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

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

Happy First Contact Day! 

There are a great many reasons to fall in love with the Star Trek franchise as a whole, since it features powerful stories that are relevant to our times, alongside a beautiful future for mankind wherein war and hunger are eradicated, and we are able to travel amongst and explore the stars. But while all of those elements have made for some magnificent stories throughout the years, there is something present in this the franchise that I personally don’t think we as fans celebrate enough, and that’s the rich history of the future that the saga has put together.
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In fact, there’s so much history to come in Star Trek, that one can get lost while pouring over all the important formative moments of every race and faction present in the 22nd Century and on. And I’ve always been in awe of how much detail the franchise dives into when it comes this fictional history and of the many important milestones that mankind and other species have used as a stepping stone toward a better tomorrow, one that has always captivated me, is mankind’s first encounter with an alien species, an event simply known as ‘First Contact Day’. For on this day, hours after Zephram Cochrane successfully tested the first warp drive aboard his ship, the Phoenix (with an assist from Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-E), mankind garnered the attention of the Vulcans, who came to Earth to meet this new warp-faring species and the rest as they say, is future history.

If anything, it may well be the most pivotal moment in the history of the franchise and it’s one that I’ve rambled about and geeked out over simply because even Star Trek Online understands its importance and significance, to the point where a special First Contact Day event was recently available in game and well, you darn well know I was going to take part in this. Because this particular event offered up a unique opportunity, a chance to travel down to Bozeman, Montana and honor Cochrane and his contributions to history by participating in a grand series of activities that put me (and others) in his shoes, by allowing for us to scavenge parts like he did centuries ago to build our own tiny Phoenix replica and launch it and while this is silly and fun in its own right, it’s the location that truly matters the most here.

Because you’re standing on the very site where the Vulcans landed to say hello, and you’re able to see the launch facility of that historic ship, the buildings where Cochrane lived and ate and drank (a lot), and of course, the statue that then Commander Geordi LaForge referred to, is present here as well, and the game even went so far as to license Steppenwolf’s ‘Magic Carpet Ride’ to play during the launch sequence to add to the experience and honestly, this legitimately feels like visiting a real life museum. And while I fully understand that none of this is real, the nerd in me could not help but smile over the fact that I was standing atop the Phoenix complex, mere feet away from where First Contact took place and I made sure to say to stick around after the event was over to soak up all the wonder and the history of this magical place.

Either way, it was a lot of fun to run around the complex to build that rocket, and even more fun to stand before that iconic statue and it’s little moments such as these that make STO such an enriching and entertaining experience and when you’re a massive nerd like me, you really cannot ask for better fan service than this. If anything, this event, and the recent addition of the Battle of the Binary Stars in TFO, leaves me wondering if more important moments from the history of Star Trek are going to appear here and I honestly hope they do. In part to allow for hardcore fans to experience moments they’ve only dreamed about participating in, and to also teach those unfamiliar with the saga more about the incredible universe they’re soaring through. Until next time.

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