Looking for God In All The Right Places

by Kim and Allen Gould (tribble@oanet.com)

Finding proof of higher powers has never been so easy – just grab a starship and drive to the Great Barrier.

Start off with Sybok, who has everything you need to solve The Discovery of Sha Ka Ree. (Namely, being "Sybok".) You'll want to bring his followers, since while Sybok can solve the mission, the followers are the ones who score you the actual points. You get 10 for each personnel who references Sybok in lore - a healthy forty points if you bring all four.

Now, players may think that Sybok is too limited – after all, he only works with other Non-Aligned personnel, which cuts him out of many decks, and also limits mission selection. (Not really a lot of NA missions in the Alpha Quadrant). But don't despair – he does work with his followers, Caithlan Dar, General Korrd, and St. John Talbot. One Federation, one Klingon, one Romulan – they'll unlock a host of other possible missions that can be completed with appropriate NA support.

If that's not good enough, Sybok can add to his followers. Release This Pain lets a personnel work with Sybok and any other personnel that you've "converted", letting you build the ultimate multi-affiliation Away Team. (Beware, however – unless you use Release This Pain on your original followers, they won't work outside their affiliation.) As added bonuses, not only do the new followers contribute towards Sha Ka Ree (letting you boost the score to numbers limited only by Referee cards), it's not limited to your own personnel - it's like a Brainwash, without all that messy capturing. And since your opponent's personnel will logically have the skills for their missions, you gain all sorts of fun mission-stealing opportunities.

For added amusement, combine Khan and Sybok – it's a bit card intensive (with each faction controlling the other), but it's possible to solve Sha Ka Ree for 50 or 60 points by Releasing Khan and a few followers, get the Genesis Device to the Reliant, and finish the game using Revenge Is A Dish Best Served Cold. Only one mission to solve, and the look on your opponent's face will be priceless.

So, what are you waiting for? He's waiting for you.

April 4, 2002