S01Ep01 Ildius

"..., I WILL HAVE MY VENGEANCE! I WILL HAVE IT!"  - Captain Nero to Spock, S01Ep01 Ildius

S01Ep01 Ildius is the first episode of Star Trek Eternity's Season 1 and began on Sunday August 29th 2010. It serves as an introductory piece for all the characters as they venture onboard the Sovereign Class Eternity. Their mission is the exploration of the area known as the Fringe, an area left in the wake of the Hobus Star Nova. It's a continuation of Star Trek Countdown, the prequel comic book series associated with building backstory for JJ Abrams 2009 Star Trek movie.

Prologue
"May is soul live long..., and prosper."

- Ambassador Jean-Luc Picard, S01Ep01 Ildius

The episode opens with a flashback of Captain Nero and the Narada being consumed within the Red Matter induced black hole; an effort made by Spock to stop Nero and the Narada from attacking the Federation. The Enterprise-E, commanded by Captain Data and carrying Ambassador Jean-Luc Picard, arrives in the aftermath of both the Jellyfish and the Narada being pulled into the black hole.

Four months later, the aftermath of the nova brings down the Neutral Zone Treaty and the Romulan Empire is promised asylum within the Federation. The Klingon Empire's activities grow within the area left in the wake of the catastrophe and the Romulan Ambassador Jean-Luc Picard leads the Starfleet's efforts into the area the Fringe.

Commander James Maxwell, commanding officer of the sovereign class Eternity sits aboard a shuttle-pod pound for his ship which is docked at starbase 83, the frontier on the border of what was once the Neutral Zone. He sits in reflection of the previous meeting he had between himself, Ambassador Picard, Captain Data, and Captain Riker about the mission to map the area of the Fringe. The Enterprise-E and the Eternity would be the frame of reference, gathering sensor data and other scientific measures before relaying their findings to Captain Riker onboard the Luna Class Titan where this data would be processed by the ship's scientific module attachment.

At dock, Commander Maxwell learns that the Eternity isn't quite as ready as previously indicated to him. It's sensor pallets have been enhanced as well as the conditions of it's sensor's software suite, but during this process communications were knocked offline. Maxwell orders that Yeoman Bree sit in wait within Eternity's shuttlebay and relay them to the Ready Room. In this way, Maxwell meets his helmsman, Lieutenant JG Sarah Jamieson, his Operations Officer, Lieutenant Scott Orlan, and his First Officer, Lieutenant Commander Colin Byrne. Eventually the rest of the crew make it aboard and communications are brought back online.

In a senior staff meeting, Commander Maxwell explains there mission. Final preparations are met as Lieutenant Sorveck and the rest of the Science Department would work close with Orlan. Not wanting to go into a situation that he couldn't rightly shoot his way out of, Maxwell commissions Lieutenant Conner as the Tactical Officer which supplements her duties as Chief of Security with Lieutenant Commander Byrne to shore up the area of Tactical. Lieutenant Marquez is field commissioned as the ship's Chief Engineer and Doctor Bridget Cavenaugh would field personnel from her department should the need to shore up personnel for additional tasks.

With everything set, Eternity leaves it's dock and heads into the Fringe.

Ildius
''"Mapping of the Fringe has entered it's third day. One can surmise that the findings have been unevenful.  Nothing is left in the wak of the Hobus Star Nova." ''

- Commander James Maxwell, Captain's Log. S01Ep01 Ildius

For days, the Eternity and her crew have worked to map the region of the Fringe, finding very little in the way of anything. An M-Class was found, but nothing of resources were left to harvest. With most of the processing being done by the Titan, the crew find time to grow into the ship. On the third day of it's expedition, the Eternity encounters a planetary star system, nearly on impact. It was unexpected to see that the region was the set piece for the birth of a new planetary system ripe with eight born planets.

After the ship becomes stabilized, working scans are bounced from the planet, the Eternity's inability to scan through the atmosphere due to some composite makeup of the planets' cores forces Commander Maxwell to relay an Away Team to venture to the third orbital planet. In an unconventional move, the Commander leads the team composed of Sorveck, Lieutenant John Crawford, and Lieutenant Orlan. The plan to set themselves through the storm covered atmosphere using the Fang's EM Collectors and set up a mobile array on the planet's surface and beam information from the survey back to the Eternity.

The Enterprise and the Titan are informed of the situation and the Fang launches clear of the Eternity. It enters the raging storm of the upper atmosphere, the Danube's EM collectors working overtime until the ship clears into middle altitudes. Two geo-probes are launched as the Fang makes a landing and the Away Team begins to survey the area and collect data. Crawford eventually sets up the array and the ground teams begin transfer of information back to the Eternity.

There isn't any real complex lifeforms that are detected but that the electromagnetic disturbances in the upper atmosphere might be in regard with the high levels of rich deposits in the mountainous region. Maxwell and Sorveck head into the ranges despite the apprehensions of the other members, eventually coming across something strange, out of place. A dark spire, not part of the planet, whose technology could not be approached by any Klingon, but rather looked Reman. It becomes apparent to the Commander that they are not the only ones of interest still in the system.

First Fire in the Fringe
In the space orbiting the planet, three D7 Klingon cruisers de-cloak in view of the Eternity, their message to the Sovereign a warning to leave the system. At Byrne's notion of identification, the ship's cloak and begin firing at the Eternity with a barrage of disruptors and multiphasic missiles with nanomachine warheads that cater the capacity to pass through the ship's shields.

Meanwhile, with communications cut due to the electromagnetic storm, James Maxwell and the Away Team return to the Fang in haste, abandoning the array initially set up.

In the space battle overhead, the D7's and their missiles force the Eternity to leave the system; the nanomachine complement damaging their internal systems, forcing Byrne to consider the safety of the crew over the safety and recover of Commander Maxwell.

The Fang exits the planet's gravity only to be assaulted by a barrage of fire from the two cloaked vessels. Using the EM substances collected in the ram scoops, Maxwell and crew try for a makeshift, Riker Maneuver. It causes some fracturing along the hull of the D7's in close pursuit, but it's only with the interception by both the Enterprise and the Titan that the two D7's are destroyed.

The Titan reclaims the crew from the Danube class Fang, the runabout scooped up from the mess. Meanwhile, under tow, the Eternity and her crew are returned to Starbase 83.

The Fringe War begins.

Transcripts
For S01Ep01 "Ildius," transcript:  (104 Pages)