Episode 12 Food of the Gods pt. 2

*"And this is what you get for being respectful."*
—**Jane Lakat**

## **Plot Synopsis**

### **Brief Overview**

The USS *Ross* crew searches for a planet for the new Crystalline Entity to feed off of, while M'Qrell and Prahl prepare to cut the planet open. Planetside, Sull and Olyn learn more about J'Shashian history. Dr. Yugoss warns Olyn about Defense Minister Nobal, and Sull sends a general alert about the Entity's existence, which the USS *Thunderchild* responds to.

Lakat and M'Qrell discover that the planet Jateran might've been developed as a cocoon for the Entity, perhaps from the corpse of a dead one. Meanwhile, Sull realizes Nobal has been gone for too long, and discovers she is secretly getting ready to launch an attack on the Ross.

### **Pre-Break**

The episode opens immediately where "Food of the Gods pt. 1" left off. CAPT Sull and AMB Olyn are on the planet Jateran. The rest of the crew are aboard USS *Ross*, in orbit over the planet. A new Crystalline Entity is about to be born from the planet. A Tholian dreadnought, Ketikess, is also in orbit. The crew are busy preparing to assist the Entity's birth, and also looking for a suitable planet for it to feed upon.

LTJG Lakat, and Dr. Yata begin searching for planets using the data returning from the probes. Lakat and Yata are particularly effective, due to their bonding over several prior games of BINGO. In the first 30 minutes, they identify 26 possible systems, but two of the probes stop reporting back. Meanwhile, MCPO Theq has turned one of the holodecks into his own laboratory / "man-cave" and is busy analyzing the data from Lakat and Yata. He is assisted by ENS Dari, CPO Rachel Carter, and his love of food. Theq and Dari discuss the ethical dilemma of leading a Crystalline Entity to devour an unsuspecting planet. Theq gives Dari some encouraging words. Dari is hopeful that the Entity may not need to consume as much as originally thought; the Entity encountered by USS Enterprise-D only consumed a few square miles. Theq calls LTCDR EXEO to update her.

Meanwhile, LTCDR M'Qrell is busy practicing for her upcoming planetary caesarean section. LTCDR Prahl is having trouble aligning the main phaser array, and is getting frustrated. Prahl calls Theq to ask him for help routing more power to the phasers, but also keeping the beam narrow. Theq delegates the task to CPO Singh. On the bridge, LT Vrenn alerts EXEO that Ketikess is moving to a higher orbit; it is either moving out of the way or getting in a better position to attack USS Ross. EXEO divides her senses so she can check up on the rest of the crew. Leaving her voice and hearing on the bridge, she projects a low-opacity version of herself to different areas. While popping in on Theq and Dari, she surprises and scares Dari. She next jumps to visit Lakat. Trying to mime her intentions, she instead convinces Lakat that she isn't working hard enough, and needs to work harder. EXEO pops back to the bridge. Lakat calls Yata to ask if he works better when the world around him is on fire, because she does. Yata speculates that it might be a psychological problem. Yata tells Lakat that she is the only biped he has ever enjoyed speaking with. Lakat suggest they celebrate afterwards, and Yata makes a joke about her coming over to his place for a drink.

Meanwhile, on the planet, everyone is busy watching the satellite feeds of the two ships in orbit. Defense Minister Nobal asks Sull what they intend to do if the Crystalline Entity is born but USS Ross cannot find an alternate source of food. Sull implies that they will destroy the Entity. Sull also says that they need to alert the surrounding galactic powers that a new Crystalline Entity has been found. Nobal leaves the room. High Regent Keel tells Sull and Olyn that Nobal was the right choice for the job. The countries of Jateran united about 300 years ago, and it is the defense minister's job to maintain peace between them. He also states that the High Regent position is mostly ceremonial, and that his and Nobal's powers are quite equal. Sull praises Nobal for her caution, and Keel replies that he appreciates Sull and Olyn giving Nobal space.

Keel turns to Olyn to ask about the variety of species in the Federation. Olyn tells him that there are dozens of species, and the Federation would be honored to include Jateran among their numbers, one day. Olyn tells Keel that Tholians normally stay on the opposite side of known space, and USS Ross needs to know how they got here. Olyn tells Keel that J'Shashian subspace technology might be helpful in answering that question. Keel says that he is concerned that the general population will soon be aware of the two ships in orbit, and he will have to explain things to them. Olyn advises Keel not to wait too long before warning the population, and asks how they and Sull might help. Keel wonders if people will feel the emergence of the Entity on this side of the planet. Olyn offers to use their telepathy powers to take away his anxiety, but he declines. Sull engages Dr. Yugoss in a discussion about the cycle of extinction on the uninhabited side of Jateran.

Meanwhile, Theq and Dari finish sifting through the data. They narrow the 26 possible systems down to 4 systems. Another probe stops reporting back. Sull's message goes out on all channels to warn about the presence of Tholians and a Crystalline Entity in the Shackleton Expanse.

### **Post-Break**

Singh and PO2 T'Miri finish adjusting the power routing to the phasers. They report to EXEO that they were successful, but the phasers will be almost useless against ships and shields until their changes are undone. EXEO notices Prahl go very silent when he hears that. EXEO gets a hail from USS *Thunderchild*. It received Sull's signal and forwarded it on to Narendra Station. USS *Thunderchild* is headed for Jateran at maximum warp, but it will take 8 hours to arrive. EXEO notifies Sull, and the two engage in some playful banter.

On the planet, Olyn and Sull have moved to a side room to await the results of the crew's efforts. From Yugoss, they find out that life on the Western half of the planet started dying out millions of years ago. Yugoss and Olyn discuss various theories about the planets history and the Crystalline Entity. He expresses concern about what the population will do if they find out about the ships before Keel makes an announcement. After some more conversation, he informs Olyn he has a difficult topic to discuss. Based on his experiences as a scientist for the government, he warns Olyn not to trust Nobal; Nobal is ruthless and cunning, and will put her own agenda before anything else. Sull orders Vrenn to move the ship into geostationary orbit over the Western hemisphere, to reduce the chance of detection.

Lakat starts pouring over the history of Jateran to find out the food needs of the Crystalline Entity. Yata states he thinks fossils are boring, and the two joke around a bit before he signs off to keep working on the search. Lakat determines that the most recent extinction cycle in the Western hemisphere began about 500,000 years ago, along with increased tectonic activity. She scans the core of Jateran. She sees veins of crystals going throughout the entire crust, and determines that the veins are very old, possibly as old as the planet. She shares the scans with M'Qrell. M'Qrell has a moment of insight, and concludes the entire planet might be a cocoon for the Crystalline Entity; it may have even formed from the corpse of a dead one. Lakat and EXEO begin building a model of Jateran to see if the planet will collapse or be destroyed when the Entity emerges.

On the planet, Sull observes that Nobal has not yet returned. Sull decides to clandestinely discover her location. Sull heads to the bathroom, flanked by two of Nobal's guards. Once inside, Sull pulls out their tricorder and starts tapping into the guard communication network. While doing the hacking, they have a flashback. They remember being in the the cargo hold of a space ship delivering slaves to an Orion Crime Syndicate stronghold. They remember seeing two Federation ship approaching, and handing out disruptor rifles to some of the slaves. They remember taking over the freighter without killing anyone, for which they received a commendation. Coming back to the present, they hear Nobal's voice. They hear phrases that sound like she is launching an attack at USS Ross. Sull calls Prahl from the bathroom to order him to scramble the launch signal. Sull leaves the bathroom, and tries to make their way back to Olyn.

Prahl calls Lakat to order a scan for weapons. Lakat scans the area. The Crystalline Entity is about to emerge, and multiple missiles are being armed on orbital satellites. She also identifies that the missiles are armed with isolytic warheads. She whispers under her breath...

"And this is what you get for being respectful."

## **Cast**

* Eric Campbell - Game Master
* Revati Dhomse - Jane Lakat
* Gina De Vivo - EXEO
* Sam de Leve - Azeri Sull
* Aki - Olyn Madzhin-Nil
* Xander Jeanneret - Theq Lynadas
* Bonnie Gordon - M'Qrell

## **Non-Player Characters**

* Yata
* Rachel Carter
* Yeri Prahl
* Amandeep Singh
* Zhyliss Vrenn
* Keah Nobal
* Alu Zazz Keel
* Yugoss
* T'Miri

## **Ships**

* Ketikess
* USS Thunderchild

## **Notable Lines**

*"Let's try this again; this time a little less angry."*
—**M'Qrell** to Yeri Prahl

*"Everything has to be burning in order for me to actually care."*
—**Lakat** to Yata

*"I'm mostly good at breaking down the heavens."*
—**Yata**

*"Crew of USS Ross; we have a cocoon."*
—**M'Qrell**

*"And this is what you get for being respectful."*
—**Jane Lakat**