Mission Four: By Artemis' Bow

Created by Commodore Jacob Kane on Fri Apr 8th, 2022 @ 6:42pm

Assigned to protect an incredibly rare spaceborne family of 'Pilgrims' or 'Space Cows' as the crew dub them, Athena is ordered to quarantine the area to enforce the Prime Directive.

On arriving in the system to support the USS Cavalier, Athena's crew are warned of a trading post in the fringes of the system that refuse to leave. Kane deposits his XO and a science team with the Cavalier crew and takes Athena to confront the traders.

Arriving at the station, the administrator and his staff are suspiciously reluctant to cooperate. Despite allowing Kane and his team access to the cargo decks, they are suddenly sealed in and the atmosphere vented. Fortunately, thanks to Lt Li's quick thinking, they cram themselves into cargo containers to survive.

Returning to the ship in battered state - but alive - the crew take custody of the station.

Lt P'rel, analysing data captured from the station, makes an alarming discovery: biomatter from the Pilgrims has been used to create biomimetic materials; key components in the cloning process used in the Dominion, and yet another indicator that the clones they have met so far are part of a wider conspiracy.

In the meantime, the Cavalier is alerted to an unregistered pirate vessel appearing in the system. Given the Nova-class ship is no match for the pirates, Athena jumps to assist. However the Cavalier's XO - Commander Jeron - suddenly turns on the crew and allows the pirates to take over the ship, locking the Athena's team up with them.

Torn between rescuing his crew and completing their mission, Kane orders a small strike team to sneak onto the Cavalier while Athena protects the Pilgrims. Surprised by the military-grade Breen weaponry employed by the pirates, Athena takes some hits but outclasses the pirate vessel and destroys it.

The rescue team from Athena frees the Cavalier crew and retakes the ship - including Jeron. With Captain Rodriguez back in command, Athena is able to complete its mission and see the Pilgrims on safely.