Solution to Captain's Log

Authors: Brandy Buckingham and Robbie Buckingham

Summary:

1. Solve the thirty Star Trek-themed cryptic clues.
2. Note that the only answers that are either first or last names are WILLIAM, PATRICK, AVERY, KATE, and SCOTT. These are the first names of the five people who have played the primary captains in Star Trek TV shows (William Shatner, Patrick Stewart, Avery Brooks, Kate Mulgrew, and Scott Bakula).
3. Enter one captain into each grid, starting at and in the direction of the arrow, putting each name in the grid whose given date corresponds to the date/stardate that the show starts in. (Grids are given in in-universe chronological order.)
4. Enter the rest of the answers into the grids in chains, with first and last letters overlapping. The enumerations, overlaps, and five crosses per grid are sufficient to uniquely place all of the words once the captains are in place.
5. Taking the letters at the points and crosses of the stars in the order indicated by the numbers in these spots gives BEAM US WORF, ELIM GARAK, NOG, OR ANOTHER RIDGED-TYPE TREK ALIEN. When teams provide us with a ridged Star Trek alien (in whatever form, though bringing us Michael Dorn >>> wearing a costume >> action figure >> picture), we give them the answer.

Word chains:
WILLIAM - MOBILE - EGGROLL - LEVIABLE - EELER - ROW
PATRICK - KEGGER - ROYALTY - YOKING - GEEZER - RAMP
AVERY - YON - NONSINGING - GERM - MAYANART - TIENDA
KATE - EFFUSE - ECHIDNA - ANTHRO - OFFENDS - SHRANK
SCOTT - TERRACE - ERROR - RIOTACT - TEAPOT - TETRIS

Cryptic Clue answers:

Acolyte Yar shuffled, removing ace, kings, and queens (7)
anagram(ACOLYTEYAR) - ACE = ROYALTY

Alien chained to egg-laying mammal (7)
anagram(CHAINED) = ECHIDNA

At first, Geordi engineered radioactive meals for a microorganism (4)
first letters = GERM

Beginnings of Rules of Acquisition: Remove top grade tungsten in straight line (3)
ROA - A + W = ROW

Bird enclosure loses retrograde AI; Ezri initially goes in instead to label company (5)
AVIARY - IA + E = AVERY

Black-eyed pea for Riker (7)
double definition = WILLIAM

Computer game brought in to liberate Triskelion (6)
libera(teTris)kelion = TETRIS

Crazed group with last of Ferengi, ends of Loque'eque is ready to go (6)
MOB + I + LE = MOBILE

Disturbs Toff's last three objects (7)
OFF + ENDS = OFFENDS

Ergo, Gorn or Lily oddly gives Chinese snack (7)
odd letters(ErGoGoRnOrLiLy) = EGGROLL

Evil alien adept and can be taxed (8)
anagram(EVIL) + ABLE = LEVIABLE

In the end, McCoy approving the harnessing of oxen(6)
Y + OKING = YOKING

Janeway's back on remote (3)
Y + ON = YON

Laren goes after half of amaranth for college class, in short (6)
ANTH + RO = ANTHRO

Leaders of Romulus and Malon Prime are way off (4)
first letters = RAMP

Mesoamerican sculpture angered Yar at man (5 3)
anagram(YARATMAN) = MAYAN ART

Mexican store to draw leaders of Nuvians, Denebians, Andorians (6)
TIE + N + D + A = TIENDA

Montgomery is one from Edinburgh town originally (5)
SCOT + T = SCOTT

Neelix removing nitrogen, subtracting nine, including erbium for a certain fisherman (5)
NEELIX - N - IX + ER = EELER

Nomad must sterilize if you are guilty of this baseless fear (5)
TERROR - T = ERROR

Pair of Efrosians attach to fuse, gush (6)
EF + FUSE = EFFUSE

Picard's head stuffed in a tote - unfortunately, it holds his Earl Grey (6)
anagram(ATOTE + P) = TEAPOT

Quiet Ensign or Commander was made smaller (6)
SH + RANK = SHRANK

Speaking only has confused Nog sinning (3-7)
anagram(NOGSINNING) = NON-SINGING

Spock, a terribly disguised girl (4)
Spoc(kate)rribly = KATE

Strangely apt, Producer Berman is Irish saint (7)
anagram(APT) + RICK = PATRICK

Torres plays, loses, so takes ace from deck (7)
anagram(TORRES) - SO + ACE = TERRACE

Troi messed up several scenes; result could be read to the unruly (4 3)
anagram(TROI) + ACT = RIOT ACT

Ultimately, Borg made the jazz devotee Riker an old man (6)
last letters = GEEZER

Wild party involves mixed-up EKG and Barclay briefly backwards (6)
anagram(EKG) + backwards(REG) = KEGGER

Bonus: The following clues were to be used in an alternate version of this puzzle with a different solution:

Abominable monsters built from final pieces of every chocolate that Troi likes (5)
Egad! Getaway contains holo-imager for one (6)
Seasoning eaten by Picard's alternate (4)
Sounds like Toq's speeches (5)
Tin Bird-of-Prey joins charged particles to create Tibetan emblems (4 5)
T'Pol takes in Yolen primarily, meets leaders of Octran, Gorn, Yash-El to create classification system (8)
With tip of transporter, Wesley initially fell out of warp, finding cover (4)

ANSWERS TO BONUS CLUES:

Abominable monsters built from final pieces of every chocolate that Troi likes (5)
last letters = YETIS

Egad! Getaway contains holo-imager for one (6)
e(GAD GET)away = GADGET

Seasoning eaten by Picard's alternate (4)
Picard'(S ALT)ernate = SALT

Sounds like Toq's speeches (5)
homophone(TOQ'S) = TALKS

Tin Bird-of-Prey joins charged particles to create Tibetan emblems (4 5)
SN + OWL + IONS = SNOW LIONS

T'Pol takes in Yolen primarily, meets leaders of Octran, Gorn, Yash-El to create classification system (8)
TPOL + Y + O + G + Y = TYPOLOGY

With tip of transporter, Wesley initially fell out of warp, finding cover (4)
T + WARP - W = TARP