State of the Independents: Attack Wing Borg and Gorn Expansions

Ahhhh the Soong.

Derided by many it was the enemy vessel that carried Lore and his individualistic Borg through many a transwarp corridor before finally being vapourised through some clever manoeuvring from Doctor Crusher and her rag-tag crew on the Enterprise.

This was actually released one heck of a while ago for Attack Wing (Wave Six and we're now up to 28) but at a fraction of the original retail price I'm always one to strike for a bargain and grabbed it for under a fiver. For a while I've been playing as the Federation, occasionally changing to the Romulans but I wanted to see how effective an Independent faction could be. Yes, the Soong does fall into the Borg team as well but I actually think its presence on its alternative side are much greater.

It's the only Borg designated vessel which can fly "normally" instead of straight with 90 degree turns and has fairly average stats meaning it's actually possible to beat it in a fight. As a model it might be a teenth of the size of the Eaglemoss craft but I actually think the colouring is much more 'realistic' than its larger counterpart. 

It's an utter beast, clocking in with a starting score of 38 backed up with six attack, one defence, seven hull points and five on shields. Basic actions include Evade, Target Lock and Scan and there's a lightning fast top speed of five (incurs auxiliary power token) if you're looking to get in and out of trouble. Along with the usual banks and 90 degree turns at speed three there's also the eve-useful 180 turn to put you right back in the fight. 

As a unique action for the Soong you can perform a free Evade action if you've just run at speed five and have no enemy craft in your forward firing arc. Effectively it's allowing an action even though you've just incurred one of those auxiliary power tokens. Very useful indeed! For upgrades there are two slots for Crew, one Tech, one Weapon and one Borg option available offering a good range of additional features of which there are a fine few in this set.  It's certainly filled packed with opportunity and the chance to deal some big damage for either faction it can represent.

If you choose to use he generic version of the ship - the Borg Type 3 - you will lose one of your shield points plus the unique action and one Crew upgrade slot for a cost of 36 points. The ship can only be used by the Borg and not as an Independent craft in this instance which might put you off choosing to save a couple of points here. Even as a generic version it's still an expensive ship to field although the result might be heavily in your favour.

Captain choices are rather cool with the option to take either Lore or Hugh. For note you can also find the young, individualistic Borg as a captain or a crewmember over on the Borg Scout Cube. Lore comes aboard with a skill of seven and can field one of those Elite Actions.  This Independent faction captain will cost you four points but there's the chance to add another Crew upgrade to your options for starters and you can subsequently use Lore to discard one of your Crew to add another die to your attack. Talk about a flexible command option because he can also field ANY Elite Action regardless of faction without fear of a penalty.

Hugh is also an Independent captain allowing you to add Crew upgrades for a point less than their card value. Like Lore he's pretty flexible and for his two point cost, Hugh will also allow you to add Borg upgrades to your ship but without that faction penalty.  These are two very strong command options for the Independent faction and certainly this is a much better High than we got with the Scout Cube.

To the Elite Actions and we have two to choose from here. Experimental Link harks back to the attempted and failed experiments Lore was performing on some of the freed Borg drones in Descent. In the Soong pack this is the Borg Elite Action where you can either discard the card and up to three Drone tokens or Disable up to three Crew upgrades to re-roll the equivalent number of Attack dice. While his can only be used for a Borg captain, Diversionary Tactics let's you target a ship at a maximum of range two as long as it's not in your forward firing arc for the cost of the action card and one of your Crew upgrades. It means the opponent targeted cannot attack you that round and loses one of its own Crew upgrades. Again I just can't fault the ferocity of this vessel and the additions it brings to the game. These actions just add more fuel to the fire.

The Soong carries space for a few Crew options and the pack comes with four which can all be used on either Borg or Independent ships - Crosis, Bosus, Goval and Torsus. Key character Crosis is the most expensive at five points but his upgrade results in quite spectacular results. By discarding him you can disable a Crew upgrade on an opponent's ship and then steal a Crew upgrade to use on your own craft even if it exceeds your own point and spec limit. A very useful card well worth the high points cost although it might be better on an Independent ship since using it on a Borg ship will cost you an additional two Drone tokens on top of the points just covered. 

With Torsus you'll also be using a Drone token if your ship has a Borg captain. You can discard him to increase your Captain skill by two points until the end of the phase more than likely allowing you to fire first in the combat step and most useful if it's a you-or-them situation. Both he and Bosus cost two points to equip.

Again though for two points Bosus is a damn useful upgrade even if he has to be chucked at the end of it. Should any of your upgrades be discarded as the result of an enemy attack/action then they can be placed under this card and when you choose to cash in Bosus you can add an extra attack die  that round for that action card and those underneath it. Potentially this could add four dice to one attack; utter madness. Of course if you stick him on a Borg ship it will cost two Drone tokens.

Rounding out the four is Goval. While the others are extremely aggressive options for the Soong, this one point costing upgrade offers some form of defence in that he can be discarded to stop another Crew upgrade from being disabled or discarded. Rather a useful card once again that provides this expansion with some excellent points from every angle. Goval will cost one of your Drone tokens if he's on a ship with a Borg captain. Best using every single one of these Borg on an Independent craft!

We have two Borg Weapon upgrades available with Photon Torpedoes costing six points and the spending of a Target Lock plus the disabling of the card to be used. Five attack dice are in use here and you'll spot there's no rear firing arc but this card will let you damage one extra shield point if the attack is successful in any way. Good that this is available given the limited firing options of the Soong and the fact that it can already fire with six dice from its primary weapon. Secondly there's Forward Weapons Array that provides a multi-targeting option. 

Costing six points you can attack up to three ships in your forward firing arc each with three dice. Attacking just one ship adds three dice to the attack (six) while attacking two let's you hit each with a four dice attack. Able to be used at everything up to range three this is really opening up the options to use this ship as your lead craft and be a ship to be feared. Shame you can't use either of these on an Independent ship though.

A big feature of the Soong in Descent was its ability to open subspace distortions and the lone Tech upgrade offers this and you can discard the card and roll the same number of dice as your starting shield value. Add to that the chance to re-roll any blank results up to the amount of active shields you have and the Soong becomes seriously armour-plated. Also tracking that quick travel feature is Transwarp Conduit. Again a Borg feature it is a Borg upgrade so that kind of makes sense.  

It's the equivalent of the Quantum Slipstream drive or the Picard Maneuver where you can remove the ship from the field of play, discard the card plus any tokens on the ship (except Auxiliary Power Tokens) and then drop her back into play outside of range three of any enemy vessel. Is there's anything that this expansion doesn't offer? It has to be one of the strongest offered by Wizkids and offers the Independent player some chance of a decent game plus gives the Borg faction a more flexible moving ship and some more powerful upgrades.

Descent is the name of the game too as the two-player scenario has a 70 point Federation ship taking on a 70 point Borg Type Three. In this case though the Federation ship can have nine Crew upgrades assigned but not Data. However only the usual number of allowed Crew upgrades can be active on the ship with the others disabled and used only as Away Team. The objective is to use your crew to beam down to the MS-1 colony and rescue Data and victory is secured when he's aboard and the Away Teams are recovered or if Data is recovered and the Borg ship destroyed in that specific order. The Borg can win if Data is not rescued by the time the Federation ship leaves the area or by destroying the Federation vessel.

It's a cool pack overall however there is a distinct lean towards the Borg options rather than the Independent. That's not saying Indy players get a bad deal out out what is available just that there is a distinct weighting towards the cybernetic lifeforms.

A second very inexpensive expansion I managed to acquire this month was the Gornarus. Again with that goal of building a decent Independent faction I chose to hunt out one of my favourite Star Trek races and their rather unimpressive starship. Recently reproduced by Eaglemoss on a much bigger scale it's not one of the franchise's most memorable designs and between the two replicas there are some clear differences.

Carrying a basic score of 22 rather than the Soong's 38, the Gornarus lands with three in attack, one in agility, three hull and four shield points. There are singular slots for a Weapon, Tech and Crew upgrade plus a standard payload of Evade, Target Lock, Scan and Battle Stations to start you off. The unique action is a wee bit nifty too even considering its less than intimidating stats; if Critical Damage is inflicted on an enemy ship's hull then you can find either Structural Damage or Weapons Malfunction in the Damage Deck rather than having your opponent select a card at random. As usual the generic version of the ship loses a shield point plus it's Weapon upgrade option  and the unique action, dropping its cost to 20 points.

One question here has to be why is the shot on the generic card and the movement card the rear view of the Gornarus? Strange one but it doesn't change how you play the game - more of an off the cuff observation!

As for movement the Gorn starship lands in very general territory with a four forward maximum speed, a full range of moves at speeds two and three (tight right and left at three are red) as well as a useful (and also red move) 180 degree turn at speed three. No big spectacular options there and it was an early sign of what we ended up with a lot in the 20 plus waves.

At least our main captain choice is a familiar face and is this time named S'Sesslak. He has a skill of five for a cost of three points with the Elite Action emblem present to give that extra boost. His unique action is quite similar to how torpedoes operate, offering the chance to convert a dice - in this case a blank result - into a Damage result or a Damage result into a Critical Damage. Certainly a way to up the ante with no penalty for its repeat use. As an Independent fleet captain he makes a strong case. Slightly less costly is Slar costing two points with a Captain skill of three. Benefits here are singular allowing you to field the Salvage Elite Action upgrade only. Bit meh to be fair and probably one to leave in the deck.

Speaking of Salvage, it does provide a great chance to add some more muscle to your ship should someone nearby be knocked out of the game. If a ship is destroyed within range two you can discard the card, disable your Active Shields and steal a Tech or Weapons upgrade costing five or less points even if it goes over your own ship's limits. Means there's no hope of borrowing any Borg goodies but it might allow you to grab something decent that could come in handy. However, picking yourself a prize will mean incurring a Disabled token on the acquired item and an Auxiliary Power Token. Sounds harsh but you will eventually reap the benefits!

A second Elite Action option with the Gornarus is Faked Messages. For five points once everyone has been chosen (not moved) you can discard the card to force a ship within range three to alter its path to a single one forward. A very useful opportunity to get a player exactly where you want them - and if you have another part of your fleet with Salvage available it could be a big bonus.

There's one new Crew upgrade here in Gorn Raiding Party which provides the chance to disable two of an opponent's active shields and if there are no shields active then disable all upgrades on that craft. For five points the chance to put a huge spanner in the works of your adversary is one not to miss. Limited to a maximum of range two it might be but the results will be capability limiting for some time. Targeted Phaser Strike replaces Photon Torpedoes here increasing the Gornarus' attack from three to four dice. Costing four points with a maximum range of three it inflicts standard damage but for every Damage or Critical Damage result the enemy ship also gets a Weapon upgrade disabled. Seems that this craft is very much designed around a pirate concept and would work admirably as a background support craft causing havoc on ships while you have something larger inflicting the terminal damage. 

Improved Deflector Screens (four points) as a Tech upgrade utilises your active shields and for each you have still in operation you get to cancel a Damage or Critical Damage result. It's not a disable action but does become a discard if all shields are destroyed which is a nice twist in that it can't be used if you've suffered a certain level of damage - there aren't many of these in the game at all. Only ships with hull scores of three or less can use this one so it does back up that possibility of using the Gornarus (or other Independent craft) as a nippy little support ship. The other Tech upgrade provided is Impulse Overload for five points. Affecting a ship at range one, if you roll a Damage or Critical Damage result off three attack dice then your opponent must discard one of their Tech upgrades. Once more a chance to rid your enemies of their bonus skills. 

Finally we have Jammed Communications rounding out a trio of Tech cards. It keeps in line with the pack making this a very slippery little ship to face since it stops all ships within the maximum range three using any text abilities during the round. I'd take that as using any upgrade cards and by any I mean ANY ship including your own. How much of an effect might this have on a game if you're facing a player who likes to use multiple card combos in a round?!

Only Ambush at Cestus III could be the mission for this pack, harking back to the classic Arena. It places you one on one; Gorn versus Federation with 45 points a piece. The Federation player has a three man away team to recover from the planet and to then destroy the Gorn vessel while the Gorn must destroy the Federation ship while it has not recovered the whole away team. If it can't manage that then the Gorn ship must escape! A simple scenario but one that looks easier than it probably plays since beaming back is made all the more difficult by relying on certain rolled dice results.

The Gornarus pack itself doesn't offer big firepower but more the chance to level the playing field and take away the advantages of others. I think I can see this working best against mid-range craft with several upgrades - or Borg! It's one of the more unique sets and reviewing it alongside the Borg/Independent Soong made me appreciate how varied the options for the Independent faction actually are. They aren't as heavily armed but have a whole host of tricks out there to use. Of all the factions they are definitely the one that wins the most from picking the most effective upgrades.

Are these worthy additions to the fleet or should I be looking at other factions instead?

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Time Gorn By: The Official Starships Collection Issues 87 and 88

Following the horrendous Federation Holoship I was ready for some forgiveness where Eaglemoss is concerned with what purported to be a cracking double act of the Gorn Starship from The Original Series (remastered) and the UTS Aeon from Voyager's third season double header Future's End. However...

The Gorn Starship is tiddly. Tiddly and spindly to be precise and I'm a little disgruntled. Some of this dissatisfaction comes from the consideration of whether this is "really" Star Trek since it's from the remastered episodes rather than the fully grown 1960's originals. Admittedly that would mean the Gorn Starship would be a glowing dot in a box but I'm still not totally convinced which side of the canon/non-canon fence I'm sitting on with these. Honestly these remastered ships have perhaps been some of the most disappointing. Could I have done without the Stella? Yes. Am I not especially interested in the Medusan Starship except for completist reasons? Spot on. 

The same is, tragically, true of the Gorn Starship. I love the Gorn I really do and they are probably one of my all-time favourite Star Trek aliens but this ship and model do leave me wanting. 

For starters it's small (I know I've already said this) and initially I thought that the whole thing was a plastic lump as had been the case with last month's "block" in the form of the Federation Holoship. However on a better and slower inspection it's actually not that bad. The upper hull and pylons are metal while the nacelles and a section on the underbelly and the "tail" are rendered from plastic.

I'm not a fan of the design anyway as it doesn't strike me as a particularly "reptilian" design nor that 60's retro but at least it's different. There's clearly a dragonfly inspiration behind the shape especially with that prominent tail appendage but as with all of The Original Series entries it remains quite plain. Hull surface detail on this small craft is limited to a few upper hull panel formations and recesses with some fin detail on the leading edge of the curved wing/pylons leading to the four nacelles.

The plastic tail to the rear adds a little something to the formula, ending in a silver tip and the red (painted on) glow of the impulse engine. The four warp engines also finish off with purple translucent bussard collectors of two sizes but what I do like here is how the end of plastic nacelle nestles around the purple collector on the upper two tubes. This purple hue also crops up on the underside of the Gorn Starship breaking up the patchwork colour scheme.

What is rather exemplary here is the paint scheme. Look across the whole surface and you'll find its a silver undercoat with a patchy green/brown top layer which gives a worn and rusting effect to the hull. Certainly there's a "swampy" feel to the paint job; dirty even and the great point is that it's not evenly coated so one half isn't just a mirror of the other. Nicely done and adds some character to what is otherwise a bit of a quiet arrival into the realm of the collection.

Reading into the magazine does note that the ship never received a final paint job because it was only seen from a great distance so the colours it has here were never screen used (little naughty but I suppose it's better than receiving a grey blob).

So to issue 88 and something really rather unique; the UTS Aeon. Featured in Voyager we have been teased that the Aeon would be part of the collection since day one (*cough* Fesarius *cough*) and finally it's here. Being only six metres in length the Aeon pays dividends and is the smallest craft ever to appear in the collection. 

A simple dart shape, the opaque cockpit immediately draws your eye because of its sheer size. Even in the show it was blacked out so Eaglemoss have managed to legitimately swerve showing any of the interior! Also at the tip of the nose is a well constructed particle weapon that saw action against Voyager in Future's End.

Comparing this to the other Timeship we've received, the USS Relativity, there is a significant difference in the paint scheme. On the TV the geometric design didn't come off that well making it seem to be solid black however in the flesh it's abundantly clear that the surface is blocked out in a rather crazy - and totally unique - pattern. It will stand out on your shelves! It also wraps around the ship 360 degrees and the more observant will spot that the underside pattern does have some slight variations meaning left/right is not an exact mirror.

Moving aft and on both of the triangular wing sweeps are the two temporal field generators. Big marks up to Eaglemoss here for setting two red transparent segments into the wing and that these two run top to bottom as a single piece. It's a massive statement when you might have expected segments to be planted on the top and bottom of a solid plastic/metal hull. What this does mean is that if you catch the light right you get a wonderful red glow off the two ovals. 

Around both of these features you'll also see a change in the paint scheme and one thing I have seen here is just how precise the finish is here. I know I say it a lot more recently but I firmly believe that their quality control, even on the more sketchy entries, remains strong. Around each there's a blue oval design that blends into the overall effect seamlessly and accentuates the engines - which are both recessed and elevated - exceptionally well. 

At the rear of the upper hull we have two outlets for the temporal/warp engines recessed into the wing. No colour bleed or misalignment is evident. Both are grilled even though they are such a tiny feature of the craft. At the tips of both wings we do have simple blocked out RCS thrusters and in the accompanying magazine you'll see how many of the pieces on the Aeon are instantly recognisable but yet added in such a way that they are still that little bit different. 

Flipping the Aeon over we have a continuation of the paint scheme and also you'll spot that the underside bears two Starfleet pennants which are replicated on the upper hull as well.

As with the thrusters and other features these are slightly different to your expectations being a split oval design which still shouts the delta shield but changes the colours to blue and white rather than the more familiar 23rd and 24th Century red and gold.

The temporal field generators on the underside of the wing are indeed aligned perfectly with the ones set into the top of the wing. You might think this is a bit odd to be commenting on but the lower hull is a single recessed piece of plastic and not a single piece of metal as you might have expected from the slim nature of the Aeon which means that the fact the two halves met so precisely is a good sign of the attention Eaglemoss is paying in regards to their finished product (most of the time).

While I like this cute little ship there are two details distinctly missing from the model which are shouting at you from the front cover of the magazine at the very least and also from the plan views. One of these is the black line which runs around the whole edge of the craft and secondly the white cockpit hatch line. Why these two - especially the second - are not on the Aeon I can only guess but it was a little surprising given they are everywhere else.

Both the Gorn Starship and the Aeon have good solid stand positions with the former gripped around the pylons and the Timeship gripped at the rear. No worries here with divebomb damage and the stands don't hinder any visual appreciation of the new models.

The magazine does have a good selection of pics from Future's End as well as swanky new CG images of the UTS Aeon. There's a standard episode refresh with details on the craft and four pages of designing data from its creator Rick Sternbach. The time travel section looks at what Star Trek episodes showed us of the further future, taking their material purely from later series The Next Generation, Voyager and Enterprise. 

It's a rather broad subject and sketchily covered in the magazine but at least it's something different and picks out A Matter of Time from The Next Generation plus Storm Front and Future Tense from Enterprise among the highlights.

A better month with two moderate entries that won't have too many clammering at newsagent doors. Coming off the back of the Holoship certainly makes them look good but there are more entries from recent issues which are far better. Next time we have the Vulcan Vakhlas and a must-have in the form of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-J. Both are ships featured in Enterprise which means there can be no question as to the strength of the end products. I bet the second of these will be an essential for all collectors.

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Starfinder, Klingon, Gorn

An unexpected year's gap between episodes was a long wait for fans of audio series Starfinder but 2014 ended with a flourish as episodes two, three and four landed with a little help from some Klingon friends.

Messages from the Outback kicks off a mini-arc of episodes in this first season and ties in with The Gates of Sto'vo'kor who are a fan group now in their third season of audio adventures focusing on the crew of a the IKS Kradec, a BortaSqu' Dreadnought Cruiser from the realms of Star Trek Online While this isn't an episode of Starfinder per se it is worth a listen to broaden your library of podcasts as well as to get another thread on the activities in and around the region known as the Outback. For those of you who are fans of the show, be careful as you read on as I may be SPOILING. There's your warning, take it or leave it people.

That initial crossover episode helps to introduce the crew of the IKS Kradec and an initial conflict with the Tholians which leads them onto a trail pointing straight in the direction of the Starfinder. It was a total change of pace to listen to Messages... and then Gorn of a Different Colour as we're 100% onboard with the Klingon crew for two and a bit episodes. It's only 15 minutes into the second part of Gorn... that the crew of the Starfinder reappear.

The IKS Kradec originally appeared back in the pilot episode as the counter to the title starship and I'm not sure if a two-parter plus a crossover and another episode to come was a necessity at such an early stage of the series. We've only had two pure Starfinder episodes to this point plus a smattering of vignettes to keep our interests peaked and the we get something which takes us totally away from the focus of the series for a whole hour. Did I feel a bit cheated? Yes, I did BUT I can see what they've done here.

Why does the show have to stick to the rules and be 100% on the Starfinder every episode? What we have here is a story which adds depth to the backstory, fleshes out the ethos of the series and builds the Outback into a genuinely interesting region of space in three audio dimensions. The whole thing with modern TV drama is that they punch outside the box and certainly it might have made for some very different Star Trek moments if we'd had episodes that didn't focus purely on the crew of each headline ship or station. I might not have been a huge Voyager fan but if you look at Distant Origins, Course: Oblivion and Living Witness they bear that very hallmark and make for three hours of fantastic telly.

In that same vain, Starfinder has made a bold move, taking us out of the safety net of the Federation starship and introducing the listener to a group of Klingons, Orions, Gorn and a Lethean. Looking at the plot, the ship encounters a world which may be home to an offshoot of the Gorn known as the Tyr'Gash with whom Commander Valkara chooses to annex as part of the Empire since they have laid claim to the Outback.

This in turn leads to conflict within the mixed crew, especially with everyone's favourite Arena guests, the Gorn, who are rather against turning violent towards their different coloured cousins - and at that point the Starfinder returns to the fold.

I did feel that the Klingon crew weren't anywhere near as warrior-like and honourable as they should have been. Everything in the Star Trek universe emphasises their proud heritage and their aggressive nature but here, in one or two particular cases I didn't feel the strength of the Empire. In fact the conflict which erupts onboard the Kradec is allowed to happen without any attempt to be quashed as the crew begin to take sides.

Michael Medeiros, a friend with Starfinder creator George Silsby for many years, is one of the brains behind the new episodes as he co-produced, wrote and directed them.

"I approached my team over at Gates of Sto’vo’kor and discussed it with them." said Michael, "We started working out the details of the story such as the crew, ship, and even the race of Gorn we would utilize. Ross Bullock developed the story idea and we took some liberties with the story that would become Gorn of A Different Color, such as making the Tyr Gash a separate species of Gorn entirely, the Kradec’s Captain is a woman, and other ideas as well. One of the aspects, we bantered about was an epic tale that would be told in three parts. 

"The first part would be a crossover with Gates of Sto’vo’kor that would establish the Klingon presence in the Outback, then the actual Starfinder episode (originally slated for six or seven on the release schedule), and another crossover that would act as an epilogue to the Klingon series, which would finish them off and keep them busy until Starfinder’s second season."

So there has been a big plan in place for the arrival of the Klingons within the folds of the Starfinder series.

Explained Michael; "With our outline in place, I approached George and we discussed our plans. We made a few adjustments, but in the end, he loved the ideas and even started discussing ideas on how to bring the Klingons back and have them hold a more important role in Starfinder in their second season. With the approval, I began writing the script that would become Gorn of A Different Colour. 

"I passed the script to Ross once the first draft was completed. He added a scene and made some adjustments throughout, while I started working on the scripts for the prologue and epilogue crossovers (Messages From The Outback). When Ross finished the Gorn script, I gave him the Messages... scripts and took one last look at Gorn. When all three scripts were done, I forwarded them to George for review. He loved them and believed the Gorn script to be long enough to split into a two-part episode. It already offered a good place to cut the episode at the end of third act, so few changes were required. The story was also brought up in the line up to third and fourth.

"After an exhaustive search, we found the actors to help us voice all of the roles we would need. With everything ready, production began and we spent several weeks getting the audio we required for the episodes. Ross and I directed every line of dialogue we could to ensure it met our standards for quality. The arduous act of prepping the audio for assembly began after that. Then, life and some unforeseen circumstances occurred and the project was shelved while they were dealt with. Once everything settled down, I got to work on the Gorn episodes. 

"After two months of editing, I sent the first draft of the completed episode to Ross, George, and a few others. There were a few minor tweaks, but in the end, Part I was ready for release. With Starfinder’s second episode on the verge of release, and at my urging, we agreed to sit on it until everything was ready. Two more months later, Part II was ready to go as well. While I worked on the first part, Ross took on Messages.... We waited until the prologue piece was completed before we started releasing episodes, once every two weeks, giving Ross ample time to finish the epilogue of Messages... before the end of the year."

It is, I remind you again, a very different Starfinder. Getting to know so many new characters in such a short period of time - and so many that are in a lot of ways very similar be they Gorn or Klingon - was a bit confusing and maybe scattering the Klingon events amongst the two parter might have helped, linking events more directly because I did find my mind wondering when the main cast would be turning up - and when they do it is a limited selection that we know from the first two episodes.

Ok, so how does the script weigh in? I'd say pretty average. The first two episodes had a lot more action, edge and pacing whereas here the pace is fairly steady. Having the knowledge of the two part format did mean I was expecting the cliffhanger but when it came I was hoping for something with a bit more impact. The trouble is that at this stage we don't know the main crew that well and we definitely don't recognise the Klingon crew and this meant I personally felt distant and non-committal to caring about the crew of the Kradec as the mutiny begins to take effect.

Today being a good day to die is noted a fair few times here and I was concerned that the crew were falling into a slightly stereotypical formula for Klingons. Now I know I've also said that they weren't honourable enough and that's my problem here in some respects because they fall into a place where they say the lines, project an air of being true warriors but then don't deliver the goods. Starfinder didn't need to emphasise this aspect and in some ways I hope that they find a better way to promote the enthusiastic spirit of the Klingons. 

The differing quality between the actors recorded lines is an issue here with massive variations during a single conversation and the interactions of the Klingons did feel a little odd. Not uncomfortable but almost a tad too polite. I know; odd, but there you are. Probably the reason the mutiny actually took place.

The arrival of the Starfinder crew in Part II does help to lift the adventure as they attempt to diffuse the situation, reunite the fragmented crew of the Kradec and stop a massive interstellar incident from blowing up with the Tyr'Gash. Commander Krang, the Klingon first officer does give in much too easily when Captain Ann-D offers unwanted assistance and this keeps flagging up the big issue with this larger story arc - the Klingons don't seem to work with the amount of airtime they have received at the sake of the Starfinder crew. 

They are, of course, the heroes of the piece but their arrival highlights their absence even more. Indeed, they are much better catered for in the script, likely due to the fact that they have had two episodes and the vignettes already dedicated to their journey. Only the captain, the Jem'Hadar, their Vorta overseer, Sergeant Byrnes and Penn and Zeller get airtime in this second part however it does feel as though there should have been more.

Gorn of a Different Colour is a bold, daring step by the Starfinder team but it's timing and execution are not what I've come to expect or hope from them. There are simply too many people we've not got to know in the course of the first part and the preceding Messages from the Outback courtesy of the Gates of Sto'vo'kor and the audio format does not help differentiate them easily before launching into a fully fledged two hour story. Separating Gorn from Klingon is easy but specific individuals and names are numerous and not that easy to remember. As we know it would have originally been further into the season and if that was the case it would have worked more effectively as I still don't know the main characters well enough.

Exec producer and voice of MACO Sergeant Byrnes, George Silsby was also keen to shed light on Starfinder developments; "We had one small dilemma when episode two was late being released; we had another team cranking out 4 episodes and we had a huge setback with just one.

"Those four episodes just happened to focus on the Klingons. What can you do? It was a content decision. The fans wanted content. They wanted a story to be told, sure it caused us to shift gears perhaps much sooner than we planned, but we don't feel it hurt the show, quite the opposite. There's no harm side stepping the focus on the Kradec for the benefit of offering another chapter in what is building up to be a shared audio universe experience, and our vision is much bolder now."

And who are we to argue you could say as the number of Starfinder followers on social media and web reach has quadrupled since the Gorn/Klingon arc started.

We still have Messages from the Outback, Part II to come which is the concluding segment more heavily produced by Gates of Sto'vo'kor. With the adventure itself rounded off and the situation cooled in the Outback at the expense of some of the Kradec's Gorn contingent I do look forward to seeing how this finale rounds out the story.

I've been a fan of the Starfinder series from the beginning and never expected every episode to be of absolute mindblowingly good quality. Every show has challenges, attempts different things and this one has been bold enough to step away from its pilot-established parameters and tackle an unexpected facet of the overall picture. I'm certain that the show will return us to the Kradec in the future and that upcoming installments will continue to push out of it's observed boundaries and provide new adventures expanding from the Star Trek Online universe.

Gorn of a Different Colour has been a clever experiment and one that has offered new tangents to explore in this first season. Let's hope that this move is one that will continue to pay off and not be a single flash in the pan.

Added George Silsby; "We have a things coming that no-one and I mean no-one has ever done before out there in the audio world.

It will be worth it in the big picture, trust me!"

Star Trek: Starfinder Gorn of a Different Colour is available now to download. On the site you'll also be able to find short stories and the vignettes from the last year. You can find out more about Gates of Sto'vo'kor by visiting their site.

Your Crew to Command: Timelines

Good news, good news - we're getting a new Star Trek game!

From the team that have developed and recently released Game of Thrones (Disruptor Beam) onto Facebook, Timelines looks set to satisfy the fan-base of every series in one, massive online hit. Second good point is that we can actually play as characters we recognise and know!

While Star Trek Online takes players beyond the end of Nemesis, Timelines will effectively allow a mix and match system from across all the different pieces of the franchise. Put Kirk in command with Dax at sciences and Worf running tactical - surely every fan's dream and perhaps one of the cons of Online. Add into that the ability to visit new planets, dangerous encounters and make tactical decisions and it's got us clammering to play it right now (bless hype, it really does blow things up to a whole new level so we can get critically disappointed).

Announced as a strategy, role-playing game it won't just be available to play on your PC but also your tablet which will more than likely draw a larger audience than Online gets at the moment due to the platform flexibility. Based on what we're being told so far (which isn't much) we're going to see huge storylines in which you'll be able to make decisions to impact the outcomes. Sounds fairly standard if you ask me. Said CEO of Disruptor Beam Jon Radoff in an interview regarding the imminent project: 

“Star Trek: Timelines will encompass all of these concepts, allowing you to explore the vastness of space along with your friends — letting you live out the ‘where no man has gone before’ mantra we all love — but will also allow you to make decisions that impact your future, your friends, and even the fate of the galaxy.”

Available initially at no cost, there will be a ton of in game purchases to ramp up your ship (a la Online and multiple other games) which will drain the wallet of many a hardcore fan looking to get involved. It's a big gamble digitizing your favourites and allowing them all to interact - but then risk is our business as someone once said. Taking the chance could make this a brilliant experience from start to finish.

From the perspective of the crew creation this is absolutely what many people will have wanted to do for years and will now be truly able to realise. The challenge for Disruptor Beam will be in keeping it interesting and immersive, developing exciting missions for your crew to complete and also making the stats of the characters believable. Also there's no mention of whether or not we'll be given the choice of Prime or JJ Kirk - I can see the conflicts now....

Considering the head start that Star Trek Online has with the gaming market it will be a hard battle for Timelines to win but it will provide some variety into the mix. A contrasting game to Online would make it a draw for fans, focusing more on moral dilemmas and clever situations rather than load torpedoes and blast everything in sight which, for me has led to to stay away from the Online universe thus far (although I am up for being persuaded otherwise).

For those of you who are now chomping at the bit, why not drop over to the official site here where you can follow the project on Facebook (also available on Twitter) as well as register with the potential to be involved with the beta testing of this amazing concept. Without question this will be the place to find out all the latest updates as and when they happen.

Now this announcement also made me think of something I've never ever done - pick my dream crew. So, for the first time ever I thought I'd put it down on screen. I've picked out a range of positions more in line with The Next Generation than anything else. Should raise some opinions (plus a couple of extras). Why I've never done this before I'll never know - maybe I've been in denial. Some fairly obvious choices in here with a few that will raise the odd temperature.

More detail on the upcoming game, Star Trek: Timelines, can be found in this interview with Jon Radoff on VentureBeat and this shorter article on startrek.com.

You can also view the announcement trailer right here... So what do you think? Is this the right way to encourage gamers into the Star Trek fold? Why not add your comments below!