Voyage of the Defiant
From Hidden Frontier
 |
This article may require cleanup to meet Hidden Frontier Production's quality standards. Discuss. Please improve this article using the edit function if you can. Reason: Synopsis again, wall of text |
| Star Trek: Hidden Frontier episode | |
| "Voyage of the Defiant" | |
| Image Not Presently Available | |
| Episode no. | 3.08 |
|---|---|
| Season | Season 3 |
| Release Date | ? |
| Writer(s) | Nathaniel L. Niell |
| Story Elements by | Nathaniel L. Niell |
| Director | Jennifer Cole |
| Year | 2379 |
| Stardate | 56872.3 |
| Episode chronology | |
| Previous
"Ashes" | |
| Next | |
Encountering a Ferengi trader, Shelby authorises Luko and Lefler’s desire to obtain an old Starfleet ship it had procured. Returning the ship to DS12, Lefler assembles a team to return the old ship to active status, when they are granted permission to take the ship out for a leisure cruise. But things never work out simply when they receive a distress call, and find themselves the only available help for an endangered science vessel.
Contents |
Synopsis
The Excelsior is out along the edges of the Patch, her crew performing some usual maintenance on the communication and sensor buoys that run along it’s perimeter. Although the task is an important one since this satellites allow standard communication between those inside the Patch with those outside, it is not exactly exciting work. Shelby is pacing the bridge, her own impatience getting the better of her, as she once again asks Ensign Jorian Zen, manning the helm, what the current rate of drift is. He reminds her it is still full stop, as it was the last time she ask, as Shelby continues with her pacing, much to Elbrey’s annoyance.
A much needed distraction appears in the form of a Ferengi freighter that appears on sensors, before Luko reveals to everyone’s surprise that the ship is hailing them. Glad for something to do besides pace, Shelby takes her seat, as the Ferengi Daimon, who identifies himself as Brok, comes on-screen. He is as obsequious as most Ferengi traders, so Shelby immediately gets to the point. Unsurprisingly, he admits he has a deal he wishes to broach with her, but as his ship closes in towards their position, Luko realises that a ship they are towing is actually a Federation vessel. When the image is put on screen, it is recognisable that the ship is an old-style Constitution-class explorer. Brok explain quickly that he found the vessel in deep space, so naturally wanted to return it to them, for a finder’s fee of course. He drops his friendly persona when Shelby states she cannot pay him in good conscience for something that should be given freely by him. As he continues to rant, Shelby has him muted until he settles down.
Lefler, her interest piqued, runs some scans of her own, before approaching Luko for a whispered conversation, before the Bre’elian informs Shelby they will purchase the ship. Intrigued by this notion, knowing they have no currency to use, she looks over their scans with a small smile, before restoring the communication link with their seller. Back in ‘selling’ mode, Brok tries to propose the idea of a one for one trade, his salvage for a top-of-the-line runabout, more then a fair price. But Shelby steadfastly refuses, before she reveals their scans have revealed the cargo-hold loaded with tribbles, despite his attempts at using a sensor mask to hide them. She mentions that the Klingons would love to know about this, before offering Brok an escape, release the ship, and nothing more will be said. Outwitted and furious, Brok slams the channel closed, before withdrawing his D’Kora-class marauder from the area, leaving the old cruiser hanging in space.
Watching the Ferengi leave at high impulse, Shelby cannot but help but wonder what her two senior officers are going to do with a hundred-year old antique, but Lefler and Luko have more then a few ideas.
With Excelsior in dock at DS12, Lefler is trying to cut through some bureaucratic red tape with regards to her efforts to help restore the vessel, which has been identified as the previously lost USS Defiant, NCC-1764. She is getting nowhere with the Bre’elian secretary she has managed to get through to at the Starfleet Museum, Even though he has an antimatter flow regulator onboard the USS Repulse, he is unable to provide the Chief Engineer with the needed specs, since he is not a ‘mechanic’. When he advices contact the S.C.E., she admits they don’t have the specs in file, due to how old they are, and is even more infuriated when the secretary uses a sudden burst of static across the screen (thanks to interference the Patch can occasionally generate) as an excuse to cut her transmission off. Getting nowhere fast, she calls out for a visitor to enter when her door chime sounds, admitting Luko into her quarters. She explains her inquiries through the proper ‘channels’ are not any help, so their ability to replicate repair parts themselves is a good thing. Seeing how stressed out she is, Luko offers to take her somewhere to relax, which she cannot help but be intrigued by.
After a quick tour, Luko takes Lefler up to bridge, but on the way up in the turbolift, they discuss what her digging into the Defiant’s history has revealed. She explains about the ship’s disappearance in 2269, due to its being trapped in a dimensional rift, causing the ship slip in and out of its normal plane of existence. She then surprised Luko by revealing how the crew killed each other, driven mad by the energies of the passage between dimensions. He remembers the stories that are swapped by ‘old spacers’, although Lefler jokes he thinks the ship is haunted, an assessment he quickly denies.
Arriving on the old ship’s control centre, Lefler cannot help but be impressed with what she sees, although Luko is more concerned with the whereabouts of any bodies of the crew. He is not completely satisfied when Lefler hypothesises that they not have handled dimension travel as well as the ship, seeing she is too distracted, before revealing his little surprise. Having already gotten the approval of Commodore Knapp, the Bre’elian reveals that once the ship is space-worthy and repaired, they and a crew of their choice will be taking the Defiant out for a little jaunt. Lefler grins at this opportunity of a lifetime.
Several hours later, with their team assembled, the Defiant’s repairs are underway. In one of the ship’s engineering bays, Ensigns Andrew Barrett and Artim Ibanya are working on one of the numerous repair assignments, although Barrett is having trouble believing anyone could make any sense of the displays flashing lights. Artim remembers his Academy history instructor believe a different breed crewed ships in the pioneer days of Starfleet’s work for the Federation, a belief Barrett does not share, “More like a different species.” He questions the younger officer if there is any truth to the latest rumour concerning uniforms for their jaunt - apparently they will be wearing one from the 2260s. But Artim shoots his hopes down, explaining he quizzed Lefler about it, who prefers they focus on repairs, not tailoring. Barrett admits he would have enjoyed seeing Lefler in an old-style uniform, but their joking is interrupted by the Chief Engineer overhearing and commenting on their conversation. She sarcastically comments that the old style mini-skirt would flatter Barrett as well, and although Lefler admits a curiosity, it would violate Law No. 7: ‘Never reveal more then you have too.’ Suitably chastised, the younger officers breath a sigh of relief as Lefler leaves them to their work.
On the bridge, Ensign Ro Nevin is having some problems with the mess of circuitry from underneath the control console he is working on. He cannot believe that is it the circuit pathways, despite Ensign Corey Aster confirming that is exactly what they are. The Bajoran realises that the tools he has wont do the job, so Aster hands him some solder, and an soldering iron, instructing him in what he needs to do to generate electrical continuity. Instead Ro picks up his phaser, since that seems like it might work better then Aster’s more antiquated idea. The engineer quickly intervenes, handing the iron over the science officer, who grudgingly gets on with his work.
Aster heads off, and delivers the results of some scans he has taken, while Artim and Barrett conduct a variety of scans and diagnostics on the Defiant’s warp core. Luko remains on the bridge, receiving his own reports, supervising all the various efforts going on aboard the Constitution-class ship. Soon, all their hard work and effort is rewarded, and the ship is ready for it’s leisure cruise. On the bridge, once Barrett, manning the Navigation station, gives confirmation, Luko has Artim, acting as helmsman, to take them out of dock. With surprising ease and grace, Defiant floats free as she pulls away and set course out away from the station. Several hours later, having cleared the Patch, the ship jumps to warp, for the first time in a century.
Three days into their journey, Luko records his log, commenting that both the ship and their skeleton crew are functioning perfectly, and that this effort, possibly the first of its kind, has allowed them to experience what those officer who pushed the frontier a century ago, may have felt. But the mood of nostalgia is broken when Barrett picks up a weak distress call from the science vessel Penumbra. Their captain reports that they have been attacked by Tholian forces, and are trapped inside an almost complete tractor-web being generated by the ships, even though they were in Federation-controlled space. The Defiant can reach them in 47 minutes, but they are the only ship in range, something that Luko feels is a recurring theme in his career.
At his station, Ro protests the idea of taking such an old ship into battle, but Luko does not feel they have a choice, asking the science officer for a better idea, who promptly quietens. Signalling Lefler in Engineering, he asks their combat status. Believing him to be joking, she plays along, until she realises just how serious he is, and like Ro, is shocked at the idea. Luko sends Barrett down to work out a plan of attack against the Tholian tractor-weapon, but is thrown when Barrett asks him to confirm which engineering facility Lefler is in. The ensign explains about the main engineering room in the stardrive, and the engineering bay in the saucer, but Luko has no time for the idiosyncrasies of the ship. Barrett jokes he will call for help if he gets lost.
As Excelsior rendezvous with a large squadron of vessels, Knapp is meeting with Shelby in her ready room. The current situation with the Tholians has degenerated, something that has been on the cards since the Assembly signed a non-aggression pact with the Dominion. Recent intelligence has lead Necheyev to assemble a fleet at sector 415, in response to a possible Tholian build-up there, which is uncomfortably close to Deep Space 12, and the outer-lying colonies of the Patch.
Shelby is also worried for her crew onboard the Defiant, after receiving her security chief’s report on the attack against the Penumbra. Although reinforcement have been sent, they will not arrive in time to lend great assistance to the older vessel’s efforts. With the arrival of several more vessels, including Commodore Cole and the Independence, 23 ships have massed for the squadron assembling in sector 415, which should allow them to deal with whatever the Tholians may be planning. Another 10 ships will soon be arriving from their posting at the Grey Research Facility, but Shelby still feels they need all the good luck they can get. Knapp heads back to the Saratoga, Admiral Necheyev’s ship, leaving Shelby to her worries, about the fleet, and what Luko is getting the Defiant involved in.
Aboard the Constitution-class cruiser, Lefler, Barrett, Artim and Luko have assembled for a tactical planning session for their fight with the Tholians. They cover the basics, but intelligence on Tholians is extremely limited - the last engagement against them was nearly 30 years ago, and they easily defeated Starfleet forces. Fortunately, the Defiant has a few tricks up her sleeves, since her phasers are capable of discharging while being overloaded, resulting in a stronger blast, although this will cause them to burn out after prolonged usage. Unfortunately, Lefler reports that the torpedoes cannot be similarly adapted, so they will have to make do. Luko summarises their problems - free the Penumbra, and keep the Tholians at bay. Artim has discovered that the web-weapon is a massive drain on power, and requires more then one ship, so disabling one will break the web. Since the web is similar in power consumption to a cloaking device, he argues that they will be able to use this as a weakness against the otherwise superiorly stronger Tholians. Lefler realises he means the shields will be inactive, so by dropping from warp at the last possible moment, they will surprise the hell out of them.
As they strategise, Ro signals that they are almost at the Barrial system, prompting Luko to dismiss the meeting and call for Red Alert. He then talks to Lefler privately in the corridor, offering to step aside and let her take command, since she outranks him. But she refuses, knowing her place is in Engineering, as well as acting as First Officer, since Luko has more tactical experience. He asks his XO for advice, and Lefler admits that a combat outing was not what she had in mind, but cannot argue with that fact that this tests how well they fixed the ship up. With some encouraging words of victory, the two head to their respective positions.
As they approach the Penumbra and her antagonists, Luko opens the intercom and delivers an improvised off-the-cuff battle speech, finally realising why Commanding Officers give them. It settles his nerves as well as the crews, as he uses his usual brand of humour before closing the channel. Artim begins a countdown as weapons are readied, and they drop from warp right in front of the entrapped Nova-class starship. Opening fire, the overloaded phasers do the trick, along with a barrage of torpedoes, knocking one of the ships for six, as it loses power. But the victory is short-lived as the other ship closes in, quickly returning fire with enough force to knock the phasers out of commission. As they move away, they manage to launch another spread of torpedoes, before the Tholians take out that system as well, leaving them defenceless and moving at limited speeds.
Realising they have little choice, Luko orders Barrett to signal their surrender, until Artim spots the Penumbra suddenly power up, and launch an attack of their own, forcing the Tholians into a hasty retreat. The Penumbra hails the Defiant, and their captain admits to being surprised to see this version of the Defiant, but thanks for the help, and the phaser-overload trick. Repairs begin again, to allow Defiant to tow Penumbra to a safe port.
As their fleet enters sector 415, with Excelsior leading the way, Shelby orders full sensor sweeps, but to everyone’s surprise, nothing is picked up. When no other ships report sensor contacts, Shelby considers the possibility of a trap, although admits she is not picking up anything telepathically that could confirm her theory or not. She feels the Tholians are not in the area at all, as Lieutenant McCabe, manning Tactical, picks up something from a light year away. He identifies it as the Tholian ship that the Defiant defeated, which is heading home for Tholian-controlled space.
Shelby has the lieutenant single Necheyev on the Saratoga, since they have obviously been led on by the Tholians. Elbrey wonders if this was to make the Federation show its hand, how many forces they have stationed in the area. Shelby is not happy they fell for it so completely, as she orders Ensign Zen to set course for DS12.
Later, Shelby contacts and congratulates Luko on his mission, although he thanks the crew of the Defiant, and the ship herself. He explains that although the ship is old, she still has some wallop. Shelby tells them to head for the station ASAP, before closing the channel. Lefler cannot help but wonder what Luko considers 'As Soon As Possible', and he points out that Shelby did not give a time frame. Ro wonders if they could interpret it loosely, instead of the day it would normally take. On Artim’s query, Luko has them set course for DS12… via the scenic route to Risa first, of course.
With the Penumbra now under her own power, Defiant sets off, for one more trip among the stars she belongs.
Background Information
- This episode was dedicated to the crew of the late NASA space shuttle Columbia, which was lost during re-entry while the episode was in production.
Memorable Quotes
- "Sounds like a phaser might work better." - Ro Nevin, on tools for repairing twenty-third-century control circuitry
- "Why am I always on the only ship in range?" - Luko, verbalising a question doubtless asked by all Star Trek captains since the days of Christopher Pike
- "This lady may be elderly, but she carries a big brick in her purse." - Luko, on Defiant's surprising performance in combat
Guest Stars
- Dave Mason as Daimon Brok (mis-spelled "Damon Brok" in the closing credits)
- Dan Garnreiter as Andorian Captain
- J.T. Tepnapa as Ensign Corey Aster
- Adam Browne as Ensign Jorian Zen
- Wayne Webb as Lt. Matt McCabe
- Mike Johns as Commander Galassini
- Beau Christian Williams as Artim
