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

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Retro Replay – ‘Diplomatic Orders’

Well hello again my fellow Starfleet commanders, it’s hailing frequencies open once again for The Admiral’s Log and I am quite excited about today’s opening chapter in a brand new, personal endeavor in Star Trek Online. Because today, we kick off a second journey through older missions that used to frustrate the tar out of me back in the day. And well, I have to admit that it took me a good long while to figure out which mission exactly, would be the perfect one to kick off these Retro Replays. Because holy cow, there are a lot of good missions in this game that found a way to make me swear in Klingon, and as it turns out; the best one to get this journey started would be the one that confuddled me the most during my absolute earliest days as a Starfleet officer.

Which means that I straight up chose the first mission I ever conducted as skipper of the original U.S.S. Galactica (NCC-1775), as my starting point for the Retro Replay and well, what makes this particular tale worth a second look are a few key things. Number one, man it just takes me back, to those magical days when I was still wearing Lieutenant’s bars and didn’t have clue what the hell I was doing, and it was my first real taste of the quality storytelling present within in this game. For this mission features an engrossing plot where your crew is responsible for getting a Vulcan ambassador to the monastery on P’Jem, only to learn that the ambassador in question is not who you think he is. A surprise that leads to all kinds of epic combat and well, it’s the combat that made this mission so difficult back in the day.

Because I was armed with entry level phasers and shields and fighting in a Miranda class vessel, and that means I got slapped around often in this mission. For I didn’t have a clue that one should be smart in regard to a phaser and disruptor fight when your shields are akin to tissue paper, and that hit and run tactics are the way to go in a Miranda class starship. So needless to say, when my crew and I first conducted this mission, it took a supremely long time because I had to re-spawn often and watched the Galactica burn in space more times than I cared to. Which made this mission quite humbling since it reinforced the fact that this game was going to be a strong challenge from the get-go, not just some kind of brainless shooter. 

But regardless of the tough lessons this particular mission taught me, there are still some grand questions hanging over this episode. In that, was it the gear that failed me, or my lack of skill? Which brings us to the replay in question. For a round two as a Level 65 Admiral answers those questions really quick, and it turns out; ‘twas the gear that failed me all along. Because the firefight on the ground was nothing my Away Team couldn’t handle. In fact, this time around the fight was quick and clean, and our personal shield generators performed admirably. And as for combat in the void, well… the Galactica-B held her own just fine. Heck, I’m not even sure her shields ever went below 50% while facing off against the Klingons or the Undine and well, it’s good to know that taking the time to invest in gear paid off in spades.

In the end however, this replay was quite the blast for certain. For it really was quite the throwback for me since it’s been a long time since I looked back at the starting days of my Starfleet career and it was neat to warp in and own my enemies with impunity this time around. And while this may not have been the challenge I was looking for; the fun factor is what matters the most for me. Because that’s the whole reason I play this game, to have a good time and now that this mission is in the books, it is onto the next one. One that just so happens to involve the horror that is the Doomsday Machine and fighting it from inside a Bird of Prey if memory serves me right and that my fellow commanders, is where we will pick up, next time. Until then, Galactica out.

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