Game 4 - Doomsday - 14th December 2020
Captain's Log Stardate 57678.1
A Doomsday Like Any Other
(I totally stole this subtitle!)
"Shields up!"
The Doomsday Machine mission was required reading at the academy, and I remember well that James Kirk was able to return it to Federation space after detonating a starship in its maw (in what became known as "The Decker Defence"). The machine had mysteriously dropped out of Starfleet records after that. Presumably it had been heavily classified.
We paused for a few seconds to see what the Doomsday Machine would do, but it did nothing. It just remained there, inert. The legendary flaming maw was dormant.
We took the Arizona in for a closer scan, and as we did, three pieces of the neutronium surface seemed to morph and detach themselves from the main vessel. They formed small fighter craft and moved towards us rapidly in an aggressive posture. Sure enough, they started firing.
My ran some scans for sick bay and helped us identify some vulnerable spots and we were able to use our superior firepower and shields to take them out. It all seemed a little half-hearted.
The Subcommander reluctantly explained that they were expecting their sister ship to rendezvous with them within the next twenty hours. She was revealing this now as, although she was no traitor to her people, she was... unsure... what Praetor T'Zhasah would do with a machine like the Planet Killer.
The Surface
We scanned the surface of the Doomsday Machine and discovered that it seemed a little damaged. From war or space debris, we could not determine. A single spot was identified on the surface that looked like some kind of hatch. We assembled a team and took a shuttle down to the surface.
As we approached the hatch, four Neutronium turrets sprouted from the ground and started shooting at us. Our weapons were ineffective against the turrets, but Chief Engineer Volta was able to use his tricorder to shut them down one at a time before too much damage was done.
Once we had dispatch the turrets, we descended into the Doomsday Machine...
Low Power Mode
The light was low inside the Doomsday Machine. The interior was clearly designed for some kind of inhabitation, although from the dust, it had not been heavily travelled in a very long time.
The dark, cold room we emerged in contained an engineering console. Chief Engineer Volta was able to determine that it was part of a network of power consoles. It looked like the ship's control power systems was damaged. Calan thought he could effect repairs and restore some power from this console. As he started to try, several creatures with a passing resemblance to Remans, but paler with more vacant faces entered the room. They were carrying disruptor rifles and they started to fire.
After a brief exchange of fire, it appeared that although they had lethal weapons, our weapon and physical attacks passed right through them. We reasoned that they may be holograms. We were able to locate four holo-emitters on the ceiling of the room. After that, it was easy work to eliminate them.
As the holograms vanished, Calan finished his work and about 20% power was restored to the control systems of the vessel.
Ruk
Next, the crew decided we would explore off to the East. As the door opened, we were greeted by another sight familiar from required reading at the Academy. Before us, seven feet tall, was an exact replica of the android Ruk that James Kirk had destroyed on Exo III.
And the adventure continues...