USS Athena crew divided to tackle two dangerous missions

DANUBAE STATION L39 — The Dreamstar, a massive space station left derelict for so long under mysterious circumstances, lived up to its namesake, but harbored more nightmares than dreams for the crew of the USS Athena.

The station’s AI, now calling itself VISMAK, whisked Captain Selene Faranfey away for what should have been a simple command orientation. With an agenda that became murkier at every turn, the AI exhibited emotions and attempted to keep her hostage. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Frank Hawkins led an away team in his first command as acting FO. They unsealed a bizarre biological lab and unwittingly released a colony of aggressive plant life that wreaked havoc on their equipment.
A race engineered by the AI conducted a series of electrical attacks on the team, kept at bay by the USS Athena’s marine contingent lead by Marine Captain McKnight. After burning down the lifeforms in the lab, the team moved on to track down the creatures. With tension and stress skyrocketing, a security officer tested Hawkins’ command ability, and Hawkins was forced to relieve her of duty. The science officer took an electrical blast and succumbed to its effects, returning to the ship.
The Vissilian riddle unfolded when the leader known as Krunel sought the crew’s help in freeing its species from a life of servitude under AI. Doctor Alex Bishop, joined by Ensign Mimi Locri’i from Science, worked to unravel the biological connection as Hawkins returned Faranfey to the away team.
They discovered that the creatures served as biological storage devices for VISMAK’s memory, and Krunel carried the AI on its back in a protective case. Meanwhile, the AI’s hallucination games returned as it distorted Bishop’s senses, which caused him to accuse Hawkins of insubordination.
“I don’t know which was worse–relieving a junior officer off duty, or telling a Commander to stand down,” said acting FO Hawkins.
Ensign Locri’i assisted the Engineer and the Doc in separating the AI from Krunel to store it in a large mainframe. Krunel nearly died due to a release of poison, countered by an antidote supplied by AI.
Meanwhile, Commander John Nugra and his trusted team assumed command of the USS Victory and rushed to reactivate the Dryary Listening Post. Three Agragon warships ambushed the Victory, intent on destroying the vessel and claiming the post as their own.
Lieutenant Commander Sabrina Holly beamed aboard the Listening Post and worked to bring the power core, environmental controls, and comm systems online. COS Lieutenant Aidoann Danara and CEO Lieutenant Cassandra Ezi separated from the group to activate the power core, leaving Danara to face the enemy boarding party. Holly and ACMO Lieutenant Brandon Craig sought the secondary communications hub. Waylaid by a series of cunning traps and the strike team of Agragon warriors, the away team overcame the odds to complete their objectives.
The Agragon commander had his sights locked on destroying the Victory. With Nugra’s support, Intel Op Lieutenant Lan Riel and Tactical Chief Commander Tal Tel-Ar implemented unusual and dirty tactics utilizing a warp maneuver to outsmart the Agragon wing.
“Impossible situations sometimes call for improbable solutions. Fortunately, I like the improbable ones, especially if they involve lots of risk,” said Cmdr. Tal Tel-ar.
With time running out, the away team successfully beamed back to the Victory, while the enemy fled the battle, and the Victory returned to the Dreamstar to reunite Athena’s crew.