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

Written by John Edward Betancourt

‘The Khitomer Discord’ Recap

Well hello again my fellow starship commanders and welcome to another edition of The Admiral’s Log, and in today’s edition of this here chat about Star Trek Online we have quite the treat to cover. Because last week’s launch of ‘House Divided’ provided fans everywhere with two delightful new episodes to play, and at long last, the time has come to review the second chapter in this new saga; ‘The Khitomer Discord’. An episode that is quite frankly of major note, simply because it does some incredible things storytelling wise. Which is funny, since this particular story feels like a by the numbers mission in this game, at first glance.
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Because early on in this tale, you do some pretty basic stuff. Such as fly to Khitomer and search the Alliance facility planet side in the hopes of finding J’ula and well, talking to folks in order to get clues and solving puzzles with the map and your tricorder makes for some pretty pedestrian stuff. And there’s little thrill to be found in searching for your target. Because you know you’re going to find J’ula, largely due to the fact that you’re a Starfleet officer and Starfleet always finds the villain. But once you are face to face with the mastermind of a new Klingon Civil War, that’s when the story takes quite the powerful turn. For some secrets come to light, such as the fact that J’ula had zero involvement in killing all those civilians in the last episode.

In fact, her aide Aakar, was the one responsible for that reprehensible attack and he conducted such an act… to help the Chancellor conduct a power grab. One that you are now unfortunately involved in, and in order to keep your character silent from revealing the unfortunate truth that J’mpok is using this war to lock down control of the Klingon Empire and change its course and role in the Alliance, the Chancellor plans to kill you, and that’s when this episode truly takes the story to a whole new level. Because J’mpok uses the Mycelial Rift weapon to kill innocents at Alliance HQ and well… for the first time ever, you come within an inch of your own mortality in the game, which is quite the surprise for certain and the story only gets darker from there.

Because one of your side missions as you try to escape the assault, is to rescue as many innocent lives as you can and well, this is something that I and likely others, have failed at. Because the rift is constantly closing in and trying to rescue folks from that, while the Elachi attack from afar, leads to the death of innocents. And yes, I know, they’re digital and they’re not real. But the fact that this game, actually takes the time to have you face death in any fashion, when it lets you cheat it often via a re-spawn, is pretty damn incredible. As is the ending of this particular tale. For when this story has come to a close, you’re essentially on the run as an enemy of the Empire, without any idea of how to clear your name and that’s just downright brilliant.

For this is brave storytelling for certain, the kind that takes risks in a game where happy endings prevail and it is just wonderful to see STO trying out something new in this manner and truly, it has me excited for where this story is headed. Because the possibilities are genuinely endless at this particular point and this is really the first time that this game feels as unpredictable and as dynamic as a television show and I know I’ll be counting down the days to the next episode in this new storyline, because I need to know how it ends. But alas, it will be a while before we get more fresh stories. So, in the meantime, I’ll pass the time by continuing my daily routine in game and by playing the new TFO missions that ‘House Divided’ offers as well, and it just so happens that a review of those exact missions is precisely where this blog will pick up, next time. Until then, Galactica out.

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