UR-Quan

The Heirarchy Wars

February 17th, 2155

Today the ship re-entered the Sol star system. The Intrepid may be a remarkable piece of Precursor technology, but it has been 20 years since the science mission to Vela, and we have no clue about what has happened on Earth.

My name is Captain Kody James Robinson. My father, Koren Dustin Robinson, was sent to the Vela star system 20 years ago by Star Control on a secret mission to colonize and research the planet. It was believed that the ancient and technologically advanced Precursors had spent several years in the Vela star system, and that having my fathers team investigate the technology there might give Starcontrol a chance to face the Ur-quan more evenly in battle. At the time, the Ur-Quan were easily defeating the other races who had formed an alliance to stand against them. The Ur-Quan had combat thralls and fallow slaves, but no equals.

My father and his team spent nearly 10 years searching the planets in the Vela system and finally they were able to find a huge cache of Precursor information. Another five years of deciphering it and then he and his team were able to determine that one of the planets housed a huge subterranean factory that built starships. Another year of gathering enough raw materials to complete the skeleton of one ship – and that included recycling the materials from the ships that they came from 16 years earlier. Two years later, the factory finished producing a perfectly framed ship – my ship- the Intrepid.

The reason it's mine – that's a more interesting story. I was 18 when the ship was completed, and the entire colony – there were about 130 of us total by then, gathered in the skeleton of the ship.

My dad explained that even though the ship had been made, no one had been able to do the xeno-linguistics necessary to get the ship to operate correctly. He said that the entire colony would have to spend time working on the precursor language and writing systems until we were able to get the ship to work for us. And I was the one that was able to do it the best.

The bad news is that the ships crew pod only holds 50 of us, so the other 80 had to stay on the planet. We are going to go back and get them at some point in the near future, and bring them back to earth. But the mission for the today is to head to the Pluto – I want to fill the cargo hold before we return to the home planet.

February 18th,

Pluto – mission log – The landing started off uneventfully, with the team picking up 5 Tzo crystals, then they went to explore an energy reading that the Intrepid was picking up. When they approached, that is when things went bad.

The ship was inhabited by a lone Spathi, Fwiffo, and when the lander approached, he fired on it, thinking that we were returning only to attack and overrun the star system. James Kowalski, Mike Fritz, Amy Chin, Eric O'Donnell, Joseph Luigi, and the Lieberman triplets (Jack, Jake, James), were all killed at that point. The lander was able to initiate the emergency launch procedure. The rest of the crew made it back safely.

After talking to Fwiffo for about half an hour, and convincing him that we weren't going to hurt him, he agreed to stay with us. Fwiffo did give us some information – the coordinated of his homeworld, and the super secret spathi cipher – Huffi-Muffi-Guffi. Even more importantly, he has added his Eluder starship to the fleet with the Intrepid and the Enterprise.

The only effect that this has had on command is that we have done a roster reassignment. The Intrepid now has 45 crewman, Fwiffo's Eluder now has 15, and the Enterprise has only captain Pike. I can only hope when we reach Earth, they can refill our needs as far as crewman are concerned.

February 19th, 2155

Today the crew and I are in orbit of Saturn's moon Titan. We lost one crew member mining Titan. Jim Searles. He was a good man, and I will miss him dearly.

February 20th, 2155

We have moved out to Neptune's moon Triton in order to mine it. No casualities were reported, making it a truly great day. The crew is growing excited and apprehensive about returning to Earth – they thought we would have encountered more ships by now. The crew does trust me, they have known me all my life, but some think that mining is just a way for me to keep us from going right to Earth.

February 21st-22nd, 2155

We entered Jupiter's orbit today, and though we can't possibly mine the main planet, we are going to attempt to mine 4 of the larger moons in its orbit. Io claimed the life of Carlton Jones. Europa was mined without loss. Ganymede was also mined without loss. Because Callisto had served as a home to the Spathi before they left the system, the planet was barren and didn't require mining.

February 23rd, 2155

We are orbiting Mars. There is no base here, and that is very surprising to me. Mining happened without loss and filled our cargo bay. I informed the crew and they cheered as they knew we would be heading to Earth as our next stop.

February 24th, 2155

This has been an interesting day, to say the least. When we entered Earth's orbit, an Ur-Quan DRONE vessel approached us, and informed us that Earth was a slave planet, and that we were not to approach it. It also told us to remain in the sector. It then left the solar system. We entered Earth's orbit, and found that it was encased in a shield that we couldn't penetrate in any way. After several scans yielding nothing, we decided to approach the orbital space station.

There we met Starbase Commander Johnathon Hayes. The platform needed supplies so we gave them to him and then the platform was back to normal. After he got the base back into normal operating levels he told us that he would consider joining us if we investigated the base on the moon first.

We traveled to the moon, and discovered what Fwiffo had told us was true – he was the only one left of the Heirarchy guard here. I had only half believed him to that point, but now I was fully convinced of everything he had told us. Before we had time to report everything back to Commander Hayes, an Ilwrath vessel closed and attacked us. Fwiffo's ship jumped into action, and the Ilwrath ship was destroyed. After that battle was over, Commander Hayes agreed to open the base to us, and the idea that we could use it to free Earth.

February 25th, 2155

Commander Hayes has made accommodations for the crew and for me. The base is capable of doing everything we need it to do in order to sustain the three thousand people on- and the fifty that I have brought don't seem to be a burden to him.

I have been shown to my quarters and asked to rest for the rest of the day. After the journey home, and all of the excitement of the last week, I know that I need the rest.

February 27th, 2155

Commander Hayes came today and discussed with me that his scientist have scanned the ship and found out that they will be able to make an emergency escape pod. It will cost five units of fuel every time it is used, but will allow us to escape if the Intrepid and it's escort ships end up in a situation where they could end up in an un-winable battle. This upgrade is invaluable due to the fact that I currently don't know where the Ur-quan or there allies are in space.

February 28th, 2155

I reassembled the people who traveled with me from Vela, and spoke with all of them at great length. Captain Pike wishes to remain at the helm of his ship, the Enterprise, and since he is 35 years older then me, and my father's best friend, I will allow this. I will also keep my first officer, Simon Rice, in order to maintain clarity of command. The rest of the people that traveled from Vela are going to remain at the starbase receiving training from the other personnel here. I will be taking on 48 crew people, which Commander Hayes told me I may select over the course of the next 10 days. He said that his science team will need that time to study the structure of the Intrepid, and learn how they can augment, fuel, and set the ship up to perform different functions. He showed me the computer file that will allow me to access and review all information they gather.

March 1st, 2155

At his request, Commander Hayes had lunch with me, and then spent an hour briefing me on the bases capabilities. He told me that he will be seeing me every day until the ship leaves again.

March 9th, 2155

Commander Hayes was surprised today when I handed him two roster sets and I simply smiled and told him that I planned on mining until June, and then taking a trip around the galaxy, and made up both teams while I had the time. He smiled, and then asked me if I ever slept more then five hours.

March 10th,2155

After tallying the contents of our cargo bin, and selling the ships gun for more resource units, I informed Commander Hayes to put in as many thrusters as the Intrepid would hold. I told him to do the same for turning jets, and he told me that we would fall just short of being able to do that. At this point the Intrepid needs 1 thruster and one turning jet to be as fast and maneuverable as it can be.

March 11th, 2155

The new crew and I traveled to the moon, and finished mining it. The crew seemed comfortable driving the extractor, and with the Intrepid moving so much faster and freely, I almost can not wait to take it out of the solar system.

March 12th, 2155

Mercury is our goal today, and it is a toughy. It has earthquakes, hotspots, and a large amount of minerals. I have briefed the crew, and we will rotate each time the lander returns. Mining occurred without loss of live – it took five trips total. We were able to get another thruster, but we will have to do more mining before we can get our turning jet.

March 13th, 2155

We are leaving today for the Lyrae system – Going to Beta Lyrae first, as it is further away, and the after we have mined it, we will hit Alpha Lyrae on the way back to Sol, if our cargo bay isn't full. It is the first time we have left this system since we returned one month ago. It feels good.

March 14th, 2155

As we are moving through the stars, I am reading the Star Control guidelines. I wasn't greatly interested in it, but other then speaking with the new crew, and trying to figure out what exactly to do, I have a lot of time on my hands when I'm not at the helm.

Something that is most interesting to me is that Star Control seemed very formal at it's inception, but by the time the war with the Ur-Quan peeked, the guidelines had boiled down to necessity and authority. Who was in charge, and what they could do with their ships, command, ect. The other interesting part, or at least to me, is that simply by my ability to control the Intrepid, I have already been assumed by Commander Hayes to have the rank of Captain.

March 15th, 2155

Simon and I had lunch together today and I mentioned the Star Control guidelines. Simon's response was immediate and didn't miss a moment, "Dude, that base had the entire stockpile of every movie and television series ever made. Ask Hayes to transfer some of them to this ship. You need to get some entertainment – before you go crazy out here."

Late into the night I was alerted that we had entered the Beta Lyrae system.

March 16th,2155

Planet 5 in the system was beautiful. No lives were lost, and the entire planet was covered in the most precious elements we could find.

March 17th, 2155

Planet 4 was a super dense world, with class 7 tectonics. I told the crew that there would be no mining expedition to the planet, because of safety concerns.

March 18th, 2155

Planet 3 was unmineable, but it did have 3 moons which were minable. We did, however, lose 4 crewmembers. Dan Jenkins, Mark Haas, Mike Ruup, and David Laredo.

March 19th, 2155

Planet 2 was a large gas giant with 4 moons. No losses were encountered while mining them.

March 20th, 2155

Planet 1 was an Iodine planet. It was mined successfully. We have set the course for Alpha Lyrae. The memorial for the four lost crewman was held today.

March 21st, 2155

This ship moving at top speed through space is amazing. The structural engineers at the base reinforced it slightly and we don't feel the movement as much as long as our speed is constant, but we do feel changes in direction or velocity.

March 22nd, 2155

I have told Simon that the reason for my particular interest in the Star Control guidelines is that the rules for conduct on a ship are different then at a base or on a planet. Simon did decide to read the guidelines after that just to see what I meant.

March 23rd, 2155

We arrived in Alpha Lyrae. It is a two planet system, and when we prepared to mine the first planet, the lander went, and after transferring some elements I was informed that the cargo bay was full. I asked why the loadmaster hadn't informed me when we left Beta Lyrae, and was informed that the loadmaster was Mark Haas, one of the 4 crewman killed when mining Beta Lyrae. We plotted our course back to Earth without being able to completely mine Alpha Lyrae.

March 25th, 2155

We have returned to the starbase. After unloading the minerals, I took on 4 new crew people able to replace the ones we had lost mining Beta Lyrae. I then got the final turning jet for the ship, making it as fast and maneuverable as it can be. I filled our fuel cell to maximum capacity, and then I had another cargo bay fabricated and installed. My logic is that the more resources we can get on each trip away from the base, the quicker we can make the flagship something more then a heavy mining vessel.

After all of the adjustments were made, I had the crew plot a course for Canopus, and informed them that we would again be coming through Alpha Lyrae on the way home.

March 26th, 2155

Captain Pike transported over today from the Enterprise and spoke with Simon and I at lunch. He said he feels a bit odd being the oldest person aboard any of the ships, but it does feel good to be surrounded by beautiful women who are curious about life on another planet, and who look up to his rank. He then asked me if I was having any problems coping with advances from my crewmembers. I told him that I hadn't even had a girl flirt with me yet, and Simon chimed in that when I'm not on the bridge that I'm reading about the history of the war and any other information I can get my hands on. I explained that I think it's more vital to the mission right now then trying to hook up with a girl in space. Although, I must admit, my urges are still there, and I can't stop thinking about what the guidelines said – that all crewmen aboard a ship must follow any order that will not result in physical harm. Could I really order a female to allow me touch her so that I would have less sexually tension?

March 27th, 2155

I have decided to speak to Commander Hayes about my questions in regard to the guidelines. We are in route to Canopus at the moment, but when we return from this mining trip, I will speak to him, while the adjustments to the ship are being made.

March 28th, 2155

The Intrepid and the crew have arrived in Canopus to find it a one planet system. We have mined the planet, and already set course for Alpha Lyrae. I was truly hoping for a bigger find.

March 29th, 2155

I talked to Fwiffo today. It was a rather long and interesting conversation spanning philosophy, the nature of Spathi science, Precursor technology, and his knowledge and understanding of history. My initial impression of him as a cowering and weak being was far off, he has a vast array of knowledge, does very well with maintaining his ship, and has offered a lot with regard to contacting and meeting with other races.

March 30th, 2155

Today was the most boring day in space ever. I have completed my readings on Star Control, have learned a great deal about history and other races, and I have made a general plan of what to do when we go around the galaxy.

March 31st, 2155

We have finally returned to Alpha Lyrae. Mining its first planet was successful.

April 1st, 2155

We have successfully mined the second planet and plotted a course home. Though our cargo bays are far from full, I need to speak with Commander Hayes. Also, I wanted to mine a system just inside the Ilwrath space, and I wanted to be sure that he and the base knew about it. If the Intrepid is detected there, and forced to fight, then no doubt the Ur-Quan will find out about us sooner then I want. But I feel that this expedition is necessary.

April 4th, 2155

We've stopped at the Starbase. I talked to Commander Hayes and he told me, very gently, that whatever I decide to do on the ship that doesn't hurt or kill a crewman is legal by Star Control regulations. He did say however, that you have to be sure that when and if you do order something out of the ordinary that you don't do it so often that it effects moral, or causes the crew to lose respect for you. I have to think hard about that.

April 5th, 2155

We've plotted the course to Delta Centauri. It's the first mission with real danger attached to it. The crew seems very edgy, and responsive.

April 7th, 2155

We have arrived in the Delta Centauri system, and it has 8 planets. Though planet 8 did not have enough resource for us to land on, we are hopeful that the rest of the system will provide a good bounty for us.

April 8th, 2155

The 7th planet had two moons. It was primordial, and therefore, unmineable, but the crew and I focused on the moons.

April 9th, 2155

The planet we mined today had so many gold deposits that the crew called it a treasure planet. I remembered the book and smiled to myself.

April 11th, 2155

We remain in Delta Centauri, mining. We have filled one cargo bay.

April 12th, 2155

I did a commander's call with the crew today, and commended all of them on the fine job they have done thus far. Everyone seems to be very open to my leadership, even though I am very young, and I am glad that they are going to follow me as they are.

April 13th, 2155

We are mining the final planet in the Delta Centauri, and then we are going to return to station. I have talked to Simon, and he agrees with me that getting another crew pod is an excellent idea. I told him that I thought we would finish mining the Centauri system and then see how well we could set the ship up, and if we could go around the galaxy, that we should.

On that note, I told him that once we did decide to embark on the long quest, I wanted to have 98 females as the crew people. I told him that would give us 4 shifts of 24 crewman each, with 2 crewman as reserve in case of illness or death. He agreed with me, stating that he would choose 49 crewpeople from the base if I would, making sure that we would each be able to find good candidates for the long haul.

I told Simon also that I would be inspecting the females physically, after we were out on the long mission. Initially I toyed with the idea of having a squad do a formation before a shift, and having all of them strip, but it seemed impractical, and far too much fantasy. I think that I have to make sure I can do this with one person in reality, and not feel as though I'm doing something wrong. Simon told me that he hasn't had a problem getting the girls to sleep with him willing, but if I like the idea of ordering them to disrobe, that I should. He said that as hard as I am working, the distraction might help. And then, a moment later he said it's likely that the Ur-quan are going to eventually kill us, so you won't have to worry so much about your karma. I'm slightly concerned, because I think that Simon believes that there is no way that we can free Earth and defeat the Ur-quans. Right now I don't have anything to convince me otherwise, but I have my faith.

April 17th, 2155

Commander Hayes was thrilled that we arrived back with two full cargo bays. He told me that while it might not be a great thing, even if I could keep up this level of mining for one year, they would have enough resources to make 25 ships and start trying to piece the alliance back together. I informed him that my immediate plan was to finish mining the Centauri system, and then see what the state of the Intrepid was.