​I remember that when I first started out playing Star Trek Online, that it seemed as though I would never run out of missions to enjoy. The list of missions simply went on and on and I heartily enjoyed them at every waking opportunity, but a funny thing happened after a year and a half of attaining every single rank the game has to offer, and flying every vessel that I so desired, the mission well was about to run out. Yes, that’s right, I was only down to a handful of episodes left on my checklist and well, that put me in quite the interesting position. 
 
Because a good couple of hours on the weekend would see that checklist reach completion and well, that would mean that for the time being, I had quite literally done it all when it came to the story portion of this game. Part of me was beaming with pride that I had played through every single season the game has to offer, and the other part of me, felt nothing but confusion. After all, I had worked hard to get to this point and once I finished this particular run, I would be craving more. Granted I knew new missions were coming down the line, but in the here and the now, what was an Admiral to do?
 
Well, the answer to that question was surprisingly simple. Because this kind of down time, meant that I had a grand opportunity to prepare for the future. After all, at some point, a new season was going to arrive and if new weapons or awesome toys were available for the Galactica to make use of when that happened, now seemed like a good time to be ready to anything new the game was going to send my way. Which meant I was in need of energy credits and dilithium in order to get the job done, and I used a new feature that the game was offering, alongside an old standby of my own to start building up my digital wealth for both of those aforementioned items.
 
Which meant every couple of days, I’d hop on and take part in an Endeavor Mission, a system that offered up a specific and well-rewarded task for players to accomplish, and I worked out a pretty solid patrol route that would take my ship and crew to the edge of known space before we headed back to Earth Spacedock to maximize my earnings and of course, I made sure to take part in any new mission as soon as they were available and well, this little plan of mine, worked like a charm. My bank account was swelling with energy credits and I had plenty of dilithium to do whatever I pleased with and it’s a good thing these preparations took place.
 
Because the missions in question that were popping up were building to something big, the return of the ancient Hur’q. And an epic battle with those monsters above the planet Bajor led to quite the cliffhanger to say the least. Because Deep Space Nine was badly damaged in the battle, and Odo and the Dominion showed up to save the day and shortly after that, it was announced that a new DS9 themed season was on its way, along with some wonderful upgrade surprises, and this time, I was ready to get the ship up to speed so that we could do our part in stopping the Hur’q threat, and that’s where we will pick up, next time. Until then. 

​When it comes to the games we love and play on a regular basis, there comes a point in the player’s digital life, where they have to stop coasting by and take the game seriously and well, the time had come for me to finally do just that in Star Trek Online, shortly after the Iconian War. Now, that’s likely an odd statement to make when one considers that I’ve already written eight prior blogs that utterly geek out about my experiences in Star Trek Online but hear me out here. Because you see, I took the Star Trek aspect of the game as serious as possible, but the actual finite details of the game; such as building better weapons and learning about what different ships can do, I never took the time to learn much about. 
 
Which brings me back to the impasse I was currently facing. Because by being so loyal to the 1775-A, I found myself facing ships that grossly outmatched my own, making the battles last longer and forcing me to make some foolhardy maneuvers to win, and after the war, my luck when it came to combat finally ran out and I was unable to move any further on a mission set in the 29th Century because the Na’Khul ships that I was going up against during said mission, were ripping the Galactica to shreds, and frustrating me to no end. I simply wanted to finish every story available, which meant, I was going to have to make some changes. 
 
I needed a ship with a stronger hull, and better weapons, so I took a tiny break from the game to learn about all of my gear, and how to upgrade it, and what weapons worked better than others and well, I returned from that break, ready to focus on building a better ship before returning to the mission. So, for the time ever, I spent money on a brand-new vessel, an T6 Odyssey Class vessel to be exact, the same as Enterprise, putting me squarely in the 25th Century at last. But before the newly commissioned U.S.S. Galactica NCC-1775-B could set sail, she needed new weapons and having learned about the wonder of the Anti-Proton beam, I spent a fair chunk of energy credits to arm the ship with those, and quantum torpedoes of course and launched this new monster of a ship out into the galaxy. 
 
But we weren’t headed back to New Khitomer, no, our mission was one of my own design; to create the strongest ship I possibly could. So, it was time for patrol after patrol, engaging in constant combat to get my hands on Dilithium and energy credits so that I could afford to upgrade and max out all of my gear and well, this taught me a lot about the game. I learned about hull strength, and weapon placement and how consoles can benefit the player, and I discarded every item I could in my inventory for quick credits, and the rare stuff I sold on the exchange all to get my hands on more upgrades and after a few months of blowing the hell out of the same enemies and scrimping and saving, I finally accomplished my goal. 
 
Every single weapon and console and item aboard the Galactica were upgraded to Mark XIV, complete with a Resilient Shield Array that absorbed less damage and while I am a fan of phasers, these top tier Anti-Proton beams ripped through an opponent’s shields like tissue paper. But most importantly, with her new Adaptive Emergency Repair System now active, and with the addition of every last hull bonus available, this hull appeared to be damn near impossible to crack. Which meant, the moment of truth had arrived at last, and it was time to return to New Khitomer and finish the mission and wow, did the Galactica impress. Sure, she took a few lumps as expected, but at no point did I have to run and hide and regenerate the hull. She stood tall in the fight, delivered some punishing blows and just like that, my journey through the game resumed and this time I felt confident that the ship could handle anything thrown our way. 
 
If anything, a minor setback at the time turned out to be quite the blessing in disguise, because I quickly fell in love with this new ship and her design and it was magnificent to know that I would no longer need to hold my breath or check the clock before starting a major battle and would be able to hang with and fend off several enemy vessels at the same time. And of course, I had finally taken this game seriously, and that paid off in spades and well, this decision would come in quite handy in the weeks and days to come, since the game was brewing toward something big again and those particular voyages, are where we will pick up next time…

​There has been and will forever be a great debate amongst Star Trek fans regarding whether or not it’s ever acceptable for the saga to go into dark and twisted territory in order to tell a story. Because there are those who believe that Gene Roddenberry’s original vision of a utopia free from conflict is the only way to go and the other side of that argument firmly believes that there are species out there who don’t believe in what the Federation stands for and will challenge it every step of the way in order to accomplish their respective goals and I am someone who firmly believes that there is room for both in this universe, for several reasons.
 
For starters, that utopian vision of a perfect society, wherein everyone is tolerated and accepted, and peace prevails is a wonderful thing to hold on to and it should be what the Federation and its allies strive for on a regular basis. But I do agree with the fact that there are those out there who wish to do others harm and believe that their way is the only way and the noble must fight to keep the good in the universe going and that’s why, I’ve never had a problem with Star Trek when conflict arises. Because conflict tests the ideals of the United Federation of Planets and it forces its finest officers to find a way to uphold those values and fight to keep them alive and as it turns out, a dark moment involving conflict was about to drop into my lap in Star Trek Online.
 
Because as soon as the Galactica returned home from her campaign in the Delta Quadrant, an age-old enemy resurfaced, one that was teased heavily prior to this point in the game, the Iconians. Yes, that mysterious race of omnipotent beings that were able to travel anywhere in the Galaxy on a moment’s notice, thanks to their all-powerful gateways, finally decided it was high time to return to prominence, and that meant that the Federation and every other power in the quadrants needed to be brought to their knees in order for the Iconians to maintain power and well, just like that, we were at war once again and this time around, it truly felt like the Federation’s darkest hour had arrived.
 
I say that, simply due to the fact that the Iconians were virtually unstoppable. Their ships outclassed anything in Starfleet, meaning that every single battle my crew and I took part in was long and drawn out and brutal as we worked to keep the ship together and I still recall the mission where the 25th Century’s iteration of the Battle of Wolf 359 took place since there were pieces and skeletons of Federation vessels strewn about space and well, those kinds of losses pushed Starfleet and its allies to their limits, forcing them to make questionable decisions that bended but did not break the ideals of the Federation and thankfully, there were voices present to make sure Admiralty never crossed any particular lines.
 
But, despite the Federation’s ideals holding up in the end, the darkness continued to prevail and I will never forget the sight of Earth, surrounded by a massive Iconian Fleet in the season finale of this campaign, ‘Midnight’, because that image and the battle that ensued truly made it seem as though there would be no hope for any of the species that populate the Galaxy and it took the noblest parts of Starfleet, and a dangerous mission involving Time Travel to set things right in the galaxy and get the Iconians to stand down and man, what a powerful and incredible ending this campaign turned in when all is said and done, and at the time, this was hands down the biggest and baddest and most impressive story arc that the game offered up.
 
Because for the first time ever in playing this game, there was a real sense of danger hanging over this story, and failure at any level didn’t seem like an option, regardless of the fact that the game will respawn you if your ship is destroyed or if you died because the story was just that big and just that important. But while the allied forces of the Galaxy were triumphant, in many ways this felt like a pyrrhic victory since so many planets and ships were laid to waste and morals were pushed to their limit and well, that’s just a mark of good writing and with the war now at an end, I was quite curious as to what awaited my ship and my crew in the future and well, I was ill prepared for the fact that greater challenges awaited us, the kind that signaled the end for the Galactica-A and that particular patch of trouble, is where we will pick up, next time. Until then. 

​I have to admit, that one of my favorite moments when it comes to Star Trek Online, is when I’m simply flying through the vastness of space aboard the Galactica. In part, because it’s so some supremely peaceful to watch the starts streak by at warp speed, but also due to the fact…that it is inherently clear that the creators of the game wanted to do their best to try and give all of us a taste of just how big our galaxy really is, and goodness, does the enormity of space travel in this game give me pause because they did a fine job with this attempt to replicate the void. But while it is an incredible experience to consistently traverse through the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, it turned out at this point in the game, that the already vast Milky Way Galaxy was about to get a whole lot bigger.
 
Because thanks to a series of missions involving the wonder of Dyson Spheres and Iconian Gateways, ones that helped to set the stage for the Iconian War and solve an age old mystery from The Next Generation, the mysterious Delta Quadrant was suddenly a hop, skip and a jump away for the United Federation of Planets and of course, my crew was headed into that vast region of space to explore it properly since the U.S.S. Voyager’s mission back in the day was to survive and get home and well, this led to more incredible moments grounded in fan service. Because the aforementioned Voyager would lead the charge when it comes to exploration in this part of the galaxy and that meant some supremely geeky moments awaited myself and my crew once we arrived some 75,000 light years away from Earth.
 
For starters, this segment of missions allowed for me to board the titular ship in question, and it was supremely cool to walk the hallowed halls of this beautiful Intrepid Class vessel and it was equally as amazing to see a fair chunk of the cast from this show reprise their roles for this segment of the game and it downright squee-worthy to be able to go on away team missions with the crew of Voyager and help them to unravel a grand and sweeping mystery involving the Vaadwaur and their now aggressive ways and I also have to admit, that being this far from Federation space created quite the interesting vibe for the game as well because you feel isolated and alone this far away from home and that was an awesome twist to this part of the story.
 
But while the combat was challenging and the mystery of the Vaadwaur managed to work well within the overall Star Trek mythos, since the Iconians helped their ascension to power by way of an awesome sequel/continuation to The Next Generation episode, ‘Conspiracy’, this segment of the game is one that I enjoyed, but not much as the others and really, that’s due in large part to the fact that this part of the game is simply a little too long in the teeth for its own good. Case in point, the fact that you have to back to Kobali Prime three times and deal with some long and drawn out missions in order to advance the plot and that was just a bit much at the time and really this mission set would have benefitted from a shorter run when all is said and done.
 
Granted, that doesn’t mean it was awful, it just means it was long and doesn’t quite pack the punch of other mission arcs. But that’s okay, not every story can be flawless, and it was still incredibly cool to finally travel to this mysterious region of space and in all honesty, Star Trek Online did its part to make up for this slower story arc by giving me an incredible gift once the Galactica returned home. Because the Iconian sub thread that had been permeating the connective tissue in this game, was about to come to a head in violent and explosive fashion, and the battle that was about to begin would serve as one of the finest story arcs that this game has ever sent our way and that conflict, and all the incredible moments that came with it, are where we will pick up next time. Until then.