Episode 30: "Hot and cold"

USS Gibraltar, Episode 30: "Hot and Cold"
31st of July 2011

Crew:
Robobby McMillan, CO (Captain)
Sereana Westland, Security (Commander)
Gokyu Ugajin, OPS (Lieutenant)
Richardjrn Weatherwax, Helm (rank unknown)

Observer:
Kathryn Shaufer

Summary:
It'd been a while, but the Gibraltar has finally been released from spacedock. There have been updates to various systems, so the crew takes the Gibraltar on a testflight. However, they quickly receive a distress call from a tropical world: Alpha Tangea IV. It's a relatively young colony, set up as a tropical paradise.

When the Gibraltar arrives, they find a strange device in the upper atmosphere, which jams communications. When the crew beams down, they don't find a tropical paradise, but an arctic mountain. However, the mountain, and the snow on it, don't reach further than 15 kilometers, where the snow just stops abruptly. This, Commander Westland realises, is very unlikely.

It gets more unbelievable as they go along. Inside the mountain, in a cave, they find a ladder which leads to a cavern, filled with palmtrees and a hot spring. It's warmer in there than on the surface. It's impossible that this can exist here.

In order to not freeze to death, the crew take as many readings as possible, before heading back to the Gibraltar. There, the crew discusses what this means. They find that the device in orbit emits holographic signals... the mountain and the snow and all are a very sophisticated hologram! But why? The obvious question is quickly asked: could it be Slade?

However, speculation would need to wait for later, since the crew tries to find a way to disable the device. They quickly find one, and as the device is disabled, the holograms disappear. The planet turns back to normal, but the device explodes just as it's brought to the cargobay. Unfortunately, there's no way to know who did this and why...