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

Written by John Edward Betancourt

‘Warriors of the Empire’ Recap

Well, hello again my fellow captains and admirals and welcome to another edition of The Admiral’s Log. It’s been a little while since we last chatted about the wondrous game that is Star Trek Online, but that’s okay. Because it makes these little reunion blogs all the more special since we’re taking the time to celebrate STO in a proper manner and boy… do we have quite the celebration to indulge in today. Because recently, the final two episodes of the Klingon Civil War story arc dropped on console, and I finally had the chance to dig in and play the next episode and holy cow was it quite the doozy for certain. 

For ‘Warriors of the Empire’ is nothing short of an assault on the senses since it features a grand  attempt by L’Rell and J’Ula to rally forces to their cause and their fight and of course… you get to help them in assembling a coalition of the willing to take on Emperor J’mpok and that made for quite the fascinating exploration to be honest. Because you get to see firsthand how the underdog pulls together and finds cohesion when civil war and strife is everywhere and it turns out, that one solid way to make that happen… is through good deeds. Because a great deal of the Klingons in this war are without leadership or guidance and L’Rell and J’Ula believe that helping lesser houses from J’mpok’s imposing rule, might be the best way to get their coalition together and that leads to the epic storytelling in question.

Because you quickly find yourself plunged in a system-by-system fight. One where your risk your life and the lives of your crew to show the Klingons that the Federation is vested in a stable Klingon Empire and will stand with them through thick and thin and well, that decision is what leads to the sensory overload in question. Because J’mpok’s forces are eager to flex their might and that sucks you into some incredible space battles. The kind where waves upon waves of Klingon warbirds continue to drop out of warp and if that’s not enough to rattle you a bit, the Elachi are there to complete the job. Since they too are eager to use spore rifts to gain a foothold in the Beta Quadrant and these are definitely some humbling battles, since the Galactica needed to re-spawn a few times during the course of combat. But these are also worthwhile battles as well.

For eventually, when the dust has settled and repairs are complete, the coalition is formed. For you and your shipmates and allies fight with great honor, the kind that J’mpok and his lackeys do not exhibit in the slightest and that in turn allows for an armada to serve at the beck and call of L’Rell and J’Ula when they deem it and well, that’s an awesome and fulfilling setup for the season finale of this arc. It’s fulfilling, simply because it allows for J’Ula to right a long of wrongs in her respective arc and because your efforts really do help to remind the Empire what matters most. In that, it needs a strong Chancellor to guide it into an honorable future, one where warriors feel good about fighting their enemies instead of one another. 

As for the awesome aspect, well that comes about from the sheer fact that you can feel the tension for the finale building. Because all that is left is an all-out assault on Qo’nos. One that would end with a new Chancellor sitting atop the throne and installing a new high council. But before we dive into that mission, we can revel in the majesty of one ambitious tale, one that really does take your breath away with incredible combat and it should also be noted, that it features some cool fan service as well. Since part of this mission involves a battle above the frigid and sorrowful prison world of Rura Penthe. A place that has popped up in canon plenty of times and was critical to the plot of The Undiscovered Country, and it was super geeky to fight above this icy and barren world and just plain amazing to aid Klingons that care about more than power and now that this mission has come to a close, it is time to turn our attention to that final assault, one that will change the Empire for decades to come and that is where this blog will pick up, next time. Until then, Galactica out.

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