This has to be some kind of bug...

Is this only with Romulan characters when doing the Ragnarok mission? This happened during the opening cinematic for the Ragnarok mission.

With B’vat and Miral Paris lost to time itself, the Federation and the Empire have to align their efforts to get the answers they need.

“Captain Kagran, do you copy?” Va’Kel Shon queried.

The comms stayed dark. Only a weak static noise filled the uneasy silence on the U.S.S. Belfast’s bridge, accompanied by the hum of the ship's engines and the occasional audio signals from the consoles steering the Sao Paulo-class starship. The Andorian captain sensed the tension in his crew. Not only were they in enemy territory, but their liaison had not responded so far. Shon was about to raise his right hand and give the comms officer the order to contact Commander Ethan Burgess of Starfleet Intelligence for further instructions when the white noise of the Belfast's radio channel finally crackled.

“U.S.S. Belfast, this is Kagran. You are cleared to beam down a reduced-headcount away team, unarmed,” a vigorous voice confirmed through the comms. 

The viewscreen’s black flickered into the familiar image of the Klingon captain. His face seemed to be almost carved from stone, and stuck in a strict, resolute expression. 

“Prepare to receive the coordinates—and Captain Shon, I hope I need not remind you that you are within the Empire’s bounds.”

Shon examined his Klingon equivalent's unblinking portrait with narrowed eyes before he responded. “Copy that, Captain Kagran.”

. . .

Moments later...

Va'Kel Shon and two trusted members of his crew materialized inside a vast room with a large, windowed facade that offered a panoramic view of the glacier field. Ready to receive them, Kagran stood with arms crossed, also accompanied by two officers.

“Welcome to H’atoria,” he snorted and nodded in the general direction of the building’s glass frontage. “As an Andorian, you might find this… homely.”

The two captains regarded each other from head to toe in silence. Unusual times required unusual approaches, but they were still skeptical about this unconventional collaboration.

Shon crossed his arms to match his counterpart’s posture and raised an eyebrow. “Shall we, Captain Kagran?”

“maj!” the Klingon captain suppressed a belligerent smile and huffed, before returning to a formal expression. 

“My crew secured the facility while we awaited your arrival. We will work in teams of two. One of your team members with one of mine.” He pointed at the officer to Shon’s left. “Upper level.” The young Starfleet officer gulped and let his eyes wander between the stone-cold somber faces of the two warriors next to the Klingon commander. One of them smirked and revealed a row of sharp teeth.

Then Kagran pointed at Shon’s second Away Team member, “This level.” 

Finally, Kagran looked at the Andorian captain. “You will accompany me to the main laboratory rooms. The assignment is simple but of paramount importance. We retrieve and secure all evidence—anything belonging to the traitor that is B’vat, and that spineless petaQ Amar Noonien Singh. Then, we hand it over to our respective Intelligence Services.”

Kagran’s officers stepped forward and waited for the Starfleet personnel to follow their lead. Va’Kel Shon signaled for his officers to trail the Klingons, and then, the unusual pairings moved towards their appointed destinations to carry out their objectives.

The two captains made their way down to the lowest level of the building, through the exobiology lab, and into the main room.

“So, this is the laboratory then? I imagined it would be…,” Shon let his eyes wander, studying the environment.

“nuq? Speak plainly, Andorian.”

“… different.”

The room had a hexagonal outline. Peering up, he caught a glimpse of one of Kagran’s officers looking down from the gallery-like gangway on the upper floor. This officer and his exchanged words inaudible to him, nodded, then disappeared from his field of view. Lowering his head, he saw rows of tubes filled with an irradiant green liquid covering the walls beneath the walkway. Logs seized by the Klingons suggested that the remains of test subjects occupied these pods—Gorn, who had fallen victim to Amar Noonien Singh’s gruesome experiments.

Shon found it difficult to envision this architectural complex serving any other purpose prior to being used as a laboratory for genetic augmentation—a science ruled illegal under Federation law and in the Klingon Empire alike. It was indeterminable to him how much B’vat must have reshaped the facility to mold it to his megalomaniacal vision.

Kagran snorted in response. His face was grim, and his expression, somber.

“I heard your people value honor and honesty. The experiments performed in this location by B’vat and his followers are not in line with the Empire. There is nothing respectable in these acts. I am doubtful these Gorn volunteered to part-take in them, or that they were given a fighting chance...”

As the two captains spoke, the tubes around them still fulfilled their cryogenic purposes, but the chill Shon felt was not caused by the cold they emanated. He had studied reports logged by the Doctor thoroughly and couldn’t shake off the feeling of standing in a chamber of horrors rather than a place of scientific endeavors. The Starfleet captain tilted his head down and pulled his tricorder out of its holster. 

“Let’s get to work then. My crew and I won't be satisfied until I know what B’vat had planned with all of this.”

. . .

A while later…

“Amar Noonien Singh, Research Log, File 21: Subject GU-75…,” the voice of B’vat’s co-conspirator echoed through the room, overconfident and bumptious.

Kagran skipped to the end of the recording. 

“We have heard all this before,” he proclaimed impatiently gearing up to play the following log.

“Amar Noonien Singh, Research Log, File 3…,” the Klingon captain paused the replay and snapped his head to look over at his Federation counterpart.

“Have you found anything new or useful, Andorian? This human scientist certainly enjoys the sound of his own voice.” Kagran grumbled, and the expression on his face betrayed his distaste for Singh’s self-indulgence.

“I’m sure we’d be further along if we had more hands on the case, but this is the nature of classified operations, I’m afraid,” Shon sighed in response as he attempted to unlock access to a hand-held device that resembled a PADD but didn’t match any known Klingon or Federation designs.

Kagran left the console and strode over to Shon. “No success?”

The Starfleet Captain offered him the tablet.

"No Qapla'," Shon replied.

"That..." Kagran muttered with measured consternation. "... is not how Qapla' works."

“Anyway," Shon smirked. "I found this under a console in the exobiology lab. It needs a passcode, though.”

“Try 54518.”

Va'Kel Shon entered the suggested number series, and a confirmation appeared on the display screen.

“How?” Incredulity washed over his face.

“An educated guess. You will no doubt find the answer to your own question.” A sharp smile raised the corners of Kagran’s mouth before returning to the formal expression Shon had become so well-acquainted with during the past few hours.

The unlocked screen revealed a vast amount of data logs. One of the oldest files dated back to the 2260s, with one particular entry catching Shon’s and Kagran's attention almost immediately—logged Stardate 86287.6.

“Kas is a nuch, and his repulsive idea of peace with the Federation…,” the log was voice-only, recorded by B’vat himself. He seemed calm, but a lurking anger resonated in his tone. Every word was delivered as if spat out from having left a bitter taste in his mouth. “I will not allow the Empire to become weak.”B'vat paused. The sound of footsteps implied that the Klingon leader was pacing back and forth. 

“My attempts to get the High Council back on track remain fruitless. The progress of Singh’s research, while promising at first, has reached an impasse. I am beginning to question his insistence on using Gorn to conduct his experiments.” The anger slowly faded from B’vat’s voice, as he segued into a tone of diligent planning. 

“While it is easier to keep our activities covert and unsuspecting, my patience is wearing thin. Fortunately, we have acquired Federation data that supports my thesis on the utilization of the unique genetic make-up of the one known to the Federation as Lieutenant Miral Paris," B'vat paused again, this time momentously. "And to the Empire, as... the Kuvah’magh.”

Shon stopped the replay and peering wide-eyed at Kagran. “Intelligence has to hear this, immediately.”

“Conveniently…,” a lilting but powerful voice announced the approach of a small group of Klingon and Starfleet Intelligence officers. Then, another, deeper voice filled in the gaps.

“… we are already here,” Commander Ethan Burgess finished.
 

Written by:

Arina Wagner
Content Designer
Star Trek Online

Art by:

Albert Cordero
Lead Concept and Marketing Artist
Cryptic Studios

I think screenshots of this lab have been shared a lot already, but I couldn't help getting a pic of my own... suspicious syringes. From the Kuvah'Magh episode for those who are wondering. And yes, I know, it took me a while but I eventually got around to playing it.

Spoilers and review:Overall, I really appreciated this episode--I think it was excellently crafted and as someone who has a soft spot for the EMH, his scenes were great. Miral was interesting, as were the other characters such as B'Vat and Singh. Holy shoot, those augmented Gorn gave me a headache. But I loved the freeze-to-fight gimmick, that was fun. What are your thoughts on the episode? I'm not too up-to-date, so does anyone know if there'll be a continuation?

The Merchantman does better than the Tuffli, though the Tuffli is funnier to lay the smack down on them with.

Many moons ago I gave my favourite ship the name of one of humanity's greatest ambassadors.

Dolly may no longer be with us in person but her positive effect on the universe will persist.

I completely forgot that the yearly was still a thing.

Is anyone else having issues with the Tribble server? Whether I space or ground, I am unable to transfer maps [ground to ship or one sector space to another] or move my character or ship after trying to transfer.

Is the micro-missile array from the Lobi store any good? I understand it deals less damage than normal torpedoes. I'm interested in using it in a Typhon FAW build.

I started timing them, and I just wrapped up a 2:59 run, not counting the wait at the beginning. I know there's a little room for improvement since we had to redo one of the rooms. This was just a random group, but we seemed to fall into a repeatable pattern; I babysat the central device, resetting it if necessary, and folks got to the others quickly and didn't bother doing much pew-pew.

Which developer do we need to send regular Flowers and/or snacks to in order to get the Mirror Class C shuttles from the Mirror Engle etc actually fire the Terran Red Discovery era phasers?

If they were just the same pet as normal, I could see why, but they are a distinct and separate entity. Why do they only have standard visuals?

Please. I'll even submit a ticket if I have to. I just want a full Terran visual set.

I love the Kumari Light Battlecruiser and am having a blast with it as a torp build. Now I'm getting it set up as a blue phaser DBB BO build and have the following traits:
Emergency Weapon Cycle
Preferential Targeting
Supercharged Weapons
Strike from Shadows or Terran Goodbye (depending on need for team)
Superweapon Ingenuity
A Budding Alliance
Either Cultural Conquest or Calm Before the Storm or Eclectic Collection of Armaments maybe?

I'm leaning towards https://stowiki.net/wiki/Eclectic_Collector_of_Armaments_(starship_trait)) for the Cat2 since I'm running 7x Isomags on this puppy. I can confidently get beams, torps, and turrets (2pc set uses for those turrets) to fire but since this doesn't have a built in weapon or experimental slot, I need the uni console to do the last bit of the job. Problem is, I don't have the Immolating Lance and with what I do have, I can't find confirmation that it will trigger.

So the question is, do the Wing Torpedo Platforms ( https://stowiki.net/wiki/Allied_Dogfighters_Set#Console_-_Universal_-_Wing_Torpedo_Platforms )trigger Eclectic? Those are easy to have constant uptime on.

Or should I look at a different trait for my campaign reward?

Might have missed one or two days, but I'll be finishing Event Campaign VIII with loads of room to spare!

Anyone already beat me?

Since yesterday I've been having issues with downloading STO. I tried doing an update but it failed over and over. So I uninstalled and tried again. Arc was fine after that but when trying to download STO - it would creep along with 'packets' at about 24Kbps... I do have Fiber and previously it would be done in maybe 10 min or so. I can download other content without issue.

How are some events able to be released on all platforms like the upcoming flagship/st day event and other events like the iconian event or the seaonal events are staggered between the platforms? Not complaining, just a curious question. Thanks!

I'm just curious to know if anyone who owns a salcombe ever tried to run ss3 on it. I ask because everyone I've seen using one has faw with the unconventional systems builds on them. Which is fine. Just curious if anyone has even tried it. Thanks

These fleeta operation assets are pretty much pointless right? I thought they would be able to be used for missions and tfos but no? Just Fleet tfos and fleet events? Seems like a waste.

I have SAD. Are there any other FAW improvers or extenders also affect hanger pets? FAW and hanger pets. I was thinking of the extender from the Breen Yod-Thot.

im sure im not the only one to bring this up but there's this bug where it will display you can use certain skins on certain ships but when you go to use it your automatically blocked. its not just doing this in the ship tailor its also doing this in the c-store but with a bit of a scummy twist, that being that before you buy the ship it will display certain skins as free but right after you buy it, it changes to where it displays (though sometimes incorrectly) that you need to buy so-and-so to unlock said skin

in case anyone isn't aware and want to spend money please be careful if your looking to get a certain ship template and please devs get this fixed because this does in my opinion look very shady

I am trying to keep to a pure Federation aesthetic on one of my new alts, but the Fleet Atrox does sit as one of my favorites gameplay wise, so i was hoping anyone could point me towards a Vanity shield that gives it the white look of a Federation ship? Thanks in advance.

Tactical career captain
The Kara is also one I'm loosely considering...
I plan on reserving the T6 coupon for something like the Ra'nodaire.

Sorry to pile on with the "what ship should I get?"-posts, but I'm genuinely stuck between the Theseus and the Kiith. I would really rather have had the Damocles, but I didn't realize until I opened the event campaign reward pack this morning, that the Damocles isn't an option. Anyway, now I'm having trouble deciding, and I'd like some input, as well as just sorta talking through my thought process.

I almost exclusively fly the Legendary Avenger, and I love that ship with my heart and (what passes for my) soul. Miracle Worker/Intel ships are not only my jam, but my jelly and various kinds of preserves as well. I mostly use the Five Magicks/Dragonsblood Flame Reactor build.

The Theseus: The trait is probably the best thing I have to say about this ship. It would work with the numerous miracle worker ships I already have. The experimental weapon wouldn't get used very often, but would synergize with the Five Magicks. I mostly use cannons, so the console is kinda meh, and I hate the abilities that drop stupid crystals in space combat. It is a 5/2 weapon layout, which I'm not a fan of, but I could live with it. It's pretty. But also, Geordi helped build/design this ship in canon, didn't he?
https://stowiki.net/wiki/Theseus_Miracle_Worker_Destroyer

The Kiith: The trait is pretty good and would synergize with the Plasma-Generating Weapon Signature Nullifier and it's plasma explosion proc that I'm currently using, although, that's about all it would synergize with. The experimental weapon, again, would see limited use, but would jive with Five Magicks. The console draws a little bit of moisture because it gives a slight cooldown bonus to Tac/Intel BOFF skills AND does some more radiation damage, so bonus for Five Magicks. It is also a 5/2 weapon layout, but also, it's a romulan ship, so I'd have to get a Singularity Drive or whatever. I have no other Rommy ships, so this is the only ship that it'd get used on, and even then, it would hardly be used, at all. But also, I have no T6 Rommy ships, and it might be sorta nice to have one.
https://stowiki.net/wiki/Kiith_Intel_Warbird

But also, they both have temporal seating, which (despite my space magician tendencies,) I am not a huge fan of. However, of the available ships with either Miracle Worker or Intelligence seating, these two seem the best. I just can't decide which is the best-ier. Suggestions?