Game 14 - Hostile Environment - 14th June 2021

Captain's Log Stardate 57750.01

Mission Directives

Take control of the Iconian gateway
Don’t inflame the political situation any further

Alone

As we mourn the loss of the Perseus with all hands, we force ourselves to turn ourselves to the situation on Andoria. We are still unable to penetrate the strange field that permeates the atmosphere. Our Chief Engineer has recommended that we avoid using the transporters. We chose to take the Arizona to the edge of the Andorian system with the hope of contacting Starfleet. We were able to get a weak transmission through. Starfleet clarified that our orders were to get to the surface of Andoria to follow our primary mission.

We assembled a team to take a shuttle to the surface. The crew were:

Me
Thavliss
Ana
Mabrin
Tren
Rasso
Shirtz
Volta

Outbreak!

As we entered the atmosphere, Rasso was performing with his usual excellence at the helm. However, just as we were settling in for a gentle descent, the consoles became scrambled with Iconian text and we realised we had another outbreak of the Iconian virus! Each of us at a terminal fought to keep the virus under control. Volta struggled a little, but we were able to keep the virus contained and restore helm control, moments before we collided with the icy surface of Andoria.

Icy Wasteland

It was -20 Celcius on the surface of Andoria. Thavliss tried to encourage us by explaining that it was a beautiful summer's day here at the southern pole. As we moved forwards, there was a crack and we just managed to get out of the way as the ice gave way revealing a deep crevasse beneath!

We spread out a little just as the weather rapidly worsened into a blizzard. We lost sight of each other as we headed northwards. There was a cry ahead of me. Ana had fallen into an other ice crevasse. Fortunately, here Changeling nature allowed her to land softly and then she surprised us all by transforming into some kind of clawed beast which allow her to crawl out of the hole.

There was a wail in the distance, so we used the thermal imaging scopes of our rifles. We saw the shapes of several large Andorian Snow Beasts in the distance. I ordered warning shots to be fired to disperse them, but, sadly, Thavliss chose to disobey my orders and unnecessarily killed one of the innocent beasts in cold blood. Maybe being back home is bringing back some past trauma to make him behave this way?

Prison Camp

As the storm eased, we saw some kind of prefabricated building ahead. Buildings on Andoria are usually only constructed on Andoria above ground when they are temporary structures. There was a dim light coming from the windows and a single humanoid moving around inside. We banged on the door and it was opened.

Inside was some kind of reception room, but like nothing I have ever seen before, even in the worst warzones I visited. There was a corpse of a uniformed Andorian on the ground and piles of organs and entrails strewn around. The smell!

The door had been opened for us by a rescued Andorian Borg. He introduced himself as Atolian Ch'teqiss and immediately warned us to stay away from this place as nothing bust despair awaited within. We questioned him and he explained that this was an illegal Work Camp, the like of which has not been seen in the Federation for hundreds of years. Thavliss misjudged the situation and immediately went into overdrive. He raised his rifle and refused to lower it even when directly ordered to do so. Eventually we calmed him down, and he lowered his weapon. Atolian seemed unconcerned by this. The stars only know what horrors he has seen in this place.

With some gentle encouragement, Atolian explained that he had recently been wrongfully imprisoned for "Vagrancy" (an offence that has not ever been enacted in the Federation). This was a cover for anti-Borg prejudice on Andoria. As an inmate here, he was forced to dig with the other inmates. Something happened and all of the guards were murdered. Atolian said that he did not know how they were killed, but some people called Ezeria and Shrelia suspected that some kind of creature had murdered them.

And the adventure continues...