//------------------------------// // Introduction/Orbiting Veridian lll // Story: Star Trek: Sunset Shimmer // by SanyaHikari //------------------------------// 19 years ago, the crew of the USS Enterprise-E defeated the evil Shinzon and his ship, the Scimitar, thanks to Counselor Deanna Troi and Lieutenant Commander Data (who sacrificed himself to save the crew). Hadn't it been for the android, Earth would've fallen. Now, things have changed over the years. Captain Kathryn Janeway of the recently returned USS Voyager is now admiral. Captain Jean-Luc Picard is now serving as the Federation ambassador to Vulcan, passing his chair over to the resurrected Data. Romulus is lost to the Hobus Supernova. Vulcan Ambassador Spock disappeared shortly after into a black hole with a Romulan ship called the Narada. Klingon Chancellor Martok passes away. His son, Drex, immediately became his successor, with former Starfleet officer Worf as his advisor. Finally, the Bajorans have joined the Federation. And now, we begin our new adventures with a new ship, and a new crew. This new ship, the second of eight new starships, is powered by one of 7 very powerful ancient magical relics, known in the 21st century as the Elements Of Harmony. Somewhere, over the Veridian system in mid-2398..... Captain's log, Stardate 73471.43 It's been over a year since I was given command of the newly-commissioned Faustian-class USS Sunset Shimmer. Our shakedown cruise has gone out really well. Right now, we are in the Veridian system, currently assisting the Klingon vessel IKS Stridebreaker, a D7 battlecruiser which had broken down in orbit around Veridian III. An away team has been sent to repair the vessel. The repairs should go well, I hope. Maybe for the better. Also, we are here with orders to salvage the saucer section of the Galaxy-class USS Enterprise-D, which has been lost 27 years ago on this same planet. After the computer chirps, confirming the log entry, a sigh can be heard as a human Canadian woman recently in her mid-30s got up from her seat. She had brown hair with grayish tan streaks, and brown eyes. The uniform she's wearing is a red Starfleet female skant uniform with black boots. On the neck of the uniform, there are four gold dots, indicating that she indeed in charge of the vessel. The woman is sitting comfortably in the chair of her ready room, thinking about her few years serving on the Enterprise-E from 2386-2395. "Oh, the years serving with Data," she chuckled to herself. "They are definitely are the best before I became captain in 2396. Too bad I couldn't see Picard as captain when he retired in 2385. He's now an ambassador to Vulcan. Even I saw the Hobus Supernova in 2387. Poor Romulans." She then sighed as she looked at a golden dedication plaque. The plaque reads: "Plaque, you inspire me a lot, even in bad times," she chuckled in her train of thought. Just, then, the ready room doors slide open. A small green parakeet-like creature, the size of a plush toy anyone can get for winning at Equestrialand, comes inside. The parakeet is wearing a red Starfleet shirt, with three dots, indicating that he's the second-in-command of the vessel. "Commander Inat'p," she smiled, revealing the parakeet's name. "What brings you here?" "Squawk! Captain Becky Ray Shoichet," the little parakeet replied. "The away team are almost done with the Stridebreaker's repairs. It's a good thing the Klingons are our allies. Otherwise, we would have ended up like the Enterprise-D. I feel bad for Picard about him losing his ship. It's still down there if you want to visit it." "No, that's fine. The Enterprise-D is now in starship heaven. Along with Kirk and Archer's Enterprises. Wait, Kirk's grave is also on the planet," she reassured Inat'p. "I also heard about Picard's Nexus story, too," beamed Inat'p. "2371, is that right?" Shoichet nodded. Then she looked out the window. Outside, the Sunset Shimmer appears to be a very large ship, dwarfing the IKS Stridebreaker to a size of a Chihuahua if seen far enough. She is a Faustian-class ship, which is a dreadnought type of ship. Also, the vessel is four times bigger than the Enterprise-E. The Sunset Shimmer was built at Canterlot Shipyards in 2395, then completed in 2397 and christened that same year. The vessel was named in honor of the most popular woman in the 21st century: Sunset Shimmer, geode of empathy and one of the 7 defenders of Canterlot. She almost looked like a hybrid between the Constitution and Excelsior class, but had a Galaxy-class deflector, and 4 long Kelvinverse-style warp nacelles, configured in a hot rod pattern. She is capable of going to warp factor 26, which is almost enough to catch up to Karla Five's ship. And on the saucer section, the registry number read: U.S.S Sunset Shimmer NCC-61613 "Isn't she beautiful?" asked Inat'p in admiration. "Indeed. She is," replied Captain Shoichet. "Transporter room to Captain. The away team has completed repairs on the Stridebreaker," said a male voice, which turns out to be coming from Shoichet's combage. "They are now being beamed back." "Copy that," Shoichet radioed in reply. "I'll be down shortly." Outside, the IKS Stridebreaker moves away from the USS Sunset Shimmer before finally activating its warp drive, making the D7 speed away in a flash. One turbolift ride later... The turbolift doors open, revealing the transporter room. Captain Shoichet and Commander Inat'p both enter. On the transporter platform, were 4 crewmembers. The first one is a male Kelpian. He wears a yellow uniform with two pips, meaning he is a lieutenant. The second crewmember is a yellowish female Soong-type android with brown hair, brushed in a Japanese schoolgirl style. Like the Kelpian, she also wears a yellow uniform, but the uniform is also the same design as the captain's. She has three pips, but one of them is dark, meaning she's a lieutenant commander. The third crewmember is an Earth-built android. He has a black early 21st-century computer monitor for a head. He also wears a yellow uniform, but with two pips. He always carries a toolbox, which implies he is chief engineer of the Sunset Shimmer. Finally, the fourth crewmember is a female Q, also the same age as Captain Shoichet. She wears a red uniform with 3 pips, meaning she's commander. But her uniform is similar to Picard's. "Squawk! Lieutenant Torroto, Lieutenant Commander Bootsplash, Lieutenant Dell, and Commander Q56," squawked Inat'p, saying their names in order, from the Kelpien to the Q. "Welcome back." "So, how did the repairs go?" Captain Shoichet asked with a smile. "Great," replied Dell. "The repairs didn't take long. "The Klingons had a good drink with us," said Torroto. "Wish I had a emotion chip like my brother Data," chimed Bootsplash in her default serious tone. Just then, Shoichet's comm badge chirped again. "What now?" she muttered as she answered the call. "Captain, report to the bridge. Starfleet Command has an urgent message for you!" a Russian accent exclaimed in an urgent tone. "I'll be right there. Follow me," she ordered. Another turbolift ride later... The group soon arrives at the bridge. From what any Starfleet officer can tell, the bridge looks identical to a Galaxy-class bridge. But the only difference is that the lighting is blue, and on the panel behind the captain's chair, stood a statue resembling one of the greatest heroes in Earth history: Sunset Shimmer. Below the statue read the registry number: NCC-61613 "Finally, Captain, you're here," said a serious deep voice. It turns out to be from the viewscreen. On the screen, was an African American in an admiral uniform. He still looked like he still runs DS9, but not anymore. "Admiral Benjamin Sisko of the USS Defiant, registry NCC-74205, how are you?" smiled Captain Shoichet. "And aren't you supposed to be the Prophet Emissary?" "I'm pretty good. Even good when Hayes retired. Even my son is good being an author. Being Emissary is great, but I miss being home. So I came back," chuckled Sisko. "I see," replied Shoichet, looking seriously while taking a sip of her hot chocolate mug. Then Sisko added, "Anyway, an Aridaginatan ship has been spotted near Deep Space 9. The fleet has engaged them, but the results aren't looking good. We lost 16 ships." "Oh, boy," gasped Shoichet. "Don't worry, we'll be on our way." "What about the Enterprise-D?" asked Dell. "You mean that Galaxy-class I sent you to retrieve? I'll send the recently repaired USS Lauren Faust instead," replied Sisko. "Aww, I wanted to see the Enterprise-D. It reminds me of my friend Worf," muttered a Klingon officer, later to be introduced. "We'll come back later, Gorfilo," said the captain. "Right now, we have a new problem." "I wish you a safe journey. Don't die out there. Starfleet Command out.". The transmission ends, sending the viewscreen back to seeing the sight of Veridian III. "Ms. Bootsplash, set a course for Deep Space 9," ordered Shoichet as she and QF56 take their respective seats, while Inat'p takes the right helm. "Maximum warp, 26." "Right away, captain," replied Bootsplash in compliance as she sits at the left helm. "Ooh, this is going to be an exciting movie," grinned QF56 as she munched on some popcorn, which was a result of snapping her fingers. Outside, the Sunset Shimmer starts turning away from Veridian lll. Once it did, the 4 nacelles begin to calibrate. A few more seconds later, the warp drive activates, and soon, the enormous ship zooms off in a flash, headed for DS9 while leaving behind a beautiful trail of orange, yellow, and purple.