Author's Note: Thanks, everyone, for your kind words. This marks the last of my short snippets, but fear not, I have a couple of bigger things cooking in the oven. Stay tuned for my Enterprise finale fix and the sequel, Star Trek: Heronas.
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"...so we're gonna figure something out with the whole naming pattern thing. Since we started we've already run out of names for the NX-class, and the number of pre-WW3 carriers, destroyers and battleships we could use for baby names are way less in number than the amount of Daedalus, Neptune and Intrepids we've got coming out the yards."
Lieutenant Ferris nodded. "So what have you decided?"
"Nothing as yet. We're thinking making the names division over what purpose the ships are for."
"Like?"
"Like, name the science vessels after famous scientists, ships meant for combat duty after old naval vessels and famous battles, and the new engineering corps ships after famous builders and engineers."
Ferris nodded again, then frowned, looking up. "Engineering corps? That's a new one."
"Well..." Yamada had the grace to look a bit embarrassed. "Nothing official, yet. You know the red tape, it'll probably be centuries before it's official. But they're starting to form up special crews for some of the new Starfleet ships, mainly meant to tamper with any tech we find or invent, as well as reverse-engineer any stuff found that regular crews can't handle. We're sort of calling them the corps of engineers."
"Huh. Makes sense. Any specific ships meant for this...corps?" Ferris nibbled the garlic bread and refrained from wincing. Too much butter.
"Well, there's a new class coming out now, the first one is gonna have its maiden voyage in weeks if all goes aright. Hot rods. Big engines, little crew, not much weaponry. Basically just couriers and patrols, meant to stay in Coalition space. They'll be good for fighting pirates, but not so good in the war effort. And we'll need civilian Starfleet ships once the war is over. To show that we're not really a military?"
"...if you say so. So, got a name for the first one yet?"
"Nope. They're giving the honor of naming her to whoever gets to be the first captain."
"What's the name of the class?"
"Buran. After the old Russian space shuttle..."
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…
Derek Billings had been a farmer for going on twenty-five years now, man and boy. Twenty-five years. His dad brought him into it back on Earth, and when the family moved to Scrimshaw, a small colony near Vulcan space, he'd moved with them. All that really changed was what you grew. On Earth it had been sweet corn, here on Scrimshaw it was (mostly) something called gerik, a rutabaga-like plant that tasted sort of like cinnamon if you boiled it and curry if you fried it. Both if deep-fried. Tasted like nothing, raw, but still filled your stomach. Apparently, it was common with a people called 'Trill', who'd tagged along the Vulcans decades back and set up shop on Earth, mostly selling new agricultural exports and medical technology. Looked human except for spots on the neck and cheeks.
Scrimshaw had a single orbital outpost, a sort of customs station that could be manned by a single man (though usually at least five people were up there), and everyone living in the colony took turns manning it. Today it was Derek, and four others he didn't know all that well.
"What's that?"
"What's what?" Li, a good-looking Chinese girl whose parents had a hydroponics farm growing Earth veggies near the small spaceport, leaned over.
"That." He pointed at the screen. "Looks like an entire section of space just lost its stars."
"Oh, that. Sensor glitch?"
"...no, the stars are back. Hang on..." He brought up the image from ten minutes ago, overlaid on the new one. "...this can't be right. They're upside down."
Now the others were getting interested as well. "How is that even possible?"
"I dunno. But...wait...I think it's moving..."
The disruptor cannon blast vaporized the orbital station, five people dying in a single burst of green death.
The rest of the colony wasn't so lucky.
…
…
"Hey, did you hear the news?"
"What news?"
"Tucker."
"...the old chief? What about him?"
"He's not dead."
"...you're kidding me."
"Nope."
"He's not?"
"Nuh-uh."
"...how'd that work?"
"No clue. He's back, though."
"...they firing Hess?"
"Nah, he's on one of the ships that bailed us out. Got promoted, too."
"..."
"Yeah."
"...let me get this straight. Your former chief engineer who got vaped by presumably Romulan boarders during the battle of Coridan is not dead, got promoted, and saved our collective bacons?"
"...well, him and about twelve or so other ships, but yeah, basically."
"Man, you couldn't make this stuff up! Nobody's gonna believe stuff like this when reading the history books."
"Tell me about it. I remember telling my buddies on Earth about the Expanse, and they thought I was lying to make myself look good. Had to show them the scars to get them to believe half of it."
"Even the-"
"No. Not going there, man."
"Sorry."
…
…
NCC-042 USS Heronas
Commanding Officer: Captain Charles Anthony Tucker III
Personnel File 6654-33, Lieutenant Millicent Edwina Sawyer
Service Record: Graduated Starfleet Academy 2148, assigned to San Francisco Starfleet Command Maintenance & Requisition. Reprimanded January 12th 2149, conduct unbecoming. Reprimanded January 23d, conduct unbecoming. Reprimanded February 2d, conduct unbecoming. Reprimanded March 12th, conduct unbecoming. Transferred April 20th to McMurdo Monitor Station, Antarctica. Promoted lieutenant junior grade August 6th, 2154. Transferred USS Heronas May 1st, 2156. Promoted full lieutenant, May 1st 2156.
Psychological Evaluation: Authority issues, mild alcoholism, frivolous attitude to safety precautions and routines, possible pyromaniac tendencies, oft stated dislike of chain of command.
Notes: Sent the [REDACTED] to the Heronas. Let Tucker deal with her. Good riddance.
Signed, Adm. Phillip Gardner
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NCC-042 USS Heronas
Commanding Officer: Captain Charles Anthony Tucker III
Personnel File 6701-17, Lieutenant Commander David Wong
Service Record: Graduated Starfleet Academy 2150, assigned to Intrepid-class Illinois. Promoted lieutenant junior grade October 2151. Transferred Sarajevo-class Marduk July 30th, 2153. Promoted full lieutenant January 1st 2154. Transferred Sarajevo-class Kennebunkport November 2d, 2154. Promoted lieutenant commander December 26th 2155. Transferred USS Heronas May 1st, 2156.
Psychological Evaluation: Efficient, rule-abiding, honest, driven. Minor parental issues, but nothing urgent. Career officer, real go-getter. Bears further watching on command track.
Notes: Somebody has to keep an eye on Tucker. Wong seems willing and able.
Signed, Adm. Phillip Gardner
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NCC-042 USS Heronas
Commanding Officer: Captain Charles Anthony Tucker III
Personnel File 6654-33, Lieutenant Friedrich Horst Nessler
Service Record: Graduated Starfleet Academy 2151, assigned to Security, Yosemite 3 research station. Promoted Lieutenant junior grade June 17th, 2153. Transferred Earth embassy, Vulcan January 1st 2154. Promoted full lieutenant July 1st 2155. Transferred USS Heronas May 1st 2151.
Psychological Evaluation: Solid psyche, minor agoraphobic.
Notes: Studied under Sato in 2150. polyglot and multilingual.
Signed, Adm. Phillip Gardner
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NCC-042 USS Heronas
Commanding Officer: Captain Charles Anthony Tucker III
Personnel File 6651-33, Commander T'Pol
Service Record: See attached Vulcan High Command file T-33-5.
Psychological Evaluation: See above-mentioned file.
Notes: Can't have Gardner cherry-pick his crew, can we? Besides, I owe him one.
Signed, Com. Erika Hernandez
…
…
"Okay, okay, okay. How about this one. How many MACOs does it take to screw in a lightbulb?"
Wong glared at the woman in the seat next to him. How on Earth did she pass physical? She had to be at least an inch above maximum height. Realizing she was going to keep staring expectantly at him until he replied, he sighed, and complied. "I don't know, lieutenant, how many?"
She grinned, then yelled in his ear, "SIR, A MACO WILL SCREW IN AS MANY LIGHTBULBS AS NECESSARY, SIR!"
There were scattered chuckles in the small, cramped cabin, until Wong gave them the Cold Stare. God, she was annoying. "May I remind you, lieutenant, that you're a junior officer, and that yelling in a superior officer's ear-"
"Keep your panties on, lieutenant commander. She's just trying to break the ice. Though keep the voice down, Sawyer, I think they heard you on Qo'noS." Captain Tucker was smirking as he said it, though, poking his head back among the junior officers to pick up a padd from his duffel. No discipline. Figures.
"Yes, sir." Lieutenant Sawyer blushed, leaning back, though stealing occasional glances at their CO. Wong held back a sneer. It was obvious she had a thing for their stalwart, laid back captain. Charles Tucker III, multiple medals, multiple achievements, hero engineer of the Enterprise. Reported dead over a year ago, back from the dead in a highly publicized rescue a couple months back.
Dead. Yeah, right.
He swallowed hard and tried not to think of anything in particular. As he often did, he went through his first impressions of his future fellow crew members. Let's see...Sawyer was Armoury, Tactical and Security. Cheerful to the point of cloying, never shut up. Surprisingly good scores on all tests, he'd heard. She was also in charge of the ten MACO they had been assigned. As if the ship wasn't cramped enough as it was. Good-looking, though. What was the word...photogenic.
Then there was Nessler. Comms, ship's linguist, total enigma. German. No accent. Handsome enough, but about as talkative as a brick wall. No real impression there, yet.
There was no XO, yet. Apparently they were going to pick that one up from the Enterprise, out in the former Expanse somewhere. With the NX-class it was a five-week trip at Warp five. It would take the Heronas a little under six days. Progress.
He hadn't met his junior officers yet, as such, though at least four of them shared the shuttlepod passenger compartment. Once everyone had been brought on board the shuttlepod would be stripped down and refurbished, to be used for standard duties. With luck, he'd be put in charge of that.
Next to him, Sawyer's grin widened. "Hey, lieutenant commander, knock knock."
He sighed. "Who's there?"
"Impatient cow."
"Wha-"
"Moo!"
This...was going to be a long trip. All twenty minutes of it.
…
…
"Oh, good lord. They said it was bad, I just didn't realize..."
Captain Charles 'Trip' Tucker (the Third) stared in horror at the captain's cabin. Okay, this was ridiculous. The ship could barely house the forty-man crew in the ship because storage was at a premium, and his own cabin was...
"Christ, the cap'n had a smaller room than this."
Wait, I'm the cap'n now, aren't I? Right.
"Tucker to Maintenance."
"Maintenance here."
"Yeah, I'm seeing a definite design flaw right here, Gibbs...mind sending a couple workers up here to take measurements? We're gonna have to cut my cabin down to size a few meters..."
…
…
The end...for now.