Fool's Errand (Mission)

Fool's Errand
Season:	Season 1
Episode:	1
Date:	June 4, 2280
Template:Mission

Starfleet, operating in the M-11 system, is falling apart. Rank no longer holds the organization together as the old guard finds itself threatened by a new generation. New recruits are either bred for war, or come out of the slums looking for a better life, to die for a cause rather than in the arms of starvation.

A rumor surfaces. A system never touched by the Klingons harbors a Constitution-Class starship. This rumor is not believed by many, after all, all Constitutions were destroyed at Earth. A veteran Captain with nothing to lose assembles a team of his own to see if the rumor is true.

Summary

Twenty-three years have passed since the Federation surrendered unconditionally since the Klingons. Humanity remains third-class citizens in the galaxy that had once allied with them. Most humans, the ones who hadn’t found refuge in other systems, are condemned to reside on planet M-11, which is also home to Remnant Command. While the Federation had dissolved, Starfleet remained, mainly as a human profession. M-11 could repair vessels, but without contributions from Federation member worlds, developing and building new vessels to refresh the aging fleet was out of the question. Whatever ships remained of the dwindling fleet operate mainly as ferries or cargo transports while the more versatile starships operate near Orion and Klingon space hoping to gather intelligence on Earth.

Marty Collins, Captain of the USS Chabon, fresh off convoy detail, arrives at Rear Admiral Ombretta del Carlo’s apartment inside the Remnant Compound. Before both can begin their meager, yet celebratory dinner, Admiral Jocelyne Bachelet, Commander-in-Chief Remnant Command, arrives with sensitive information from the Triangle, a grainy image of what could be a Constitution-Class starship. The Admiral reminds both officers that Remnant Command was on the brink of collapse, and if it did, then there would no longer be any hope to reclaim Earth. If the starship in the image was real, then Starfleet might find a new lease on life. Marty volunteers to investigate the rumor.

The next day, he assembles a team of twenty volunteers and mercenaries, including former intelligence Daniel Bishop, Expert Tactician Roscoe Mayhew, Pilot Harlow Harcrow, Engineer Morgan Ryan, and Corpsman Alanna Morrison. The team leaves M-11 aboard an appropriated Orion Interceptor. Once they are well underway, Collins briefs the team on the mission and shares the unsubstantiated rumor about the Constitution-class starship. The veterans are bewildered and the young recruits indifferent. Each person, however, realizes the severity of the mission, and accept that failure is not an option, even if it means they are to sacrifice themselves in the process.

Two days later, Collins’ crew arrives at the location in the photo, a massive asteroid field that houses several Orion mercenaries and bases. The Interceptor makes its way through the field and manages to find the USS Lexington deep inside the field, surrounded in a strong magnetic field that disrupts sensor scans. The ship is visibly damaged, sporting carbon scoring from weapons fire, and pitted from asteroid debris, but the broken vessel shows signs of life, including an Orion vessel docked on the port side of the Lexington’s graceful neck. The Interceptor docks with the Lexington, attaching itself just below one of the saucer’s dorsal phaser emitters where repair drones would normally be dispatched from.

Collins leads the first boarding party and finds the saucer, or at least the deck, completely devoid of life. The rest of the team is summoned, save for two guards to watch the Interceptor. Assuming that the bridge is already occupied by Orions, the team is directed to Deck 7 and Auxiliary Control. Like the decks above, Deck 7 is devoid of life and covered with dust. Doors are open everywhere, and Klingon blood and weapons are scattered throughout. Sickbay is also discovered wide open and its stores emptied. The team reaches Auxiliary Control and access the ship’s records. Ryan determines that many of the ship’s systems are still somewhat functional, but they simply lack power to become operational. Collins then decides that the time has come to divide the team further and orders everyone into radio silence.

Along with Harcrow and Morrison, Marty leads a team to the bridge. He learns all too quickly that he took too much personnel when only one Orion, Kibyr, is discovered on the bridge. A tense standoff ensues before calm is restored. Collins and Kibyr exchange words, with Kibyr accidentally revealing information about the Orions in the process. Kibyr, along with his brother Jalan, discovered the Lexington a short time before and brought a team aboard the starship. Jalan intended to gut the starship and sell what he could as salvage. Kibyr saw opportunity when he realized the Lexington’s sensor array was unmatched next to most Orion, Klingon, and other ships. He managed to convince his brother to start restoring the ship in hopes that it could become their new flagship.

Down on the engineering deck, Roscoe’s and Ryan’s team quietly observe several Orions moving to and from engineering. Their tricorders pick up some unexpected life signs from a nearby room, and an investigation quickly reveals that the Lexington still harbored survivors from the ship’s final battle, including one of its senior officers and default commanding officer, Lieutenant Scheayuv. Together, the group devise a plan to subdue several of the Orions by luring them into a trap involving jerry-rigged blast doors. Ryan volunteers herself as bait, and successfully lures two Orions into the trap, but not without sacrifice. Her presence is alerted to the remaining Orions via intercom.

The crew on the bridge hears the message. Collins is forced to break radio silence and contacts Mayhew who quickly apprises the Captain of the situation. Kibyr protests Starfleet’s actions, worried that his brother might be killed in the crossfire. A heated exchange ensues between Marty and Kibyr, and Marty shares why he’s really on the Lexington. To Kibyr, the ship was a shot at a better life, and to Marty, the ship meant that he could be reunited with his family on Earth. Kibyr appreciates this, and agrees to help get his brother and friends off the ship.

Collins then, with Morrison and Kibyr in tow, travel to the engineering deck to meet up with Mayhew. Mayhew explains the situation in full before following Kibyr to engineering to lure his brother into the open. Jalan, described by Kibyr as a walking hulk is successfully taken down by Mayhew, but not until he’d absorbed multiple stun blasts and a knockout blow. Kibyr then rushes back to Engineering, tells the remaining Orions that a mad Starfleet team is on the loose, killing everyone in sight. The Orions quickly evacuate, and thanks to an elaborate ploy by Mayhew (shooting Kibyr in the leg with a stun blast), Kibyr is left behind to join the crew.

As Ryan and her engineering team start to assess the ship’s total condition, Morrison makes a discovery. Between the radiation and years of malnutrition, one of the survivors, Crewman Sanchez, doesn’t have long to live. Collins and Mayhew, however, confer with Ryan to discuss plans for establishing a perimeter to give them an advance warning system should someone pay them a visit. Mayhew leaves to rig up several laser trip sensors, and see that their stolen interceptor stands watch. Ryan informs the Captain that the ship will need about a day's worth of repairs, and sets to work with the other members of the infiltration team on getting the ship fixed up.

A day passes, and the repairs are completed to the best of Ryan's ability. The warp drive powers up without a problem, but Ryan recommends that the Lexington not exceed Warp 4 unless it is absolutely necessary, and even then, not for very long. Captain Collins then orders the Lexington to leave its protectorate for the last two decades, which Harcrow does his best to perform. The Lexington proves to be sluggish and makes contact with a handful of asteroid fragments as it escapes the field. Mayhew does his best to clear the way, but even the phasers are slow to recharge after each blast. The moment the ship clears the field, Collins orders the ship to warp speed and make way for the Starfleet border.

Two days later, Admiral Bachelet and members of Starfleet's Command Staff are meeting with the Efrosian ambassador. The Efrosian informs the Admiral that his government has decided to withdraw their support to humanity and will refuse future dilithium shipments. Just as the Ambassador is about to leave, the Lexington arrives in orbit. The Ambassador, a former Starfleet officer, is stunned by the arrival and decides to urge his government to reconsider. Bachelet welcomes the starship home, and sends it to drydock for repairs.

Timeline

2257

• Battle of Earth, Day 21: Lost Cause

2380

Prologue: June 4

• 1000 hours: Bleak Horizon
• 1845 hours: Grasping at Straws

Mission Day 1

• 1000 hours: Job Offer
• 1030 hours: An Old Friend
• 1215 hours: Reluctant Engineer
• 1300 hours: Finding a Hotshot Pilot
• 1700 hours: Cards on the Table
• 1720 hours: A Word
• 1800 hours: A Family Affair

Mission Day 2

• 1954 hours: Trying to Get a Clear View

Mission Day 3

• 1100 hours: The Search Begins
• 1300 hours: Boarding the Lexington
• 1345 hours: Taking the Bridge
• 1345 hours: Friend or Foe
• 1400 hours: Eyes and Ears
• 1415 hours: For Want of an Engine Room
• 1415 hours: New Controls, Who's This?
• 1500 hours: Does It Still Fly?

Mission Day 4

• 1300 hours: Time To Go

Mission Day 6

• 1300 hours: A Ray Of Hope

OOC Information

Mission 1 began on February 19, 2020, and ended on October 18, 2020. 24 posts were been published in the mission.

External Information

Complete Mission Logs for Episode 1: Fool's Errand

	MISSIONS OF THE USS LEXINGTON
SEASON 1	1: Fool's Errand • 2: Waving The Flag • 3: Extinction
BACKGROUND	ALTERNATE UNIVERSE TIMELINE