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

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

Nimbus III – The Planet of Galactic ‘Peace’ 

While a great many people deem Star Trek V: The Final Frontier to be one of the worst films in the Star Trek saga (and with good reason), it’s a movie that has a soft spot in my heart. Because for starters, it’s one of the few stories in the franchise to even remotely deal with religion and faith since all the shows made it clear that such matters are mostly non-existent in the 23rd and 24th Century. But I’m also a fan of this film, simply due to the fact that it takes the time to show us something we rarely see in this saga; failure for the United Federation of Planets.
 
Because when you take a moment to think about it, how often do we really see the Federation fail or stumble? For it is supposed to be made up of wise and intelligent people who see every angle before setting something into motion. But Final Frontier introduces us to Nimbus III, a planet that someone in the Federation believed could help engender a future full of peace and harmony by bringing together cultures from the three major powers in the galaxy, and well, it was clearly a total disaster. Sadly though, we don’t spend a ton of time exploring it in the film since Sha Ka Ree is our final destination, meaning that this is basically the first and last time we see and hear of this place within the framework of the franchise.
 
Enter Star Trek Online. Because as I’ve made mention of here and there, everything that has ever been featured in the fifty-plus year run of this glorious saga is somehow present within the framework of the game and that includes Nimbus III. In fact, there’s actually a story arc that features this planet, one that involves the Romulans, which is awesome in its own right. But since I spent/spend so much of my time focusing on the story over the location, I glossed over the wonder of this place my first time passing through here, and I’m honestly not sure what motivated me to come back to this place after enjoying the serenity of New Romulus, but it was a worthwhile voyage none the less.
 
For this is a fascinating world when all is said and done, one that has in essence been abandoned by the major governments of the Beta Quadrant and that is just… nuts. Because there’s peace in the galaxy now, and this was the Federation’s idea, so maybe, I dunno… get in there and fix what you done screwed up? But that’s a more philosophical question best left to fiction, so, allow me to digress since I’m getting off topic. Because what makes this world so fascinating, outside of its moral implications, is the sheer fact that it is in essence a lawless world. For the Orion Syndicate runs things here, and there’s some sneaky stuff happening on the side as well and it’s strange to walk on the surface of a world where chaos reigns supreme day and night, and where you are pretty much guaranteed to use your phaser.
 
Yet what’s equally more unique about this world, is that there is little to see here. It’s mostly desert, and a lot of busted structures that the pirates in this part of the galaxy call home and really, the only geek out moment you’ll find, is pictured above, since Paradise City is alive and well, and so is the cantina where Captain Kirk was attacked by that crazy cat lady. But while this isn’t exactly the most joyous place to explore, it’s still cool to set foot on another planet that is rich with Star Trek history, and it definitely gets your imagination going since it leaves you wonder what other failures the Federation has endured over the years that the saga has yet to bring up. But all of that aside, that brings our journey to ‘The Planet of Galactic Peace’ to a close and this voyage also signals a pause in our second journey through the galaxy. For when we reunite on the bridge of the Galactica next week, Awakening will have launched on console, and we will be diving into this new storyline’s first episode and I look forward to geeking out over this new story arc with all of you fine people in the weeks to come. Until next time.  

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