Hollow Threats
| Star Traks: Boldly Gone | |
| Episode name | Hollow Threats |
|---|---|
| Season | 8 |
| Episode number | 6 |
| Writer(s) | Alan Decker, Anthony Butler |
| Year | 2502 |
| Stardate | Unknown |
| Chronology | |
| Previous in series | A Hawk In Hand [BG] |
| Next in series | Trial And Error [BG] |
| Previous in timeline | A Hawk In Hand [BG] |
| Next in timeline | Trial And Error [BG] |
Reginald Bain is targeted for revenge, when Thot-Phul unleashes a secret weapon on him: A Starfleet Captain almost as smart as Bain is! Will the James T. Kirk Hologram stand a chance against Bain's intellect? Will Commander Prosak survive Romulan scheming? And what is Grad-Norm planning for the Anomaly crew? Find out in the Series 8 finale!
Summary
The James T. Kirk Hologram transmits itself to a Starfleet listening post near the Breen border and takes over the maintenance hologram there, using its emitters to reform himself.
On the USS Anomaly, Lieutenant Commander Tovar tests out a revision of the Kobayashi Maru test that Captain Reginald Bain is working on.
In a bar on a neutral station between Federation and Breen space, Thot-Phul, who has now been demoted to Dobt-Phul, is approached by Holo-Kirk, who has been recruited to help Phul defeat Bain. Using an infitronic transponder, Holo-Kirk transmits himself directly into Phul’s brainstem.
Dr. Natalia Kasyov and Cabral discuss the amount of the Anomaly’s resources Bain is using on his Kobayashi Maru rewrite. Kasyov learns that Cabral has become quite chummy with the Anomaly’s computer.
Sub-Commander Remax and Engineer Selex decide that they are going to have to kill Commander Prosak without Commander Vioxx’s approval.
Bain receives word that the Breen have opened peace discussions with the Federation. The Anomaly, meanwhile, receives a distress call from a Yridian cruiser that is being attacked by Breen raiders. Bain orders the Anomaly to intercept.
Remax and Selex go to Prosak’s quarters, but their attempt to kill her is thwarted when she leaves for lunch. They set about breaking in, so they can booby-trap her quarters while she is away.
The Anomaly reaches the Yridian ship, which shows signs of being attacked. They read seventy-five Yridian life signs aboard, so Bain sends Tovar, Lieutenant Shelly Marsden, security officers, and a medical team over to assist while the Anomaly watches in case the Breen ships return.
Commander Vioxx realizes that Prosak is off-shift at the same time as Selex and Remax and goes to make sure they aren’t trying anything. He reaches Prosak’s quarters as Selex and Remax are waiting for Prosak to return from lunch. He forces them to lead the way into her quarters, which they refuse to do. Vioxx tells Prosak that Remax and Selex have offered to clean her quarters from top to bottom as an apology for the way they’ve treated her in the past and that she should come back in an hour. She leaves, and Vioxx dresses down Remax and Selex for circumventing him. He says that they will not kill Prosak and that he will consider an appropriate punishment. Remax and Selex start cleaning.
On the Yridian ship, the away team cannot detect any lifesigns. They open the doors to a cargo bay and are stunned by a Breen. The Yridian ship jumps into warp, and the Anomaly pursues. Tovar awakens and finds that he is being held by a restrictor field on a bed in the Yridian ship’s sickbay. Phul and Holo-Kirk argue with each other in the same body, which is very confusing to Tovar, who just sees Phul talking to himself. The Holo-Kirk/Phul Combo tells Tovar that he needs to speak into a monitor when told to.
As the Yridian ship approaches Breen space, Kasyov reminds Bain that Starfleet vessels are not permitted in Breen space. Bain says he’ll file that tidbit away and has the Anomaly overtake the Yridian ship and blast it out of warp. Tovar hails the Anomaly, stating that he’s been instructed to tell Bain that the Breen government has claimed the away team as prisoners of war. Bain protests that they are negotiating for peace, when Phul steps in and demands that Bain surrender himself, his crew, and the Anomaly to the Breen. Bain refuses and asks for more realistic terms. Abruptly, Phul says that Bain can have the away team back and apologizes for the trouble. He puts the away team in an escape pod and launches it just before sending the Yridian ship back into warp. The Anomaly beams the team aboard.
Kasyov goes to check on Cabral and apologizes for being jealous of his relationship with the ship’s computer, since he and it can be close in a way and he and Kasyov never can be. She says she’s been working on something to change all that, though.
Once the away team is back aboard, they upload the readings from Marsden’s quadcorder looking for information about what Phul was up to and inadvertently let Holo-Kirk loose in the ship’s computer. Holo-Kirk takes control of the Anomaly, locking out the crew, beams Bain away and sets the ship on a new course into Breen space.
Bain rematerializes in a holodeck simulation of the Anomaly’s bridge with Holo-Kirk, who challenges him to combat with Vulcan lirpas. He promises Bain that is Bain wins, he’ll never hear from Holo-Kirk again. They begin to fight.
Cabral detects something deleting the code of the Anomaly’s computer and tries to stop it.
The Anomaly drops out of warp at a Breen outpost showing 1000 lifesigns. The ship’s weapons arm themselves.
Kasyov retrieves some equipment from sickbay and attaches it to the interface panel beside Cabral’s sphere. Once it’s ready, she places a device on her forehead and connects her brain to the computer.
Bain wins the fight with Holo-Kirk, but Holo-Kirk beams away and reveals that this is Bain’s Kobayashi Maru program. Holo-Kirk is now on one of the holographic ships, so Bain determines to destroy them all.
The real Anomaly, meanwhile, destroys the Breen outpost, leaving no survivors.
Kasyov finds Cabral inside a simulation of a brig. He explains that Holo-Kirk defeated him, and he hid in the brig to avoid being destroyed. Kasyov says that they can be together now, which Cabral is happy about. But he is concerned that she is trapped with him now. She replies, “The hell I am” and steps directly through the force field imprisoning him.
Bain destroys all of the Breen ships in the simulation, but Holo-Kirk is on the Kobayashi Maru freighter itself, which he has rewritten to be heavily-armed. Bain sets the holographic anomaly on a collision course. Holo-Kirk just goes to rewriter the program again but finds that he no longer can. Both ships are engulfed in explosions. Cabral and Kasyov activated the holodeck safeties in time to save Bain, but Holo-Kirk is gone. Kasyov reveals to Marsden that she is now the ships computer, and she doesn’t want to leave.
Prosak descends through the ship’s Jefferies tubes, trying to find Bain. Selex calls for her to wait and says that he is on his way to engineering to check on the warp core. She says he has a long trip. Twenty-five decks, he says agreeing as Prosak looks down the long shaft below them. Selex then says that he hopes Prosak realizes that this isn’t personal. Prosak is confused. Selex kicks her off the ladder, sending her plummeting below.
Bain arrives on the bridge and gets updated on the situation. He orders the ship to head back to Federation space and to contact Starfleet Command. They are intercepted by several Breen ships with Grad-Norm in overall command. He demands that Bain beam himself over to Norm’s ship and face trial for his crimes against the Breen people. Bain agrees over Tovar’s protests and, after leaving Vioxx in command, beams himself over to the Breen ship while the Anomaly is allowed to leave. Tovar is ready to fight the Breen, but Vioxx orders the ship to return to Federation space.
Featuring
- Captain Reginald Bain
- Commander Prosak
- Commander Vioxx
- Lieutenant Commander Tovar
- Lieutenant Shelly Marsden
- Sub-Commander Remax
- Dr. Natalia Kasyov
- Centurion Nortal
- Sub-Lieutenant Zantak
- Engineer Selex
- Cabral
- Thot-Phul