Star Trek: Into Darkness review

Posted on May 19, 2013 by | 1 Comment

On Saturday, 18 May 2013, Janice and I went with houseguest Byron V.O. to the Apple Cinema/Entertainment Cinemas Fresh Pond in Cambridge, Mass., There, we met Beruk A., Bruce K., Rich C.G., Rich's friend Darryl, and Thomas K.Y. & Kai-Yin H. for Star Trek: Into Darkness. We all enjoyed the sequel to the reboot of the long-running space opera franchise.

Into Darkness wallpaper

J.J. Abrams' latest space opera prequel/sequel

Story: The movie opens with the starship Enterprise saving the inhabitants of the planet Nibiru from a volcano that's about to erupt. This violates Starfleet's Prime Directive, which requires noninterference with societies that have yet to develop Warp (faster-than-light) capability.

Adm. Christopher Pike tells Capt. James T. Kirk that he's relieved of duty, but terrorist attacks on Earth call the intrepid crew of the Enterprise back into action (the trailers have mostly focused on these, in an echo of 9/11 and even the recent Boston Marathon bombings). Kirk, his first officer Mr. Spock, Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy, and friends must overcome physical and personal challenges to save the United Federation of Planets from an internal threat.

Director J.J. Abrams and company created a parallel universe in 2009's Star Trek to be more accessible to a generation of moviegoers not familiar with the 1960s television show and its numerous spinoffs. However, viewers who are "Trekkies" or "Trekkers" and know the rich history of Gene Roddenberry's fictional universe will recognize many elements of Into Darkness, including Klingons, Tribbles, and references to characters such as Harry Mudd and Christine Chapel.

I had worried, based on early reviews, that Abrams and Paramount had "gone back to the well" once too often by rehashing familiar plot points, but the acting, pacing, and twists mostly made up for this, and the ending of the movie — don't worry, I'll avoid "spoilers" here, but be aware that the links in this review lead to some — leaves the fictional future wide open for more adventures.

Acting: I have fond memories of watching reruns of the original Star Trek TV series back in college, and the actors who first took on those roles have become pop culture icons. Still, I think that the returning cast of the new version has been well-chosen, from Chris Pine as the cocky but good-natured Kirk, Zach Quinto as the (mostly) logical Vulcan Spock, and Karl Urban as the irascible Dr. McCoy. They continue to be worthy successors to William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and the late De Forrest Kelley, respectively.

Just as in the original series and the first half-dozen Trek films, the supporting cast is smart and fun. Zoe Saldana is back as strong-willed communications officer (and Spock's girlfriend) Lt. Nyota Uhura, comedian Simon Pegg is a hoot as engineer Lt.Cmdr. Montgomery "Scotty" Scott, and Anton Yelchin is Russian wunderkind Ensign Pavel Chekov.

Helmsman Lt. Hikaru Sulu, as played by John Cho, doesn't quite ooze charisma the way George Takei does, but he does get a key scene in the captain's chair. Bruce Greenwood is back as Adm. Pike, lending gravitas and fatherly guidance to impetuous Kirk and repressed Spock.

The latest additions to this iteration of Star Trek are just as good. The comely Alice Eve plays science officer Carol Wallace, and RoboCop and Buckaroo Banzai's Peter Weller is Adm. Alexander Marcus, who tasks the Enterprise with taking on mysterious torpedoes. There's also a cameo that actually helps the story along.

As expected, Benedict Cumberbatch (the lead of the BBC/PBS Sherlock and Smaug and the Necromancer in Peter Jackson's Hobbit adaptations) is formidable as John Harrison, the terrorist scientist of this movie. He's both strong and clever as a foil to both Kirk and Spock and is a better villain than Romulan miner Nero in its predecessor flick.

Script: The dialogue is fast, witty, and filled with catchphrases from the '60s series. I suspect that casual viewers or those who aren't science fiction fans won't find the banter as entertaining as we did, but this is a sequel that doesn't talk down to its viewers. There is some dodgy physics, such as a "cold fusion" bomb, odd rates of acceleration and descent, and sound in space, but Trek is part of a long tradition of science in service to character-based stories rather than a lesson in realism.

While I'd prefer that a Star Trek film occasionally focus on exploration and diplomacy rather than military space opera, at least the script mentioned those concerns.

Direction: Abrams keeps up a brisk pace and gets emotive performances from the cast of Star Trek: Into Darkness. I might disagree with his addiction to lens flares and the choreography of a few fight scenes, but Abrams has injected vitality into the franchise, and I hope that Disney's recently acquired Star Wars universe is in good hands.

Visual effects: Other than the science quibbles above, Into Darkness is spectacular, as its crew faces off against hovering aircraft, hostile Klingon vessels, and a monstrous Dreadnaught-class starship. I liked seeing more of Earth in the 23rd century, and the sleek interior of the Enterprise seems larger than any of the other renditions of the famous starship, including the NCC 1701-E of First Contact onward.

Soundtrack: The classical score, while still not as memorable as that of earlier movies, continues the themes from the '09 Trek. My favorite part is closing credits of Into Darkness, with its peppy recap of the music from the 1960s show, despite the movie's grim title and premise.

Ratings: At an early dinner at Bertucci's, the consensus was about an 8 out of 10, with Rich being the most critical at a 7 and Bruce being most generous with a 10. I'd give Star Trek: Into Darkness, which is rated PG-13 for violence and unnecessary language, 8.5, a B+/A-, or four out of five stars.

As usual, there are mixed to negative reviews out there, but I'd recommend that potential fans keep their expectations in check and go in with an open mind. We were pleasantly surprised to find that Into Darkness, for all its modernizations and minor inconsistencies, still felt like classic Trek. I'd like to see Star Trek return to television, where it can focus more on idealistic social commentary rather than villain-driven fisticuffs.

Of the trailers we saw, I'm still most interested in Neil Blomkamp's dystopian Elysium and least interested in Jerry Bruckheimer's campy Lone Ranger. Man of Steel is the next big summer movie I'm looking forward to. In the meantime, live long and prosper!

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"Barsoomian Adventures: the Tenth Ray of Mars" Session 7 — Taking the fight to the enemy

Posted on May 17, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Fellow role-players, here are Jason's and my notes for Session 7 of his pulp science fiction game, which Brian W. hosted in Newton, Mass., on Monday, 6 May 2013:

>>Player Character roster for Jason E.R.'s "Barsoomian Adventures: the Tenth Ray of Mars" (Tē-sis ē Bâr-süm) planetary romance miniseries, using "Savage Worlds," as of spring 2013:

  • "Sgt. Joe 'Knack' Kanaki" [Gene D.]-male Nisei Jasoomian (Japanese-American Terran human) tail gunner; two-fisted patriot who's smarter than he looks
  • "Beauregard 'Bo' Jennings" [Beruk A.]-male African-American Jasoomian, USO trumpet player, expatriate (NYC), former professional boxer and member of the French Foreign Legion
  • "Kar Dalan (Kâr Dé-lan)" [Brian W.]-male aysismad (red Martian), an independent panthan (sellsword/scout) currently serving the nation of Raxar (Rax-âr)
  • "Olera Gala" [Sara F.]-female Barsoomian masena (Thurian/Martian), one-eyed feline hunter and scout
  • "Capt. Billy 'Rip' Rohrer" [Bruce K.]-male American Jasoomian pilot of the "Lucy Goosey," a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber
  • "Betsy 'Blaze' Harper" [Rich C.G.]-female American Jasoomian, fiery redhead, former Olympic hopeful, and aspiring actress on USO tour for exposure and patriotic duty, along with Carla Rizena and Lucy McIntyre
Barsoomian beasts

Creatures of Barsoom

>>"From the correspondence of Joseph Kanaki, 16 January 1943:" Dear Mother, I'm not sure if being at our wits' end or being overwhelmed and split up is worse. Let me take a deep breath and step back for a moment.

We had pursued U.S.O. entertainer Lucy McIntyre and her kidnapper, mad scientist Zylor Bar (Zī-l&# 333;r Bâr, also known as Thuran Gan), into Barsoom of about 1 million years ago, when Mars wasn't the dying world the crew and passengers of the "Lucy Goosey" had first found ourselves on. Instead, we found a lush planet with yet more intrigue.

We had followed pilgrims worshipping the false goddess Issus — Zylor Bar's plan for Lucy — to the city-state of Horz, which was populated by white Martians or Thermad [ŧür-mad].

Shortly after the wedding of jeddak (king) No Var Kim [Nō Vōr Kim] to Lotharian princess Sohna, we had circulated a rumor about a seenar, a rare gem used to power Zylor Bar's time machine and our only way back home to Earth.

Unfortunately, that resulted in the capture of Kal Kirad [Kal Kē-Rad], a red-haired Lotharian jedwar [ĵed-dwr, or admiral] and friend of Kam Han Tor [Kam An Tōr], a prince whom we knew was a secret follower of Issus. Our masena scout Olera Gala determined that predatory magongi [ma-gân-gē], likely trained by Zylor Bar, had taken him.

That meant he was somewhere nearby. Capt. William "Rip" Rohrer and scout Kar Dalan went to the academy of mentalist Lum Tar O [Lüm Târ Ō]. They later reported seeing strange things such as acolytes staring at bowls of fruit and creating replicas that lasted only a short time before vanishing.

The senior orovar [ōr-ō-vâr], or scholars of Horz, reassured Rip and Kar that he was not in league with the superstitious followers of Issus or Zylor Bar. Lim Tar O also said that he could not detect any trace of Kal Kirad's mind in the city.

Beauregard "Bo" Jennings and I visited the academy of biologist Ro Tan Bim [Rō Tan Bim] to learn more about the magongi. We followed a ramp down to a secret laboratory, where we saw skinless humanoids being grown in vats!

Ro Tan Bim was surprised to see us, and we managed to conceal our disgust. We've heard that the Nazis are also pursuing eugenics, and Bo and I would have no place in such plans.

The scientist — I'm beginning to think they're all mad — happily told us of his plans for artificial life, or the "First Born," which we realized were the later Barsoomian race and derived from his samples of Bo's blood.

We had to pick our battles, so Bo asked Ro Tan Bim about the magongi. He said they were arboreal, insect-like creatures organized into clans — similar to the Kaldane who bred the skeletal Rykors. Apparently, these beasts liked to hunt humans and darseen, small chameleon-like animals like the masena.

Ro Tan Bim noted that the nocturnal magongi were indigenous to Morbus Island, about two weeks' sail across the Kalksus [Kal-ix-is] and Throxus [Ŧür-âx-is] oceans. I knew that the Dusar [Dü-zâr, or "northern fish"], an advanced ship whose design Zylor Bar had influenced so that he could later steal it, would somehow be involved.

The naturalists used to send students to the islands' five settlements for one-year stints, but shipping had recently been disrupted. We made a hasty retreat and regrouped with our companions.

None of us wanted to visit "the Embalmer," Le Um Lo [Lē Üm Lō] yet, so we'd have to do more detective work closer to Horz. At my recommendation, one-eyed Olera tracked the magongi. Their scent led us to the Tasor (Té-zōr, "sun tower" or lighthouse).

We quietly climbed the long ramp. Betsy "Blaze" Harper and Bo readied their guns as Rip and I crept among 14 sleeping magongi. Olera went invisible, and red-skinned Kar drew his blade.

It was only a matter of time before some woke up, and we noticed that the magongi were wearing "modern" Barsoomian harnesses with small crystals similar to the seenar. With his Jasoomian (Earthling) strength, Bo snapped the neck of one foe, as I pinned another with a sword.

Amazonian Blaze shot another magongi, shaking it, and Kar swiftly skewered another. The creatures attacked Rip and me, and two teleported away using their harnesses. Fortunately, Rip was able to hold off the oncoming horde.

Olera experimented with the buttons on the harness of a fallen magongi as I tried to get my head back in the game. Blaze dropped another, and Bo smashed one of the goon's heads into a wall. Olera used her claws, and Kar maneuvered.

Blaze showed off her marksmanship, picking off two of our opponents, and Rip and I dropped two more. Before the survivors could regroup, we grabbed the harnesses from some of the corpses and pushed buttons in unison.

We found ourselves at the bottom of the ramp, but Van-tija [Van-tē -ĵâ], a dark-skinned "First Born," and mutated masena "Blinky" were gone from where we had left them to keep watch. We tried pressing more buttons and teleported to a tower atop a mountain in the middle of some ocean!

Two pterodactyls, which Kar called malagor [mal-â-gōr] but were known at this time as "Gwar" [gwr], stood in front of us. Each had an armed Thern, or White Martian, rider, and more armored soldiers approached. Bo tried jumping over the bird-like monster, but it grabbed him in its massive beak.

The other rider spurred his mount to take off, and Kar used his harness to teleport in front of the guards. He wasn't too happy when they hit him with numbing staffs. Blaze followed Rip's lead and yelled that we should try to get control of a Gar.

I leaped into the saddle of the one holding Bo and exchanged punches with its rider. Olera also jumped in to help, and the beast released Bo. Blaze shot one Thern, but another grabbed Olera, paralyzing her.

Things went from bad to worse, as two mooks stunned Bo, and Rip got hit after killing just one of an approaching army. Kar finished off another guard with his sword and slayed one of the Gwar riders or Gwarthans [gwr-ŧan].

Blaze joined me in the saddle and finished off the rider. I told her to take control of the reins as we tried to rescue Rip, who was now surrounded by Thern troops. We swung around, and I saw that Bo, Olera, Kar, Van-tija, and Blinky were being taken away.

We were over a forested island; I could make out an observatory and the Dusar in port, so we were somehow at Morbus Island. It was tantalizing and frustrating to be so close to Zylor Bar's stronghold and so far from defeating him and returning home.

The extra weight forced Blaze to drop me and Rip in the trees. We three Jasoomians were still free, but most of our company had been captured. We weren't sure whether we should try to sneak into the enemy camp to rescue our friends or teleport back to Horz for reinforcements first….

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Watch City Festival 2013 and food outings

Posted on May 16, 2013 by | Leave a comment

On Saturday, 11 May 2013, Janice and I met Beruk A. and Ken G. for the annual Watch City Festival in Waltham, Mass. We also ran into other acquaintances at the steampunk fair.

Beruk chatted with various exhibitors and fellow attendees, and Ken took pictures of people in neo-Victorian garb. Unlike past years, Janice and I tried to attend more panels and performances. It was interesting to see an academic track at the "Author's Den."

We sat in on "Ay-leen the Peacemaker's" (Diana M. Pho's) panel on "Steam Around the World: Steampunk Beyond Victoriana." Her discussion of the multicultural aspects of the burgeoning subculture was interesting, and I was glad that Avatar: Legend of Korra was among the many works she cited. Exploration of social issues is part of the "punk" in steampunk.

We enjoyed a little of Shin Daiko's drumming as we went to Margarita's for lunch. We then browsed a bit among the vendors on the Waltham Common before attending artist James Gurney's excellent discussion of "Dinotopia: Art, Science, and Imagination." Gurney's talk was a master class in how to combine elements for fictional world-building.

Ken left for another event, and we then went to "Seeing What the Old Masters Sought: Thoughts on 19th Century Design," by Steve Ebinger. It was a good analysis of how real-world architects, painters, and inventors reacted to the politics, trade, materials, and expectations of their time and how they've influenced the do-it-yourself ethos of those developing the alternative styles of steampunk.

Overall, the turnout for the International Steampunk City was good, but the cool, damp weather may have turned some people away on Saturday. Janice and I had dinner at City Streets Restaurant, one of our regular haunts.

The next day, we returned to downtown Waltham after Janice's usual stint volunteering at the animal shelter, and the sun shone on a crowd that included families celebrating Mother's Day. It was much easier to be in costume.

Steampunk fair May 2013

At the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation

We went to Brandon Herman's panel on "Clockwork Beyond Thunderdome: Steampunk in the Movies." While I think that Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome shares only a few aesthetic elements with steampunk and dieselpunk, the genres are inclusive. Granted, there have been more bad movies and TV shows — such as Wild, Wild West — than good ones — see The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.

I do think the literature (including some tabletop role-playing games) is ahead of other media in terms of quality. I have fond memories of Tim M.B.'s GURPS 3e "Arth" and my "Gaslight Grimoire" scenarios. Speaking of RPGs, Janice and I then had an early dinner at the Skellig before heading home for the latest "Vortex: Terra's Pride" telecom space opera.

In the past week or two, I've also eaten lunch with co-workers at the Newton St. Deli, Coconut Thai Café, and Taqueria el Amigo. Although I didn't run the "Vanished Lands: Vistel's Circus" fantasy campaign for my regular Monday night group this week, we did go out for dinner at Angelo's House of Pizza and Seafood, watch the amusing animated Despicable Me, and discuss upcoming games.

The "Escapists" book club of former co-workers had dinner at Habaneros, one of Janice's and my favorite Mexican-American restaurants in the area. At Lizzy's, we had dessert and discussed Robert A. Heinlein's The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, which I liked more than everyone else.

This coming weekend, I look forward to hosting Byron V.O., an alumnus of the Boston-area social/gaming groups who now lives in St. Louis. But first, I've got to survive the workweek!

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"Vortex: Terra's Pride" Update 5c.33 — Zarkonian questions

Posted on May 14, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Fellow role-players, here is my update for Session 5c.33 of the “Vortex” telecom space opera campaign, which met via Skype on Sunday, 12 May 2013. We’ve been using FATE 3e Starblazer Adventures/Mindjammer, Bulldogs, and an online dice roller.

In one future, humanity has begun to colonize the Sol system, but environmental degradation, population pressures, and internecine conflict persist. The rediscovery of mystical abilities and open and official First Contact with galactic societies, themselves at war, threaten Terra’s very survival. Can heroes rise to the challenges?

FATE 3e “Vortex: Terra’s Pride” (Team 3/5c) telecom Player Characters, as of spring 2013:

Acting crew of the corvette Dauntless:

  • “Capt. Jasmine” [Sara F., primary]-female Martian Felinoid “Synth” (“Uplifted” tiger), former pit fighter and crewmember of the Appomattox, now captain of the Pina Colada searching for a homeworld for her people
  • “Hector Chavez” [Beruk A., primary]-male Terran human, former spy and crewmember on theAppomattox, cautious engineer and communications expert
  • “Chris McKee /Agent Prometheus” [Josh C., primary]-male Terran human, former assassin for the eugenicists at Black Box Security Co., sniper and seeker aboard the Blackbird and Pina Colada
  • “Orion Starchaser” [Geoff C., primary]-male Pomuyan (blue telepathic humanoid alien), irrepressible mystic and thrill-seeking galactic hitchhiker
  • “Lt.Cmdr. Kevin Reese” [Bruce K., primary]-male Terran “near-human” (cyborg), former Interplanetary Patrol officer and member of the Blackbird and Dauntless crews; defender of the homeworld
  • “Lt. Sebastian Growlick” [Bruce K., secondary]-male Felinoid “Synth” (“Uplifted” lion), elite soldier and acting commander of the refitted Blackbird
  • “Dr. Srinu Pahul” [Byron V.O., primary/absent]-male Terran “near-human” (genetically modified) xenobiologist, curious and confident planetary patriot; with robots MEGAN and PEPE
  • “Enkidu Aristheon” [Dexter V.H., secondary/absent]-male Seranen (pale empathic humanoid alien) exile, wilderness survival expert curious about Terrans and the Zarkonian threat; with sphinx-like companion Glaucon

See other records for the previous crews of the Pina Colada, Blackbird, Appomattox, and Gryphon.

“4 to 7 August 2195 A.D./C.E. or 1 Terran Galactic Era:” After rescuing ships from a cloud-based energy entity, a homeworld security task force found that the Union of Solar Nations (U.S.N.) outpost orbiting Wolf 359 had been compromised by agents for the approaching Zarkonian Armada.

Members of “Terra’s Pride” defeated one would-be assassin and captured another. They took the “Dauntless” to the far side of Wolf 359 and prepared to interrogate their prisoner.

Hector Chavez scans Ms. Helen Gastmeyer’s plasma sword but finds no hidden transmitters. The onetime spy also searches possessions taken from her quarters, including trade documents, cred sticks, some tools, robes, and alien scriptures.

Dr. Srinu Pahul sedates Ms. Gastmeyer and scans for nanites (microscopic robots). At Hector’s recommendation, the doctor removes the businesswoman’s implanted phone.

Orion Starchaser dismantles the weapon of Velanna Loquieth, the Olvar (arboreal, mammal-like alien) captain of the Unquith who killed herself rather than surrender to him. The Pomuyan mystic combines weapons to create an orange-bladed weapon.

Capt. Jasmine finds her former boyfriend Darcy, who had been on one of the ships that passed by Wolf 359. The Felinoid “Synth” (“Uplifted” tiger) admits that while he needed space after their misadventures aboard the Gryphon, he didn’t realize that the frontier would be so dangerous.

Jasmine warns Darcy to stay away from Lt. Sebastian Growlick, her current leonine lover. Meanwhile, Chris McKee reminds his companions that the Zarkonians are mere weeks away from the Sol system. The sniper spends a few hours meditating.

crustacean aliens

Conjectural sketches of Zarkonians

Lt. Growlick later finds Jasmine, who requests that Darcy be reassigned to another ship in the Terran fleet. Lt.Cmdr. Kevin Reese asks pilot Lt. Brun Bearhammer and the acting commanders of the Pina Colada, Blackbird, Sovereign, and Crazy Horse to set course for Lalande 21185 in case the Wolf 359 base sends fighters in pursuit of the supposedly disgraced Dauntless.

Lt.Cmdr. Reese also orders that Gastmeyer be interrogated as soon as possible. Capt. Jasmine suggests that Orion be present to help protect against any psionic attacks.

Hector asks Orion if he knows what organizations or species would send assassins armed with plasma swords like his. The blue alien replies that the Pomuyans are a peaceful people, but like humans, Olvar, and others, there are always individuals and factions that are less benevolent.

Kevin dons the Chain Coif of Egg Shen and asks Orion to mentally dominate Helen, but he refuses. Dr. Pahul and robotic nurse MEGAN monitor the prisoner as Orion begins questioning her. Jasmine waits outside the brig, while Hector, Chris, Brun, and Sebastian listen in from the bridge.

Orion offers Helen some tea, and she asks what he wants most. Orion replies “freedom,” and the smiling woman says that she wants humanity to survive to pursue its destiny in the stars, even if that means choosing subjugation by the Zarkonians over resistance and annihilation.

Chris is reminded of the eugenicists at Black Box Security Co., his and Srinu’s former employer. The former cyborg goes to the brig, even as Kevin loses patience with Helen and Orion’s philosophical discussion.

Hector remotely tells Orion to ask about the “Takers,” a rising faction among the Ru’ulok (heavy-gravity reptilian pirates) led by one Kraythor. Gastmeyer answers that the Zarkonians have found like-minded people in several systems.

Lt.Cmdr. Reese angrily orders everyone to leave so that he can question Ms. Gastmeyer alone, but Orion stubbornly refuses. Chris pulls the officer out of the room for a moment to cool off, and Hector goes in to reason with Orion. Burly Jasmine stands ready to prevent a brawl, which would be particularly bad in front of the prisoner.

Gastmeyer takes advantage of the group’s confusion to Mind Blast Hector, drawing Orion’s ire. Jasmine helps steady Hector, while Orion reluctantly forces a mental link with Helen.

The Pomuyan asks the human what she has lost. Helen says that all her loved ones were killed back on Earth, which she claims is “beyond saving.” Orion asks what she has gained, to which she says, “a connection,” implying that her ability to grant people’s desires comes from the Zarkonian Imperium.

Having broken her resistance, exhausted Orion leaves Helen to Kevin and company. Dr. Pahul tries to inject her with truth serum, but he finds that her biochemistry has been altered so that her blood would react and become toxic.

Even though Gastmeyer seems unconcerned about her own death, she mocks Lt.Cmdr. Reese’s determination to defend humanity and to try to turn back the armada. Kevin asks Helen about her family, which she says was killed in wars in Europe.

She also confesses that the artifacts stolen from the Vatican Museums were intended to be smuggled to the arachnid Nolath for safekeeping away from Earth and for use in appealing to other humans.

The zero-point munitions that the Gryphon had intercepted could have been used to obliterate entire megalopoli, adding to chaos and “thinning the herd” in advance of the alien invasion, Gastmeyer explains.

Wary Hector returns with anti-psi enhancements to his sunglasses. Kevin asks about the robes found in Helen’s quarters, and she says that she learned from the Olvar, even though Orion observes that she seemed more advanced than Capt. Loquieth.

Chris and Kevin asks about the Zarkonians’ plans for Earth and its colonies. Helen states that millennia ago, the armada was turned back by the first Kharvamid Alliance. A century or so ago (in Terran time), another foray into the Milky Way’s Orion Arm was cut short by internal disputes.

The Zarkonian Armada now intends to conquer rather than merely consume, Gastmeyer says, and it has forces such as the biomechanical Zurmiz Krott and allies such as the slug-like Encegulans. The Aquarian and Laransan systems have already fallen, Helen says, but she has not directly met a Zarkonian yet.

Chris points out to the others that Gastmeyer has admitted her involvement in various plots in the outer Sol system and that she should be turned over to U.S.N. authorities for further questioning. He warns that Cmdr. Hasdrubal Guitterez and Lt. Fenris Ironclaw are still threats, since Gastmeyer’s allies command the Wolf 359 outpost.

Lt.Cmdr. Reese and Capt. Jasmine confer with the other ships in the task force and consider requesting that the “Tigress” replace the understaffed Dauntless. First, “Terra’s Pride” must deal with Cmdr. Guitterez and return to the Sol system….

You’re close to closing this chapter of our adventures! Let me know if any of you are available for Star Trek: Into Darkness and a possible “Vortex” session on Saturday, May 18, since Byron will be visiting the Boston area this coming weekend.

While we didn’t play in the “Vanished Lands: Vistel’s Circus” fantasy campaign at Rich’s place last night, I’m glad that we got to chat with Josh about upcoming summer games. I also look forward to continuing in Jason E.R.’s “Barsoomian Adventures: the Tenth Ray of Mars” next Monday night. Be seeing you, -Gene

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Weekend wanderings

Posted on May 9, 2013 by | Leave a comment

I've already reported on college chum David I.S.'s visit this past month, but it was just the start of our busy season. On Friday, 26 April 2013, Janice and I drove to Utica, New York. We met her family for dinner at Babe's.

The next day, we attended the second wedding of Janice's middle sister Michelle at Chesterfield Restaurant. It was nice to see family, including Janice's Uncle John and cousin Kristin, who came down from Canada.

While we were unfortunately unable to attend the birthday celebrations of nieces in Upstate New York and Northern Virginia, Janice and I have kept busy. On Saturday, 4 May 2013, we visited The Outer Limits in Waltham, Mass., for Free Comic Book Day. We then went into Boston for the Food Truck Throwdown between Boston and New York vendors.

The street food was all very good, including crepes, cupcakes, and a wide variety of cuisines. I especially liked the pita sandwiches from Comme Ci Comme Ca, a Mediterranean-style truck from New York. Janice liked the empanadas from Nuchas.

Janice and I then went to the Museum of Fine Arts, where we toured exhibits of Michelangelo drawings, paintings of New Hampshire's White Mountains, European posters, and an extensive collection of samurai armor, among others. It was nice to again enjoy the spring weather by walking around town.

On Sunday, we caught Iron Man 3, had dinner with friends at Bertucci's, and attended Ken G.'s annual Cinco de Mayo party at Lanes & Games in Cambridge, Mass. We had a good time chatting with people, playing pool, and watching the bowling. I'm sorry that I missed the videogames and air hockey, but it's back to work!

Playing pool

At Lanes & Games in Cambridge, Mass.

In the coming weekends, I look forward to the annual Watch City Festival, which will feature steampunk events, artists, and vendors. I've also got my weekly games and historical weapons classes, and the "Escapists" book club is meeting next Tuesday night.

I don't know if I'll get to the Phantom Gourmet Hot Dog Safari or Anime Boston later in May, but I do look forward to a cruise from Newport, R.I., with Janice's parents at the end of the month.

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