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Antarian Trans-Stellar Rally

screenshots by Janet
screenshots are from [#149 Drive]

ASSAN'S SHIP : page 1

 

Drawing of the exterior of Assan's ship.
Source TOSTFF. Picture size 97Kb.
drawing
Note the logo on Assan's ship.


Assan		 The Antarian Trans-stellar Rally commemorates the cessation of hostiities between four factions which had warred over the same disputed region in the Delta Quadrant. The Rally attacts a large number of competitors from various races, some of which were not originally involved in the protracted fighting which eventually ended in 2376. The Antarians view the Rally as a benign but exciting replacement for warface, but some competitors such as Assan have a more militaristic approach. Assan was a fighter pilot in the war and in the race he employs every trick of flying tactics that he used during the war.

Assan's approach to the Rally is seen in his conversation with Tom Paris at the social gathering hosted by Voyager beforehand:

Paris extends a hand to Assan but is ignored. Lieutenant Tom Paris, welcome aboard." Assan continues to ignore him. "Could I get you something, a drink, something to eat, tour of the ship?"
Assan, without looking at Paris: "Were you assigned to serve me?"
Paris: "Erm, not exactly."
Assan: "Are we friends?"
Paris: "I guess not."
Assan: "Then you must be one of those pilots who believes in the fellowship of combat."
Paris: "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought this was a friendly race, not a battle. If you believe that, then you've already lost."

(Assan's co-pilot, however, does participate in the social gathering.)

Assan's aggressive approach is reflected in the design of his two-man ship: the ship is fairly small and compact, highly maneuverable, and it construction is rugged and its powerful external shields permit certain maneuvers that would not be possible in ships with weaker defences.

In the early stages of the race, Assan's ship, number 8, quickly moves to the front of the competition by deliberately grazing the shields of Voyager's entrant, the Delta Flyer. This is an illegal move, banned because it is potentially dangerous. The contact temporarily knocks out the Delta Flyer's port thrusters but luckily the recently rebuilt and enhanced Starfleet vessel can compensate for the damage and remains in the race. Tom Paris recognises Assan's move as an old Starfleet Academy trick called "scraping". The rear underside shields of Assan's ship glow a bright blue colour when in contact with the Delta Flyer's shields. A similar effect is seen when the Delta Flyer pushes its way past Assan's and Irina's ships within the tight confines of the Mobius Inversion section of the race, although Assan's vessel suffers no damage from the deliberate contact. Assan's tactics are wrongly blamed for a major accident during the Rally when Joxom, Irina's co-pilot, is seriously injured after his console explodes. Assan refuses to argue his case but is vindicated by Tuvok's discovery that the console was rigged and thus the accident was due to deliberate internal sabotage.