Root of the Problem
From USSArcadia
The plot starts a few days after The Mirror's Mirror.
Part I (Stardate 50801.30)
Captain Lo'Ami takes over as commanding officer. Cmdr. Alces takes over as executive officer. Arcadia picks up new officers Ens Samnatha Kent (science), Ens Brian T Riley (helm), and Ens Malik Pilot (security).
Arcadia heads to Axrekrav for a diplomatic mission to establish relations. The planet has progressed from the brink of self-destruction to warp capability in the past 50 years, under the leadership of General Li Dyse, who led one of its nations to domination over all the others. Rumors exist that biogenic weapons were used in the war. The planet is located in an area of space that makes it the gateway to the backside of the Romulan Empire, and is thus strategically located. The planet's government has invited all spacefaring powers to open relations.
Arcadia arrives in the system and is given coordinates to an orbital pattern, and a schedule of diplomatic events beginning one day later.
It is discovered that the planet's population dropped from a few billion 50 years earlier to a half billion now.
Lt Cmdr Marx's security department evaluates their response to the exploding androids used against them by the Romulans and tries to find a defense.
Lt Eagle learns from Starfleet that his wife died in the line of duty.
Stardate 50802.06 (Part II)
The senior officers meet in the observation lounge to discuss how to handle the spin on Axrekrav. It is decided that two away teams will go down to the planet. One, consisting of the senior officers, will go to the official diplomatic ceremonies. The second will go down in a cloaked Marine shuttle to reconnoiter the planet to find out the real story of how they advanced so quickly and whether the population is enjoying the advancements as much as the government would like everyone to believe.
Other delegations arrive to the planet. The Romulans, two Ferengi delegations, the Cardassians, the Klingons, and the Breen are included among them.
Stardate 50802.13 (Part III)
The Federation delegation arrives on the planet. They arrive in a city that looks new and still under construction. They find their way to a balcony displaying the Federation flag. A balcony on a tower facing them displays a large picture of General Li. They find that the balcony is being bugged and attempt to block the bug with a tricorder pulse. The Axrekrav government delegation appears on the high balcony, to much fanfare.
The recon team leaves in a shuttle and lands on the planet. They find evidence of previous use of biological and radiological weapons.
Stardate 50802.20 (Part IV)
The diplomatic party hears the General's short speech. Marx and Sema'J think that the voice in the speech sounded like it was manipulated. It is followed by a military parade and flyover. Much of their technology is identified as of foreign origin. The electronic bug is replaced by a (military) member of the waitstaff. The crew continues on to the reception. Marx has an altercation with a Klingon delegate. A Ferengi delegate begins working Captain Lo'Ami.
The recon team finds what looks like a ghost town. Kent registers a signal behind a wall. Swan enters a room and finds a sleeping old man present. They wake him up and begin talking to the man (who later identified himself as "Ken"). They quiz him about his political feelings and find that he dislikes the government intensely. He warns the team that the government will be want to take their technology. While Eagle and Swan continue talking, Riley and Kent find a room that looks like it's been turned over in a fight.
Stardate 50802.27 (Part V)
The diplomatic team enters a reception for all the delegates. Captain Lo'Ami tries to get information from Rhum, the Ferengi who seems to know a lot about what is going on. Rhum tries to convince Lo'Ami to hire him to negotiate on the Federation's behalf. Rhum mentions that the recon team is intending to bring back a "rebel leader," and knew everything about what the team talked about on the balcony, leading Lo'Ami to believe that Rhum is a double agent of the government. Meanwhile, Sema'J and Marx discuss the origins of the Axrekravian weapons, while Marx dodges the Romulan delegation, fearing the bounty on his head. Daena is overwhelmed by the number of delegates and the noise level in the room and finds an outside balcony to stand at. Lo'Ami regroups the team on the balcony to tell them what he learned.
The recon team continues talking to Ken. Ken leads Eagle and Swan to a rebel holdout, containing computers and a command center. Ken informs the team that the area is booby trapped. Ken eventually gives the team a version of the history of the planet since the war. The others stay outside. Pilot and Doug keep tabs on the inside team telepathically. They continue scanning for evidence of the state the planet's environment.
Stardate 50803.05 (Part VI)
Mr Roghers, a lower level officer of the Axrekravian military takes the diplomatic team on a tour of some of their recently constructed facilities, including a manufacturing facility and a hospital. They proceed to ask the guide questions, trying to find out what the Axrekravians are selling, and what money they use, but the answers are not forthcoming. The guide's supersensitive hearing is a clue that he's got an electronic recording device keeping tabs on the team.
The recon team starts out split between those with Ken and those outside. The ones outside try to find the hidden door to the inside. Riley attempts to modify a tricorder to scan through whatever dampening they're using to block the scans. They are reunited when Ken leads the inside team out. Eagle introduces Ken to the team, and offers Ken a chance to be transported back to Arcadia to tell his story. While leading Ken to the shuttle, they are interrupted by the sound of hovercraft and sirens. The team reaches the shuttle, but Ken panics and runs, eventually caught between the hovercraft. The shuttle crew tries to beam Ken into the shuttle, while an energy disruption weapon fires at him. He arrives in the shuttle dead. The shuttle cloaks and heads upwards to Arcadia. Lt Eagle is somehow injured in the melee.
Stardate 50803.12 (Part VII)
After the tours of various facilities, the diplomatic team returns to a hotel room provided by the Axrekravians. Fearing that it too is bugged, Lo'Ami and the others walk down the staircase and out the back door of the hotel to find somewhere to talk where their words won't be recorded.
Once the cloaked Marine shuttle exits the atmosphere, it is caught in a tractor beam by the Axrekravian Military Police. After several attempts to free themselves and to contact Arcadia, they are dragged into a small shuttle bay. The shuttle crew finds the shuttle surrounded by uniformed military policemen pointing their weapons at the shuttle and demanding that they surrender for having made an unauthorized landing on the planet and for having conspired to topple the government. Lt Servo realizes that Ken's body in the shuttle is a giveaway. Ens Pilot's attempts to telepathically alter the intentions of the Axrekravians fail as well. Ens Doug T powers up the shuttle's phasers. Ens Swan objects to the plan to fire phasers. On Servo's order, they raise shields and fire phasers, collapsing the whole shuttle bay and destroying the fuel tanks behind it. The Axrekravian ship regains some power and begins to fire on the Marine shuttle, destroying the entire aft section. The crew is beamed to Arcadia before it explodes.
Arcadia is soon surrounded by Axrekravian Military Police ships, and the diplomatic team is recalled to the ship.
Stardate 50803.19 (Part VIII)
Captain Lo'Ami takes a report from the AT about what happened, and tries to stall the Axrekravians, as they read off the charges, which include 33 counts of murder, destruction of property, and conspiracy to topple the government. The Axrekravians demand that the personnel who went on the AT be turned over.
In the ready room, the captain convinces the Axrekravians that the officers were acting outside the orders of Starfleet, and that he wants them back to file his own charges against them (thus protecting the Federation from full responsibility). He and Cmdr Alces find that the punishment involves doing enough physical labor to pay for the assessed value of the crimes, and that they could pay money to get the away team out of jail.
Arcadia receives a transmission containing the Axrekravian laws and the "values" associated with the charges. They agree to turn over the away team members.
In sickbay, Swan digs a transmitter of Romulan or Ferengi origin out of the body of Ken. While trying to figure out how the team was found, an unauthorized transmission to Arcadia from the surface was found to have been made by Ens Doug T.
Engineering tries to piece together what components of the Marine shuttle were vaporized and which ones were in the hands of the Axrekravians. They find that the Axrekravians may have the cloaking device.
Stardate 50803.26 (Part IX)
Ens Phoenix and Black piece together the Marine shuttle remains in engineering.
Acting Ens Swan quickly finishes the autopsy on Ken in sickbay. The tracking device she found is reported to the bridge.
Cmdr Alces calls the whole away team to the ready room and rapidly collects all the data they were able to obtain on the planet. The away team is ordered to stay silent while on the surface of the planet and not to give any technology to the Axrekravians, and to stick with the story that they were operating outside of Starfleet orders.
Lt Cmdr Marx plots a backup plan to run away from the Axrekravians surrounding them.
The away team is sent back down to the planet, to the coordinates given to them by the Axrekravian Military Police. Before leaving, they are assured that Arcadia will be trying to find a way to get them back. They are beamed to a heavily forested sub-arctic area of the planet's northern continent. They are introduced to prison life by Commandant Krankie. His men implant a remote-controlled device containing a shot of poison into the necks of the team members. They are told to work on building a city, and threatened with death if they try to escape.
Captain Lo'Ami tries to figure out how to redeem the crewmen for money. Meanwhile, he hires Rhum's partner Koque to represent the Federation in the negotiations, being sure that they have a contract with the Ferengi that they can escape from if necessary.
Stardate 50804.02 (Part X)
Commandant Krankie introduces the prisoners to the rules of the jail. They are presumed guilty until proven innocent at trial. They are to work, and they may requisition food or supplies, but must pay for those in work as well. They learn that if they fail to perform adequately at their current prison, they would be transferred to an energy facility where they would be forced to cycle generators 20 hours a day. Ens Doug T defies the commandant by breaking a hole in the barracks wall. The commandant presses a button on a remote control, releasing enough poison into his system to stun him for a few hours. Ens Kent pulls a device out of a crevice in the wall, and begins dissecting it when the commandant leaves. They find that it's an old, unusable weapon with a damaged focusing crystal.
Arcadia keeps tabs on the prison camp via sensors as long as they can. Lt Cmdr Marx prepares an infiltration plan in case it is needed.
Captain Lo'Ami finds that the options used for currency on Axrekrav are limited. The only viable option that can be obtained and that could pay enough to get the crew out is chewana root, which grows only in the deep seas on the planet MKor DSamim 2, and has specific purity and storage requirements.
Marx gets himself out of deep sea diving away mission by appealing to his psych profile.
Engineering begins to prepare a shuttle for deep water diving, and prepares for it a cloaking device modeled on the Marine shuttles'.
Stardate 50804.09 (Part XI)
Four days pass while Arcadia transits to Mkor DSamim 2, arriving and entering standard orbit.
Engineering completes modifications of the shuttle. Science completes modifications to the hydroponics bay to contain the root according to the Axrekravian specifications. Science and engineering get to work on modifying cargo bays to hold root as well.
Marx finds no threats on tactical. Engineering is OK-ed to perform a field test of the shuttle and its cloaking systems before bringing it down to the planet. Cmdr Alces leads the away team, consisting of Daena and Ens Jordan Black from engineering. Once the tests are complete, the shuttle goes down to the planet. Meanwhile, Arcadia hides in a polar magnetic region where it might be partially hidden from anyone unexpected who comes to the planet.
On Axrekrav, Swan tries to figure out what poison was given to T, who revives, but shortly thereafter loses his balance and hits his head. Riley finishes work, and smokes a cigarette he got from one of the guards. A hovercraft arrives at the barracks. Out of it comes Al Wyer, who claims to be the away team's "advocate." He reads off the charges and explains to them the Axrekravian criminal justice system, which is heavily weighted toward the state - the defense has to prove its own innocence. He asks them to make up their minds how they will plead, and all but urges them to plead guilty.
Stardate 50804.16 (Part XII)
Engineering converts the cargo bays for transport and storage of the root.
The shuttle mission finds root in the deep sea and begins transporting it up to Arcadia, having to break the water's surface for each trip. Realizing how long the transports will take, Lt Sema'J comes up with a plan to take Arcadia into the atmosphere and use the shuttle as a transport repeater.
On Axrekrav, the prisoners notice that Lt Eagle is missing. They decide to delay the trial process as much as possible by pleading not guilty on all charges. Signs of wear show on the crew.
Stardate 50804.23 (Part XIII)
Arcadia made the slow, controlled descent down into the atmosphere of MKor DSamim 2, and beamed up a large supply of chewana root. The shuttle pointed out the root and acted as a transport repeater.
On Axrekrav, the prisoners braved the cold and continued doing forced labor. Commandant Krankie and his officers pay them a visit to take their pleading sheet (which states how they intend to plea on all charges in court). He gives the a half hour to appear for transport. The team discusses how they intend to hold up the process. After a half hour, they are retrieved and put in hovercraft for transport to court. Ens Doug T continues to suffer from balance problems from his injection with Axrekravian poison.
Stardate 50804.30 (Part XIV)
Arcadia begins testing the root in containment chambers set up in the hydroponics bay.
Cptn LoAmi continues to hold a worn piece of root from the first trial in his hand, and sniffs it occasionally. When the second sample comes out, Lo'Ami states that it doesn't have the distinctive smell of the first, even though it seems to pass the scientific tests proposed by the Axrekravians.
New engineer Ens Archie Phoenix seems awfully curious about the captain's experiences with death.
On Axrekrav, the trial begins. The defendants are brought in and find Al Wyer standing with them. He tries to find what evidence they have to defend themselves with, even though the preliminary evidence he was sent seems "rock solid." Three judges preside over the trial. A prosecutor states the charges.
The defense begins the uphill battle by challenging the kidnap and murder charges for Ken. The judges ask questions of both the advocate and the defendants, and accuse the crew of lying.
Stardate 50805.07 (Part XV)
After reviewing the evidence at the insistence of the public advocate, the judges find the crew not guilty of kidnapping Ken. Without being able to obtain any further evidence in their defense, the advocate advises he crew to change their plea to guilty on the remaining charges. They are sentenced to work time building cities, and additionally, to time in the ore mines. Al Wyer's objections to the mining sentence are rejected. One of the judges appears to present an exculpatory excuse, but it is not heeded by the two others. After the trial, Ens Riley offers cigarettes to Wyer. He rejects them, saying that he should put them away before the court officers see them -- they are illegal. The crew is led to hovercraft for return to the worksite.
On Arcadia, the testing of the root continues. As Captain Lo'Ami tries to explain to Lt Daena the difference in smell between one root and another, Daena sniffs the root and becomes incoherent. Other root vapors leave the hydroponics bay through the ventilation system. Soon, everyone on the ship is affected by the root. Some feel a high, others have varying severe reactions. Sickbay fills rapidly.
Stardate 50805.14 (Part XVI)
The Axrekravian hovercraft transporting the prisoners is kept from releasing the crew at the worksite barracks. Instead, they are left at the far end of the worksite, with no guards in site. Their orders are left for them next to a partially complete foundation.
Lt. Eagle rejoins the team, having spent some time in the ore mines, which resemble a death sentence. In the mines, the prisoners are kept working by keeping them addicted to a narcotic. Eagle acts very compliant to orders given by the Axrekravians, even though no guards are around.
The entire time, a muffled popping sound can be heard in the background. Later, planes fly overhead, booms are heard in the distance and the popping ends. The crew theorizes that they just heard gunshots.
On Arcadia, much of the staff is in sickbay, where the doctors try to figure out how to undo the damage to those who had severe reactions. With the high gone, others begin to experience the first withdrawal symptoms. Some, the captain included, begin to miss the high and try to find ways to procure more root. Ens Phoenix works on a method to sample-test the remaining root. Lt Marx argues that the root should not be given to the Axrekravians.
Stardate 50805.21 (Part XVII)
Six hours have passed since the previous sim. During that time, the testing of the root in the cargo bay completed, and only 10% was found to contain the drug.
Arcadia crew begins experiencing various withdrawal symptoms from the root. Some are cold (the captain), some feel hungry, most snap at each other on a short fuse. The crew who had adverse reactions to the drug begin to recover. The discussion about what to do with the root continues in sickbay. Lts Phoenix and Black come up with a plan to use shuttles and probes to find more active root. Dr Tynte countermands Lo'Ami's order to obtain more, citing his medical authority and pronouncing the captain unfit for command. After a short crisis, and a semi-persuasive argument, Lo'Ami (who has shown signs of drug addiction) is given 24 hrs in command before being declared unfit. Lt Sema'J leaves sickbay to purge the inactive root from the cargo bay, after Lo'Ami rejected his suggestion that there might be a reason the Axrekravians want the inactive root too. While in the control room, he releases additional root into the ventilation system, drugging everyone again.
On Axrekrav, the work detail continued, with only one guard guarding the whole detail, who appears to be "chummy" with Lt Eagle. Later, Eagle debriefs the rest of the crew about the mines he was in, and about the heavy drugs (cigars) they used to keep the workers working. While the crew is unguarded, Ens Riley walks off from the rest of the crew in the direction that the gunfire sounds came from earlier.
Stardate 50805.28 (Part XVIII)
The chewana root vapors are restored in the ventilation system.
Dr Tynte, on his medical authority, delays Captain Lo'Ami's order to launch the shuttle to MKor DSamim. The two men face off and eventually reach an agreement that if Lo'Ami still exhibits signs of being influenced by the drug in 24 hrs, he would be removed from command.
The ventilation system is isolated on the deck with sickbay, as a safe place for those who had severe reactions to the drug in the first place. Everyone else is allowed to continue work in the drugged state.
The shuttle/probe system is launched, monitored by the engineers and scientists. It is found that MKor DSamim does not have sufficient root resources to pay the Axrekravians. Arcadia refills the remainder its cargo hold with inactive root, with the intent to chemically convert it to the active form. Lt Daena objects to having to convert more root to the drugged form.
On Axrekrav, Ens Riley continues searching for the source of the gunfire in the woods. He suffers a headache as withdrawal from the cigarettes he used earlier. He eventually finds and follows a newly paved road.
A hovercraft drops off less than half the supplies the away team requested. Lt Eagle informs the team about the drug that he learned from his experiences in the mines. They also notice the lack of guards and theorize that something larger is happening on the planet. They hatch a plan to try to find the storage areas and seize some of the drugs (that some of them are now addicted to) and use them as a bargaining chip to win their own release. First, they take their supplies and scavenge the labor camp for anything useful.
Eagle takes a small team to the commandant's office.
