Episode 8 "The Sheriff of
Gothos"
STARDATE 2404.08
While the Essex was on
patrol along the Klingon Neutral Zone, long range sensors detected a Klingon D7
battlecruiser entering the zone. The klingon ship in violation of the Organian Peace
Treaty, the Essex moves to intercept. The klingons ignored all attempts at communications
and moved into an attack posture. Braced for an attack, the Essex moved to stop the
intruder. Just as they moved within firing range, a red planet mysteriously appeared
between them, MOVING INTO THEIR PATHS! Suddenly the Essex comes to a halt, engines
shutting down. The onboard systems chirp and whine as they are scanned from an unknown
source. Just then, a message appears on the main viewscreen: "Howdy Partners! Welcome
Y'all!"
The bridge crew suddenly found
themselves standing in the middle of a dusty road in the middle of a desert setting.
Beside them stood a rickety, crudely painted sign that read: "Welcome to Gothos City.
Pop. 1000." The "1000" had been scratched out, supplanted crudely with a
"997" in bright red. In the distance could be seen a small patch of wooden
buildings, with a main road down the center. The crew proceeded to make their way and
investigate.
As they entered the dusty town,
they're surprised by a scurrying little boy, flinging his finger at them, yelling,
"POW! BANG! BANG! Yer dead!" They watched the boy run off behind a building,
when a second figure caught their eye. A tall, thin figure, with a broad smile and a weak
chin, leaned against a porch post, flicked the brim of his hat, exposing himself to the
group. On his chest, there was an oversized silver badge that glistened, though there was
only the dimmest of sunlight. He reached over and polished it with a handkerchief.
The man swaggered
his way over to the befuddled group and introduced himself as Sheriff Trelane of Gothos
City and he didn't take kindly to outlaws using his town to settle differences. Curp
questioned what he meant by that, and Trelane dropped out of his sheriff persona. He
cheerfully explained that he was researching this particular time in earth's history and
found it to be extremely fascinating. He thought it would be wonderful to re-create an old
western gunfight using the crew of the Essex and a passing Klingon cruiser - to make it
interesting. Expressing no interest in his little game, the group suddenly discovered that
they were donned with cowboy hats and holsters armed with six-shooters. Trelane told them
not to be such spoil sports and that the "Clinton" (Klingon) gang would
soon be here.
Unable to leave town or contact the
ship, the crew investigated the small western town. Under-populated and sparsely
furnished, there were, however, a variety of colorful characters: The burly barkeep with
the handlebar mustache, the cowardly mayor, the grim undertaker who tries to guess their
height, the little boy playing in the street, and the old gunsmith, who happened to have a
large supply of gunpowder in the back, McGillicutty noticed.
As they left the gunsmith's, they
noticed at the far end of town a row of Klingons dressed as gunslingers. Uninterested in
negotiation, the Klingons opened fire. The crew broke for cover save for Barlok, who
believed that the bullets were unreal, an illusion created by Trelane. Desperately
screaming for Barlok to take cover, he collapsed under a hail of bullets from the
Klingons. The rest of the crew opened fire against the Klingons. After an extended
exchange, the Essex crew managed to defeat the Klingons (without running out of bullets to
their surprise!). Once the bloodshed had ended, the Essex crew, with a fit and quite alive
Barlok, found themselves once again standing on the outskirts of town, staring down at the
rickety old sign.
The crew once again entered town to
find Trelane much more animated, "Very good! That was fun! Let's go at it
again!" he exclaimed, rubbing his badge. The Klingons again appeared at the end of
the dusty street and opened fire. This time, however, McGillicutty took note of the badge.
Using his tricorder, he noticed a slight energy reading coming from the badge and from
some other location within town. After a brief planning session with the captain,
McGillicutty and Flonaise would find the source of the energy, while Curp and the other
bridge crew would lead the Klingons away and keep them occupied.
McGillicutty and Flonaise isolated
the energy readings, concealed behind the safe of the town's bank. Remembering that the
gunsmith had a stash of gunpowder they retrieved two large barrels and placed them behind
the back wall of the bank. Meanwhile, Curp had his hands full fighting off the Klingons,
who are becoming more adept at gunslinging! He and Leone managed to shoot a couple from
rooftops and behind barrels, but, they seem to be missing a few...
From behind McGillicutty shots rang
out, before he finished setting the explosive! Flonaise provided cover while he continued.
Fuse lit, they...ran, naturally! Seconds later, the wall and most of the bank went up in a
tremendous display of fireworks. Trelane's wailing could be heard throughout the town and
the buildings and props began to fade. The Klingons uncharacteristically beamed away.
Trelane tracked down the Essex crew, yelling, "No fair, no fair! You cheated!"
Before Curp could reply, a booming voice erupted from the sky, "Now what have you
done, Trelane? We've told you and told you about your playthings. Come home, now."
Trelane ran into the center of town and screamed at the voice, "It's not fair! I
didn't do anything wrong! They cheated!" The sound of his voice diminished as he,
too, faded away. The booming voice apologized to the captain and crew and returned them to
the Essex.
The Klingons had moved off, wanting
no more of the ghostly red planet, which had begun to fade from the Essex viewscreen. None
the worse for wear, the Essex returned to its patrol duties.
Special thanks to Linden Dunham