> The famous Enterprise/Road Runner Encounter Story
>
>
>
> ...Let us suppose that the Enterprise is doing some sort
> of research mission to an unknown planet. I think the
> Captains Log would be worth a look:
>
> Captain's Log, Stardate 54324.5: Starfleet Command has directed
> the Enterprise to do a preliminary exploration of planet --- in
> advance of a full research team. Scanners report the atmosphere
> to be breathable, but are recieving confusing readings with
> regard to life forms. I am beaming down with a landing party
> composed of all our chief officers except for poor Scotty.
>
> Supplement: Redshirt Riley has received a head injury, apparently
> while exploring under a high rock shelf. He reports only hearing
> a loud sound and jumping before being struck. After examination
> by Dr. McCoy he has been judged capable of continuing duty.
>
> Supplement: We have encountered an alien creature on this planet.
> While it does not itself seem menacing, a unfortunate occurance
> took place when it was present. Specifically, on my orders Lt.
> Sulu withdrew his phaser. The creature disappeared leaving a puff
> of smoke, immediately following which a loud noise was heard next
> to Sulu. Sulu fired, hitting Ens. Chekov. Oddly enough, although
> Sulu's weapon was set to stun, Chekov was also covered with a
> black powder similar to soot. Mr. Chekov has been sent back to
> the ship for examination and quarantine.
>
> Stardate 54326.2, Mr. Spock reporting: Tricorder readings
> indicate that the creature we encountered earlier is constantly
> moving at great speed over the surface of the planet. We have
> encountered the creature once again. In an attempt to slow the
> creature for study, I attempted to fire on it. The creature,
> however, appeared to move faster than the phaser beam.
> Regretfully, the beam struck an outcropping of rock above the
> Captain's head, causing it to break off and fall. Although it
> appears that several tons of rock fell squarely on the Captain,
> he was driven straight into the ground but apparently not
> seriously injured, though stunned. The Captain has been beamed up
> to Sickbay, leaving me in command of the research party.
>
> Captain's Log, stardate 54342.3. The strange occurences that have
> dogged the landing party since our arrival at this planet have
> led me to believe that the creature is in some way directly
> responsible for them. Mr. Chekov and I have both been declared
> fit for return to duty, though Dr. McCoy has entered in his
> medical log that he feels we should be kept under observation.
>
>
> Mr. Spock has constructed a device which he suspects should be
> able to counteract the creature's incredible speed as follows: We
> have placed a dish of birdseed out in the open, with several
> signs pointing to it. The dish is atop a cleverly concealed trap
> door, which will open when any weight falls on it. The creature
> will then travel a slide, eventually being deposited in a cage
> constructed of sheets of transparent aluminum. We will then be
> free to analyze it at our leisure. Meanwhile, I have forbidden
> all beaming down to the surface of the planet except on my or Mr.
> Spock's direct order.
>
> Captain's Log, supplemental. The plan failed. The creature was
> indeed lured by the birdseed, as expected. It sped to the dish,
> consumed the bait, and sped off without setting off the trap. Mr.
> Spock is as puzzled as I, and has begun tests to discover the
> flaw in the design. I have sent out three search parties to see
> if we can box the creature in, one headed by Mr. Sulu, one by Mr.
> Chekov, and one by Sociologist Xontel.
>
> Captain's Log, stardate 54342.8. Sociologist Xontel has been
> temporarily incapacitated. In pursuing the creature, he and his
> men somehow managed to cross the place where Mr. Spock's trap was
> set just as he completed the corrections to it. The trap was
> sprung, and all four of my men were suspended for a moment in
> mid-air, puzzled, just before they fell into the cage we
> constructed. We are now trying to release them with phasers, as
> the lock was inadvertently smashed by the impact from Sociologist
> Xontel's foot as he fell. I consider this a major setback. Mr.
> Spock considers it "fascinating."
>
> Captain's Log, stardate 54343.4. In an all-out attempt to stop
> the creature once and for all, I have had a phaser rifle beamed
> down from the Enterprise. The creature has behaved in an
> extremely cunning manner, yet I am unsure whether this is a sign
> of actual intelligence. Lt. Uhura has been unsuccessful in her
> attempts to raise Starfleet Command. Meanwhile, Mr. Scott informs
> me that our dilithium crystals are deteriorating at an alarming
> rate. He has juryrigged a system that will prevent the decay for
> a time, but it is imperative that we find new crystals soon.
>
> Captain's Log, supplemental. Mr. Sulu reports high energy
> tricorder readings from an area of the planet in which the
> creature has not yet been sighted. He has taken a small party,
> including Mr. Spock, to the high-elevation spot from which the
> readings emanate. I have begun to analyze the creature's
> movements. It seems to travel consistently over a set path.
> Perhaps we can corner it in a tunnel it seems to pass through
> frequently.
>
> Captain's Log, stardate 54344.7. Mr. Sulu has located a cache of
> ACME dilithium crystals atop a high cliff. Regretfully, while
> collecting them, the edge of the cliff broke off, and he and Mr.
> Spock plummetted several hundred feet to the ground below.
> Strangely enough, they both survived the fall with no more than
> raising a cloud of dust on impact, although they did pass the
> chunk of rock on the way down and end up completely buried. A
> rescue excavation has commenced, and they should be safe shortly.
>
> Captain's Log, stardate 54344.9. Mr. Spock has beamed up to the
> ship with them to assist Mr. Scott in their installation, as he
> forsees compatability problems. Back on the planet's surface, Mr.
> Chekov led seven men into the tunnel in an attempt to capture the
> creature in transit. A loud BEEP, BEEP was heard, and Chekov
> aimed the phaser rifle and commanded his men to spread out. I
> wish to state for the record that I would have acted similarly,
> and that Ensign Chekov should in no way be held responsible for
> the unfortunate circumstances arising from the unexpected
> appearance of an old Earth-style freight train. He has been
> beamed back up to the ship with minor injuries.
>
>
> Captain's Log, stardate 54345.1. Dr. McCoy has beamed down with a
> hypo containing a mixture of kyranide, tri-ox compound, Scalosian
> concentrate, a theragram derivative, and some other items he
> found in unmarked containers in Sickbay. By injecting a small
> amount into each member of the landing party, I hope to be able
> to deal with the creature on its own high speed terms.
>
> Captain's Log, supplemental. The latest experiment to deal with
> the strange creature has failed. As Dr. McCoy was injecting a
> measured dose of the compound, it abruptly appeared behind him
> and uttered a loud BEEP, BEEP! Dr. McCoy, understandably
> flustered, accidentally pressured in the entire contents of the
> hypo into his arm. A full security team is in pursuit of him,
> waiting for the effects of the drug to wear off.
>
> Captain's Log, stardate 54345.2. I have ordered the landing party
> transported back to the ship. The new dilithium crystals have
> been successfully installed. On my responsibility, the ship is
> preparing to engage main phasers to attack the creature, which
> continues on its semi-erratic course across the planet's surface.
>
> Captain's Log, supplemental. This is a warning to all other
> starships that may pass this way. Do not approach this planet!
> The illogical events occuring here are too much to overcome with
> simple science. If you have heard the events transcribed in the
> rest of this log, you will learn that this creature is nearly
> undefeatable. We channelled full ship's power through the phaser
> banks. Theoretically, the creature should have been destroyed;
> however, the energies were too much strain for the ACME crystals.
> The full force of the phasers backlashed over the Enterprise,
> engulfing her completely. At first, the only noticeable effect
> was a complete failure of all systems save emergency gravity and
> life support. Then a web of black lines spread through the
> Enterprise's superstructure. Next, the ship began breaking up,
> piece by piece, falling through the atmosphere to land on the
> surface of the planet. When the ship had collapsed entirely, my
> crew was left hanging in space for a short time, and finally each
> of us began to fall to the planet below. We have no theories on
> how any of us survived, but every crew member has reported nothing
> more than a sense of uneasiness, followed by the realization that
> they were several hundred miles up in the air, a sinking
> sensation, and then a gradual drop: first the feet, then the
> body, and finally the head, usually wearing a resigned expression
> of perplexion. We are attempting now to communicate with the
> creature in the hopes that it will prove intelligent. Perhaps we
> can communicate our peaceful intentions to it. Mr. Spock has
> constructed a crude rocket launcher from the wreckage of the
> ship, and with this we hope to send the recorder marker up into
> space, where hopefully someone will find it. Captain James T.
> Kirk, of the United Federation of Planets, Captain of the
> Starship Enterprise, recording.