To see the cards themselves, check out this Card list for the Motion Pictures expansion set.

"Knows the Enterprise like the back of his hand. With his help, a chimpanzee and two trainees could run her."

-ENGINEER, Miracle Worker, ENGINEER, Astrophysics, Computer Skill x2; SD Divert Power; May meet any one additional staffing requirement; Command icon

-INTEGRITY: 7, CUNNING: 8, STRENGTH: 4

PICTURE: A jovial pic taken from Star Trek VI's last scene. Charming, though rather dull in the color department. Almost looks like he's posing for the picture, which shouldn't really be appropriate. Let's call it a rather average 3.

LORE: A lot of fun second-hand quotes from the films. The first is from Star Trek V, just before he knocks his head on a cross-beam. And the second is from Star Trek III, when he rigs the stolen Enterprise to be flown with only a bridge crew. Great humor throughout and certainly highlights the fact that he's a Miracle Worker (see below). In two short lines, the lore manages to score 4.5.

TREK SENSE: A lot of the card trickles down from his rigging the Enterprise to run with a minimal bridge crew. It definitely proves he's a Miracle Worker. Double-Engineer and double-Computer Skill? Check! Meeting two staffing requirements? Yes, but with caveats attached. I mean, he has the Command (was a "captain of engineering"), AU and CF icons to choose from and ANY other requirement, which may include at wide variety of things, from "Vulcan" and "Pakled", to the OCD and Maquis icons. We can buy it though, as he's such a great Engineer, he can figure out even an alien ship (case in point: the HMS Bounty). Some anomalies remain, like Gomtuu and a commandeered Borg Scout Vessel, where I dare say it would be harder to justify his staffing. The Divert Power download could be related to the Star Trek III mission, but doesn't need that link. Scotty did a lot of power diversion, from weapons to engines, etc. during his career. Likewise, Astrophysics is unrelated, and probably based on his helping the ship go through Galactic Barriers and other phenomena throughout his time in Starfleet. Transporter Skill is there inside Miracle Worker. Doesn't have to use it much in the movies, since there's usually someone else there for that, but it's not below him yet. For example, he gets Kirk and McCoy off Rura Penthe, uses the transporter in ST III and IV, etc. As for attributes, only Strength has gone down from the OS version of Scotty due to age and general fitness. Integrity makes him still one of the "Starfleet cowboys", and Cunning supports his many skills. Not a bad snapshot of the movie-era Scotty, the small problems are mostly forgivable. A 4.5.

STOCKABILITY: This Mr. Scott is useful whether you're playing an OS, CF or more general Fed deck. For the two AU eras, of course, he'll be easily switcheable. You put the OS Scotty on the OS Enterprise, and he boosts the ship's attributes. Even if you switch to the CF Scotty, the OS icon is covered, though you'd lose the bonuses (still somewhat simulatable with Divert Power, a handy download). In exchange, you get a wealth of skills, including the extremely rare Miracle Worker (Reunion, Duonetic Field Generator) and the built-in Transporter Skill. 2 ENGINEER is excellent, and Computer Skill x2? Aside from overcoming Ferengi Ingenuity and Scanner Interference, it gives us a way to download him very early with Quark's Isolinear Rods. Astrophysics is nice too, and indeed, he passes a lot of dilemmas with them (not to mention Blended). Staffing needs are cut down when he's around, perhaps making the Future Enterprise or backwards-compatible ship more of a bargain. You could also use it to fly ships you normally couldn't, whether that's the Fesarius, Phoenix (say you've lost Zefram Cochrane) or a commandeered Borg Scout. A very solid 4.4.

TOTAL: 16.4 (82%) Beats Mr. Spock!

#2191-Nanclus, Personnel, Romulan, AU, CF, TMP

"Romulan Ambassador to the Federation in 2293. Conspired with Admiral Cartwright and General Chang in the assassination of Chancellor Gorkon."

-VIP, Diplomacy, Treachery, Tal Shiar, Geology; May work with [Fed] and [Kli] cards if no Honor present

-INTEGRITY: 4, CUNNING: 9, STRENGTH: 6

PICTURE: Though Nanclus has a couple things wrong with him biologically - the TNG-era forehead ridge is missing, and his five o'clock shadow's a bit strong for a Romulan - the pic shows off the nice costume. No background to speak of... Let me stop here at an average 3.

LORE: His post and role in Star Trek VI and nothing else. Another average 3.

TREK SENSE: An Ambassador would be, as a rule, a VIP with Diplomacy. Treachery is natural for a Romulan, but in this case, he truly deserves it for conspiring to kill the leaders of both the Klingon Empire and the Federation. The fact that he did so in collusion with those two affiliations' personnel explains the rather neat special skill. Honorable personnel would not work against their own governments, but history has shown (no need to think farther back than the Duras family) that the Romulans are good at working with traitors and potential traitors. Not sure the lack of Honor should be enough, maybe a little Treachery in there would help, but his Cunning makes him out to be manipulative enough to work magic on simple non-Honor personnel. Not only is he manipulative, but they've decided to chronologically make him the first Tal Shiar personnel we have. This is invention, but not much of a leap. I love that it fills in a small bit of Star Trek history. Geology is a skill I can't explain, however. There's nothing in any of the conspiracy that relates to Geology, and he certainly doesn't use the skill at any time. Integrity at 4 means that what Treacherous acts he commits, he commits for his people. The Strength is that of a rather passive dignitary, adjusted upwards for his species. So one anomalous skill? That merely lowers the score to 3.5.

STOCKABILITY: The Romulans don't make much of an appearance in the films, so there is no CF Romulan faction. Nanclus' special skill fixes that problem by allowing him to mix with either Klingons or Feds (CF and otherwise) as long as no Honor personnel are present. That limits you somewhat, since Feds and Klingons often have Honor, the latter frequently building their decks around the skill. But Nanclus only needs some kind of AU doorway to just work with the regular Romulans, which you might want him to do if Tal Shiar is important to your strategies (Plans, Advanced D'deridex, a Brig, Flaxian Assassin, etc.). He does report for free to the Continuing Committee, after all. With Treachery, he'll fit right in with Romulan designs, and he's got a couple of planet-side skills working for him as well as high CUNNING. A chance for other affiliations to make use of Tal Shiar? Perhaps, but aside from the Flaxian Assassin double-kill, there's not much to recommend this for. A fair 3.4 then.

TOTAL: 12.9 (64.5%) Joins Major Rakal at that level, so he's not all bad.

#2205-No, Kirk... The Game's Not Over, Interrupt, TMP

"'From hell's heart, I stab at thee! For hate's sake... I spit my last breath at thee!'"

-Plays if you just changed a mission's point value using The Genesis Device. Discard all planet facilities, landed ships, and ships in orbit there, and all personnel on planet.

PICTURE: The earth tones and general framing weaken this picture of an otherwise memorable scene. Technical details drive the score down to 2.8.

LORE: The title is a pretty long quote already, and the lore gets deeper into it, going for some of Moby Dick. Prefigures the 2E style and is quite good, though the title goes a bit far, especially in naming Kirk. It's just not generic enough. I do like the double-entendre about the card game though. Manages a 3.8.

TREK SENSE: The Genesis Device just doesn't do enough by itself, and this card is the fix. See, the Device either makes a planet into a paradise, subverting its points for a greater goal (doubling them), or destroys the mission site (reducing its points to zero). But it ignores the fact that any use of the Genesis Device would be destructive to whatever was already on that planet. This interrupt remedies the situation by adding such effects to the use of the Device. Basically, anything on the planet (facilities, ships and personnel) are destroyed. Furthermore, if we go by the wide range of the Device at the end of ST II, ships in orbit are also destroyed. Not space facilities though? We could always say using the Device without No Kirk is akin to the cave experiment inside the asteroid, but that this unleashes the genesis effect full force. It's a 4, no more, since it's tied to a somewhat flawed concept (as we'll see eventually).

STOCKABILITY: The Genesis Device can be worth points to Khan or Kruge, but whether you score from it or not, you can also use it as a weapon. When you drop the Artifact on a planet, you may zero its points at the start of your turn, rendering it useless. But why stop there? Play No Kirk on it at that time, and all cards here are discarded in one fell swoop. And thanks to the short countdown, you can even get away. But so can your opponent! Well, here's a use for Samuel Clemens' Pocketwatch (sacrificing one of your personnel, and possibly a ship in the process). No Kirk remains a great incentive for dropping the Device on a homeworld (to destroy the HQ) or Colony. Your opponent better have been using an Outpost or Nor to report personnel, because they might lose their only means. Note that if you have the means to attempt your opponent's mission, you might use the Device to double the mission's points, then destroy any opposition there. Fly back in and cement your 2-mission win. Maybe the Game is Over after all. A powerful, destructive card, only balanced by The Genesis Device's own failsafes, which aren't overwhelming. A 4.5.

TOTAL: 15.1 (75.5%) Just short of the top 10 interrupts.

#2219-Now Would Be a Good Time, Dilemma, planet, TMP

"With insufficient transporter power for Scotty to beam him off the aircraft carrier Enterprise, Chekov was captured and interrogated by the US Navy. Being Russian didn't help him."

-Unless Transporter Skill aboard your ship or facility here beams up entire Away Team, one personnel present (opponent's choice) is captured. Discard dilemma.

PICTURE: The depth of field here is indicative of the quality the movies over that of television episodes. Colors are pretty neutral, but the amount of detail makes it work nonetheless. A funny moment too, great expression, etc. A 3.7.

LORE: The story's well told within the space provided (note the mention of that other Enterprise), and they even find a way to drop in a joke at the end, in that classic STCCG dry humor style. Nice title too. A 3.9.

TREK SENSE: The local antagonists are converging on your Away Team's position, so your ship or facility gets a call to beam them all up. There's some kind of interference or mechanical trouble, however, so your Transporter Skill aboard ship to do so (or at a facility here). If you don't, those enemy forces capture one personnel, which may mean that these forces are in the service of the opposing affiliation, or that this affiliation can trade with the locals for the prisoner when they come in to escort it. In ST IV, Chekov managed to run for it, but was captured. In the game, the entire Away Team makes a break for it, and all but one gets away. That's a bit of a cheat, but it's ok. What's not so ok is that the capture is opponent's choice. I believe that, in such a situation, you'd get who you could, possibly the slowest of the group. That's the only real black mark on an otherwise fine effect, although there is some question as to whether or not the Away Team now aboard ship should remain unstopped after this incident. A 3.8.

SEEDABILITY: Like Crisis, this dilemma requires your opponent to keep a personnel aboard ship during a planet mission attempt. That's not always on your mind unless you've scanned the location, though there's no reason to bring Transporter Skill on planet missions as far as dilemmas go (2E does bring in Close Call and Whisper in the Dark, but Transporter Skill has alternatives). Missions like Liberation, Mine Dilithium, Rescue Prisoners, Restock Supplies, and Restore Victims do require it though, so you might get a lucky seeding location. If it hits, the mission attempt ends ("unless"), and one personnel is captured. Your choice too! That's excellent, but you need to get there quick to escort the captive before it's freed by the unstopped Away Team. Get there fast (or play Brainwash as fast as you can, etc.). Transporter Skill or not, the beaming must be legal, so Atmospheric Ionization, Distortion Field, Particle Scattering Beam and Transport Inhibitor could be useful pollution here, and the Kazon would be in trouble. And with the skill being rather rare, and personnel only seldom left aboard ships or facilities during mission attempts, you get a solid chance of stopping a mission attempt and getting your choice of capture. Even when it doesn't hit, there's a small delay as the Away Team has to beam away and back, and again, pollution cards can slow things down even more. A strong 3.8.

TOTAL: 15.2 (76%) Good cards... good times.

#2232-Observe Ritual, Mission, planet, Federation, TMP

Vulcan: Transport Vulcan crew member to their home planet to participate in a cultural ceremony.

-Vulcan + Diplomacy + Anthropology

-Span: 4; 35 points; Vulcans and Amanda Grayson may report on planet.

PICTURE: We've waited a long time for Vulcan to arrive, but visually, it's just a orange desert planet. Well realized, but uninteresting. A 2.5.

LORE: Though pulled from Star Trek III, it's phrased in such a way as to include TOS and Enterprise episodes (like "Amok Time", for example) as well. A subtle thing perhaps, but much appreciated. The title can be seen as other people "observing" their Vulcan friend's ritual, or that Vulcan "observing" the ritual as we might observe Christmas, etc. A cool 3.5.

TREK SENSE: There are Vulcan in other affiliations, but the planet is part of the Federation, and only Federation personnel might be invited to observe a sacred Vulcan ritual. You have to provide the Vulcan, first of all, but I then wish the other skills were specifically required from OTHER personnel. See, Anthropology creates an interest in the Ritual (and perhaps enough familiarity with the culture than you'd finagle an invitation). Diplomacy gets you in the door. If these skills come from the Vulcan (or even other Vulcans), it doesn't work as well. Why would you need these skills to observe your own traditions? I also think the points are a bit high for this kind of thing. It's a pretty passive mission after all. It's a rare occasion for outsiders to witness a Vulcan ritual, sure, but the consequences here are too personal for 35 points. Now that we know Vulcan's close to Earth, I don't think there's a real call for such a high Span either. It was a major detour in "Amok Time", I guess. Finally, we have a very sensible reporting ability allowing Vulcans to report directly here. They're the natives after all. Amanda Rogers also lives here as a native, so she can too. Good catch. That doesn't save it from a below average 2.5.

SEEDABILITY: Vulcan offers an easy mission and an outpost-like effect. All you need to complete it is a Vulcan with Diplomacy and Anthropology. Sound like anyone you know? How about the universal Lojal? Amanda Grayson can also supply the skills (and a way to report Sareks and Spocks for free), but not the species directly. There are plenty of Vulcans to choose from in the Federation, and even some Non-Aligned support, and the best thing is, it doesn't matter what quadrant they're from. First Officer Spock and Tuvok, for example, can also report here. Watch out, so can your opponent's Vulcans (but that's no worse than an HQ). This makes a Vulcan deck much more viable, and encourages the inclusion of Vulcan support cards like the Lander, Mindmeld, Death Grip, Nerve Pinch, Live Long and Prosper, and Fal-tor-pan (which allows Vulcans to go from the top of the draw deck directly to the mission). Even if you don't, it's still an incredibly easy 35 points (45 with mission specialists). A strong 4.

TOTAL: 12.5 (62.5%) Not as hot as the location would sound like.

#2243-Pa'rena, Personnel, Non-Aligned, universal, TMP

"Son'a female. Chief science officer of the Li'seria. Part of the team that perfected mass production of ketracel-white for trade with the Dominion."

-SCIENCE, Physics, Exobiology; Your Ketracel-White may report here, for free; Staff icon

-INTEGRITY: 5, CUNNING: 7, STRENGTH: 4

PICTURE: We're someone more used to this look on a woman than on a man, probably because of those terrible Swan shows, so Pa'rena looks, by all accounts, pretty good. The gold threads and scarf-like headgear help sell the idea of an old movie star trying to recover her looks. Good, interesting background, if a bit dark. A solid 3.6.

LORE: Very, very specific, so universality isn't acknowledged, but we'll have to think of her as a typical Son'a science officer, I guess. I like the last sentence though, taking information we know about the Son'a and giving it specifically to a member of the species. The Son'a are so few, this isn't a stretch at all (pun not intended, I assure you). So a win overall, I should think. Scores 3.

TREK SENSE: Not discussed as a universal, but we can imagine her as the typical Son'a science officer, typical Son'a female, and typical member of the team that produced ketracel-white. Thus, the Science classification is indisputable, and Exobiology not only covers the white production, but the exploitation of the Ba'ku planet's biogenic field. That's where Physics also comes in, dealing with metaphasic particles, and all that. (No real connection to Collect Metaphasic Particles though.) Back to the white, the mass production of that Equipment turns up as free reporting at her location. Staff icon's fine. Attributes? Integrity is selfish and morally dodgy, but like other Son'a, she acts out of desperation and survival, not evil. Her Cunning is perhaps low for her position. Aren't the Son'a supposed to be more scientifically advanced than many races? Strength is standard for her gender, age and post. Well done on the skills, one point of contention on the attributes. A very good 3.9.

STOCKABILITY: A fair NA SCIENCE personnel, Pa'rena is just ok when it comes to skills, icons and attributes. The Son'a, as a group with their own ships, can be used thematically, and she'll play her part there, bringing skills others of her species don't have. Unfortunately, she has nothing that's required of Briar Patch missions or of Collect Metaphasic Particles. Dilemmas it is then. She's best used with the Dominion, of course, where she makes Ketracel-White report for free at her location (any of her locations, since she's universal). That's great against White Deprivation, though not as much as it would be without that card's existence (i.e. when Jem'Hadar NEEDED White no matter what). She's not a must by any means, and could even be considered something of a one-trick pony, only used by the Dominion. A 3.2 should do.

TOTAL: 13.7 (68.5%) But wait 'til the surgery is completed.

#2255-Prefix Code Transmission, Interrupt, TMP

"Each starship is assigned a unique security code to prevent remote access to its vital systems. With knowledge of the code, a ship can be ordered to lower its own shields."

-Plays on your ship when firing on a target that has a matching affiliation icon or that your infiltrator is aboard. Opposing DEFENSE total reduced by half (round down).

PICTURE: Shields going down on the Reliant, but only as a graphic. I dunno... It's not that clear that's what's happening, and the text on the screen is sadly unreadable. The brown wall surrounding the screen is dull and featureless. I don't know that I'd have been kinder to a shot of the Code itself, but this is disappointingly ordinary. A 2.4.

LORE: Something of Kirk's lesson to Saavik, with the exact tactic used against Reliant. A good 3.1.

TREK SENSE: This card only represents one thing you can do with a ship's Prefix Code, so is naturally incomplete when you consider the title. No matter, as a representation of the specific tactic used in Wrath of Khan, it does a bit better. A bit. To have the Prefix Code of an opposing ship, that ship must be either of the same affiliation as yours (you'd have the Code in your databanks, since we're all "one happy fleet") or have a man aboard, i.e. an infiltrator. But what about a commandeered vessel? Seems like the card was made for them, and yet they would not be considered of the same affiliation (the icon is changed to the commandeering affiliation's). Perhaps an actual commandeering effort would be complete enough to change the Prefix Code. In the Reliant example, though Khan might use the ship in Non-Aligned mode, it still has the Federation icon and can be targeted. Fine. But what about the reversed situation? Why would a Non-Aligned vessel (say the Husnock) have the Reliant's Prefix Code? Some ships don't even have the right affiliation for purposes of this card, like the Stolen Attack Ship (should be targetable by the Dominion), the B'rel (by the Klingons) and the Naprem (ditto). As for the effect, it's also incomplete. In the film, the Code was used to make Reliant lower her Shields. Here, that side's Defense total is cut in half. That is not equivalent! A ship not using a Tactic would simply have its Shields halved. Not the same. Even with a Tactic involved, it'll never equate with a total loss of Shields. I understand that it would make PFT much too powerful, but Trek Sense doesn't see it that way. A ton of problems reduces the score to 2.

STOCKABILITY: Though this'll work when fighting against your own affiliation (with Klingons or HQ: Defensive Measures, for example), and in lucky breaks when your opponent is using dual-affiliation ships, this is best used in an infiltrator strategy. That's the best way to make sure you have targets! So it's a simple interrupt that cuts a ship's DEFENSE total in half (rounded down, baby), which may just mean cutting a ship's SHIELDS in half when no Battle Bridge side-deck is used. That can increase your chances of getting a direct hit, especially if YOU're using Tactics. Similarly, it may help your medium-sized ship successfully battle larger warships. Throw in Inside Operation for even more of an advantage. So it's good stuff, but opportunities to use it may be sparse or non-existent (not all affiliations are easy to infiltrate). A 3.4.

TOTAL: 10.9 (54.5%) Something of a mess, but not a wash.

#2267-Rae'alin, Personnel, Non-Aligned, universal, TMP

"One of the Son'a assigned to the Ba'ku duck blind operation. Has been secretly looking for opportunities to steal technology from the Federation installation."

-ENGINEER, Geology, Anthropology, Archaeology; Staff icon

-INTEGRITY: 5, CUNNING: 7, STRENGTH: 5

PICTURE: Gray and kinda dull, Rae'alin also suffers from some blurriness. Being in half-shadow and keeping to himself, if not outrightly hiding, is good for the character though. An average 3.

LORE: I'd forgotten that some Son'a were on the planet, observing with the Federation team, but this is a good reminder, and a good excuse for some very different skills. The second sentence is an excellent extrapolation of general Son'a motives. Not much acknowledgement of universality ("one of..."), but still a pretty cool 3.6.

TREK SENSE: We'll have to imagine Rae'alin is typical of Son'a assigned to the duck blind (were there that many?), but in any case, he would need Archaeology and Anthropology to be logically assigned there. Geology acts as a partner to Archaeology, but may also be closer to his real reasons for participating - you know, to see of there's a geological component to the youthening energies. Perhaps he just helped set up the duck blind in the rock face. The line about trying to steal Federation secrets betrays his true function as an Engineer rather than a Science personnel. Staff icon's fine, of course. Integrity's under average to account for his industrial espionage, though the Son'a are a lot like the Vidiians - they're more desperate than evil. Cunning's above average to have him do this work. Strength's not too high probably because of general health. Universals are often simple designs, but the lack of information on them makes it harder for them to come into focus. A 3.5 should do on this one.

STOCKABILITY: Though Son'a are required to uphold Son'a ship attributes and complete Collect Metaphasic Particles (a useful objective), it never says WHICH Son'a to use. Indeed, Ru'afo and a single backup may be more than enough unless you're using more than one ship. Still, if a Son'a-themed deck interests you, you'll want as many skills as possible coming from Son'a sources. Rae'alin is your man for many planet-based endeavors in such a case. In other decks, there may not be much incentive to use him however. 3 skills? Bah. Can't be Assigned, and nothing here you won't find elsewhere. I'm gonna keep it at a 3.

TOTAL: 13.1 (65.5%) All depends on what you want to do.

#2279-Regnor, Personnel, Klingon, AU, CF, universal, TMP

"Trained medic serving under Kruge. Like most serving aboard smaller Klingon vessels, is more often called upon as a soldier."

-MEDICAL, Exobiology, Anthropology; Staff icon

-INTEGRITY: 6, CUNNING: 7, STRENGTH: 7

PICTURE: That blue background contrasts nicely with the Klingon template, creating a unique look. Perhaps because of the pacifying influence of that blue, Regnor looks more compassionate and doctorly. A simple but effective 3.5.

LORE: Is "like most" supposed to be an indication of universality? It doesn't QUITE read that way. Other than that, it's fine lore, telling us about the Klingons in general more than Regnor here. A 3.2.

TREK SENSE: Meant to represent the typical medic (Medical) on a Klingon bird-of-prey, the skills don't really fit the idea. The lore makes it sound like he should have Security, for example. Biology would also be a better fit for a medic who has to dress wounds on his own people, than Exobiology here. When we see Exo with Anthropology, it usually means the character is well informed about at least one alien species, sometimes from having lived among its members. There's no indication of that here, not in the more xenophobic movie era. Attributes are fine, all around, fitting his classification and lore. But the skills are ill-chosen (or at least, ill-explained), so he just a 2.5 here.

STOCKABILITY: As a support personnel, the proper Assign card can fit Regnor into non-CF decks, though obviously he patches skill holes in that group more readily. The Klingons certainly don't mind another MEDICAL, and both his skills are useful against dilemmas. Solid attributes too. Since he CAN be Assigned, he might as well help in the DQ with Hunt Alien and Study Interstellar Colony, because his skill set isn't as well tuned in to AQ missions. Solid enough for a 3.4.

TOTAL: 12.6 (63%) Nothing flashy about support personnel.

#2291-Release This Pain, Incident

-"Share your pain with me..." Plays once each turn for free on a personnel present with your Sybok. (Limit one per personnel.) "...and gain strength from the sharing." Personnel loses all Treachery, is under your control, cumulatively adds 1 to X on The Discovery of Sha Ka Ree, and may work with your Sybok (and any other personnel you are controlling with Release This Pain).

PICTURE: A weird sort of forced mindmeld, a bit drab in the color department, but well acted in the picture by both McCoy and Sybok. Its beigeness keeps it at 3.4.

LORE: This Incident HAS lore, and I have to acknowledge it. The quotes secreted into the game text have to count for something, and are an interesting device to create various effects related to the concept, in nice counterpoint to one another. The effect is in two parts, and so is the quote. A 4.

TREK SENSE: Storyline-intensive, I have a feeling it'll do well in this category. This is a Sybok's trick in ST V, and nothing we've seen elsewhere, so he has to be present. He can make anyone with him Release their Pain, but it doesn't stop him or the person to do so. I'd think it takes some time and energy to "convert" a personnel, what with the scenes he has them relive. I can't accept it plays for free either. No real problem with Releasing the Pain of an android, since we've seen Vulcans mindmeld with machines before, but it's still debatable if they have pain without emotion chips. When you are converted to Sybok's cause, you come under his control, quite naturally, and may work with him (who usually only works with Non-Aligneds) and with other converts (no matter their affiliation). The pre-converted personnel (General Korrd and company) are not designated as converts here, so you would have to play RTP on them too if you wanted them to collaborate with new converts. Our first outright mistake. You also lose Treachery, which may seem odd given that Sybok's gang hijacked a ship (he himself has Treachery), but they weren't really capable of malice. Again, this could be debatable, but it's not a major problem. Treachery does imply intent. The other effect is connected to The Discovery of Sha Ka Ree, and basically puts Sybok in the convert's lore. In other words, you become just like Korrd, J'Onn, et al. - part of a micro-faction. To recreate Sybok's plan, you need a card like this, and it does so quite well. Some mechanical elements are more questionable, but RTP gets a good 4.

STOCKABILITY: A neat deck theme, it nonetheless might require you to go around a few Referee cards to work. Let's start with how it works. You get Sybok into play and start playing Release This Pain on any other personnel you report or on opposing personnel. Sybok can download one, but they all play for free, once per turn. Once they've seen Sybok's point of view, they're good to go to The Discovery of Sha Ka Ree and score as many as 100 points from a single mission. Something like In the Zone could stop that many points from being scored however, The Big Picture might force you to then complete a space mission anyway, and besides, can you afford 10 turns to convert 10 personnel (that's if you don't lose any on the attempt). So ok, you're not really going for a 1-mission win. If made up of a lot of opposing personnel, you might have the skills to steal an opposing mission (if not protected by Fair Play). In any case, don't seed Treachery-related missions, since all your personnel lose that skill. Regardless of your other mission-solving activities, RTP provides a one-stop card for both capturing and brainwashing an opposing personnel, which may be enough to include it. There's no way out of its effect, plays for free and the personnel is never considered a captive for purposes of freeing it. J'Onn is a great personnel to have with Sybok when doing this, since he allows the Incident to be played during an opponent's turn, making your opponent doubly vulnerable. Using a Neutral Outpost or Ferengi Trading Post might help you report personnel from any affiliation, but you'd need to RTP them as soon as they got there, so in many cases, I would imagine Sybok still playing with NAs. A lot of neat tricks ("Vulcan assimilation"), and creates a passable deck type to boot. I'm gonna say 4.5.

TOTAL: 15.9 (79.5%) There, that didn't hurt, did it?

#2303-Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold, Objective, TMP

-Seeds on table during facility phase; you may download USS Reliant. Once each turn, your Khan (or any personnel with his name in lore) may report for free aboard USS Reliant; at the end of every turn, you must discard all other personnel you have in play. At start of each of your turns, if your Khan and The Genesis Device are aboard USS Reliant, score 30 points (only 15 if opponent has any Kirk in play).

PICTURE: Though Khan makes the title comment during the pictured scene, it doesn't quite fit the title. The game text makes use of the Reliant, and the pic is from there, but it's not engaging enough to be worth it. Weak colors, dull composition... I might have played with the Cold more and shown Reliant around the planetoid on which Khan maroons Kirk instead. Just a thought. As is, a boring 2.5.

LORE: N/A (score will be adjusted accordingly)

TREK SENSE: This objective attempts to recreate Khan's actions during ST II. Does it succeed? The idea is for Khan to get his hands on The Genesis Device, but from there, he does nothing with it, which is rather odd. He scores points for every turn he has it aboard the USS Reliant, as if that was the be-all and end-all of his goals. That "goal" is spoiled a little by Kirk's presence, since Khan can't stand the good captain being alive and well. Cute, but I don't really see how Khan scores points every round. Is the objective the equivalent of a universal Threaten Universe mission? Returning to the start of the card, the use of the Reliant is also suspect. While it recreates the events of the film, why can't Khan use another commandeered Federation ship? Well, there are no other Federation ships that are also Non-Aligned from that era (much less quadrant), so there's little other choice. Still, he should be allowed to commandeer a proper vessel and use that. Its appearance during the seed phase also leaves out part of the story, with Khan and his men reporting directly to it for free. To keep you honest about running this story, you're forced to get rid of all personnel that aren't aligned with Khan (those that mention him and Ceti Eel victims) at the end of your turn. They might make a cameo, but the focus is strictly on Khan and his followers, as a kind of very exclusive NA affiliation. Does a good job of setting up the pieces, but fails as a true objective. I'm thus of two minds, but have to lean in disfavor of the card. Manages 2.5 for the storytelling elements.

STOCKABILITY: RIADBSC is a very powerful objective, providing a deck type for Khan and his followers that's predicated on completing a single mission to pick up The Genesis Device, then staying away from opposing cards while they score 30 points per turn. A win should be obtained within 2 turns unless missions were not wisely chosen OR Kirk is in play. All the Kirks are good personnel, but they won't usually be seen outside of Federation decks. If Kirk is in play, he can still be killed, which could be Khan's secondary goal. RIADBSC sets things up real well by downloading the required ship right off the bat and making all allowed personnel reportable for free aboard. In exchange, you can't really use other personnel because they are discarded at the end of your turn. The one turn of existence is ample time to allow you to play Ceti Eel on them and make them part of the team. A Neutral Outpost could be used here, and I might recommend some 2E personnel that create an effect when reported. They are then Ceti Eeled and need not be discarded. Could be an interesting way to go (a Neutral Outpost would allow any affiliation to be used). Loading your deck with Khan-compatible personnel and getaway cards to keep your opponent away from the Reliant should work pretty well. Still a limited strategy, however, and one where things could go wrong (you need Khan out fast, for example, which Ready Room Door should take care of, and you have to fear from The Big Picture and Intermix Ratio... or from losing your Reliant). Scores a 4.

TOTAL: 12 (60%) I generally like TMP's storytelling efforts.

#2315-Riker Maneuver, Tactic, TMP

ATTACK: 4, DEFENSE: -1

-Requires ship at a nebula firing; ATTACK bonus +3 if William T. Riker aboard. Hit = [down][flip]. Direct hit = [down][flip][flip][flip], and another opposing ship present (your choice) is also hit = [flip][flip].

*Plasma containment rupture: opponent may immediately download Plasma Fire to this ship.

RANGE -2, WEAPONS -2, SHIELDS -2, HULL -30%

PICTURE: Saturated with color, this is a really distinctive Tactic, though perhaps it's too gummed up, a complain I had with the Briar Patch effects as a whole in Insurrection. Freeze-framed like this, they look even more painterly. Still a striking image, as cool or cooler than most, with the angle on the Son'a ships being its weakest aspect. Going for a 3.9.

LORE: N/A (score will be adjusted accordingly)

TREK SENSE: The Riker Maneuver consists in igniting nebulous matter (you need to be at a nebula), embroiling ships in a firestorm. It was also done in "Vortex", I think, so is not unique to Insurrection, though Riker's implementation of the strategy makes him the best at doing it. A total Attack bonus of 7 for him seems a bit high, however. The baseline 4 is fine for a Tactic that 1) has surprise value and 2) can affect more than one ship. Since you have to basically place yourself in front of the opposing ship, the Defense bonus is actually a penalty. A direct hit will strike the pursuing ship full force, but the blast is so large that another ship can and will be hit as well, sustaining collateral damage. Any non-collateral hit will cause a Plasma containment rupture, which I don't really know about, but since the effect is to download Plasma Fire aboard that ship, I can believe it. Your ship gets hit by fire, so catches on fire. A nice idea. Attribute damage is fine. As a stand-alone damage marker, it makes sense as well, and we saw this sort of damage often enough to warrant a card for it. So though I think Riker's bonus is a bit high, I think the rest of the card is well thought out and expressive of onscreen events. A high 4.5.

STOCKABILITY: With its high Attack bonus of 4 and across-the-board damage of all attributes, Riker Maneuver is an excellent Tactic to stock in your side-deck. Provided, that is, that your ships have sufficient SHIELDS to shrug off the Defense penalty. Definitely doable, especially when you consider that a direct hit will dump two extra damage markers on a second opposing ship if one is present, making this card excellent for hunting armadas and Russian Doll ships, or to protect yourself against them. William T. Riker gets a +7 Attack bonus to help him do that, which can't really be used offensively unless you go around the Federation's attack restrictions. There's another thing: You have to be at a nebula for the Tactic to work. Patrol Neutral Zone decks will find this easy to do, obviously, but there are enough such missions to build a deck around (the Briar Patch also provides a universal nebula). Planet missions at nebulas are harder to find, but there are at least some, like Establish Station and Intelligence Operation. The damage marker is fairly good, hitting all parts of the ship, but offers no casualties. Instead, you get to download a Plasma Fire event on the affected ship. That card is never used for two reasons: 1) it's too easily nullified, and 2) given reason #1, you can't justify using up your card play on it. Well, the latter is dispelled here, since the Tactic makes it a free download. As for the former objection, a well-designed Battle Bridge side-deck can yield good results. If Photon Torpedoes kill off all the SECURITY, then the Plasma Fire can stay and do its job, which is continuing to damage the ship every turn. A direct hit will probably destroy a ship anyway though (Borg ships need not even apply), and a simple hit won't be able to kill off all the SECURITY, not with a single extra Tactic, so I'm not confident this would work. So a bit of a bust on the Plasma Fire thing, but the high bonuses and chance to hit multiple ships definitely puts the card ahead of most. A 4.

TOTAL: 16.53 (82.65%) Yep, top 5 material.

#2327-Ru'afo, Personnel, Non-Aligned, TMP

"Leader of the Son'a, a people banished from their home planet by the Ba'ku. Will let nothing stand in the way of his revenge upon them, least of all his Federation allies."

-OFFICER, ENGINEER, Biology, Leadership, Treachery x2, Astrophysics; SD Injector Assembly One; Command icon

-INTEGRITY: 3, CUNNING: 8, STRENGTH: 6

PICTURE: A really bright look, almost hospital-like, really makes this card stand apart. Neat background and a cool close-up. Should get it to 3.6.

LORE: Uses syntax to good effect, getting a lot of information in only two sentences. Given his look, a Scarface reference would have been nice, but a well done 3.4.

TREK SENSE: Ru'afo is Leader of an entire people, but it's a small group nonetheless. He's better described as a ship commander, and so an Officer with a Command icon. Like other Son'a, and the Ba'ku before them, he's highly advanced scientifically. The Ba'ku have rejected practical science, but the Son'a have embraced it. I'm talking about Engineer, of course. He's the mastermind behind Injector Assembly One, which he can download (though he builds it a bit fast, doesn't he?), which uses Astrophysics and Biology to turn metaphasic particles into rejuvenating energy. And at the cost of a world's ecosystem and any lives that might get in the way. That certainly justifies low Integrity and a double dose of Treachery. The Cunning's high as per his skills and technical achievement. And he's got a manic Strength that's enough to kill hand-to-hand, but still isn't too high. His body's shutting down, after all. It all works, even if the special download's a bit glib (hard to justify those huge things). A 4.

STOCKABILITY: Ru'afo's got a lot of nice skills for any non-Borg deck, but he's really the cornerstone of a Collect Metaphasic Particles deck. He provides (using his download) everything the objective requires AND (through his download's download) the objective itself. Keeping the area unopposed may be a matter of using the Briar Patch as a buffer zone, and/or having Rua'fo defend it aboard the Li'seria, a ship he is matching commander for. Plaqued and Logged, it's a high 11-11-11 ship that can fly more quickly than non-Son'a ships through the aforementioned patch. Complete CMP, and not only do you score points, but also get a double turn, a STRENGTH boost, and an unstopping ability for all your personnel. Red hot stuff. As a simple mission solver, he's also got the goods, with two classifications, a Biology/Astrophysics combo that should help plow through dilemmas, and Treachery x2, useful for Protection Racket and against Sabotaged Negotiations and Inside Collaborators, among other things. Hey, Leadership ain't bad either. So a good NA ship commander with more than a few tricks. A cool 4.3.

TOTAL: 15.3 (76.5%) Near the top, where he would expect himself to be.

#2339-Saavik, Personnel, Federation, AU, CF, TMP

"Vulcan cadet mentored by Spock. Steeped in rules and regulations, she prefers to do things 'by the book'. Was determined to learn how Kirk beat the Kobayashi Maru."

-OFFICER, SCIENCE, Navigation, Stellar Cartography, Mindmeld; SD Any [Ref] card OR Kobayashi Maru Scenario; Staff icon

-INTEGRITY: 7, CUNNING: 9, STRENGTH: 6

PICTURE: The Kirstie Alley Saavik is a better choice than the Robin Curtis one, I'll tell you that upfront. Nothing against Miss Curtis, but Kirstie was the original, and the game text is definitely axed towards her role in ST II. This happens to be her controversial tear-shedding at Spock's funeral, so it's an important moment. It suffers from 80s poofy hair and a dull background however. A 3.4.

LORE: Some good stuff here, such as her relationship to Spock, and her fixation on rules and regulations (including the "by the book" code phrase used by her superiors). The subplot about the Kobayashi Maru scenario, both hers and Kirk's is likewise acknowledged. I like what I read, and so a nice 3.6.

TREK SENSE: A helm (Navigation) Officer-in-training, Stellar Cartography would no doubt be part of her skill package even this early in her career. Vulcans are inherently good at Science, and in her case, will become her specialty by the time she becomes Robin Curtis ;-). Mindmeld goes on all (or most) Vulcans, of course. She's got the standard Fed Integrity, one of the good guys, but not afraid to question orders. Her Cunning is very high, which isn't unusual for her species. She did seem to be at the top of her class. Strength is likewise boosted by Vulcan physiology. That leaves the downloads. Both options are, as far as I'm concerned, conceptual in nature. The Referee card download is based on her knowledge of rules and regulations. Funny, but doesn't translate into Trek Sense (even if those cards did, which they often don't). The same can sort of be said of the Kobayashi Maru Scenario. The way it reads, she would have to be administering it to get the download. She was actually administered it. The downloads are was don't translate, but they're still conceptually fun. A 3.4.

STOCKABILITY: I'm not sure if her special downloads are that useful, since Referee icon cards can be downloaded via Q the Referee anyway, but you might need something on the same turn you brought up another Ref card. Or you could use the download for Kobayashi Maru Scenario, perhaps as a crew or Away Team starts an attempt, unaware that they'll have to put personnel under that incident. Saavik has to be there, of course, but if the plan is to ultimately stop your opponent, then swoop in to finish that mission (if possible), discarding his or her trapped personnel, you might have your own personnel there. Other than that, Saavik is a serviceable personnel with high attributes, 2 classifications, and fair skills for space missions. A Vulcan deck is quite doable within the CF theme, so there's a bunch of cards she can profit from there, including Fal-tor-pan, Live Long and Prosper, and the usual Death Grips, Nerve Pinches and Mindmelds. A minor point: She's cadet that can boost the backwards-compatible Valiant. Could be useful, but isn't necessarily so. A 3.5.

TOTAL: 13.9 (69.5%) Do you think Robin Curtis' version is doomed to oblivion?

#2351-Sam'po, Personnel, Non-Aligned, universal, TMP

"Tactical officer aboard the Li'seria. Among the most far gone of the Son'a - will likely die within a few months unless he receives metaphasic treatment."

-SECURITY, Navigation, Treachery, Stellar Cartography; Command icon

-INTEGRITY: 4, CUNNING: 7, STRENGTH: 5

PICTURE: He's funny! Great expression, and much thinner than other Son'a we've seen, which goes with his lore. He's also quite clear in the foreground, while the background offers nice, but not too distracting, shapes and technologies. A cool 4.

LORE: Doesn't work in universality, which is too bad. The rest stands up, with genuine sympathy for his situation. Works out to a good 3.4.

TREK SENSE: At tactical, so he has Security. The Command icon is perhaps puzzling, since he was clearly subordinate to Rua'fo, but since he's far gone, perhaps he's one of the older Son'a, and as such has had time to attain a greater rank. Yes, Worf also has a Command icon, but with the smaller party of Son'a, it didn't seem like there were such things as department heads per se. He's been pushed into Treachery and low Integrity (at 4, he's still loyal to his own people) by desperate times, but deserves them since he made use of a banned subspace weapon. Navigation and Stellar Cartography are useful for fighting in the Briar Patch, though they are less central to the character concept here. Cunning and Strength are fine, though the latter could have been less to accommodate the idea of being farther gone than others. As for universality, he could be representative of other tac officers, but the Command icon makes him more unique. It's a small glitch in a good overall design. A solid 3.5.

STOCKABILITY: No real incentive to use the Son'a together, though they have good ships that require their presence (and thus, cheap backups like Sam'po). If you lose Rua'fo, you'll need a Son'a and Treachery for Collect Metaphasic Particles, and Sam'po can supply both. Otherwise, you can use him in any deck that makes use of Non-Aligneds. With 3 skills, he hasn't got much of a chance there, even if all three (and both his classification and staffing icon) are useful. He's good in a Briar Patch theme deck, but lackluster otherwise. A 3.

TOTAL: 13.9 (69.5%) Yeah, he doesn't seem impressed with that.

#2363-Sarod, Personnel, Non-Aligned, AU, CF, universal, TMP

"Loyal follower of Khan. Served as the group's physician. With the extreme health of the 'supermen' rarely taxing his skills, he knew of nothing to save Marla McGivers."

-CIVILIAN; Draw a card when you place a Ceti Eel on a personnel here; Exobiology, Anthropology, MEDICAL; Staff icon

-INTEGRITY: 6, CUNNING: 8, STRENGTH: 10

PICTURE: Like some other Khanites, Sarod looks like a painting rather than a photograph. I don't know if it's some kind of digital enhancement or what (certainly, other characters have been edited out of the background). It looks weird. Also working against him is the fact that he looks like some kind of 19th-century American Indian with that costume and isn't meant to be. These oddities keep the card at 2.7.

LORE: Now this I like. It's invention, of course, but rather fun. If you're gonna extrapolate a doctor among a group of supermen, you may well give him little to do. Tying in McGivers' death is a brilliant move. Excellent stuff despite the lack of universality at 4.4.

TREK SENSE: Khan had more followers than there are cards for them, so some must be universal, yes. However, since doctors aren't needed much, it's hard to believe there would be more than one in the small group of survivors. That's why I don't buy universality here. Otherwise, it's a fair effort. You have a Non-Aligned Civilian, but with some Medical training. He doesn't have to work on the supermen much, so his knowledge of Biology wouldn't be enough to save McGivers. No Biology, then, but Exobiology that would result in the taming of the Ceti Eel. Anthropology isn't inappropriate (psychology, bedside manner, getting Khan not to kill you when you don't save your wife...), but doesn't register as obvious either. The Staff icon makes sense since everyone chipped in to fly Reliant. The special skill relates to the Ceti Eel in a more or less thematic way. The card draw when a Ceti Eel is played on someone may be his taking note of how the Eel is affecting someone, sort of ongoing research on the subject. He couldn't save his own crew from the Eels, so it could also be Khan ordering him to work on the problem. Meh. Attributes show a souped up mutant, with high Cunning and Strength. Integrity takes both the caregiver role and the fact he's a bad guy/wannabe tyrant into account. More good than ill, he gets a 3.5.

STOCKABILITY: All of Khan's followers are good in a Khan deck, that's obvious, and the Ceti Eel link makes sure that's where he'll play. He reports for free to the USS Reliant with Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold, along with the rest of the gang, and from there, provides incentive for the use of Ceti Eel. Mas'ud can download those Eels on any other personnel you care to report or hijack, and however they come into play, Sarod gets you a card draw when that happens. Khan decks can be pretty quick if you do things right, which is a must before your opponent has a chance to stop your Revenge strategy. He otherwise acts as the universal source of MEDICAL for the deck, with Exo and Anthro being good dilemma-passing and mission-solving skills as well. Great attributes, including INTEGRITY that won't prove hoseable. He's not as instrumental as some of the other Khanites, but should provide a certain edge. A 3.7.

TOTAL: 14.3 (71.5%) Helps to part of a tight faction.

#2375-Sharic, Personnel, Non-Aligned, universal, TMP

"Typical Tarlac, born into indentured servitude of the Son'a. Ru'afo's personal body sculpture attendant. Very good at what she does."

-MEDICAL, Biology, Computer Skill; If on your Son'a ship, cancels its restriction box

-INTEGRITY: 6, CUNNING: 5, STRENGTH: 6

PICTURE: Good contrast between foreground and background, with the latter's lines coming off as fairly dynamic. Sharic herself has a cute expression, and though clearly on the alien side, retains some sexiness. A memorable 3.5.

LORE: A mix of role, universality and use of lines from the movie. "Personal body sculpture attendant" is appropriately cryptic and the last line is likeable. A well-written 4.

TREK SENSE: There's no Son'a affiliation, but their ships do require at least one of them to be aboard to thematically create a Son'a subset. Since Tarlacs are part of the Son'a sub-affiliation, being their conquered servitors, they should have a link too. And they do. Sharic's special skill basically means she meets the Son'a ship requirements just as if she were Son'a species. Good, but not quite the same a having an actual Son'a aboard as staff. I don't imagine they let their servants alone on their warships. As far as skills go, being a personal body sculpture attendant makes her a Medical with Biology here. It's a kind of plastic surgery thingamajig, so that fits. Computer Skill doesn't raise too many eyebrows when on a 24th-century denizen, but here, at least the body sculpture machine was computer-driven. Integrity has her loyal to her masters and Medical often have a little more because they are caregivers. Only a 6 because she doesn't have a choice. The low Cunning is that of a bimbo, I suppose, representing a race that seems content with being slaves, or at least don't have any clue about how to stage a rebellion. Strength's on the high side for a dainty medical assistant (look at those slim shoulders). Some gains, some losses, but overall, a fair 3.4.

STOCKABILITY: No problem with a MEDICAL with Biology and Computer Skill, those are worthy skills, but Sharic has little else going for her unless you're into creating a thematic Son'a deck. IF all you need is to fulfill the Son'a ships' restriction box, why not use Son'a personnel instead? It's all the same price, isn't it? Those guys are no easier or harder to report than Sharic, and have staffing icons besides. Trying to avoid Hate Crime? It's not like you're gonna play ONLY Son'a, is it? Fine, but common, skills, and average attributes, that's all that's really in play here. A 3.

TOTAL: 13.9 (69.5%) Upper average, they should really hammer out a new deal with their masters.

#2387-Smooth as an Android's Bottom?, Interrupt, TMP

"Geordi once told Data that technological perfection can shave too close. That, of course, depends on the desired results."

-Once every turn, plays to reveal the bottom three cards of your draw deck. Take any non-personnel into hand; discard others. OR Prevents the death of any one Youth personnel.

PICTURE: There's an odd sheen to Data's face here, and the background is pretty dull (though the middle line has a use in composition), but the expressions are right, and it's overall a fun moment and picture. I'd say as high as 3.6.

LORE: Fun title from a line in Insurrection, but the lore comes from somewhere else entirely: s shaving scene from Code of Honor. We have an expression in French, "du coq à l'âne", that translates as "from the rooster to the donkey". It indicates an abrupt change of subject. It disappoints, unfortunately, so no more than a 3.

TREK SENSE: Totally conceptual, as are most resource management cards, so don't go looking for any direct relationships with androids, beardless Rikers, or anything. The first effect has you "shave" the bottom of your deck for a card, though you might shave too close and lose personnel to the discard pile. Conceptually, you shave close to your skin, which is on the surface of your body, and thus, more akin to the top of the draw deck. Of course, we're talking about an android's Bottom here, so that's where the idea comes from. Your deck gets Smooth on the Bottom. Losing personnel is like drawing blood, so that aspect works a bit better. The second effect is more thematic than conceptual, with a beardless Youth being saved from death. A "close shave" with death, you might say, though plenty of personnel are beardless, including most women. And no Barbering? Aww. Necessarily low, I still think it's cute enough for a 1.2.

STOCKABILITY: Mr. Smooth here is a very useful tool for deck manipulation, and in more than one way. It can be used, of course, to simply burn your deck from both ends (at the very least, you burn the top by simply drawing cards from it). You might lose personnel (retrievable from the discard pile anyway), but any non-personnel cards go into hand. You know when all your important cards are trapped under your deck? Well, no more. With a cycling strategy like ore processing, you know exactly what you're getting. Discarded cards go to the bottom of the deck, where Smooth can immediately retrieve them. A triple Palor Toff, in a sense. And you never know, but you might feel the need to save a Youth personnel from being killed. Not all affiliations are replete with Youth, but the Feds, for example, are; the Borg could do worse than save their unique brats; etc. And Collect Metaphasic Particle makes this function universal. If you use a number of Smooth cards and a cycling strategy, you'll be able to retrieve Smooth cards are reuse them as well. It's practically autosufficient. A strong 4.4.

TOTAL: 12.2 (61%) Another close shave.

#2399-Son'a Battleship, Ship, Non-Aligned, universal, TMP
"Fast and deadly, the largest of Son'a ships carry isolytic subspace weapons banned by the Khitomer Accord."

-Son'a Battleship[1 Command, 2 Staff] Son'a shuttlecraft may report, be carried, and launch aboard; Tractor Beam; Attributes all -3 unless Son'a in crew

-RANGE: 10, WEAPONS: 10, SHIELDS: 9

PICTURE: Really strange design, and the Briar Patch background lifts the monotony of the standard starfields, but there's a blurriness or graininess here that really hurts the picture. The ship is almost bit-mappy. No sense of scale either. A poor 2.4.

LORE: Likeable enough, with some toothy adjectives and a nice historical reference. A good 3.4 despite its brevity.

TREK SENSE: The Son'a Battleship was a match for the Enterprise-E in Insurrection, so should have similar attributes. It does. It's about as fast, and skewed more towards Weapons with that banned subspace weapon than Shields (the Enterprise survived the battle, whereas the Battleship did not). To keep Son'a aboard despite the NA nature of the ship, there's a restriction box, which is more for storytelling than anything. However, the Son'a interface seemed unique enough to warrant such a restriction. They are a highly advanced species and their tech may well be harder to understand. I think shuttles should always be able to report, be carried and launch aboard these large ships. That the ability is built-in here is thus no problem at all. Staffing checks out for the size of the thing. Really, I find nothing problematic about the vessel, except that it's a little boring, with all the interesting bits on a Tactic card somewhere. A 4.

STOCKABILITY: The Son'a aren't a bad subset of personnel to use. They are highly skilled, and give you access to Collect Metaphasic Particles, which has far-reaching effects on the game (including unstopping personnel each turn). If I mention Son'a personnel, it's because at least one is required to staff the Battleship to its full attributes, which are quite high (though no matching commander). The ability to report Son'a Shuttles aboard is interesting because Transporter Drones report for free aboard those, and those things are a great complement to capture strategies. Isolytic Burst keys off this ship (as well as the Li'seria), killing extra personnel regardless of damage markers. And RANGE is effectively higher through the Briar Patch's universal bits. Now, if you only need one Son'a ship, the Li'seria is probably the way to go. With Ru'afo aboard and Captain's Log in place, you attain higher attributes, and all the perks are still available, but if you need back-up, you could do worse. A 3.6.

TOTAL: 13.4 (67%) To the Li'seria's 14.5.

#2412-Son'a Shuttle, Ship, Non-Aligned, universal, TMP

"Small craft capable of atmospheric flight. Used to strafe the Ba'ku village and launch Son'a transporter drones."

-Son'a Shuttlecraft[] Transporter Drones may report aboard (for free, once each turn); Attributes all -3 unless Son'a in crew

-RANGE: 5, WEAPONS: 7, SHIELDS: 6

PICTURE: Really cool! Unlike a lot of Son'a designs, the Shuttle has a real sleek and toothy shape. The underside reveals a lot of linework, the blue sky is an interesting alternative to the usual starfield, and it's dropping some tiny bombs on the planet below. All very dynamic and original. A nice 4.1.

LORE: Rather ordinary. It basically explains the picture and the special game text. Not sure what else it should do, but it doesn't really sing. Your basic 3.

TREK SENSE: The Son'a Shuttle has a number of problems, in my opinion. One is that Transporter Drones may report aboard for free, once each turn. It begs the question: How many Transporter Drones do these things contain? It's a small ship, so not many, but you could conceivably keep churning them out every turn. Or if there is a number of them, why can't they be released all at once? Are they being replicated as time goes by? That's the only explanation that makes any sense. This would've been less problematic with a special download-type ability (though it would have then been limited to a single Shuttle, which also isn't right. My other problem is the restriction box. See, it was fine for the bigger ships because Son'a technology has a style all its own that might be harder to operate by other cultures, but the Shuttle is more of a fighter craft that probably isn't as complex. It's still good that it encourages Son'a to fly Son'a ships, of course, but also note how low those attributes go without a staffing Son'a. 2-4-3? That seems incredibly slow, and the ship is way more handicapped than any of its brethren. I guess the penalties just aren't proportional and seem wrong. Without the penalty, the attributes are fine, with high enough Weapons and Shields to accommodate some strafing (though no mechanic for attacking planetside Away Teams), plus the usual short-range Range. I'm gonna spring for no more than a 2.1.

STOCKABILITY: A Shuttle that can be turned into a lander easily enough, it can also be reported aboard and launched from bigger Son'a ships. This can be useful to add to a fleet, extend overall RANGE, etc. Hidden Fighter downloads it and the card required to land it. And as far as Shuttles go, it's got some pretty high attributes. 7 WEAPONS? Some medium-sized Federation starships aren't so powerful. One reason to land it on a planet is to engage an Away Team there in personnel battle using the easily reported Transporter Drones. These things are reported for free at a rate of once per turn, and attack personnel's CUNNING, not STRENGTH (putting big, strong assault teams at risk). When they stun one, it may be beamed aboard your Shuttle (or bigger ship in orbit), captured. So while the usual capture experts (Romulans, Cardassians, Dominion) would be very interested, they'll have to team up with the Son'a if they want to keep the Shuttle viable. Without Son'a aboard, its RANGE of 2 will be debilitating. A strong little craft with a card up its sleeve, it gets a 3.7.

TOTAL: 12.9 (64.5%) Fairly good, though second to last with Son'a ships overall, in front of the Injector Assembly.

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