Fan Film Friday: Star Trek: Intrepid: ‘Machinations’

Ever heard the saying that “big things come in small packages?” The latest evidence of this motto is “Machinations,” the new vignette produced by Star Trek: Intrepid.

This fan film takes place several months after the first Intrepid episode, “Heavy Lies the Crown,” and focuses on efforts to build a Starfleet station in the Chiron System.

Heading up the effort is Lieutenant Commander Jacen Navar (Alan Christison), who receives an unwelcome message from Section 31 Supervisor Stone (Jonathan Connor) even though the native of the planet Torothan (as established in the Star Trek: Enterprise episode “Desert Crossing”) states firmly that he’s left that organization for good.

“We know about your research project,” Stone says, adding that the director “is concerned about the direction of your research. He feels it would be better handled under our auspices.”

“So he can manipulate them for his own ends?” Navar growls.

“Not at all,” Stone replies. “We only want to protect the Federation.”

“Really?” Navar asks. “And who protects it from you? I’m sorry; we’ll do this without your … assistance.”

Stone then tries to play an emotional trump card by asking Navar if he’s spoken with his father recently. “I hear he’s on assignment, quite a dangerous one, I believe. It would be a shame if his last memory of you is one of … betrayal.”

“I’ve betrayed no one,” Navar asserts, “and my father can take care of himself!”

“I certainly hope so, Agent Navar,” Stone notes, “for both your sakes.”

The lieutenant commander then meets with Admiral Aaron Prentice (Alan Score), who notes that Navar’s crew transfer requests include someone whose background leads the admiral to question whether he’s right for the assignment.

“With all due respect, Sir, we’re out on a limb,” the lieutenant commander responds. “We need every hand we can get.”

The admiral says he’ll allow the request in part because “it’s not my problem. Just make sure it stays that way.”

Soon after, we learn who the admiral and the lieutenant commander were apparently discussing when Lieutenant Junior Grade Keran Azhan (Alex Matthews) is beamed aboard and welcomed by Navar, who admits that there’s not much to look at because the station is still under construction.

Azhan asks for permission to speak freely, and the lieutenant commander grants his request. “Given my previous experience with Admiral Prentice and Intrepid‘s crew, I was … surprised to receive this assignment.”

“Let’s get something straight, lieutenant,” Navar replies. “I’m not interested in your personal issues. You have certain skills I require, and out here, those skills are in short supply.”

“So you need me,” Azhan asserts.

“I need your skills, Mister Azhan,” the Torothan states. “Whether I need you remains to be seen.”

At that moment, the lights in the chamber go dark, then come back on again.”Such a pleasure to be on the frontier,” Azhan grumbles.

Spoiler Alert: If you’d rather watch the fan film’s ending yourself, skip down to the links at the end of my review. If not, just continue reading.

The lieutenant states that he wants to see where he’ll be working. When they enter the chamber, Ensign Faldor (Martin Lejeune) greets them warmly, and Navar says that Faldor is “our resident engineer.”

Azhan asks what Starfleet has learned about the creatures that attacked the away team (in “Heavy Lies the Crown”).

“All we know for certain is that their technology is entirely organic in nature,” Navar says.

“They don’t seem to have any concept of inorganic technology,” Faldor adds. “To them, we’re just mindless animals banging rocks together.”

“We can only speculate what they call themselves,” Navar states. “The team that first encountered them called them the Surai.”

The lieutenant commander then adds that the universal translator has been of limited use because the species is so different from any race Starfleet has encountered that they’ve been unable to construct even the most basic of translation algorithms.

When Azhan asks what his duties are, Navar states that his security codes are active, and he has full access to the database, though Faldor is in charge of everything else.

Azhan then asks how he should proceed, and Navar replies that he’s a listener, so he should listen. The lieutenant commander then leaves the lieutenant to his work.

Speaking of getting to work, it’s time for me to put on my Clint Eastwood hat and get reviewing.

The Good: Even though the film was only about seven minutes long, it enhanced our understanding of characters in the Intrepid series. The unexplained conflict between the new character of Azhan and his crewmates has the potential to keep things interesting as events play out in the Chiron System.

And I have to say that the new space station is very well designed and a pleasure to look at. It reminds me of how I felt the first time I saw a certain former Cardassian outpost in Deep Space Nine, and that’s saying something!

The Bad: There were a few awkward camera angles, but for the most part, those weren’t distracting. I realize that this vignette was filmed a few years ago and that the expertise of the crew has improved since then, but “Machinations” was still enjoyable to watch.

The Ugly: Some folks are bound to be unhappy that this production asks more questions than it answers. Do we know what kind of “research” Navar is doing, and what’s going on with his father, who’s apparently involved in a dangerous mission?

Of course, the big question is what led to the bad blood between the new lieutenant and the rest of the Starfleet officers in the sector? Is he just being snarky, or does he have a legitimate complaint against the Intrepid and her crew? Stay tuned, folks. I’m sure we’ll get all the answers in future episodes.

If you want to watch this independent production on YouTube, aim your Web browser here. And if you’d like to learn more about Star Trek: Intrepid, their home page can be accessed here.

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