Chapter Nine- Changes
CHAPTER NINE
CHANGES
I shouldn’t have been surprised after seeing Caper and Merry at the Hoof-fasting but, in my defense, my attention was elsewhere at the time! But the new uniforms were a bit too much for my taste! I grumbled and groused at the latest and final style the replicator presented me with.
“Oh for the Love of Faust!” I held up the skirt-and-blouse one piece and eyed it with disgust! “What am I, a Starfleet Officer or a cocktail waitress?” There were exactly three, count them, three styles for crewmares to wear… and all of them incorporated a ridiculously short skirt, the only real difference being in the collar and neckline. …At least the royal blue color for the Sciences was nice.
Starfleet was instigating a new dress code for its officers. Gone were the blue jumpsuits I’d grown accustomed to during the War. In their place the powers-that-be in Starfleet decreed that all Command Officers wear mustard-yellow, Engineering and Support Services would wear red, while Sciences would wear royal blue. (Medical wore a blue variant incorporating a sort of silvery, shimmery sheen to the fabric…Sunny just loved it!) I suppose it made sense to somepony… But just skirts for all the Mares!?
“It’s out-and-out sexism, that’s what it is!” I draped the garment against my nearly-naked self and just growled. “None of these things even go even halfway to the knees!”
Sunny had chosen the model featuring a plunging rolled collar and the shortest skirt she could get away with. (If she bent over to pick up anything she’d cause a riot… Did I mention she favored a thong to go with the thing?) She’d been preening in front of the mirror in our room all the time I’d been thrashing out my choice, styling her mane this way and that way, picking one set or earrings then another, happy as a Tellarite at a political debate!
“Starry, really!” She laughed, not unkindly. “You’re a Mare! Unbend a wee bit an’ let ye’self look like one.”
I freed up a hoof and pointed at my most prominent female features impatiently. “I already look ‘way too female already! Great Galloping Luna do these things have to be so… clingy? Might as well wear a bathing suit!”
“Showing your legs’ll will distract ponies from th’ rest o’ ye, wonnit?” She slipped a golden bangle onto her horn and considered her reflection. She giggled and tried to catch my eye in the mirror. “Though I will concede ye’ th’ point that ye dinna need any sort o’ further enhancement t’ yer, um … upper torso. Don’t think I could stand it if ye did. Not t’ mention all the whiplash n’ neck complaints it’d cause among th’ crew!”
I turned and gave her a reflected glare. “Ha. Ha. Ha. My legs are huge compared to everypony else’s, and my hooves are even bigger. …And that’s another thing! What kind of derp came up with the idea of boots with a skirt anyway? Somepony in the Quartermaster Corps has some sort of fetish…” I wadded the thing up and stuck it back in the replicator for reprocessing.
“’Tis progress. Everthing changes, Starry!”
“’Progress’ my Augmented Ass!” I growled and turned my attention to the display. “There’s got to be some way I can get around this.” I folded my arms defiantly and considered the options while Sunny came by and gave my bottom a companionable pat.
“Dinna be so self-conscious, my Dear! Nopony is a-makin’ fun o’ ye… unless they be a-fancyin’ an extra-special physical next time they come by, that is! Seriously, though, how can ye be in Starfleet an’ still believe Ponies are so shallow that they’d think less o’ ye for bein’ a wee bit fat?”
That jarred me out of my irritation! “Do you think I’m fat?”
“Oh, Starry!” She facehoofed in irritation. “Ye’ve gained a wee bit over three pound since ye came onboard.” She splayed two fingers and prodded me either side of my cleavage playfully. “Right there, as far as I can make out. Not even noticeable considerin’ how big ye are t’ begin wi’.”
“Great! I’m even bigger now! These things are more trouble than they’re worth!” I crossed my arms out of reflex. “… I’ll probably start getting saggy now…”
“Oh fer th’ sake o’ Celestia’s socks!” She gave me a swat on the bottom. “Ye’ve got boobs other Ponies’d kill for! Stop making out that ye’re some sort o’ freak. Honestly, some Ponies! Trust me, Starry-me-Love, ye’re a bloody knockout! …Which makes me the envy of every post-pubescent Pony on board this ship, dunnit?” She batted her enormous, improbable lavender eyes at me and dimpled so cutely that I relaxed and even managed a smile. Sunny has gone a long way toward improving my self-image, for which I’ll always be grateful! Prior to her I always considered my… feminine endowments to be more a hindrance than an adornment.
“Nice try, but I’m still not going to wear a skirt!”
“Oh, bugger! Well, I tried!” She changed tacks. “Well, how about wearin’ hose then? Summat dark t’ make yer legs look slimmer p’raps? Oh! I have it!” She patted one arm eagerly. “Ye’re part o’ th’ Clan now! That means ye can wear a kilt wi’ Family Tartan! Starfleet wilna object an’ ye can wear it as long as ye want it? Hoots! I’m a genius!” She congratulated herself, beaming.
I squirmed uncomfortably. While she had a valid idea the idea of being decked out in a yellow-and white striped kilt made me cringe. I might not have much fashion sense but that color combo coupled with a blue blouse was just too much! … Now how to break the news to Sunny without hurting her feelings…
“I don’t know…” I ventured. Then Sunny gave me a way out!
“Well ye canna dress like a buck, now can ye?”
Why not?
“Why not?” I echoed my thoughts. “Yeah, this could work! Let’s compromise, shall we?” I had a sudden inspiration. “How about I wear a blouse, nothing too daring, and a pair of slacks? If there’s nothing on the menu I could make do with a pair of pants for the time being!” I started punching up the request.
“Oh, Starry!”
I raised a conciliatory hoof. “I’ll wear lacy panties underneath, ok? …Ha! See! There’s nothing that expressly forbids it. Take that, Sexist Starfleet Regulations!”
“Well, half an apple is better’n none I s’pose…”
I called up a pair of black slacks that flared a little at the ends that went a long way toward hiding the obligatory boots as well as a long-sleeved blouse (The winged horseshoe of the Hermes on my left breast and my Cutie Mark patch on the right.) with a big, rolled collar that was roomy enough to de-emphasize my breasts… mostly, anyhow. I modeled my ensemble for Sunny.
“Aye, well, they do set your bottom off quite nicely, don’t they?” She grudgingly admitted, giving them a tug before running her fingers along my nether cheeks. I switched my tail at her!
“Never mind my butt! It’s yours that’s on display, you little exhibitionist!”
“Oh, pish-posh! ‘ Tis underwear an’ ‘tis th’ right color. Anyroad, I’m a-wearin’ a skirt aren’t I?” She replied in her best Sunny-Is-Always-Right voice. “Ye’re th’ one wi’ th’ clothing issues, not me.”
“Only barely! And that’s not underwear that’s floss for your vag-…”
She was saved by the whistle of the comm unit! She stuck her tongue out at me and trotted over to activate it. It was a voice-only message, Merry calling in from the Bridge.
“Oi, you two! Just given’ you the heads-up. Department Heads meeting in Briefing Room One at oh seven forty-five. Be there or be late, eh? See ya there!”
Sunny closed the connection. “About fifteen minutes. Right! How do I look?” She fluffed up her mane some and smoothed out imaginary wrinkles in her outfit. I shook my head wearily and gave her a gently push, crowding her away from the mirror so I could brush my own mane out. Undeterred, she peeked out from behind me and continued preening.
“Oh for goodness sake, it’s a Staff Meeting, not a Social Event you know!”
“No reason not t’ make a good impression, innit?”
“Just try to take this seriously, ok? Can’t you wear something a little less…” I chose my next word carefully. “Salacious?”
Sunny gave me a dig in the floating ribs and stretched up to whisper in my ears. “Yer just jealous tha’ somepony might look at me!”
I found myself blushing! “You lean more than ten degrees off vertical and everypony will be able to look at a lot more than they should!” I retorted, which only made her giggle. (Again, Alicorns!) “And, for the record, I’m not jealous. I trust you implicitly… it’s the other Ponies I worry about!” I leaned down and accepted the kiss Sunny offered and put the finishing touches on my coiffure. She picked up our padds, linked her arm through mine, something I never get tired of, and we made our way out.
The first couple of ships I served in during the War were… cramped. The corridors were only a few feet across and I had to duck my head every time I came through a hatch, nearly getting concussed on more than one occasion when I didn‘t react fast enough. Starfleet built its ships with Terrestrial Ponies in mind back in its beginning. When I was transferred to the original Hermes I was surprised and relieved at the difference. For one thing I could stand up fully erect without my mane brushing the ceiling and there weren’t any of those pesky hatches to negotiate. With the advances in shielding, navigational and otherwise, the chances of a hull breach made all those hatches about as necessary as crash helmets in an old-style ground chariot. The bulkheads still sealed off the ship but, in the case of a catastrophe that made that necessary, hatches wouldn’t have been much use anyway. And the corridors were wider! I didn’t have to turn sideways to let other crew ponies through any more. (Although, in view of my topography, turning sideways only gave the through traffic a ceiling to duck under!)
This latest refit of the Hermes did one better. With only half the wartime crew compliment there were only eighty-five ponies on board, plus or minus a few civilian scientists. Fewer ponies and the latest advancements in building materials meant even more free space. The corridors on the refitted Hermes were big enough to get a full camera crew through. It was almost like walking down a covered street back in Equestris. Each deck had a different color scheme. The corridors and the bulkheads were adorned in different primary colors depending on where you were ranging from red in Engineering to gold on the Bridge. (Sunny and I lived in Officers’ Country on deck 2, Yellow, just for the sake of illumination.)
The Briefing Room was on deck 3 right below us. It seemed pointless going all the way to the turbo lift so we opted to take one of the service ladders instead. I went down first ‘cause I didn’t want anyone looking up Sunny’s skirt except me. It was a tight squeeze but I made it through the deck opening with a minimum of fuss. I plucked Sunny off the last few feet of ladder and set her down to minimize the amount of time she‘d be on display from below. A few yards later we were there.
The doors parted with a muted ‘whoosh’ in the up-and-down pattern that all Equestrian doors shared and I held them open for Sunny. Inside there was one of the new asymmetrical, tetrahedral tables Starfleet designers were trying out. The new ones had a dedicated space at one end for a terminal and an operator as well as a three-sided display screen in the center. Merry was sitting carelessly at the terminal talking with the short cinnamon-brown Unicorn with the white mane and tail across from her, our Chief Engineer, Jerry-Rig. (Nopony could do more with less than him!) Next to him sat a slender Earth Pony Mare with a bottle-green coat and lustrous purple mane that covered most of her face. One of the new faces, our Chief Helm Officer from the Mares Colony, Evee. (The Cutie Mark Patch on her uniform showed an environmental suit!)Across from her was a familiar, if somewhat homely face, our Navigator, Lt. Guiding Star. He was from Neighmerica and was the second oldest Earth Pony onboard beside the Captain and sported a chestnut-brown coat with a bright yellow mane. Next to him sat the last Pony present another old hoof, our Chief of Security Little Rock, a grey Earth Pony Stallion with a short, dark blue mane. Not physically imposing yet an absolute whiz at hoof-to-hoof combat. He never goes armed unless he has to, and if he figures he needs a weapon, the situation must be very bad indeed! Taught me everything I know of close combat! Quiet and unobtrusive, he sits alone even in a crowded room. He looked up and smiled broadly at both of us.
The last Pony in the room wasn’t properly a Pony at all. Along the far wall was a small counter upon sat a tray with a couple of insulated decanters and several cups. Standing quietly in front of this stood a Zebra Mare looking very fetching indeed in her red one-piece. Her black and white mane was trimmed close in a crest and she sported big, gold hoops in her ears and wore what seemed to be a leather cord around her neck upon which an egg-shaped piece of amber hung inscribed with some complicated symbol. The thing was adorned with small crystals and little, discrete feathers on either side. Very exotic on its own, but it was her voice that got my attention. Soft, yet husky, warm and penetrating without raising her voice she commanded complete attention. …Sort of like Sunny’s eyes!
She closed her long-lashed eyes demurely and did a respectful bow. “To make your acquaintance I am pleased as can be. I am the Captain’s Yoemare, Xantippe. I have coffee as well as tea, what would your drinking pleasure be?” She straightened and indicated the tray behind her, clasping her hooves before and waiting expectantly.
I blinked, astounded. I’d heard of the Zebrican penchant for rhyming speech but I never thought I’d encounter it firsthoof !
“Wow! I mean, uh, hello there! I’m Starry-Eyes and this is my wife, Solar Cross. Pleased to meet you, Xantippe, was it?” I offered my hoof and I felt Sunny suddenly go stiff beside me. Sunny took her hoof in turn.
“Charmed.” She stated flatly.
Hoo-buck! “Uh, we’ll have tea, please. Sugar and lemon for Solar and just lemon for me.” I led Sunny to a pair of seats near the head of the table. She made it a point to take a seat between me and Xantippe. Merry, who never misses a thing like this, snickered more-or-less to herself. Jerry-Rig, who hardly ever picks up on things like this, gave her a curious look. If the others noticed they gave no sign.
Xantippe served our drinks and Sunny declined, for both of us, the offer of some very nice looking carrot sticks and sliced apples. It was the Captain’s arrival saved the situation.
He bustled into the room resplendent in his new uniform.
“Hoopah! Everypony is here, da? What does everypony think of new outfits, eh? I think I can get used to!” He fingered the fabric of his sleeve and nodded approvingly. His gaze settled on me. “Ah! I wondered how you would cope with new uniforms! Merry owes me twenty credits. Says you would change mind about skirts after wedding! But I know Starry-Eyes better, eh?” He grunted appreciatively. “Looks good on you, too. You should get commendation for original thinking, nyet?” He grinned briefly then took his place at the head of the table an accepted a cup of coffee from the ever-prepared Xantippe. He grunted a soft ‘thank you’ and turned toward the rest of us.
“So! We are all here at last.” He settled into his chair and adjusted his wings, turning warm eyes all of us. “For those I have not met I am Captain Cloud Caper. I have commanded this ship since it was built during the War, as well as a few other ships before that. I have been in Starfleet for thirty-five years. This will be my last command. I plan to retire after this mission to make room for younger officers to carry on grand tradition of Federation.” All of us old hooves stirred at this. Caper had talked for years about leaving but this was the first official word we had on the subject. The Captain drank deep and grunted something appreciative. He half-turned and offered his cup to Xantippe. “Is good coffee. More where that came from?” She topped up his cup and he turned back toward us. He sipped and his eyes fell on Sunny and Evee. “I see new faces among Command Crew. Introductions are in order, then we hear Department Reports, da?” He gestured with his cup to Sunny. “You I have had pleasure to meet at wedding but others have not. We start with you?”
Sunny rose and treated the room (Managing to ‘forget’ to include Xantippe in the process.) to a smile and the full megawattage of her eyes.
“Thank you, Captain. I am Commander Solar Cross and I will be your Chief Medical Officer… so I expect I’ll be seein’ more of you all in the next few weeks. My specialty is in Genetics but I’m a fully-certified Physician n’ a dab hoof at surgery as well. I’m from Earth an’ this’ll be me first deep-space posting. I hope the lot of ye will be patient wi’ me till I learn th’ ropes!” She resumed her seat and took a dainty sip of tea.
“Well she’s been playin’ Doctor with ol’ Starry-Eyes long enough that she’s gotta have enough experience to take care of the rest of us, eh?” Merry chimed in, laughing. “Got a roight good grasp of Earth Pony physiology by now, Oy bet! Eh? Eh?” Jerry and I both blushed and the Captain rolled his eyes and made a silent appeal to Celestia for strength as the rest of the room smiled at her open bonhomie. Merry was nothing if not playful. For her part, Alice sipped her tea as if she hadn’t heard… though she did waggle her eyebrows a couple of times, eliciting a laugh from Merry and a knowing smirk from the silent Xantippe.
Cloud Caper sighed heavily. “And Ponies wonder why I choose to leave Starfleet. As Captain I get no respect from officers!” His attempt at self-pity got nowhere among those of us who knew him well. Merry grinned her no-hard-feelings grin straight at him. Honestly, those two carried on like an old married couple for as long as we knew them!
He turned to the Mare from Mares. “Lieutenant, maybe you could put us on proper track.”
Evee stood a little self-consciously and addressed the group.
“Well, I’m Lieutenant Evee and I am the Chief Helm Officer. Prior to this posting I served as Helm officer on the destroyers Saladin and Boromir. I come from the Mares Colony under the Maregaritier Terra Dome. This will be my first non-wartime posting. I look forward to getting to know you all better.” She sat back down and tried to look inconspicuous.
Captain Caper nodded. “I knew your Captain on Boromir. A good Pony. Lieutenant was at helm during battle of Charon.”
Captain Rocky Road had not survived the loss of his ship. Those of us who had been through the War turned our gaze to Evee. Charon was the last Romulan offensive. The destroyer Boromir had fought a rearguard action against an undetected force of six Romulan warships. She had been bracketed by the whole group when she engaged them, enabling the rest of the Federation forces to regroup. Unable to go to warp in time she had been subject to repeated attack by those sublight plasma charges I mentioned before. Not twenty-five Ponies were alive when the Federation fleet rallied and counterattacked. Boromir was a complete write-off, the fact that anypony survived at all was due to the masterful maneuvering skills of the pilot. Lieutenant Evee was certainly hiding her light under an apple basket!
Just then, though, she was carefully looking at nothing and trying to tactfully ignore the curious looks directed at her. She wasn’t inclined to talk about it. Fair enough. I had my own memories of the War I didn’t care to dwell on… we all did.
I cleared my throat and prepared to change the subject, but the Captain was half a beat ahead of me.
“Hokay. Now is Department reports. We hear from Science Department first. Go ahead, Starry.” Captain Caper sat back and had another drink.
I didn’t bother to refer to my padd though I placed it in front of me. “The biggest changes to the ship, outside of the engine,” I gave a nod to Jerry. “Have been to the ship’s computer systems and our sensor suite. The new duotronic quantum computer system will give us an almost unheard-of level of automation to basic Ships Systems… which is going to come in handy since we’ll have just a bit more than half the crew we had during wartime. Where once we had one hundred and fifty crew ponies we can now run this ship with eighty-five, with a twenty-five percent increase in efficiency to boot!”
Caper grumbled. “Will make Federation bean counters happy, da?”
“Keeping the bureaucrats off our backs will make us all happy, now won’t it?” I reminded the old Pegasus who conceded the point with a grunt and a shrug. Captain Caper’s intolerance of bureaucracy was legendary on the Hermes. Though all the old hands quietly chuckled I didn’t even crack a smile as I forged on. “Our database is vastly improved as well. We’ll have access to an incredible amount of information on a wide variety of subjects. Something that will come in very handy indeed when we’re out on our own. It’s my understanding that, eventually, the entire Federation database will be available on future ships. Still, the amount of information we’ll have at our disposal will be nothing short of amazing!
And, speaking of amazing, the upgrades to our already enhanced sensors are going to give us an astounding edge on our ability to detect and gather information. We have equipment onboard that’s better than most stationary observatories. If nothing else we’re going to make significant contributions to Federation Astronomy. I’m quite excited about this and my staff are already applying for sensor time to further their own studies. As am I. Maybe I can get my Doctorate if I can get enough data on this trip!
Anyhow, we’ll be breaking in some new equipment Starfleet wants to field-test. Namely a nifty-sounding combined scanning and analysis instrument called a ‘tricorder’ for on-the-spot data gathering. How we use them will determine the protocols for future applications, just another of the growing series of firsts this ship will be responsible for.” I smiled wryly. “Sciences will busy all right, but we’re ready. And that’s my report.”
Caper nodded then Merry, invariably, spoke up.
“Ol’ Starry’s gonna be like a foal in a candy store, ain’t she?”
“Well, “Alice quipped, “Intellectual calories don’t count so she can indulge as much as she wants… as long as she doesna put in too many late nights in front of a telescope that is!”
“I dunno, Doc! Them new sensors an’ such might be givin’ ya a lot of competition fer ol’ Starry’s affections, eh?”
“Just as long as she keeps confines herself to star-gazing she’ll be all right.”
Merry hooted and I gave Solar a little kick under the table that she primly ignored. Captain Caper pursed his lips and regarded her with a neutral expression for a second.
“What of Medical Department, Doctor Cross?”
“I have a Doctor and two nurses available on each shift, er, watch, that is. In an emergency t’ entire staff is on call, of course. Our Medical Database is expanded to cover non-terrestrial as well as terrestrial ailments n’ procedures. O’ course, we expect t’ be adding’ to them durin’ th’ trip… er, voyage. Och! I’m no sort o’ sailor I’m afraid, though I will try t’ get better at pickin’ up th’ lingo.”
“No worries, Doc! Oy can teach ya how to talk right proper. You’ll sound like an Old Spacer in no time!”
The Captain looked mildly alarmed. “Celestia forbid!”
Sunny gave Merry a warm smile and a demure look. “Thank you but th’ Commander’s been a bonnie good teacher so far.”
“Oi bet she has! Eh? Eh?” Merry chortled an gave me a wink. For my part I just wanted to slink away and hide…
Caper sighed tiredly. “Thank you, Doctor. Medical Department is in good hooves. Have read your record. Is very good.” He flicked his gaze over to Evee. “For benefit of new officers I add that most of our meetings are not so…” He skewered Merry with his eyes. “ casual. This is Starfleet ship, not a tramp freighter.”
Merry held up a hoof in surrender. “Roight! That’s me cue to zip it. Just let me say to you new lot don’t moind me. All kiddin’ aside, this ‘ere is a great little ship, even with all the muckin’ about with all the new bells an’ whistles, yer chances of comin’ back in one piece from this little walkabout are a lot higher with these ‘ere foyne Ponies runnin’ things. Ya can’t ask fer finer shipmates an’ that’s a fact! Oh, “She waved a padd toward the Captain. “ All the technical stuff’s in ‘ere but the straight of it is that Communications is all set and ready to go. Just give us the word, Boss!” Unrepentant, she lounged in her seat and offered smiles all around.
Captain Caper harrumphed and turned to Jerry.
I always liked Jerry. He’s rather shy, not comfortable talking in groups outside of his Engineering Crew. Probably the most socially awkward pony onboard outside of myself he generally keeps himself busy fine tuning the Ship’s systems. (Being short, he’s more comfortable in a Jiffy Tube than most others, something I’ve always been envious of!) Yet he’s never afraid to try something new and is Merry’s most constant companion on shore leave which, given Merry’s taste in R&R, is a tribute to his tenacity! Not surprisingly, he’s a techie and helped me cobble together more than one specialized widget for my Department no matter how busy he was. He’s good-hearted and thoughtful and an all-around good buck, the little brother I never had!
He nodded pleasantly to all assembled. “Hi, everypony. I’ll try to be brief. Ahem.” His horn lit up and his padd took up position in front of his muzzle. “The work on the Advance Second Generation Warp Drive Refit is complete and all the ship’s systems have been integrated successfully. I can state with full certainty that, for the first time in its operational career, Hermes have power to burn!” The biggest Achilles heel of the Scout and Destroyer design has been the fact that the ships could either move fast or power their systems fully, never both. For Scouts it wasn’t as much of a problem. With minimal armament our biggest power commitment came from our sensors. While this left us very nimble it didn’t give us many options in a fight… not that we didn’t try! The brutal fact was that we more often than not had to stay off to the side, using our powerful sensor suites to provide electronic countermeasures to aid our fellow ships. In reality, as it turned out, we were more often than not forced to go head-to-head with the Enemy. The Destroyer-Class ships had it a lot rougher. They were designed to be front-line fighting ships with four full phased-balefire banks and four photon torpedo launchers as well as heavier shielding. The idea was to come into battle with all weapons fully charged, deliver a devastating attack, then dart away to recharge before coming in for another pass.
To give the designers their due, the keels for the new disk-and-nacelle ships were already laid before the War. A very well thought out and workable design it was, too. Far superior to the older models… but one that did not count on the Romulans with their pernicious electronic jamming and devastating close-range weaponry. To get a good lock on them our ships had to get ‘way too close. The fact that we had Warp Drive and they did not was the only reason we won out. Our ships and reinforcements could get from star system to star system infinitely quicker than theirs… but the battles were fought at sublight in realspace. Fast, hard, deadly with no quarter to give and fought against an Enemy we never set eyes upon. Whole and healthy one second, dead and or maimed the next with precious little in between…
The Romulans started it with the destruction of Starbase One. They had no concept of Peace through Friendship. Khan would have understood them, we did not. Earth had purged itself of conquerors and the Federation came into its own to protect everypony and their friends from them. In doing so we learned a costly, informative lesson. May we never have to do so again!
Jerry’s voice snapped me out of my reverie.
“I can say without fear of contradiction that we’ll be able to cruise at Time Warp Factor Seven with up to a projected Warp eleven point two for emergencies!” Jerry positively beamed! “Needless to say all this excess power will greatly enhance our sensory” He nodded to me. “ And weapons.” He gave another nod to Evee. “The new advances in replicator technology will go a long way toward extending our range since we won’t need to carry bulk spare parts and food as long as the Bussard collectors keep us topped off with raw material for the replicators to work with. It won’t be haut cuisine, but it’s eminently serviceable. …Well, better than mealpacks, anyway!” All the old hands looked skeptical. Mealpacks were better than chewing on artificially apple-flavored cardboard, but just barely. Synthetically produced apples and oats didn’t seem much of an improvement. Having it look like grey or red modeling clay didn‘t help matters. “In any event we’ll be stocking a supply of seeds and hydroponic equipment should we have the opportunity to find an uninhabited planet or moon to set up agricultural shop on. Needless to say, no other Starfleet vessel has tried this trick either.”
Sunny blinked. “So… we’ll just drop what we’re doin’ n’ turn our hooves to farming for a while?” The idea of getting her hooves dirty was clearly not sitting well with her! (Alicorns!)
“No worries, Doc! With ol’ Starry pullin’ a plow we’ll be eatin’ like royalty in no time, eh?” The irrepressible Merry chimed in.
“Ha. Ha. Ha. In that case I’ll provide the fertilizer and you can be in charge of spreading it!” I thought of tossing my padd at our favorite Comm Officer but squelched the idea.
“ A job supposedly zipped-up Merry is very well suited for, da?” Captain Caper quirked a thick eyebrow at her before continuing, “We have eight month’s food on board before this becomes issue. Also we might forage or maybe trade with other people we meet… within limits of new Prime Directive, of course.”
Sunny looked from the Captain to me. The rest of the table nodded in various degrees of agreement. She cleared her throat delicately. “At th’ risk o’ soundin’ even more like a piker…”
“It’s the new non-contact order from Starfleet.” I put in. “We’re not to initiate contact with any other less developed civilizations.”
“Oh! …Who makes yon decision? Seems t’ me that we could be a-doin’ a lot o’ good sharing our knowledge wi’ those less fortunate.”
Little Rock, rather surprisingly, spoke up. His voice was quiet as always, but demanded attention. “It’s for their protection. The cultural shock would be devastating to them. Look what happened to the indigenous ponies of the Neighmaricas and Horsetrailia and even the Zebras.” He nodded to Xantippe who looked carefully neutral. It was a delicate issue. Her people fared unnecessarily badly after the Eugenics Wars…
“But… it doesna seem fair somehow!” Sunny protested.
“Is one horseapple we must tread carefully around so we do not step in.” The Captain said. “I do not set policy but I will say that Directive, as stands, is annoyingly vague. Too much room for interpretation to apply broadly to all. Personally I think needs to be applied on culture-by-culture basis.”
Evee tugged one ear absently. “A pity that nopony else outside the Federation seems to bother with it.” She observed. “The Romulans didn’t give a rotten apple about others cultures, as long as they got what they wanted. Same seems to go for the Klingons, the Orion Syndicates, and the Frontier Traders too.”
“Well,” Sunny persisted. “Nopony seemed to object t’ Vulcans stopping’ by when they did.”
“Depends on who you talk to.” Pointed out Little Rock.
Captain Caper rapped the table with his knuckles.
“Is not debate! Directive stands and we will do what we can to enforce.” We all shut up obediently and he surveyed the table before chuckling softly, defusing the situation. “Is great to be Captain, da? Jerry, is more to say?” He put his cup off to the side and Xantippe topped it off unobtrusively.
Jerry, his padd still hovering, cleared his throat quietly before resuming. “Ahem. The new Magical Containment Protocols for antimatter storage are working like a charm as well as the enhancements for the Spell Matrix for the dilithium crystals. Even in the event of complete Magical failure, I might add, the purely mechanical systems will assure us of warp power… though at substantially reduced capacity. Of course anything that would take all my Engineering Unicorns out of commission would like as not take out the whole ship. You see? Magic has its uses!” He waggled his eyebrows at me playfully. Since it was Jerry I let him get away with it. He asked me once, soon after we met, how we Equestrins managed without Magic. I told him then as I did at that moment.
“Feh! Science is reliable! The laws of Physics…”
“Change depending on your frame of reference!” Jerry, not able to resist, continued our good-natured argument. “Look at subspace! Different ‘laws of physics’ for different situations. Magic just has more variables, is all! I’ll take Warp nine over Warp five any day of the week.”
I propped my head on my hoof and stuck my tongue out at him, eliciting a chuckle from all present as Jerry put his padd down.
“Things change all the time!” The Captain said. He swept an arm out to indicate Xantippe. “I even have Yoemare now to keep me up on datawork. …Am still wondering if this is good thing or not.”
Xantippe bowed graciously. “In my defense you do save time if I organize reports you but have to sign. At any rate I’m worth the price as long as the coffee is always nice!” She kept her eyes averted as she smirked quietly.
Captain Caper made a what-can-you-do expression and nodded wearily. “Da, that is so. Speaking of which…” He waggled his cup suggestively.
Xantippe filled it halfway. When Caper gave her an inquisitive look she admonished. “If I may be allowed an opinion as such you should not drink this so much. Your health is partially under my care, though our Good Doctor’s wrath I may dare…” She gave Sunny a firm but unapologetic look.
Sunny fidgeted for a second, feeling a little guilty perhaps for her initial dislike of the Zebra. “… She does have point. For a Pegasus o’ your age,” She coughed delicately into one hoof. “… Too much caffeine can be a bad thing. I’ll be able t’ tell more after I get your physical out o’ th’ way. When would be a good time for you…?”
Caper hung his head in practiced martyrdom. “Oi! Is conspiracy! Am I Captain or not?”
“Captains must take orders, too. Shall I get you some decaffeinated brew?” Xantippe made a move to another decanter and the Captain made a unpleasant face.
“Ugh. Coffee without caffeine is like kissing Grandmother!”
“Then there is nothing you should miss. I always enjoy my Grandmothers’ kiss.” Xantippe smiled sweetly and made to take his cup.
The Captain snatched it back, covering the top with one hand lest any of the profane brew would get in.
“We will have words about this later. How much coffee do you drink, bubula?”
“As for me I prefer herbal tea. Very good for body and mind, many benefits you could find.”
“You tell ‘im, ‘Tippy!” Merry sang out. “Oi wonders if ‘er reports rhyme, too?”
Xantippe opened her mouth to speak but Caper headed her off. “Lieutenant Evee, your report please.”
Evee stood, wiping the smile off her muzzle quickly.
“Helm systems are go, Captain. All our simulations with the upgraded phased balefire weapons and torpedoes predict that they will be functioning at optimal efficiency. Hopefully we can get in some live-fire practice soon just to make sure but I’m sure we could whip twice our weight in anything anypony has flying!”
She sat down and, unbidden, Guiding Star spoke up.
“All our charts have been updated with the latest Navigational data for Federation Space. Of course we’ll be further updating the charts once we get out beyond the borders. My people will be working hoof-in-hoof with Starry’s ponies in Astronomy on that.” He nodded with a tilt to his head. “We’re green for go, Captain!”
Caper turned in his seat to look at his Security Chief. “You I always leave for last since your department always runs so well. Am I liar?”
Little Rock served under Captain Caper longer than anypony else except myself, though he would never dream of imposing on it there was an especially easygoing relationship between these two old campaigners. “No you are not. Everypony on this ship is running around like it’s the night before the Gala. I’ve had no complaints of any sort of. Hopefully they’ll stay too busy during the mission to get moody.” He shrugged. “Time… and circumstances… will tell. The only worm in the apple for me is that I only have six, count ‘em, six ponies on hand if anything drops in the pot.” He raised a hoof to forestall the Captain’s burgeoning comment. “I know we’re not on a war footing nowadays and that this is a voyage of exploration, but we should have some means to deal with, well… the unknown should it happen. I’d like to at least get all crewponies proficient with the new phased-balefire sidearms as well as touching up their close combat skills beyond Basic Training.” He regarded the Captain levelly. “You may as well know that I want to form a ‘Trouble Squad’ to give us the ability to stand in for Troops if need be. Not all battles are fought by the main batteries, you know.”
Captain Caper mentally chewed the idea over, and then drained his cup. He began to hold it out for a refill, remembered, then put the cup aside instead and helped himself to a carrot stick. He crunched meditatively for a bit before speaking. “Is merit to this idea. Romulan War is over but that is no guarantee that everypony wants to be our buddy-buddies, da? Proceed with plan, Rocky. Maybe you should tap Damage Control crewponies for recruits first. Sciences and Medical will be stretched thin as is.”
“My thoughts exactly, Captain” Little Rock nodded, his mind already going through a list of probable candidates.
Caper nodded. “Da! I have only one item to add before breaking up meeting.” He stood and put his hooves flat on the table. “There is no Executive Officer here. I intend to have Commander Starry-Eyes take on position. Will be good experience for her, I think. Crew is small so task will be negligible, da?” He cocked an expectant eye in my direction.
I felt my ears droop. Because it was Caper, I could get away with saying, “Gee, thanks.” with the all the lack of sincerity I could muster. The Captain smiled mostly to himself. Then…
“We launch in three days. After shakedown cruise to Alpha Centauri we take on civilian scientific personnel and proceed to Sector 28 to begin exploration mission. Welcome aboard, everypony,” He half turned to Xantippe and waggled a finger at her. “Even you, and keep up good work. Dismissed! …Commander Starry, a moment of time, please?”
Being the closest stallion to the door, Jerry held it open for the rest. Merry hung around to be last. “Hey, Starry! Make ‘im give you a second pay rating as long as yer holdin’ down two jobs, eh? Cheer-oh!” She gave Jerry a punch on the shoulder and left with him. Alice stayed where she sat and Xantippe quietly gathered up the cups after snagging an apple slice to snack on. Captain Caper put his arms behind his back and sauntered up. Sunny checked her hoof polish and fiddled with her mane.
“Uh, Sunny? Onboard the Ship when the Captain wants to have a word with somepony he means with just that somepony.” I gave her an apologetic smile. “I’ll see you later, all right?”
“Oh, pish! Ye two be as Militry as ye like but what concerns ye concerns me as well. I’ll treat it as Medically confidential, won’t say a word t’ anypony else. Promise!” She dazzled, or tried to dazzle, Caper with her eyes and held her ground. Maybe I’d been in Starfleet too long, but I was aghast! I had a sudden vision of Little Rock escorting Sunny to the Brig on her very first day onboard…
“Sunny! Caper is your superior officer! You just can’t just…”
“No, no! Doctor is right… in this instance. What I have to say is for both of you. However…” He leveled a finger at Sunny and somehow seemed to grow five inches. “Do not mistake casual banter of past few minutes as lack of discipline. Ask Starry. On my ship I outrank Celestia and Luna both. When I give order is always for good reason and I. Will. Be. Obeyed.” He shrugged deprecatingly and managed to drop the mantle of command. “…But I try not to give unreasonable orders. Most of time, anyway, and never to anypony who I don’t think can fulfill them!” He swung his gaze up toward me as he seated himself on the table. “Is why I made you Executive Officer. You are good scientist, but you have potential to be good Captain some day. This mission could put you in Captain’s seat of this ship, maybe. With your record is small step. Have seen you handle ponies in hard situations. You earn respect. You would do good. To that end I have recommended you for Command Training.” He leaned back and resettled his wings, eyeing the both of us expectantly.
I kept silent, mulling over just what I would say. Sunny spoke up first.
“I dinna ken. How does bein’ Executive Officer end up wi’ her bein’ in command o’ a starship?”
“Is second in chain of command.” Caper said. “Captain in all but fact. An intermediary step. Starfleet sees her do good then is no sense wasting her as just a Commander. Hoop-a! Off she goes to command ship of her own.”
“Oh!” Sunny said. “Yer sayin’ tis’ but a formality then?”
Caper shook his head. “Da and nyet. Final decision rest with what two of you decide. Is big step, think hard!” He glanced over to the industrious Xantippe, then leaned in to whisper hoarsely. “…As long as you are thinking, think about how happy coffee makes Captain! ” One of Xantippe’s ears popped up and she turned to give a dark look toward the Captain who decided he was needed on the Bridge just then anyway! …Which left just the three of us.
“Well then, “Sunny started. “ … that’s a lot t’ think about t’ be sure! How long till he wants an answer, then?”
I took her hoof and gave it a squeeze of reassurance. “It’s not immediate! I daresay we’ll have three years to decide one way or another. Starfleet will want to see how I do during the mission anyway.” I sighed. “Sorry, Love, I didn’t see that coming. I never saw myself as any sort of leader, I just did what I had to do when I had to do it. Sheesh! If I knew that anypony was keeping score I would have sat on my hooves and stayed put!”
Sunny bent to kiss my hand. “Dinna kid a kidder, Dear! Ye’d do it all th’ same n’ we both know it.” She gave me a dazzling smile. “And I didna ken that I’d be married t’ some sort o’ heroine!”
“Cut that out! Nopony said anything about ‘heroines’!”
Xantippe, laden tray in hooves, chose that moment to walk by. “If the Doctor heard half the tales I am privy to, she would agree that your reputation has preceded you.” She paused and smiled warmly, lingering just long enough to show that she wanted to talk but too polite in her Zebrican way to impose on us. Mindful of Sunny, I didn’t want to prolong the conversation. Which was a pity since Xantippe seemed like a likeable enough Zebra…
But it was Sunny who, rather surprisingly, spoke up. “Stories, is it? Ye ken, I’ve never talked t’ anypony about Starry’s exploits on this ship. I was led t’ believe…” She cocked an eyebrow at me. “…That t’was all business as usual. …Well, as usual as can be durin’ a war!”
“In the short time I have been here, many stories of Science Officer Starry-Eyes I’ve been privileged to hear. But my favorite tale, if I remember it right, concerned a berserk Tellarite.”
“He had it coming! He was an officer at Ghooran Base when I was stationed there when I was an ensign. Years later we put in to Ghooran for resupply on the Hermes and first thing I knew I get a call from the cargo bay. The miserable furball had come down to supervise the loading in person and he was making life miserable for all my ponies. I outranked him by now and I told him to get off my deck and let us get to work. Well, one set of words let to another and the upshot was that he left the cargo bay… in a half-empty container of recyclable organic waste that he somehow, uh, stumbled into.” I looked off to the side, avoiding their eyes.
Xantippe leaned in and confided to Sunny, giving me the ghost of a wink. “There’s more about how she dealt with the lout, she’s left many gory details out!”
“Do tell?” Sunny chuckled. “Ma Starry’s been mighty close-mouthed about her sordid career in Starfleet. Hmm… tell ye what, Lass, why do you no have lunch wi’ us today an’ fill th’ gaps in official record for me? …If ye can pardon me ill manners earlier, that is…” Sunny added sheepishly. I was so proud of her.
Xantippe did another one of her curious, formal bows tray and all. “The pleasure is entirely mine, with the two of you to dine. I look forward to the luncheon date, but I must hurry now or I will be late!”
“Super! Cheerio, then!” Xantippe bustled out, leaving the two of us alone. I gave Sunny a nudge.
“You changed your tone awfully fast. You know I never figured anypony as beautiful as you being the jealous type!”
Sunny made a show of pulling the wrinkles out of her outfit. “Well, ‘tisn’t a good practice t’ dislike a pony till ye’ve met ‘em good n‘ proper. N’ I’m no jealous… just a wee bit proprietary! Now mind yer eyeballin’ in future at least while I’m about.”
“Duly noted! C’mon, we both have places to be. Seeya at lunch!” I gave her a swat on her bottom to get her moving. Sunny squawked and hopped up to give me a kiss before scooting out the door.
It was sooo good to be home!
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You're not doing badly. As I said before, First Gen Trekker here, and don't think I won't call out any sour notes.
Stick with Franz Joseph; he won't steer you wrong. Okuda ... not so much, 'kay?
2500590 "Small boys" refers to smaller ships such as destroyers, scouts and frigates.
Avalon Hill ... (shudder)
2502790 What's wrong with Avalon Hill?
It beats the squatily-doo out of Parker Bros!
2504925 If you've nothing else to do with your life for a day, nothing.
2507466 Well as a nerdy guy growing up in an undisclosed location in Ohio I didn't have much else to do with my time
...Besides (He said trying to defend the good folks at Avalon Hill!) the wargames gave a very good look into hows and whys historical conflicts were resolved. (I always loved reading the designer's notes in the rulebooks!
)