Kerret’raa – Starfleet officers uncover multiple intrigues plaguing the production of sacred wood on the Klingon colony of Kerret’raa.
With Lieutenant Korras facing a beheading at the blade of the Klingon justice system, teams leap into action to prevent the false accusations against their crewman manifesting into bloodshed. Lieutenant Madison Marsh and Prosecutor Toran worked tirelessly with Korras to develop a defense strategy while Lt. Commander Solaris McLaren and her team of Lieutenant JG Sasch Kreshkova and Doctor Corey Wethern investigated the leads Marsh had given them. This brought them to an armed confrontation outside some Klingon ruins, where Jai’tan of House Kar-a-desh defied elder Orlat of Kar-a-desh and took Lieutenant Kreshkova hostage at Dk’tagh point. The team learned that Jai’Tan was one of the key forces behind the counterfeiting of tlhaQnorgh wood, and he was completely unrepentant of his actions.
After some tense negotiations, a dagger to the leg of Jai’tan and a well-timed firefight, Kreshkova was free with minor injuries, but Jai’tan retreated into the thick woods of Kerret’raa, and to the chagrin of McLaren’s team he got away.
“The tlhaQnorgh is so thick, it just eats everything – sounds, movement, people. Probably people. I didn’t actually see a tree eat a person, but I still think it eats people…” stated Crewman Jackson Tanner, part of the security detail tasked with searching the woods.
Other teams were no strangers to armed conflict as Lieutenants Evan Ross and Haukea Willow followed their guide Warden Kervas into the forest to search for evidence of counterfeit wood. This led them to a research station shared by members of House Grimlar and House Kar-a-desh. Upon approach an unknown assailant fired multiple not-so-warning shots which badly injured Lieutenant Willow. An unknown voice demanded they leave or everyone would be killed. Kervas carried Willow and led Ross to safety.
Lieutenant Ross applied basic first aid and when he could get a signal, he contacted the Aegis to make an emergency transport bringing Willow to sickbay. Kervas led Ross into the research center through a waterway, where they picked up a conversation between head scientist M’Rath of House Grimlar and one of his guards. M’Rath was working on replicating tlhaQnorgh and something had gone horribly wrong. His fellow scientist, Lokora of House Grimlar had discovered his transgressions so M’Rath planned to kill her.
When the Klingons noticed Ross and Kervas, Ross told Kervas to arrest him. Playing this ruse, M’Rath believed Kervas and brought Ross inside, offering to let Ross leave if he would murder the bound and gagged Lokora. Ross quickly figured out that M’Rath wanted to blame the entire incident on Lokora and this would neatly tie up or destroy any loose ends. Instead Ross fired his phaser at one of the energy junctions of the research center and in the resulting chaos Warden Kervas killed M’Rath and Lokora escaped. Starfleet security led by Ensign Samuel Woolheater arrived to clean up the mess and ensure Ross was safe.
In the forest Lt. Commander Shar’Wyn Foster along with Lieutenants Vitor Tito and Karen Stendhal and Ensign Ryden Kel returned to Kerret’raa with EVA suits to protect against the nucleonic radiation, only to find the device they needed to retrieve was covered with mobile, possibly living sap. After a quick conversation with some local Klingon firefighters – or firestarters – who were trying to control the blight with a controlled burn. The team recovered the device and was able to beam back to the Aegis, where they found the sap was not only mobile but alive and possibly sentient.
The device, powered by a photonic lattice, merged the lattice with biomatter designed to counteract the blight, which formed a creature that could communicate crudely. Ensign Kel was able to parse out the beneficial genetic sequences from the biomatter that Kerret’raa could use to counter the blight, while Lieutenants Tito and Stendhal kept the talking blob contained. Commander Foster contacted Starfleet Science and requested a dedicated science vessel to come pick the potential new lifeform up for containment and research.
Commander Gogigobo Fairhug, along with Ensign Woolheater and Elder Krel’tan investigated a different, entering the not creatively named no-man’s land. After enduring hardship, they discovered a renegade Klingon sect worshipping Molor. With some clever maneuvering they issued a challenge and Krel’tan brought the unfaithful under control.
Lieutenant Marsh determined that the man responsible for the counterfeit wood was Jai’tan who sold counterfeit sacred wood to a Ferengi named Brakki and his crew aboard the ‘Latinum Spirit’. Brakki hid the wood in cargo containers, and both profited handsomely until Starfleet Officers interrupted their plans. With this information Lieutenant Marsh and Prosecutor Toran were able to clear Lieutenant Korras of all charges. Commander Fairhug collected his crew together to debrief everyone and try to fit the pieces of a sinister puzzle together.
Written by Sal Taybrim and Madison Marsh
