I think it is safe to say, that every last one of us out there; love to get something for free. It doesn’t matter if it’s a sandwich or a coffee, it’s just nice to get a little break now and again and enjoy a little reward instead of handing over your hard-earned dollars. But sometimes, you do have to put in a little work to get that freebie and while sometimes the quest for free stuff is irritating, other times it is supremely worth your while and a lot of fun for certain, as is the case with this year’s big reward for the Star Trek Online anniversary event. Because the folks at Cryptic are offering up a free T6 Alliance Battlecruiser, provided of course you complete the tasks ahead of you and well, I have to admit, that sounded like a fair trade.
​
Because this ship is cool, and armed to the teeth with fun weapons, so why not go after it? And well, that’s what today edition of the Admiral’s Log is going to be about, the grind to get that bad boy. Because not only will recounting this quest spotlight more of the fun present in the Tenth Anniversary celebration, it will also be worth documenting, simply because I’ve actually never done anything like this before in game. For I tend to stick to the storylines and my own carefully crafted agenda and the Endeavor missions as well. Which means I usually gloss over the big events and partake in a little portion of them, so I didn’t know what to expect. And it turns out, that diving into this event to get that monster of a ship, ended up being a far greater undertaking than I expected it to be.

Not because the tasks were hard. Because they certainly weren’t horribly taxing. I mean sure, I got my butt kicked in ‘The Measure of Morality Part 1 and 2’ but the other options available to complete my daily progress goal were to either take part in The Battle of the Binary Stars TFO or to fly about the galaxy and stabilize some Omega molecules per Q’s liking. Which aren’t tough by any means. So, what really what made this quite the quest, was carving out time in my day to do the work. Because I won’t lie, while I do visit STO often, there are some days where I just don’t have the energy to game. You know how it goes, where the day was long, or the laundry needs to get done, or you’re just stone cold tired and in need of a nap. So, those are the days where I don’t do much outside of watch my usual shows and go to bed at a decent hour. Or try to.

But this time around, I really wanted to push myself and earn this ship. So, on the days that I was tired or had too much to do, I figured out how to juggle everything so I could carve out a little time to log on. Because this was one of those situations where if I didn’t stay on top of it, I would have forgotten and let this ship slip through my fingertips. But a little bit of vigilance and a heavy use of the Omega hunt allowed for me to dive in like never before and it was quite a joy to see the daily meter continue to climb as I inched toward my goal and well, it didn’t take long for this to become habit and those days that I didn’t quite feel like logging on disappeared. Because now, I was on my way and I wanted this sucker and wouldn’t you know it, twenty days later… I had myself a brand-new ship.

She will be named the A.F.S. Pegasus (CSN-17) and I am so looking forward to taking her out for a spin. Because she is armed to the teeth with Anti-Proton beams, which are my favorite. And it would seem her shield system is impressive as well and really, what has me excited about taking this monster out in the galaxy, is the sheer fact that a little nerdy hard work brought her into my personal fleet. Because it’s always nice when you straight up earn something, and it is even better when that hard work lets you have it for free. And truly, this is the first time that I actually didn’t mind the grind and there’s a fair chance now that I’ll probably start diving into other events down the line as well since the grind wasn’t so bad once you get over the hump. But in the here and the now, I have a new toy to play with and how she performs on her shakedown cruise is where we will pick up, next time. Until then, Pegasus out.  

Hello again my fellow captains and admirals. It’s hailing frequencies open for another edition of The Admiral’s Log, and I do hope you’re all still having a wonderful time with the Anniversary Event right now on Star Trek Online and that everyone is close to earning their T6 Alliance Battlecruiser. In fact, I know I’m close to finally getting my hands on that bad boy, but the quest to obtain that behemoth is going to be another log topic for another time. Because today, it’s all about recapping the finale of the ‘Legacy’ missions and well, I have to admit, that early on ‘The Measure of Morality (Part 2)’ kind of made me nervous with its storytelling.
​
Because at first glance, this second chapter seemed like more of what ‘Part 1’ had to offer. Because once again you’re tasked with teaching the Excalibians about good versus evil and diving back into the end of the Iconian War to provide them with more data was a little disappointing at first. I mean come on, they already have three scenarios that give them the information they seek, what good will four do? But thankfully, this was apparently all part of the plan, one designed to bore and frustrate the player so that a surprise can come into play, and what a surprise it turned out to be. Because the end of this first sub-mission, brought about the return of the Excalbians version of the Borg, who were quick to take over the trials in the hopes of gaining freedom from their masters and that led to quite the follow up sub-mission.

One that takes you aboard a Borg cube to fight back this terrifying new iteration of Starfleet’s greatest enemy and well, this was quite the difficult segment for certain. Because there is a seemingly endless supply of drones aboard this cube, and they are relentless in their attacks, and the boss battles are equally as intense and truly, this is a humbling fight. One where I found myself on my digital butt on a regular basis. In fact, I made a point to beef up my first officer’s stats to Mark XV (I may have forgotten to do so before this) just to have a little help during this rough leg of the journey since Commander Flores took her lumps too. But the ending is worth it since it is a battle for the ages with a fascinating new version of the Borg Queen and that battle leads to the centerpiece of the episode.

Because what would a grandiose two-part mission be, without an epic finale? And this episode delivers on that, since you’re forced to fight the Queen and her seemingly endless resources in space and the only way to defeat a monster of her caliber is to bring in Starfleet’s finest, and the Excalbians deliver there. For they temporarily recreate some of the greatest captains in history to help with this battle. Which means you get to fight alongside: Captain Christopher Pike and his Enterprise from Discovery, along with Captain James T. Kirk’s NCC-1701 from both the Prime and Kelvin timelines. Plus, Captain Benjamin Sisko and the Defiant and Captain Kathryn Janeway and the Voyager join the fray and it doesn’t end there. Captain Jonathan Archer and the NX-01 are here to help, and so is Captain Gabriel Lorca and the Discovery, ​and you are also joined by a pair of Captain Jean-Luc Picards since the 1701-D and E are part of this fight and as icing on the cake, Captain Va’Kel Shon and the Enterprise-F are there to support you as well.

Which makes this grand finale is about as epic as they come, and fighting alongside some genuine Starfleet legends is pretty incredible in its own right, and there are plenty of geeky moments to be found as you hear these legendary captains bark orders to their crews and well, I have to tip my cap to the folks at Cryptic when all is said and done. Because this really was quite the incredible way to wrap up this particular tale, and they definitely had me fooled. But in the end, good writing prevails once again and the cinematics here are top notch and this really does celebrate every corner of the franchise in classy and fun fashion and well, now that these missions are all done, it’s back to the daily grind and earning that new ship and that particular journey is where we will pick up next time. Until then, Galactica out.

There are, a great many reasons to celebrate the wonder of Star Trek Online. After all, it is a truly immersive experience set in the universe of one of science fiction’s greatest franchises. Plus, you get to captain a starship and sail through the stars. But of the many reasons to love this game, personally I’m a huge fan of the fact that it seemingly never runs out of stories for the players to participate in. Between the Endeavor Missions, and new content, there’s always something to satisfy and really it is the new stuff that is on my mind today, simply because the Tenth Anniversary Celebration has offered up a pair of delightful new missions that celebrate the franchise as a whole. 

Because ‘The Measure of Morality (Part 1)’ finds a way to tie together four various iterations of Trek in fascinating fashion. But it sure doesn’t seem like you’re in for anything all that epic at first. Because this episode opens up with you on a simple mission, one where you swing by to help Seven of Nine do some technical work on satellites only to find yourself whisked away to a world that hasn’t been seen since The Original Series. But a return to Excalbia reunites fans with the Abraham Lincoln that once interacted with Captain James T. Kirk and well, it turns out that the Excalbians still don’t understand the lessons that were taught to them in ‘The Savage Curtain’ and they need your help in figuring out which is better; a society grounded in good, or one grounded in evil.

Which means that once again, a Starfleet captain and their intrepid crew will have to go through unique trials to help these beings understand the difference between right and wrong. But this time around, said captain gets an assist from Seven, and Commander Michael Burnham. And both of these characters are voiced by their respective actors; Jeri Ryan and Sonequa Martin-Green and getting to fight alongside these characters and solve mysteries with them is just a true delight and the performances from these two fine actors are simply top notch. But what is truly cool about the first half of this particular mission, is how it truly pulls together your personal experience in the game, while paying tribute to Star Trek history.

That particular feat is accomplished by way of the trials that the Excalibians put you and your new friends through. Because you are able to revisit big moments from your own Starfleet career, only this time around, there are twists and turns present so that you don’t make the same choice twice and every single decision you make is challenged by Yarnek and honestly, I love that the game makes you reflect upon whether or not you did the right thing. But truly, the wonder of this tale is its final act, since you’re able to experience a wildly different ending to the Star Trek: Discovery episode ‘The Red Angel’, one that I won’t spoil here since you need to experience it, but I will say that it is epic in nature and does a fine job of setting up ‘Part 2’.

In the end however, I have to admit that I was truly impressed with this particular episode. Because the writing really is strong from start to finish and the game deserves some serious credit for assembling visuals that are supremely cinematic in nature. Because this really does look like a television episode from time to time, and it really is a wonderful way to tie together the game and the franchise and truly, I’m eager for more. Because if the second half of this tale is anything like the first, then I am in for quite the treat and on that note, I think it is best that I head back down to the surface, to see what other trials await myself and my away team. Until next time.  

​Well hello again my fellow Fleet members out there. It’s been a long time since we settled in to discuss the wonder of Star Trek Online because truthfully speaking, I’ve had little to blog about. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’ve been playing this game with vigor since my last entry. But telling you how I finished or didn’t finish my daily and weekly endeavor missions really doesn’t make for a juicy blog. But thanks to the fact that the game has reached a special milestone, the time has come to knock the dust off of my PADD and discuss how incredible it is, that we are now celebrating ten years of Star Trek Online.
 
Which is quite the milestone when you think about it, because that means for a decade now, fans of this game and of the franchise have been indulging in rich adventures through the stars and well, it only seemed right to take a moment today to celebrate the wonder of this game and what it means to me. Because STO really is a dream come true for this giant nerd. For as long as I can remember, I wanted nothing more than to sit in the captain’s chair and lead a crew into the great unknown and make incredible discoveries and explore strange new worlds and at long last… that’s what I get to do here. And that makes every single time I log on a true delight, and I still find myself staring into the void of space with a sense of awe.
 
But while I could go on and on for pages on end about how much joy this game brings me in every possible way, it’s best I scale it back. Because we have more to discuss in regard to the celebration. Because the game is also offering up all kinds of fun events and giveaways to accompany this amazing anniversary. For starters, I do know that you can get your hands on the new uniforms featured in Star Trek: Picard and I was quick to hop on that because they’re slick as hell and you too can claim yours by swinging by the Zen Store promotional tab and well, sporting that bad boy while soaring through the galaxy just adds to the fun. And the addition of that uniform is a fine example of how the game is celebrating every facet of the franchise right now and that brings me to the first thing I’m truly excited about for the anniversary; the new missions.
 
Because Jeri Ryan and Sonequa Martin-Green are starring in two brand new missions that are designed to pay homage to the past in rich fashion and truthfully speaking, I’m so excited for these that I put off playing them until the weekend so I can properly appreciate everything they have to offer. Plus, there’s some new TFOs to take part in and really, what I’m excited about the most in regard to this celebration is what it is offering players in regard to the future. For the Alliance is a big deal in years to come for this saga and our first real taste of what tomorrow is going to look like is available for players who are willing to put in the twenty-day grind. For at the end of that respective quest, a powerful ship awaits them as a reward; the T6 Khitomer Alliance Battlecruiser!
 
Which is a vessel that celebrates the finest that Klingon and Federation engineering has to offer and this beastly ship (pictured below) looks like it can handle anything that the universe can throw its way and damnit, I want this thing. I honestly don’t know why, because the Galactica is my home and I know her well. But hey, if it is free and it can offer up a little fun… why not have it? So, with that in mind, over the next few weeks, I’ll be sure to chronicle how my hunt for this ship goes since uh, the grind can be a bear and it may test exactly how bad I want this on days when I don’t have the desire to game within me. Plus, we’ll be discussing those new missions and everything else this celebration has to offer, and on that note, if you’ll excuse me, I do believe Q needs my help in stabilizing some Omega Particles so I can be one step closer to getting that glorious new vessel. Until next time, Galactica out.