Adventure Source: Living Campaign Adventure 02

Meetup Link: https://www.meetup.com/Star-Trek-Gaming/events/263895358/

Game Date: November 10 2019

Session Post: https://www.ob1knorrb.com/sta-episode-2-doomed-to-repeat-the-past/

Teaser: Starfleet has received a backchannel communique from the Klingon Empire requesting aid for a plague that had been thought dead for centuries. Starfleet has deployed the U.S.S. Kimura to the B’el’th paH star system to provide relief and bring what the Federation knows about the virus, its origins, and its cure.

• Captain T’Kor (Terry)
• Ensign Wolfgang Ratzel (Terry)
• Cmd. Xedrik (Trevor)
• Lt. Kirkuurzhaav th’Zoarhi (Trevor)
• Lt. Asha (Jaime)
• Lt. Cmd Taemin Rahn (Garrett)
• Lt. Cmd. Dihas Krevo (Madison)
• Cmd. O’Nnyah (Raven)
• Lt. Oqwadel (Raven)

Important NPCs:

• Cmd. Natalie Sigmund, Star Fleet Medical/Star Fleet Intelligence
• Lieutenant Colonel Morok – Captain of I.K.S. moH be’nal (K’t’inga battlecruiser)

Notable Information: The virus is clearly heavily modified from the original Augment virus. At first, analysis suggests Vulcan RNA strands, but further analysis and expertise shows that the RNA is Romulan in origin, and the method of splicing the RNA strands into the virus is something from the Romulan Star Empire.

Cmd. Natalie Sigmund classified all information about this incident as “Top Secret”

As things wrapped up on the planet, a visual only communication was received from Cmd. Natalie Sigmund from the U.S.S. Cass. The viewscreen switched to a view of outside U.S.S. Cass, showing a Romulan warbird adrift but still powered. The communication was cut off before she could say anything. The direction of the communication beam was determined, but they were unable to determine the distance, other than it was from within the Shackleton Expanse.

Mission Recap: “Captain’s Log, Stardate 48522.4. The Kimura has been ordered to divert course and rendezvous with an unregistered Federation craft in orbit of a Klingon colony world and to expect a squadron of the Klingon Defense Force to also be in orbit, possibly from the ‘quvHa,’ dishonoured Klingon warriors striving to regain their honor. Starfleet has been very quiet about exactly what’s going on, but we’ve been picking up civilian broadcasts from our destination talking about a plague and widespread mental illness across the entire population. Starfleet has a long history of providing aid to worlds suffering from new illnesses, so there must be something else going on here that I’m not cleared for.”

“Captain’s Log, Stardate 48522.4. The Kimura has been ordered to divert course and rendezvous with an unregistered Federation craft in orbit of a Klingon colony world and to expect a squadron of the Klingon Defense Force to also be in orbit, possibly from the ‘quvHa,’ dishonoured Klingon warriors striving to regain their honor. Starfleet has been very quiet about exactly what’s going on, but we’ve been picking up civilian broadcasts from our destination talking about a plague and widespread mental illness across the entire population. Starfleet has a long history of providing aid to worlds suffering from new illnesses, so there must be something else going on here that I’m not cleared for.”

Once Kimura makes orbit a heavily modified Danube-class runabout, U.S.S. Cass, connects to the ship’s docking port. On board is Commander Natalie Sigmund, a member of Starfleet Medical. She brings aboard an ancient device constructed of transistors and circuits. She holds a briefing with the science teams, the heads of the medical staff, and the officers of Kimura, where she lays out the basics behind the history of the Augment virus and offers evidence that the happenings on the planet below them is a mutated form of that same virus.

She shows pictures of Klingons becoming more human-looking before going mad and dying. In addition, other humanoid races are also becoming infected and dying.

The device she shows the crew was borrowed from the Smithsonian Orbital Annex. She explains the following:

• This is the original data storage device from the sickbay of Enterprise NX-01 that should still have the data Dr. Phlox brought back with him from his original assignment to cure the disease.
• It’s the sole object left that contains any information on the virus. The databanks across both the Federation and Empire have been purged of all information. The information was considered shameful to all involved.
• This hard-drive was never networked and was forgotten about over the centuries until she had thought of looking in the museum ship. Unfortunately, it is speculation that any data is still on it about the virus as the technology is ancient, a mismatch of Denobulan and Human technology, and not compatible with today’s computer systems.
• She will uses the phrase ‘Like trying to read a vinyl record with an isolinear chip slot.’ In order to keep this all below the radar, only Kimura and her crew are being read into this mission and must attempt to drag data back out of the old hard drive and start synthesizing the drugs needed to save lives.

The crew decides to recreate the Enterprise NX-01 sickbay and Dr. Phlox in the holodeck and getting help “from the source”.

They are able to get the datacore functioning and figure out how to transfer the data to the Kimura’s computers in a surprisingly short period of time considering the complexity of the task.

They decide against sending medical teams to the surface, as they have a relatively small crew, and the Kimura has much more advanced scientific and medical equipment to work with than what is available on the planet.

The data on synthesizing the cure is fed into sickbay computers along with scans of the virus from the surface. Withing a few moments, the computer returns a response.

 With the two hundred-year-old datacore finally networked into sickbay’s main computer, streams of genetic information scroll across screens depicting the changes in the Klingon genome, the virus’s RNA strands, and chemical compounds that need to be synthesized. The beginnings of hope of a quick cure are dashed as an error chime is heard, and all of the screens depicting the data analysis read ‘ERROR’ in large red letters.

One of the medical personnel speaks up and asks the computer to explain the error, the cool voice of the computer replies. “The error stems from simulated incompatibility of the anti-viral cure known as ‘Phlox 1’ to fully negate changes in Klingon DNA. Phlox 1 will result in a 100% probability of patient death within five minutes of introduction to patient. Acceleration of genetic damage across species is shown in simulations 1-Alpha through 54-Gamma. Phlox 1 is non-viable.”

“Captain’s Log, Supplemental. Conditions on the planet’s surface continue to deteriorate, and the virus is showing signs of being more contagious than any of the data suggests it was in the 22nd century, including infecting non-Klingon humanoids and killing them just as quickly. Three short-range shuttlecraft from the surface have tried to run the blockade, but all have turned back after threats from the Lieutenant Colonel Morok’s vessels, but with people panicking, the quarantine may soon have to be enforced by more than just strong words. The initial tests of Phlox’s cure have shown they are ineffective, but our medical teams assure me they can figure out why quickly. I just hope it is quick enough.”

Until this point, the K’t’inga’s in orbit hadn’t had to fire, but then the Kimura sees at least three warp-capable shuttles being destroyed by Klingon disruptor beams, and one K’t’inga even fires on the spaceport that launched the shuttles, destroying it from orbit with a photon torpedo.

The estimate is that about 20% of the population is infected and showing symptoms.

The research teams (Cmd Xedrik / Dr. O’Nnyah?) conclude that they need to get a sample of the live virus up to the ship, or they will have to start doing the work on the surface. They convince the other officers and the captain that they are able to ensure perfect isolation in case of an accident.

They discover the following information:

• The virus has been heavily modified from its original RNA coding to include RNA not found on Earth or Qo’noS.
• The virus is much more complex, containing nearly ten times the amount of RNA then the original data suggests, and it specifically contains RNA strands that could be Vulcan, but the way the virus has been modified is unknown and definitely not Federation in origin. Commander Sigmund quickly steps in and pulls out her Starfleet Intelligence ID to inform the characters that everything from here on out is considered to be classified at the highest level.
• The virus is clearly heavily modified from the original. At first, analysis suggests Vulcan RNA strands, but further analysis and expertise shows that the RNA is Romulan in origin, and the method of splicing the RNA strands into the virus is something from the Romulan Star Empire.

The Captain is kept busy during this time helping Lieutenant Colonel Morok deal with some of the vessels of the 12^th Penal Squadron as they attempt to orbitally bombard the major population centers. The Kimura interposes itself between the vessels and the planet while Morok deals with them to hold them back.

Morok seems to be in firm control of three vessels, including his own, with four vessels positioning themselves above major population centers, and two vessels claiming ‘equipment malfunctions make them unable to comply with any orders.

The two ‘malfunctioning’ Klingon vessels fall into line, with the rebellious officers attempting to get into position to bombard the planet. Their weapons systems go online, and targeting sensors are detected locking onto those cities.

The research team managed to do their analysis in record time, so the computer begins synthesizing an anti-viral treatment. The information is transmitted to the Klingon authorities.

Making sizable amounts for a planet with nearly a billion people is nearly impossible before large numbers of fatalities occur but because of the speed at which the treatment was developed, there will be far fewer fatalities than there could have been.

Commander Sigmund receives a private subspace communiqué that she takes in an unused office. She then informs Captain T’Kor that she has been ordered to depart at once and that she ‘…will see you all soon’. Without any more information given, U.S.S. Cass departs and jumps to warp once a safe distance from the Thunderchild and disappears from long-range sensors soon after. Not cloaked, just a very small ship with a very small sensor silhouette.

After the anti-viral data is fully distributed, the small amounts of anti-virus that Kimura’s sickbay and replicators can produce is insignificant compared to the medical facilities in orbit and on the planet’s surface. Kimura receives thanks from both Starfleet Medical and the Klingon High Command for their assistance in bringing this plague under control, but both groups seem totally unaware of any involvement of an outside source in having this outbreak of a long dead virus begin again. Obviously, they haven’t been cleared for whatever intelligence the characters have figured out about the Romulans. While  millions have died, the characters have saved nearly a billion people from death, and they prevented the permanent destruction of an entire world’s biosphere by orbital bombardment by the Klingon Defense Force.

As Kimura breaks orbit, the crew see I.K.S. moH be’nal stay in orbit to continue to render assistance to the planet, while any ships that broke formation and threatened firing on civilian targets are escorted by other ships of the Dishonored, assumingly to Rura Penthe. Only 12 hours after breaking orbit, a priority transmission comes in over a subspace frequency reserved only for emergencies. Commander Natalie Sigmund comes on screen, revealing her on the tiny bridge of U.S.S. Cass. The viewscreen soon switches from her face to a view of outside U.S.S. Cass, showing a Romulan warbird adrift but still powered. The communication is cut off before she can say anything. The direction of the communication beam was able to be determined, but they were unable to determine the distance, other than it was from within the Shackleton Expanse.