Setting The game is set in a universe that parodies various notable science fiction franchise, including
Alien and
The Fly. Unusually for the
Space Quest series,
Space Quest V specifically parodies
Star Trek, including aspects such as ships, crew members and references from episodes in the franchise. In the story, players assume the role of Roger Wilco, who, since the events of
Space Quest IV, has applied to become a captain to fulfill a lifelong dream, while in the background an investigation is launched in to a spate of toxic dumping in the galaxy that is feared to be causing trouble.
Story Following the events of
Space Quest IV, lowly janitor Roger Wilco applies for a place at Starcon Academy, hoping to become a captain on his own ship. While at the Academy, Roger makes an enemy of Raems T. Quirk (a rather blatant spoof of
Captain James T. Kirk) - a toupee-wearing commander in command of Starcon's most prized ship, the
SCS Goliath. During an aptitude test, which Roger cheats through, Starcon is visited by Ambassador Beatrice Wankmeister - the very woman Roger is set to have a relationship with, after learning of her from his future son. Beatrice requests an escort to help her as she investigates bizarre cases of toxic dumping across the galaxy; Quirk offers to assist her, and Starcon allows her to make use of the
Goliath for her investigations. Meanwhile, Roger successfully achieves his dream, and is given command of his own ship, the garbage scow
SCS Eureka (which looks and functions like an oversized vacuum cleaner). Working alongside his crew, the
Eureka works to clean up rubbish, picking up a
facehugger creature that Roger takes on as a pet. They also intercept a transmission on a Starcon frequency, concerning a collection from an unknown figure. After collecting rubbish in orbit over a jungle planet, the
Eureka comes under attack by a homicidal
gynoid named
WD40, sent by the same company that came after him in
Space Quest III. Roger outwits the gynoid on the planet's surface, securing it for the ship along with a cloaking device from the droid's own ship. When the crew take a moment to relax at a "space bar", Roger finds his chief engineer Cliffy (a parody of
Scotty from the original
Star Trek) engaged in a bar brawl with some of the
Goliaths crew. Quirk, who witnesses this, arrests him, forcing Roger to break him out of the bar's brig. As the
Eureka resumes its mission, Roger is forced to investigate a colony on a barren planet when the ship finds it deserted. To his shock, he finds the colonists have become mutants; the only clues to what happened are a canister found dumped near the colony, belong to a genetics company, and a log entry of a colonist stating the colony was attacked sometime after it was visited by the
Goliath. Shortly after leaving the planet, the
Eureka receives an SOS from Quirk, revealing his ship is under attack. Responding to the call, the crew find an escape pod left the
Goliath, containing Beatrice. She reveals the ship got hit by mutants, and that Quirk and the crew were mutated as a result; as she herself is undergoing mutation, Roger puts her into
cryo-sleep to slow down the process until he can find a cure. Tracking down the genetic company, Roger, despite a transporter malfunction, discovers scientists in the company sought to create a virus for terraforming, but it mutated and started attacking living creatures. The experiment was ended, but the lead scientist had to get rid of the vats of the virus; Quirk turns out to have been bribed to dump the vats around the galaxy. Through an unusual idea from his pet facehugger, Roger suggests to Cliffy in using the teleporter to separate the virus from Beatrice. The process works, leading him to launch a daring raid on the
Goliath to see if the process can be done to the others. With help from a reprogrammed WD40, Roger successfully rescues what is left of the ship's crew, but finds Quirk, mutated beyond rescue, flees the ship in order to infect the
Eureka. Rescuing Beatrice, Roger sets his ship to self-destruct, destroying the virus for good. Beatrice joins him and the survivors, as they leave in the
Goliath for Starcon. ==Development==