Star Trek: Phoenix

by Dewdrops on the Grass

Season 1 Episode 10: "U.S.S. Phoenix"

STAR TREK: PHOENIX

S01E10

“U.S.S. Phoenix”

Watching the work bees, workpods, and other ships weld the Phoenix together reminded me of nothing so much as my old engineering repair class. One day Professor Ngata piled a table high with various parts, and ordered us to create something functional. None of the parts were related or meant to go together, and he gave us no direction on what we were supposed to create. It took me half the class just to figure out what I wanted to make, and by the end I was one of the only ones who’d made anything functional at all.

Stitching together a Galaxy-class saucer and a Nebula-class hull was like that. The melding of turbolifts, corridors, and superstructures of two distinct ship classes to make one functional ship struck a chord in me. It was beautiful, a testament to what Starfleet engineering could really do when unleashed to its full potential.

I watched all this activity from my view in the co-pilot seat of a shuttlepod. Every so often I caught a brief reflection of the command red collar around my neck and poked at it with my hoof. I thought I liked these new uniforms at first, but the more I wore it, the more annoying it became. Maybe I could make my own. I’m sure we could justify that, right? ‘Look, it’s because it’s an experiment, like the ship! Since we’ve never put together two classes of ships like this before, it needs a new uniform!’

Yeah. Right.

“You keep messing with your collar, you’re gonna give yourself a rash,” quipped Cadeneza, who sat right behind me. Ever since she found out I lived after all, she’d been fussing over me like crazy. It was a little odd, but I didn’t let it bother me. After almost three years of no proper social activity, I could do with a little fussing.

“Oh stop worrying over her, Cadeneza,” grumped Twilight from her seat behind us. “If she gets a rash it’s her own fault.”

I glanced over my shoulder briefly and tried to suppress a sigh. It had been weeks since Twilight’s outburst in my bedroom and she was no less grumpy. Even the gleam of that ensign pip on her science blue collar couldn’t part the cloud that seemed to hang over her now. Losing me changed her, and not in a good way.

“Easy, Sparkie,” said Wattson from the seat next to Twilight, patting Twilight on the shoulder. “That’s your commanding officer you’re mouthing off to.”

Twilight snorted, and shifted in her chair. “Right. The Chief Science Officer with the least amount of knowledge in the department. How could I forget?”

“Twilight,” I sighed. “We’ve talked about this. Ensigns don’t get to be department heads straight away, no matter what. Would you rather I pick someone you didn’t know?”

“...no.”

“Besides,” spoke up Ensign Preta Re'l from the pilot seat, who’d been watching the back and forth byplay with amusement on her feline features. Re'l came highly recommended by the Academy as a pilot, and the fact she was friends with Twilight, Cadeneza, and Wattson was just icing on the cake. “I wasn’t picked for a lead position either, Twilight. I’m just the backup helmsperson.”

Twilight’s glum expression softened considerably as she considered Preta’s words. “I know… but still…”

Cadeneza turned around in her chair and flashed Twilight a cocky smile. “There, there, Sparkie. You’ll get your chance some day, I’m sure. And besides, I already picked you for my number two! Doesn’t that make you feel special?”

“Jacqueline,” Wattson said in a warning tone, giving her friend a stern look.

“What? It’s just a question.”

Twilight looked up from her chair at me, a pleading look on her face. “Sunset, are you sure I have to put up with–”

“As sure as I am that this is going to be anything but a joyride for any of us.” I took a breath and put my command face back on. “Now listen, girls. I know we’re all friends. And I plan on picking a lot of other familiar faces for the crew as well. But we’ve got to be more professional when we’re on duty or else I’m going to have to make some staffing changes, understood?”

“Yes ma’am,” Cadeneza and Wattson chorused, with Twilight joining in a moment later.

“Good.” I refocused my attention to the shuttlepod console, and tapped a button. “Shuttlepod Coleman to Phoenix. Request permission to dock in Main Shuttlebay.”

The answer came through a moment later. “Granted, Coleman. Be advised, the tractor system is currently offline. You’ll have to park manually.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem for our pilot, thank you, Phoenix. Coleman out.” I turned over the controls to Preta. “Right, Ensign?”

She beamed, a purr rippling from her throat as she got to work. With a grace I should have expected from a feline, she smoothly brought us around the rear of the ship and into the Main Shuttlebay. I couldn’t help but whistle as we slipped past the bay doors. “What a mess…”

The after action reports from the Enterprise’s battle over Veridian III weren’t kidding when they said this area had sustained severe damage. Blast holes pockmarked nearly every surface, and the wrecked remnants of numerous shuttlecraft sat piled in a corner as if waiting for a galactic garbage barge to come by. I made a mental note to make sure Operations had submitted a requisition for a new complement of shuttles.

As Re’l set the shuttle down, my mind briefly flashed back to my first time coming aboard what was then the Enterprise. I half expected Worf to be standing there to meet us when the shuttle door opened, but instead of a dour Klingon we were greeted by a very short harried human Lieutenant in Starfleet gold who rushed up to us and promptly doubled over, sweat drenched. His black hair, barely short enough to remain within regulations, dripped moisture onto the deck.

“M-ma’am,” he stuttered in a surprisingly deep voice. Then he looked up at me and wiped away the beaded sweat from his pale skin, grey eyes peering through a set of fogged safety goggles. “Lieutenant Christopher Hill, ma’am. Apologies for my appearance. It’s been a busy day.”

I nodded. “Ah, just the person I’m looking for. Commander Shimmer. Pleased to meet you.” I extended a hoof for a quick shake. “So you’re the one piecing this puzzle back together, I hear.”

“Yes ma’am,” Hill replied. “Well, trying to at least. The McKinley crew has been a big help, but we lost a lot of good people in that fight with the Borg.”

“I’m sorry for your losses, Lieutenant. All of us are. I have read your reports, and it sounds like you’ve made great progress already.” I offered what I hoped was a reassuring smile. “Now I know there’s normally some kind of pomp and ceremony to a change in command, but I think we can all agree there’s more pressing matters to attend to.”

He gave me a grateful smile, then glanced up at the ceiling. “We’ll have to go to the bridge to hand over command codes. Computer access is pretty sparse at the moment.”

“That’s fine with me,” I said. “Let’s get introductions out of the way first.” I briefly introduced Re'l, Cadeneza, and Twilight, then finished, “And this is Lieutenant Wattson. She’ll be taking over as Chief Engineer once we’re ready to get underway.”

“Ah, good to meet you in person, ma’am,” Hill said, pausing long enough to give Wattson a quick shake. “I’m looking forward to working with you.”

“Likewise,” Wattson said with a grin. “I still don’t get why they didn’t put you in charge, though. You were here first.”

He shook his head. “They tried to, believe me, but I turned it down. I told them I’d lead the repairs, but I didn’t want to be in charge of Engineering. Not when, well…” his smile dimmed considerably. “I’m not sure I could fill Commander Selassie’s shoes.”

Her own smile vanished as she gave him an understanding nod. “Right. I hear you. Well, I’m itchin’ to help you get this ship fixed up.”

“I could certainly use the help, that’s for sure,” Hill said with a laugh.

“All in good time,” I said, gesturing towards the exit. “Let’s get moving. Lead the way, Hill.”

Hill led us into the corridor, which was blessedly silent next to the shuttlebay. “Watch your step. There’s still a lot of debris.”

He wasn’t kidding. The corridors looked no better than the shuttlebay. Toolkits, spare parts, and burnt debris littered the floor. We had to walk single file most of the time to avoid the mangled conduits and screens still hanging out of wall panels like wilted flowers. As we picked our way towards a turbolift, I hung back to whisper to Twilight, “Was it like this when they held my memorial service aboard?”

“I honestly don’t remember,” she said, her tone almost unnaturally neutral. “Guess I was too focused on my speech.”

She scooted past before I could even think up a response. I stayed silent the rest of the way through the corridor, and through a slow, oftentimes jerky turbolift ride to the bridge.

The lift finally stopped and the doors opened with what could best be described as a painful grinding sound rather than the telltale ‘swoosh.’ Nobody occupied the bridge save for two enlisted repair technicians, both of whom jumped to attention when they spotted us. “As you were,” I ordered.

I had only stepped hoof onto the Enterprise’s bridge a few times, usually to deliver special reports and the like. I never had a chance to see the new bridge module after it was installed during our maintenance stop at Starbase 248 a few weeks before our fateful trip to Veridian III. As I looked around me, I could only imagine what it must have looked like in one solid, shiny piece.

I took in the broken, shattered consoles. Memories of Commander La Forge at the rear engineering console contrasted with the entire bank being obliterated. Others I remembered, like Taurik, Lavelle, Barclay, once stood at the science consoles to either side of the command chairs, which were now so much scrap metal. Even the helm and ops consoles were battered and beaten, a stark change from my memory of Commander Data and some ensign I didn’t know sitting there.

As I stepped down the ramp, towards the center chairs, I paused for a moment, flashing back to whenever I saw Riker sitting there, or Troi. Or the Captain. Data sitting at ops. Then I dismissed those images. This wasn’t their ship anymore. It was my ship now. Well, mine and the Captain’s.

The Captain. I eyed the center chair, sighing. I still needed to track him down and approach him with the offer. Starfleet was leaving it up to me, and after reading his file, I knew why. But I wasn’t looking forward to it. Convincing anyone to come out of retirement, especially an officer as experienced as he was, wouldn’t be an easy task.

But for the moment, I was the ranking officer aboard, so, ignoring the looks of amusement from everyone watching, I sauntered over to that center chair, and sat down in it. Like most chairs built for humanoids, it was uncomfortable. And yet, I couldn’t help but enjoy the view, staring up at the viewscreen, seeing ops in front to my left, helm to my right. The longer I sat, the bigger my smile grew. This felt right, being here. In command.

Nakamura was right. I deserved to be in the center seat. Some day.

“Uh, ma’am?” Hill said.

I hopped up out of the chair. “Right!” I held a hoof to my mouth and cleared my throat. “Go right ahead, Lieutenant.”

He nodded, then stepped over to the tactical console and tapped a key. “Computer, this is Lieutenant Hill. Transfer all command codes to Lieutenant Commander Sunset Shimmer, authorization Hill five-two Baker Charlie.”

The computer made a few unusual error noises for a moment before playing the successful beep. “Transfer complete. U.S.S. Phoenix now under the command of Lieutenant Commander Sunset Shimmer.”

“Sorry about that, ma’am,” Hill said as he strode down the deck. “The connections between the computer cores are still being worked on.”

“I’m sure they are,” I said. I nudged my head towards the ready room door. “Please tell me the ready room is still in working order.”

He smiled at that. “Yes. I’ve already got the status reports on all the repairs loaded up on the terminal, ready for your viewing.”

“Good,” I said. “Hill, I want you to take Wattson down to Engineering. Show her around, get her familiar with the place, and then help her get started on repairs. Re'l, go with them. They could use another pair of hands.”

He nodded. “Yes ma’am.” He turned to Wattson and Re'l. “Shall we?”

“Yes!” Wattson said, beaming. “I’ve been waiting for this. I’ll catch you all later.”

Re'l purred in acknowledgement. “I can’t say I’m eager for repair work, but I’ll do what I can.”

As they headed off, I made my way to the ready room, with Cadeneza and Twilight in tow. When I stepped inside, I was struck by how lifeless the room felt. The paintings, the fish tank, all of Picard’s personal touches that made this feel like a living, breathing room were gone. Now it was just blank walls, a rather uncomfortable looking couch, and a single desk.

To my relief, Hill had thoughtfully provided a pony-friendly chair in addition to the more traditional set of chairs. Considering how much time I expected to spend back there over the next couple of months, I was very grateful.

“So, when you gonna start decorating this place?” Cadeneza quipped as she glanced all over the ready room. “Seems pretty barren.”

“I’m not,” I replied as I sat down and turned on the terminal. “It’s not my office. It’s the Captain’s. I’m just borrowing it for now.”

“Yeah, about that,” Cadeneza said as she took one of the spare chairs, spun it around, and sat on it backwards. “Who’s it gonna be? All I’ve heard is it’s some old guy who’s been in retirement.”

“The rumors have been all over the place,” Twilight added as she took a seat of her own, wincing at the uncomfortable design. “I’ve heard everything from Montgomery Scott to Ben Maxwell. Even Jellico’s name came up a few times.”

“What?” I snapped, looking up. “That’s ridiculous. Scott’s been on the Norpin colony for a few years now, Jellico’s up to his nose in brass back at Starfleet Command, and Maxwell? He’ll be lucky if ever gets to see the inside of a starship again.” I tapped a few buttons on my terminal, then turned it around to show them. “This is who’s going to be our captain.”

Cadeneza whistled as she took a close look, nodding in approval. “Wow. Talk about a silver fox...”

“James Liang?” Twilight read out as she peered at the file. “Oh! I remember reading about him at the Academy. He was one of the best Captains Starfleet had during the 2330s and 40s. But he was severely injured in one of the earliest battles of the Federation-Cardassian War in 2347. He’s been retired for decades.” She sat back in her chair and frowned in confusion. “I don’t understand. Why would Starfleet want you to bring him out of retirement?”

“Because they want an experienced Captain leading the ship,” I replied, giving her a flat look. “Dunno if you’ve noticed, but most of the senior staff I’ve assembled so far are pretty inexperienced officers. Most of us are either fresh out of or only a few years out of the Academy. And with a war with the Dominion looking increasingly likely… frankly they can’t spare any active duty people with enough command experience for us.”

“Well there’s a ringing vote of confidence if I ever heard one,” Twilight muttered.

“Yeah they don’t want a bunch of newbies screwing up a refurbished ship,” Cadeneza added with a smirk. “Though I mean, it’s not like they’ve got anything to worry about with me. Not while I’ve got Sparkie here.” She playfully punched Twilight in the shoulder.

Twilight fired off a hostile look her way, her eyes flashing angrily. “How many times have I told you not to do that.”

Sighing, I returned to browsing the reports, then picked out the necessary details for Twilight and Cadeneza, and sent them to a spare PADD that had been left on the desk. “Here. You can begin your repair work in Stellar Cartography. There should be a team down there working already, so jump in wherever they need you. When that’s complete just move on down the list.”

I saw Twilight’s horn light up to briefly surround the PADD with her field before Cadeneza abruptly snatched it away so she could look it over. She hummed as she read, nodding to herself several times. “Well, Sparkie, we’ve got our work cut out for us,” she said eventually, gesturing to the door. “Let’s go.”

“Ensign,” I said after Twilight was halfway to the door. “A word.”

Once Cadeneza stepped out, I got up from my chair and came around the desk towards Twilight. “Okay, I see what you mean now. I can tell you’re already pretty frustrated, working with her.”

Twilight gave me a brief nod. “Yeah. She’s insufferable. It’s even worse now that you’re back.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Twilight glared at the ceiling for a moment before sighing and answering. “She… remember how I told you about the bar fight, after the memorial service?” I nodded. “Well, ever since then, she’s been acting like an even bigger jerk to me than before. I’m… I still call her a friend, but I don’t know if I can really tolerate working with her on a regular basis.”

I nodded in understanding, and draped a wing over Twi’s back, pointedly ignoring the way she flinched a bit at my touch. “I hear you, Twilight. I do. And for what it’s worth, I know what it’s like to work with insufferable people. I did have Savil for a boss for the first six months or so on the Enterprise. I’ll talk to Cadeneza too, see if I can’t get her to lay off of you somewhat, but, well…”

“I know, I know.” Twilight flashed a small, hesitant smile at me, then pulled away. “I’m sure I’ll survive. See you later.”

As she wandered out the door, I returned to my chair and went back to examining the reports. Overall, the good news was, not every part of the Phoenix was as torn up as the shuttlebay. The secondary hull had sustained relatively light damage from its battle with the Borg, and the vast majority of damage in Main Engineering was already fixed. Most of the issues lay with the saucer, which itself was being retrofitted and restored at a record pace. A tentative launch date had been scheduled for stardate 50975.2, just a couple of months from now. I knew there was some wiggle room in the timeline, but I had every intention of meeting the aggressive date.

I switched over to the crew manifest next. The vast majority would be assigned by Starfleet through the usual means, but they’d given me the ability to choose the senior staff, And there were a lot of positions left up for grabs. A few I had ideas for, if I could convince them to leave their current positions.

My eyes drifted down my list, ordered from easiest to hardest to convince, settling on Counselor. I didn’t have a whole lot of options when it came to that position. Mostly young, eager to prove themselves Ensigns and Lieutenants. But if I was going to trust the mental health of my crew to someone, I didn’t want any of these people. I wanted someone with experience.

And I knew just who to call.

---

“You must be joking.”

Belle Hendricks laughed and leaned back into her favorite chair with a look of genuine disbelief on her face. She smoothed out the contours of her skirt, a nervous habit of hers I had discovered thanks to the countless hours I had spent with her in my therapy sessions.

“I’m serious,” I replied, sitting up in my usual seat in front of the large picture window to the left of her desk. I made a show of tapping at the edge of my communicator badge. “Do you really think I’d be wearing my uniform right now if I wasn’t?”

Belle arched an eyebrow at that. “Sunset, when you messaged me about this, you made it sound like you needed an emergency therapy session. Given what you’ve been through the past couple of years, I figured it was only natural. Why didn’t you tell me what this was really about?”

“Because if I had, you would’ve refused to meet with me,” I admitted.

She let out a quiet laugh and shook her head. “You’re right. I would have. Because it’s ridiculous. I’m a private counselor, not a Starfleet officer. I don’t belong on a starship, especially not when we’re this close to another war. I have clients who depend upon me. I have a life here. I can’t just drop it all to come on a wild adventure with you.”

“And you won’t have to,” I replied with a sly grin. “The Phoenix won’t launch for another two months, so you’ll have plenty of time to prepare.”

Belle’s lips thinned. For perhaps the first time I could ever recall in the decade and a half I’d known her, her eyes flashed with anger. Cold anger at that. “Let me guess. Next you’re going to tell me you’ve filled out all the paperwork and signed it for me too?”

I winced, but tried not to show it. “I didn’t mean to make it sound like I assumed you’d say yes, Belle. I’m sorry. But I did come to you first because I wanted to be sure you’d have enough time to resolve things if you said yes.”

Belle’s lips thinned more, then she let out a sigh and nodded. “No, I apologize, Sunset. It’s unprofessional for me to lash out like that.” She leaned up in her chair and folded her arms on the desk.

“It’s been a rough couple of years, you know? You and your sister have been my clients for so long, well… I suppose I must admit I started to care for you, like an aunt for her nieces. Especially after we thought you died, I…” She trailed off and looked away.

“It’s okay, Belle. I like to think Twilight and myself, Mother and Mom, we all think of you like family too. You’ve been so incredibly supportive to us despite everything.”

Belle glanced back at me. “That’s kind of you to say.”

“How did my family do, Belle?” I wondered. “I guess more importantly, how are they doing right now? Because I’ve been back for at least a few weeks and I still feel very much like a stranger in my own house.”

“Well.” She straightened her skirt some more. “You know I can’t give specifics, of course. Therapist-client confidentiality. But… as hard as it was on me… let’s just say in some ways the shock of you coming back has hit harder than your loss did.”

After a few moments I gently said, “I see… I can’t imagine it’s easy to adjust when you all had to let me go.”

“No, no it’s not,” Belle answered, looking back with a watery smile. “Especially when you came back with wings. It makes me wonder if my grandmother was onto something when she talked about angels.”

I glanced back at my wings and gave them a flap, then turned back to face her. “I know what you mean. When the Enterprise stardrive was about to explode, I thought ‘this is it, I’m going to die.’ Sometimes I think I really did, and was reborn somehow. And maybe I was. Who knows?”

“Who knows indeed,” Belle echoed with a heavy sigh. “Well, setting that aside… I still don’t understand why you want me. Like I said, I’m not Starfleet. Never have been.”

“You mean, apart from over a decade of personal experience with how skilled you are?” I quipped, grinning. She flashed me a flat look so I dropped the smile. “Because to be honest, most of the crew are young. They’re inexperienced. And every Counselor Starfleet suggested were either fresh Academy graduates with no field experience, or they were what I like to call ‘ladder climbers’ who jump from one assignment to the next as soon as they think it’ll land them a promotion. I want someone who knows what they’re doing, and who will be wholly dedicated to the crew. I’m going to have over seven hundred and fifty people to worry about. I want to be sure the one looking after them can handle it.”

“...You’re asking me to leave Earth. To leave the life I’ve lived here for almost eighty years,” Belle said. “I’ve never bothered to go off-world, you know. That’s why I took after my mother, rather than my Vulcan father. Well, one reason, among many.” She brought her hands together, rubbing one thumb over the other. “I’ve been a therapist for a long time. I’ve counseled many Starfleet officers, your parents included. But I’ve never been brave enough to step foot out there myself.”

“Well, this is your chance,” I replied. I held up my PADD, which had been resting on the table. “Right here. Orders from Admiral Nakamura, giving me full authorization to pick my crew, including the ability to hire civilians. You’d have to pass a security check, but--”

Her hand shot up to stop me, then moved to draw back her hair, exposing her pointed ears. “I hope you didn’t forget what I told you in our very first session.”

“I didn’t.” I tapped a few buttons on my PADD, then handed it over for her to look at. “I’ve already checked with Starfleet Security. Assuming your application is in order, your ancestry alone will not hold you back. All they ask is that you’re honest, like they’d expect of anyone else.”

Her lips trembled as she read the PADD. “So it is. I never… I never bothered to ask. I just assumed that…”

“Maybe back in the day, when you were younger, and incidents more recent, they might’ve been resistant,” I said, gently taking the PADD back. “But not now. Starfleet’s featured a lot of firsts in its ranks lately. Klingons, Ferengi…” I spead my wings again. “Heck, if they’ll accept a pony from halfway across the galaxy into their ranks, much less one who came back from the dead with a new pair of wings, I think you’ll be fine.”

Her whole body trembled now as she let out a bark of nervous laughter. “Well, i-if I did, Sunset, it wouldn’t just be me. I’d have to bring along Inanna. She’s vital. And I will need a lot of time to properly set my clients up with new therapists that are right for their needs.”

Folding my wings back, I smiled warmly. “Consider both of those done. Starfleet will likely add a few assistants to round out your staff, but you’d run the department. You’d need to study up a bit on some Starfleet regs, but that shouldn’t be difficult. Is that all okay?”

She ceased trembling, and gazed at me silently for several long moments, looking right into my eyes, as if she was trying to read my thoughts. Or my soul. “...are you sure you want me along?” she whispered.

“I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t.”

She held out her hand for the PADD, and I gave it to her. She tapped a few buttons on it, then pressed her thumb down on it until it beeped. “I’ll do it, then. When do I need to be ready by?”

“Launch date is in two months, give or take. I’ll let you know the exact date as soon as it’s confirmed.” I stood from my chair. “I’ll make sure to have quarters prepared for you. That PADD should have all the information to answer your other questions for now. And… thank you, Belle. I was really hoping you’d say yes.”

She chuckled at that, and held out a hand to shake, which I shook with my forehoof. “I just hope I don’t regret it.”

As I left her office, I grinned to myself. “One down, Sunset.”

My combadge bleeped. “Ma’am, we could use some more assistance up here with some of the engineering repairs,” said the voice of Christopher Hill. “Are you finished on the surface?”

“For now, Hill,” I answered. “Beam me up.”

No matter how many times I went through it, watching my world dissolve and be replaced by another never ceased to amaze me. As I stepped off the transporter pad, I took a look around the room, nodding in approval at the immaculate state. “Looking much better than it did last week,” I said to Hill.

He stepped out from behind the console and joined me in walking towards the nearest turbolift. Like the transporter pad, the way there was unmarred by debris, though there were still some open gaps in the walls and ceiling panels here or there. “Lieutenant Wattson’s been a fantastic help in speeding things up. She’s a bit better at organizing groups than I am,” Hill said with a sheepish grin.

“I’m sure you did your best while you could, Hill, don’t worry.” We stepped inside the turbolift. “Deck twenty-four. So, when do you think the hull repairs will be finished?”

Hill withdrew a PADD from his back pocket and checked it over. “If we stay on schedule, we should have all outer hull issues fixed within two weeks. They’re still marrying the structure of the saucer though, and that’ll take another week at least. And then there’s the ten thousand bars of latinum question, ma’am.” He pointed to a part of the ship where something was conspicuously missing.

“Right. The pod.” Nebula-class starships came with a detachable pod which could be mounted at the rear of the ship. These pods came with different designs and different payloads, allowing the ship to dramatically shift its mission profile. “They still haven’t decided what our replacement pod’s going to be?”

“No, they have, but… it’s not the one you wanted.” He showed me the PADD.

I read it, grimaced, then sighed. “The tactical pod. Of course. Why’d I even expect anything else given the current circumstances... When will it be ready?”

“One week. It’ll take another day to mount it properly.”

I handed him back his PADD as the turbolift came to a halt. “Then we should be ready for some engine tests soon after that.”

He gave me a flustered look as we stepped out, headed straight for Main Engineering. “I’m not sure about that. We’re still working on integrating the internal power systems. Marrying a Galaxy-class saucer to a Nebula hull is proving to be even more difficult than it looks.”

“We’ll get there Hill. I have faith.” As we turned the corner into Main Engineering I was struck, not for the first time, by how simultaneously similar and different it was from the Enterprise engineering deck. At first glance it looked very familiar. A master systems display took up the wall opposite the warp core, which itself was ringed by railings and work platforms spread across multiple levels.

And yet it all felt different, like a house with a floor plan that’s almost identical to your own, but off by just enough to be noticeable. Instead of a singular pool table console and a glass partition, there were a number of smaller consoles with chairs set against the starboard wall, all positioned to face towards another large screen on the portside wall. With the power transfer conduits moved out of direct sight to a lower level, the computer consoles that sat in alcoves on the Enterprise were instead positioned out in the open, right next to the core itself. The warp core was of a different design too, like a Galaxy-class warp core had been slightly squished to make it wider but shorter. All in all it reminded me a bit of Intrepid-class engineering sections, which were designed to double as battle bridges in case of emergency.

There was one other difference, as when I split off from Hill and strode over towards the warp core, I found a small alcove with a door marked “Chief Engineer’s Office.” Inside I found Wattson, pouring over schematics and plans. “Oh, there you are,” she said, waving me inside. She pulled out two PADDs from her pile on the desk. “Do you think you can take care of these two sections? They’re difficult to access for most of my repair technicians, but you should be able to fit easily.”

“Once again, being short saves the day,” I quipped as I took them. “Question though. Hill said we wouldn’t be ready for any engine tests for at least a few more weeks.”

“And we won’t,” Wattson replied. She dug back into the pile and pulled out a third PADD. “Look, the problem is the saucer’s impulse manifolds. They gave up the ghost when the saucer was pulled out of mothballs and had to be replaced from scratch. It’s going to take another three weeks to solicit the parts.”

“Okay, so we’ll be limited to thrusters. Those still work at least, right?”

Wattson nodded. “Yeah, those should be ready. We can test with those, but not much else.”

“Okay, that’s something,” I said. I glanced out the office’s small window, which looked out onto the warp core itself. “What about warp drive?”

“Noooo, no way in hell,” Wattson said immediately with a dark laugh. “Not unless you want to repeat your near-death experience.”

“I don’t understand,” I said. “The warp core’s brand new. It’s been rigorously tested. It’s both more stable and more powerful than the previous core.”

Wattson gave me a flat look. “You really have gotten a little rusty, haven’t you? It’s not the core, Sunset. It’s the nacelle coils, the plasma conduits, the inertial dampeners, everything. All of it needs to be integrated perfectly to generate a stable warp field, and we’re not there yet at all. Unless you like the idea of shearing the ship apart and spreading our guts across half the sector.”

I took the lumps like I deserved, bowing in defeat. “No, you’re right. I’m out of practice. I need to study back up.”

“Perfect time for some on the job training then. So get to it.” Her eyes flashed with mirth.

“That’s get to it, ma’am,” I corrected, grinning while pointing at my collar with my hoof.

“Yes, yes, Sunset, we all know you outrank us,” Wattson laughed. “Come on. We’ve got work to do.”

---

“So why exactly are we traipsing through the jungle, again?” I groused as I stepped my hoof into an inexplicably sticky and gross pile of leaves, for what seemed like the tenth time that hour. The tricorder floating in my magic did little but tell me how many life signs were around me. Of which there was a multitude.

“We’re trying to track down our new tactical officer,” Preta said, her voice far cheerier than the environment around us merited. She hopped about from log to leaf pile to forest floor with her perfect feline grace.

“No, no, I understand that,” I sighed. “It’s the jungle part I don’t get.”

“Because this is where she likes to train,” added Kelia Maia. When Sunset asked me for recommendations on who should be on the crew, I insisted Maia be brought aboard as Security Chief, expecting Sunset to reject me outright on sheer petty principle. To my shock she accepted.

“In the jungle?” I asked, grimacing as I stepped into something else nasty. “In India?”

“It’s her home,” Maia answered with a brief cold stare my way. “Is there something wrong with that?”

“Ah, no, no!” I replied, laughing sheepishly. “No, that’s not what I meant. It’s just… it’s the jungle. It’s sticky. And hot. And wet.”

“Um, no offense, Twilight,” Preta said as she paused on a log, hunching over like a cat ready to pounce. “But isn’t your home in the rainiest part of North America?”

“Yes, but it’s not the same kind of wet as this is,” I retorted. “It's cooler and not nearly as oppressive as this. It doesn’t stick to your coat and frizz up your mane the same way.”

“Stop whining,” Maia snapped in a hushed tone. “You’re giving away our position.”

I sighed, but at her request I quieted my voice. “I’m still not sure how you roped us into this.”

“Because I told you it’d be a fun fight,” Maia replied, one corner of her mouth quirking up. “You said that was all you needed to hear.”

“Yes, well, I lied,” I shot back. “If I’d known this was going to take place in a jungle, I would’ve… wait.” I stopped in place and shrank down to the dirt, waving for them to do the same. I stuck up one ear and turned in a specific direction. “Thought I heard something. A snapping branch.”

“Nothing on the tricorder,” Preta whispered as she held hers up.

“Shut it off!” Maia ordered in a loud whisper. “It’s too noisy.”

Preta nodded and shut her tricorder, slipping it in her pocket. She then withdrew her phaser. “What do we do?”

“Twilight, you’re leading us,” Maia said, nodding to me. “You decide.”

“Only because Sunset thought it would be hilarious,” I muttered under my breath. Before I answered, I lit up my horn and used a life detection spell to locate our opponent, narrowing the target for humanoid life. I grinned. “She’s to the west. Preta, you go over here, up this tree,” I whispered, pointing at a nearby tree thicker than two people side by side. “Maia, I want you over there, on the other side. We’ll catch her in a crossfire.”

Maia simply nodded her head and moved into position, phaser rifle at the ready. Meanwhile I located the nearest fallen log and crouched down behind that. I had a type-two phaser ready, but I also began preparing various spells just in case.

We waited. I heard another crack in the distance and prepared to fire. Seconds passed. Then minutes.

And then suddenly a hand gripped the back of my uniform and hauled me up with one arm. “You really should watch your back,” said a beautifully accented voice.

The next thing I knew I was flying through the air at the nearest tree.

Phaser fire erupted all around me as I screamed, summoning up a shield bubble seconds before impact. The bubble bounced safely off the tree, but my momentum sent me careening off the forest floor and back into the air like a pinball. I flailed like crazy until I remembered what Feather Fall was and cast it to arrest my uncontrolled tumble.

The instant I landed I had to duck as a sweeping leg kick soared mere inches over my head. The follow up snapkick with the other leg brushed the side of my jaw as I dodged away from it. Summoning up arcane energies I unleashed it in a shockwave around me, enough to push back my attacker and give me some space.

Unfortunately this also threw up a ton of dirt, debris, and loose leaves, making sight difficult. Through the dusty haze I spotted Preta a few yards away sprawled on her back, motionless. Maia was nowhere to be seen.

Watching my surroundings, I bounded over to check Preta. Luckily she was breathing; she’d just been phaser stunned. Her phaser was gone, and mine had disappeared in the chaos of me being thrown. “Hang in there, Preta. I’ll be back.” Giving her one last look, I backed away from her and used my horn to encase my hooves in force spells.

“The game’s afoot, eh?”

I turned to see a powerful figure bulging with muscles standing just under two meters tall barreling through the dust to lash out at me with a series of fast palm strikes and whirling kicks. I dodged their first volley but couldn’t avoid a strike from my blind side that caught me just below my ribs. I roared from the pain, gritting my teeth and summoning up my shield to block the next few blows that were sure to follow.

And follow they did–right through my shields as if they weren’t there at all. Two strikes to my head and my world exploded with stars, pain rushing through my body. I was vaguely aware of being kicked over to land on my back, but I definitely noticed the boot that landed on my stomach, just hard enough to hurt without dealing serious damage. As I tried to blink through my tears and see through the static I managed to look up to see the figure murmuring something at me while holding a phaser to my face.

But before they could fire, another figure flew into view and clotheslined my attacker, screaming an outrageous battle cry. Furious sounds of kicking and screaming filled my ears as I stumbled to my hooves.

Looking up, I saw the two, in the shadow of the trees. Everything was still spinning but I could tell from the shrieking battle cries and kias that Maia had come to my rescue. The other was the hulking figure I’d tangled with, constantly backing up from Maia's reckless attacks and yet casually blocking the ones that got too close with raised arms or legs. Every once in a while she’d find an opening and pressed it, forcing Maia to leap out of the way or roll across the ground.

I tried to move forward but found my footing incredibly shaky, my head still swimming. Everything went in and out of focus for a moment or two before snapping back to normal. My stomach lurched, threatening to spill its contents all over the forest floor. I stumbled, swaying as I took a few steps, only to fall over again, hard enough to knock the wind out of me.

The sounds of fighting grew closer. I looked up to see Maia carefully backing away from her opponent, as if leading her back towards us. I started to back myself up, only to stumble over the phaser behind me. It took an unreal amount effort to keep from falling over in the process.

As they grew ever closer I strained to light up my horn, summon the phaser over. It took a few errant sparks and some jerking but I finally had the phaser in my grasp. I took a moment to jack the setting up to maximum stun, then struggled to take aim. “M-maia!” I cried, my words slurring. “D-duck!”

Maia looked back long enough for her eyes to widen in alarm. She tried to jerk out of the way, but at the last second, as my magic hit the trigger and fired the phaser, her opponent grabbed Maia and held her, putting her right between themselves and the path of the beam. Maia yelped, then tumbled to the ground, unmoving.

“Uh oh,” I murmured, trying to raise the phaser again even as our opponent raced towards me. I managed to fire off one other shot into a nearby rock before she closed the distance and ripped the phaser out of my magic, then with a single kick sent me flailing onto my back like a fallen turtle.

Then she raised her boot and pressed it against my throat, just enough to get the message across. “Stand down, Sparkle,” she said, an amused smile showing shiny teeth, the sheer white standing out against her coal black skin tone. “You’re dead.”

I heard the trigger click and my world went black.

When I came to, I was laying on a biobed, blinking up at the ceiling. Then a familiar face emerged into view, giving me a droll look. “Well, well, look who’s finally wakin’ up,” quipped Doctor Sarah May.

“About time she did,” spoke another voice just out of sight. “I thought I turned down the phaser settings before I shot her.”

“You didn’t, and I’ll thank you not to halfway roast my patients,” May shot back, her face twisted up in anger. She seemed to stare daggers at whoever the other party was for a moment before sighing and turning her attention back to me. “Well, good news is, Ensign, you’re going to be alright after a day or two. Go ahead, try sittin' up now.”

I did as ordered, grunting a bit as pins and needles attacked my limbs from the inside, but I was up. Up enough to see the figure I’d fought standing over to one side of the examination room, leaning against the wall, her arms crossed over her chest. “You! Just who in the heck do you think… you…” I trailed off the moment I noticed the two and a half pips on her collar. Her Starfleet collar. “Er, um, I mean, hello ma’am.”

She arched a single eyebrow and grinned, then approached me. “Well, now that we’re not fighting each other anymore, let’s get the introductions out of the way, shall we? Lieutenant Commander Ajay Ishihara, at your service.” She stuck out a hand to shake.

I took it with my forehooves and shook. “Ensign Twilight Sparkle, but I think you already knew that.”

“Oh yes. I know all about you,” Ishihara replied with a boisterous laugh, deep and throaty. “Maia speaks of you often. She’s trained you well, too! You put up a much better fight than your Caitian friend.”

I blinked, my mouth falling open. “Um, ma’am, with all due respect… you had me on the ground and unconscious in less than thirty seconds.”

“Exactly. Like I said, a much better fight than your friend.” She winked at me. “Sparkle, don’t stress out about it. I’ve been a combat specialist my whole life, and I’m closing in on sixty. You’ve got some good training and some unique abilities, but that doesn’t match up to decades of experience.”

“Still…” I frowned, then grunted and winced as a surge of pain lanced through my skull. “Ow,” I murmured as my hoof shot up to cradle my head.

“Woah, easy there, Ensign,” May said as she opened up a medical tricorder, ran it over me a few times, then set it down in favor of a hypospray. “You took a hit on max stun setting; there’s gonna be a bit of residual nerve damage. Nothing that can’t be fixed, but it’ll hurt for a while.” She placed the hypospray against my neck and I heard the telltale hiss as it activated. “Don't be makin’ any sudden moves now, or you might lose your lunch. Least you might till this takes effect.”

“Right, okay.” I leaned back down onto the biobed, and closed my eyes for a moment while the medicine began to numb the pain.

“What were you doin’ fightin’ with them anyhow, Ajay?” May asked. I didn’t need to see her face to know she was glaring up a storm with that Scottish temper of hers.

“Just a training exercise, Sarah,” Ishihara replied. I heard the sound of a hand smacking flesh, and hoped that meant Ishihara clapped her hand on May’s shoulder. “Their commanding officer wants me to be the new tactical officer for their ship. I was going to say yes anyway, but, well, Maia proposed a test.”

“You mean she roped us into being a trio of punching bags,” I countered as I gradually sat up again. Then my sense of respect for authority caught up with me and I added, “er, ma’am.”

Ishihara burst out laughing again. “No, you’re right. That’s exactly what she did. It’s what Maia does. I swear, I finally get the girl to understand what friendship is, and she just uses it for more fighting. I love fighting too, but it’s not everything in life.”

“I’d certainly hope not, Ajay!” May said, smacking Ishihara on the arm. Then she let out a quiet huff. “But at least you did the right thing and brought them back here to the academy.”

“Well my home doesn’t have more than a basic clinic, so where else would I take them but to my favorite doctor?” Ishihara replied with a smarmy grin.

“Um, do… Do you two know each other?” I murmured, looking askance at Ishihara.

“Oh, off and on,” May answered, giving me a kinder, gentler smile than the one Ishihara bore. “She and I were roommates at the Academy, and we were posted to the same ships a few times too. We’ve stayed in touch.”

“Shimmer to Sparkle,” spoke my combadge, causing all of us to jump.

I tapped it gently with my forehoof. “Sparkle here,” I said.

“Oh, finally. Where the heck did you all get to? I’ve had the sensors searching for you all over India for the past half hour.”

“Err, we’re actually in San Francisco now, at Starfleet Academy,” I answered. “Commander Ishihara brought us here.”

“Really? How?”

Ishihara stepped forward so her voice could be heard. “I called in a site to site with Earth Spacedock,” she said. “Wanted to be sure they were treated after their injuries.”

“Their what?!”

“No need to be worryin’ Commander,” May interjected, casting Ishihara an exasperated glare. “They’ll be fine. Just some bleedin’ unorthodox recruitment tactics, is all.”

“...right. Well, Commander, since I have you here, what’s your answer to my offer?”

Ishiharai eyed me for a moment, then said, “I accept. When do you need me to report?”

“Not for at least another few weeks. I’ll send you the details. Sparkle, since you’re at the Academy, do you mind passing along another message? I’m sending the details to your PADD.”

I heard the PADD in my back pocket bleep at me and glanced at it. Apart from a cracked screen it was in perfect shape, despite all the fighting. If I’d had the energy I would’ve argued with Sunset… the last thing I wanted to be was her messengerpony while still recovering. “Thanks,” I muttered. “I’ll be sure to do that. Anything else?”

Luckily either Sunset didn’t notice or didn’t care about the sarcasm in my tone. “Nope. Just report back as soon as you’re done. Shimmer out.”

“So that’s your sister, huh?” Ishihara asked.

“Yes,” I grumbled as I shuffled off the bed, standing on my hooves. While a bit shaky, I didn’t experience any dizziness this time. Or nausea, thank goodness.

Ishihara glared at me for a moment, as if she expected me to say more, then shrugged. “Well, I’m going to go check on Maia and Re'l, then I have some affairs to put in order. Sparkle, I’ll see you aboard the Phoenix. Bye, Sarah.”

“Farewell,” May said, giving Ishihara a polite wave as she left the examination room. Then she turned to me and pulled out her tricorder again. “How’re you feelin’?”

“Fine,” I shrugged. “Just a bit shaky. Nothing more.”

She folded her tricorder and put it away. “Good,” she said with a wry smile. “And here I thought I was done fixin’ you up after one of these silly fights. Least this time you didn’t break half your limbs.”

A sheepish smile crossed my face as I let out a laugh. “Ahehe, well, you know... “ I continued to grin, feeling increasingly uncomfortable until I let out a cough, spun around, and used that as an excuse to dig out my PADD and check it. As soon as I did, I smiled.

“Oh? What’s this now?” May asked, giving me a smile in turn. “Some good news?”

“I think so,” I replied as I turned back around and held up the PADD. “It’s, well… you might be getting more chances than you think.” I handed it over.

May took it and examined it. The more she read, the deeper her frown became. Then she set it down. “She wants me... to be the CMO?”

“I think we both know you’d do a great job at it,” I said, trying to give her some encouragement.

May smiled a bit at that. “I suppose. But it’s been years since I was last posted to a starship. After I... “ She sighed. “You should sit back down for this one, Sparkle.”

Shrugging, I took a seat on the biobed. “Go ahead.”

“Well, you see, my last posting aboard a starship was, well… It was the Phoenix. Yes, the same one,” she clarified at my surprised gasp. “Under Captain Maxwell, as a matter of fact. My husband and I were both posted there. He was the ship’s assistant chief engineer.”

“I didn’t know you were married,” I said, wonder in my eyes.

She frowned and let out a sad sigh. “I was. For ten years. Till Captain Maxwell ordered us into Cardassian space. He thought the Cardassians were using the peace treaty as cover to quietly rebuild their military for a new assault. I thought it was hogwash from the start, but, well… Maxwell was our Captain, and he had my husband convinced. We destroyed a Cardassian outpost and several supply ships before the Enterprise caught up with us.”

“The Enterprise?” I gasped. “This must’ve happened before Sunset was posted there.”

“Two years before,” May clarified. “Well, while the Enterprise tried to track us down, and I was busy in sickbay treating the wounded from our last battle, Captain Maxwell attacked another supply ship. This time though… it…” She sniffled, and to my shock the endlessly happy Sarah May broke into quiet tears. “...the E-enterprise sent them our prefix code, so they brought our shields d-down and attacked us, and my husband, he…”

“...Oh no...” I whispered.

She nodded, biting her lips together as she stood there, desperately trying not to fall apart completely. “They didn’t do much damage to the ship itself, but my husband, he was working on the shield generator, trying to fix it, when… it exploded in his face.” She let out a heavy sigh. “I… I’ve always taken comfort in the knowledge that he died instantly. He didn’t suffer.”

Then her eyes flashed with anger. “But Maxwell? He didn’t even give us time to grieve. Kept us goin’, kept us ready to murder more innocents, until finally he was talked out of it by some former officer of his. Well as soon as the Phoenix returned to Earth I put in for a position at Starfleet Medical here and swore I’d never set foot on a starship again.”

“...I’m so sorry!” I blurted, a sense of panic overtaking me. I rushed forward, about to offer a hug, when the instincts the Academy beat into me stopped me in my tracks at a respectful distance instead. “I don’t think Sunset knew about this. I-I’m sure if she had, she--”

May held up a hand. “Please. Twilight. Your sister knows. She’s familiar with my service record, believe me.” She let out a bitter laugh. “I’ve been happy here. I’ve been working for the Academy for over six years. Why would I want to stop now?”

I stepped back, unsure what to say. “Well, um… for what it’s worth, I know I would like to have you around. You’re a great doctor. And, um, well… are you sure you want to treat cadets forever?”

She eyed me with an unreadable expression, then turned away. “No. It wasn’t… When I joined Starfleet, I joined it to serve on starships. I wanted to see the stars. Keep the ship’s crew healthy. When I met my husband, his passion for starships only increased my own.” She let out another bitter laugh, this one quieter, more sorrowful. “And yet here I am, spinnin’ my wheels. I’ve been offered new positions multiple times. Was even offered to join Doctor Crusher’s staff on the Enterprise-E. But I turned them all down. I didn’t want to… to leave where I was comfortable. And yet here your sister is, wantin’ to have me come right back to the same ship where I lost it all.”

If Sunset were here I’d probably be chewing her out right now for putting May on the spot like this. Asking someone to go back to the ship their spouse died on? Still, I tamped down the anger enough to keep my composure in the moment.

“... should I go ahead and tell her you’ve turned it down, so she can find another option?” I asked.

May opened her mouth. I saw her lips form a word, her throat ready to give it voice. And then she stopped. She closed her mouth, turned away from me, and walked over to the corner. I gave her a few moments privacy as she whispered to herself. After a good ten minutes of silence she turned back around to face me again.

“I was just thinkin’, what would my husband say to me if he were here? Been a long time since I asked meself that. But once I did… I knew what Ken would say to me. He’d say, ‘Sarah, don’t be an idiot. Do you really want to waste your time planetside?’” She let out another laugh, but this one lacked any bitterness. “And he’d be right. I’m tired of spinnin’ my wheels. And if I’m gonna be practicin’ medicine on a ship, it might as well be one with two of my favorite patients and a good friend on board.”

“Then…” I held up the PADD.

She took it from me at once and slammed her thumb on it, then gave me a tight smile. “I accept. But you tell your sister I’m gonna be choosy about who’s on my staff. And I won’t be acceptin’ none of that usual commandin’ officer bull about never seein’ to their physical neither. She wants me to be her doctor, well I’m gonna be her doctor, if you catch my drift.”

“O-okay. I hear you.” I took the PADD back and smiled at her. “For what it’s worth, thank you, Doctor. It’ll be good to have you around.”

“Oh, I’m sure it will be,” she grinned.

---

Rain poured down in sheets as I strolled through the streets of Hong Kong with Cadeneza hanging by my side. “I hope we find this place of his soon,” she murmured as she pulled her jacket tighter around herself. “I hate rain. Warm or otherwise.”

“It is pretty hot,” I agreed, glancing up at the late afternoon sky. Summer in Hong Kong meant heat, rain, and not much else. Even with Earth’s global weather control, the climate couldn’t be altered too much, lest it cause serious problems elsewhere on the planet.

“Try stifling!” Cadeneza scowled. “I can’t decide if I want my jacket open to let the rain cool me down or closed to keep it out. Ugh.”

While she kept whining, I tuned it out, returning my thoughts to why we were walking the streets of Hong Kong in the rain.

Starfleet had sent the communique offering the Captaincy to Liang the same day I came aboard. It took over three weeks to get his one word response: “No.”

That’s it. That’s all he bothered to send them after three weeks of deliberating. No explanation, no justification, no nothing. Just “no.”

Starfleet, of course, wanted to look for other options. See if there was some other Captain out there they could poach. Maybe one who hadn’t been retired for decades. But I asked them to give me one chance to convince Liang in person, and when I found out where he lived and what he did with his life, I knew I had to bring Cadeneza along. She’d be an excellent help in convincing him.

“There!” Cadeneza shouted, interrupting my reverie. She pointed to a small building jutting out from a nearby alleyway. “That’s it.”

I beheld the glowing neon sign hanging above it, which was flanked by a pair of old-world flags. Union Jacks, to be precise. “The Beam and Mast,” I murmured. “That’s his pub alright.”

Stepping inside was like being swept up by a transporter beam and dropped in the middle of England. Everything about the decor screamed a traditional, old-world English pub, Fairly ornate wood panels lined the bottom halves of the walls, their rich, dark brown stain perfectly complementing the dark green paint on the upper halves. High-walled booths and numerous tables filled the space in a way that seemed to give each table its own small bubble of privacy. To our right was a long wooden bar, lined with metal barstools and backed by a vast set of wooden shelves that seemed to cover the entire wall behind it. Some Chinese touches dotted the room too, including some old-world flags from the region, and a few sizable paintings of ancient eastern dragons hanging on the walls.

As we moved towards the bar itself, Cadeneza stopped me briefly and whispered, “We should turn off our universal translators.”

I eyed her curiously. “Why?”

Silently she pointed over to the corner, where there was a sizable group of Nausicaans and Orions drinking and carousing. A few of them cast surly looks our way, and at least one Nausicaan bared his teeth and licked his lips, as if savoring the idea of eating me.

Shivering, I turned back to her and said, “You’re right. Turn them off.”

“Already done,” she said as we reached the bar.

The man we were looking for stood behind the bar, giving us both stern looks that, were I still a raw cadet, would’ve left me withering and fleeing on the spot. Long black hair streaked with grey ran down his shoulders, and his face bore a mustache and goatee that were similarly salt and pepper. His Chinese features were most evident in the eyes and around the cheeks, while his nose and lips lent towards his English ancestry. His clothes oozed poshness, from the sleek white undershirt to the black vest and tie overtop, and the black slacks that accompanied them.

“So,” he spoke in a charming, suave voice with a rich, elite English accent, completely counter to his expression. “It’s not enough that Starfleet pesters me with communiques and videos. Now they send a pair of beautiful angels to me, to lure me in with your siren song.” He switched to a grin that caused even Cadeneza to swoon just a little. He held up a cane and pointed at us with the top of it, revealing a carved Chinese symbol atop. “Sorry to disappoint you, but this dog is too old to learn new tricks. Or repeat old ones for that matter.”

“Speaking of angels,” he refocused on me, “You’re quite the unique one. Four legged, yet as gorgeous as any humanoid. Plus wings and a unicorn’s horn? Impressive. Just need a halo to complete the look.”

Okay, Mr. Flattery, lay off the charm, I groused internally. Despite that, warmth flooded my cheeks. “James Liang, I presume.”

“In the flesh,” he answered, gesturing to himself with both hands. “I hope I’m as impressive in person as my Starfleet records no doubt suggest. They do love to wax philosophical about my youthful accomplishments.”

“I’d say so,” Cadeneza quipped, a coquettish smile spreading on her face. She stuck out a hand. “Jacqueline Cadeneza, Lieutenant. Nice to meet you, sir.”

Somehow, I wasn’t the least bit surprised when he took her hand and raised it to his lips. “A pleasure. I don’t suppose you’d care for a drink?”

Cadeneza shot me a pleading look. “We’re on duty,” I mouthed, but she only gave me a more insistent expression, gesturing at Liang. Finally with a sigh, I nodded, and she pumped her fist in excitement.

“Yes, please,” she said, sitting down at the bar. “Whiskey. Neat.”

“As you wish,” Liang said. He hummed for a moment before selecting a bottle in particular, brought out a shot glass, and poured it. “There you are, my dear. And what about you, my equine beauty?”

“I’m… not thirsty right now,” I said, trying desperately to ignore the ever growing blush flooding my face while I took a seat next to Cadeneza.

“Your face says otherwise,” Cadeneza quipped as she sipped at her whiskey.

“Grr…” I took a moment to compose myself before I faced Liang again. “More to the point, sir, I’m Lieutenant Commander Sunset Shimmer. I’ll be your first officer aboard the Phoenix, if you’re willing to come Captain it.”

His smile dropped. “I see. A shame you’ve come all this way then. You’ve wasted your time, Miss Shimmer. I’m not leaving this bar.”

Cadeneza immediately knocked the rest of her whiskey back. “Another, please,” she said sweetly. After Liang poured her a fresh drink, she sipped at it and added, “So, why not?”

“Why not what?” Liang questioned.

“Why not come back?” Cadeneza said, flashing him a toothy smile. “I mean, I get you’ve got somethin’ pretty cushy going here. You’ve got a stylish bar with plenty of patrons, you get to wear snazzy clothes every day… but is that really all you want out of life?”

He stared at her for a moment, then chuckled. “First of all, I run a stylish pub, not a bar. There’s a difference. More importantly, you missed the most important aspect of my life, one I’d never have in Starfleet: peace.”

“Peace?” I said.

He smirked at me. “Peace, yes. As in peace and quiet. Peaceful contemplation. I’ve served my time in the big chair, done my bit for king and country. Now I’d much rather wile away my time in this pub, behind this bar. Now, if you’d like a bartender, well… you still won’t be able to recruit me, but I know a few people I’d happily refer you to.”

“Huh. Alright then,” Cadeneza shrugged. She knocked back the rest of her drink, then hopped off her chair. “Guess we’re done here, Sunset. Told you it was a waste of time.” Then she winked at me.

It took a second for the gears to click in my head before I gave her a knowing smile in return. “Yes, you were right, Lieutenant.” I got off my own chair and took one last look at the wall of liquor behind the bar. “Nice pub you have here, sir. Though you may want to consider stocking up on kanar soon. Cardassians love the stuff, I hear.”

Liang paused halfway through reaching for Cadeneza’s empty glass. “The Cardassians?”

“Oh, yeah, you know, those big scary guys, with the massive warships who were just barely kicked off Bajor recently?” Cadeneza answered, waving her hands casually. I saw her saccharine grin turn savage as she turned away. “Oh, and whoever their Dominion allies are now.”

Liang’s expression tightened just a bit, but it felt like the entire atmosphere of the room had shifted. “The Cardassians,” he repeated, his voice low but suddenly ice cold.

“Uh huh,” Cadeneza replied. “Looks like war could start any day now. And with how strong the Dominion is, well, if things go poorly, you may end up replacing these old-world flags with Dominion banners sooner than you think.”

I watched Liang’s grip on his cleaning cloth tighten till his knuckles turned white. “That’s impossible. Surely Starfleet would never be incompetent enough to allow such a thing.”

“It’s not about incompetence, sir,” I said, finally turning around myself. “Quite the opposite, in fact. We could use your skills, your savvy, your experience. Because she’s not wrong. The Dominion-Cardassian alliance presents the most dangerous threat to the Federation since the Borg, and you need only turn on the evening news to know Starfleet’s about as thin as it’s ever been.”

“And then there’s that other thing too,” Cadeneza interjected.

“Err, that’s really not important right now, Lieutenant,” I said, glaring at her.

“Oh? No, do please… tell me.” Liang said in a quiet voice that left every danger sense I had blaring with alarms.

“You might’ve noticed I’m a bit unique,” I replied, pointing a hoof at my chest. “My sister Twilight and I, we’re the only two ponies in the Federation. We were brought to Earth by some mysterious mirror portal, and we’re trying to find our home. That’s why we joined Starfleet. And I’m hoping that the Phoenix will help us do that. But we need a captain. A good captain, one we can rely on.”

Liang considered that for a moment. Then he pointed at the stools. “Sit down.”

“Huh?” Cadeneza blurted.

“Sit down or I won’t humor another word you have to say,” he said, his voice brimming with authority.

We both sprang to obey. The sheer strength his voice held just then, it terrified me.

He stared at us both for several long moments, then sank beneath the bar, coming back up with a trio of bottles. “Here. We’ll share some cider, and I’ll thank you not to refuse it this time, Miss Shimmer.”

I nodded, and took the bottle from him, popping off the cap with my magic. A quick sip later had me smiling on the inside. This cider tasted good, but also familiar for some reason. “Where’d you get this from?” I asked.

“A small farm in Texas,” he answered as he took a pull from his own, then held up the bottle to his face to look at it. “They’ve been growing apples for generations. They know how to make cider, proper cider.” He set his bottle down on the bar with a clink. “Worth every strip of latinum they make me spend on it.”

That intrigued me. “I, uh, I don’t suppose it’s run by the Smith family, is it?”

“As a matter of fact, it is,” he said, giving me a nod of approval. “I take it you’ve sampled their products before.”

If I thought my cheeks burned when he flirted with me earlier, they now blazed hotter than a plasma fire. I saw Cadeneza slap a hand across her mouth as she shook with mirth. “Uh, in a manner of speaking, yeah,” I said, trying to laugh it off. To cover it I took another quick drink. It really was good, even better than the replicated stuff Smith and I used to drink together. “It’s the best I’ve ever tasted.”

“It’s not just good,” he said as he held up his bottle once more. “It’s a piece of culture. Of life. Earth’s finest work, produced when all the dangers have fled in the night, leaving everyone in peace.” Then he scowled. “It’s exactly the sort of thing the Cardassians would wipe out the first chance they get.”

“It is,” I nodded. “And not just them. The Dominion too. Stuff like this cider, like this pub? They’d burn it all in an instant.”

Liang took another long drink from his cider, then set the bottle down and looked right at me. “You said you’re trying to find your home, is that right?”

“Yes sir. It’s a long ways away, and we don’t even know where to begin to look.”

He continued to gaze into my eyes for several long moments, enough to make my cheeks heat up all over again. Then he laughed. It was quiet at first, but it grew and grew until it was a full body belly laugh. “Let me tell you something, Miss Shimmer. When Starfleet sent me their request I thought they were confused, that they had made a colossal recruiting mixup. When I saw two Starfleet uniforms walk into my pub mere hours after finally sending a response, I thought they had lost their minds. Now here I am, getting my arm twisted by a flying unicorn with commander’s pips on her collar. Makes me wonder if I’m the one losing their mind.”

He picked up his bottle. “But you know, maybe you two are right after all. I’ve spent a good long time behind this bar talking to people. I like to think I’ve made a difference back here, in the ways that a bartender does. But if I can make a difference again for the people out there…” he looked over at me, “or the people right here in front of me, who am I to turn them down?” He tipped his bottle towards us then knocked back the rest of the cider in one swig. “I accept.”

“I’m glad to hear it, sir!” I said, smiling and laughing. “The Phoenix won’t be ready to launch for another month, but I’d be happy to work with Starfleet to set you up with temporary quarters in San Francisco while you transition back to active duty.”

“I appreciate that, Commander, but that won’t be necessary.” He picked up his cane, tucked it under his arm, then walked out from behind the counter. “I can do it from aboard the ship. Assuming it’s livable.”

“It is… technically speaking,” Cadeneza quipped as she drank her bottle dry. “Still needs a lot of repairs though.”

“Ah, one of those situations,” Liang nodded. “Well, I’ll make do. I don’t need to live in the lap of luxury, after all. However, there is one matter I must attend to first.”

He beckoned for us to follow him into the back, where a large communicator screen hung on one wall. He tapped up a few buttons, then said, “This is for Su Liang, Beijing, China. Please acknowledge.”

After a moment, the screen flickered on with the image of a young Chinese woman with hair black as midnight cut in a short regulation bob. She wore casual clothing, just a shirt and matching skirt, but I saw in the background a pair of red collared Starfleet uniforms marked with Lieutenant’s pips hanging up right behind her. “Dad?” she said, looking askance at the screen. “What do you want? You know I’m on leave.”

“Sorry, my darling girl,” Liang quipped, and I saw Su’s eyes flash with irritation as he spoke, “but you see, your father needs your assistance.”

Su scowled at the screen, then frowned, her brow creasing. “Dad, are those Starfleet officers standing behind you?” She leaned even closer to the screen on her end and squinted. “Wait ...is one of them a horse?!”

Liang glanced back at me and winked, then faced his daughter. “Pony actually, but yes, they’re Starfleet. They’re here for me.”

Su took that information in with a heavy sigh. “A pony? In Starfl–you know, what nevermind. Just please tell me you’re not being arrested?”

“Oh come now, my girl, you know your father better than that,” he replied with a laugh. “No, as a matter of fact, they’re here to hire me. I’m returning to Starfleet, and I need someone to watch over the bar while I’m gone.”

“...wow.” Su sat back in her chair, surprise written all over her face. “I thought you said you’d never go back.”

“Yes, well,” Liang cleared his throat. “Never let it be said your father was perfect in his predictions. But these two here have convinced me that right now, I’m needed out there far more than I am in here. I wish I had time to explain more.”

She nodded. “Alright. But like I said, Dad, I only have so much leave time. I can’t watch the bar forever.”

“I’m aware of that, dear. It’s just temporary. I’ll send you the information you’ll need to get a more permanent guardian for it.”

Su gave him a small smile. “You’re going to sell it, aren’t you?”

Liang shrugged. “I may. We’ll see. It depends upon how long this assignment lasts. I trust I can count on you.”

“Yeah, Dad. I’ve got you covered,” Su said. She waved at the screen. “Love you.”

“Love you too, dear.“ He hit the button to terminate the conversation, then walked back out to the bar and tapped a button hidden underneath. His voice boomed off the walls as he said, “Sorry, everyone, but I’m afraid the pub is closing early tonight! Time to leave, come on now.”

The pub patrons growled and grimaced, with the Orions and Naussiacaans giving us dirty looks, clenching their fists as they stumbled out. But eventually we were the only ones left, and only then did Liang step out and look up the place. “There. Shall we?”

Taking his cue, and eager to get out of the pouring rain, I quickly tapped my combadge. “Shimmer to Phoenix. Three to beam up.”

---

Reappearing on the dry transporter pad was a blessing, even if my uniform dripped all over the place. “Welcome back, ma’am,” said Hill, giving Liang a wary look. “I, uh, I take it you were successful?”

“Indubitably, my good man,” Liang said, stepping off the transporter pad and bringing his cane forward, leaning on it. “I don’t suppose my quarters are ready for occupation?”

“Um, yes…” Hill replied hesitantly, “and these quarters would be for..?”

I could hear Cadeneza slap her hand up to her forehead behind me.

“The captain’s quarters, actually,” Liang replied, his eyes sparkling with amusement. “Captains do still get their own rooms, yes?”

“Wh–” Hill gasped then snapped to attention as if a whip had cracked his rear end. “I mean yes, Captain! Your quarters are ready. Welcome aboard!”

Liang chuckled, patted Hill on the shoulder, and pointed to the door with his cane. “Then lead the way, Mr. Hill!”

“Err, sir,” Hill said as he led us out into the corridor and towards the turbolift. “Will you be needing to bring any personal items or luggage aboard?”

“Oh, a few things, but we’ll have time for that,” Liang said. “After all, Commander Shimmer tells me the Phoenix won’t launch for another month, correct?”

“That’s right, sir,” Hill answered as we stepped inside the turbolift. “Deck Eight.”

The turbolift carried us swiftly to our destination and we stepped out, following Hill toward the port side of the ship. “Then I have about thirty days to brush off thirty years of rust. Number One, I’ll need you to put together a quick crash course for me. Just the basics, nothing too specific.”

It took me a moment to realize he meant me. “Err, yes sir, I actually already have that ready for you. You just need to call it up on your terminal.”

Liang smiled at that. “Good. I like the initiative. Oh, and tell me: do we have a full senior staff yet?”

“Almost, sir,” I answered. “There’s still a few positions I haven’t filled.”

“Send me the list,” Liang replied, then looked at me with a knowing grin. “I have a few arms to twist as well.”

“Aye, sir.”

Hill stopped at a set of doors not too far away from my own quarters. “Here we are, sir. There should be a few uniforms waiting for you in the bedroom closet.”

“Bit optimistic there, weren’t you, Shimmer?” Liang chuckled as he stepped into the doorway. “Well, if you’ll pardon me for a moment.”

When he came out a few minutes later, we all stood at attention instantly. I’d thought I’d seen Liang’s command authority in the bar, but I’d clearly only gotten a small taste. Seeing him now, standing before me in a Starfleet uniform with those four pips on his collar and his hair tied up in a bun… he looked downright intimidating.

The only out of place detail was his cane, which he continued to carry with him. “Fits pretty well, at least for now,” he said, examining the cuffs of his sleeve and tugging at the shoulders a bit. “These grey shoulders though… See, this is why old timers like me miss the double-breasted design so much. It stayed around as long as it did for a reason.” He dropped his arm and faced me. “Well, Number One, let’s go make things official, shall we?”

---

“I gotta say,” Cadeneza said as she sat monitoring the runabout controls, watching the warp-speed stars flicker on by through the front windows, “Thanks for inviting me along, Sunset. Pretty nice to get away from the hectic repairs for a while.”

“Yeah, well, you weren’t my first choice,” I said with a wry chuckle. “But my first choice kept turning me down. She invented all kinds of excuses. The first few made sense, but after a point...”

“Sparkie’s that desperate to avoid you, huh? Figures.” Cadeneza tapped one final control, then hopped up from her chair and approached the replicator. “You want something?”

“Please. We’ve been stuck on this runabout for over a day already.” I smacked my lips. “Makes for thirsty work.”

Snorting with amusement, she looked down at the replicator and said, “Two raktijinos, double strong, double sweet.” She watched them swirl into existence, then picked up the two steaming mugs and returned to her chair, passing one over. “Here you go.”

“Thanks,” I murmured as I took a long sip, letting the hot Klingon coffee warm up my insides. The runabout was climate controlled, and as comfortable as a runabout could be, but even so, the hot beverage was nice. “So, listen, I’ve been wondering… you mind if we talk about Twilight?”

Cadeneza arched an eyebrow. “‘Bout time you finally asked about her.”

“I come back from the dead and spend two years scratching and clawing my way back home, and she acts like the spirit of chaos just ruined her life or something! I wanna know what the hell happened to her!” I blurted, more bluntly than I had intended. The rush of raktajino always sent my nerves aflutter with jitters, and this was a tough subject to talk about.

Fortunately, Cadeneza took my tone in stride. Setting her mug down, she steepled her hands and took a deep breath. “She took your death really hard. I mean, you know what happened at the bar after the memorial service.” I nodded, so she continued, “She kept to herself after that. Took Amelia, Clairica, Preta… Maia… and me everything we had just to get her out every once in a while. She changed, and… not in a good way.”

I winced, letting out a quiet sigh. “So she backslid.”

“Huh?”

Taking another drink of raktajino, I replied, “That’s how she was when she first arrived on Earth. For the first few months she kept to herself, only ever really interacting with me. In some ways she was like my shadow.”

I closed my eyes as I let the memories flow through me, seeing Twilight in my mind once again eight years old, quiet, scared, and confused by the world around her. “We formed a sisterly bond after only a few months, but it took years before she called Mom or Mother as such, and even then it was a literal slip of the tongue she did it.” I stared aimlessly into my mug for a moment. “I think for Twilight, fully accepting her place, her presence in this world, mean letting go of the life she knew in Equestria.”

“Huh. Well shit, no wonder then,” Cadeneza said. She picked up her mug and chugged half of its remaining contents down, then set it back down with a loud smack. “You were everything to her, you know? Half the time we spoke before you died, she wouldn’t shut up about you. She was so proud of everything you did on the Enterprise. At least, she was until…”

“Yeah.” I snorted, and lifted my mug to my mouth, only to freeze. The taste of sweet soured my stomach. Hopping to my hooves, I trotted over to the replicator and replaced the mug for a fresh one, this time without the sweetner. I wanted bitter, to match my mood.

“For what it’s worth, I think you did the right thing,” Cadeneza said. She flashed me a cocky grin she must’ve thought would be reassuring. “From everything I heard, if you hadn’t, everybody would’ve died. The saucer wouldn’t have had enough time to escape the blast. Took too long to get the civilians aboard.”

“So I’ve been told.”

Her grin dropped into a scowl. She finished off her own mug of raktajino, then leaned forward in her chair, propping herself up on the console by her elbows. “Hey, you know what I’ve been wondering? What was it like?”

I blinked, startled. “What was what like?”

“Dying.” She arched an eyebrow. “I’m guessing it hurt like a bitch.”

I snorted, then burst into laughter. “Uh, yeah, that’s an a-firm on that one, Lieutenant. Doesn’t even come close, actually. You don’t want to know what it’s like to have all that radiation pouring into you, let alone… well… I try not to think about it.” I took a drink, allowing the strong, bitter taste to wash out any last trace of sugar and cream from my taste buds. “It’s what came after that occupies my thoughts… and my dreams.”

“Shit, I don’t blame you,” she said. “I’ve heard you tell me about it like four or five times and I still find it hard to believe.”

“Me too.”

She let out a sigh, then a wry smile came to her face as she leaned back in her chair and propped up her feet on the console, careful to keep the heels of her boots from touching any controls. “Well forget about it then. How’ve you been doing since?”

“Honestly?” I gulped down the rest of my second mug and set it aside. “I’ve been so busy I haven’t had much time to think about it. I’m certainly glad I’m not dead, if that’s what you mean.”

“No, it isn’t.” She eyed me. “I’m talking about Sparkie. How’re you dealing with that.”

“Oh.” I cringed and looked away. “It’s… I wish she’d talk to me more. I missed her more than anyone else… I mean I love Mother and Mom, and you and the rest of my friends. But Twilight, she’s… she’s my sister. She’s the only other pony I’ve known for over half my life now. To get the cold shoulder now, when I think we need each other the most, it’s like a weight slowly crushing me from the inside out.” I laid my chin down on the console and sighed. “And now I’m her commanding officer too, and that puts an entirely different kind of wall between us… I…”

I leaped back, my ears flat against my skull as the console in front of me beeped. Cadeneza took her feet down, all professional now. “Looks like we’re approaching the Crazy Horse,” she said. “I’m dropping us out of warp.”

As the stars shrank back into pinpoints in space, an Excelsior-class starship loomed before us. “Wow,” she murmured. “Check out that 23rd century design. May be outdated now, but those rear-biased nacelles and the sweeping ventral hull have aged pretty damn well if you ask me.”

“Eh, she’s got nothing on the Phoenix,” I said. I took a deep breath to gather myself and forced all thoughts of Twilight from my mind, then tapped a control. “Runabout Euphrates to Crazy Horse.”

A high-pitched, almost child-like voice answered. “Go ahead, Euphrates.”

“We’re here to pick up Ensign Danielle for reassignment to the Phoenix,” I said. “Standing by to transport.”

“Acknowledged, Euphrates. Stand by.”

“What, she’s not ready yet?” Cadeneza murmured.

I shook my head. “I wouldn't blame her if so. Thanks to some paper pushers at HQ, she only received word of this reassignment a little over a day ago, instead of before the Crazy Horse left Earth.”

Cadeneza sighed and relaxed into her chair. “At least the Crazy Horse was close enough to Earth for us to catch up to them. Still wish they could’ve been rerouted back to Earth, save us the trip.” At the sight of my mouth opening, she held up a hand. “Yeah, Sunset, I know it’s bad enough for their mission they were forced to hold position. I heard the Captain.”

“Uh huh.” I rolled my eyes. “At least he said yes to bringing her aboard.”

“As a backup,” Cadeneza snorted. “She deserves better than that.”

“Hey, it’s better than saying no outright,” I pointed out. “I asked for her because you all recommended her to me. I still don’t know who he’s picking for the real deal. He’s been puttering away at Starfleet records for the last week trying to track down some of his old shipmates.”

“You mean he didn’t tell you?” she said, her face screwing up in dismay.

“No.” I frowned. “And he overturned my choice for security chief.”

Cadeneza’s eyes lit up. “Oh really?” she snickered. “Hah, I’ll bet that pissed off Maia, huh?”

“More me than her,” I replied. “He and Ishihara had a talk and they both decided she wasn’t ready for it yet. They’re going to pick out someone they’ve both worked with before to help train her better. Ishihara can’t train Maia herself because of their familial connection, and she’ll be too busy with tactical anyway.”

Cadeneza’s snicker turned into outright laughter. “Can you imagine working all this way and being told you weren’t ready?”

I stared back, my gaze icy cold. “Yes. Yes I can.”

She blinked, reeling back. “What–”

The console beeped. “Euphrates, Ensign Danielle is ready for transport.”

“Acknowledged, Crazy Horse,” I said, swiveling in my chair over to the transporter controls. “Beaming her aboard now.”

We both turned around to the two pad transporter in the middle of the runabout’s forward section and watched Danielle appear before us in a wave of sparkles and sound. As soon as she materialized she stepped off the pad, set down the duffel bag she was carrying, and gave Cadeneza a small smile. “Hello again. It’s good to see you.”

Cadeneza popped off a jaunty two finger salute. “Good to see you too, Clairicia. How’ve you been?”

“We’ve got her aboard, Crazy Horse,” I said, reminding her we still had a comm channel open. “Safe travels.”

“Likewise, Euphrates,” came the answering transmission. And a bare few seconds later, we watched the nacelles of the Crazy Horse glow a brilliant blue as the ship stretched into infinity before vanishing in a distant flash of light.

“To answer your question, Cadeneza,” Danielle said, “I’m better now that I’m no longer posted to that ship. Too many people treated me like I was a walking vector of a plague.”

I uttered a quick, “Brace yourself, we’re coming about,” as I guided the ship around, then sent us back into warp on course for Earth. Once done I hopped up to address Danielle. “I’m sorry to hear you had that experience, Ensign. That won’t happen on the Phoenix. I’ll make sure of it.”

“Thank you, ma’am, I appreciate that,” Danielle said. “May I ask what duties I will be performing once we get back? I understand the Phoenix still isn’t ready for launch.”

“No, that’s at least another month away,” I replied, giving Danielle a small grin. “‘Fraid you’ll be on repair duty to start, much like everyone else. Even Captain Liang’s been getting his hands dirty with it on occasion.”

Danielle nodded. “I see.”

“In the meantime,” I said as I resumed my chair, “take a seat. Not much to do till we back to--”

Beep. Beep. “Speaking of the Captain,” Cadeneza said, frowning at the console. “Looks like he’s hailing us.”

My eyebrows shot up. “What could he want?” I murmured as I answered it. Captain Liang’s face appeared on screen. “Yes sir, what can we do for you?”

Liang flashed us a brief smile. “I hope I’ve caught you just after you left the Crazy Horse, Number One.”

“Yes sir, we just left them, with Ensign Danielle in tow of course. Why?”

“Good.” Liang tucked his hands behind his back. “As it so happens, you’re in the perfect position to pick up our new conn officer. Lieutenant Rodrigo Rodriguez. He’s currently participating in a shuttle race around the moons and planets of Barnard’s Star. He should already be aware you’re coming.”

“We’ll get on that right away, sir,” I replied.

Liang nodded. “Wonderful. Welcome to the crew of the Phoenix, Danielle. Liang out.” His image vanished from the screen.

“So much for a quick trip back to Earth,” I groused as I dropped us out of warp long enough to change heading for Barnard’s Star. “I don’t even know who this guy is. He wasn’t the one I picked, that’s for sure.”

“You mean, the one who was supposed to train Preta?” Cadeneza asked.

“Yeah. Lieutenant Perim. But apparently she was poached by the Enterprise, which left us with just Re'l, and Liang decided she wasn’t ready yet either, I guess.”

“If I may,” Danielle interjected. “It sounds as if you didn’t think Preta was ready either.”

I snorted. “No, but that’s not the point. Admiral Nakamura gave me the authority to pick a lot of the crew, and now Liang’s making changes all over the place. It’s a little frustrating. I knew this would happen when I brought him aboard; he warned me. And I’m sure he’s making good choices. Just...”

I grimaced as a sudden realization struck me. “I shouldn’t even be talking about this with you. Either of you. Don’t repeat any of that to anyone; that’s an order.”

“Yes ma’am,” Cadeneza smirked.

We reached Barnard’s Star a few hours later, dropping to impulse in orbit of the first planet. I responded to the usual flurry of comm traffic as I guided us towards a civilian owned space station. “According to the dockmaster he should be returning soon. The race is almost over.”

“What kind of race is it, anyway?” Cadeneza wondered.

Danielle, who’d taken a seat at the third console, having long since stuffed her duffle bag on one of the bunks in the aft section, answered, “A single lap course that takes the shuttles through a series of difficult maneuvers. They’re only allowed short bursts of impulse and have to manage the rest on thrusters and gravity assists.”

“Wow. Relying on gravity assists, huh?” I commented. “That’s not easy at the best of times. Pretty pointless too when you have impulse and warp drive.”

“Shows a lot of skill, though,” Cadeneza pointed out.

“Well, he must be pretty skilled then,” I said as I called up a silent video of a shuttle passing through a demarcated finish line. “Because he just won.”

It took another fifteen minutes before Rodriguez’s shuttle docked with the station, at which point I hailed him immediately. “Lieutenant Rodriguez, this is Commander Sunset Shimmer, aboard the runabout Euphrates. Please respond.”

“Oh, hello!” replied a cheerful, happy-go-lucky voice, with a hint of a Spanish accent. “Forgive me, Commander, I was not expecting you so soon.”

“Not a problem,” I said flatly. “Are you ready for transport?”

“Yes ma’am, though I am not in uniform. I hope that is not a problem.”

“Shouldn’t be,” I replied, nodding to Danielle, who set about using the transporter controls. “We’re beaming you aboard.”

Soon after, he materialized on the pad, and I did a double take when I saw him. Despite the voice sounding like it came out of a scrawny young man, he was a towering giant, almost as tall as Ishihara. He bore a thick beard and mustache on his cheeks and a ragged shock of blonde hair. Instead of a uniform he wore a form-fitting pilot’s jumpsuit that outlined every last bit of muscle, and hoo boy did he have a lot of muscle! He also wore tape around his knuckles, which showed signs of wear and tear, as if he were an amatuer boxer.

He stepped forward, a huge smile on his face. “Thank you, ma’am, for bringing me aboard,” he said. “It is very good to be meeting you. I must admit, when Captain Liang told me he was coming back to Starfleet, I was so excited, I knew I had to work with him again.”

I stood up from the console and approached him, offering a hoof to shake. Despite his size, his cheerful demeanor was infectious, and I smiled warmly. “Well it’s good to meet you too, Lieutenant.” I gestured over to the controls. “Please, take the helm.”

“Aye,” he said as he stepped forward and fit his massive bulk into the chair. “Oh, this is one of the newer runabouts! Danube-class, am I correct? I have not had a chance to pilot one of these yet.”

“It is, yes,” I said, taking the last remaining seat. “Hopefully not too new for you, mister Rodriguez.”

“Not at all, ma’am.”

Nodding, I said, “Then take us out of orbit.”

“My pleasure, ma’am,” he said. He took barely a few seconds to study the controls before his hands danced along them with a grace that belied his gargantuan size. The ship smoothly shifted out of orbit. “To Earth, ma’am?”

“Yes please, and step on it,” I grinned.

He beamed back. “One question. The Danubes, they are fitted with the advanced thruster package, yes?”

Cadeneza and I exchanged a look. “Yeah,” she said. “Why?”

“Just checking.”

The next thing I knew we were upside down as Rodriguez somehow flipped the shuttle end over end and rotated it at the same time. Before I could even ask what he was doing we leveled off and shot into warp without so much as a shudder from the dampening system.

“There we go!” he said as he spun around in his chair. “Should be there in a few days. I’ll see if I can’t coax a bit more speed out of her though.”

I nodded in approval. “Good work. Why don’t you go get cleaned up, put on a uniform.”

“I would be very happy to, ma’am,” he said as he left his chair. He emerged from the aft living area around ten minutes later with a fresh uniform and nary a hair out of place.

“So,” I said, “Since we have some time… why don’t we get to know each other a bit. You’ve worked with Captain Liang before, you said.”

Rodriguez nodded. “Oh yes. Many years ago, when I was new to Starfleet. I was his conn officer aboard the Fletcher. Ambassador-class, very beautiful ship. Or, it was, at least.” He frowned, his sad expression so pathetic it almost made me want to hug him just to tell him everything would be okay. “The Captain was severely injured, but he survived. Barely. We were some of the lucky ones that day.”

Then he smiled again. “But before that, I served with him for four years. He was the best captain I ever had. I returned to duty after recovering from my injures, but I found I just didn’t enjoy serving under anyone else. So I took up flying cargo transports and convoys. Not very interesting, but, well, it’s kept me busy. Gives me time to have some fun on the side, like with my races.”

“Was there anyone else aboard whom you think the Captain might want to work with again?” I asked.

“Hmm…” Rodriguez curled up one beefy hand and laid his chin atop it, thinking. “I know that Williams might be. Drake Williams. He was our chief operations officer, third in command. Haliian. Telepathic, very empathetic. He served on many ships since the Fletcher, but I think he’s retired now. He’s living on Earth. But if the Captain came back, he might too.”

“That’s likely who I’m a backup for, then,” Danielle nodded. She turned to her console and started searching through the library archives, presumably for William’s file. “Anyone else?” she added casually.

“Well, not very many others are still in,” Rodriguez answered. “Though I do know there was a security officer. First Antican in Starfleet, big deal at the time. Was going to take over as chief before the Fletcher was destroyed. I believe his name was… Zhidar? Something like that.”

I frowned, my brow creasing. “Zhidar… Zhidar… I’ve heard that name before, but where?”

“I believe he is on Earth too,” Rodriguez said. “But like I said, I am so excited to work with Captain Liang again. When he resigned… I thought it was such a waste. It wasn’t his fault, that battle. He led us perfectly.”

“What exactly happened?” I asked. “I’ve read up on it, but I want to hear it from your perspective.”

Rodriguez considered that for a moment, his face going neutral. “We were leading a small fleet of ten ships into a nebula, to chase after a Cardassian supply convoy and their escort. The nebula was well within Federation territory at the time, no reason to suspect anything was there. No scans detected anything unusual.”

He swallowed before continuing. “But we were led right into an ambush! Three Galor-class warships surrounded us in an instant and pummeled us. We destroyed two and disabled the last, but it was a Pyrrhic victory. The Fletcher and the Cortez were the only ships left, and the Fletcher was too badly damaged to make it home under her own power. We were in the middle of evacuating non-essential personnel to the Cortez when half the EPS grid blew out, short circuiting the magnetic interlocks on the warp core. Only the bridge crew and a handful of others made it to the escape pods in time.”

I bowed my head in understanding. “No wonder he resigned. He probably blamed himself for their deaths.”

“I believe so, but that is not for me to say,” Rodriguez said. Then he grinned. “Perhaps a happier subject should be broached. I knew you were not humanoid, but you are even more interesting than I expected! May I ask where you are from?”

I considered that for a moment, then said, “Well, it all started with a mirror…”

---

I repeatedly tapped the corner of my PADD on the turbolift’s handrail as it swept me up to the bridge from Main Engineering. Launch day was exactly two weeks away, and you didn’t need to be an empath to feel the nervous energy all throughout the ship. Everyone seemed to be running on as much grit as they were caffeine. But as the turbolift doors opened and I stepped out onto the newly revitalized bridge, I couldn’t help but smile.

For the first time since I’d set hoof aboard her, the Phoenix felt alive.

My eyes took in the sights greedily, taking in every last difference. The long row of consoles that lined the outer ring of the bridge had all been replaced, and now sat on an elevated platform lined by fencing, which allowed for each station to be fitted with proper chairs and a handrail. Ops and Conn had been moved slightly further apart and angled towards the viewscreen, while the Tactical station had its rich, dark wood railing replaced with a dark cobalt blue metal, giving it a sleek but intense look. The shift in both design and color, from rich woods and warm neutrals to deep blue and gold atop polished metal, reflected the larger shift in all of Starfleet lately. Beauty with purpose. Elegance with determination.

My eyes shifted to the command chairs in the center of the bridge, and specifically to the chair to the Captain’s right, one suited to an Equestrian form. Seeing that aboard the bridge of a starship, seeing the chair made for me, it almost brought tears to my eyes. Only my sense of professionalism and a deep desire not to embarrass myself in front of my fellow officers kept my emotions in check.

But I smiled and sniffled all the same.

“Number One? What’s the delay?” came a page over my combadge.

My cheeks bloomed with heat as I rushed over to the ready room. When I arrived, I took a moment to examine the decor. He’d certainly spruced up the place. A bookshelf replaced the fish tank, cluttered with a variety of print books and a few bottles of liquor interspersed within. A couple of the paintings from his pub hung from the walls, and there was a large bust of an eastern dragon taking up room on his desk. The pinkish couch had been replaced with a more comfortable-looking grey and blue affair. A small pedestal just next to it held up a decently-sized model of an Ambassador-class cruiser.

I strode up to his desk. “Reporting as requested, sir. Apologies for the delay.”

“Oh nevermind that,” he answered, standing up from his chair, his cane tucked under his arm. “I’ve tracked down the two remaining members of the senior staff we need. They’re both on Earth, so I thought you might like to go collect them together.”

“I’d be happy to, sir,” I said. “Shall I get a shuttle prepared for launch then?”

“Oh, no no. They’re both in major cities. We’ll just beam down.” He gestured to the ready room door. “Let’s go.”

A short turbolift ride later led us to transporter room two, crewed by an actual transporter chief for once instead of Hill subbing in. “We’re going to get our security officer first,” Liang said. “Chief, if you would, beam us down to San Francisco, the Presidio.”

“Aye, sir,” muttered the young human man at the console.

We stepped aboard the pad. “Energize,” I ordered.

Once we’d reformed on the Presidio, Liang strutted off confidently in the direction of Starfleet Security. Not for the first time, I was hit by the sense of the familiar as I walked with him along the pathways, remembering my first time here, back when I didn’t know what a phaser was, or a human, or anything. “Trotting down memory lane, are you, Shimmer?” Liang said, giving me an amused look.

“A bit, sir,” I admitted. “But I always do around here.”

“Well, I don’t blame you,” Liang replied. “It’s apt, in fact. The man we’re looking for is Lieutenant Commander Zhidar, an Antican. I believe you two are acquainted.”

I looked up at him, confused. “We are?”

He chuckled. “You’ll see.”

As we walked, I found the memories flashing into my mind with greater urgency, until I stopped at a particular spot. “Here,” I breathed.

“Hmm?”

I shook my head to clear my thoughts, then pointed with my hoof. “Right here sir. This is where I first arrived. It’s where everything started, for me, and later my sister too.”

Liang arched an eyebrow, then scanned the area. “I suppose,” he allowed after a moment. “Though it doesn’t look any different from any other part of the park to me. You’re certain?”

“Absolutely, sir,” I said, nodding. “I… feel it. Right in here.” I tapped my chest.

He chuckled, this time in understanding, and patted my shoulder. “Of course.” Then he blinked and smiled, pointing with his cane. “Oh, and here comes our goal now.”

I looked...and froze. A distant memory flashed into existence, an embarrassment I’d long since tried to bury. “Oh no,” I moaned. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Commander Zhidar was just as tall as I remembered, just as burly, his canine jaws masked by an immaculately groomed white beard that stretched down to just above his belt buckle. Though he seemed happy to see Liang, the instant he spotted me, all traces of happiness vanished. A deep scowl overtook his features as he bared his teeth, growling. “You. I remember you. Come to light my beard on fire again?”

“Ahahaha!” I laughed, my face florid hot with embarrassment. “Ah, no, no. Listen, things back then happened so fast, I never got a chance to apologize for all of that. I never meant to–”

He broke out laughing, a rumbling roar like a goat gargling gravel. “Oh, it’s about time I heard those words from your lips, pony. Of course, I should’ve known it would take an officer like Liang to finally force them out of you.”

“What?” I breathed. “No, no!” Wide-eyed and confused, I looked up to Liang for help, but he just stood there balancing on his cane, smirking. “That’s not it at all. Like I said, I never had the chance.”

“Really. Hmph.” Zhidar glared at me for a moment longer, then his expression eased. “Consider your apology accepted, late as it is.” Then he looked up to Liang. “I take it you’re here about the position you offered me.”

“I am indeed, Zhidar,” Liang said, clapping the Antican on the shoulder. “I hope I won’t have to mince words convincing you. You’ve spent far too long guarding Boothby’s flower beds. Surely you’re ready to get back out there.”

“Of course I am!” Zhidar shouted back, his jaws twisting into a toothy smile. “You don’t have to say it twice. I’d be happy to accept. I’m tired of this planet, especially after that idiot Admiral attempted his coup. Mislead my entire security team. Unforgivable.”

“Ah, yes, the planetary outage last year,” Liang replied. “Well good. I’m glad we don’t have to waste time. Now, did you read the particulars? You’ll have an assistant. I expect you to train her, and train her hard.”

“Oh yes. I’m familiar with Ensign Maia,” Zhidar said with a light chuckle. “She served with me briefly as a cadet. Her, I’d be happy to train.”

“Excellent. In that case, why don’t we all move along to our second destination, shall we?” He turned and began walking in the direction of the campus transporter facilities. “We’re headed to Miami, Florida, Coconut Grove neighborhood.”

As my world shifted around me again, a blast of heat hit me full in the face, along with humidity far beyond San Francisco or even Vancouver norms. “I hope we’re not going to be here very long,” I said as I followed Liang and Zhidar down a bustling sidewalk. I had only been here a few minutes and I could already feel my mane and coat getting damp and frizzy. “This heat is miserable.”

“Oh, trust me, Number One, I loathe this climate as much as you do,” Liang grunted. “But Williams loves the place. Reminds him of his home planet. So we must make do.”

“So it is Drake Williams we’re chasing down, then,” Zhidar said, giving our surroundings an appraising look.

“It is. And Zhidar, please, put that thing away,” Liang said, glaring at the phaser rifle still held in Zhidar’s hand. “You’re scaring the locals.”

It was true; anyone who spotted the weapon swiftly crossed the street or found somewhere else to be in a hurry. Zhidar glared around, grunted, then slung the rifle around his back by its strap. “There. Sir.”

Liang’s mouth quirked up. “I see you haven’t lost your wonderful sense of propriety.” He glanced around the area, then pointed down a nearby street. “There. William’s humble abode.”

At a glance, the neighborhood seemed pretty similar to the one I spent my youth at in Vancouver. Smaller buildings, larger yards, but otherwise the same set of two or three story houses, and cheerful people going about their day. Liang directed us to one that did stand out, thanks to the two huge palm trees in front and the outlandish choice of exterior paint. Cyan, turquoise, and various other shades of blue to green created a gradient effect that hurt my eyes to look at.

“Did he really have to litter the lawn with plastic pink flamingos too?” I muttered.

Liang wasted no time striding right up to the door and tapping the door chime with his cane. After a moment, the door swished open, revealing a tall man with dark brown skin whom I almost mistook as human, until I saw the crevice between his brow and the indentations above his eyebrows, which betrayed his true species: Haliian. I watched his eyes scan each of us in turn, paying particular attention to me for a moment, then he sighed. “Either you all are lost or this is the worst door to door sales attempt I’ve ever seen. You know I’m retired, James.”

“So was I, Drake. Didn’t stop me, did it?” Liang said, pointing the top of his cane at his combadge.

Williams rolled his eyes. “Am I supposed to be impressed by that? I knew you’d go back sooner or later. But I retired for a reason. I like it here. It’s nice.”

“Pah,” Zhidar snorted. “You’ve gone soft.”

Giving Zhidar a concerted scowl, Williams replied, “I’m sorry, which one of us got so scared by the loss of the Fletcher that he stuck his tail between his legs and spent almost thirty years guarding Starfleet Headquarters? It wasn’t me.”

Zhidar stomped one step forward and reached out to grab Williams by the front of his shirt. “What did you just say?” he hissed.

“You heard me,” Williams said, not bending an inch. “You spent thirty years as a glorified mall cop, but as soon as James shows up you’re right back at his side, like the lapdog you… are…”

My glowing horn held back Zhidar’s fist bare millimeters from Williams’ nose. “Stand down, Zhidar,” I ordered.

Zhidar turned to glare over his shoulder at me. “You and that horn. Cheating as always.”

“Zhidar,” Liang said, his tone turning serious. “That’s an order.”

“...aye, sir,” Zhidar said, releasing Williams and dropping his arm. As soon as he did, I released my hold on his hand.

Williams took a step back from the door and crossed his arms. “Well, James, looks like you’ve added an interesting new pet to your menagerie. What is this, a horse? And one that apparently knows telekinesis?”

I took a few steps forward, pushing my way past Zhidar, and flashed Williams a stern look. “Yes, I’m a pony, yes it’s telekinesis,” I said, pointing up at my horn. “I’m a sapient being, and also your commanding officer. You will refer to me as Commander.”

“Mmm, doesn’t preclude one from being a pet, but I hear you,” Williams replied, giving me a disinterested nod. “At least you’re not as quick to anger as Zhidar. I do like him, but he’s too easy to provoke.”

Zhidar eyed Williams, then barked a laugh. “I suppose so. You always did have a way of getting under my skin.”

“Yes, well…” Williams tapped the side of his head. “That’s what being an empath will get you.”

“So, tell me, Drake,” Liang interjected, “did you read the communique I sent you, or did you delete it like the other four?”

Williams sighed. “I read it, and I did what I’m sure you did when Starfleet contacted you–tossed it aside.”

“I knew you’d read it eventually,” Liang beamed. “Drake, we’ve been friends a long time. You know I wouldn’t ask this of you if I didn’t truly believe it was the right thing to do.”

“I know that, James,” Williams said quietly. “That’s not the point though. I’m tired. I don’t know where you’re getting your energy from, but I’m pushing eighty. That might still be middle aged for humans, but for Haliians? Let’s just say that I didn’t move to Earth’s unofficial retirement center just for the weather.”

Liang gave Williams a solemn nod. “Of course. I suppose I can understand that. Well, we shan’t bother you any longer, then. Come along, Shimmer, Zhidar. We should leave him in peace.”

We didn’t get more than two steps before Williams shot out his hand to reach for us. “Wait!” he called.

“Oh?” Liang said, pivoting cleanly on his heel.

“Why?”

Liang frowned. “Why what?”

“Why did you join up again?” Williams clarified. He pointed at Liang. “You told me flat out that after the Fletcher you’d never sign up again. So what changed?”

“Hmm… well, you see, this young mare here made some excellent points when she spoke to me,” answered Liang. “Much as I craved peace, the Cardassians–and for that matter, the Dominion–are threatening it all over again. I couldn’t stand idly by and watch them destroy everything I hold dear.”

“Oh come on,” Williams scoffed. “It can’t be that simple.”

“...would it help if I said it was for my daughter’s sake?” Liang prodded.

Williams shook his head. “Nuh-uh. I don’t buy it, James. You know Su can handle herself. And dealing with war, that’s for the young, not us old fogies. So why?”

Liang pursed his lips until they curled into a soft sneer. His hands tightened on his cane so hard I feared it would snap in two. Then he sighed, relaxed, and pointed to me. “It’s because of her.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Me, sir?”

“Yes, you, damn it,” Liang snapped. “You and your sister both.” He turned back to Williams. “She and her sister, they were taken from their homeworld. They don’t even know where it is, if it’s even in the same galaxy, or even the same universe given their abilities. Yet they joined Starfleet anyway because for them we represent the best shot they’ll ever have at finding their way back home. Remind you of anyone?”

Williams stared at Liang for a long time, silent. “...I’ll do it.” Williams stepped forward till he was fully in the sunlight, letting me see some of the wrinkles on his face. “I don’t know for how long I’ll be able to keep it up, but… I’ll do it. I’ll join up.”

Liang closed the distance between him and Williams, and to my surprise, he gave Williams a strong hug. “I’m glad to hear it, old friend. It wouldn’t have been the same without you.”

Releasing him, Liang took a step back. “So, we’ll see you aboard in, say, seventy-two hours? Will that be enough time?”

Williams nodded. “Should be. I’ll be ready by then.”

“Splendid!” Liang cheered. “Well, in that case, allow us to give you some breathing room.” Then he snapped his fingers. “Oh, almost forgot. You’ll need this.” He reached into his pocket and tossed something at Williams.

Catching it, Williams eyed it for a split second before chuckling. He then placed the combadge on his chest. “You knew I’d say yes, didn’t you?”

“I hoped. Nothing more.” Liang gave Williams one final nod, then tapped his own badge. “Liang to Phoenix. Three to beam up.”

As we materialized aboard the ship, I asked Liang to hold back a moment. “Sir, what was that about?”

“Hmm?” He glanced down at me. “Oh. I apologize for snapping at you. That was uncalled for.”

“No sir, that doesn’t bother me,” I answered. “But… what did you mean? Who did I remind–”

Liang held up his cane, cutting me off. “I’m sorry, Number One, but that’s something I promised to stay mum on. You shouldn’t have even heard as much as you did. I’d ask that you not bring this topic up again.”

He turned and left the transporter room without another word. I watched him go, confusion already bubbling inside me. “Aye sir.” He didn’t say it, but the cold, distant look in his eyes just then told me loud and clear.

That was very much an order.

---

Finally, the day arrived. I took one final walkthrough of Main Engineering, poking around every hatch, every panel, looking for anything out of place. I stepped up to the railing right beside the warp core and raised a wing, trailing the tip along the edge of the rail as I stepped around the core. Wattson smirked and said, “Shall I get you a white glove, ma’am?”

I grinned in turn. “Only if we’re breaking out the formal wear in the mess hall tonight. I take it everything is good to go?”

Wattson let out a quiet sigh and smiled. “Yes, ma’am. Computer cores are fully synced, sensors are fully calibrated, warp core power conversion levels are at 97.1 percent. We’re ready.”

“97.1 percent, huh? Better not let LaForge hear that or he’ll start overhauling the Enterprise’s engines tomorrow. Anyway, I’d better get to the bridge, then. Come with me. You can watch over things from the engineering station up there.”

“Sure thing,” she said. She took a moment to search the place, then shouted, “Hey! Hill! You’re in charge till I get back.” Then she faced me. “Okay, let’s go.”

We walked together towards the turbolift and stepped aboard. “Bridge,” I ordered.

The turbolift got all of about five decks up before it opened up again. Cadeneza and Twilight stepped inside. “Oh, hey Sunset,” Cadeneza said. “Heading to the bridge?”

“Yup,” I answered. “Resume.”

“Hello… ma’am,” Twilight murmured, looking right at me.

I opened my mouth to say something friendly, something more sisterly, but then closed it. “Ensign.”

The turbolift halted again. This time, only one boarded, Doctor May. “Oh, I hope you aren’t mindin’ if I joined you on the bridge,” she said as she shuffled into the now crowded lift.

“Nope. More the merrier,” I laughed.

We almost made it to the bridge, but the turbolift opened up one more time, revealing Re'l and Danielle. “Is there enough room for us?” Re'l inquired, giving us a playful look.

“There is, if I ride on Sunny’s back,” Cadeneza quipped. For some reason this comment caused Twilight to blush like crazy.

“Oh ha ha, very funny.” I said as I squeezed against the wall, giving them enough space. “Neither of you are even on duty right now. You’re both Bravo shift.”

“Oh I know, but I wouldn’t miss the launch for the world!” Re'l cheered.

Danielle gave a polite shrug. “Me either.”

Finally, we reached the bridge, spilling out onto it like water from a punctured water tower. I saw Liang look up from his seat, his eyes sparkling with amusement. “Well, it seems we have a few more on the bridge than normal,” he said.

I took a moment to give the bridge a once over, spying Ishihara standing at tactical, with Zhidar over at the security console on the portside. Maia sat next to him, stone faced as ever. Williams and Rodriguez occupied Ops and Conn respectively. And, to my surprise, even Belle and Inanna were seated together at two of the rear stations, holding a quiet conversation. “Guess everyone’s here, huh?” I said.

“So it seems,” Liang answered with his trademark smirk.

The others with me quickly filled every other available seat around the upper section of the bridge. I took my seat to the Captain’s right, while Doctor May took the seat opposite me.

“Number One,” Liang said, sitting up straighter in his chair. “I believe I would like to get underway. Readiness report, if you please.”

I looked down at the small console positioned by me, turning it to adjust. “All decks report ready, Captain.”

“Impulse and warp power at your command, Captain,” Wattson added from her station.

“Shields and weapons standing by, sir,” Ishihara said.

“I doubt we’ll need them in spacedock, Commander, but very good all the same.” Liang brought out his cane and held it up. “Signal McKinley Station. Tell them we’re ready to get under way.”

“Aye, sir,” Ishihara said, tapping on her console. After a moment, she stated, “They’re unlocking the umbilicals. We’re free.”

“Good. Well, everyone, this will be a simple shakedown cruise. Just a short journey to Proxima Centauri and back, nothing fancy,” Liang said. “Nevertheless… Number One?”

I nodded. “Helm, ahead, one quarter thrusters.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Rodriguez echoed. On the viewscreen, we watched as the spindly docking clamps of the station pulled away, allowing us to move ever so slowly out. “We’ve cleared the station.”

“Take us to one-half impulse till we’ve left orbit,” I ordered.

After a few moments, Rodriguez called out, “We’ve cleared orbit.”

“Very well,” Liang said. He swung his cane about. “Helm, set course for Proxima Centauri, full impulse. Warp six as soon as we clear Earth’s gravity well.”

“Course laid in, sir.”

I looked up over at Twilight, hoping to catch her attention. I didn’t, but I did see her smiling, her expression looking hopeful. Given how rarely she’d smiled recently, it was… nice.

Liang pointed his cane right at the viewscreen. “Engage.”

The ship thrummed as the warp drive activated, surrounding us in a warp field and accelerating us far beyond lightspeed. The stars stretched past on the viewscreen, just like they should.

“Status report, Wattson,” Liang said.

“Everything looks good sir, well within acceptable parameters,” Wattson answered.

Liang smiled. “Well, in that case, since this is the shakedown, why don’t we put her through her paces, hmm?”

Wattson frowned. “We can, sir, but I recommend gradually ramping up power. This is a shakedown, not a shake-apart, so to speak.”

“Fair point, Lieutenant. Helm, let’s step up the speed, one warp factor at a time.”

“Aye sir,” Rodriguez responded.

There was no discernable difference on the bridge, but I could tell from the subtle change in the shaking of the deck plating. Just enough to know the warp core was thrumming away at full power.

“Everything’s still green, sir,” Wattson said.

“Wonderful,” Liang replied, sitting back in his chair. “Well, I believe we can all sit back and–”

There was an insistent beeping at Ishihara’s console. “Sir, Starfleet’s sent out a Priority One message, to all ships,” she said, her voice hard and firm.

“Don’t keep us in suspense, Commander,” Liang said.

Everyone on the bridge looked Ishihara’s way. To her credit, she didn’t waver at all as she said, “It’s official. The Federation and the Dominion are at war.”

The tension on the bridge quintupled in an instant. My blood froze in my veins. I knew this would happen, but it still scared me deeply. “Did they send any change to our orders?” I asked.

“Not yet.”

Not yet. That was the key. The news left me feeling grim, despite the successful launch. With the Federation at war, Twilight and I wouldn’t be able to find Equus anytime soon. I knew it was still unlikely, even with the Phoenix, but still.

Liang stood up from his chair. “Yellow alert. I want a report on our combat readiness as soon as possible. Shakedown or not, I want us ready to fight.” He glanced around. “I’m afraid if you don’t have a good reason to be here, I need to order you back to your posts. Number One, I’ll be in my ready room. You have the bridge.”

“Aye, sir,” I acknowledged as he swiftly made his way there.

To my surprise, Twilight trotted down to me. “Sunset,” she whispered. “What do we do now?”

For just that one moment I saw the Twilight I remembered: my sister. “We do what we all trained for in this situation. And we watch each other’s backs.”

“Will that be enough?”

I gave her the only answer I could.

“I hope so.”

END OF SEASON ONE

NEXT SEASON ON STAR TREK: PHOENIX…

---

“Oh you have got to be kidding me,” I sighed. “Computer, delete guards.”

The guards remained firmly in place, their glares darker than ever. One pointed his wingblades squarely at my face. “You need to come with us. We have questions for you.”

A frisson of fear ran down my spine. “Computer!” I called out. “Delete. Guards.”

“I don’t know what you’re saying,” spoke the black coated one, now also pointing his blades at me. “But don’t move. We will use force if necessary.”

“Computer…” I growled. “Computer! Respond!” Nothing. “Oh come on! We’re in spacedock for crying out loud. This is not the time for holographic safeties to--”

---

“Cadeneza to Phoenix!” Cadeneza screamed as she popped out of cover long enough to fire two shots. “We’ve got two fatalities and Jem’Hadar all around us! We need immediate evac!”

“Negative, Cadeneza,” replied Ishihara. “Four Dominion fighters are on our tail. We’ve got our hands full up here.”

---

“Say what you will about our guest,” Rodriguez said with a grin as he nursed a margarita. “But she makes the finest margaritas I’ve ever had.”

“Of course I do.” She scowled at the two of us. “Not like I have anything else to do on this ship.”

---

“What the hell could do that to a group of Jem’Hadar?” Hill gulped. His panicked breathing echoed through the comms in my ears, grating on my nerves.

“Easy, easy, Hill, calm down. That’s an order.” I tugged on his arm to pull him away from the stain. “Come on. We need to find a control panel, something to turn the power on with.”

“O-okay,” Hill said shakily, nodding several times before he followed my lead.

---

The instant I stepped inside, Preta rose from a chair at our shared dining table to gape at me. “Twilight? What happened to you?”

“Dunno, but she’s drunk,” Maia snorted. “Get her to bed, would you?”

“Err, yeah, okay,” Preta responded. As Maia left, she knelt down to look me in the eye. “You okay, Twilight? How’d you even get drunk? I thought Ten Forward didn’t carry any real alcohol.”

“They didn’t,” I replied.

---

Author's Note:

Hi everyone! It's your favorite color, Blue, with today's chapter's lengthy author's notes!

First off, I just wanna say thank you all for reading this little story, and I hope you all have enjoyed the first season. We got plenty of things planned (and some unplanned) over the next few seasons that I hope you all enjoy even more than this one. There were some lessons we've learned here, and I'm hoping we can continue to grow to make each season far better than the last. But first, I feel like there are a few things to mention (from least important to most).

To start with, I'd like to apologize for any mistakes made that I couldn't fix ahead of time. With as long as each chapter is, some mistakes are bound to fall through the cracks... especially since I'm trying to edit off my phone. Laptop issues aside, it has been quite busy for everyone involved and, for me personally, it's gonna get far more hectic. I get to move twice in the next three months, try and find a job, while also shipping out and either getting cut a hefty check for a new computer, or getting this one replaced. So, in all likelihood, I'll be without a laptop for some time... BUT, before all that, I get to finish school this week... multiple finals, a massive paper to finish, along with a short story that has been a struggle... but that is neither here-nor-there, and just me venting.

Anyway, that being said, we'd like to showcase the upcoming schedule for this story's release!

June 7th - Ep¹⁰ <=== You are here.
June 14th - Season 2 Ep¹¹ (Premier)
June 21st - Season 2 Ep¹²
June 25th - Season 2 Mini¹
June 30th - Season 2 Mini²
July 5th - Season 2 Ep¹³
July 9th - Season 2 Mini³
July 14th - Season 2 Mini⁴
July 19th - Season 2 Ep¹⁴
July 23rd - Season 2 Mini⁵
July 28th - Season 2 Mini⁶
August 2nd - Season 2 Ep¹⁵
...

Now, all uploads will be between noon and 4pm PST on their respective days, and if there is a delay, we will let you know... Though, I certainly hope there won't be.

You may be curious as to what a mini-episode is? They're fun, and I think you'll enjoy them. Each mini episode will give everyone a different perspective and cover events that don't really fit within a main episode.

Lastly, and most importantly, I gotta talk about the science... I hate to say it, but... none of us are perfect with the science, so we will be taking creative liberties. Especially when some of the stuff isn't even understood in real life... but, like, why would you expect perfect realism in a series with magical space-ship flying unicorns? We will do our best, but mistakes in those areas will definitely be made.

Anyway, that's all from me, sorry for wording your ear out after a super long chapter! I hope you enjoyed the new cast, I worked ... a long time making them.

Thanks Blue. You know my heart goes out to you.

As mentioned before, the Captain is an OC. There's a few reasons for this, namely that at one point in production, Sunset was going to outright become Captain and this guy would be her first officer instead. However I realized that didn't make much sense and so I swapped things around.

Additionally I didn't really want to use canon characters for the crew. I'd rather make the characters my own, and while there are a few blank slates out there that people guessed, I felt it better to stick to OCs. There's a few canon characters that may crop up as minor crew members--and we're talking people, like, say, Sam Lavelle or Taurik--but the command crew is 100% original.

And thanks, of course, must go to Blue Horizon for the fantastic development put into these characters. Blue either named or personalitied just about every character, except for Zhidar.

Meanwhile, extra credit to Moff as usual for sprucing up some otherwise dull scenes.

As for those previews... well, you know what they say. Never trust a trailer.

Comments

[Sentinel053]

The shroud of the founders has fallen begun the dominion war has

[Mister Morden]

And the setup is complete, the Phoenix has been rebirthed from the ashes... and war was declared.

We will see how things go... and how much of an insanity magnet the Phoenix is compared to the Enterprise!

I am curious how much of the next season is going to cover the Dominion War and the affects that has on Star Fleet? Time will tell I am sure.

Best of luck with your school and the computer problems!

[RolkFlameraven]

The problem is going to be Sunset and Twi. Sunset let too much slip and the founders are going to be gunning for them. They are, conveniently, on one ship.

Even with the Phoenix, most likely, not on the front lines, they are going to have far to much "fun" because of that.

That first little snippet with the Guards though... Q, Discord or Sunset leading up to that "ftl" pony without realizing it in her sleep?

[Admiral Q Ponyform]

Still think you should use Maxwell. Liang is barely different form the guy.

Okay maxwell attacked the Cardassians without orders. He had enough proof they were violating treaty for he had most of the crew on his side. you OC may is the ONLY person ever said maxwell was nuts. Even Obrien thought he had a legit reason. And after he was arrested the Cardassians broke treaty tons of times and all that the federation did was wag their finger at them. LOOK WHERE THAT LEAD! Yet if they federation actually pushed war with the Union earlier means that the Detapa Council would have longer to cement themselves after the Central Commands fall. No Cardassian/Klingon War, hell no Fed/Klingon war thus all three are not weakened by those. and Dominion loses the union as a foothold for the war. so the war could be prevented or made less destructive. Liang is right. Starfleet and the fed council are incompentant. They Neville Chamberlained
Liang is interesting but you can easily plop Maxwell there but have issues with the Cardassians, both are combat leaning captains. and there is more then enough room to play with the character. His background is not much more then Liang's.

Wouldn't think it be too difficult to mate the saucer to the nebula. they are cousin classes. Mating the galaxy saucer to an Excelsior hull. Not that be scotty level impressive and diffccult.

Still like this story but your reason to not use maxwell doesn't really fly with me. but your story in the end.

[Admiral Q Ponyform]

10851404
she is part Enterprise. she likely inherited some of it

[Admiral Q Ponyform]

10851491
she is nebula class starship. she is goign to be front lines for very few classes can match or beat her.

[RDDash]

i.stack.imgur.com/4jv1K.gif

I don't know how to say this, but both ships are incompatible.

[ssokolow]

10851404

Best of luck with your school and the computer problems!

Seconded.

On the latter, it's a shame you're on a laptop because it's so easy and inexpensive to repair classic not-all-in-one desktop PCs.

[ssokolow]

10851532

I think that's what they were talking about in this chapter when it was taking even longer than expected to get them to match up. It was lampshading the amount of rebuilding needed.

[SuperSonicHeroes]

Wow, so after all that season 1 is over. Now Sunset is in command of the Phoenix and she, Twilight, and the rest of the crew are off to have their own adventures. Plus I’m sure Sunset and Twilight are hoping to find their way back home somehow.

[Dewdrops on the Grass]

10851548
Indeed. I'm well aware of that critique when it comes to Nebula-class ships and Galaxy-class ships, so I wanted to hang a lampshade on it.
10851521
I'm afraid if you think Maxwell and Liang are similar characters, you weren't paying attention. I don't mean to be rude by saying this, but to be honest your complaints about Maxwell have become rather frustrating. While he and Liang share a disdain for Cardassians, apart from that they are nothing alike. In addition Liang has a lot of background we've fleshed out for him that you haven't gotten to see yet. Their manner of speaking, their demeanor, their way of looking at life, none of it is the same. Instead of staying in Starfleet and committing war crimes, Liang retired.

I never cared for Maxwell. I see him as a villain. And like I said in the AN, Liang was originally created to be a first officer for Captain Sunset, not the other way around. More to the point, unlike Maxwell, he's not a villain.

[Booster Spice]

The next thing I knew we were upside down as Rodriguez somehow flipped the shuttle end over end and rotated it at the same time. Before I could even ask what he was doing we leveled off and shot into warp without so much as a shudder from the dampening system.

I think I remember seeing this in the computer Demo, Desert Dreams, and in the title sequence for Elite 2:Frontier?

The crews made, the Dominion have decided they want to be ground meat. Let the BBQ commence.

[tkepner]

It ook over three weeks to get

took

“That’shis pub alright.”

That’s / his

[Vic Fontaine]

10851524
Plus who knows how much extra punch is in the tactical pod setup?

[Vic Fontaine]

10851548
Exactly. ;)

Wasn't plug n play but that's Starfleet engineers for ya. They make it work.

[DreadedCandiru2]

After surviving the Dominion War, I don't think that Sunset or Twilight are going to have much patience with Black Snooty and her weak BS. Just a thought in passing.

[RolkFlameraven]

10851524
The E herself was not involved in the war. So where several other ships as Starfleet is also the coast guard, anti-pirate and peace keepers for all of federation space.

They toss many, many ships and people into the War, but they are stretched so thin because of all their other responsibilities.

As the War grinds on, and as Sunset and/or Twilight are hunted, they will get involved, but I don't expect them to be tossed right into the fire.

It could be weeks, months or even a year or more before they are ordered to the front. But I expect combat long before those orders do come down .

[badninja]

At least they didn’t pull an Enterprise-B. What was Harriman and Starfleet thinking.

[Vic Fontaine]

10851662
That answer won't be available until Tuesday.

[Blue Horizon]

10851670
Tuesday???

I'm confuzzled.

[badninja]

10851670

[badninja]

10851673

Because that was when everything was supposed to be installed when the B launched. It went out with almost nothing and looked what happened.

[Blue Horizon]

10851677
Ah, curse you all with your inside jokes. I feel left out... xD

[Admiral Q Ponyform]

10851570
is he though? I again point to the results after his arrest and compare it what could have happened if they actually followed through.

Canon wise we see the union repeatedly break the treaty. a bad treaty to begin with but still broken many times and all starfleet did was wag the finger when they were caught doing it. The fact so many starfleet officers join the Marquis show how poorly Starfleet and the council reacted to the cardassians breaking treaty. then go to Maxwell's crew. your OC is literally the only person who served with Maxwell that disagreed with his moves. Every officer including Miles believe he has reasons. Phoenix's crew saw the same evidence Maxwell saw and fully supported his moves. So again. is he a villain? Or is he ahead of the curve to a government so focused on peace that they ignore the signs that peace is not on the table at the moment.

Then we point to the name of the story and the ship. Rise from ashes and redemption. Your Sunset was on the path of canon till ending up in fed space. To ignore a redemption for Maxwell is short sighted. With war on the horizon and a lack of tacitcal captains. You made Liang a tacitcal captain. same as Maxwell. both are charismatic, again both have a chip on the shoulder over Cardassians, both think Starfleet of the past was incompement. War was coming no matter what. the scale of war would be the difference.

[Blue Horizon]

10851682
*cough cough* Liang didn't serve with Maxwell, May did. *cough cough*

Also, considering I designed Liang, let me be very clear. Liang and Maxwell are completely different characters, with different drives, motives, and more.

Maxwell may, or may not, be relevant in the future. Who knows, okay... well, I do. But the two characters are not the same.

[Admiral Q Ponyform]

10851642
the E was in the war. but on another front from Defiant.

[zimmerwald1915]

10851404
It's not the ship that's a weirdness magnet, it's the protagonists. So, yes.

[Heavyhauler75622]

"The next thing I knew we were upside down as Rodriguez somehow flipped the shuttle end over end and rotated it at the same time. Before I could even ask what he was doing we leveled off and shot into warp without so much as a shudder from the dampening system."

That was a compact Immelman...rather than the half vertical loop to get the ship aligned, followed by the half-roll, he executed all three axis changes at the same time. A certain Vulcan warp-sled did the same thing in The Motion Picture...

It's always been a minor bugaboo of mine that these ships tend to throw Newton out an airlock. Those big, impressive sweeps. Never a quick spin on 'Z Axis' and cut up the moron following you. Babylon 5 and the new Battlestar Galactica series had those parts right...

I was hoping to see a certain Vulcan/Human hybrid take the center seat, and bring his character to this group. But, I understand why, when you're writing something new...

Nebulas are very fast reacting ships, since the mass of the ship is so compact. Like a figure skater whipping around in a blur when they pull their arms inward during a spin, yet slow significantly when the arms extend outward again. You have a helm officer aware of how that works. This ship is significantly more dangerous than it appears at first...

I'm not so sanguine about recruiting officers that seem to delight in beating the crap out of others when they show up...but that's me. Big Army sort of guy...teamwork first. Lot of "Me! Me!" attention junkies here...

Like a show of my youth would say: "See you next week! Same Bat-time, same Bat-channel!"

[Heavyhauler75622]

10851597
A lot...

"Starfleet quickly mobilized to deploy the weapons pod, which contains 8 forward-facing torpedo launchers, and 3 Type X point-defense phaser emitters. The launchers are fed by an additional 200 photon torpedoes stored in the pod itself."

Ouch time...

[zimmerwald1915]

10851709
Would you say we have a crew more like Marines, or Airmen?

[Heavyhauler75622]

"Every so often I caught a brief reflection of the command red collar around my neck and poked at it with my hoof. I thought I liked these new uniforms at first, but the more I wore it, the more annoying it became. Maybe I could make my own. I’m sure we could justify that, right? ‘Look, it’s because it’s an experiment, like the ship! Since we’ve never put together two classes of ships like this before, it needs a new uniform!’"

Since my story is set four years after the end of the Dominion war, I let Captain Shimmer decide for hers. We have the Cerritos uniform, and the baggy boiler suits. And I'm sorry, that one piece thing would have been roundly rejected by every single female in Starfleet...

Besides...the "Lower Decks" outfit has panache. It fits better, is two-piece so attendant biological functions are better accomodated, and just LOOKS a damned sight better on these professionals.

[The Voice in the Water]

And so the adventure gets underway. Wooo!

[Blue Horizon]

10851777
Well... next week... xD

[harts fire]

wow that is a grate ending to season one.
it sure looks like season two is going to be awesome.

[RolkFlameraven]

10851694
Citation needed. There is no information, at all, about the E doing anything during the War, and dialog in Insurrection points to them pulling guard/diplomatic duty over being directly in combat.

Granted this is because Viacom wasn't going to pay for TNG actors to show up in DS9 for any length of time.

All action the E gets up to in the war are from the books, and those have never been canon.

[Teraunce]

Well Season 2 is looking really interesting from the preview. And this was a nice long chapter. too bad Twilight needs to get laid.

[Admiral Q Ponyform]

10851823
but close to canon. note in Inssurection Picard makes the quip. "Remember when we were explorers?' and during TNG the Enterprise was the flagship of a task force many times. So the books are soft canon but make sense. DS9 was all about the Bajor front. not the others.

[Admiral Q Ponyform]

10851739
i'd go with the all good thigns uniform

[Alden MacManx]

"Underway on nuclear power", we would say aboard a submarine after launching and reactor startup.

One thing I don't understand, and this is directed to the commenters, is why all the hate mail dissention about the senior staff? The main reason, in my opinion, that Ben Maxwell is not aboard and in command is that the senior Admiralty staff don't WANT him back. It's going to be quite some time before the Admiralty wipes the egg off of its collective face and admits Maxwell was right and they were wrong. Everyone involved in the decision-making process kicking Maxwell out is going to have to retire before Starfleet admits they were wrong and he was right.

Speaking as an author, I would rather have my own cast of characters there myself. So what about Star Trek canon? Here, WE make OUR OWN canon! Queyd Arn Tung. (now if anyone can say exactly what THAT means, PM me privately, please)

This season has been magnificent, and the best is yet to come!

Speaking as the Chief Engineer of the USS Ravenwolf (NCC 10769), mating two disparate classes, saucer section and warp drive, is going to take a frickin' miracle to pull off in any reasonable amount of time. Interfaces, warp field dynamics, shielding parameters, center of mass, axis of thrust, it's going to take a lot of skull sweat and (as I have heard it put) Yanking and banking to work out in real space, and not in simulations. 'Reality' is analog, not digital!

Don't sweat the (psuedo)science and enjoy the ride.

If anyone has read Goldfur's 'Cosmic Lotus', I'm the guy behind Purple (later Radiance) Point. So, I'm a tech nut. It's fun!

LCDR A.L. MacManx
Chief Engineer
USS Ravenwolf
NCC-10769

(if I could ever figure out how to load the picture, I will. Someday.)

[ShadePhoenix]

And so it begins.

[Heavyhauler75622]

10851831
When you actually see the "Lower Decks" outfit on someplace like Memory Alpha and without the 'cartoon-y' aspect, it's actually a good looking thing.

The only saving grace on uniforms in the ST:TNG movies is the sharp Dress Mess Whites...

[Heavyhauler75622]

10851862
He might have been right...but he acted on that wrong...especially in their own space...

Given that the Nebula was derived from the Galaxy, many things you pointed out are within similar parameters. Others might be improvements and revised iterations, but still, within the abilities of a shipyard to integrate...

[Heavyhauler75622]

10851823
Worf...

Your argument is invalid...

[Admiral Q Ponyform]

10851962
will NEVER, touched that show

[zimmerwald1915]

10851973
Meany was on DS9 several seasons before Dorn was.

I like to think the E saw out the war patrolling the Romulan Neutral Zone to make up for ditching that post in First Contact. Even after the Romulans entered the war.

[Rusty Bascule]

No other StarFleet ship will have a second in command who could, when desperate, tap the power from antimatter engines and slice up enemy ships with her mind.

Surprised that she is not exercising it.

[Misdirection]

Excellent chapter once again!

[tm2dragon]

So many new characters! Me and my poor little brain just can’t keep up! They all seem very interesting and likable though, and I’m eager to get to know them all!

Don’t know if it’s possible, but is there any chance we might get an official cast list? Maybe even one with names, ranks, stations, and species? Some of us just aren’t good at remembering names, and it would be fantastic if there was just a page we could reference whenever we derp and go “wait, who’s that again?”

[Blue Horizon]

10852061
I'll sit down and make one at some point, when I have the free time.

[Darth Jenna The Minty]

10852003

The only solid canon info about the Enterprise during the Dominion War is from a single sentence in DS9. It's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it thing, but I remember at one point later in the show it was mentioned that the Enterprise was leading the fleet that liberated Betazed.

I'd assume they spent the what was left of war leading similar operations to liberate occupied Federation planets, Section 31's anti-Changeling plague meant things were almost over at that point anyway.