Of Gods and First Officers

	Star Traks: The Original Series
Episode name	Of Gods and First Officers
Season
Episode number
Writer(s)	Alan Decker
Year	2375
Stardate	52687
	Chronology
Previous in series	Star Traks 6 [TRK]
Next in series	It's Good To Be King [TRK]
Previous in timeline	If I Only Had A Brain [VEX]
Next in timeline	The Pudding Of Boredom [VEX]

Starfleet's First Officer Exchange Program swaps Commander Travis Dillon of the USS Secondprize and Commander David Conway of the USS Explorer. Both men must face new ships, new crews, old grudges, and aliens that aren't all that happy to see them. Can Conway adjust to the laid back pace of the Secondprize? What secret is Captain Alexander Rydell hiding from his crew? Is Dillon the man to handle an alien intruder? Will Captain Andrew Baxter ever get over being sent to the Delta Quadrant?

Summary

As a part of Starfleet's First Officer Exchange Program, Commander Travis Dillon of the USS Secondprize and Commander David Conway of the USS Explorer swap posts for two weeks. Events on each ship put the temporary First Officers to the test.

USS Secondprize

After getting a look at the quarters at the bottom of the ship Andrew Baxter lived in when he was the Secondprize's Inventory officer, Commander Conway settles in on the ship. At first he's taken aback by how things are run on board. The full buffet at staff meetings is a big surprise. He quickly forms a friendship with Lieutenant Andrea Carr, who introduces Conway to new coffees. The Secondprize has been sent to Cenkella for a First Contact mission. Conway leads the mission, taking along Carr, Lieutenant Commander Patricia Hawkins and Dr. Elizabeth Aldridge. The Secondprize is called away to deal with a freighter in distress, but Conway is confident that the mission will be a cake-walk. He's wrong. As soon as the away team beams into the Cenkellan Capitol Building, they are faced with a group of armed officers. Things quickly go from bad to worse, leading to a firefight. Aldridge is hit...and completely uninjured. The away team quickly discovers that they are impervious to the Cenkellan's weapons. Add to that the fact that the Cenkellans are all about 3 feet tall and their planet's gravity is 80% that of Earth's, and basically the Starfleet Officers are super-powered giants. Over the objections of the rest of the away team, Conway lets this go to his head and starts rampaging through the capitol building and then through the city itself.

USS Explorer

Commander Dillon and Captain Baxter have a confrontation almost as soon as Dillon is aboard. Baxter blames Dillon for sending the USS Aerostar off to the Delta Quadrant, and Dillon is upset that Baxter was made captain in such an unorthodox manner and now outranks him. Accusations escalate, and soon Baxter challenges Dillon to punch him. Since Baxter has told him to forget about ranks and regulations, Dillon takes him up on his offer. Dillon goes on to make equally good impressions on other members of Baxter's crew.

The Explorer is transporting an archaeological team that has been recovering artifacts from the ruins on Bournas Six. The archaeologists accidentally drop an amulet, cracking the glowing stone in its center. The stone housed an energy being, which escapes from the crack and ends up possessing Captain Baxter.