​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. 

​It’s interesting what you come to realize when you reflect upon just about anything, and since I’ve spent the past five, now six, weeks pondering upon my own journey through Star Trek Online, many new things have come to light for me when it comes to this majestic game. First and foremost, I’ve come to understand that I really, really, love this game through and through and second to that, it’s also become apparent that STO really moves you through the ranks quickly and packs in some serious storylines in the process because my crew and I saw a lot of combat and plowed through a lot of storylines during our early days in space.
 
To some, that may seem like the game is more or less rushing the player to the finish line, but this reflection time has also helped me to understand that there is a rhyme and reason for that kind of mad dashed game play, and it all relates to the spirit of the game. Because a Starfleet officer must be ready for anything at any level, and surprises will find their way to your hailing frequencies at any given moment and honestly, I’m glad the game more or less prepares skippers for that kind of dynamic change because now that I had reached Admiral, the stories were only going to get bolder and bigger from this point on and well, I felt ready for any challenge that STO was going to throw my way.
 
Thankfully though, the game did find a way to give me an anchor mentally, because the Galactica-A was going to be my home for the foreseeable future and well, she was coming along on some of those incredible journeys and the first one of note involved Deep Space Nine. Because the crew had been sent there to have a grand discussion with the other superpowers of the Alpha Quadrant in regard to a growing Borg threat and during this meeting, it became clear that while the game was going to up the ante storytelling wise, it was never going to stop with the fan service because holy crap, I was sitting in the conference room aboard Deep Space freakin’ Nine and to top it off, in the midst of our meeting, a throwback to the series came our way.
 
Because if you recall, in the DS9 episode, ‘Sacrifice of Angels’, the Prophets were kind enough to throw the Federation a bone by removing Dominion reinforcements from the wormhole. We never quite knew what happened to that fleet, just that they were sent away and well, it turns out that they were propelled into the future, to the exact moment where I was sitting in that Borg meeting and just like that we were plunged into a new and unexpected conflict where the station was once again under siege and my goodness, what a treat this turned out to be. Because this mission arc took me just about everywhere when it comes to the Deep Space Nine universe and this massive and sprawling story ended in explosive and magnificent fashion. 
 
For in the finale, ‘Boldly They Rode’, allied forces work to re-take the station with the help of Weyoun and the Founder who was captured at the end of the war and while it was awesome to navigate the station’s hull in an EV suit, and battle Jem’Hadar inside the station. Nothing compares to the cinematic space battle that took place outside the station. Because there were moments worthy of the silver screen in this sequence since I remember the Galactica swooping in from above (or as above as one can get in zero gravity) to save ships in peril in the midst of the battle and while that was cool in its own right, nothing that happened in this fight compared to the arrival of reinforcements, since that fleet was led by the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-F and just like that, my crew and I were suddenly fighting alongside a living legend namesake wise and that…will remain as one of the coolest moments I’ve ever enjoyed in this game.
 
Yet, what’s really incredible, is that this entire mission arc, was nothing more than an appetizer for the feast to come. Because even bigger stories were waiting on the horizon for me, something I didn’t think was possible. But our next big journey would take us to a region of space that I never thought I would explore in this game, the Delta Quadrant, and our arrival in this fascinating part of space meant that my crew and I would be working alongside more Star Trek legends and that particular tale is precisely where we will pick up next time. Until then. 

​There comes a point where you can determine exactly when a franchise is heading into decline. There’s just a particular entry in said saga that doesn’t feel quite right, as if the powers that be simply didn’t put their hearts into it and every single entry past that point is going to be the same bland malaise that bores instead of exciting the audience and well, when it comes to the Police Quest saga, that moment arrived in 1995 with the release of the incredibly disappointing fifth entry in the series, Police Quest: SWAT.
 
Now, when this came out, I have to admit that I was extremely excited to try something new when it comes to this franchise. After all, SWAT officers and what they do is rarely explored outside of action films and considering the incredible job the other games did in taking us inside the mind and career of a Detective, I was expecting this particular game to just blow me away. Because the possibilities were endless storytelling wise and I couldn’t wait to see what wonders would unfold when I popped the first CD into my computer and well, that’s where my wonder with this game comes to an end.
 
Because quite frankly, the biggest issue I have with this game, is the sheer fact that is completely and utterly devoid of an actual story, and that hurts this game something fierce. Because quality storytelling, in combination with police procedure is what made this franchise so great, but here…we are treated to three little vignettes wherein SWAT is needed to diffuse the situation and that’s basically it. You go in, work with your team to bring an offender to justice and then just pitter around headquarters and the shooting range as you wait for a variant of those vignettes to cycle around again and that’s just plain boring.
 
Which quite frankly is a shame because this game has a lot of cool elements going for it. For starters, the full motion video was top notch at the time, providing the player with an immersive and interactive experience and the gameplay was unique as well since you had to learn how to learn properly use SWAT gestures and radio chatter to complete your mission and man, those awesome improvements to the game are simply wasted thanks to the weak calls that SWAT is sent to, and the sheer lack of a cohesive storyline and well, this truly did signal the end of the franchise.
 
Because past this point, the Police Quest saga evolved into something far more by the numbers since the next sequel was a real time strategy game and the third entry was nothing more than a first person shooter where procedure was merely an echo and I am aware that a SWAT 4 came out as well, one that was tied to the franchise’s illustrious past by featuring Sonny Bonds, but I didn’t even bother playing it. Because my love of this saga ended here, simply because it was obvious the franchise had nothing special left to give and that’s okay. Because nothing lasts forever, and I can always go back and play those first four fantastic games when I’m in need of a little trip down memory lane.    

​When a particularly dark and powerful entry arrives in a franchise that we know and love, I think it’s safe to assume that we often wonder as to whether or not said franchise will take that darkness to the next level. Because to do so risks alienating the fan base and the future of the series since people do tend to gravitate away from heavy storyline after heavy storyline. But when it comes to the next entry in the Police Quest saga, Sierra On-Line saw the opportunity to tell a powerful story and went for broke when they released the supremely bleak fourth entry in the saga, Police Quest: Open Season.
 
Now I suppose in many ways, we should have seen this coming. Because a new gamerunner had taken over the series by way of former L.A.P.D. Police Chief Daryl F. Gates and with his arrival, came his many years of experience and a far more sprawling urban affair for the series. The location was moved from the fictional Lytton, California to the massive megalopolis that is Los Angeles and rather than see further adventures with Detective Sergeant Sonny Bonds we were instead introduced to Homicide Detective John Carey and well, the case that we join Detective Carey upon is quite a doozy to say the least.
 
Because this time around, there’s a serial killer prowling the streets of the City of Angels and it’s up to Carey to bring them down after Carey discovers that this murderer took down his best friend and former partner and well, that ugly setup, is merely the beginning for a gritty and powerful game that has the look and feel of an R-rated movie when all is said and done. In fact, this particular game holds nothing back when it comes to Carey’s job, going so far as to involve gang violence, Neo-Nazis and gore into the story, taking this franchise to a new level when it comes to realism and it doesn’t end with the story.
 
For the graphics in this game also improved to a whole new level, since it featured photographic backgrounds of Los Angeles, immersing the player into this grand and sprawling city and the experience was only further enhanced by the fact that close ups of the crime scenes in question are on display in high resolution and while staged, seeing the corpse of a bullet riddled child definitely gives the player a moment of pause, and there are some other surprises along the way that only add to the immersion factor that I won’t spoil here.
 
Because quite frankly, this game served as the apex for the series. It was bold, and brutal and I commend it for holding nothing back because it makes for one wild ride. But despite the fact that the series had discovered the perfect blend of storytelling and procedure, the gaming world was already evolving, and this style of adventure game was coming to an end, meaning that the series would need to evolve as well to stay viable and what came next was quite the radical, but entertaining departure…

Taboo is a word that gets thrown around the creative sector a lot, and with good reason. Because some topics truly disturb and unsettle and outright offend an audience, and if a filmmaker, writer or game designer goes too far, they risk their story becoming an outright failure, despite how brilliant their taboo themed tale may turn out to be. But sometimes, you run into a particular story that figures out the perfect balance of taboo and storytelling to provide the audience with an incredible and stunning tale, and one that meets that criteria that still stands out to me, is Police Quest III: The Kindred.
 
Now before we get too deep into the darker aspects of this story let’s take a moment and talk about the leaps and bounds this particular game makes graphically because PQ3 was quite the technical marvel when it was released. For starters, it featured a massive revamp visually since this adventure abandoned the bright and neon EGA graphics that served as a trademark for the original games, instead embracing the beauty of VGA and video capture for its characters, adding a whole new level of realism to this particular series and that’s important to the story, because it makes the taboo portion of this game a tad more disturbing in its own right.
 
Because this particular tale takes Sonny Bonds’ struggle with the Bains family to a whole new level since (SPOILERS) Jessie’s little brother takes the center stage in this story and he wants blood for his brother’s death and the first real dark element of this game is the sheer fact that he outright brutally attacks Sonny’s wife, which is something you just don’t see in gaming that often, and while murder is present in the other chapters of this game, it’s handled in traditional and accessible fashion and well, the surprises in this game don’t end there because dear Michael took his criminal career to a whole new level by dabbling in the dark arts.
 
In fact, I am still surprised over the fact that this game bothered to explore the whole notion of human sacrifice for Satanic purposes because that’s usually only a place the horror genre goes but it’s front and center in this story, and it is central to Michael Bains’ plans and well, it takes this game to a whole new level storytelling wise and well, credit is due to the writers of this story simply because they handle it just right. While it’s chilling enough to make your skin crawl, it’s handled in tasteful enough fashion to motivate you to finish the case and put an end to Michael’s madness.
 
But, wild and ugly storytelling aside, this game also signaled the end of an era for the series as well. Because the creator of this series, Jim Walls, would bid farewell to the Police Quest universe and well, he went out with a bang. Because this one, was a damn fine game through and through, and its foray into twisted places would set quite the precedent for this franchise as well. Because another law enforcement official would soon step in and provide his own dark vision for the series and it would serve as the most powerful game in the franchise to date…

​It seems that at this point in time, Hollywood and the gaming world have started to blend together nicely since we are seeing game companies release cinematic feasts for the eyes that are complete with layered and powerful scripts that unfold like a magnificent summer blockbuster as you plug ahead with your controller. But what’s truly amazing, is that what we are seeing now, is the direct result of years of trial and error in the gaming world, since many a title back in the day tried their best to suck us into an interactive movie.
 
But for every game that actually pulled off this impressive feat, there were plenty more waiting in the wings that simply stunk to high heaven thanks to poor acting and writing and everything in between. But of the many games that tried to create that perfect hybrid, several great ones came out of the Sierra On-Line lineup and one that continues to stick in my mind was the second chapter in the Police Quest saga, Police Quest II: The Vengeance, simply because this was a game that found a way to create that Hollywood magic despite its graphical limitations.
 
Now it accomplished such a feat, by working incredibly hard to create a story that completely and utterly drew you in and well, what better way to make that happen than by resurrecting some classic crime story tropes, like having the bad guy live up to the game’s namesake by bringing vengeance down upon those who helped lock him up and that works like a charm here. If anything, it’s the characters and the story that carry this sequel because this time around, we truly get to know Sonny Bonds, and our villain, Jessie Bains and the depth that comes with the people populating this tale adds gravity to the story and you quickly find yourself hungry to see Bains be brought to justice.
 
But, while the story blows me away to this day, the game never strays from the fundamentals that were established in the original. Which means that police work is still a big focus of this game, and it’s quite cool to see procedure work hand in hand with a Hollywood style script because the investigation that takes place after a shootout in the park simply feels like an extended scene in a movie, and of course, the clues one finds from the investigation are paramount to the plot and cutting corners will likely mean disaster for you down the line, forcing you head back and do things right.
 
All of these elements simply make for one fun ride. Because this game is fast paced and damn entertaining and oddly enough, the ‘enhanced’ EGA graphics that this game was designed with, almost serve as a throwback to the police films of the 1970’s and early 1980’s and I don’t know why, but I dig that retro feel when I play this one. Either way, for a long time this was one my favorite games to play for all the reasons I made mention of a moment ago, but this franchise wasn’t done pushing the proverbial envelope when it comes to gaming, and the next entry in this saga was about to take Sonny’s story to some supremely taboo and dark places…   

​Of the many wise words that Captain James T. Kirk offered up over the course of his illustrious Starfleet career, some of his final ones are on my mind today. I’m paraphrasing horribly, but in essence, I will never forget when Kirk told Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: Generations that Picard should do everything and anything to stay in the Captain’s Chair, even going as far as to decline a promotion if one was offered to him because it could potentially keep him from making a difference and well, Kirk’s advice makes sense to this day. After all, we saw how he struggled with the role of Admiral, and how it took a demotion to bring true happiness his way again and well, that sage advice is on my mind today because when it comes to my fictional career in Starfleet in Star Trek Online, I was at a crossroads.
 
Because my time as Captain of the Challenger was coming to a close for one reason and one reason alone, it was time for another promotion and there was only one rank awaiting me at this point, Admiral, and that made me nervous. Because at this point in time, I did not have a clue if that promotion meant that I was going to be offered a desk job at Starfleet Command and somehow live vicariously through my crew from afar and as we warped back to Earth Space Dock, my mind was racing at what the potential succession plan was going to look for like for my crew and how on earth this game was going to remain fun from the confines of a desk.
 
But as soon as I put on my new Rear Admiral pips (which now allows for the title of this blog to fit perfectly), and slightly modified my uniform to look a touch more regal, because I wasn’t shedding that white top just yet, I waited too long to earn it, I came to discover, that with a war on, and other threats growing against the United Federation of Planets, Starfleet didn’t have the luxury of putting me behind a desk. I was going to be a field Admiral, and handle important matters on the frontlines and well, I was over the moon over the fact that I was still going to be in that chair and calling the shots, so after promoting my longest tenured officers to Commander as a reward for sticking with me, the time came at last to select my new vessel and once again, another boyhood dream came true.
 
For there is only one other class of starship that I admire, and that’s the Sovereign class, because I fell in love with the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-E when she first appeared in First Contact and with my new rank came the ability to fly that class of vessel, and I didn’t even think twice in selecting that one, but this time around, I figured it was high time to exercise a little Admiral’s prerogative with this particular ship, and build my own vessel-centric legacy. So, the originally named U.S.S. Lexington received a quick name change to become the U.S.S. Galactica NCC-1775-A, because why not? It only seemed right to resurrect the namesake of the first vessel I ever commanded as a Lieutenant for my first posting as Admiral and I won’t lie, there was something supremely cool about taking the Galactica-A out of Space Dock for her first missions because well, to quote/paraphrase Captain Kirk once again, it felt like my crew had come home. 
 
But what mattered more, is that some incredible adventures came forth during my time as the skipper of this vessel, I mean come on, I got to fight the Borg while sitting in that chair, which was both cool and terrifying and of all the ships I had commanded to date, she was the scrappiest of them all, living up the tough nature this class of ship displayed on film and well, I grew quite fond of this vessel, and since Admiralty was where I was staying from here on out, she was with me as I went from Rear Admiral to Vice Admiral, wherein I changed the uniform once again to all black with red and gold trim since I was one rank away from the top rank available in the game, Fleet Admiral and well, the arrival of the 1775-A in my own personal storyline, means that the Admiral’s Log is going to shift in design and tone going forward.
 
Because by being attached to one ship for so long, I won’t be able to fan boy over a new vessel in the foreseeable future, instead I can only discuss the awe of what I encountered out there in the void and that’s what we are going to dive into next as I reflect upon some of the magnificent missions the crew and I took part in and the wonder we found during said missions, like when I got my first real taste of the majesty of Deep Space Nine, or the sprawling story that came about when we ventured to the Delta Quadrant and most importantly, the power and wonder of the Iconian War, which featured some damn fine writing and some stunning episodes, and first up, is a look back at all of the surprises that came my way when I ventured to an out of the way space station, named Deep Space Nine. Until next time.