The Admiral’s Log: My Journey Through ‘Star Trek Online’ – Part LXI

Written by John Edward Betancourt

‘The Measure of Morality (Part 1)’ Recap

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.  

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