So following on from discussions under Future of Trek I decided to experiment with a new crew set up. This could probably also go under The Untold Era banner as well, as it takes place in 2356, eight years before the E-D was launched.
* * * * *
It wasn’t very often Eyden Nuur had the chance to admire the Messenger, but the view out of Vice Admiral Bak-Ari’s office anteroom afforded her the opportunity to admire the Mark-II Oberth-Class surveyor. The gleaming white hull, adorned with an upgraded shield grid, sensor palettes, and type-seven collimated phaser arrays, stood out against the blackness of space. Her original nacelles had been replaced with something akin to the Cheyenne- or Springfield-Class, whilst her warp core was also replaced with one that was more fuel efficient. On the small saucer, the port and starboard cargo bay and forward hangar doors had all been removed, with the shuttlebay now at the rear of the secondary hulls upper decks, and cargo bays located below it. The most prominent new feature was the new third pylon, located between the two originals and allowing a more direct access between the two hulls, eliminating a design feature that had often been more of a burden than a benefit. At the base of the new pylon was the ships probe launcher, which was also rated for photon torpedoes. Science ships had long been preyed upon, seen as easy targets, so most of the new features were intended to give the Mark-II a little more bite—she was by no means a warship, but she could definitely hold her own if circumstances called for it.
The extensively redesigned and rebuilt Messenger was one of a dozen in service, an attempt by the Starfleet Corps of Engineers to keep the class going for a few years more, until the brass could agree on a suitable replacement for the science ship that had served the fleet for almost a century. As her first command, Nuur was of course a little biased about the ship, but in four years she’d clocked up thousands of light-years and would keep going as long as she could.
The doors to the admiral’s office opened and the tall, elegant Cebelran stepped out. Immediately her posture stiffened.
“Captain,” he greeted her with a slight bow of his elongated head.
“Admiral,” she replied, copying his respectful nod.
He gestured to his office. “Please, come in.”
She stepped into his office and was immediately hit by the smell, a heady mix of peat, jasmine and cherries, with a metallic undertone. There was a steaming teapot on the admiral’s desk along with a number of candles gently flickering as the environmental system circulated air around the room, so she wasn’t sure just where the different smells were coming from, but they all mixed together to make her feel at ease.
Bak-Ari sat behind his desk and she took one of the chairs opposite him. He clasped his hands together and sat forward.
“Captain, what do you known of the Dakara Maelstrom?”
She frowned for a moment, a little bewildered at the random question. “It’s a navigational hazard, a dense nebula of volatile gasses, gravimetric wave fronts, and EM distortion, no one gets near it if they can help it.”
He nodded slowly. “What if I told you, all our previous assertions about it were wrong?”
“Are you telling me that, sir?”
The flag officer smiled. “Six months ago, we launched an experimental probe into that quagmire, to test out its new sensors and shielding. As expected we lost contact with it, but the probe had been programmed with a course that would take it through the Maelstrom and out the far side—though there were some who didn’t believe we’d ever see it again. Two weeks ago it emerged and our science team got to work analysing the results, what they found has left them shocked and stunned.
“What we see from out here appears to just be a shell, after a few million kilometres it clears up and a pocket of normal space exists.”
“You can’t be serious, sir!”
Bak-Ari’s smile grew wider, etching deep crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes. “It gets better, Captain. The probe picked up several systems and planets, as well as indications of warp capable species.”
Nuur’s jaw almost hit the deck. “How is that possible?”
“That’s where you come in, Captain.”
She felt a wide grin spread across her face. “When do we leave, Admiral?”
* * * * *
* * * * *
It wasn’t very often Eyden Nuur had the chance to admire the Messenger, but the view out of Vice Admiral Bak-Ari’s office anteroom afforded her the opportunity to admire the Mark-II Oberth-Class surveyor. The gleaming white hull, adorned with an upgraded shield grid, sensor palettes, and type-seven collimated phaser arrays, stood out against the blackness of space. Her original nacelles had been replaced with something akin to the Cheyenne- or Springfield-Class, whilst her warp core was also replaced with one that was more fuel efficient. On the small saucer, the port and starboard cargo bay and forward hangar doors had all been removed, with the shuttlebay now at the rear of the secondary hulls upper decks, and cargo bays located below it. The most prominent new feature was the new third pylon, located between the two originals and allowing a more direct access between the two hulls, eliminating a design feature that had often been more of a burden than a benefit. At the base of the new pylon was the ships probe launcher, which was also rated for photon torpedoes. Science ships had long been preyed upon, seen as easy targets, so most of the new features were intended to give the Mark-II a little more bite—she was by no means a warship, but she could definitely hold her own if circumstances called for it.
The extensively redesigned and rebuilt Messenger was one of a dozen in service, an attempt by the Starfleet Corps of Engineers to keep the class going for a few years more, until the brass could agree on a suitable replacement for the science ship that had served the fleet for almost a century. As her first command, Nuur was of course a little biased about the ship, but in four years she’d clocked up thousands of light-years and would keep going as long as she could.
The doors to the admiral’s office opened and the tall, elegant Cebelran stepped out. Immediately her posture stiffened.
“Captain,” he greeted her with a slight bow of his elongated head.
“Admiral,” she replied, copying his respectful nod.
He gestured to his office. “Please, come in.”
She stepped into his office and was immediately hit by the smell, a heady mix of peat, jasmine and cherries, with a metallic undertone. There was a steaming teapot on the admiral’s desk along with a number of candles gently flickering as the environmental system circulated air around the room, so she wasn’t sure just where the different smells were coming from, but they all mixed together to make her feel at ease.
Bak-Ari sat behind his desk and she took one of the chairs opposite him. He clasped his hands together and sat forward.
“Captain, what do you known of the Dakara Maelstrom?”
She frowned for a moment, a little bewildered at the random question. “It’s a navigational hazard, a dense nebula of volatile gasses, gravimetric wave fronts, and EM distortion, no one gets near it if they can help it.”
He nodded slowly. “What if I told you, all our previous assertions about it were wrong?”
“Are you telling me that, sir?”
The flag officer smiled. “Six months ago, we launched an experimental probe into that quagmire, to test out its new sensors and shielding. As expected we lost contact with it, but the probe had been programmed with a course that would take it through the Maelstrom and out the far side—though there were some who didn’t believe we’d ever see it again. Two weeks ago it emerged and our science team got to work analysing the results, what they found has left them shocked and stunned.
“What we see from out here appears to just be a shell, after a few million kilometres it clears up and a pocket of normal space exists.”
“You can’t be serious, sir!”
Bak-Ari’s smile grew wider, etching deep crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes. “It gets better, Captain. The probe picked up several systems and planets, as well as indications of warp capable species.”
Nuur’s jaw almost hit the deck. “How is that possible?”
“That’s where you come in, Captain.”
She felt a wide grin spread across her face. “When do we leave, Admiral?”
* * * * *
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