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 beam 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. Things are going great (at least in Conway's mind) until the Cenkellans figure out that Conway can be hurt by bullets. He quickly retreats back to the capitol building, where the away team is holed up. Hoping to salvage something from the situation, Conway surrenders and signs a treaty obligating the Federation to several terms including tribute of two billion of the Cenkellan monetary units a year, all the steak they can eat, and starship rides around the solar system. Conway is certain his career is over, but Rydell says he'll be sending an abridged report of events to Starfleet.
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 on the bridge. Dillon orders the crew to evacuate the saucer and has the Explorer perform a saucer separation, while he and other members of the Explorer crew remain in the saucer to try to help Baxter. They're first attempt fails, and, when the possessed Baxter begins accessing the saucer's systems, they are forced to detach the bridge module from the saucer. Ariel Tilleran fixes the gem in the amulet, and Dillon, J'hana, and Counselor Kelly Peterman are able to ram the gem down Baxter's throat, which causes the entity to be sucked back inside the gem and trapped. The gem...well, it will come out...eventually.
Featuring
- Captain Alexander Rydell
- Commander Travis Dillon
- Lieutenant Commander Jaroch
- Lieutenant Patricia Hawkins
- Lieutenant Emily Sullivan
- Dr. Elizabeth Aldridge
Also Featuring
- Captain Andrew Baxter
- Commander David Conway
- Counselor Kelly Peterman
- Lieutenant Commander Chris Richards
- Dr. Janice Browning
- Lieutenant J'hana
- Lieutenant Ariel Tilleran
Author's Comments
My favorite part of this story is the bit about the Cenkellan weapons having no effect on humans. Aliens always seem to be invulnerable to our weapons. It was time for a bit of payback. I liked the gag so much that I was going to use it in a spec script for Star Trek: Voyager that I never got around to writing.