The Red Matter....No Relation

Well, OK, not no relation but....

Star Trek: Journey is a hit!

The pilot episode sells and WCSB (Compleat Strategist* Broadcasting) picks up the first 12 episode season of the series!
 

The cast and characters:

Captain Bernard Okita West (Ken) - Commanding Officer

A Starfleet Engineer whose parents were Starfleet Engineers, Captain West was literally born at Earth's orbital shipyards. The title of Captain is still new to him and he never expected to be one. The top brass decided that for this shakedown cruise designed to test new technologies and systems for future ship designs, the man they needed in the center chair was a less an explorer than a mechanic.

West is calm, pretty much no-nonsense but approachable. He is still getting used to be in charge.

Lt. Commander Thorest (Will) - First Officer

A second generation Andorian/Aenar mix, Thorest is the son of Tallas, daughter of Shran (Both from ST: Enterprise). Like all hybrids born of that coupling, Thorest is a sea-green color instead of the more familiar Andorian blue.

Thorest is a real 'people person', an administrator and a former Starfleet JAG officer. He serves as the liaison between the Captain and the crew and plays good cop to the Security Chiefs bad cop.

'Lieutenant' T'Amar (Hans) - Intelligence Officer

Because most of the gear aboard the USS Journey is experimental, an Intelligence Officer was stationed on the ship on the recommendation of the Vulcan High Command. The last thing Starfleet wants is a Klingon spy learning anything about the new equipment that would undo the advantage it would give us.

A young, female Vulcan, she excels in her skills but they are very focused. She sometimes has trouble finding your place when espionage isn't called for. She is disciplined and determined but inexperienced.

Lieutenant Ma'Harra (Vazquez) - Security Chief

Mixed species crews are rare at this time but Starfleet maybe testing that possibility as much as new sensors and warp drives with the personnel assigned to the Journey.

Ma'Harra is an Altairian female with strange hunches and a kick butt, take names attitude. She is a little cold compared to her Human counterparts but she makes the tough and uncomfortable choices seem easy. She's also easy on the eyes.

What's that Ensign? Looking to mine borite are we?

Nothing Ma'am! No Ma'am!

Lieutenant James Mason (Ray) - First Contact Specialist

Oh Lt. Mason, you cad. You sly dog.

Mason is a Human with a powerful interest in aliens. That interest first manifested when there was a complicated incident between himself and the daughter of an Andorian Ambassador.

Originally majoring in Exobiology at the Academy, Mason's smooth manner and warm personality eventually lead him to study First Contact procedures and he was recruited by the Starfleet Diplomatic Corps. Now, he serves as the ship's go-to guy for close encounters of the first time. Of course with Mason, those close encounters sometimes end up really close. James T. Kirk close.

(Ray speaks like Sean Connery when playing him).

Lieutenant J.G. Kate Nesmith (Emi) - Chief Communications Officer

Youngest and most starry eyed of the crew, the gregarious and bouncy Lt. Nesmith is, even after 4 years at Starfleet Academy, still going, "Wow!" to pretty much every alien and cool stellar anomaly she encounters.

An eager overachiever, she wants to help in anyway she can, including covering or assisting such diverse positions as Sensors, Security Procedures, Linguistics and First Contact to Landing Parties. When assignments are handed out she can be seen raising her hand and saying, "Pick me, pick me!"

Additional PC Crew Members

The following characters and actors were listed in the credits but didn't have major screen time or speaking parts (they weren't able to make it to the game this time).

Lieutenant Rafael deRivera (Nelson) - Chief Helmsman
Lt. Commander G.E. Charleston (Andy) - Chief Science Officer
Unnamed Efrosian (Jeff) - Chief Medical Officer - Not Starfleet. Interspecies Medical Exchange (like Dr. Phlox on Enterprise).

NPC Crew members

Security Officers Jones (Male, Human) and Horowitz (Female, Human)
Unnamed female Ensign - Navigator
Unnamed male 'Crewman', nicknamed Skippy - Transporter Chief (styled after Scruffy from Futurama).

Pilot Episode: "Look Into The Future"

Part I:...

Captain's Log, Stardate 2.3301.04. January 4th, 2233. The USS Journey, a 70 year old Daedalus Class starship, three months out of Starbase 12, is performing it's year long shakedown cruise. It is carrying and testing experimental upgraded components and systems designed to be implemented into the construction of a new series of Starfleet Vessels.

While testing the improved Long Range Sensors and Communication equipment, the Journey receives a distress call from the deep space exploration ship USS Kelvin. The Kelvin has encountered a strange anomaly and then reported that distruptor fire emitted out of the anomaly and damaged them heavily.

Prime Universe version of the Einstein Class USS Kelvin.

 

Captain Bernard Okita West, former Chief Engineer and a major participant in the installing of the ship's upgrades, orders his vessel to assist the Kelvin, next to best possible speed (6.5 out of our maximum Warp 7 - Don't want to go save someone and fall apart when we reach them). Even with their improved sensors, the Journey is getting some weird readings and isn't quite sure what they're heading into. Concerned it could be a trap set by the nearby Klingons, the ship comes out of warp with shields up.

A good thing too! The anomaly is designated (unofficially, but I liked what Security Chief Ma'Harra called it) a 'Red Hole' and appears to be a swirling, red hued vortex with periodic discharges of crimson energy. The Kelvin took serious damage from the discharges (which build and release in great waves occasionally) and discharges from within the Red Hole very similar to distruptor blasts. Damage to decks 3, 4 and 5, including loss of Warp Drive, only one working Pulsed Laser Cannon and a hull breach in engineering that cost over a dozen crewmembers their lives.

Well aware that his ship was a testing platform and not a modern cruiser or rescue vessel, Captain West figured it best to avoid the anomaly, save as many people as possible aboard the Kelvin (and the Kelvin itself if possible) and than either head based to a Starbase or rendezvous with a larger ship.

Problem: Interference from the anomaly was making sensor locks for the Transporter and Tractor Beam difficult...though not impossible. The plan they began to form aboard the Journey was risking, but they had to try something. Before long, things was get even more dangerous and the plans more bold. But would they be successful?

 

Find out after the commercial.

End of Part I

 

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