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

Written by John Edward Betancourt

‘One Night in Bozeman’ Recap

Well hello again, my fellow captains and admirals, and welcome to another edition of The Admiral’s Log. And well, perhaps the best way to start off this particular piece is to wish all of you out there a Happy First Contact Day! Because it is indeed that time of the year again where we celebrate mankind’s first encounter with the Vulcans. A move that would bring unheralded peace to our world and the galaxy, and hopefully everyone took the time to watch the wonder that is Star Trek: First Contact on this April the 5th, and/or, logged onto Star Trek Online at some point during the week to take part in the annual festivities that the game offers Trekkers and Trekkies when it comes to this momentous future holiday.
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Which is what we are going to be talking about in great detail today. Because this year, STO felt the need to enhance its already entertaining celebration of this holiday, by adding a little more for the player to do outside of build Phoenix rockets at the Phoenix Complex in Bozeman, Montana. In fact, they straight up added a brand new TFO patrol mission entitled, ‘One Night in Bozeman’. And the plot of this particular mission is quite juicy to say the least, because it lets you take part in saving this iconic moment in future history by having you travel back to the night of April 4, 2063; a short while before the Borg and the Enterprise arrive.

Because it turns out that the Borg, still upset with how that mission ended in failure for them, have returned on this night to ensure success, and you’re here to help Seven of Nine keep the timeline in check and well, while I tend to prefer space TFOs over ground related ones, I have to admit that this was a freakin’ awesome mission to add into the mix. Because it’s you, and your crew, and a big-time character from the franchise, fighting to stop one of Starfleet’s oldest and deadliest enemies and while the combat portion is entertaining in its own right, it’s the wonder of diving into the world of First Contact that makes this experience worth your while.

For the crew of the 1701-E are doing their thing while you handle your business, and it’s just awesome to know that Riker and Troi and Geordi are trying to preserve the timeline while Picard and Data are above you slugging it out with the Borg, and it’s eerie when the game takes that thought one step further, by having you fight assimilated crew members from the Enterprise. Because that just hammers home the stakes of this mission and that a great many crew members lost their lives in that film, but thankfully, not everything that happens here is dark and dreary. For there is one genuine Easter egg treat present in this mission. Because if you take a minute to hang out by the bar when the opportunity presents itself, you can enjoy a slight recreation of the moment when Will Riker meets Zefram Cochrane.

But all fun aside, it does need to be noted that this mission is actually quite the challenge. Because the Borg are no joke in STO and they are relentless in this TFO and they definitely replicated up a healthy serving of humble pie on several occasions during the finale. If anything, this really is an entertaining way to celebrate this iconic fictional holiday, and it is equally as awesome that the powers that be found a way to reward the player for taking part in this celebration. For this now an event that will continue until 4/30, allowing for players to earn a new Temporal Vortex Console if they take the time to play the mission or make a rocket daily, and you can snag more dilthium once you’ve earned that reward. Which means, it’s time to see how much rocket building I can take and that grand quest for goodies, is where we are going to pick up, next time. Until then, Galactica out.  

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