by Will Moczarski
Disclaimer: Because this is an episode with a lot of attention to detail (and because work and life are just crazy right now) I've decided to split the post in half, you know, to let you know I'm still alive and all.
The third mission is called No Man's Land, and it really feels like a proper Star Trek episode. It begins – as it so often does – with a routine mission that is suddenly interrupted by a distress call. The Enterprise is on its way to Omega Corvus to probe some radiation clouds. However, the fact that Kirk is expecting an uneventful mission in his log entry is nothing if not the first giveaway sign that all hell will break loose. Yes, we will even be dragged into a World War, no less.
Expect away, Jim.
This time it's Starfleet Command reaching out to us, namely Admiral Cain informing us that three Federation ships went missing in the Delphi system over the course of the last month. Of course, that constitues a Code Two Emergency and we are ordered to investigate. Most interestingly, the Enterprise is already the second starship on this very mission from Starfleet Command: they lost contact with the USS Zimbabwe a mere three days ago.
"Caaaaaaaain!"
We warp to the Delphi system and Lt. Uhura immediately picks up a strange noise on all channels. She compares it to an insect drone but it soon becomes clear that the sound (in space, mind you) is produced by an authentic warplane (in space, mind you) that was constructed by the nation of Germany in 1917 (on Earth, mind you). Now I should go on the slightest detour for readers who are not well acquainted with Star Trek. The Original Series (TOS) often let the Enterprise discover planets which had developed similarly to Earth – a parallel world in which Rome never fell, for example, or a planet whose society was modeled after a book on organised crime from the 1920's. Many episodes had very few actual SF elements but rather focused on Kirk having a good brawl or "getting the girl". These unusual settings were often rationalised with the Prime Directive of the Federation, strictly prohibiting its members from interfering with the development of non-member civilizations. Kirk and his crew thus often posed as locals, and naturally this led to unusually high amounts of period drama for a SF series. Another Star Trek staple is that the Enterprise regularly encountered sassy alien lifeforms that were much more powerful than humans but much less educated in ethics (or simply elected to have some good old fun with those powerless underlings). One of those is about to make a comeback for those of you who watched the original episode The Squire of Gothos.
Flies like a fly, buzzes like a fly, ...
The higher beings (like the one we're about to encounter) were often an easy way out to explain away any physical or logical inconsistencies (Spock will actually complain about the fascinating lack of logic throughout the mission) such as how a 1917 warplane would be able to travel through space. There is still quite some suspension of disbelief necessary but in the face of the poignant statement for pacifism that will carry the forthcoming mission I find that it is not a hard pill to swallow.
Did I load the wrong game?
Before we know it, Uhura tells us we are being hailed and "Baron Trelane von Gothos" appears wearing a German spiked helmet on his head. He introduces himself as a member of the German Air Circus and will treat us as an enemy aircraft. Also, he only grants us ten seconds to surrender – well, officially, since we are still allowed to pick one of the dialog choices. Those are written in character for Kirk because obviously he will remember and recognise Trelane. However, players who are unfamiliar with the Original Series (or simply don't recall every episode) are wont to be a little confused by this. It doesn't seem to matter which option I pick for Kirk, anyway, as they all result in the same scenario. Even the more insulting options don't make the "Baron" lose his cool. When I call him out on the Zimbabwe he closes in on us and Spock surmises that he intends to fire. Unfortunately, he also controls our systems – the shields will remain down for this encounter. It doesn't matter much because Trelane doesn't fire after all but simply beams (or otherwise transports) down Kirk, McCoy, and Spock. (This may be very different if I had the combat turned on.) We find ourselves in another dungeon and get to meet Lt. Commander Ellis of the U.S.S. Zimbabwe.
You guys were THIS close to hittin' the hay!
Ellis makes it clear right away that he doesn't care much for Kirk but, being a vulnerable redshirt in a strange environment, he will tag along for the time being. He is not actually the captain of the Zimbabwe but he was the commanding officer at the time of the attack due to his superior being in sickbay. Spock and Kirk proceed to bounce some ideas off each other, dropping some exposition about Trelane for the uninitiated (he's an immature child of a race with vast powers who acquired an unhealthy fascination with human military history) and surmise that he must have moved on from his infatuation with the Napoleonic era to the time of World War I on Earth. Kirk also suggests that Trelane's parents probably won't be around to punish him for his behaviour (like they did in the series) this time, so our merry boys are on their own.
I investigate the hot spots in our cell – a bundle of sticks (I pick up one of them), a heap of ordinary straw, a small but empty barrel, and a bunch of crates. It is possible to examine and open one of them – it is full of bottles of "Himrich Schnapps" dated 1913. A quick web search reveals nothing of the kind, it may be just a Star Trek invention.
Next, I let Bones check out if Lt. Commander Ellis is doing all right but he's only quite nervous, it seems. That's all there is to find, really. Notably, Kirk picks up several bottles of Schnapps, and I appreciate the hint although it's not really a tricky puzzle. I pour the Schnapps over the straw, add the stick and want to set it on fire with my phaser...but Kirk is way ahead of me. The sneaky captain picked up not one but two sticks (and he didn't keep the second one in the inventory, it seems) and automatically rubs them together to light the Schnapps on fire. Everyone who ever did this in real life knows what a baffling exaggeration this is but I guess it's fair game because most of the films depict it in much the same way.
The smoke prompts a guard, dressed like a German soldier in the First World War, to enter the cell and ask us what's going on. We convince him that none of us, including him, would enjoy being burned to death, and he lets us go first and then, oddly, doesn't even follow us. When we emerge from the building and out into the street, he is nowhere to be found. Now this would be quite improbable but bear with me, or rather the mission for a bit longer. It actually makes an iota of sense if you want it to.
Mr. Spock advises us not to enter the building again (as if we had planned to do that) and we can finally take a look around the German-style cityscape that awaits us. Just as Lt. Commander Ellis wants to confront Kirk about something a German soldier enters the screen and punches a harmless old man in the face without warning. They're playing hardball here, it seems!
Fortunately, Kirk is not one to hold back on his punches either, and when I really just want to try how I can interact with the soldier he walks over and knocks him out cold. Just as well, I guess. A little trivia question for the Trekkers here: Kirk deals the blow with his left fist. Is he left-handed in the series, too? I never noticed!
McCoy is next in line but before I can order him to heal the poor old man, a young blonde woman comes walking out of the tavern on the right and introduces herself as Gretel. Oddly, she addresses Kirk as "Colonel Kirk", and offers him shelter in the safety of her tavern. It is probably our next port of call but back to the injured man. While McCoy refuses to give medical attention to the soldier, he tends to the old man's broken hip right away. The man is immediately able to stand up and thanks us for helping him. Oddly, he, too, seems to recognise Kirk right away but calls him "Lt. Col. Jimmy Kirk, the leader of the famous Enterprise squadron". The old man hesitates to tell us anything else but then decides that the war will soon be over anyway and informs us that we are in the village of Gothos (sound familiar?). He also tells me that "Baron" Trelane has retired to his castle "to await orders". Orders? By whom? Also, Trelane has vowed to kill Kirk should they ever cross paths again. Sounds like the castle will be the site of the showdown. After that, it's no more talking for the old man. He simply tells us that he's too tired now and needs to rest, and we proceed to meet Gretel in the nameless tavern. Before we do that, there's one more conversation to be had, though. Lt. Commander Ellis didn't quite get around to telling us why he dislikes Kirk so much before the German soldier appeared on the scene. Let's try that again.
It turns out that Ralph Garvin, a hitherto nameless redshirt who was killed by bloodsucking vampire clouds in the TV episode Obsession, was once Ellis's roommate. This is kind of a clever reference because Obsession was (in)famous for being an episode with an unusually high redshirt body count (six!). Ellis despises Kirk for his risky leadership style and longs for revenge but also fears for his own life, wearing a red shirt and all. Kirk retorts that space is not the safest of environments and tries to reassure Ellis that he's always done his best to protect his crew but Ellis is not really convinced by this. (I had to chuckle at this, too, thinking of how I treated McCoy in the previous mission.) Spock adds that the Enterprise is routinely sent on extremely dangerous missions, thus Garvin must have known what he was in for. Also, we get a dialog option to further improve our relationship with Ellis. If you pick the right one, Ellis will still remain skeptical but stick with us for now. Kirk admonishes him to save his vendetta for later, and we can finally move on. However, every time Kirk does something that will possibly put his crew in danger, Ellis will inadvertently speak up.
Will Kirk "get the girl"? Will he punch more people in the face along the way? Why do the Germans call him "Colonel" Kirk? How will he resolve his conflict with Ellis? I'd love to read some speculation in the comments, and stay tuned for the next part of this episode!
– to be continued –
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