A blast from the past

When I am not taking assigned missions in Star Trek Online, I am exploring space, going places and checking things out. I have noticed these Patrol Missions popping up, here and there, so I gave one a click. Low and behold, this is one I got.

Through a temporal disturbance I go, off to the past and rendezvous with a legend....

Seems some future Klingons have found a way to go back in time and give history a hard time. Lucky I just happened to be in the area to lend a hand at preserving the timeline.

The game gave me a rare opportunity that I haven't had since playing Star Trek Elite Force, so many years ago now, explore a Constitution Class Starship, from the inside. Starting off from the Transporter Room....

....then over to Engineering to solve a few issues there. The halls were a little crowded....

....since the Klingons didn't like my crew meddling in their meddling. Once they were beaten back....

....the nearly deserted Bridge needed some help. Turns out, this Enterprise was under the command of Captain Christopher Pike, but looked more like Kirk's Bridge. Nevertheless, the situation was brought under control concerning the ship....

....then the crew transported back to the Emden to deal with Klingon ships from the future. Once they were defeated....

....it was time to part ways, only arriving here a short while ago. But, like all ships from the future and having the power to do so, it was time to return to where we belonged.

A interesting encounter and a well thought out set of circumstances were presented with this scenario. I had little trouble voicing my opinion of what I thought....

I wonder what will come next for the crew of the Starship Emden?

There was this Motion Picture

For me, my realization that I would like Star Trek begin back in 1979, with the release of the first movie. Although I was just a child then and the human interactions onscreen really didn't interest me at the time, there was one thing that did capture my attention....

....it was the Enterprise. Like a lot of other children of the times, I was more fascinated with the technology, mechanical things that moved and all the flashing lights. The Enterprise was this bigger than life object, transporting the onscreen people and my own imagination to the stars and beyond. The human element and the stories would come later, appreciated more when I became an adult.

  

Now, don't get me wrong here, I had been exposed to Star Trek before the first movie. The Animated series was on television, starting it's early run in syndication, showing up here and there. I remember the pace of the shows being quite slow and as soon as any ship action was over, my attention was gone and I was off changing channels.

The Original Series was also in syndication at this point, but aired sporadically, past my bedtime on most occasions. However, when it was found on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, I would watch it, if nothing else was on. The longer running shows held my focus more so than the Animated series. Seeing real people and the way the ships were depicted in near lifelike fashion is what drew me in, but like the Animated series, once I thought all the good parts had already been seen, I was gone.

The Motion Picture was a very busy movie, just about every scene had something moving....

....along with the Enterprise in it! Suffice it to say, the only thing that interested me in watching the whole movie through was seeing as much of that ship as possible.

But, something happened, I started to take careful notice of other things....

....Kirk and his interactions with the crew. I was listening to what he was saying and what his crew's responses were....

....and I was starting to find the human factor becoming more interesting. Another thing that was catching my eye....

....the set interiors, the costumes, the bridge and some of the effects used, outside of the ships in space....

....in fact, after the movie was over, I scoured the television guide for episodes, both live action and the animated variety. Another spark was struck....

....when I discovered the comics. The best part of these books, not only I could afford them on my meager allowance, but I truly believe it helped to foster my love of reading in later years.

As fanciful as all of this may sound, it's true. Going to see a movie where my my point of interest was a fictional space ship, set in events far into a possible future, set in motion many things I take for granted these days. The art of listening, interacting with other people, perception to surroundings and details, the list goes on. Like a light went off in my head that has never gone out.

But, I still got this thing for a ship named Enterprise.

Little ship, big challenge

I came across a cute little app for my Android phone called Star Trek: Galileo Returns https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vger.galileo&hl=en

The goal of this game is to drag your finger around the screen, in an attempt to land the shuttlecraft Galileo through the open doors and onto the hanger deck of the Enterprise. Sounds easy, right?

Well, yes and no. The concept is simple enough, it's the execution that can be difficult. If you do check it out, try not to overcompensate for a botched maneuver. Good thing there isn't a score kept in this game.

iPhone/iPad version here https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/st-online-team-adventures/id619837419?mt=8

Starship Sunday

Starship Sunday is a showcase feature of cannon spacecraft seen in Star Trek television episodes and movies.

This week; USS Jenolan, NCC-2010, Sydney Class. Seen on Star Trek The Next Generation, Episode 6x04 Relics. First aired 12 October 1992.

In 2369, the Enterprise D receives a distress signal from a lost Federation vessel, USS Jenolin, that has been found crashed on the surface of a Dyson Sphere, back in 2294. The Jenolan is repaired and returned to temporary service, after the Enterprise D becomes trapped within the Dyson Sphere.

The Jenolan activates the Dyson Sphere doors with a standard ship's hail and jams them open, giving the Enterprise D an opportunity to escape. With failing shields, the ship is destroyed by torpedo fire, just as the Enterprise D races through the closing doors.

That which survives

Although I have been a fan of the Star Trek franchise for as long as I can remember, I haven't collected a lot of merchandise nor memorabilia over the years, as compared to some others, out there. Sadly, what I have acquired has either been thrown out, due to damage, lost in moving or I have loaned it to my children....and unfortunate things happen to those items.

In time's past, there have been a few Enterprise models, Klingon toys and various other races, represented in miniature  However, there is one piece from my meager collection that has survived all these years, a lone Romulan Bird of Prey.

Here's what I do know, remember, or could find out about this particular piece. This ship was a part of  AMT ERTL #6677, Star Trek Space Ship Set, that was released around 1989, same time to cash in on Star Trek V, The Final Frontier hitting the theaters. I remember building all three, but forget what exactly happened to the other two.

The model itself, isn't very big at all. For some odd reason, these three pieces of glued, painted, decaled, vacuum formed plastic has survived all of these years, but still showing some signs of wear and general existence.

So, why this one, out of all the others, survives today? Perhaps, subconsciously, I am holding on to, more so protecting it, a tangible link to one of my favorite episodes from the Original Series, Balance of Terror. 

First, let's look back at it, from a child's perspective. The Romulan Bird of Prey was a cool looking ship, a radical departure from the always seen Enterprise. Come on, it had a bird painted on the bottom of the hull, that increases the coolness factor even more! Then, I discovered it had this thing called a Cloaking Device....

Although the ship was a big part of the episode, it wasn't the most important part, something I didn't fully appreciate until I was much older. Balance of Terror was written with the same formula as my favorite film of the Star Trek franchise, The Wrath of Khan. Both contained a lot of dialogue centered on what was going on, why all of it was happening and what to do about it. A suspenseful build up that would be broken with fantastic action sequences, that kept me on the edge of me seat.

And, both Terror and Khan had the best reveals of who the antagonist was, as seen onsceen through the Enterprise's viewer.  

So, what ever happened to the model itself? After being used in Balance of Terror and one other episode, The Deadly Years, the one and only model mysteriously disappeared. When the Romulans needed ships for the episode, The Enterprise Incident, they had to use Klingon models instead.

Hard to believe that Wah Ming Chang's creation, designed and built in just two weeks, appearing in two episodes, would have such an enduring quality about it. Just like my own little, plastic ship.

A good ship's name should start with E

So, a mere fours days after I starting playing Star Trek Online, I have a character who has attained the rank of Lieutenant Commander, reached level 10 and has been rewarded with a new command. After reading through some material on the internet, I found out I could get a token for a ship at level 10, then level 20, another at level 30....

The good news, captured in a screenshot. No sooner has this message been sent out, I was on my way to Spacedock to pick out the next ship for adventures.

My choices were limited to three classes, as pictured above, but I already knew which one I was going with, a refit Constitution Class Cruiser, but a good name was escaping me. I wanted my decision to have some kind of significance and connection to the Star Trek universe in some way.

After a few Google searches, I found what I was looking for http://memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/USS_Emden and http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/USS_Emden

The U.S.S. Emden it would be named then, since I could link the name to a cannon source, Star Trek VI, The Undiscovered Country. Although the registry number has to start with a 9, I was able to fit the 1856 behind it. Close enough, since it would be a homage ship, of sorts.

The Emden name is also shared with another ship, in another game, which I also received just a short while ago too.

The start of a one year voyage

With 2016 in the here and now, so starts the festivities around the 50th anniversary of Star Trek.

So far, the biggest known news is the release of the third movie, re-booted in the Abramsverse, Star Trek Beyond. Check out the trailer http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/paramount/startrekbeyond/

No doubt, as Fall gets closer, fans and media alike, will remind the world about the first episode of the Original Series, The Man Trap, aired on NBC, September 8th, 1966. Be sure to stay tuned for a television/cable special or two.

As for my new game, nothing has been announced, http://www.arcgames.com/en/games/star-trek-online/news but the year is merely a few hours old, at the time of this posting. However, I have this funny feeling our friends at STO wouldn't turn a blind eye at this occasion, so stay tuned for specials, events and giveaways. If I find out of any of these, be sure I will post the details and links (when possible) as soon as I can.