Years ago (Before we knew much about
Star Trek: Enterprise) this was my idea for Trek show. Brace yourself, it's a prequel and very fanwanky.
I've tweaked it a bit over the years, but mostly it's what I came up with in circa 2001
The time
- 2245, twenty years before James T. Kirk will assume command of the USS Enterprise
The Galaxy- The Federation has been in existence for eighty-four years. A disastrous first contact has made the Klingon Empire an adversary . The Romulans have not been in contact since the war in 2156.
Orion pirates plague the space ways, attacking and looting ships and colonies. The Vulcans, while supportive of the Federation, are wary of Starfleet and actively oppose its expansion. Most of the Alpha Quadrant remains unexplored; space is the final frontier.
The Ship- USS Enterprise NCC-1701, Constitution Class Starship. The newest of twelve ships in this class, with three more currently under construction. Six of the ships are Cherokee class vessels upgraded to Constitution specs. One is a Constitution prototype upgraded to the final Constitution specs. The Enterprise has a crew complement of 220. It is armed with lasers and photon torpedoes. This is it's first five year mission. Since it is twenty years prior the Kirk era, the ship may look somewhat different internally and externally, but should be identifiable as the same Enterprise from the original Star Trek series.
When the Constitution class ship design proved successful and was completed ahead of schedule Starfleet decided to upgrade the last of the Cherokee class ships still under construction to Constitution specs and modify several existing Cherokee class ships as well. A previous prototype for the Constitution class, NX 1697 was also upgraded to the final Constitution class specifications as well.
NCC 0956 USS Eagle Upgraded Cherokee Class
NCC 1017 USS Constellation Upgraded Cherokee Class
NCC 1317 USS Republic Upgraded Cherokee Class
NCC 1657 USS Potemkin Upgraded Cherokee Class
NCC 1664 USS Excalibur Upgraded Cherokee Class
NCC 1672 USS Exeter Upgraded Cherokee Class
NCC 1697 USS Essex Constitution prototype version 1.0
NCC 1700 USS Constitution Constitution prototype version 2.0
NCC 1701 USS Enterprise Constitution Class
NCC 1703 USS Hood Constitution Class
NCC 1709 USS Lexington Constitution Class
NCC 1717 USS Yorktown Constitution Class
NCC 1764 USS Defiant Constitution Class (under construction)
NCC 1831 USS Intrepid Constitution Class (in development)
NCC 1895 USS Endeavour Constitution Class (in development)
The crew:
Captain April: A tough maverick commander who started his career as an enlisted man. Born on the New Tasman Colony April joined Starfleet to escape the boredom and drudgery of colonial life. Rising to the rank of Chief Petty Officer, he was given a battlefield promotion to assume command after his ship's commander was killed and later attended Starfleet's OCS program, receiving an officer's commission.
Dr. Sarah Goldman: A former child prodigy of Israeli-Ethiopian decent, Goldman holds advanced degrees in Medicine, Psychology and Physics. Feeling unchallenged in academia Goldman joined Starfleet in the hope of fully utilizing her gifts, skills and knowledge and to be on the cutting edge of new discoveries. She serves as the Enterprise's Chief Medical Officer and Science Officer.
Commander Nogura: The ship’s XO and a by-the-book officer who's uncomfortable with April’s maverick tendencies. It’s an open secret that he was assigned to the Enterprise to curb those tendencies. Nogura comes from a powerful political family who hold various positions in the governments of Earth and the Federation. They see Starfleet as a stepping stone to politics and have begun to pressure Nogura to leave the service.
I figure there would be some conflict between April and Nogura, with Nogura being right on occasion and winning some begrudging respect from April. The "political family" angle would also figure in storylines where UFP politics come into play. Nogura is also a key member of the ships first contact team because he does have a flair for diplomacy.
Lt. Commander Slev: An Andorian, who was April’s choice to be XO, Slev serves as the ship's Security Chief. Slender and soft spoken, Slev is often underestimated by opponents unfamiliar with Andorian warrior culture. Slev is also a poet, coming from the Andorian Warrior-Poet tradition.
Slev's triad was killed and he is "bond-broken". His membership in the Warrior caste led him to Starfleet, which is one of the few places that will accept a bond broken Andorian. He thinks of April and the Chief as his triad bond brothers, even though he is no longer bonded to a matriarch.
“The Chief” CPO Moqs: A Tellerite, he's the top non-commissioned officer on the ship and runs engineering. A former drill instructor at Starfleet's boot camp he terrifies most of the junior crewman who live in fear of a temporary assignment to Engineering. He's also April's oldest friend.
Lt. Chris Pike: The ships helmsman. Devoted, loyal and a bit too serious, he would literally lay down his life for the Captain, the ship and the crew. April thinks he needs to loosen up and trust his instincts more.
Lt. (jg). Maggie Garcia: Quiet and shy, she is ironically the ship's Communications Officer. Unknown to most of the crew, Garcia is a decendent of the Eugenic supermen who plunged Earth into war centuries ago. Smarter and stronger than most humans, but raised in isolation by scientists, Garcia is socially awkward and at times uncomfortable with "normals" and fears their reaction to her background. April, whose ancestors fought and died in the Eugenics Wars, isn't pleased to have her aboard. Goldman is her "sponsor" and one of the chief designers of the program to "mainstream" Eugenic Humans. Garcia was the “number one” candidate for this program.
Anyone known to have an augment background is pretty much kept under lock and key by the Government of Earth. (The UFP turns a blind eye to this "internal matter") Part of the reason for this is the augment process causes various mental problems (paranoia, megalomania, sociopathic tendencies.) Garcia is on an experimental drug regimen to keep this under control. Which probably contributes to her shyness and quite demeanor. All the above would be plot points for various episodes and arcs
Ensign Gwenhwyfar "Lou" Llewellyn: Garcia's roommate and polar opposite. Llewellyn serves as ship's Navigator. Loud, loquacious and uninhibited Lou is an interstellar incident waiting to happen. A Starfleet brat who mother is an Admiral, Lou has probably logged more space hours and been on more planets than all but the most experienced crewmen. Any hope by her parents that Starfleet would temper her attitudes have thus far been proven false.
Aliens:
ANDORIANS- Of the races currently part of the Federation, the Andorians are seen as the most non-human. This is due to their insectiod rather than mammalian evolution. The Andorians are ruled by a matriarchy, but their females are rarely seen by off-worlders. Male Andorians are raised in large groups and each group is divided into sub-groups of three called triads. The triads are closer than brothers and each member is trained to be a warrior. Each triad is also trained in other skills. They might be doctors, scientists, poets, chefs or countless other professions. Upon maturity each triad is bonded to a female Andorian and enters into her service as a warrior and in whatever secondary skill they have trained in. An Andorian woman’s wealth and power is judged by the number of triads she has bonded with. In Andor’s past great wars were fought between rival matriarchs, with millions of triads sacrificing their lives. This deference to females has caused problems with Andorians serving in Starfleet who are in units commanded by females. The government on Andor is the Matriarchal Council, headed by the Grand Matriarch.
Though slender in appearance and soft spoken, Andorians posses great strength and their bodies are covered with a tough exoskeleton that protects them from most physical harm. Andorians have a high regard for poetry and music. Most of their history is told in epic poems and song, which are memorized and performed by triads trained in those arts.
TELLARITES - Tellarites love to argue, or so most other Federation members like to think. They are very blunt and speak their minds, with little thought for the consequences. This can make negotiations with them very difficult. A very proud people, they feel the Tellarite civilization to be superior to all others. Family is very important and monogamy is the common practice. Archly conservative, they are wary of new ideas. Joining the Federation was a controversial decision and many Tellarites are still opposed to Federation membership. Their government is based on the democratic republic model. Debate is a popular pastime. Prior to the founding of the Federation, Tellar and Andor fought a long bitter war and distrust still exists between the two worlds.
ORION PIRATES- The Orions are a criminal organization, not an alien race. The first Orion pirates were from Rigel V and are physiologically very similar to Vulcans, and like the Romulans, may be an off shoot of that race. The pirates terrorized the Rigel system for centuries and with the invention of warp drive spread their criminal organization throughout the galaxy. Most of the illegal activity in two quadrants can be traced to the Orion organization. While Rigelians still dominate the organization, all sentient species are welcome. The typical crew of an Orion ship may include Rigellians, Terrans, Klingons and countless other species. Federation Intelligence believes, but cannot prove, that the Orions control the governments of Rigel V, Rigel II and Rigel VII. Many independent space stations are fronts for Orion smuggling and slavery operations. Orion captains and their ships are known for their boldness—often attacking ships, space stations and even planets who are seemingly their superior. Their ships are very deceiving. What externally looks like a merchant ship may actually posses the fire power to take on a starship and the speed to out run it.
RIGELLIANS- The Rigel System is one of the most populated areas of the Federation. It contains four planets that support sentient life and one planet rich in dilithium crystals. As stated above Rigel V is the homeworld of the first Orion Pirates and it’s inhabitants may be related to the Vulcans. Rigel V is well known for it’s vast merchant fleets and opulent lifestyle, which detractors attribute to the Orion Pirates. Rigel II is known for its gaming and entertainment facilities. Most of these are owned by wealthy merchants from Rigel V. Rigel IV is a colony of Rigel V and the source of political unrest. The inhabitants wish to be recognized as an independent world. Rigel VII was used as a prison for the Rigel System for many centuries. Over one hundred years ago the prisoners rioted and took over the planet. Society there has regressed to a medieval level and the planet is under strict quarantine by the Rigellian government. Rigel IX is a barely habitable planet at the edge of the system. Rich in dilithium, the planet is home to hundreds of miners hoping to make their fortunes.
Native born Rigellians look like Vulcans but lack their telepathic skills and devotion to logic. They tend to enjoy life and are a boisterous, loud people who love fine food, fine clothes and other trappings of wealth. Like the Orions, the Rigellians readily welcome off-worlders into their society and many have migrated there, attracted by the opulent life style.
Characters & Aliens from other Star Trek Shows
Most of the characters from the other Trek shows would be too young to appear in this series as anything other than children or time travelers. Kirk would be around ten years old and Spock would be about thirteen at the time this series takes place. McCoy and Scotty would be in their early twenties, but I'm not sure that having other actors playing adult, although younger, versions of these characters would be accepted by fans. Sarek and Amanda are also possibilities, but again would the fans accept other actors in these roles? Of course the characters from Next Generation, DS9 and Voyager would not haven been born yet.
Using the Klingons would probably be problematic, since we would have to face the question of the different appearances of the original series Klingons and the Movies/Next Generation Klingons. Though I suppose the TOS Klingons could be ignored or just never mentioned. The Romulans were still incommunicado at this time, but Romulans disguised as Vulcans or Rigellians might be used. At this time, the Cardassians, the Bajorans and Ferengi live in an area of space that had not yet been explored by the Federation. It is unlikely that the Enterprise would run across them. The Trill seem to have been around since the Federation's founding so an appearance by a member of that species would not be out of line. Betazed also seems to be a Federation member of long standing.
My kitbash of the Enterprise of that era
And my kitbashed uniforms ( from a website I had back then)
Yes, I spent way too much time on this.
