the tail end of the Eugenics Wars. To be precise, they materialised in the middle of a live-action role-play firefight being conducted by a group of London University students. Once the misunderstanding was resolved and that any students struck by Starfleet fire were only stunned, they joined forces with the students and Gary 7 to summon the creature again and send themselves home whilst minimising damage to the timeline. Some of the students, dreaming of a future better than the ravages of the Eugenics Wars, try to join the time warp, but all but two of them are prevented.
Yes, the players did indeed join forces with their own characters to save the day! Esteban is of course, the Captain from Darwin TNG.
The Motion Picture
The Dogs of War
Stardate 9527.4, shortly after the events of ST:VI (IKM)The movie opens with two scenes intercut: an attack by a Cardassian mob on a Federation research base where Doctors Revenant and Taybard are working, and Mirova is helping the defence, and a scene on Vulcan where Spock is using a ritual to extract G'linn from the vortex he entered at the end of 'Starfleet'. The two Doctors bluff the mob away whilst Spock explains the reason G'linn was summoned: he knew about the Firestorm corporation, which Mirova and the Enterprise crew believe may have caused the famine on Cardassia and be trying to push Cardassia itself away from democracy and towards a military dictatorship.
There is a Federation presence on Cardassia, involved with the relief of the famine and diplomacy with the Cardassian government, but Mirova's investigation into Firestorm is completely unauthorised.
G'linn is not amused about being left in a time/space vortex, and wants to know about back pay. She's also very skeptical about the Vulcan mysticism used to retrieve her, and about the lack of resources. (A warp shuttle, in which she goes to Cardassia prime with M'ress.) The Doctors discover genetic markers in the non-native pest that is destorying Cardassian crops that identify it as a Firestorm creation.
The crew argue about strategy, G'linn proposeing to capture and interrogate the opposition politician likely to be involved in any coup attempt. Mirova disagrees, but is persuaded to contact Commodore Pace, who agrees to leave his Starbase and bring a bigger ship to Cardassia Prime. Mirova is then summoned to Starfleet command: presumably the Firestorm corporation are calling in their favours and trying to stop this 'unofficial' investigation.
With Mirova out of the way, the crew proceed to plan their kidnapping. A Xenomorph is found in the lab, and the crew retreat to starship. The kidnapping of Legate Hayrat proceeds anyway, and, drugged, he explains that Grand Gul Arak was supplied with Firestorm weapons, and planning a coup. Legate Hayrat agrees to turn informer. Fade to end credits, which explain that Hayrat was disgraced but given a short sentence, Arak was imprisoned for a long time, and the representative of Firestorm was charged but let off. Cardassian democracy is safe. For now.
This game was a one-off in the summer of '96.