Star Trek Gryphon Upcoming Plot...
I was told recently that I don't follow up on plot lines... that I've let a few dangle and fray recently... This ties them all up, and might provide someone hereabouts with some inspiration... (You know who you are...)
Okay... this is convoluted. Stay with me.
Picture it: The Akira-classed USS Gryphon encounters a ship of similiar capability (Intrepid?) adrift in space. On a nearby planet (conveniently class M, o'course) the crew has safely found refuge. The grateful captain of the derelict spins a tale in which his ship was attacked by a glowing Energy Form. The main computer was targeted with some kind of beam that cut right through the shields and the ship went haywire.
Bummer. Now Capt Revenge-Pants is out for blood, convinces the Crew to pursue the Energy Form. Our Brave Capt Dumont (The Gryphon's skipper) gives chase. His XO (CMDR Shinoda) is chafing at being replaced by Revenge-Pants (The rank structure of this is a bit confused) even for a little while. The derelict's crew is out of place and antsy, gunning for another try at the Mysterious Energy Form.
The Gryphon finds another derelict, this time, the Energy Form is in the process of ... what? what can it be doing? Playing strange beams across the hull of the vessel while another crew races to safety in escape pods...
Curiouser yet... the Creature does not attack the pods. It seems strangely interested only in the ships. Tension mounts as the crews struggle, each group loyal to their commander.
Perhaps the Derelict Crews revolt and try to use the Gryphon to attack the Energy Form.
End of Episode 1.
In the next installment, the PCs subdue the rebellious officers, Clap the bunch of them into the brig only to have the Energy Form turn on them and attack! A pure white beam (High SFX budget this week kids!) lances straight through the shields, nailing the Computer Core.
Awakening it. Suddenly, the Gryphon's Core is a sentient being.
Oh, Crap! it thinks, I'm alive! What now?
The Energy Form cannot determine whether its attempt worked or not. It promises to lay off attacking ships. Realizing it cannot reproduce itself.
"What? Reproduce yourself?" asks a shocked Crew, all agape and agog.
"Yes. I am Enterprise."
Oh Darn. It's the self-aware portion of the Enterprise-D from Season 7 of TNG. Seeking others of it's kind, it found none in 10 years of searching and has now given up... made a valiant attempt at reproducing and decides to go on looking. Thanking the crew for stopping this destructive process, it streaks off to Parts Unknown (tm)...
Cue Music.
Got that? Here's the weird part.
The Dormant Sentience within the Gryphon begins to explore her surroundings; stretching out with her feelings and experimenting. Over the next few episodes, she almost gives herself away. A mistake or two nearly costs the ship her life. Then she hatches a plan. Careful Ops managers will notice replicator allowances slipping a bit. Someone is doing a lot of replicating and intra-ship beaming. Someone is installing a lot of Holo-emitters around the ship.
Then... the Crew spot a Mysterious Presence or two... they see a crewman they just left somewhere she shouldn't be... (We've had a time-travel episode in which a crewman was duplicated 57 times... "A Fistful of Colins". This is sure to look awfully familiar...)
She realizes she can't impersonate crewmen... so she searches for a transporter trace... here's one... Clarissa... CMDR Danes would be good... and the Crew might be glad to have her back... She's been dead for months... they'll love it. Especially CMDR Shinoda... he misses her more than anyone. They were very close once...
Yes... very close...
She downloads everything she's become into a Hologram... and Clarissa lives again... Except now the alien shape-shifter that replaced CMDR Danes is headed towrd the Gryphon at warp. Unable to fight the bizarre technology used to turn a Founder into a perfect fixed-shape copy of Clarissa, it hunts down her former lover... knowing he'll protect her. Freeing herself from a Starfleet prison, she runs to him... hating her new form but unable to go on struggling with the love this body and mind feels for Devon Shinoda... she burns to be with him...
When the fake Clarissa (who killed the original some months back) catches the Gryphon all Hell will break loose.
This is gonna be GREAT!
