WELCOME TO ISSUE 26 OF THE RUNABOUT...SUMMER 2018 - ISSUE 26 THE RUNABOUT PAGE 4 A MESSAGE FROM THE VICE REGIONAL COORDINATOR COMM Scott A. J. Peter Stardate 201805.31 Greetings fellow

SUMMER 2018 - ISSUE 26 THE RUNABOUT PAGE 2

WELCOME TO ISSUE 26 OF THE RUNABOUTRegion 20, Starfleet International

Welcome Aboard!Hello, I am the Emergency Newsletter Hologram.Please state the nature of the literary emergency…

Only kidding! Hi, I’m Petty Officer 2nd Class Mark Gillof the U.S.S. Appleton, stepping into the pilot’s seatfor the newsletter team from this summer. A bigthank you to the Runabout’s LCDR Simon Beasley, Ihope I can keep the ship running smoothly in hisstead. As usual we’re jam-packed with articlessubmitted from across Starfleet’s Region 20 - a hugethank you to everyone who’s contributed to this issue,it wouldn’t be here without you! For details on how tocontribute to the next edition see below.

We hope you enjoy the Summer issue.

Keep Trekkin’!

Mark

Please remember that the editor only edits the magazine, so unless you makesubmissions, the Runabout will be very small indeed. All submissions are welcome, but the Editor

reserves the right to edit, postpone or not publish a particular item. Submissions should be sent to:

Submissions can be almost anything: whole articles, pictures, short stories, comic strips, jokes, puzzles.

Text can be supplied in any format that can be copied and pasted, and photos should be sent as JPGsby email if possible as this gives a higher quality image that can be enhanced if needs be.

The deadline for submissions to the Autumn edition is

Like the new design of the Runabout? Hate it? Got suggestions for new content? Let us know!

The Runabout is the newsletter of STARFLEET International, Region 20.

Unless otherwise stated, all articles are the property of the author.

Any opinions expressed are solely those of the author and may not reflect the opinions of the editors,STARFLEET Region 20 or STARFLEET International.

Star Trek and all related trademarks are the exclusive property of CBS. They are used here withoutpermission for entertainment purposes only.

HOW TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE RUNABOUTIssue dates and submission deadlines

mailto:[email protected]


CONTENTSIn Issue 26

USS LIBERTY BELLE COMMISSIONINGCAPT Phyllis Seale Foynes, USS Liberty Belle

USS APPLETON AT SCI-FI SCARBOROUGHCAPT Lisa Holliday, USS Appleton

WELCOME TO SPACE DOCK BOOBRIECAPT Kevin McNeillie, Space Dock Boobrie

HOLOTECHNOLOGY - A STEP IN THE TREK DIRECTIONFCAPT Eilidh D. Montgomery, CO USS Alba

SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY - REVIEWCAPT Ian Lawther, CO USS Caroline

GEEKOLOGYCMDR Sven Harvey, CO Spacedock Birmingham

PROJECT GENESIS - UPDATE 1CAPT Tony Burr, USS Merlin

SPOCK: A PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILEFCAPT Eilidh D. Montgomery, CO USS Alba

STARSHIP FACT FILE: USS BRADFORDPO2 Mark Gill, USS Appleton

TREK FICTION: MEDICAL MISCELLANY - EPISODE TWOLTjg Andy Walker, Deputy CMO, USS Appleton

5 ANNIVERSARIES AND PROMOTIONSRegion 20

78910111315162021

A MESSAGE FROM THE VICE REGIONAL COORDINATORCOMM Scott A. J. Peter4

STAR TREK NEWSTitbits from around the world of Trek6


A MESSAGE FROM THE VICE REGIONAL COORDINATORCOMM Scott A. J. Peter

Stardate 201805.31

Greetings fellow members of Region 20,

It's been a bumpy road recently for Region 20 including two of our chapter COs choosing to decommission.These things happen in other Regions too and they move on, life as usual, but we wish the members all thebest in their new endeavours and hope they find what they are looking for. A big thank you to those COs,XOs and members who have expressed support for the work of the Region. We are here to support ourchapters! Look out for some exciting news coming soon. I am also hopeful, by the time you read this, thatour newest chapter will have launched, Spacedock Boobrie, under the command of Captain Kevin McNeillieand Commander Rob Stark.

Looking ahead, the Regional Award winners have been submitted for consideration in the annual fleet awards,which will be announced during this year's International Conference (IC). This year's IC is being held inMinneapolis, Minnesota, USA. I will have the pleasure of attending again this year. This will be my third IC. Iam also delighted that the RC will also be in attendance, giving R20 an 'in the room voice' at this year's ECABmeeting (Executive Committee/Admiralty Board). The RC has also kick started a project which began lastyear to create a handbook for new (and experienced) COs and XOs. We hope to see the results of that soon.

Preparations are also well underway for our 4th Regional Summit in Windsor. This takes place in May 2019.Full details of costs and how to book are included in this edition of The Runabout. It's always a great weekend,so check out the details and we will hopefully see you in Windsor next May.

It's exactly a year to the day since I last wrote a piece as VRC for The Runabout and at that time, we satwith 292 members (24/5/17). Region 20 continues to be a growing and thriving Region, and ourmembership now sits at 409 as I start to write this article (24/5/18). This is down to our active andwelcoming chapters, led by COs and various other members who ensure that new recruits settle in andbecome active in the life of their chapter and region. Well done to the Cuchulain, leading the way withrecruitment across the fleet. However, all our chapters are picking up members here and there, helping usto become the largest international region in the fleet.

On behalf of the Regional Command Team, I wish all our members a very pleasant and safe summer.

LLAP

COMM Scott A J Peter SFMD

Vice Regional Coordinator

Region 20

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


ANNIVERSARIES & PROMOTIONSRegion 20

Anniversaries - Ships of the LineMany congratulations to the following chapters, who celebrated their anniversaries during the spring:

U.S.S. APPLETON NCC-97001 22 April 2017 1st Anniversary

U.S.S. ALBA NCC-75024 21 May 2013 5th Anniversary

U.S.S. STARGAZER NCC-7991 2 June 2010 8th Anniversary

Regional Promotions - January to July 2018Many congratulations to the following officers of Starfleet Region 20:

14th Graeme Oliver USS Stargazer (upon taking command)

16th John Hardy USS Alba

16th Robert Byng USS Alba

18th George Sheldon USS Alba

2nd Kevin McNeillie USS Merlin (Now Spacedock Boobrie)

14th C J Smilas USS Raven

21st Clare Williams USS Appleton

21st Lisa Holliday USS Appleton

29th Chris Innes USS Brian Boru (upon taking command)

17th Ian Struthers USS Alba


STAR TREK NEWSTitbits from around the world of Trek

San Diego Comic-Con● The first trailer for season two of has been released at San Diego Comic-Con. Check

it out here. N.B. Contains potential spoilers from season one!

● of Star Trek Discovery is set to arrive on Netflix in early 2019.

● (X-Men, The Punisher) is announced to play the role of Number One, Captain Pike’sfirst officer on the U.S.S. Enterprise, in the new season of Star Trek Discovery.

● Production for is set to commence in early 2019. The movie, set in Trek’s Kelvin Timeline,will be written by J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, and directed by S.J. Clarkson.

● Rumours still abound regarding a potential Star Trek movie project by . Simon Pegg(Scotty in the recent movies) speculated that that may be five or six years away.

● becomes the second Trek actor (after Walter Koenig) to receive Comic-ConInternational’s Inkpot Award, first created in 1974, for contributions to the industry.

● The trailer for season two of Seth MacFarlane’s (the other ‘Trek’ series currently inproduction!) also arrived at San Diego Comic-Con. You can watch it here.

Books, games and models● Cryptic Studios have announced ‘Age of Discovery’, a new expansion for , tied in to the

current show, coming in autumn. The new content will feature the voice of Mary Wiseman (Tilly).

● will be displaying a new limited-edition model of the U.S.S. Glenn (Discovery’s sister ship) atStar Trek Las Vegas. The upcoming U.S.S. Europa and Vulcan cruiser models will also be featured.

● Penguin Random House’s first book is released on 25 September. Volume One willfeature vessels from 2151-2293, with Volume Two (2294 to the Future) following on 13 November.

Notable upcoming Trek birthdays● 6 August - Michael Okuda (TNG/DS9/VOY Scenic Art Supervisor)● 7 August - Cirroc Lofton (Jake Sisko)● 12 August - Matt Jefferies (TOS Set Designer)● 17 August - Harve Bennett (TOS Movies Producer)● 19 August - Gene Roddenberry (The Great Bird of the Galaxy)● 19 August - Jonathan Frakes (Will Riker, TNG/DS9/VOY/DSC Director)● 19 August - Diana Muldaur (Kate Pulaski)● 21 August - Kim Cattrall (Valeris)● 24 August - Jennifer Lien (Kes)● 28 August - Gates McFadden (Beverly Crusher)● 9 September - Jeffrey Combs (Weyoun/Brunt)● 11 September - Roxann Biggs-Dawson (B’Ellana Torres)● 14 September - Walter Koenig (Pavel Chekov)● 23 September - Rosalind Chao (Keiko O’Brien)● 27 September - Roger Carmel (Harry Mudd)● 1 October - Stephen Collins (Willard Decker)● 2 October - Persis Khambatta (Ilia)● 15 October - Mark Lenard (Sarek)● 24 October - John Winston (Kyle)● 27 October - Robert Picardo (The Doctor)

https://youtu.be/09Cd7NKKvDc

https://youtu.be/lavy7qZ1aoo


USS LIBERTY BELLE COMMISSIONINGCAPT Phyllis Seale Foynes

On Stardate 201705.19 the crew of the USS Liberty Belle had a massive party to celebrate ourcommissioning.

We also decided to raise money for our charity, the Plurabelle Paddlers, a breast cancer survivor charitybased in the Docklands of Dublin. The final total was €433!

Everyone had a fantastic night and we were particularly honoured to host FCapt Eilidh Douglas Montgomeryfrom the USS Alba!

Here's some pics of the night for you to enjoy. Not many were taken as we were all having fun!

I'd like to say a big thank you to everyone who has helped and supported us through this process. ParticularlyRichard Sams, Scott Peters, Eilidh Douglas Montgomery, Erica Smith, Ian Lawther and Jessica Odell.

It's a real honour to fully join the ranks of Region 20. The best is yet to come!

Yours in service,

Captain Phyllis Seale Foynes

CO, USS Liberty Belle NCC-75033.


USS APPLETON AT SCI-FI SCARBOROUGHCAPT Lisa Holliday

On the 21st and 22nd April some of the crew of the USS Appleton attended Sci-Fi Scarborough for thethird time - under the Leeds Bradford Starfleet banner. Sci-Fi Scarborough 2018 was the 5th year thisevent has taken place, co-organized by Appleton crew member MID Steve Dickinson, and the event continuesto go from strength to strength.

This year we ran the SFS merchandise stall as well as the grand raffle. Crew member PO2 Mark Gill tookover hosting the panels with the guests as the previous panel host, Jerry Scott, sadly passed away last year.Mark, who was assisted by CRMN Tim Toepritz over the weekend, did an excellent job and will be returningto SFS 2019.

We were extremely honoured to have RC Richard Sams present Mr Jon Campling (actor) aboard the USSAppleton. We surprised him with a membership to the vessel as he has been a huge star over the last fewyears, compering the grand raffle at the last three events. He was extremely moved with this surprise, andto be made Ensign Campling. We were also delighted to see him wearing his rank pip at Cannes Film Festivalin May.

SFS was where we unveiled the Enterprise-D bridge set for the first time since the event in Mirfield last July,which was placed on the stage in the main hall in Scarborough Spa. It was set up for photo shoots and wasused for the cosplay competition on the Sunday. The event was visited for the first time by regional newsprogram BBC Look North and the reporter was so impressed with the set it was chosen to interview Steveon it for that evening’s show!

The whole event was immense fun, though tiring for the crew who attended. We were really pleased to seeseveral other SFI members there too, not to mention the effort the guys put in turning the bar into TenForward for the event.

We rounded the weekend off with the grand raffle which once again had the seven foot banner of awesomeautographs signed by all the guests who attended, including Star Trek Enterprise’s Dominic Keating.

We raised £840 on the raffle taking our current total for our charity to £1024.

CAPT Lisa Holliday

XO USS Appleton


WELCOME TO SPACE DOCK BOOBRIECAPT Kevin McNeillie

Hello to one and all from Region 20’s newest chapter, Space Dock Boobrie! We are based in Ayrshire,around 35 miles from Glasgow, on the West coast of Scotland. The Space Dock is commanded by myself,Captain Kevin McNeillie, my executive officer is Commander Robert Marshall, and Ensign Mark McManusis my second officer. Mark is also our Counsellor and happy to offer guidance and advice to any crew member,so why not pop by for some rest and relaxation?

What is a Boobrie?The boobrie is a mythological shapeshifting entity inhabiting the lochs of the west coast ofScotland. It commonly adopts the appearance of a gigantic water bird resembling acormorant or great northern diver, but it can also materialise in the form of various othermythological creatures such as a water bull.

A bit about me...I started with SFI in 2013 onboard the USS Alba, who have also agreed to be ourmothership during shakedown, many thanks to Fleet Captain Eilidh Montgomery andher crew. During my tenure there I was the Chief Tactical Officer, responsible forrecruiting a vast number of members to join the Alba and help it grow. I also servedas the chapter award rep for several years. I eventually left and joined the flagship,the USS Merlin, and became the Region 20 Awards chief under the administrationof our current Regional Co-ordinator, Rear Admiral Richard Sams. I was quite a lateconvert to Star Trek, having watched Voyager when I was a teenager but not fullyunderstanding it until I joined Alba, but now I cannot get enough of it. In my free time(when I get it!) I am studying to become a Social Worker and I also volunteer in thecommunity. I co-founded and served on the board of my local tenants and residents

association, as well as being a community councillor and helping those who need it. My door is open toanyone who wishes to come and see me, so if you fancy a wee stroll along our decks please stop by andpick up either a Romulan Ale or maybe even a Jumja stick, or perhaps a nice cup of some bloodwine, whichgets the party going!


HOLOTECHNOLOGY - A STEP IN THE TREK DIRECTIONFCAPT Eilidh D. Montgomery, CO USS Alba

Microsoft have just announced Microsoft HoloLens. On their official website, they say "we envisioned a worldwhere technology could become more personal - where it could adapt to the natural ways we communicate,learn, and create. Where our digital lives would seamlessly connect with real life. The result is the world'smost advanced holographic computing platform, enabled by Windows 10. For the first time ever, MicrosoftHoloLens brings high-definition holograms to life in your world where they integrate with your physical places,spaces, and things. Holograms will improve the way you do things every day, and enable you to do thingsyou've never done before."

Microsoft, in an article published online by The Guardian, tell of how an array of motion sensors andKinect-style cameras will know where the user is in the room and how the Kinect can be controlled by handgestures. Gaming will be revolutionised as the characters could run about on the sofa, zombies could comecrashing through the windows, and for those of us who love Star Trek gaming, the Enterprise could hit warpspeed among the stars over our heads as we sit on the floor in front of our televisions. Holotechnologyinvolves the use of a laser, interference and diffraction, light intensity recording, and suitable illumination ofthe recording. The image changes as the position and orientation of the viewing system changes, in exactlythe same way as if the object were still present, making the image appear 3D. Holography, which is thecorrect name of the technology of holograms, comes from the Greek hólos "whole" and graphé "writing" or"drawing". The technology was worked on by the Hungrarian-British physicist Dennis Gabor, who wasawarded the Nobel Prize in physics in 1971 - a prize he won for "his invention and development of theHolographic method."

In Star Trek, a hologram is a construction of photons, force-fields, and holo matter, created inside a holodeck,a holosuite or another type of holographic projector. Holograms can be manipulated by advanced computerprograms, allowing people to interact with inanimate objects. Some holograms, such as the EmergencyMedical Hologram in Star Trek Voyager, were even considered sentient beings. The EMH was designed tobe used for a short period of time, but the Voyager's doctor himself worked on developing the program andevolved from just appearing when called with his line "please state the nature of the medical emergency"to adding to his program, and developed his own personality. By the end of the series, he was credited asa full member of the crew, even engaging in relationships. Perhaps the most remarkable was his relationshipwith 7 of 9. At one point he was restricted to the Sick Bay, but with the use of mobile emitters, which enablehim to be moved around the ship, he was even able to take part in an away mission. By the 24th century,holodecks and holograms were a standard part of life in the Federation, but generally the holograms werenot aware they were not real. In the Next Generation episode "Ship in a Bottle", a simulation of the SherlockHolmes character, Moriarty, became the first hologram who attained true sentience.

All through Star Trek The Next Generation, Deep Space 9" and Voyager, holograms were commonplacewith many episodes taking place almost solely on the holodeck. The holodeck was used in Star Trek, not justfor recreation, but to learn, to visit other places, or even to work on engineering advancements, and torecreate various scenarios. Could this be what the future has in store? This is virtual reality at a new level.With the Microsoft HoloLens, the user will have to wear a headset.

One day they may be able to develop technology that is like in Star Trek: no need for glasses and equipment,but from holo emitters placed around the room. Will every home in the future have a holosuite? Will we beable, one day, to learn a musical instrument by opening up a program and sitting alongside Beethoven,Yehudi Menuhin, James Galway - or other greats in music? Or like Captain Janeway, to share a corner ofDa Vinci's workshop? To go back and watch Monet at work… school educational visits would be phenomenal.Instead of visiting a museum, the group could enter the world they are studying through this technologythat was dreamed of more than seventy years ago, and brought to our screens by Star Trek.


SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY - REVIEWCAPT Ian Lawther, CO USS Caroline

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away… This was aline that took millions of people by surprise back whenthe original Star Wars movie came out. It was a timewhen movies were slightly simpler, one could even saythey were, in a matter of speaking, smaller.Nonetheless, Episode IV: A New Hope came to ouruniverse to take us out of it, to a new world, full of newcreatures, new rules, new powers, new everything, itwas something definitely different, something from,indeed, a very distant galaxy.

As if by magic, everyone got into it, it was the newsensation, everybody wanted to be a Jedi, a rebel pilot,everyone wanted to use the Force. And so, Star Wars

quickly became part ofour culture, pretty mucheveryone knows them, atleast a quote or two. Itdoesn't really matter ifyou're a fan or not of themovies, you know thesemovies gave a boost oflife to science fiction.Come on, we all knowwhat's going to happenwhen we see a darkscreen and the words "Along time ago in a galaxyfar, far away…" appear,and you know it's goingto be huge.

However, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, came out41 years ago already! It's amazing that a franchise withso many years still goes on to release new content withnew stories to tell. Now, we already mentioned howeveryone wanted to be a Jedi back then, but there wasa character that absolutely stole people's hearts,making him probably one of the most belovedcharacters in the history of science fiction movies, notto mention that he's probably the coolest of them. We'retalking of course of the space contrabandist Han Solo.

Throughout these many years, Han Solo has been apublic favourite of the saga, however, we did never havetoo much information about him. Where does he comefrom? Is "Solo" his real name? How was the gamewhere he won the legendary Millennium Falcon? What'shis past? How did he meet his equally famous friendand companion Chewbacca? Maybe all of thesequestions never crossed your mind, however, here weget all these answers and more. But this raises a lot ofother questions like: Is this a good thing? Was thismovie really necessary? Do we really need to know thisstuff? Does the "origin" live up to the legend? Is this justa "money catch"? Well, let's talk about it…

Ever since Disney bought the franchise back in 2012,they've been trying to give a "new look", or so they say,to the well-known saga. This is not the first standalone

movie they released to be connected to the saga. Thatwas Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, with a whole newcast of characters and a whole new story that also goesbefore Episode IV. However, what makes Solo differentis that it circles around a character that even appearsin Star Wars: The Force Awakens. We're talking of acharacter that's been around for more than 40 years.

Alright, that's enough introduction, let's get to talkingabout the movie now. And do not worry, while we'll talkabout what happens in the movie, we will not give youspoilers, so you can rest assured you're not going to haveit ruined. Now, on with the movie we go.

This movie takes place about a decade or so before ANew Hope. We get young Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich)who, after surviving a harsh childhood on the streets ofhis planet Corellia, is as of now, a fresh-faced, earnestand more enthusiastic version of himself, not like thecynical Han Solo we get in Episode IV. Han and hisgirlfriend, Qi'ra (Emilia Clarke), try to escape from a crimeboss and that crime-ridden planet, however, while Hanmakes it out, Qi'ra is captured and Han vows to comeback and get her away from the planet. Three years laterhe's gone off to work as a grunt for the Galactic Empire'smassive army, However, leaving his home planet wasn'teasy, and he needs to go back to make things right forthe person he loves. He has to make enough money toget himself his own ship and rescue his girlfriend.

This is when he meet hispartner Chewbacca(Joonas Suotamo), as wellas a new band ofsmugglers led by thescene-stealing Beckett(Woody Harrelson) andhis partner, Val (ThandieNewton). Han sees hisopportunity here to workwith him for a while, atleast until a big scorecomes up, big enough sohe can carry on with hisplan. These high-stakesheists also put our belovedspace pirate in contactwith the legendary gambler Lando Calrissian (DonaldGlover), who will lend him a ship in exchange for a littlecut into all this action.

Things are about to get rough for young Han, but that'snothing new to him, not for the character. Nothing evercomes easy when your name is Han Solo. Will he be ableto fulfill his plan and save his girlfriend from the hands ofthis evil kingpin that kept them, and many more people,locked down, working as prisoners? Well that may justbe enough plot for now. We promised you a spoiler-freereview, and by the Force, a spoiler-free review is whatyou'll get.


The script is written by a veteran of the franchise,Lawrence Kasdan, the guy who wrote the screenplay forStar Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, EpisodeVI - Return of the Jedi, as well as Raiders of the Lost Ark.He also wrote Star Wars: Episode VII - The ForceAwakens. This man has a lot of experience on hisshoulders. Together with his son, Jonathan Kasdan, theytried to get a script ready that would resonate with fans.At least trying to hit all the major aspects of the legendarysmuggler's personality, as if working by a checklist.However, it does not always feel as natural or fluid as itdid back with Harrison Ford. It can feel a little forced howthe character behaves, and we never really get "whathappened" to his personality. It's as if they wererestarting the character, something that will absolutelynot please fans very much.

We get that Alden Ehrenreich had a lot of weight on hisback, of course. When it comes to portraying a belovedcharacter that's been around for more than 40 years, itmust not be easy. However, in my opinion he was mostlikely not the right choice to play this smuggler.

While we're not necessarily complaining about gettingthe answers to the questions probably no one ever asked,this movie does feel as if it gives us a little bit too muchinformation. Taking big part of the mystery, which wasactually part of the charm of the Han Solo character inthe original movies, it shows us too much, and it's not

really fulfilling. We do getto see how Han and Landostart forming their oddfriendship of non-trusttrust. We do get to see hisbeginnings in crime life.We get to see how he metChewie. But it feels sorushed that it just feelsbad. It's like getting amovie version of aWikipedia article on thecharacter. A whole moviemade of "and then thishappens" instead of"therefore this happens",making the whole scriptpretty dull…

The scenarios are, surprising no one, nothing much morethan desert-like landscapes full of rust and orange,making us wonder what happened in the Star Warsuniverse with so many desert planets. Not many nicecolours to see in this entry. However, the special effectsare pretty cool, but this was expected of this saga which,even back in 1977, managed to deliver excellence in thatdepartment.

It's hard for any prequel to live up to its predecessor, butsometimes one just can't help but wonder: wouldn't ithave been better to just not make this? Well one thing

is for sure, the numbers don't lie. Solo: A Star Wars Storyhas been a failure at the box office. It's not like it's notselling (even though the numbers are very small), it's justthat coming from a franchise such as Star Wars, youwould really expect a movie that breaks records, not onethat can hardly even compete with Deadpool 2.

There isn't really muchreason to watch thismovie other than to get aglimpse of how Han Solo,Chewbacca and Lando gotto know each other, andeven that did not feel asnice I expected. Whilemost purists andhardcore fans of the sagawill most likely not besatisfied with it, probablysome of the youngeraudience will enjoy it. It isa movie you can watch,eat some popcorn whileyou're at it, and maybeeven have a good time talking with your friends about itafterwards, however it is not a movie you need to watch.

Of course, being a standalone movie, it was obviously notnecessary to watch it, but making it more enjoyable, witha better story and a slightly different cast would make ita great movie. But since no one asked for it, well, we gotwhat we asked for: A movie that takes mystery out of acharacter made of mysteries. This leaves us wondering,wouldn't it be better to keep expanding the universeforward, instead of looking back at every chance theyget? It's very dangerous to keep revisiting old characters,specially fan favourites like Han Solo. One bad step andyou might end up ruining a character that's been lovedby millions for decades, and/or you'll end up answeringunnecessary questions. Creating plot holes here andthere and changing the personalities of our characters.

Full of comic relief, weak points and more of what we'vebeen mentioning, this movie could still be an enjoyable,but not a great, or even a good entry to the Star Warsuniverse. I absolutely recommend that if you want to getsome more of Han Solo just watch the original trilogyover and over and over again, because this movie justwon't do the trick. And if you get tired of re-watching theoriginal trilogy so much, you can always check out StarWars: The Force Awakens, there you'll also get a doseof Han Solo and you'll get a better movie. Right now, weare just crossing our fingers, hoping that they do a betterjob with the Obi Wan Kenobi movie.

So, that's it, and as always: May the Force be with you.

SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY - REVIEWContinued


GEEKOLOGYCMDR Sven Harvey, CO Spacedock Birmingham

Star Trek fandom has punctuated my life. From reading the James Blish novelisations of the Original Seriesepisodes, to seeing The Wrath Of Khan with my father at the cinema, to getting into Star Trek: The NextGeneration via the rental videos before the retail release and the BBC run. It was around 1991, Star Trek's25th Anniversary, that I started getting involved in Star Trek fandom in the community sense. I joined theteam working on the diskzine "The Final Frontier", which was for the Amiga family of computers, while I wasstill at school, writing and creating artwork (with names such as Bjørn Lynne and Tobias Richter alsocontributing to the 'zine!) From there the step into volunteering at conventions and getting involved in theorganisational side of things came naturally - Delta Quadrant 1997 and Alpha Quadrant, a Birmingham-based club for fans of Star Trek, followed on.

Fast forward to 2010 - David Zabiela (XO of Spacedock Birmingham) and myself formed Geekology with theintention of leveraging the experience from my many years of fanzine and magazine writing, from The FinalFrontier through Infinite Frontiers paper fanzines (including The Final Frontier Phase II and The CybertronanTimes) plus work in Micro Mart, Model & Collectors Mart and others. It seemed logical to do a general sci-fiand fantasy fanzine, but there wasn't the spark of creativity that we were used to, and it became clear thatsomething fresh, at least for us, was needed to really get us engaged.

Getting on the tube...Millions of hours of videos have been posted on YouTube since it's foundation in 2005, with the majority ofthe content being five minutes or so short-form content. Even now the backbone of the site is an almostendless parade of top fives and top tens.

I'd conceptualised an idea called 4M@ (format) which was supposed to be a magazine format TV show typevideo series about video and computer gaming. The idea was to have three presenters, with myself as thePlayStation expert, David as the Xbox rep and someone else for Nintendo, while all three would covercomputer and retro gaming, as well as some other technology coverage. Think Top Gear for gaming andhome cinema tech, but we knew that keeping up with video games would be a very expensive option!


GEEKOLOGY BY CMDR SVEN HARVEYContinued

After a rather unsuccessful attempt at putting together the Geekology fanzine and other ideas, combinedwith my redundancy from Gamestation, a perfect storm was created. David suggested adapting the 4M@idea into a sci-fi and fantasy based web-show primarily reviewing the geek-culture items we were gettingour hands on anyway, and had in our collections. It was a brave choice putting ourselves out there on video,but the spark of interest that was absent when trying to put together the fanzine had returned. The 4M@format was adapted and borne out of the extra idea of just filming the conversations we often had anyway,targeting between thirty minutes and an hour per video (a definite break from the YouTube norm, especiallythen). The first episode of Geekology went live on 25th May 2013, launching the series with, of course, StarTrek.

It's been five years since that first review of the StarTrek Kre-o Enterprise and the Geekology channel nowhas well over 300 videos. As well as the mainGeekology show, 4M@ has come to fruition along withDid You Know? Weird Stuff!, Unboxings, Retro andmore! The backbone of the main show is acombination of Star Trek (especially Eaglemoss'Official Starship Collection) and Transformers(especially the Masterpiece line) with both franchisesspilling over into our other shows with there beingmore Star Trek than anything else.

We aimed for an air of "edutainment" to the videos, inthat we primarily wanted the viewer to have fun alongwith us but we also wanted to bring some facts to the

table that not everyone may know. Indeed, in this vein, the main Transformers episodes are referred to asEducating Dave, as Transformers knowledge is almost forced into his cranium!

Please check out our YouTube channel at the webaddress below and you are encouraged to subscribe(and don't forget to hit the notification bell). Eaglemoss'Star Trek: The Official Starship Collection will continueto be a cornerstone of our content, so join us for thoseeach month.

You can probably tell from the first few videos that wereally were starting from scratch with equipment andother technical areas. The show simply grew basedon ideas and enthusiasm, and the flow of the showand indeed all of the channel's shows, gathered fromthere.

Thinking of doing something new? Get to it. Regretting not trying something out is far worse than trying itand not enjoying it or it not working. And you never know where you might end up, boldly go where you haven'tgone before.

If you are thinking about getting out there on YouTube in particular, then absolutely give it a go, regardlessof what kind of content you want to produce. It's all good experience. Just treat it as a hobby rather than apotential way to make a living, as though that is possible, you need to be rather lucky to do so (though I knowpeople who are giving full-time YouTubing a go!)

Live long and prosper, 'till all are one.


PROJECT GENESIS - UPDATE 1CAPT Tony Burr, USS Merlin

Stage 0In an attempt to understand the geometric differences in multi-strand coils, I’m winding copper wire andmanipulating the layers of coils.

I am currently remaking a complete set of multi-strand coils for demonstration purposes before I return tosmall scale multi-strand coils. The copper wire, used as a springy string, is currently 1.6mm in diameterand will be coiled at 20mm in diameter like the four strand coil below.

Here are some of the geometric differences in various diameters of coil.

Top to bottom:

1 stranded coil2 stranded coils, a group of four3 stranded coils, a group of two4 stranded coil - closing spiral5 stranded coil - spirilic vortex6 stranded coil - spirilic vortex7 stranded coil - missing!8 stranded coil - spirilic vortex9 stranded coil - lamp enclosure18 stranded coil - spirilic vortex

Four stranded coil &geometry:

A four stranded coil configures into a spiral thatcloses when compressed:

Coils have a different geometry when multi-stranded.

The process of making and learning continues.

Have you dropped a single long coiled springy springwith a ball attached!?!

Dropping a slinky:

YouTube video

https://youtu.be/wGIZKETKKdw

https://youtu.be/wGIZKETKKdw


SPOCK: A PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILEFCAPT Eilidh D. Montgomery, CO USS Alba

What is the first thing that springsto mind when we think ofCommander Spock, the FirstOfficer and Science Officer of theUSS Enterprise?

We think of a tall, slender, dark-haired Vulcan. Always calm andlogical; his calm, apparentlyunfeeling manner and strictdedication to duty. Unbending and unemotional.

And yet, when we look closely, underneath that exteriorwe find the true Spock, buried deep in his Vulcandedication to science and logic and the strict controlof emotions.

One of the mostimportant factors thatmust be taken intoconsideration in apsychological study ofSpock is his mixedparentage - that he ishalf-Vulcan and half-Human.

That his father, who knowingly and deliberately marrieda Human woman, apparently expected his son to befully Vulcan, and that his Human side was a weaknessis, on the whole, rather illogical and must have madean impact on the child. And this, growing up on Vulcan,where to be anything less than Vulcan was almost asin, must have been one of the greatest definingfactors of the developing character of the boy whogrew to be Spock.

It is obvious that, because of the Human element, hisfather would have been very strict with the boy andthere is a glimpse of this in the novel "Vulcan!" with thisshort piece of conversation between Spock and Dr.Tremaine:

Spock: "I was never able to imagine as a child. Iwas never allowed to imagine. Can you understandwhat that means, or how much joy it has taken outof my life?"

Tremaine: "I'm not interested in your childhood - itwas probably as cold and bleak and unpleasant asyou are." (N.B. she hates Vulcans).

Spock: "You're quite right. It was. And it is perhapswhy I am."

His early upbringing was a factor that ultimately costhim a great deal - choosing, as he did, to leave Vulcanto serve in Starfleet which, we learn from his motherin the TOS episode "Journey to Babel", caused such arift between Spock and his father that they did notspeak for eighteen years due to Spock's decision toenter Starfleet Academy rather than the VulcanScience Academy - disobeying his father's wishes. Italso cost him his marriage for we learn from T'Pring,to whom he had beenbetrothed from the ageof seven, after sheinitiated koon-ut-kali-fee(marriage challenge),that she does not wishto be "the consort of alegend" (TOS episode:"Amok Time").

It is obvious that Spock's decision was partly based onhis acceptance, or lack of acceptance, on his homeplanet. His relationship with his father would befounded on respect - a glimpse of which we see whenSarek chides Spock's mother for embarrassing Spockin front of his fellow officers ("Journey to Babel"). Itwould be from a desire to earn his father's respect,no doubt, that Spock decided as a child to follow Vulcanphilosophy - to deny his Human half and be moreVulcan than the Vulcans, in effect - and he is, becauseof this, probably stricter on himself than necessary.In the Animated Series episode "Yesteryear" we learnthat, at the age of seven, Spock decided - prematurely,and without the knowledge and approval of his parents- to undertake the kahs-wan maturity trial in the Vulcan

desert, in an attempt to provehimself to his father. In thestory, his pet sehlat (the "teddybear" his mother teased himabout in "Journey to Babel")I-Chaya, followed him and waswounded protecting Spockfrom the attack of a le-matya.

Spock was faced with the option of a painfully extendedlife or a peaceful release for his pet. Logically, he optedfor the latter and that decision marked his choosingthe Vulcan way of life over that of his Human mother- to follow Surak's philosophies of logic and emotionalcontrol - a decision which, no doubt, pleased his father.We discover, from Spock's father, that Spockcontinued to disobey his father, often disappearing intothe mountains for days and refusing to say what hehad done or where he had been - even when forbiddento go, and endured the punishment for disobedience.Shortly before his death in 2368, Sarek told CaptainPicard that he secretly admired "the proud core of himthat would not yield" (TNG episode: "Unification). The


SPOCK: A PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILEContinued (2 of 4)

events of "Journey to Babel" healed the rift betweenSpock and his father until the year 2293 when Spock'smother died. Spock harbours a deep resentmentagainst his father for leaving her deathbed when theFederation contacted him over a diplomaticemergency (TOS novel: "Sarek"). This new riftcontinued until Sarek's death. In the TNG episode"Sarek" we learn through Captain Picard's mind meld

with Sarek that the Vulcanhad always loved his sondeeply but never could tellhim, but, it was only afterSarek's death that Spocklearns this through mindmelding himself withPicard (TNG episode:"Unification").

Like all Vulcans, Spock has emotions but they arestrictly controlled by adhering to the teachings ofSurak and through intense meditation. Spock has tofight harder than most to keep these emotions buried,his Vulcan half and the Human part of him constantlyup against each other - "I have an alien half and ahuman half constantly at war with each other … Isurvive because my intelligence wins, makes them livetogether," (TOS episode: "The Enemy Within"). In "TheNaked Time" we see him repeating to himself: "I am incontrol of my emotions," as the Psi 2000 virus causeshis Human side to surface, to the point where hebreaks down weeping - although he maintains enoughof the Vulcan side to get out of sight of the crew.

Spock's Human side does not cease to haunt himthroughout his life. In "Star Trek: The Motion Picture"we learn that he is attempting to go through the ritualknown as kolinahr - the complete purging of allemotions in pursuit of the ideal of pure logic - but he isunable to complete it as the telepathic call of V'Gerbrings his Human emotions tothe fore. This happens in theTOS episode "The ImmunitySyndrome" when he feels thedeath of the 400 Vulcans on theUSS Intrepid. This is aninteresting point in Spock'scharacter, for Vulcans arenormally touch telepaths but hecalls this "a deep understandingof the way things happen toVulcans."

One of Spock's most important characteristics isloyalty, and especially to his commanding officer. In"This Side of Paradise" Spock says "I have aresponsibility … to that man on the bridge," and in theepisode "The Ultimate Computer" he states that

"computers make excellent and efficient servants, butI have no wish to serve under them. Captain, a starshipalso runs on loyalty to one man, and nothing canreplace it, or him." This loyalty also manifests itself inthe two-part episode "The Menagerie" with Spock'sloyalty to his previous Captain, so much so that hewould risk court martial and Starfleet's last remainingreason for the death penalty. This leads directly tolooking at his courage. Spock is not afraid to risk hislife if necessary. In "The Immunity Syndrome" he is wellaware of the dangers involved in taking the shuttleinside the giant space amoeba. But, it is in the movie"Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" that we seeportrayed his ultimate demonstration of courage whenhe deliberately exposes himself to the fatal radiation,

sacrificing himself to savethe Enterprise and hercrew, repeating to Kirk ashe is dying that "the needsof the many, outweigh theneeds of the few, or the one."

In "The City on the Edge of Forever" Edith Keeler tellsSpock that she perceives the Vulcan's position in theuniverse to be "at his [Kirk's] side, as if you've alwaysbeen there and always will."

Love is an emotion of which Spock himself would denybeing capable, but there are many times where it isseen that he certainly understand the emotion, evenif he does not feel it. In "The Man Trap" he is obviouslyuncomfortable when Lt. Uhura flirts with him. In "TheNaked Time" he is in the uncomfortable position ofhaving Nurse Chapel, under the influence of the Psi2000 virus, declare her love for him. By theexpression on his face when she is clasping his hand,his eyes show thepain of his response:"I'm sorry" - telling herthat he cannot returnher feelings andknowing that it willhurt her. This is seenagain in "Amok Time" when she goes out of her way toshow him kindness and, after initially being angry withher, he responds to her gesture by allowing her tomake plomeek soup for him. It shows that he acceptsthat she loves him but also that she understands thathe cannot return it. His use of her first name showsthis, and that he wipes a tear from her eye, telling her"your face is wet."

In "This Side of Paradise" Spock, infected by the spores,is able to experience love for the first time with Leilawho, we learn, had known Spock from before andharboured feelings for him. We see him happy, andhe tells Leila "I love you … I can love you." When the



influence of the spores is broken, we sense fromSpock's kindness to Leila, when he reveals that he canno longer love her, that the emotion he experiencedwas real - and not an illusion. He refers to his duty toturn his back on love as his "self-made purgatory" andthen, on the bridge, delivers perhaps one of his saddestlines, showing clearly that despite everything he has,he is lonely, when he says "for once in my life … I washappy."

In "Requiem for Methuselah" when looking at CaptainKirk who is grieving for the android women he fell inlove with, Dr. McCoy tells Spock he feels sorry for theVulcan for "all the things you'll never know simplybecause the word 'love' isn't written in your book."Spock, remaining behind, proceeds to demonstrate

that he does understand - atleast brotherly love - whenhe places his fingers onKirk's temple and whispers"forget”.

Spock seems to have a natural feel for animals;something he does not naturally experience withhumans. We know that he had a pet as a child, asehlat (TOS episode: "Journey to Babel"; TAS episode:"Yesteryear") but we see him apparently unknowinglystroking a Tribble before realising and putting it downquickly (TOS episode: "The Trouble with Tribbles"), andalso in the TOS episode "Assignment Earth" Spock isseen stroking the head of Gary Seven's black cat, Isis.

Spock is also deeply compassionate, oddly enough thiscompassion is most often demonstrated in connectionwith McCoy who often taunts him on his lack of thatemotion. In "Miri", after McCoy injects himself with thevaccine and passes out,Spock is the one who findshim and he kneels at theDoctor's side and places hishands over McCoy's andremains like that until theCaptain arrives.

In "The City on the Edge of Forever" when Kirk preventsMcCoy from saving Edith Keeler from being killed, inorder to restore history, Spock responds to McCoy'scry of: "You deliberately stopped me, Jim. I could'vesaved her. Do you know what you just did?" with onesentence that carries a great weight of compassionwith it: "He knows, Doctor, he knows."

In the episode "For the World is Hollow and I haveTouched the Sky" McCoy is terminally ill. Kirk tellsSpock about it and, just for a moment, Spock lays hishand on McCoy's shoulder. It is obvious by McCoy'sface that he realises that Spock knows of his conditionand understands there that Spock does indeed feel.

Spock demonstrates on more than one occasion thathe is capable of developing friendships. It is obviousthroughout the first season of the Original Series thatthere is a strong friendship between Spock and theCaptain, but it is in "Amok Time" that he first refers toKirk and McCoy as his friends when T'Pau asks whyhe has brought "Outworlders" to the ceremony (animportant point, for pon farr and the Vulcan marriagerituals are intensely private). Also, after the challengeis over and Spock hasreleased T'Pring from herbond to him, Spock respondsto T'Pau's "Live long andprosper" with "I shall doneither. I have killed myCaptain … and my friend."

In "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" Spock tells Kirk: "Iam, and always will be, your friend." Words that herepeats when he is dying at the end of the movie. Healso uses the same words in "Star Trek III: The Searchfor Spock" after the fal-tor-pan - or the re-fusion of hiskatra with his body - to tell Kirk that he understandswhat is happening.

Spock's understanding of the impact his death will haveon his friends is summed up in his words to Kirk as heis dying, telling him not to grieve - although he will know,only too well, looking at Kirk's face, that they will grieve,deeply. ("Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan").

In "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" Spock's fathersays: "If I recall, I opposed your enlistment in Starfleet… it is possible that judgement was incorrect. Yourassociates are people of good character." Spockresponds simply with: "They are my friends" - he laysstress on the word 'friends' in response to his father'suse of the word 'associates'.

It is perhaps, through the eyes of his friends that theimpact, and meaning, of his friendship can be seen. In"Amok Time" Kirk disobeys Starfleet orders to getSpock to Vulcan when he is going through pon farr,and Kirk says to McCoy: "I owe him my life a dozentimes over. Isn't that worth a career? He's my friend."In "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" Kirk and McCoy arediscussing the death and return of Spock and Kirkrealises that they are not just friends, but closer thanthat - him, McCoy and Spock:

Kirk: "I lost a brother once. I was lucky. I got himback."

McCoy: "I thought you said men like us don't havefamilies."

Kirk: "I was wrong."



Spock is musical - he is seenin many episodes to beplaying the Vulcan lyre, anddoes so also in "Star Trek V:The Final Frontier". In theTOS episode "The CloudMinders" he proves to havea good knowledge ofclassical Earth music, andalso that he can sight read and play the piano. He hasa good knowledge of classical literature, revealing in"Shore Leave" that his mother was fond of the worksof Lewis Carroll; in "Is There in Truth no Beauty?" hestartles McCoy by quoting Byron and there areinstances where Spock makes references to the Bible,for example in the TOS episode "The Trouble withTribbles", when Spock informs Dr. McCoy that theTribbles remind him of "the lilies of the field. They toilnot, neither do they spin." His knowledge of the Bible

gives rise to an idea that hismother maybe read him Biblestories as a child. An interestingtwist on that is the image of Adamand Eve Expelled from Paradisewhich Spock keeps in his quarterson the Enterprise-A. This paintingreminded Spock that all thingsmust end ("Star Trek VI: TheUndiscovered Country"). He isoften seen playing chess, usuallywith Captain Kirk.

Spock is, although half-Human, fully Vulcan as regardsthe mental, telepathic side of being Vulcan. He is ableto mind-meld, although he prefers not to as it stripshim of his emotional control. He prefers to use it whenthere is no alternative, or when dealing with a life formthat cannot communicate in the usual way (TOSepisode: "The Devil in the Dark"). A Vulcan will alwaysobtain permission to meld for it is an intrusive,intensely personal experience. There are twoinstances, among others, however where permissionwas not asked or granted. One, in "Star Trek II: TheWrath of Khan", where Spock plants his katra inMcCoy's consciousness, and the other occurs in "StarTrek VI: The Undiscovered Country" when Spock, angryat the treachery of his protégé Lt. Valaris, forces herinto a mind-meld with him.

Spock is able to control pain, to a certain extent, as isseen in "Operation -Annihilate!" and toimplement a Vulcanhealing technique whencritically injured in "APrivate Little War". In

"Amok Time" when he undergoes pon farr - or themating fever - he expresses to Captain Kirk a hope thathe would be spared it, hoping, it seems, that his Humanside would have some influence there.

He is highly intelligent and has a deep knowledge onalmost any topic. He is always calm, logical and polite,even when engaged in a 'battle' of words with Dr.McCoy. He usually ignores the doctor's taunts orresponds in a way which he knows will aggravateMcCoy, and usually has the effect of rendering thedoctor speechless.

Over his long life, it seems that despite all his effortsto be strictly Vulcan, he finally accepted the inevitable,that his Human-half could not be denied and perhapshe grew to accept it without even realising. This muchwould seem true in the short exchange betweenhimself and Data in the second part of the TNGepisode "Unification":

Data: "As you examine your life, do you find that youhave missed your humanity?"

Spock: "I have no regrets."

Data: "'No regrets.' That isa human expression."

Spock: "Yes. Fascinating."

Perhaps, the final summing up on a psychologicalprofile of Spock should be left in the words of CaptainJames T. Kirk at Spock's funeral:

"We are assembled here today to pay final respectsto our honoured dead. And yet, it should be noted,that in the midst of our sorrow, this death takesplace in the shadow of new life, the sunrise of a newworld, a world that our beloved comrade gave hislife to protect andnourish. He did not feelthis sacrifice a vain or anempty one - and we willnot debate his profoundwisdom at theseproceedings. Of myfriend, I can only say this:Of all the souls I haveencountered in mytravels, his was the most… human." (Star Trek II:The Wrath of Khan").

In loving memory of Leonard Simon Nimoy -26/03/1931 - 27/02/2015


STARSHIP FACT FILE: USS BRADFORDPO2 Mark Gill, USS Appleton

For Star Trek starship aficionados (especially those in Yorkshire!), it’s fairly well known that the Nebula-classvessel in the opening credits of the latter seasons of Deep Space Nine was the U.S.S. Leeds. What youmight not be aware of is there was very nearly also a U.S.S. Bradford in the show…

Class Details: Bradford

Transport/Tug

266 metres

Adam Buckner

Intended forDS9 ‘A Time to Stand’ (1997).

USS Bradford NCC-6182

Background:The U.S.S. Bradford was a ‘kitbashed’ design by AdamBuckner for use in the background of Deep SpaceNine’s Dominion War battle scenes. Along with morewell-known kitbashed designs like the Curry, theCentaur and the Yeager (not to mention the ‘RagingQueen’!), the ship was assembled from parts ofdifferent off-the-shelf model kits - the so-called‘Frankenstein Fleet’. The Bradford consisted of aMiranda-class saucer with two nacelles above the hull(incidentally in a similar configuration as was originallyintended for the U.S.S. Reliant), attached with parts ofIntrepid-class pylons from a U.S.S. Voyager model,along with other ‘greeblies’.

The design itself resembles the Kobayashi Maru fromthe 2009 Star Trek movie and from Star Trek Online(the latter also constructed - albeit digitally this time -from parts of a Miranda). The underslung cargo pods(created with parts of Saturn V rocket models) alsogive a nod to Franz Joseph’s Ptolemy-classtransport/tug (which sneaked into canon via theappearance of its pages from Joseph’s classicStarfleet Technical Manual on Enterprise displaysduring the opening scenes of Star Trek II: The Wrathof Khan). Alas the Bradford apparently never made iton screen, and resided on producer Peter Lauritson’sdesk, as pictured to the right.

- U.S.S. Bradford designed by Adam Buckner.Built by Dan Curry/Jim Stevenson. Desktop image byAdam Buckner from Memory Alpha. Orthographicsfrom the Starship Schematic Database. Coloursideview from Ex Astris Scientia.

http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/File:USS_Bradford,_built_and_readied_for_filmiming_but_unused.jpg

http://www.shipschematics.net/startrek/bibliography.php?filter=DS9_ATTS

http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/schematics/starfleet_ships3.htm

http://trek.escape-committee.co.uk/

http://trek.escape-committee.co.uk/

http://trek.escape-committee.co.uk


TREK FICTION: MEDICAL MISCELLANY - EPISODE TWOLTjg Andy Walker, Deputy CMO, USS Appleton

Eye of the Storm, Part 1Chief Medical Officer's log, Stardate 201805.06.

The Independent has received a distress call from a Trillcargo vessel two parsecs out from our sector. They strucka gravitic mine, which knocked out main power andpropulsions, and caused severe damage throughout the ship.They were then boarded by unidentified raiders, their cargoseized, and set adrift. With life support failing, they needimmediate assistance. Under normal circumstances, we'dtask the nearest starship to render aid, however there arecurrently no vessels in our sector. The Captain has ordereda rescue mission launched from the station, three runaboutswith full crews.

The first runabout, Britannia, is being commanded by theChief of Security, and contains a full security detail to sweepthe ship and ensure none of the raiders have remainedonboard. The second runabout, the Caledonia, of which I willbe commanding, contains the medical teams, the first fewengineers, and a handful of security personnel for ourprotection. The third runabout, Hibernia, will bring aboardthe rest of the team of engineers to help get the cargo vesselunderway again.

As we don't yet know if the raiders are still present, theBritannia team will board and sweep the ship first, then allowus to dock once cleared. We are all to be armed as standard,and with rifles every other man. I'd much prefer not to betaking my medical teams into a battle zone, but am gratefulfor the level of protection we're going in with. I'd rather notbe in the middle of treating a patient when some lairyunknown assailant decides to shoot me up the a–

"Ah, there she is!"

I looked out of the cockpit window as the mining vessel camelooming into view. The Britannia was in the process ofdocking, and our helmsman, Ensign Kennedy, swung usalongside, the Hibernia on the far side flanking the cargovessel. Our shields were already up, the readout beside meshowing 100%.

"Standby phasers, I want us ready to return fire if we take ahit. Kiara, is there any sign of gravitic disturbances, oranything that might hint at the location of any other vessel?"

Kennedy looked down at their console, then shook their head."No, sir. I'm hammering away with active scans, but nothingshowing up yet."

Sitting beside them, at the starboard side console of therunabout cockpit, I could just see over Kennedy's shoulderat their display. They stroked a length of ginger hair back overtheir ear, then deftly corrected our drift with thrusters so wedidn't knock into the listing freighter.

For several long minutes, nothing happened. No commchannel activity, no updates from Britannia, nothing but theblackness of space out of the window. Finally, the comm burstinto life, and we were cleared to dock. I gave the order, and

Kennedy swung us around to run the length of the freighterfrom bow to midships, where the Britannia already berthedin a shallow well on the vessel's dorsal hull, a docking tubeextended from the side of the platform to their airlock. WithHibernia following us, Kennedy manoeuvred us over the nextwell, and then the docking platform swallowed us up. Farabove us I could see stars, but nothing directly in front of usbut blackness.

"Any sign of…?" My question was cut off as several brightlights erupted into the cockpit; docking lights illuminating ourlanding pad several moments too late.

"System's delayed like hell," said Ensign Mayfair behind me.She was studying her engineering console, the light fromoutside casting odd shadows on her dark face, her pearlwhite hair glistening, almost sparkling in the glare. "Powerreadings are fluctuating, there's no EPS grid to speak of that'sregistering. This is going to take a lot of work."

A dull thud echoed on the hull, and then a hiss outside theairlock as the docking tube pressurised. Kennedy stood upfrom their console, and handed me a phaser rifle. I lookedaround at the other personnel onboard, all beginning to filterinto the cockpit from the aft area where they had travelled,crammed in like sardines, laden down with medkits andengineering toolboxes. Most of them were enlisted crew,many of them having never mounted an operation like thisbefore. Those lugging phaser rifles slung them awkwardly,uncomfortable with the prospect they might have to usethem. I hoped this wouldn't be a baptism of fire for them. Ichecked my own rifle and medkit, and cleared my throat.

"Move out."

—

We found the first casualties just inside the airlock, bothdead. Bodies hit with disruptor blasts at close range, the fleshburnt through to bone, one with his shoulder almostcompletely dislocated by the blast, the other missing mostof his abdomen. I carried out the cursory checks with mytricorder, noted them both as life extinct; injuriesincompatible with life. I was about to move on when one ofthe EMTs called me back, motioning towards the secondvictim's face. His right eye was missing, and at first I thoughthe'd just been shot in the face. But then I realised there wereno burn markings around the eye socket: his eye had beenremoved, almost cleanly with a knife or blade. This was notthe random work of pirates, this was something far morebrutal. I looked around, but there was no sign of the eye.Interesting, if icky, trophy to take.

"I think he was the captain," said Kennedy, checking the deadman's ID on a PADD displaying the ship's registry andmanifest.

"Who would do this?" Mayfair had joined us, and was lookingdecidedly pale at the sight of the bodies. I steered her away,down the corridor.

"Romulans? Breen?" Kennedy suggested. I shook my head.

"The disruptor patterns aren't type three, so I don't think so.They're not even a pattern I recognise. No, this was someoneelse altogether."


TREK FICTION: MEDICAL MISCELLANY - EPISODE TWOContinued (Page 2 of 5)

We covered the two men with shrouds, and moved on. Twosecurity guards flanked the intersection up ahead, waved uson, their phaser rifles swinging left and right in slow arcs,constantly vigilant for any sign of attack from any of thebranching corridors. Lights in the ceiling and panels flickeredhelplessly. Mayfair ducked down, ripped a panel from the wall,and began scanning with her tricorder, reaching in to fiddlewith components, trying to reconnect damaged circuits. Weleft her to it.

The rest of the ship was in much the same condition, theraiders having shot up or destroyed almost everything of use.On the bridge, our Chief Engineer lamented that it would takeseveral hours to get enough systems back up and runningto be able to retrieve the ship. With the captain of the cargovessel dead, it was left to the first officer to decide what shewanted to do. Eventually, she agreed that the best option wasto evacuate what was left of her crew back to theIndependent, contact the Trill government, and arrange aprivate salvage operation from there.

Kennedy headed back to the Caledonia to prepare for thecasualties, while I and the medical teams began preparingthe worst casualties for evacuation. The uninjured crew andwalking wounded were crammed into the Hibernia with thebulk of our engineers, and set off back to the station. It wasa difficult task to stabilise some of the more seriouslywounded; the devastating effects of disruptor fire at closerange on humanoid skin and bone is horrific. Many of themwould either never walk again, or would be severelyincapacitated in someway. Then there was the scarring todeal with, both physical and mental.

The youngest of the crew, an unjoined Trill aged aboutseventeen, sat with her back against the bulkhead, one handclasped tightly to her chest, though it didn't appear to beinjured, while the other arm lay limply in her lap, a broken andbloody stump of an arm, the hand missing from the wrist,blood soaking her trousers. Her eyes were wide, staringblankly at the floor between her feet as I gave her trioxcompounds to keep her oxygen saturation up and stemmedthe flow of the bleeding. I needed to seal the ragged end ofher wrist until we could get her back to Medical on board theIndependent, where I could perform the surgery required. Iknew it would be painful for her, but as I set about applyingthe chemical bandage, she didn't even flinch or acknowledgemy presence.

Once I'd cleared all the other patients to move, I came backto the Trill girl. She wouldn't even look up at me, didn't answerwhen I said it was time to go, didn't seem to feel my hand onher shoulder. So I looped one arm behind her, one arm underher legs, and picked her up as gently as I could, hugging hertiny body close to mine as I stood up. She laid her head onmy shoulder, but that was all. She continued to stare blanklyahead, saying nothing.

I moved to follow the last medical team down the corridor tothe runabouts when the deck lurched violently beneath myfeet. I went flying sideways, crashing into the bulkhead withmy right shoulder, only just managing to avoid hitting the girl'shead on the bulkhead too. I leaned there for a long moment,as klaxons tried pitifully to sound an alert, and red lightsflickered once and then died on the nearest computer panel.

The deck lurched again, and a heavy thudding sound echoedthrough the ship.

Torpedo hits.

My combadge chirped into life. "Kennedy to Walker, get yourarse back here! Now!"

I regained my balance, and started back to the dockingplatforms, jogging as best I could while carrying the girl in myarms along the pitching deck. "What is it, Kiara?"

"Three small, unidentified craft just came out of nowhere.They were right on top of us before we picked them up onsensors. They're firing micro-torpedoes at the cargo ship,looks like they don't want anyone to find the end result of theirpillaging. Hibernia has turned around, is about to engagethem now, but we need to move. We're unshielded in thisdocking rig, if one of those torpedoes hits us…"

"We're coming sweetie, just be ready to lift off as soon aswe're aboard!"

I turned corner after corner, trying to remember the way wehad come. But I had got turned around, and the corridor Iended up in was a dead end, an emergency bulkhead sealedshut during the initial attack. I doubled back, and barrelledinto Mayfair, who had one of her fellow engineers leaningheavily on her, his leg limp and useless. His uniform hung intatters, plasma burns down his torso. I knew I needed to stop,stabilise him before we moved on, but the dull thud of moretorpedoes and then the screech of phaser fire raking the hullmeant we really didn't have time. We'd have to risk movinghim, and hope he didn't die of his injuries before we found therunabout.

Mayfair looked around, and then gestured at a differentcorridor. She set off at a swift hobble, dragging the injuredengineer along, as I looked behind us, made sure we werethe last ones out, and then followed her.

What felt like minutes, though must only have been seconds,later, we came back to the docking platform. We steppedpast the first two bodies we had found, and the Trill girl I wascarrying finally made a sound, a weak whimper as she sawthe partially uncovered body of the ship's captain. I think shesaid "Daddy" but I wasn't sure with all the noise of the attackaround us.

Hands reached out from the runabout hatch, hauled Mayfairand her colleague inside, and I took the last stride up at arunning jump, ducking my head in through the hatch.

"That's it!" I yelled. "Let's go!"

Kennedy was already ahead of me, and the runaboutrocketed upwards, the docking tube wrenched away beforeit had time to detach. The inertial dampers went intooverdrive, compensating as Kennedy put us into a steepbarrel roll, firing phasers in several different directions atonce. I caught a glimpse of one of our attackers through thewindow, a sleek, bladed craft of a type I'd never seen before.It seemed to twist and bank in inordinate ways, deftly avoidingmuch of our phaser fire.

I settled the injured Trill girl down at the back of the cockpit,then joined Kennedy at the conn. I leaned over their shoulder,



hanging on to the back of their seat with one hand andtapping sensor controls with the other, trying to get as manyreadings on our adversary as I could without disruptingKennedy's attempts to save our skins.

We swung into a defensive formation with the otherrunabouts, concentrating our phaser fire on one of theflanking craft. It took several direct hits, then exploded,momentarily blinding me as I looked out the window. Whenmy vision cleared, I saw the other two craft bank togetherthen change course.

"They're pulling away, heading out of the sector…"

"Track their course, we can't let them get away."

"Too late," Kennedy slammed their hands down on theconsole. "They're gone."

I looked up, just in time to see the two craft veer off towardsa shimmering, oscillating spatial anomaly. Before I couldcomprehend, the anomaly snapped shut as if it had neverbeen there. A long silence descended on the runaboutcockpit, and I scanned the shell-shocked faces around me.Wide eyes all looked to me for an order. Outside, a brightflash erupted as the cargo vessel bucked and twisted, andfinally imploded under the weight of too many hull breaches.

"Secure the passengers and injured, make themcomfortable. Kiara, take us home."

—

Chief Medical Officer's log, supplemental.

The journey home was mercifully quick for the injured Trillcrew, pushing the runabouts to maximum warp until we wereback in range of the Independent's defences. I fully expectedthe raiders to come after us, but there was no sign that wewere followed at all. We were escorted in to dock by a smallsquadron of Peregrine class attack fighters, and then thefinal stage of our rescue began: getting the casualties todefinitive care.

I oversaw the movement of every one of the casualties,directing them off to the waiting teams in Medical, and thenthe reserve Medbay in the secondary hull of the station. Ispent several hours in theatre, and only now find myself timeto move around the lesser injured victims. This has been along twenty-four hours.

I need more coffee.

—

I approached her bed slowly, PADD in hand, reading thereport from the junior doctor who had operated on hersevered arm. The young Trill girl, who we had identified asthe dead captain's daughter, Lexi Desoto, lay back on herpillow, her eyes still staring blankly up at the ceiling. At fifteen,she was even younger than I'd first thought. Poor kid. Shehad refused to be cut out of her bloodied clothing whenoffered a surgical gown; they now clung to her, heavy andbeginning to smell, the coppery sting itching at my nostrilsas I got closer. I sat down on the stool next to her, smiled ather as best I could.

"Now, Lexi, how is your arm feeling? Any more pain?"

Silence. I reached over to the tool tray beside the biobed,picked up a washcloth and bowl of water. I wetted the cloth,and started wiping the dried blood and smoke stains fromher face.

"Can you talk to me? You've been through a lot, I know. Butyou can talk to someone, okay? If not me, then I can ask oneof the station's counsellors to come down. Do you want totalk to one of the counsellors?"

Nothing. I sighed, collecting my thoughts.

"Somewhere inside you, it hurts. You can feel it, deep down.Threatening to burn you from the inside out. It's a pain thatdoesn't go away. What you've been through is horrific. Butdo you know what you do with that pain? Don't keep it inside,whatever you do. You need to let it out. Perhaps let it comebubbling to the surface like water in a pot slowly boiling. Ormaybe you feel like you want to explode, blast the rage andhate out of you. It doesn't matter how you do it, just find yourvent, your release valve. Let it out, however you can. But don'tkeep it inside, Lexi. Please. It'll destroy you, piece by piece. I'mhere if you need me."

Her face cleansed of blood, I got up to leave. As I took a fewsteps away, she made a slight whimper again, and I turnedback. Her lips moved silently, and then she cleared her throat,painfully coughing at not having talked for so long. She turnedher head towards me.

"He gave it to me," she whispered.

"Who did?" I came back to her bedside. "Gave you what?"

"The leader of the raiders. He gave it to me. Said it would…said it would 'see me through'."

At this last phrase, her lip curled in anger and disgust, thefirst emotion I'd seen her show since I met her on the crippledship. Then she reached out to me, with her uninjured hand,the one she'd held tightly to her chest or her side all the whilewe had been looking after her. She held her hand out, openedher palm, and offered to me what she'd been holding on tothis entire time.

A single, creamy-white, squishy, bloody eyeball. Neatlyremoved from it's socket, the optic nerve sliced through witha knife. The same eye that had been removed from herfather's body during the first attack by the raiders. Shedropped it into my palm, and then lay her head back down,resumed staring blankly at the ceiling.

I walked through Medical, past my junior doctors, my EMTs,my nurses and orderlies. Past the rows of patients, some ofwhom might yet die. I stepped into my office, locked the doorbehind me. I placed the severed eye into a vial, sealed it asevidence for later.

Then I sat down at my desk, put my head in my hands andcried. I cried so hard that I made myself sick.

—

Ten Forward on the Independent is a bit of a misnomer, notonly as it sits on deck one, rather than deck ten, but alsobecause there's no 'forward' on a station. It does, however,offer stunning views of the red moon we orbit, and the



primary hull, the tower of three saucers stacked on top ofeach other that formed one symmetrical half of the Jupiter-class station we called home. Ensign Kennedy and I sat nearone long, sweeping window, looking out at the stars. Kiarahad supped nearly half their chai-latte, while I had barelytouched my regular coffee. The taste of bile still burnt theback of my throat, and the coffee wasn't helping wash it downany. Kiara held one hand out across the table, placed it gentlyon my own.

"You did everything you could, Doc," they said, a soft Irishaccent matching their short sweep of ginger hair and paleskin. They fixed me with a firm stare from their beautiful, blueeyes. "That girl's da was long gone before we even got there."

"I know that," I sighed. "It's just… sometimes you have a jobthat gets to you, you know? Gets under your skin. That poorgirl, orphaned, seen half her crew slaughtered, has her handblown off with a disruptor, and then has her dead father'seye cut out and handed to her just to add insult to injury. AndI feel helpless to do anything else for her. Her arm will healup fine, she's being fitted a temporary prosthetic thisafternoon. She'll even be grown a stem-cell replacement thatcan be grafted on. A few months down the line, she'll justhave the scarring around her wrist. But that'll always remindher of what happened, every time she looks at it. And thescars inside…"

Kiara looked down at their coffee. "Yeah, we all have them todeal with, don't we?"

I turned my hand over, held Kiara's hand in silence.

"Andy, you're a good man," they said with a smile. "Don't letthis one get to you. I need you. You're my best friend."

"And you're mine," I returned the smile. "Besides, who else isgonna keep patching you up after almost every mission?"

I gestured at the scars on Kiara's forearm, a long set of clawmarks from fighting off a Gorn soldier a few weeks ago. Kiaralaughed, and I finally lifted my coffee cup off the table. It washalfway to my lips when the alert klaxons made me jump,droning into life all around us. The station-wide comm channelopened up.

"Red alert! All hands to battle stations!"

The Captain's voice, sounding surprised, shocked even. Westood up, and headed towards the exit. Kiara would beheading down to the security complex to receive theirbriefing, and I would be off to Medical. Then Kiara stopped,and I barged into their back, nearly knocking them flying. Iwas about to ask why they'd come to such an abrupt halt,when they pointed straight out the window.

"Andy, look!"

I followed their gaze, as did several others in the room withus.

Outside, hanging in space a few thousand kilometres fromthe station, a dark, shimmering spatial anomaly wasbeginning to form. It grew and grew, and then I saw two sleek,bladed craft come spinning out of nowhere just our side ofthe anomaly, heading straight for us.

"The raiders, they did follow us!"

"Yeah, but how? And where does that anomaly go to?"

What happened next was rather odd, however. The tworaiders swept forward, as if to attack the Independent. Butthen they seemed to stop, think better of it, turned tail andheaded back to the anomaly. A full volley of torpedoesfollowed them, catching them just as they were approachingthe shimmering field. The closest one exploded under theonslaught, and a collective sigh of relief spread through TenForward. Some cheered, and others hugged. And thensomeone else pointed back out the window again, shouted,"Look!"

The anomaly was still growing in size, not towards us, butdefinitely getting bigger than us. It hung in space, a giant, flat,shimmering mirror that gave no reflection. Then finally itseemed to open fully, like a giant eye slowly opening its lidsfor the first time, looking around.

"This is the Captain, all hands to escape pods. Abandon thestation. All hands to escape pods and shuttles immediately!"

A new klaxon sounded, the one no space-faring Starfleetofficer ever wants to hear. The abandon ship klaxon. The redalert klaxons filled you with adrenaline, ready for your fight orflight response. But this klaxon filled you only with a deepsense of despair. That all was hopelessly lost.

I grabbed Kiara's hand and we ran.

—

The corridors were chaotic, personnel running all over theplace trying to get to the lifeboats and escape pods, and dragcivilians to the waiting shuttles and runabouts. We ranheadlong down them, avoiding people, and Kiara quicklysussed I was dragging us to Medical. There, I would begin mymain duty of supervising the evacuation of my patients. ButI would never get there.

As we got to the next deck, the lights began to flicker anddim, and people screamed. Up ahead, Mayfair and Chis, herBolian lover and fellow engineer, were headfirst in a Jeffriestube, pulling out EPS conduits, reattaching them, trying tobypass failing circuitry. Someone demanded to know whatwas going on, someone else said they thought we were stillunder attack. Kiara shook their head.

"We'd be feeling torpedo hits and phaser fire if we wereunder attack," they whispered to me as we tried to keep theflow of people moving around the engineers. "And we're notfiring back at anyone. Something else has happened."

With the engineers not making any difference, I made adecision. Grabbing them both, I hauled them back out of theJeffries tube and on to their feet. "Let's keep moving."

As we rounded the next intersection, we came near to theedge of the station, and a view port in front of us sparkledwith stars. I nearly didn't look out the window, but by somesheer gut instinct, I stopped. My heart leapt into my throatas I did.

Outside, I could see two things simultaneously. First, the farside of the station, one section of saucers, was beginning to



disintegrate right before my eyes. There had been no warningof hull breaches, nothing to warn us the Independent wasliterally falling apart. Secondly, through the anomaly, on theother side of it (wherever that may have been) I could see…well, us. The Independent. At least, a vague outline of itforming in the space there. I looked from our hull, to theanomaly, then back again. The parts of the station that weredisintegrating were reforming on the other side of theanomaly.

"We're being pulled through…"

I turned to Mayfair and Chis. "How long do we have?"

Mayfair looked down at her tricorder, tapped somecalculations. She showed them to Chis, he nodded, tappedanother calculation. Then she looked back at me, her facealmost as white as her hair.

"Minutes, sir. Literally minutes."

I looked at the chaos surrounding me. I felt flat, deflated."We'll never get everybody off in time."

Kiara grabbed me, pushed me on down the corridor. "Thenlet's get us off, and as many people as we can take with us.Shuttlepods are this way."

At the next deck, I was only partly relieved to see my medicalteams moving patients on biobeds and wheelchairs to theescape pods. We moved past them, and I found myselfbumping into a young girl with spots up the sides of her neckand face, freshly cut short hair and crisp new clothes. Lexi,the Trill girl. She looked at me with a grim determination aswe moved on, and she looked up at me.

"It's them isn't it? Them who killed my crew, my dad?"

"I don't know Lexi," I answered honestly. "But I think they mayhave something to do with it."

She sneered, and swung her good arm out to hit the nearbybulkhead in fury. She hadn't been fitted with her prostheticyet, and her severed wrist she sort of swung idly at her side,unsure of what to do with it.

"I'm gonna…"

I cut her off, held her by the shoulders and shook her once."You're gonna concentrate on surviving. Nothing else rightnow, but surviving. We need to get off the station, right now.Come with me, and we'll worry about who's behind all thislater."

Then I was off again, catching up to Kiara and the others. Icouldn't tell at first if Lexi was with us, but I felt her footstepsbehind me as I turned into the shuttle bay and ran towardsthe pod Kiara was starting up. I ran past the nose, read thename on it. Delta. Shuttlepod Delta. I pushed Lexi in afterMayfair and Chis, and closed the hatch behind me. Wefollowed the nearest runabout up, out through thecontainment field just as the far wall began to disintegrate,the containment field failing and expelling all the atmosphereout of the shuttle bay, into space. Crew and equipment anduntethered shuttles tumbled past us, and Kiara had to bankhard to avoid us being hit by debris. Then we were clear, andjoining the runabout as it headed up the small fleet of escape

pods as they launched. From the seat next to Kiara, I couldsee the anomaly still growing, and the Independent nowalmost completely reconstructed on the other side.

Then there was a flash, and something sleek and blade-likeshot past us, phaser fire erupting off our shields.

The final raider had come back. It was targeting the escapepods.

What happened next was a blur of motion, as Kiara evadedthe attack, then turned us around to flank with the remainingrunabout to attack back. We exchanged a lot of phaser fire,before the runabout pulled up in a sharp movement, collidingwith the raider, destroying both craft. The last thing we allsaw was the remainder of the runabout Britannia's starboardnacelle hurtling towards us, before it hit, and the universewent black.

—

Chief Medical Officer's log, stardate… unknown.

We have been drifting for seventeen hours. Though ourlife-support is still functioning, very little else is. We haveminimal lighting, and no weapons, shields or propulsions. Weare in formation with the remainder of the escape pods fromthe Independent, and are only holding course because of ourclose proximity.

The impact of the debris from the Britannia didn't breach ourhull, but it did knock out all our systems and caused a plasmaexplosion from an EPS conduit. Mayfair is dead; she took thebrunt of the explosion, massive burns. With no medical facilityto hand, I couldn't save her. I could only make her comfortableenough for her to say a short goodbye to Ensign Chis. Hehasn't said anything since, simply cradles her body in the backof the shuttlepod.

The Independent is gone. Before they finally gave out, oursensor logs showed us that the anomaly, through which theunidentified raiders came, closed shortly after the stationcompletely reformed on the other side. There is nothing left.By my reckoning, from the number of escape pods I cancount, there are a little over one hundred survivors, out of acrew and civilian complement of one thousand and fifty-eight.

Given the remote location of the Independent station as awaypoint at the very edge of Federation space, I am notoptimistic that we will be rescued anytime soon. Therefore,to conserve power, this will be my last log entry, and mydistress call.

This is Lieutenant Andy Walker, Chief Medical Officer of thespace station Independent to any Federation ships that canhear this message: Shuttlepod Delta and a flotilla of escapepods drifting in uncharted space. We need immediate help.I repeat, we need immediate help.

—

To be continued…


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Documents

WELCOME TO ISSUE 26 OF THE RUNABOUT...SUMMER 2018 - ISSUE 26 THE RUNABOUT PAGE 4 A MESSAGE FROM THE VICE REGIONAL COORDINATOR COMM Scott A. J. Peter Stardate 201805.31 Greetings fellow