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

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

‘Impossibility of Reason’ Recap

I suppose that if there is one great flaw when it comes to video games in general, it’s that, they have a tendency to play it safe storytelling wise. Because regardless of the odds, or the grandiose nature of the story, you always know deep down that everything is going to be okay. Sure, you might get dropped by a bad guy carrying a bigger gun than you, but you’ll be fine in about fifteen seconds when you re-spawn on the map and well, I understand why that sense of safety exists in gaming because it really is the ultimate escape. You can truly be anyone and get lost in the moment and play the hero with zero consequences and even my favorite game of all time, Star Trek Online, is no exception to this particular rule.
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Because if the U.S.S. Galactica is facing insurmountable odds in combat and taking a beating, everything will be just fine. For if she explodes with all hands lost, we will be back in fifteen seconds to fight the good fight once again, and if a Borg drone assimilates me because I was being careless, same rules apply. And that’s not to insult games by any means, because this is just how the industry operates and we are all fine with this status quo. But, obviously, there’s a reason behind making this a topic of discussion, because if and when a game takes the time to step away from the norm, it is a huge deal and well, it just so happens that STO took quite the risk with the next chapter in the ‘Rise of Discovery’ story arc, meaning that we need to celebrate the power and the majesty and the outright bravery of ‘Impossibility of Reason’, since it removed the safety net in question, and operated heavily in some dark places.

Granted, I knew that this one was going to go dark anyways since Captain Lorca let all of us know in Star Trek: Discovery, that the U.S.S. Buran was destroyed in battle well before he took over the U.S.S. Discovery, and taking that into consideration, along with the fact that the prior episode ended with us racing back to Priors World to give the Buran an assist, I knew full well we would witness her destruction. But what I was not prepared for was the sheer emotion present in that moment since it damn near broke Commander Landry and well, what came next after that sobering segment is what truly impressed, since this is where the safety net completely disappeared.

For it wasn’t long before myself and some of my crew, found ourselves stranded on an icy moon near Priors World, wherein survival was key and well, the foreign nature of this moon, and the lack of supplies and abundance of unknown threats, combined with the fact that help wouldn’t arrive until we built an array to send for it, only enhanced the uncomfortable nature of this tale. Because we were truly on our own and that was just incredible because I’ve never seen this in STO, and adding days to the mission only enhanced the experience further, and while that’s all harrowing in its own right, what happened when we activated the distress beacon is what sunk the sense of danger into my bones.

For once that beacon was activated, the Klingons knew exactly where we were, which meant, it was either fight or die and well, it didn’t take long for things to de-evolve once those proud warriors began to beam down. Because one by one, good officers died right before my eyes, some in unexpected fashion, some in the most heroic ways imaginable, but the bottom line is that death was everywhere and that just took the wind right out of my sails. Because this is Starfleet, we save lives, not lose them. But this was war, with a merciless enemy that wanted the Federation to come to its end, and well, their fury allowed for the hits to just keep on coming, to the point where even Commander Landry lost someone she loved, and while we were indeed saved in the end, the power of this episode was not lost upon me. Because danger was everywhere in this tale, and despite it being a simulation, I honestly wasn’t sure if who exactly my character stood in for, was going to make it out alive.

Which at this point, I’m sure some folks are going to roll their eyes at this recap and review of this tale, due to the fact that, ‘it’s only a game, John’ and that’s fine. But I’m someone who loves an immersive story, and I don’t game all that often because of the fact that so many games keep things light and fluffy, so to see a game make an effort to tell a strong tale, one that moves you and feels like an interactive television episode, needs to be celebrated. Because this episode accomplished all those goals, and it really seems that as time goes on, this game is working hard to do things storytelling wise that other games simply are not, and as we barrel toward the conclusion of this Discovery-themed story arc, I have a feeling this was just a sample of things to come and that all important showdown with J’Ula is going to be epic and moving, and I’ll definitely be counting down the days to that powerhouse finale. Until next time.   

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