PLEASE EMAIL ME AT ha.david.125@gmail.com FOR HINTS! There is no penalty for them. I am happy to help with this or any other puzzle! The last time I did a puzzlehunt, I believe I requested > 10 hints. And it was a short hunt.
ERRATA: 6/9/2020: Added additional flavor text to first paragraph to help clue theme of puzzle.
“Wow, Captain,” says Commander Riker. “I never knew you were such a huge fan of collectibles.”
“Indeed, Number One. I thought it was commonplace for young men to collect model ships such as I did, but apparently my inventory is somewhat unusual.” responds Captain Picard.
“Not at all, Captain. I didn’t collect model ships, I suppose I was more interested in collectible cards. I wonder where they’ve gone off to these days? I think they must have been Premiere Unlimited.”
The door to the Captain’s quarters slide open with a whoosh.
“Captain. Commander.” says Lieutenant Commander Data, “Pardon the interruption, but the U.S.S. Galaxy is requesting a tractor pull.”
“I see. We do have a mission in another sector to get to, so add our range to the Galaxy’s range to find out how close we have to get to them.” replies Picard.
“Very well, Captain.”
“Captain, a Romulan ship is hailing us.” reports Lieutenant Worf.
Captain Picard, seated in the captain’s chair, was surprised. “All the way out here? Put them on visual, Mr. Worf.”
A Romulan appears on the ship’s monitor.
“This is Palteth. I demand that the Federation keeps its men off of this planet. The Romulans have sole claim to this territory, and I will defend it with all of my strength!”
The display turns off.
Riker looked at Picard, who says under his breath, “Yes, but multiply it with your integrity, and you still wouldn’t have much.”
The bridge of the Enterprise was quiet for once, when suddenly, alarms started blaring. Everyone on the bridge looks around confused, when Geordi comes rushing in.
“Captain! We’ve just passed through a sector with Gaps in normal space! The pockets phase out certain parts of the ship and have damaged the engineering deck! We need to move out of here, now!”
“Mr. Crusher, warp speed!”
“Yes, Captain!”
“Geordi, is there any other damage?”
“I don’t believe there was any other structural damage. However, it may have affected crew members who have phased through parts of the ship as well.”
Picard activates the communicator on his chair.
“Doctor Crusher? Are there any crew members who have been injured?”
“Yes, Captain, several. I’m treating most of them for shock as well.”
“How many have been killed?”
“I’m not sure Captain. I’ll have to check on that and get back to you.”
At last, the Enterprise arrives at its destination.
Picard gestures to Riker and Worf to join him in his ready room.
He begins, “As you two know, we are soon to begin our diplomatic mission. The three of us will be headed to the surface, along with one other personnel. Number One, who do you recommend?”
“Considering this is a diplomatic mission,” began Riker, “I think we should bring Riva. He is a skilled negotiator and his abilities would be invaluable.”
“Indeed, he certainly has integrity. Now, Mr. Worf, what do you know about the other diplomat, Divok?”
Worf explains, “Divok is still young, Captain, and relatively inexperienced. However, based on what I’ve heard of him, he also has quite a lot of integrity. If you were to put it together with Riva’s, I’m sure the negotiations will be successful.”
“Very well, Mr. Worf. We will proceed right away.” said Picard.
“Hold on a second, Captain,” interrupted Riker, “I think it may be useful to bring Counselor Troi as well. Her skills as an empath will ensure we have a better understanding of the negotiations.”
“You could be right, Number One. But are you sure she’s up to the challenge of negotiating with the Klingons?” asked Picard.
“She has more cunning than she lets on, Captain. Add that to the number of skills she has and you have a worthy diplomatic foe.”
“Very well, Number One. Make it so.”
“Captain, before you go,” says Wesley Crusher, “Starfleet Command is requesting an update on our current mission priorities and how this diplomatic envoy will affect our response times.”
“After this meeting, it is absolutely crucial that we execute the Pegasus search. We must find the U.S.S. Pegasus before it is too late. The value of that mission is immense.” responds Picard. “We will have to drop our other mission of restoring the errant moon. Subtract it from our docket.”
“How was the meeting?” asks Geordi La Forge.
“It went swimmingly,” answers Troi, “Not only have we reached an agreement about the use of mining vehicles in this sector, we have elected to undergo a joint mission with the Klingons in studying a nearby Stellar Collision.”
“It should earn us some points with Starfleet,” adds Riker.