Evil Colony

[stule]

First, I want to thank all of you who made my story truly come alive. I really like what I have come up with so far and I owe this idea mostly to this Thread.

Second, I am going to post my story idea so you can see what I have. Feel free to use it in your own games if you want. I am still fleshing it out abit so if any of you have anymore great idea's, please post them.

Again thank you.

Dalkara (Changed the name)
The Dalkarans were and old and powerful civilization that went to the stars hundreds of thousands of years before the Vulcans. They existed during the time of the Iconans. Their greatest achievement was also their greatest downfall. They created a device that would hide their solar system from their enemies. This device worked better than they hoped. Not only did it hide their solar system, but it made it impossible for them to leave. Soon Dalkara was cut off from the rest of the galaxy. The civilization passed into myth.

2070
a group of colonist left Earth (Warp 2-3)
They had a particular system in mind that was 20-30 light years out (considered far at the time).
They traveled on Warp Capable Sleeper Ships.

2080
Their ship was pulled off course into a Nebula by strange gravity currents
Their Instruments, Shields, and Warp Drive were useless in the Nebula
The Nebula stretches over 5 Light years in width and 3 light years in height
The Colonist nickname the Nebula The Maelstrom
After 10 years adrift in the Maelstrom, they came upon a Star System

2095
The Colonist landed on the planet
Their was an primitive society that lived there
The primitives called the planet Dalkara.
At first, the Colonist lived in peace with the primitive people
There were ruins and evidence of a once mighty empire on Dalkara.

2105
When the original Colonist Leader died, his son took over
His son was quite mad but had many of the Colonist support him
The primitives are enslaved by him
Rumors said he even had a hand in his father’s own death
The son began a program of building more technology, weapons, ships
They use the materials of the rich planet to rebuild their society
They quickly subjugated the planet
He then found out that several other planets in the system supported life
These fell quickly – 4 of the 11 planets supported life, 7 had rare and valuable minerals
The Son before he dies, establishes himself as Emperor and his family as the rightful ruling line of Dalkara
He passes his reign to his son
The Colonist then officially become Imperials

2115
The Imperials discover the way out of the Nebula – 10 years of experimenting and the loss of 15 ships
They discover at least 6 other Star Systems inside the Maelstrom
The lanes that entered and left the system were a closely guarded secret
Only ships that had special computers on them had the proper coordinates and only a person of royal blood could activate the computer

2275
Klingon Bird of Prey becomes caught in the Maelstrom
They become trapped and lost for over 10 years

2285
The Imperials discover the BoP
They discover that all on board are dead
They bring it back the their homeworld

2300
Federation Starship is caught in the Maelstrom
Crew is caught for years in the storm
The Imperials discover the ship and take it back to Dalkara
They imprison the crew – who they fool to get them off the ship
The Dalkarans quickly begin to blend Federation and Klingon Technology
They imprison and torture the Starfleet Officers to gain information about the outside world

2325
Emperor Thrall IV, uses his new found technology to begin raiding colonies and worlds around the Maelstrom

2330
Emperor Thrall IV, conceives a child (unknowingly) with his slave. His Chancellor, a pro Dalkaran, helps the slave escape out into the desert with her people. The slave gives birth to Sasha, daughter of the Emperor. The Emperor never discovers this.

2340
Colonists troops strike at several Dalkaran settlements in retribution for Dalkaran aggression. Sasha's mother defends her during the attack. Her mother is killed right in front ofher. Sasha (at age 10) picks up her mother's phaser and kills 15 Colonists before the battle is over. She is hailed as a Hero.

2342
Sasha becomes the Dalkaran equivalent to Joan of Ark. The Darkaran's believe she is blessed. She is trained as a warrior would be.

2345
Sasha is captured by the Colonist troops. She is taken before the Emperor (who does not know she is his daughter). He enslaves her.

2346
A group of Dalkarans try to free Sasha
The Chancellor helps them
They attack the Palace and grab her
They group makes it to a starship – it is equipped with the special computer to allow navigation beyond the storm
The ship is attacked when leaving the system – they are pursued
The group puts Sasha in an escape pod
She is placed in a stasis chamber in hopes that she can reach the border of the Maelstrom
They launch her right before their ship is destroyed
They place the computer inside the pod so that one day she can return
The pod is damaged in the explosion (it launched a second before the ship was destroyed and pieces of the ship hit it)

2359
After drifting for 10 years, her pod is picked up by a Starfleet Vessel
Due to the damage pod, the flight recorder and the stasis chamber malfunctions.
Because of this, Sasha has no memory of who she is or where she came from or even what her name is
She is named Rachel by Captain Linda Miller who adopts the young woman
She was 16 years old
Captain Miller took Rachel back to Earth and her husband (A Proffessor at Oxford) help educate Rachel
Starfleet keeps the Computer that was found in the Escape pod


Again, if u guys can think of anything I can add, please post it!
Thanks again!
Can't wait to use this on my players.

Stule


P.S.
Sorry if the spelling and grammar are a little off. I was in a hurry!

[Tricky]

Just a little nit: don't know wether it was mentioned earlier, but for the crew of a ship from the mid 21st century to survive for 10 years seems a bit much, since replicator tech is still a century or two away. But it could happen.

I like that they find a BoP first, then a starship. While i mulled over your idea, i thought that an answer to the rapid tech advance could be the natives were the decendants of an advanced civilization that fell to ruin after some war/disaster. I even thought that it might have been these ancestors that created the anomaly (your Maelstrom) and it their civilization fell as a final end product of it's creation.

[stule]

OOOOOH!

I like that :P

As for the 10 years, they could have doen what Khan did and have a sleeper ship of some kind. Your right about the lack of replicators so stasis beds is probubly the way to go with that. I will add that into it for consistency.

As far as the original inhabitants causing the Maestrom, I like that idea alot. I will put that in as well once my group gets there. Maybe they will discover ruins on the planet surface and discover the connection. Great Idea!

Maybe they could have been like the Iconians. A very powerful and old race that created a weapon that destroyed not only their civilization but the other local systems as well. Maybe the weapon is actually still on and that is what is holding the Maelstrom Together.........

Thanks!

P.S.
Ok I changed it. I like it even more! WOW!!!!

[JALU3]

The first question that comes to mind is what keeps those pesquily curious humans from wanting to continue to explore the nebula . . . hate to say it . . . but humans and their cohorts tend to be very bothersome like that. And if there are roomers of a past with great weapons . . . someone is bound to come seeking profit, regardless of the risk to life, limb, and property.

Or maybe, since they were such a big species at one point . . . the mealstrom that they created to protect them . . . it also serves to imprison them . . . and that's not to mention that other great species at that time couldn't have reaked havoc on them as well. For instance, what if the iconions saw them as a direct threat to their spacial superiority, or what if they were a subjegated race? Great in their own right, but not as powerful, due to society make up or sheer lack of force or ability, as other great races in their hayday, such as the Iconians.

Imagine, a defensive perimeter that taps into steller bodies and or anomolies themselves, with controls that are almost impossible to manage, with only a select handful being smart enough or having the capacity to control it, without the system going into chaos. And those controls are targetted specifically, as well as other advanced areas, leaving only the environs of the once great species to become the Dalkarans.

Therefore, maybe ships do enter or try to every once and a while . . . but for some reason they are always destroyed before they get to the system which the maelstrom envelops. It may seem random . . . and you'd think your systems would compensate for it . . . but what if your power is drained, your ability to propel yourself is near gone . . . and several large steller bodies decide to play pool (in what appears to be random movement) . . . The select few who make it to the system are so damaged, they must seek shelter on any planet they find.

Remember, if the Dalkarans were once a great species, there is no knowing what level of capabilities they must have developed using technology . . . making whatever even DS9 Era Federation and like species look like neanderthals in comparison.

Ontop of that . . . it could be reasonable to move it off the galactic plane, and in an area not often travelled . . . say the Neutral Zone . . . or away from regular shipping lanes.

The Colonist got there by sheer luck . . . and possibily sometimes . . . ?canabalism? Even the best of intentions can lead to horrible outcomes . . . or maybe to achieve a better end . . . some morally questionable actions were taken . . . to allow the colonist to survive. The stories of the early european settlers are full of such things.

And why did the colonist leave in the first place? This determins alot about the colony and how it became what it became. For instance, what if the language of the Colonist was Afrikaans? A colony developed by them . . . even archetectually would be completely different if the colony's main language was farsi . . . or a language that is currently almost extinct.

[stule]

My original idea was that the Colony left because Earth was making alliances with other races. The Colonist wanted humanity to remain pure. They hated Aliens. So they gathered up 2000 like minded individuals and left Earth.

Another Idea I had is that there is not just one system in The Maelstrom. Maybe have 4-5 systems (It is 5 lightyears across).

I like the draining idea. Maybe when you enter the Maelstorm it drains the ships energy. Maybe its sublte, so its not noticeable at first. But soon its too late and the ship loses all power. And maybe it doesn't just drain energy but maybe life force as well (electricity that runs in a body).



Or how about this idea...

The Dalkarans developed a weapon that would destroy their enemies. It was a bomb that when dropped, would cover the entire planet in a mist. This mist would drain the power systems, energy sources, even life force of people. Then the Dalkarans would come in and take the planet for their own without any loss of Dalkaran life. They used this bomb on the Home planet of their enemy. There was an unexpected side-effect. The bomb did what it was supposed to do. The planet shut down. 8 billion people died. But the people's energy reacted with the cloud. It the made the cloud sentient. The cloud came to realize what the Dalkarans did was wrong, so the cloud stretched across space towards Dalkara, for revenge. It enveloped the Dalkaran Starfleet and destroyed it. (Their ships still float in orbit above the enemy planet till this day). The Dalkarans spent years trying to stop the cloud but nothing they did worked. Finally, they devised a shelter underground that would house 1 million of their people. The cloud reached Dalkara and it wiped out the entire planet. Some Dalkarans fled, most died on their home. Once it was finished the cloud began to stretch out across the stars, enveloping other worlds. Soon though, it began to regret it actions. When the Dalkarans came out of their shelters, the cloud did not harm them. It allowed them to grow once again. The Cloud began to protect the Dalkarans like children, and it would let no one interfere with there development. So any ships that entered the cloud were neutralized. The cloud decided not to allow the Dalkarans to use their technology so it made sure that technology on the planet could not be used. When the colonist ship came the Cloud was going to destroy it until it learned of the colonist intentions (they were looking for a new homeworld). The Maelstrom is telepathic and can read the thoughts of people. It allowed them passage and decided to allow them to settle on Dalkara. It hoped with this new species, that Dalkara could rebuild itself into a better culture.

Maybe the Maelstrom let Sasha escape. Maybe it knows that its civilization is going to tear itself apart and it doesn’t want to kill them again. So it allowed Sasha to leave to maybe bring back help. Maybe it is aware of the Federation and its values.

Anyway, I still need to work on that idea but I like it.

And maybe the cloud is still growing. Maybe now it has decided to explore. Maybe it grows at 1 light year per 100 years?

Thanks for your input.

Stule

[stule]

I am also thinking about making the Dalkarans an evil race in the past. Maybe a race of conqurors. Maybe it was poetic justice when the Maelstrom came to their planet and destroyed them.

Now the Dalkarans are good people fighting to free themselves from an oppressive ruler.

If I continue on this story arc, with the nebula actually being sentient (It would have the minds of over 20 billion people in it), the Nebula becomes more of a caretaker for the systems within itself.

I am really starting to like this story.