Captain’s Ready Room, Deck 5, U.S.S. Juno Sector 79999 Stardate: 35486.7 (June 27th 2358) Linna Rhyth sat in her office on the port side of the Bridge, trying to figure out exactly what she would say. It wasn’t long until they reached the beginning of their mission, a moment that would need to be commemorated by a speech or some other kind of gesture, but at that moment in time she was stuck for ideas. It wasn’t her style, being far more practically minded; she’d rather just get stuck in and work on something than stand back and waffle, it was what had worked for her throughout her career (including commanding the Tian An Men) so she intended to carry on in the same manner onboard the Juno, but for this moment on their mission she knew that it couldn’t go by without making a point about it—she just had no idea what that point was. The door chimed, giving her a start as she was too focused on the blank display. “Enter,” she called, not looking up from her screen. “Tick-tock Linna,” Keller said as he approached her desk. “Not funny, Saul,” she warned her old friend. “Part of me keeps wondering if anyone will actually be expecting an announcement or not, and that I’m just working myself up over nothing.” Keller perched himself on the edge of her desk. “Lin, just do what feels natural. There’s no point in giving a long awkward address, when something quick and simple will do just as well.” She looked up at her handsome friend, an eyebrow raised. “When did you become so wise?” He smiled sweetly at her. “I’m not just a pretty face you know,” he informed her, batting his eyelashes. It made her laugh and sit back—only then did she discover a knot of tense muscle that had formed at the bottom of her spine, an obvious sign of how worked up she’d gotten herself. As she massaged the sore spot she couldn’t help but smile at Keller. He knew her too well, despite only seeing one another infrequently in recent years, the close-knit friendship they had formed during their time at the Academy remained and over the last six months she had enjoyed catching up with him and re-establishing the bond they shared—all of which proved to her that he was the perfect man for the job. “So, after you’ve given the crew a memorable and stirring speech, shall we grab a bite to eat?” “You know, I can have you thrown into an escape pod and jettisoned—which I may just do if you keep up that comedy routine.” He held up his hands in a mock surrender. “Noted for future reference.” Just then her terminal chirped, indicating they were about to enter Sector 80000. In a few light-minutes they would be further than any Starfleet ship had been before. Rising from her chair, she flicked her long, straight hair off her shoulder and looked at Keller, who had gotten off her desk and standing at attention. He flashed her a quick smile and she led them out of the ready room and onto the Bridge. Jorr and Ra-Vahlei were at ops and conn, Aewyhn sat in the portside seat in the command arena, Daro stood at the tactical console behind, whilst at the aft consoles Matheson was joined by Lieutenant Paulson, Ensign Codi, Lieutenant Kerlisa and Ensign Sirili. Keller moved ahead of her and took his seat. She went and stood between the forward stations for a moment, glancing at their position on the navigational display. If she was going to do anything, it had to be now. Taking a breath she moved to the front of the deck, which brought all eyes to focus upon her. “Mr Jorr, address intercraft.” The boatswain’s whistle sounded. “All hands, this is Captain Rhyth,” she began. “We all know how valuable our mission is, what it will mean for the future of Starfleet and the Federation. In a couple of minutes we will be going further than any Starfleet ship has in this region, so we will be making history with every light-year. “It’s time for us to get down to work, to do what we all signed on for,” she turned towards the viewscreen. “Let’s see what’s out there.” * * * * * END
Ok, that's the end of this little taster for the crew of the Juno. I would like to return to them, as I have a couple ideas of how things might go on their mission, from births to deaths to great discoveries to terrible battles. I'll just have to see how things go. Thanks to all those who've taken the time to read this little story, I hope you've enjoyed it. Brydon
Caught up with this and really enjoyed it. I too love the era you've chosen here. There is a certain innocence and excitement about Starfleet here which will get lost in the coming years thanks to the Borg and the Dominion. Also ... skants!! Incredibly impractical but totally awesome. I would love to read more of Juno, even though I can't say that I dig the name. I know she's named after mythology and an early NASA spacecraft but the only thing I keep thinking off when I see that name is a pregnant teen girl with a funny vocabulary. Still, there aren't many original fanfics that explore this timeframe or focus on the Starfleet charter of going where no man has gone before. I'd read any further adventures for sure.
Thanks CeJay. Part of the reason I chose this era was the fact that we all know what happens, but at the time no one could imagine the likes of the Borg or the Jem'Hadar. As for skants, in my head all of the main characters (and I do mean all) will wear one at least once in their adventures. My 24th century men aren't above showing a bit of thigh As for the name I'm not sure what I was thinking, it popped into my head from somewhere and just kinda stuck. Though seeing as how I never watched the film it doesn't cause any kind of pop culture reaction to me anyway. This really is to be an adventure tale (if/when I continue it), that focuses on exploration in a very TNG way, where they meet species and resolves issues though discussion and drama rather than phasers and Borg 'implants' . I already have a few ideas of where I'd take some of the characters, with some little fun things, other more serious changes and a few twists along the way. We'll see what 2013 brings. Of course if people really want to see more, bribes will be accepted