Alternate TNG

[Red Ranger]

Hi, all. I was inspired by the TNG ep Parallels to write a series of alternate crews for our good ship Enterprise. One of the things I propose is that Enterprise is not the sole flagship of the Federation, but one of several designated as flagships -- something implied in Chain of Command. I hope you'll join me in submitting some of your own crew creations.

Here goes the first one, which features O'Brien as Enterprise captain:

[In this quantum universe, there are a number of key changes. First, Miles O’Brien becomes Enterprise captain after changing his career path from a noncommissioned officer to a commissioned officer, partly at Captain Maxwell’s urging. More importantly, the Cardassians’ history is altered after Starfleet makes first contact with them more than 100 years ago, before the military took over their society after the breakdown of the previous civilization, the Hibitians, and embarked on their bloody campaign to become a powerful empire. The Cardassians learn of the Federation through this earlier contact with Starfleet and petition for provisional membership. This entitles Cardassia to partake of emergency aid to rebuild their shattered society, leading to much less suffering for the Cardassian people. It also means they never turn to their military to solve their problems, nor do they embark on missions of conquest to gain natural resources, such as their conquest of Bajor. It also means the Cardassians eventually become a culture that reveres scientific research and artistic expression, and it’s not restricted to the female members of their society, as in the more familiar Cardassia. Both genders participate in this more pacific society, with physicians and scientists occupying the top rungs of their transformed society, led by a democratic, parliamentary form of government whose top leader is called First Minister. It also means that at first, Cardassians don’t wish to join Starfleet because of its militaristic bent. This leads to a very different but unusual history for Bajor as they fall under the somewhat benign yet subtle commercial domination of the Ferengi. That “reign” luckily only lasts 35 years rather than 60 years of brutal oppression and destruction of Bajor’s natural resources. Other changes: Data is a humanoid, not an android; Troi is CMO; and there are a small number of Cardassians serving in Starfleet.]

Captain Miles Edward O’Brien (Commanding Officer). This O’Brien’s career is identical to the one we know up to a point after serving with Captain Ben Maxwell on the Rutledge. O’Brien was an enlisted man, a chief petty officer Maxwell made a junior tactical officer despite his noncom rank. They didn’t fight the Cardassians because of their different history in this universe, but they did see action against the Tzenkethi (thus, the Tzenkethi become the object of O’Brien’s enmity instead of the Cardassians).

After a brutal assault on Setlik III by the Tzenkethi on colonists, O’Brien began to reassess his career, thinking he could have more of an impact in Starfleet as a commissioned officer rather than as a noncommissioned officer. After a long talk with the captain, Maxwell convinces O’Brien to accept a field promotion to ensign and at the first opportunity, sponsor him to join Starfleet’s equivalent of the Officer Training Corps. O’Brien serves a few years with Maxwell, who makes him senior tactical officer now that he has a field commission, and rises to the rank of full lieutenant before returning to Earth to receive additional training as an officer, including Starfleet’s special tactical training program. O’Brien is promoted to lieutenant commander and returns to duty on the Rutledge under Captain Maxwell as senior tactical officer, serving a few more years.

He serves on a few starships, including with Captain Leyton of the Okinawa who makes him second officer, then O’Brien becomes first officer of the Hood under Captain Robert DeSoto.Starfleet is abuzz about the new Galaxy-class starship project, and O’Brien sees his opportunity. As he has both tactical and engineering experience, he asks DeSoto to recommend him to head up construction of Enterprise based on his experience.

Six months before that happens, DeSoto is promoted by Admiral Gregory Quinn to become Rear Admiral and Commandant of Starfleet Academy. The ambitious DeSoto, who would like to one day be head of Starfleet, accepts and promotes O’Brien to be the Hood’s next captain. O’Brien then gets the Enterprise assignment and, with both Captain Maxwell’s and Rear Admiral DeSoto’s recommendations, Rear Admiral Norah Satie promotes O’Brien to take command of Enterprise, which becomes a new Starfleet flagship. O’Brien brings some of his officers on the Hood with him to his new command. Like our O’Brien, he enjoys building model starships, and has displayed his models of all the Federation starships called Enterprise in his ready room.

Commander Michael Eddington (First Officer & Strategic Operations Officer). While this Eddington also starts out in the security track, he meets O’Brien and Leyton on the Okinawa while a lieutenant and security chief. They both convince the Canadian officer that he should transfer to command and then take the first senior post available—O’Brien says if he could get over being a noncom to become a commissioned officer, certainly Eddington could transfer to the command track.

Eddington gets that chance when O’Brien is promoted to first officer of the Hood and on his recommendation, Eddington becomes second officer as well as strategic operations officer, occupying the third chair on the Hood’s bridge (means all three officers in the center seat positions are command officers). O’Brien promises him he’ll make him his first officer when he receives his first command, which happens sooner than expected.

O’Brien briefly becomes the Hood’s captain after DeSoto becomes Commandant of Starfleet Academy, so he promotes Eddington to first officer and keeps him as strategic operations officer, helping coordinate starship movements in their sector with Starfleet Command. Then, he becomes O’Brien’s Number One on Enterprise (like Picard, O’Brien also calls him Number One, being something of a military traditionalist). As on the Hood, Eddington remains strategic operations officer, an even more important post as they serve on a Starfleet flagship and therefore, coordinate starship movements and strategy for more sectors. This Eddington is not tempted by the Maquis and remains loyal to Starfleet.

Lieutenant Commander Data (Second Officer & Chief Science Officer). This Data is much like the one we know except for a major difference. He isn’t an android—he is a humanoid, a synthetically created being, essentially grown in a sophisticated biological growth camber of Soong’s devising—a test tube person. Dr. Noonian Soong’s ancestor Arik didn’t abandon his biological research; instead, he took it in a different direction, intending to create a synthetic humanoid with some of the characteristics of his augments—great strength, incredible intelligence and memory capacity, but capable of being “programmed”—essentially, a biological computer with few of the emotional impediments that made the augments unstable like arrogance and ruthlessness.

It takes a few generations of work but his descendant, Noonian Soong, took up this project, and eventually succeeded in creating the first organic computer mind, also positronic. Soong then constructed a synthetic biological humanoid form for it. This Data does look much like the one we know, as Soong used his own genetic profile as a physical template, only he has black hair and silver-gray eyes, along with a more silvery than golden complexion, due to an accidental genetic quirk in his artificial body. Much like a Vulcan, this Data is perplexed by humanoid emotions and fears, as he has such a precise computer-like mind devoid of strong emotions, but is capable of them and slowly learns to express them in a positive way.

Soong programmed this Data with fewer negative emotions, and as a result, he is generally more peaceful than most humanoids. He is more vulnerable than the Data we know, despite the fact he has even more of the strength, speed, and reflexes of a Khan-type superhuman augment. Also, as a biological humanoid, he can also procreate like any person. As his abilities are similar to the familiar Data we know, he has a similar career, rising through the ranks in the sciences. O’Brien recruits him to be second officer and chief science officer.

O’Brien is intrigued by Data’s record and while his seeming unfamiliarity with human foibles can be irritating, O’Brien becomes his unofficial “professor of the humanities.” Instead of an operations console at the front of the bridge, Data mans the main science console, while operations is a substation, manned by a more junior ops officer, located at one of the rear stations. He also wears a sciences blue uniform. Data had been chief science officer on board the Victory, where he met Geordi; they are good friends, as a result.

Dr. Deanna Troi (Chief Medical Officer, Rank: Lieutenant Commander). In this universe, Deanna studied medicine instead of psychology at Betazed’s prominent First Medical Institute. She first serves as a civilian doctor, joining first the Federation’s version of the modern-day Doctors Without Borders, which assisted people from all across the Alpha Quadrant suffering from planet-wide disasters or wars. Then, at the behest of her father, Ian Andrew, she joined Starfleet Medical.

After a few stints serving as a junior medical officer, she meets O’Brien on the Hood when he’s first officer and she is deputy chief medical officer. They become good friends and he tells her that when he receives his first command, he’ll make her his chief medical officer. That happens sooner than expected when DeSoto becomes Commandant of Starfleet Academy and takes his CMO with him to take charge of training at the Starfleet Medical branch of the Academy. O’Brien then appoints Troi as CMO on the Hood, and when he receives command of Enterprise he appoints her CMO. Her empathic nature is a bit of a dual-edged sword for a physician. She can feel the pain of her patients, which she then has to control in order to more effectively treat them. It also gives her a unique kind of “I feel your pain” bedside manner. (Like most CMOs, she wears the blue “doctor’s tunic” Dr. Crusher wore in the familiar universe.)

Counselor Geordi LaForge (Ship’s Counselor, Rank: Lieutenant Commander). As in the universe where Geordi becomes a physician, he first attends medical school, but becomes a psychiatrist. Having a technical mind devoted to medical research, Geordi develops diagnostic equipment based on his VISOR to help detect hard-to-discern mental illnesses with a physiological basis. After serving on a few starships as a junior counselor, most recently on board the Victory, Data’s previous ship, he sits in the third chair, at first wearing a civilian jumpsuit as he did on other assignments, but finds Captain O’Brien would prefer he wear his Starfleet uniform—of course, the young, up-and-coming senior counselor complies, as Captain O’Brien is something of a hero to the young, recently promoted officer.

O’Brien knows that Geordi’s VISOR enables him to discern the emotional states of most beings he comes into contact with, a valuable asset in a tense situation. Geordi also uses his VISOR in his therapy sessions with the crew and civilians he treats, while openly telling them his VISOR has that capability. Strangely, that—plus his penchant for wearing civilian clothes during therapy sessions—helps put his patients’ minds at ease. He often works closely with Data, intrigued by the humanoid’s different view of the humanities or “fellow humanoids,” as he calls them.

Lieutenant Commander Sarah McDougal (Chief Engineering Officer). MacDougal, as in the familiar universe, served at the time in a rotating group of chief engineers. While not canon, but considered fanon, MacDougal, along with Argyle, Lynch, and Logan, were all part of an experimental program to train several engineers at once to become more familiar with the specs of the Galaxy-class engines; indeed, they all served on the initial Galaxy-class construction program before receiving this temporary posting. This way, they could spread their expertise to other ships with similar engine designs, such as other Galaxy-class ships as well as the Nebula-class and other subsequent designs. Eventually, at the end of this one-year pilot program, Captain O’Brien decided to make MacDougal Enterprise’s permanent chief engineer for the rest of its mission. She and Dr. Troi eventually become best friends, and she even is able to make friends with the frosty, coolly efficient Vulcan helm officer Selar.

Lieutenant Damar (Chief Security Officer). This Damar, growing up in a different, civilian-run Cardassia Prime, is nonetheless fascinated by tales of the ancient Hibitian warrior-kings, and thus is a student of war and military tactics. As one of only the second group of Cardassians to attend Starfleet Academy, he has a rare status, but he was also influenced by a family friend who was the first Cardassian to join Starfleet: Dukat (This Dukat will become Commander of Deep Space Nine and the Emissary, in a tie-in quantum universe where the Bajorans are actually allies of the Federation and the Cardassians).

Damar becomes close friends with Selar, the ship’s senior helm officer, as he admires the Vulcan’s cool reserve and wise counsel—she always seems to know how to calm the sometimes hot-headed Cardassian, who’s always ready to pull a phaser and defend his captain and his ship. Damar also has great respect for Captain O’Brien, admiring his exploits in Starfleet aboard the Hood especially.

Lieutenant Selar (Senior Helm Officer). This Selar did not attend medical school, disappointing her parents—her father is a physician and her mother a biochemist. They hoped she would follow in her footsteps, but Selar studied the careers of Vulcan officers who attended the command track and found the path logical and admirable. After a few short starship hitches, one as a helm officer on the Victory, O’Brien requested her as the ship’s senior helm officer. She had just successfully completed training at Starfleet’s advanced tactical operations school, where her highly logical mind and vast intelligence enabled her to excel, earning top grades. Selar especially did well in exercises coordinating helm course corrections with tactical defenses. Upon successfully graduating, she was promoted to full lieutenant. O’Brien thought she would make an excellent away team mission commander as well as his top conn officer. He tells her he’s been following her career and that when the time was right, he would sponsor her for promotion.

She does become close friends with hot-headed Security Chief Damar, as she finds him highly intelligent despite his emotions. She even teaches him some basic Vulcan meditation techniques which help Damar maintain his self-control, and she finds the Cardassian is a fast study when it comes to these skills. Because of her cross-training, Damar trusts her to take over tactical from time to time; they also create a number of battle simulations on the holodeck to keep the crew on its toes. Selar finds she is most comfortable with Data as a crewmate, as the humanoid is quite calm, logical, and barely emotional, something she finds refreshing.

 

[Rom's Sehlat]

That sounds awesome. I like the way you turned the characters into nice (and nicer) characters. I wish you didn't weaken Data, but I understand that making Data a biological life-form would weaken him somewhat.

 

[Red Ranger]

Thanks, Rom. I have other scenarios, and I had fun making up some stuff as well, twisting around the structure and histories of many of the characters.

 

[Red Ranger]

[The main differences in this universe are linked either to characters dying or not dying, altering the choices and careers of our heroes. Most significant is that Captain Picard died at the battle of Maxia when the Stargazer was attacked by a Ferengi starship (neither starship survives the encounter), which means the Picard Maneuver is later called Picard’s Blunder when the case is examined at Starfleet Academy, and obviously leads to a different person becoming captain; Worf dies in the attack on Khitomer that also killed his parents; Beverly Howard’s parents live, thus influencing her career path, which in turn leads to her never meeting Jack Crusher, thus, no Wesley (yay!); Riker’s mother Betty, a physician, doesn’t die when he’s young, influencing his career path; Deanna Troi’s older sister Kestra didn’t die; Tasha Yar dies sooner on Turkana IV, and that incident embitters her younger sister Ishara against the factions on their planet, so she doesn’t join the Coalition (then, when Starfleet officers rescue many of the colonists a year later, she goes with them and decides to join Starfleet, as Tasha did); and K’Ehleyr, influenced by the deaths of her human mother and Klingon father, decided to join Starfleet Academy. ]

Captain Orfil Quinteros (Commanding Officer). Unlike in the “main” TNG universe, Quinteros didn’t become a “caretaker” officer, supervising starship construction. Instead, he wound up meeting then serving with Captain Walker Keel, commander of the Horatio, who encouraged him to seek a starship command. Also in this reality, Captain Thomas Halloway, who had been head of the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards in our universe, was promoted by Admiral Gregory Quinn to Rear Admiral in order to become Commandant of Starfleet Command. Halloway and Keel recommend that Quinteros replace him as head of Utopia Planitia in general and the Galaxy-class starship project in particular, and that at the first opportunity, he should be given command of Enterprise.

Quinteros is then promoted from commander to captain. Quinteros saw his opportunity and requested command of Enterprise, citing his service under Captain Keel and his familiarity with the Galaxy-class design. Enterprise would also be one of the first Galaxy-class ships to be launched, and would be designated as a Starfleet flagship[1], a posting many would envy. Rear Admiral Nora Satie accepted and with Quinteros’ recommendation, Satie transferred and promoted his second-in-command on the project, Commander Calvin “Hutch” Hutchinson to Captain in order to take over as head of Utopia Planitia (always had a fondness for this character from that episode where he and Data engage in small talk, “Starship Mine”—this way, he lives on as head of Utopia Planitia.)

Quinteros began picking his officers, some taken from the design and construction team, most notably his science officer, Data, who he makes his first officer as well as science officer. Quinteros, of Spanish descent, considers himself a kind of modern-day “conquistador” similar to the early Spanish explorers of Earth’s past, only with more altruistic motivations of exploration rather than actual “conquest”—he’s devoted to the metaphorical conquest of the unknown. Like Picard, Quinteros built model starships as a child. His favorite authors tend to be from Spain or Latin America, such as Miguel Cervantes and Mario Vargas Llosa.

Commander Data (First Officer & Science Officer). Data had served with both Walker Keel and Quinteros, but it was Quinteros who most influenced Data to seek a career in the command path. He was Quinteros’ science officer and second officer on the Galaxy-class starship construction project, helping design the ship’s sciences facilities. He continues that role on board Enterprise, as Quinteros served as Data’s unofficial “professor of the humanities.”

As a result, this Data is a bit more familiar with human eccentricities and expressions due to Quinteros’ patient tutoring. Data does double-duty as exec and science officer on Enterprise. In that dual role, he works closely with Operations Officer LaForge on his projects, as both actively head up and assign operations and science projects for the crew. Despite his dual role, Data does wear command red.

Counselor Kestra Troi (Second Officer; Rank: Commander). Kestra is the older sister of Deanna Troi. In this reality, Kestra doesn’t die, and become a psychologist, as does her younger sister Deanna, emulating her older sister who she idolizes (inspired by how on the show Frasier, both brothers go into the same profession). Kestra though is the one who joins Starfleet, while Deanna decides to use her skills to become a diplomat, eventually becoming a special envoy for the Federation, assigned to help solve knotty diplomatic problems.

As Kestra is older, she has served in Starfleet for longer than Deanna would have and decides to take the bridge officer test about a year before being posted to the Enterprise—both she and Will meet while training for the bridge officer test. Thus, Kestra already has some experience as a command officer, serving as night shift command officer on board the Fearless. Kestra met Beverly Howard while on board and they are good friends.

Captain Quinteros decides to make her his second officer as well as ship’s counselor because of her experience. Although a counselor, she is a bit more used to Starfleet protocol and wears her uniform while on duty; however, she wears civilian clothes while in session. Kestra meets the rakish Dr. William Riker on board Enterprise, and they both begin a torrid affair. They get married a few years later, right after the incident with the Borg, one of the first marriages on board Enterprise.

Dr. William T. Riker (Chief Medical Officer; Rank: Commander). This Will Riker’s mother Elizabeth (a.k.a. “Betty”) didn’t die when she was young, and as a civilian family physician in Anchorage, Alaska, influenced young Will to follow in her footsteps. As a result, Kyle was not embittered by the death of his wife, leading to a healthier relationship between father and son. For a time after attending medical school, Will was also a family physician, working with his mother, but a chance meeting with a Starfleet recruiter convinced him to join the ranks of Starfleet Medical.

After a few voyages on other vessels, the last as deputy chief medical officer on board the Hood, the brilliant young rising doctor got the plum assignment of chief medical officer of the newly launched Galaxy-class starship Enterprise. As ambitious as the Riker we know, only in the medical field, Dr. Riker nonetheless takes the bridge command test so that he becomes a full commander just before being posted to Enterprise and so that he can serve as a shift commander—both he and Kestra meet while training for the bridge officer test.

Once on board, the two begin a torrid romance, because they have much in common, partly because both are in the medical field—it also turns out she loves jazz music from Earth. They get married a few years later, right after the incident with the Borg, one of the first marriages on board Enterprise. Like most CMOs, Riker also becomes the captain’s chief confidant and drinking buddy.

Lieutenant Commander Beverly Howard (Chief Engineering Officer). Two important changes happened in this Beverly’s life: Her parents didn’t die, so she was brought up by them, instead of her grandmother. As a result, she emulated her father, who was a civilian engineer, instead of practicing medicine like her grandmother. The second most important change: as she studied engineering at Starfleet Academy, she served on a different training mission as a cadet and never met Walker Keel, who later introduced her to Jack Crusher and Jean-Luc Picard. Therefore, she never had a son named Wesley with Jack.

After attending Starfleet Academy and excelling in engineering, Beverly served on a number of starships, rising through the ranks before Captain Quinteros tapped her first to assist in the construction of the Enterprise’s engines and other systems, and then offered her the post of chief engineer. Before joining Enterprise, she was chief engineer on the Fearless and is good friends with Kestra Troi.

Unlike in the familiar universe, Beverly is chief engineer from the start of their mission, so there are no rotating engineers (MacDougal, Logan, Argyle, or Lynch). Quinteros refused to allow this as he is confident in the abilities of his choice—those engineers serve rotating stints on other Galaxy-class starships like the Odyssey or the Yamato. As captain of a Starfleet flagship, Quinteros has that prerogative.

Lieutenant Geordi LaForge (Operations Officer, later promoted to Lieutenant Commander). The main differences in this Geordi’s career is that while on board the Victory, he transferred from the command to the operations track a year earlier, serving as an operations officer on board. In addition, he makes full lieutenant a year faster. On the recommendation of Victory’s captain, Quinteros recruited him to become the chief operations officer of Enterprise. Geordi of course becomes best friends with the amiable and efficient android Data, and is already a good friend of K’Ehleyr, as they both did a hitch together on the Victory.

Lieutenant K’Ehleyr (Chief Security Officer). This K’Ehleyr decides to join Starfleet after a chance encounter with a group of Starfleet cadets, rather than become a Federation special envoy as in the universe we know. The other influence: Both her parents were killed in a sneak attack by the Romulans while returning from a conference near the Klingon/Romulan border the year before. K’Ehleyr then finds a holo-letter from her human mother. In it, she expresses her last wishes: for K’Ehleyr to join Starfleet if she and her Klingon husband die.

Realizing she can no longer disappoint her father, K’Ehleyr heeds her mother’s advice, and becomes the first Klingon-human hybrid to join the Academy. Excelling in the security track, she serves at a starbase then aboard a couple of starships as a security officer. Recently promoted to full lieutenant, and armed with recommendations from several of the officers she served with, most notably her immediate superior on board the Victory, Captain Quinteros recruits her to be his chief of security.

K’Ehleyr becomes best friends with hotshot pilot Ishara Yar, even inviting her to share her holodeck monster combat exercise, bonding while battling the strange menaces in that program. Since her and Geordi both served on the Victory at the same time, they’re also good friends. K’Ehleyr remains a bit standoffish with other humans, but is a cool professional and eventually forms strong friendships with the other senior officers, most notably the Captain, who she sees as a father figure.

Due to her father’s death, this K’Ehleyr does honor Klingon traditions a bit more than the one we knew in order to do homage to him, even though she was closer to her human mother. In fact, she becomes a champion wielder of the bat’leth, occasionally participating in competitions on Klingon colony worlds. She even manages to hide a number of weapons in her Starfleet uniform and Klingon baldric, a task made easier by the design of Klingon armor.

[Wears a different silver baldric than Worf did with her Starfleet uniform, more like the slimmer kind worn by most Klingon Defense Force officers along with their armor, coming of course from a different Klingon family—in fact, it’s her father’s warrior baldric, one of his possessions bequeathed to her upon his death, as well as his bat’leth.]

Lieutenant (junior grade) Ishara Yar (Helm Officer, Away Team Mission Leader). An incident where her life was saved by a Starfleet officer prompts Ishara to join Starfleet. A year before, her older sister Tasha was killed in the endless conflicts on their home planet Turkana IV. Tasha had been Ishara’s protector from the time their parents died when she was very young, but now Ishara had to fend for herself. Impressed with Starfleet’s rescue of the planet’s youngest colonists and orphans, she takes them up on their offer to take her away from the planet as well, wishing to join Starfleet. Ishara discovered she excelled at being a pilot, so she joined the command track, with ambitions of eventually becoming a starship captain.

After briefly serving as a test pilot on Earth, flying newly designed ships, she jumped at the chance to join the Enterprise, the newest and most advanced starship. In fact, she also volunteers to be Captain Quinteros’ shuttle pilot when he takes command. Impressed with her record as a pilot and after seeing her in action, Captain Quinteros appointed her as one of the ship’s helm officers.

Is promoted to full lieutenant in a year and, as part of her command training, Quinteros makes her a shift commander and assigns her to command away team missions. Like Geordi and Worf in the familiar universe, she also serves as a fill-in officer at different position, including tactical and in engineering.

[1] Establish that Enterprise is not the sole flagship of Starfleet. Instead, it’s a special designation for certain classes of ships, giving it a unique status within various fleets.

[2] That phrase comes from the TNG episode “Deja Q,” where Q becomes human and calls Data his “professor of the humanities.”

 

[Red Ranger]

Looks like I'm the only one playing! OK, here's another.

[Main divergence in this universe is the Federation remains enemies with the Klingons and has instead allied with the Romulans. The Klingon Empire is more troublesome, though, and didn’t retreat for 60 years like the Romulans, engaging in skirmishes over the years with the Federation and its allies. Worf becomes a recurring nemesis for the Enterprise, in command of his own ship and is also a squadron commander as well, like his brother Kurn was in the universe we know. Another major difference is Worf did not accompany his parents to Khitomer, which in this universe was attacked in retaliation for a Klingon sneak attack on a Romulan colony world. Hence, he and his brother Kurn were both adopted by their father Mogh’s friend Lorgh and are known as the sons of Lorgh (although Worf plans to clear the name of their real father, Mogh, and restore their rightful House).

Owing partly to the Klingons’ more aggressive stance, this Worf is more cunning and ambitious than the one we know. The Romulans have a more active presence on starships, with several of their number serving on ships like Enterprise in an extended version of the officer exchange program (seen in the episode A Matter of Honor); likewise, there are more Starfleet members serving in similar capacities aboard Romulan ships, all part of the treaty between the Federation and the Romulans, a more extensive version of the Treaty of Algeron. As a result, each detachment wears its own uniforms, leading to mixed crews. Also, the alliance with the Romulans means they have shared their cloaking technology with Starfleet, evening the odds against the Klingons, who of course also have the cloaking device. The cloaking technology also means it’s easier for Starfleet and the Federation to examine cultures that aren’t star faring yet, and thus, not ready to meet the Federation. ]

Captain Kyle Riker (Commanding Officer). Although he initially considered a career as a civilian strategist, the increasingly aggressive posture of the Klingons prompted Kyle to change his plans and join Starfleet, where he specialized in tactical operations. One reason is that unlike in our universe, his wife did not die at a young age. Although she was a working physician, he felt better about leaving home knowing his wife and her family would care for their son on Earth, as Kyle himself was an only child and his parents are already dead.

And although Kyle was often away because of his Starfleet career, he managed to stay in touch with his son more frequently in this universe, so their relationship is better. In fact, his father’s Starfleet career prompts him to join Starfleet as well. After tours of duty on several starships, and two assignments at Starfleet Command on Earth so he could renew his family ties, he wound up transferring to the Stargazer as its new first officer, right before its captain was killed. He quickly took command and Starfleet rewarded his bravery by promoting him from Commander to Captain of that ship, where he made a name for himself as both an able explorer and defender of Starfleet’s interests against the Klingons.

Once he became captain of the Stargazer, his career is similar to Picard’s from our universe, including the battle of Maxia, where he lost his command after being attacked by a then unknown race, later revealed as the Ferengi. However, he saved the lives of most of the crew by performing the Riker Maneuver (the Picard Maneuver in our familiar universe). Between the incident at Maxia and taking command of Enterprise, he took some time off to lecture at Starfleet Academy, as part of his effort to be closer to his son and wife. His class in starship tactics became one of the must-take courses at the Academy.

Also during his tenure at Starfleet Academy, his son attends and graduates, launching his own Starfleet career. They are also able to spend some time together, renewing and strengthening their relationship. Then, after nearly eight years teaching at the Academy, Starfleet felt his experiences on the Stargazer made him the perfect choice to be captain of the new Federation flagship, the Galaxy-class starship Enterprise, so he spent a year supervising the construction of his next command. By this time, Will became captain of the Excelsior-class Hood, recently promoted because of the death of his commanding officer, Captain DeSoto, another old friend of Kyle’s, after a surprise Klingon attack (Later, Riker lobbies to command his own Galaxy-class ship, the Challenger).

A somewhat gruff commander, Kyle nevertheless earns the respect of his officers. Like his son, Kyle has an interest in music and is an accomplished pianist, specializing in performing classical compositions. His wife Betty decides to join Kyle on the Enterprise, where she helps Dr. Picard in Sick Bay, and also has the unofficial status of Captain’s Wife, a “position” which means she sometimes serves as a liaison between the captain and the civilians. She also runs Ten-Forward (so no Guinan).

Betty Riker (“Captain’s Wife,” Runs Ten-Forward). Betty decides to accompany Kyle on this mission, as that is one of the functions of the Galaxy-class starships: Allow families to accompany Starfleet service members on their missions. While Kyle objected to the idea, he of course follows orders. Also, in speaking with his wife, who wanted to accompany him despite meaning she had to give up her position in Anchorage, Alaska running the clinic she founded, he realized she could serve an important role: be his liaison with the civilians on board, folks he knew he couldn’t treat like Starfleet members. Also, Betty serves in two other important roles: Assists the Starfleet doctors in Sick Bay, and runs Ten-Forward, the ideal place for informal chit-chat and being able to take the pulse of the crew.

Commander Deanna Troi (First Officer). After a surprise attack on Betazed by the Klingons, in which her mother was killed, Deanna abandons her psychological studies and instead attends Starfleet on the command track. Partly motivated by revenge, Deanna excels at Starfleet, and hopes to become a Starfleet captain. Her empathic abilities serve her well as a command officer, and she has rapidly gone up the career ladder, landing this plum assignment as second-in-command of Starfleet’s flagship. Blunt sometimes to a fault, Deanna insists on not letting her captain lead away team missions, as the safety of the captain is one of her top priorities as first officer. She and Counselor Crusher become close friends as the counselor helps her deal with her feelings of rage toward the Klingons.

Dr. Jean-Luc Picard (Chief Medical Officer; Rank: Commander). A chance encounter with a physician at a young age influenced Jean-Luc to attend medical school, then years later, after a successful civilian career, Starfleet Academy’s medical branch. He later meets Captain Riker, who requests he become Stargazer’s new CMO after the ship’s long-time CMO perishes, as Jean-Luc has burnished a reputation as one of Starfleet’s most brilliant medical minds. Kyle and Jean-Luc become good friends, so of course he wants his chief confidant to join him as Enterprise’s new medical officer.

In between his assignments on Stargazer and Enterprise, Picard lectures at Starfleet Medical, teaching young interns the ins and outs of space medicine, and also is a medical researcher. Before being posted to Enterprise, Kyle also encourages Jean-Luc to take the bridge officer test, and he becomes a full commander. Jean-Luc also is an amateur archaeologist and this skill allows him to unearth ruins from the Tkon Empire that help revolutionize the medical research field. Because of the different path Jean-Luc takes, he doesn’t meet Beverly until he boards Enterprise. They immediately hit it off and become lovers.

Counselor Beverly Crusher (Second Officer; Rank: Commander). Although she still went to medical school, this Beverly became more interested in psychology than being a surgeon. In addition to becoming a psychiatrist and brilliant therapist, Beverly also becomes a pharmacological genius, inventing many psychotropic drugs to treat patients whose mental problems were physiological. She still meets Jack Crusher and they have a son, Wesley. Jack doesn’t serve aboard the Stargazer, but is still killed on a dangerous away mission while on board the Victory.

Encouraged by her previous commander, Beverly takes the bridge command test and gets enough experience in the center seat that Kyle Riker decides to make her second officer. When she boards Enterprise, she meets Dr. Jean-Luc Picard and sparks fly. They immediately hit it off and become lovers. Wesley, however, has trouble adjusting to her romance with Picard and resents him. Unlike Deanna in our universe, she wears her Starfleet uniform while on the bridge. She does wear civilian clothes when treating her patients in order to put them at ease.

Lieutenant Commander Data (Chief Engineering Officer). While this Data has a very similar career path as the one we know, he becomes fascinated not only with starship operations but with engineering also. A previous captain puts Data in charge of engineering, where his superb intellect guarantees his success, even learning a bit more how to interact with humans as their superior officer. Hearing of the brilliant android’s expertise, Kyle Riker taps him to help overhaul Enterprise’s engines, and then offers him the chief engineer post aboard the new ship.

Unlike in the familiar universe, Data is chief engineer from the start of their mission, so there are no rotating engineers (MacDougal, Logan, Argyle, or Lynch). Riker refused to allow this as he is confident in the abilities of his choice—those engineers serve rotating stints on other Galaxy-class starships like the Odyssey or the Yamato. As captain of a Starfleet flagship, Riker has that prerogative.

Centurion Bochra (Chief Security Officer). Bochra is one of a small contingent of Romulan officers and crew serving aboard Enterprise, and other Starfleet ships. He has a bone to pick with the Klingons, as a sneak attack on his colony homeworld killed his parents—his father was a prominent Romulan senator—prompting him to join the Romulan military. Wishing to expand his experience, he volunteers for the exchange program to gain skills while dealing with humans.

Although taciturn, he develops a passionate relationship with Operations Officer Tasha Yar. Also, he has great admiration for Commander Troi, as they bond over their mutual hatred of the Klingons. Naturally, as a military man with a high respect for the chain of command, he has great regard for the experienced Captain Riker. (Bochra makes an appearance in the TNG episode The Enemy.) (He and the other Romulan officers also wear the brevet rank pins introduced in VOY, making it easier for the Starfleet crew to recognize the equivalent ranks—a Romulan centurion is equal to a Starfleet lieutenant commander.)

Lieutenant Geordi LaForge (Senior Helm Officer). This Geordi elects to remain in the command track, hoping to climb the ranks a little faster and become a starship captain. He’s influenced by his captain on the Victory, who convinces him not to become a chief engineer and stay a helm officer. When Kyle Riker tapped him to join the crew, he jumped at the chance, as Riker has been something of an idol and model officer to him. He still assists the engineering staff from time to time, partly because of his engineering expertise, and partly because the unique abilities of his VISOR allow him to detect trouble spots in the ship’s systems that sometimes elude detection by standard sensors.

Lieutenant Tasha Yar (Senior Operations Officer). This Tasha was convinced by one of her superiors at Starfleet Academy that working in the operations track would help her advance in Starfleet. Skeptical at first, she finds she enjoys the post and its challenges, and after serving as an operations officer on her previous assignment, jumps at the chance to become senior operations officer on Enterprise under the legendary Kyle Riker. She and Geordi are good friends, having served together on the Victory. Intrigued by the fiery yet dedicated Romulan security chief Bochra, she eagerly joins him in a torrid affair.

Wesley Crusher. Son of Counselor Crusher, he is much like the Wesley we know. For example, he has a similar hero-worship relationship with Kyle Riker and is a brilliant young genius. Like our Captain Picard, Kyle isn’t sure about the precocious young son of his counselor, but takes a more big-picture view, especially after meeting the Traveler and after his wife encourages him to do so. Kyle decides to allow not just Wesley but some of the other young civilians to train alongside his Starfleet crew, figuring it might be a good recruiting tool for Starfleet. Wesley then becomes one of several acting ensigns before going to Starfleet Academy.

 

[Finn]

There is this thread on page two, and a whole fanfic forum.

 

[Red Ranger]

There is this thread on page two, and a whole fanfic forum.

I forgot about the fanfic forum. I won't have a chance to check it out till the weekend, but I'll contribute to it when I can. Thanks for the reminder.