#Starfleet Officers Project

[lykegenia]

I've said this already in the tags on a different post but I can't stop thinking about Janeway after the Pathfinder project is successful and she starts getting reports from Starfleet HQ about the Dominion War. How inexorable a force the Jem'Hadar seem. How world after world is falling. How the casualties mount. The Maquis have already been destroyed and she can feel the grief from those of her officers who lost friends, but beyond that there's the knowledge that the destruction didn't end with a few rebels on the edge of Federation space. The entire Alpha Quadrant is tearing itself apart, and it's all so far away. Yes, her little ship has face Borg and alien power struggles and a Void without stars - they've lost friends too - but as the numbers keep coming in, day after day, impossibly high, what goes through her mind? Does she wish harder that she hadn't destroyed the array, so that she could have stayed to fight and do her part to save the home she so desperate to get back to? Or is some part of her soothed about her decision, knowing that by putting the needs of the Ocampa before her own, she likely saved the lives of many of the people now under her command? How do you deal with loss on such an abstract yet personal scale, and how do you sit and read the reports of lost battle after lost battle, knowing that it might mean the home you were so desperate for might no longer exist by the time you get there?

What if Voyager ends up being all that's left?

[dollarstoreartsupplies]

okay so I can't stop thinking about a nerdy prudes star trek au

Pete: Android, Chief of Science

second “son” and creation of infamous non-federation cyberneticist t'noy karaxis (because come on that just sounds like a Star Trek name) 

t’noy’s first creation (ted) was considered unstable/aggressive by the federation standards and was incredibly dangerous, but when they went to handle the situation both ted and t’noy karaxis had ~mysteriously disappeared~

pete doesn’t know where they went either and he’s always very worried about them showing up again (but also, secretly, really wants at least ted to)

pete was never completely finished because of the disappearance, so he’s faulty, prone to power fluctuations (woah,,,, almost like low blood sugar,,, crazy,,,,)

he’s got an emotion chip, but it’s also faulty, in that it spikes hard into overdrive, and he has a hard time controlling it some of the time

If he’s feeling really upset/worried about something important/embarrassed he’s prone to remove it (especially when he’s younger/before he’s got his established friend-group-crew; they really try to stop him from doing that)

VERY IN LOVE WITH STEPH BUT HE DOES NOT REALLY UNDERSTAND IT AND IT’S STRESSING HIM OUT

started just as a normal science officer but like six people died and now he’s got the position– he’s also really stressed out about that precedent

he loves outer space so bad, they regularly have to reign him in on ground missions or during very dangerous space-issues because he’s just so excited about learning cool new space facts

his room is just books and experiments and a huge window so when everyone else goes to sleep he kind of just Stares out at the stars

he has little cyber-glasses that ‘help him analyze things’ but mostly he wears them because he thinks they look cool

not great with people both for android reasons and for ‘spent the vast majority of his early existence entirely alone and isolated, finishing building himself’ reasons 

Steph: Half-betazoid, Security Officer (She’s….. the brawn……. he’s the brains)

okay first things first I know betazoid's irises that are all black but I've always thought it would be cool if it was their whole eye and this is my au, gene roddenberry, so leave me alone

back to actual au: her dad (human) is a high ranking starfleet officer who nepo-babies her through the academy and onto a starship but he’s incredibly open, both vocally and projecting-his-emotions wise, that he’s doing it to get rid of her

her mom (betazoid) died when she was really little and she was raised across multiple starships/bases by her dad, so she’s entirely cut off from that part of her culture

she’s flying completely blind with her emotion/mind reading abilities and from a very young age has learned how to take advantage of it for her own benefit

it’s basically masking times four hundred because she’s navigating all of her relationships and interactions based on the thoughts of those around her/what they’d like or want from her

she’s constantly subjected to the really gross thoughts of her crewmates and it’s GROSS AND BAD and has really heightened her defenses

especially in her academy days (at the behest of her friends) or when she’s feeling threatened she can and will use her mind reading abilities to be really, really mean but,,,, she doesn’t do it much anymore and does feel very bad about it

she really hates pete at first because he’s the first person she’s never been able to read the mind of and she doesn’t know how to navigate it/it’s way, way too vulnerable for her but it actually ends up making them way closer because it’s the first relationship she’s ever had based fully on trust

never actually gave a shit about star fleet or it’s missions before, she was honestly really annoyed by the academy and her dad all but forcing her to take this position, but it’s… sort of growing on her (don’t tell anyone)

Grace: Human, Medical Officer

human and incredibly proud of that

she’s like…. maybe a little prejudiced about it,,, she certainly doesn’t mean to be,,,, but she’s always the one to deliver that classic star trek ‘I thought this race didn’t have BLANK advancement, humans do this better, etc...’ lines that kicks off an episode to tell you about the new alien race of the episode

both her parents worked with star fleet but never actually made it off of earth (because they didn’t want to) so she’s her family’s equivalent of ‘kind of a rebel’ for wanting to be on a starship

she’s just a really high achiever and is treating it sort of like a mission trip to help other planets

(she also just… really wanted to and thinks it’s cool but she thinks that's kind of selfish so she keeps that a secret) 

doesn’t trust pete and is at least somewhat miffed about him not needing help from medical 

met steph in academy and was really, really, really excited when they got assigned on the same ship (steph was NOT)

huge stickler for rules and regulations and it’s either incredibly helpful or causes all their problems there's no in between

morally against the holodeck and no one is necessarily clear on why

because her parents worked for star fleet on earth she still lived with them during academy so being on the ship is her first time ever being apart from them and it’s causing some sort of crisis (though who know which way said crisis is going to hard pivot) (you hope it’s in a gay way but it’s also grace so it could be in a space murder way,.,., only time will tell)

Ruth: Human, Engineer

human and livid about it

desperately wants to be captain one day, and has dreams of being on the bridge, but it became clear very quickly in the academy that she was too anxious to ‘boldly go’ as far as she’d need to to achieve that :(

she’s very good at engineering but she thinks it’s boring, and she thinks just being a human amongst all these cool aliens is lame, and she kind of is under the impression everyone is judging her for it (they’re not)

don’t let this bitch around an visiting vulcans she will ask them about pon farr

she asks steph about “the phase” IMMEDIATELY (context: the phase is where mature betazoids suddenly become horny forever basically) and was like ‘is that going to happen even though ur only half??’ and steph, who had never heard about it, was HORRIFIED

met richie and pete in academy and thought they were so cool she needed them to be her friends or she’d die

they were both very okay with it 

they’re all buddies :)

she helps pete with any repairs when he gets damaged or something happens- she’s the only one he trusts to do anything other than himself 

(... she also wants to test if he’s actually ‘fully functional’... pete’s said no so far though :/)

spends hours on the holodeck

Richie: Andorian, Communications Officer

he’s not much of a fighter, despite being andorian, and initially wanted to go more into the artistic side of his culture but his fascination with other planets/cultures/people as well as the concept of ‘boldly going’ pushed him into joining starfleet

still draws/creates art in his free time tho

managed to be fluent in like forty different alien languages and the universal translator pisses him off in CONCEPT (even though it’s still incredibly helpful that he doesn’t Need it and is part of why he has his job)

he keeps his room freezing and pete’s the only one willing to hang out with him in it because he can’t get cold :) 

he’s mad he has to wear the red uniform because of his job >:( he’s blue why can’t he wear blue >:(

constantly gets in trouble for wearing increasingly non regulation layers over his uniform

single handedly caused the tribble outbreak on their starship

he’s banned from ground duty anytime they’re on a random planet because he gets over excited and keeps almost dying from getting straight up phaser-set-to-stunned (because he’s not only andorian but he’s a particularly fragile andorian like it doesn’t even need to be a phaser pistol just a normal phaser fucks him up)

also spends hours on the holodeck, often with ruth, and they like to drag pete with them even if he doesn’t really get it

[roncheg]

i've been working on Ateez StarTrek AU since march! (or was it april? who knows! who cares!)

it is an ongoing project, i have roles and rough sketches for all of the members figured out though)))

also i am no fic writer but there is a crack plot bunny for several select episodes, we'll talk about them in later instalmentsXD

For now, let's start with first two character introductions:

The Captain of NCC Destiny - he is Stressed, captaining as best as he can; as a rebellious streak often dyes his hair different colours (outside of Starfleet regulations); There are rumours of him being a mixed race humanoid but no one knows for sure, Starfleet officers' personal files are sealed. There is an intergalactic betting pool about it, stakes are VERY high (he is simply 100% human but no one will believe it).

The First officer AND head medical officer - Seonghwa - also crew's unwilling head psychotherapist; He knows of The Captain's plain humanity (as his doctor) but unwilling to sell the information no matter what (he has a bet in the pool under a false name, he is planning to win and use the money for a much deserved RETIREMENT).

Part 2 Part3 Part4 plotbunny

commissions open=)

[green-nerd-showdown]

GREEN NERD SHOWDOWN ROUND 1 BATTLE 14

D'Vana Tendi (star trek: Lower decks) vs Ferb (phineas and ferb)

PROPAGANDA

D’Vana Tendi

She’s an Orion (green humanoid alien) who is one of a few of her species in Starfleet. She works as a Medical officer and absolutely loves her job, even the horrible tasks they’re forced to do for their bosses. And of course, as a member of Starfleet she’s also a big fan of the ship, especially the Warp Core. She’s so enthusiastic and nerdy that it’s remarked upon by the other Starfleet nerds.

A junior science officer on the USS Cerritos. She's extremely studious, enthusiastic, and friendly. She's incredibly skilled at genetics, creating an artificial Dog as a hobby project (she does not know anything about actual dogs and has only seen pictures). She's also a fan of Klingon acid punk. Tendi is a bit of a people pleaser and can be a pushover. She also has to deal with a lot of prejudice as people see Orions as either criminals or sex objects.

FERB

He spends literally every day of his summer vacation inventing impossible contraptions with his brother Once he attended a sci-fi/fantasy convention in elf cosplay, a known nerd behavior

[wangxianficrecs]

Proud Author Spotlight

~*~

Hello. I wanted to share my MDZS Star Trek AU "To Boldly Go." I started writing it in 2021 only to not touch it for three years, so I'm just proud of myself for finally completing it! It's specific to the Star Trek shows TNG, DS9, and VOY, and though it includes a lot of direct references to Star Trek, I think non-Star Trek fans could still understand and enjoy it. It is a crossover and later includes characters from TGCF, but they are not the focus.

There are a lot of foreshadowed elements and characters who haunt the narrative. And hopefully, I captured the essence of Star Trek, too.

Thank you!!

🔒 To Boldly Go

by excludedfromchickencutletnight (@excludedfromchickencutletnight)

T, 55k, Wangxian

Summary: As one of the top-ranked cadets at Starfleet Academy, Wei Wuxian has a bright future with Starfleet in store for him. His dream is to someday command his own ship with Lan Wangji by his side as his Chief Science Officer. As a double major in both Command and Engineering, his thesis project is quite ambitious: he’s going to prove the theory of Warp 10, and he doesn’t care how improbable or dangerous it may be. He just needs to prove his theory, pass his thesis, graduate from the Academy, and then he’ll finally tell Lan Wangji how he feels. Maybe. Unfortunately, the stars have other plans for him, and his destiny changes. Years later, Lan Wangji encounters a wormhole in deep space. What lies on the other side of it has been his destiny all along.

~*~

(Please REBLOG as a signal boost for this hard-working author if you like – or think others might like – this story.)

[writergeekrhw]

According to your IMDb, you were a wounded starfleet officer in A Call to Arms (5.26). That is also listed as your last episode until season 7.13. Were you in 5.26 as a sign off? Did you ask to do it or did they suggest it? Did you enjoy it?

Yes, I was in "A Call to Arms" as an extra because it was my last DS9 episode as part of the staff. I left to work on some feature projects (and because I was burned out).

Having me play a wounded Starfeet officer being hauled off the station for that episode was Ira's idea. I think Hans wanted me to also play a Vulcan, but that was too much time in makeup.

I enjoyed it, but it was an hour in the makeup chair for the burn makeup and another 15 minutes for the haircut, then 30 minutes filming, all for a split second onscreen, which gave me a deeper appreciation for all the work the background actors put in on a show like DS9. It was a very sweet way to send me off!

[haveyoureadthisfanfic]

Summary: After a serious incident aboard a starship, Commander Spock is demoted and transferred to a remote base where he must now serve with other "undesirables." He adjusts to his new rank and duties, and, while the future does look bleak, he is not ready to give up on himself or Starfleet yet. There is work to be done and hope to be found, especially as he begins to get to know his new colleagues, particularly one intriguing engineering officer James Kirk...

Author: @kianspo

[docgold13]

Heroes & Villains The DC Animated Universe - Paper Cut-Out Portraits and Profiles

Kanjar-Ro

A Dhorian space pirate, Kanjar-Ro entered into a secret pact with the Manhunters to frame the Green Lantern, John Stewart, of the erroneous destruction of the planet Ajuris 4.   He testified at a trial on Ajuris 5that he had witnessed Stewart destroy the planet, ultimately resulting in Stewart being sentenced to death.  

The Justice League investigated the matter further and found that a moon of Ajuris 4 was projecting a sophisticated holographic image that merely made it seem as though the planet had been destroyed.  When the League made this discovery, Kanjar-Ro attacked in his spacecraft hoping to maintain his ruse.  The League defeated him and he admitted to being paid by the Manhunters to orchestrate the whole matter.  

This was all put in motion by the Manhunters to draw the Green Lantern forces away from the planet Oa, allowing the Manhunters a more easy invasion.  A now freed John Stewart joined the Justice League and the Green Lantern Corps in rushing back to Oa so to fend off the Manhunters.  

Actor/Starfleet officer Rene Auberjonois provided he voice for Kanjar-Ro with the pirate first appearing in the fourth episode of the first season of Justice League, ‘In Blackest Night Part I.’  

[wwillywonka]

Trails and Trials

check out my very first star trek fic! inspired by this scene from s3e14, "whom gods destroy."

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Star Trek, Star Trek: The Original Series Rating: Explicit Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Leonard "Bones" McCoy/Spock, James T. Kirk/Leonard "Bones" McCoy/Spock Characters: Leonard "Bones" McCoy, Spock (Star Trek), James T. Kirk, Montgomery "Scotty" Scott, Nyota Uhura, Joseph M'Benga, Christine Chapel, Original Alien Character(s), Jocelyn McCoy (Mention) Additional Tags: Light Dom/sub, Bottom Spock (Star Trek), Top Leonard "Bones" McCoy, Hurt/Comfort, Whump, Smut, Fluff, Dry Humping, Masturbation, Mutual Pining, Teasing, happy trail, Stomach Hair, Chest Hair, Pet Names, Blow Jobs, First Time, Public teasing, Clothed Sex, Midriff, Virgin Spock (Star Trek), Alien Biology, Implied/Referenced Torture, mostly spones, some mcspirk if you squint

Summary: Doctor Leonard H. McCoy had a problem. He was sitting in the conference room, listening to Jim prattle on about the details of their new orders from Starfleet Command, and he probably should have been paying attention. Everyone else was. Something about a settlement on a planet called Pulosia and an ancient, underground library to rival Alexandria, unknown to the people who lived above. There was an acute sense of anticipation and excitement in the air, and it wasn’t just Leonard letting his anxiety get to him. Next to him, Scotty and Uhura were listening with rapt interest, both of them taking frantic notes on their padds. But Leonard wasn’t taking in a single word. Instead, his eyes were fixed intently on the First Officer’s midriff.

[celestialvoyeur]

💛💙SPIRK FIC REC���💛

When I first found this fic the summary was so short that I really didn't know what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised!

It's an AOS AU (Yes, I know there have been a lot of them lately, I was going through a phase lol, I'll try to switch things up a bit soon) in which Starfleet requires all it's captains to be married to provide stability and support on long missions. If they don't find one of their own before they take command then they're subject to an arrange marriage via Starfleet Command matching them up with a suitable officer based on submitted questionnaires.

As such, Kirk is being provided with a spouse and is en route to meet them for their ceremony and subsequent honeymoon. However, although Kirk and Spock are not unhappy with their assigned partners, they are a bit baffled by their honeymoon resort, which appears to be deserted.

It's a mystery laced love story and it's altogether quite endearing. 🥰

[groundzer0s-art]

One of two OC pages I'm working on, and it coincides with my call for RPers on my personal blog.

Keeda, counselor and hobbyist artist. Full desc. below the cut.

Full Name: Keedama zh'Irikras

Shortened Name (If Applicable): None

Nickname: Keeda

Race: Andorian, Aenar

DOB: May 26th,2343 (Stardate 20398.8)

Birthplace: Andoria

Loyalty: Andorian Empire, United Federation of Planets, Starfleet

Rank (If Applicable): Ensign (Starfleet) / Lieutenant (Starfleet, post-2372)

Occupation: Counselor

Hobby: Drawing

Favorite Foods: Andorian ale, Kanar, most sweet or tart fruits

Disliked Foods: Andorian redbat, Gagh, most meats

Favorite Color: Light green

Talents (If Applicable): Knowing whether someone is lying or not, singing

Personality: Proud, compassionate, determined

Biography: Keeda was born to a mixed family, with her grandfather and mother being Andorian while her grandmother was Aenar and father Andorian/Aenar. Due to her Aenar descent, her eyesight is quite limited, but she has mild telepathic abilities. She is able to sense emotions in others and project her own onto others, though she can only do the latter if she is in physical contact with the other person. She cannot read minds, but has figured out how to detect when someone is lying about something. Due to her poor eyesight, she was unable to join the Andorian Imperial Guard, leading to her instead joining Starfleet. While Aenar can make up for their blindness with their antennae, Keeda does not quite have the genetics for the same level of detail. She can see normally at a distance of 2 feet and can generally sense the shapes of things further away, but cannot make out things like color or texture. Her artwork reflects the way she sees the world in odd shapes, leading to her artwork being regarded as some of the finest abstract works done by a Starfleet officer. Keeda is greatly interested in other cultures and found a deep fascination in Bajoran religion while working aboard Deep Space Nine as well as Cardassian culture. She doesn't handle hot weather very well, but can tolerate about the same temperatures the average Human can. Being that she is from a very cold planet, she keeps her personal quarters at a temperature of 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit). During the Dominion occupation of Deep Space Nine, she stayed behind on the station as a spy for Starfleet, her telepathic abilities coming to her aid when gathering intel. Because she was already friends with an employee at Quark's, she was able to find employment as a waitress easily as a cover for her spying. Keeda has participated twice in the Andorian tradition of Ushaan, once because she volunteered in place of her father, and another time because she had unintentionally angered her cousin to the point of her demanding they duel. She won both times. Keeda keeps the same Ushaan-tor she used in both fights, one she has had since childhood, on her person any time she is out of her quarters and not in uniform.

[idol--hands]

Captain Data: “I am experiencing overwhelming stress.”

Idol ⭐️ Hands: note, I believe Data is modeling himself after Captain Sisko’s style of leadership here — as earlier, Sisko, laughed at Commander Data’s suggestion to consult Starfleet’s admirals before heading into a potentially fabric-of-reality-altering situation. As text is smaller below (a two-page spread), I’ve transcribed the dialog.

Acting Captain Data: Ensign Sato, broadcast Starfleet evacuation codes to all affected planets with my over-ride authorization.

Ensign Sato (the Andorian): Yes, sir.

Acting Captain Data: Additionally, broadcast the sub space frequencies of all nearby Starfleet vessels so they can be coordinated with directly.

Ensign Sato: Help is on the way!

Acting Captain Data: Lieutenant Descheeni, reassign all personnel from sciences and research to communications and telemetry. Transfer display protocols rather than physically relocating staff.

Lt. Descheeni: Clever, Captain.

Acting Captain Data: Simply necessary, Lieutenant. They will assist in efforts by Ensign Sato to coordinate evacuating in local language and custom as well as aid Ensign T’lr’s upcoming calculations.

Ensign T’lr (the Vulcan): Speaking of which, sir. I have a trajectory that might allow us to alter the course of the creature slightly by affecting their warp field stability, like a gentle nudge.

It will not change where they are going, but it should affect less inhabited systems.

Acting Captain Data: That is acceptable. Execute. And, Mr. Paris?

Lt. Paris: Don’t gotta tell me what to do, Captain. I’m the first human to ever achieve trans warp flight. I can handle the turbulence. The problem is going to be keeping up.

I can feel the engines, Commander. They’re not up to this.

Acting Captain Data: Mr. Scott, to address this, please activate the the Theseus’ classified propulsion system.

Chief Engineer Scott: I dinnae know what you’re talking ab—

Acting Captain Data: I looked over your design as soon as I was assigned, sir. It is incumbent on a first officer to know everything about his ship.

And while such a classified marker would no doubt deter most, my best friend is a decorated warp drive engineer. And so I was able to infer the use of the redacted capsules near each of the Theseus’ warp nacelles.

I was also able to infer that they were classified because they were, in fact, not yet working.

Chief Engineer Scott: Aye. Torres tried to get it working for months, but the containment frequencies never held.

Lt. Paris: Wait, B’elanna Torres? Like, my wife, B’elanna Torres? This was her little ‘side project’?

Chief Engineer Scott (on speaker): Aye, laddie. She said if you behaved, she’d let ye design the Bridge canopy.

Acting Captain Data: I have just relayed to you containment frequencies that I believe will solve the problem.

Chief Engineer Scott: It...it works. My God...

Acting Captain Data: No, Mr. Scott. Simply an android. Now, if you would be so kind, please take the vessel to transwarp.

Chief Engineer Scott: Way ahead of ye, Captain. But one little correction...like I always said, transwarp’s nothing but a dead end.

We call this little beauty...proto-warp!

Acting Captain Data: “I am experiencing pride.”

[staringdownabarrel]

One of the things that really annoys me about the Star Trek community on Reddit is that so many people there are adamant about treating Starfleet as if it's the Federation's military and nothing else. What really annoys me about it is that it leads to a lot of conversations about why this or that character isn't being subjected to an up-or-out policy the same way military personnel might in the real world.

This is the kind of view that's absurd on the face of it. Starfleet is the Federation's military, but it's also more than that. A lot of the work it does is stuff that would be done by other government departments or by private entities in the real world. This includes stuff like science and exploration (what they're explicitly focused on), disaster relief, transporting colonists to new colonies, providing transport to ambassadors, and so on. Even in cases where some of this is being done by organisations outside of Starfleet, the shows portray Starfleet being involved in some capacity.

There also isn't a clear delineation between ships and personnel who are mostly working on the military side of things and those that are mostly doing the science, exploration, and civil service work. The same hero ship whose mission in one episode is to deal with some military confrontation or another can often be dealing with a non-military issue in the next.

Yes, there are some ships and some officers that are implied to mostly be focused on that (e.g., Captain Jellico on the Cairo, or basically anything Admiral Nechayev is up to), but it can't be taken as a given that this has been their entire career. It's often just the assignment they have right now. It's been shown that someone can go from a generalist ship to being on a specialist mission. Barclay, for example, was on the Enterprise-D and -E for years, but his next assignment was on the Pathfinder project looking for Voyager.

Coming from that perspective, having an up-or-out policy doesn't make a lot of sense. A lot of people do go get a job and just stay in that position for decades. This isn't really as common with Millennials or Gen Z, but it was common enough with Baby Boomers and Gen Xers, who largely wrote and produced the older Trek shows. Plus, a lot of the people in Starfleet are people doing very specialised jobs that there wouldn't be too many other people capable of doing, so they can't just go, "Oh, you're like 40 and still a lieutenant? You're being drummed out."

Another thing here is that some of these ships are on very long-term assignments. The Excelsior had been on a three-year cataloguing mission prior to the destruction of Praxis for example, and the Enterprise had been on a five-year mission in deep space around the time of the Klingon war in Discovery. This is something that'd only get more pronounced as time went on. One of the big reasons why ships in the TNG era were designed to have families onboard is because a lot of these ships, the Galaxy-class particularly, are designed for ten or twenty year deep space assignments.

In cases like that, it doesn't really make sense to have an up-or-out policy. These ships are hundreds of light years away from Federation space for years at a time, so once someone is promoted to a point where they should be a department head or a first officer on a different ship, they'd have no other ship to go to. Even for someone who really wanted to go up the chain of command on those ships, it'd make more sense to have them as a lieutenant for five or ten years and then bump them up to lieutenant commander when they're actually able to be transferred to a different ship.

I think it also ignores the actual practical reason why up-or-out policies exist in real world militaries. In real life, there's only a limited number of postings available, even in very large militaries. It's not like in other industries where you can just bide your time for an opening at another company; if you're in the military and want to continue working in that field, there's only one employer. If someone stays in one position for too long, they're clogging up space that would otherwise be taken by someone who actually wants that position and eventually the one above it.

This is less of a concern in Starfleet. A fleet of around 40 ships is considered to be a huge deal in The Best of Both Worlds, set in 2366-7, but a decade later, Starfleet's fielding these huge fleets with hundreds of ships in them during the Dominion War. Between the huge size of those fleets compared to the size of the fleet five or ten years earlier and due to the wartime losses, they struggle to find enough warm bodies to actually crew them.

Even outside of that, the Federation is constantly expanding during the early centuries of its existence. In 2161, the Federation was founded with four members, and by First Contact in 2373, it had 150 members. That's 146 members in about 110 years. On average, once one new member joins, it'll be less than two years before another does. This is before considering the huge amounts of colonisation of planets that the Federation apparently does.

Just due to that, there'd always be a need for more and more Starfleet ships just to protect that amount of space. While in real life, the up-or-out policy is there to benefit the career oriented, Starfleet doesn't need it as much. For people who are dead set on going up the chain, there's always going to be another ship available pretty soon.

So overall, I don't think Starfleet is hurt by not having an up-or-out policy. I think if anything, it has the opposite problem. It's not really attracting enough people to crew all the ships it actually needs to do its job.

All of this is one of the reasons why I feel like a lot of Reddit Star Trek fans are fans of the franchise in the same way World War II wonks are history buffs. Yeah, the World War II wonk can tell you all the major battles, can describe to you in great detail every weapon used in the war, and can give opinions on how the T-34 compared to the Panzer or whatever, but they struggle when it comes to describing the political situation and how it's affected world politics ever since. Similarly, a lot of Reddit Trekkies can give you a broad overview of the canon and can describe to you in great detail what any given class of ship is shown to be capable of, but they often struggle in dealing with the actual thematics of the show.

[elen-aranel]

Hold My Hand

For: @youvebeenlivingfictional Winter Writing Prompt 14, Mistletoe / Hands / Fake Dating Pairing: Captain Christopher Pike x F!Reader (no Y/N) Warnings: None! Reader has mild anxiety a couple of times WC: 6k Rating: Teen Notes: I haven't felt like I've had time for anything I want to do recently, least of all writing, but today's prompt really spoke to me, so here we are! <3 Summary: “We don’t like to make a big thing of it, but yes. We’re getting married when we get back to Earth. We’re only waiting so we can be with our families.”

The first time, you aren’t expecting it.

An alien sun is shining down on you as you sit cross legged on the ground in the Syndarch medicine garden. You breathe in a mix of something herbal and something sweet; there are insects buzzing around, trilling birdsong in the distance, and the voices of your fellow officers and your Syndarch hosts.  But all of those are background details; you’re hunched over your tricorder, scanning a tiny green cactus-like plant poking up between two paving stones which is producing a range of interesting-looking alkaloids. You are wondering whether the plant is just a weed, or if it had been cultivated in the past and has somehow managed to survive where it is, when a warm hand grasps yours and hauls you up.

“—is the lieutenant here.” Captain Pike is gazing at you with some kind of sappy, affectionate expression on his face, clearly put on, and you replay the last few seconds of conversation you overheard in your head.

You smile back. Ultra sappy.

“We don’t like to make a big thing of it, but yes. We’re getting married when we get back to Earth. We’re only waiting so we can be with our families.”

The Syndarch Chancellor studies you as Pike raises your hand, gently kissing the back of it. And… you don’t have to fake your pleased little shiver. Which is something you’ll have to worry about later. For now, you try to project that sense of togetherness that established couples you’ve known have had. Like Admiral April and his wife, Sarah.

The Chancellor shrugs, blue slitted eyes suddenly brightening up. “Perhaps, after all, a captain isn’t quite… right for my daughter. You must have to travel a lot. But others may be… more settled? If Starfleet establishes a permanent presence here?”

You glance around as the captain makes some vague reply. You see a question in Spock’s raised eyebrow, and Una is studiously ignoring you; you’d bet she’s working hard to stifle a laugh. You dread to think what they’ll say when you get back to the ship.

“Thanks for the save there, Lieutenant,” Pike says as you step off the transporter platform, falling into step with you as you go through the doors. “I would not want that chancellor as a father-in-law. I owe you— What’s your favourite meal? You’re invited to dinner tonight. You too,” he adds, turning, nodding to Spock and Una. “Good work down there.”

“You don’t owe me. I mean, I’m not stupid, I’m not going to say no to your cooking, but I don’t think I’d have gotten to talk to that botanist so quickly if our host didn’t think we were engaged.”

“I found the ease with which you dissembled noteworthy, Lieutenant,” Spock says. “I know that humans are adept at lying, but you did not hesitate when the captain said you were to be married, even though you didn’t appear to have been paying any attention to him and the chancellor.”

“I was in my high school drama club, sir. I know how to put on a performance.”

You don’t tell him that wishing it were true makes it easier.

The next time is planned.

“Jentiri culture is complex, and the Transit Ceremony has a lot of rules, one of which is that each leader that takes part must be accompanied by their consort.” Pike stares up at you from his desk, and you know you could get lost in those blue eyes, but no. Whatever happens, this isn’t real.

“Why not just use Commander Chin-Riley, Sir?”

“Number one... she said no.” He quirks a rueful smile. “Her exact words were, ’I could better serve you if I didn’t have to act as some sort of decoration.’ But don’t worry,” he adds, reading your dubious expression. “You don’t have to do anything difficult. You just have to hand over our offering, and then enjoy the spectacle. I’m told it’s quite beautiful, and few outsiders get to see it. I’ll owe you a meal?”

“In that case, it’s a yes. Not for the Transit, though.” You grin. “For the food.”

Astrophysics is not your forte, but even so you know how incredibly rare this is: an M class planet with a stable orbit that takes it between two stars.

You are on the flat top of a hill that has been cut into wide terraces, and to the left and right, on the horizon, are the suns, like sunset and sunrise. The sky fades from orange to pink to deep purple and back, but it is lit with hundreds of shooting stars and the occasional bright flare of an aurora.

There are thousands of Jentiri, mostly on the lower levels of the hill, from all six inhabited planets in their system. This planet was traditionally neutral ground between all of them, and although now they have one common hierarchy, their old traditions remain.

You have done your part, giving Starfleet’s offering – an ornate carved wooden box – to the Third King, so now you get to relax and enjoy the spectacle for a while, while the captain and first officer negotiate on Starfleet’s behalf.

“So, tell me more about Captain Pike. How did you meet? How long have you been together? What’s he like?”

Emyn, the consort of the First Queen, leader of Jentiri Prime, relaxes back on her cushion. You never thought you’d be a diplomat, but it’s impressive to see a good one at work. All the consorts, but Emyn especially have made an effort to make you feel included in the group; making sure the silky cushions were comfortable for you, offering you sweet delicacies from each of their planets, and talking, about their partners, about Jentiri, and about your experiences in Starfleet.

You can’t help but feel relaxed around them, which you know is the point. If you think of yourself as one of them, you’ll be candid.

“Captain Pike – Chris – and I met when I transferred to the Enterprise, on stardate… um… well. It was a while ago now. We got together on��on shore leave, a year or so later? It was very romantic, he cooked dinner for me in a cabin by a lake…” You smile at your made-up story; it would be lovely if it had been real. “And Chris is…” you smile, relaxed. You can be completely honest here. “He’s genuine. He’s principled. He isn’t naive – you don’t get to be a captain if you are – but he’s kind, generous. Willing to see the best in people. To do whatever it takes for his crew. That’s why I… why we…”

“Of course,” Emyn returns your smile. “My Adrimyn is the same way. She puts all of Jentiri first. You’re lucky to be consort of such a man.”

You nod. “Yes, I am.”

“I’m glad that it went so well for you, with the consorts. But you two need a legend,” Una says, gesturing with a forkful of Pike’s macaroni cheese as you debrief that evening.

“A legend? Sir this is amazing. Truly,” you add as you take a bite yourself. It’s a delicious balance of creaminess with just the right amount of sharp cheese flavour, and it’s complemented perfectly by the white wine Pike poured you.

“We’re off the clock. Call me Chris. And a legend is a back story. How we met, milestones, things like that. We got away with it today because no one was asking me about our ’relationship’, but if we ever did this again, we may need to get our stories straight.”

“We’re not going to do this again though, right?”

“What, you didn’t enjoy the Transit?”

“I did, it was—it was beautiful. But I’m a biologist. I still have a crate of samples to catalogue from my last mission. And you know the what the chief science officer is like…”

But of course, it does happen again. And this time you can’t even complain.

You’re in the ready room by the big screen, senior officers around the conference table, looks of concern on their faces.

“Starfleet has suspected that Eryran III is a hub for the illegal animal trade for a while now; there have even been reports of a gormagander being held in orbit. We have jurisdiction, in theory, but we’ve never been able to get any evidence; as soon as a starship is scheduled to go through the system, they move everything deep undercover. But a pair of critically endangered Lysisian golden bears have been stolen from the sanctuary at Lysis Alpha.”

You tap a control, and an image of two small bears appear on the screen. They have zebra-like stripes of gold on dark brown fur, and big brown eyes edged in gold.

 “They’re difficult to distinguish from other, non-endangered species unless you’re an expert. The pattern of the stripes, the morphology—” you adjust the display, showing the golden bears alongside the more common Lysisian brown bear, although you know the others won’t see the details you see, in the way the stripes branch, in the shape of the ears relative to the eyes relative to the jaw.

“The Enterprise is close – only a few hours away normally, or a couple at high warp. I could take a shuttle to Eryran IV,” you change the screen to show a schematic of the Eryran system, “which is currently on the far side of their stars. Sensors from Eryran III wouldn’t be able to detect the low-powered Starfleet signature, and I can take a civilian transport from there. If I find the bears, I can signal the Enterprise to secure them. But it has to be me; I’m the only one here who can identify them.”

Pike frowns. “It’s risky. The Eryran system... Eryran III is a pleasure planet, isn’t it? Like Risa?”

“Yes, Sir, but probably more like Casperia Prime. Not as hedonistic as Risa— it’s the kind of place to see and be seen.”

“Hmm. You may stick out alone. And with respect, if it gets to be a fight and you’re by yourself, we wouldn’t be able to get there fast enough to give you backup.” He shakes his head.

“Sir, I don’t enjoy the risks, but an ecosystem is at stake. I—”

“Hold your horses. It’s not ’no’. It’s ‘I’m coming with you.’”

“Damn. There really is a space whale. Look, darling— over there.”

You look past him out the viewport of the transport, trying to control your reaction to the term of endearment. You didn’t realise hearing him call you darling would make you feel all melty inside, even if only for a moment. Even if you know it isn’t real.

The gormagander is there, buoys floating round it which must be forcefield emitters to keep it contained. But at least it looks healthy.

“Wow. I’ve only ever seen holos of them before. They’re so rare.” You raise your brows, just a touch, and Pike nods fractionally. Whatever happens, the Enterprise will have to come for this creature.

Pike leaves you in the lobby of the hotel you booked to make you seem like real tourists, but it’s too nice out to stay indoors. You love space, but you always relish sunlight on your face. Or sunslight, in this case. There are something like palm trees outside, but with blue leaves, and the botanist part of you is wishing you could scan them and find out what specific chlorophyll molecule is in them, when the door opens.

If you weren’t ready to be called darling, you definitely weren’t ready for the sight of Pike stepping out into the street. He’s ditched the sweatshirt he was wearing on the transport and his navy-blue Henley is tight. You knew he must work out to fill his uniform in the way he does, but it’s one thing to know it, and another to see it.

His smile as he catches sight of you is just a little knowing, like he’s seen you looking, and you focus on adjusting your shoulder bag – it looks innocent, but it was shielded by engineering to hide your all your equipment – while you get control of yourself.

“I’ve taken our things up to the room. You ready to go?” He holds out his hand, and you smile up at him as you take it. Maybe it’s wishful thinking, but perhaps you see a little admiration in his eyes, too.

It’s a short walk from the hotel along a wide boulevard, lined with trees and teeming with other tourists, to the transport hub. You’re at the zoo in no time.

You try not to hold your breath as your bag goes through the beefy looking security scanner – larger than you would expect for a place like this, and another sign that something illegal may be happening. But the bored looking security guard hands it back to you, and you’re in.

The zoo is large and spacious, and not crowded, which you’re glad about. It has animals from all over the quadrant, and you and Pike— you and Chris wander around, occasionally stopping to take photos of the animals, and even a selfie or two. For appearances’ sake.

There are some species you recognise from Earth, like snow leopards, and a kangaroo carrying a joey in her pouch. You spend too long admiring the horses: a palomino stallion, and a chestnut mare Chris says reminds him of his horse Mary Lou. You manage to drag him away before he has a chance to ask about riding them.

There are a lot of rare creatures, most of which you’ve never seen in person before, like an Aldebran serpent which is a little difficult to see in the sunlight, and even a Drayjin from Dakala. Rare, but legal.

But even though all the animals seem to be reasonably well cared for, like the gormagander in orbit, the more you see – sometimes an empty pen, sometimes animals in an enclosure that looks too new, too pristine, a couple more security guards wandering around than should really be needed – the more you think there really is something going on under the surface.

 “I think that’s a Vulcan sehlat. Don’t you have a friend who had one of those as a pet?” You point at the brown bear-like animal, and Chris quirks an amused half-smile at you.

“Yeah, he had it as a kid. Says they’re very loyal. Though I think I’ll stick with horses,” he adds as the sehlat yawns, exposing those six-inch-long fangs.

“Mmm, I don’t think I’ll be adopting one soon. But maybe one of these bears? They’re super cute.” You work to try to keep the anxiety out of your voice as you approach the Lysisian bears. Now you’re here, the tension is getting to you. Your heart rate speeds up as you begin to feel a little lightheaded. Your stomach is churning.

But Chris picks up on it, of course. “You’re okay,” he murmurs, just for you. “Breathe through it.”

You take a breath, slow, and focus. You are Starfleet. You can get this done.

You look into the enclosure. You can’t see the forcefield but you’re close enough to feel the electric prickle from the generators, which along with a ditch protect you from the animals, and, in theory, the animals from you.

The first bear is slowly climbing a tree trunk, and you get a good view of its markings. A brown bear, not a golden bear. The second one is sitting on the ground, rummaging in the ground cover. You look at the head, and no. Also not a golden bear.

But further along, there is one bear alone, and another on the ground with two cubs. And—

“Look at these cubs, Chris, they’re adorable. I have to get a holo.” You turn to face him, rummaging in your bag. There’s no one else within a few metres of you, but there is an Andorian family nearby looking at some Terran giant pandas. Chris has his back to the nearest security camera, and you pass him the EMP generator, while you get the holo cam out. Hopefully the zoo’s sensors will just read an error in the power grid, but you know you’ll only have a minute or so after he activates it.

When you went into this you had been expecting two bears. But you can deal with four.

You turn back with the camera out, and snap a couple of quick holos. You switch it off, and Chris activates the EMP.

You immediately feel that prickle disappear, and you get out your blow pipe and a handful of tiny trackers so the Enterprise’s sensors can find the bears. You dart the lone bear, glad that unlike when you did this with anaesthetic at the academy it doesn’t matter where you hit. You go for cubs next; you can hear an alarm as you hit the first one you hit cleanly, but the other you only graze. You hit it with your second go but not before it squeaks in pain. The closer parent is on the move immediately, and you can hear running in the distance, but you narrow your eyes and hit perfectly.

“We’re good,” you mutter to Chris, and he gets an arm around you, hustling you along while you re-pack your bag. You feel the electricity in the air as the power is restored.

“Remember when we saw the giant pandas in that bamboo forest? In China?”

A little Andorian girl gazes up at you as you approach, which was Chris’s plan – you couldn’t run, because that would be suspicious, but if you could look like you were associated with another group for long enough…

“That was such an amazing hike. I still can’t believe that they were just there. Eating bamboo in that little clearing.” You feel your heart rate rise again as security runs past, but not as badly this time.

“Yeah, a special memory.” Chris tightens his arm around you a little as you look at the pandas. “I think it’s the Maravel dragon’s feeding time soon. You want to go take a look?”

The two hours you spend waiting for the Enterprise are two of the longest of your life. But you’re lucky – a better security operation would have been on to you, but the operatives at the zoo seem to have grown complacent, and you suspect that you just missed some even more valuable animals. Either way, you’re glad that you’re able to use an EMP again to disrupt their shields long enough for the Enterprise to beam the golden bears aboard.

“Thank you for today,” you say, as you hand your report in to Pike when you’re back on the ship.  “I find it easier to be brave when the people around me are more… nervous… than I am, I guess. Those bears and that gormagander needed you. I needed you. I couldn’t have saved them alone.”

“Given their lax security, you would have found a way. But we couldn’t have anticipated that.” He looks up, catching your eye.

“I’m glad I was there for you.”

The moment holds, but then he smiles, wide and open. “Now we can add pandas to our legend for real.”

After that... it isn’t something that happens frequently. But when a delegate is paying Chris too much attention at a reception aboard the Enterprise, stopping him doing his work, he catches your eye from across the mess hall, and you find your way there to his side, and you stay too close to just be a colleague. When you’re at a party a colony is throwing after your team decontaminated their water supply, and one of the colonists is drunk and won’t leave you alone… You can stand up for yourself, but you don’t want to turn things into an incident, and it’s just… easier if Chris takes your arm and leads you round the dance floor for a few minutes.

Chris invites you to crew dinners, sometimes as a thanks, but more often not. You enjoy spending time with him off the clock. Getting to know him as a friend.

But you try not to think about the sly looks Una gives you sometimes. You try not to lie awake at night, after one of you has bailed the other out, wishing it were real.

The holiday season is supposed to be a time for family. In Starfleet, your crew is your family. But this year, for the first time in a long time, the Enterprise happens to have a stopover on Earth for nearly two weeks around Earth’s Christmas and new year.

The buzz on the ship is palpable – most of the human crew are excited to spend a holiday season at home, and a lot of non-human crew are able to take some leave on their respective planets too.

But your family is on a far-flung colony, and it would take more than a week to get there from Earth. You don’t mind; Earth holiday traditions aren’t very important to you, and you saw your family a few months ago when the Enterprise was mapping a nebula in a nearby sector. A lot of the crew haven’t seen family in years.

You volunteer to stay on board, but you are assigned leave anyway; you don’t have bridge or engineering officer certification, and everything in your lab is safe to leave.

You don’t argue the point. Instead, you make plans. Visit Australia, learn to surf, try a Christmas Day barbecue on the beach, and maybe head into the bush one day to see some marsupials in the wild. The weather net means conditions will be perfect.

You’re looking through a catalogue of swimwear on the synthesiser, trying to decide whether you want a one piece, bikini, or both, when the door chimes.

“Enter,” you say, puzzled about who it could be. There aren’t many people left on the ship; certainly no one you would expect to pop by. You turn away from the synthesiser to see Captain Pike standing in your doorway, that half smile on his face. And you almost feel a little vulnerable, a little exposed – this is the first time he’s been in your space. You try not to let the feeling show.

“Chris, hey, come in. Can I—Did you need something?”

“I wanted to ask a favour. I know you’re getting ready for your leave,” he glances across to the synthesiser screen, still showing swimsuits, “but I wondered if you could delay for a day? My folks are hosting a party, and—” he grimaces. “My mom is going to try to set me up with every un-attached woman there, and I—”

“And you want a ‘date’ to take the heat off?”

“Yeah. It’ll be busy; I can make sure you don’t have to make small talk with my parents. But I…” he shakes his head. “I’m sorry, I don’t want to ruin your plans. Australia, wasn’t it? You should have your break— you’ve earned it.”

You glance at the chronometer. “Sydney time is nineteen hours ahead, so really that’s like five hours behind us? I was planning to beam over mid-afternoon local time – my room won’t be ready until then. If I join you, I’ll just be getting there in the evening instead.” You nod. “I’ll come.”

It’s worth it for his relieved grin.

After you’ve packed and taken your holiday luggage to the cargo transporter, you swing by the arboretum for one of the cuttings you’ve taken from a flowing plant that you picked up on an away mission. It will only grow in the medium you prepared for it, based on the soil of the planet it comes from, so there’s no biosecurity risk, and it’s pretty, with glossy green leaves and clusters of red and gold bell-like flowers. Perfect for the holiday.

Then you synthesise a dress. It’s understated, nice but not too formal, and you feel pretty in it. You synthesise a wrap, too, in case you need to spend time outside.

Chris is waiting in the transporter room when you get there, looking handsome and festive in a Fair Isle sweater over a button-down shirt. It’s in shades of dark green, red, and cream, with a couple of bands of small snowflakes among more abstract patterns.

“I told you; you didn’t need to bring a present,” Chris says as you step onto the transporter pad at his side.

“I know, but I would have felt wrong without one. We’re doing this properly, right?”

“Right. Kyle, two to beam down.”

The sun has just set when you arrive, and the light is fading from orange to pink to purple to deep blue, reminding you a little of the Jentiri Transit. Here, though, the stars in the sky are mirrored on the ground by a galaxy of fairy lights, picking out what must be Chris’s family home, some out buildings, and a large Christmas tree. You hear music and voices, and there’s a scent of pine in the air.

There are a couple of groups of partygoers approaching the house, and you’re glad that you transported down a little way away – you can orient yourself before you start meeting them.

“Ready to get this show on the road?”

“Yeah. Yes, I am.” Chris takes your hand, lacing warm fingers through yours.

Chris greets people as you cross the yard, some going into the house, others a big barn where the music is coming from, as he leads you to the front door. He’s relaxed – you’ve seen him in enough tense situations to know when it’s real, and when he’s putting on a show – and you relax, too, smiling at his friends.

The front door is open ahead of you, warm light spilling out, and you step across the threshold into a large open hallway, open to the second floor with stairs leading up on one side. There are garlands of greenery with golden pinecones and fairy lights hanging round the upper floor, and soft instrumental music is playing, different to what you could hear from outside.

“Welcome! So glad you were able to join us.” The woman who comes to greet you must be Chris’s mom; she’s older, with silver hair, and Chris’s blue eyes.

She favours you with a warm smile like her son’s as he makes the introductions.

“Thank you for having me, ma’am. I brought you this,” you say, handing over the plant.

“Oh, call me Willa, please. And how beautiful! Thank you – I’ve never seen anything like it. The mix of the colours of the flowers… It’s not from Earth, I take it?”

“No, I collected it on an uninhabited planet in the Iota Lyrae system. I wanted a sample because the soil there was unique, but I chose this plant because it was the prettiest.”

“So you’re a botanist?”

“Exobiologist, but my specialisms are botany and zoology.”

“I look forward to hearing your stories,” she says with an unmistakeable twinkle in her eye, “but for now, Christopher, I think your dad is cooking up some mulled cider. I’m sure you’d both like a drink?”

She smiles again and gives your arm a little squeeze as she steps past you. “Ahmed, Sara, good to see you...”

There’s a touch of relief in Chris’s eyes as you move through into the large open plan living, kitchen and dining room. It must be full of light during the day with large floor to ceiling windows, and it’s still quite bright now, with holiday lights and decorations all around the place, including a traditional looking tree in the corner, mainly decorated in white and gold, with presents underneath. The room is busy with people, a lot Chris’s parents’ age, but a wide range of younger people too, standing in groups and sitting on sofas and armchairs, chatting, drinking, and eating nibbles.

You feel Chris tense a little, though, as you both catch sight of the man who must be his dad, turning from a steaming pan on the kitchen stove to make a space on the counter. You remember Chris mentioning that their relationship could be a bit strained, and you try to resist tensing up yourself as Chris’s dad catches sight of you too.

“Son, perfect timing. Taste this and see if you think I have the spices right – your mom said the last batch was too heavy on the clove. Then your lovely lady can have a drink. I’m sorry, Chris did mention your name when he stopped by this afternoon, but my memory is not what it was.”

You introduce yourself, as Chris dips a spoon in the pan, and sips, thoughtfully.

“I think that’s good, dad. What do you think?” He offers the spoon to you, and you step in closer and lean in to take a sip, all too aware of his proximity, his eyes. Then the flavours register, fruit and spice and sweetness, and you find yourself smiling. You turn.

“I think it’s delicious, sir. I see where Chris gets his talent in the kitchen from.”

That seems to have been the right thing to say, because Mr Pike smiles. He dips a ladle into the pan and pours the cider into a glass mug, then hands it to you. “There. Now you can enjoy it properly.” He hands the ladle to Chris. “Would you—?”

“Of course.” Chris takes the pan off the stove, still holding the ladle, and brushes past you as he goes to put it on the table.

Mr Pike turns his attention back to you, a shrewd look in his eye.

“So do you celebrate Christmas? Will you be spending it with your family? Or do you celebrate another winter festival?”

 The questions come thick and fast, about your beliefs and those of your colony, and about its traditions and celebrations. You’re surprised to find yourself thinking again about some of them that you had always taken for granted.

“Sorry about that,” Chris says in an undertone a few minutes later, his gentle hand at your back guiding you into the main part of the room. “I know how he gets, but… the mulled cider is popular.”

“It’s fine. He was asking about my home, not— he seemed genuinely interested.” You stop yourself saying not about us. And then you wonder why.

You don’t have time to think about it, though, because you’re being drawn into conversation. Ahmed, it turns out, went to school with Chris, and they spend some time regaling you and Sara with tales of their high school escapades, and the time in a Parrises Squares tournament all four members of their team somehow managed to get knocked out cold on one play. Then you talk to Esther, a friend of Chris’s mom, about her art, and the inspiration she draws from the desert landscape, flora, and fauna.

You continue making the rounds of the room, Chris catching up with old friends and neighbours. The party feels alive around you; people coming in and out, music playing, food and drink being shared, conversation flowing. And through it all Chris keeps you close, and includes you. You find you’re enjoying yourself, much more than you expected.

“You ready for a change of pace?” Chris asks eventually.

“Sure. What did you have in mind?”

“You dance, right? There’s a dance floor set up in the barn, live band too. Would you like to go see?  I don’t usually have a partner,” he adds, soft, mindful of his mother on a sofa nearby.

“That sounds like fun. Lead the way.” You reach for his hand this time, and give it a little squeeze. There is something in his voice... you know Chris belongs in Starfleet, and you know he knows that too, but an occasion like this must make him think of other paths his life could have taken.

Outside there’s a slight chill in the air, and you’re glad you retrieved your wrap from where you put it on a coat stand in the hallway. But it isn’t far to the barn, and soon you’re enveloped in warmth.

There are warm white fairy lights strung along the beams, and another Christmas tree, this one very large, with lots of different baubles and decorations. Of course there is food and drink in here; you smell gingerbread from a table near the door.

There are a lot of people, some who you’ve seen pass through the house, and others you haven’t. There are people standing around the edge of the room, including Chris’s dad, deep in conversation with a group of four Andorians. And there are people on the dance floor, dancing to a jaunty number being played by the band. You don’t know if it’s traditional for the season or not, but it doesn’t seem to matter; everyone is having a good time. As you listen it comes to a stop, and everyone claps.

“May I have this dance?” Chris asks with one of those small lopsided smiles.

You’ve danced with Chris a couple of times before, and it’s always a pleasure. You can relax, safe in the ballroom hold, in sync with him, easily able to follow his lead around the dance floor. And if you pretend to yourself, while you’re in his arms, that this is real… well. You haven’t noticed any Vulcans or members or other telepathic species in attendance.

You dance several dances, until the band takes a break, although the music continues – a singer with a guitar takes over, singing something about a sleigh ride. You’re passing by the Christmas tree on the way to a drinks table when you see it.

“Hey Chris, is that the Enterprise? On the tree?” You step closer to get a better look. “It is! It even has the lettering on the saucer. NCC-1701.”

He laughs, warm. “I think they usually put it on the tree in the house. Bob gave it to my parents as a present, the Christmas after I was made Captain.”

“That sounds like Admiral April. I remember, he—” but you’re interrupted by laughter.

“Chris! Didn’t expect you to get caught!”

You look around to see a group of people all staring at you, expectantly.

“You’ve got to kiss now, guys, it’s the rules.”

“The rules?” You’re confused.

“Look up.” Sara, who you met earlier is there, pointing to some greenery suspended above your head. And you don’t think you’ve seen it before in person, but the way people are talking, it must be—

“Mistletoe.” Chris steps in close. “I’m sorry,” he adds, quiet. “I thought we— never mind. I’ll just—”

He leans over, and brushes a light kiss to your cheek, and it’s chaste but... your breath still catches a little.

“That doesn’t count,” one of the onlookers says, and a murmur of agreement ripples across the group.

Chris looks at you, questioning. And you know he would respect it if you said no, or showed any trace of hesitation. But you give him a tiny nod.

His hand rises up to your face, his fingers warm against your cheek. He leans in slowly, still giving you the chance to change your mind, but your eyelids flutter shut as his lips brush yours. And you’ve been close before. You’ve held hands, walked arm in arm… you’ve been dancing with him all evening. But as his lips brush yours you feel a jolt of energy flow between you, and the party, the audience, the pretence, none of that matters anymore, because Chris is kissing you again. Harder. Sweeter. His hand slips round to the back of your neck and you press against him, kissing back, eager, for a moment suspended together in your own little bubble.

The bubble bursts, though, as you hear cheers and clapping, and you pull away, or Chris pulls away, and suddenly it all feels… too much. The singer is too loud. The people are too close. The barn is too warm. You feel your heart thudding in your chest.

You try to keep it together. You’re here for Chris — you can’t just run out as soon as he kisses you. You nod and smile, make it to the drinks table, and when someone claps Chris’s shoulder, loudly proclaiming that they haven’t seen him in years, you mutter that you’re getting some air, and get out.

You feel like you can breathe again when you get outside. Like you can try to get your whirling thoughts in order. But the door to the house opens and you see Mrs Pike, and your feet are moving before you even think about it, and you’re pushing the door to one of the outbuildings open and slipping inside.

Immediately you feel movement, and smell animals—horses. The stables. It takes a moment for your eyes to adjust to the dark, then you make your way slowly past the stalls until you reach one where what could be a chestnut horse with a white patch on its face has its head out, curious to see you. You hold out your hand for it to sniff.

“Are you Mary Lou? I’m sorry, I wasn’t really planning on coming here. I don’t have any apples or sugar lumps or anything.” She nuzzles your hand anyway, and you rub her nose. “I know your owner. I know Chris. Actually, I’m pretending to date him. But then we kissed, and I... I wished...”

“What did you wish?”

You turn, startled. Chris is standing there, holding your wrap, expression unreadable in the dim light.

“I—you—” you stare at the floor.

“Your wrap. You left pretty suddenly; I didn’t want you to be cold. You weren’t outside, and I saw the open door. Should’ve known you and Mary Lou would be making friends.”

You step closer and take the fabric from him, barely raising your gaze, and wrap it around your shoulders, slowly. You hug it to you.

Then you take a little breath, and look up.

“I wished we weren’t pretending. But I know that we are. So—so if you need to transfer me, or—”

He touches a finger to your lips, silencing you.

“When we kissed... I was right there with you. Wanting this. Wanting you.” He shakes his head. “I’ve wanted it for a while, actually, and sometimes I thought... but you—you know how to put on a performance.”

“Not where you’re involved.”

You reach up, still almost disbelieving, almost afraid to make contact. But you can feel Chris’s face stretch into a smile under your touch. His hands settle on your waist, pulling you in closer, and you kiss, lips parting, and it’s gloriously real.

In the end, though, Mary-Lou’s soft whinny reminds you of where you are.

“We should get back. I think Mom saw me head this way, and knowing her, she’ll come looking.” Chris belies his words, kissing your neck, and you gasp as he hits a sensitive spot.

“I—I guess you’re right. We should go.” You miss Chris’s warmth as he finally steps away. He goes over to pat Mary Lou before holding out a hand for you. You lace your fingers together, and he leads you back out of the stables into the night outside, back towards the barn.

“Wait.” A thought occurs to you, and you pull on your joined hands, getting Chris to stop. He turns to you, profile highlighted by the lights shining from the tree. “Is this now our actual first date? And… do you have plans for later this evening? The room I booked in Sydney is a double…”

Chris laughs. “I guess it is. I could join you in Sydney tonight, I know you want to learn to surf… But… have you thought about learning to ride instead?”

[starfleetimagines]

Hello hi! I love your idea to do fics based on Spotify Wrapped! 💕 I'd like to request a reader-insert Chakotay fic if that's alright! (I feel like there's a real shortage of Chakotay fics that don't include a pairing with Janeway.) And let's go with numberrrrrr 38! Thank you, can't wait to see what you come up with! ☺️

Hiii I agree - there aren't enough reader insert Chakotay fics! Hope you like this xx

So Good [Chakotay]

Prompt: So Good by Halsey Word count: 1.8k Pairing: Chakotay x femme reader Notes: Let me know if you like the third person POV! Also I'm battling a head cold rn so I apologize for any errors or mistakes.

“I can’t.”

Y/N exhaled slowly, breath fanning Chakotay’s lips. “Then why are you here?”

Chakotay shut his eyes and leaned his forehead against Y/N’s forehead. “I don’t know.”

Y/N ran her hands down his sides and felt him shiver beneath her touch. “I saw it on your face, Chakotay. I know you feel this, too.”

“I do. I do, I just…” He shook his head and moved back, staring at her with mixed emotions: yearning, confusion, hurt, guilt, want. “I can’t.”

Y/N stared at him, stomach twisting. She swallowed hard, then pulled away. “You should go, then.”

Chakotay didn’t say anything for a few moments, and for a split second, he looked like he was going to kiss her. Then he shook his head and looked away. “I’m sorry.”

“Me too.”

-

When Y/N was assigned to Voyager, she had no idea how emotionally strenuous their first mission would be. She knew the commander of the Maquis ship was a previous Starfleet officer, but she didn’t know it was Chakotay. The man she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about since their last encounter years back; when he walked out of her apartment, likely to go hold his girlfriend’s body closer to him so he could forget about what he and Y/N had almost done.

Nothing had happened, not really. The two had been working together for several months and one night they’d been at Y/N’s apartment celebrating their project’s completion. They’d been sleep deprived, a little intoxicated, and had gotten a little too close. Y/N had known Chakotay had a girlfriend. She’d known he was unavailable, and it wasn’t until she felt his body heat radiating towards her on her couch, seeing his soft eyes linger on her face, that she’d realized how much she liked him. How she wished they could be more.

She knew it was bad. But they could have been so good.

Nothing happened, but oh how Y/N wished something had. She never would have wanted him to cheat on his girlfriend, but she’d been desperately hoping he’d tell her it was over. That what he and Y/N felt was real.

But that was years ago and she hadn’t seen him since.

Never in her wildest dreams did she think the two of them would somehow both wind up thrown across the galaxy and find themselves on the same ship, one which they’d likely spend the rest of their lives.

At first, she didn’t believe it. Through all of the chaos and danger, Y/N hadn’t really learned or met the Maquis until after the array had been destroyed and their fates had been sealed. She didn’t really get a chance to encounter more of them until she was trudging her way through the corridors of the ship, eager to collapse on her bed and pray she woke up back home on Earth. She passed by unfamiliar face after unfamiliar face—some in Starfleet uniforms that she just hadn’t had the chance to meet yet, and some still in their Maquis uniforms.

She was nearly at her quarters when she heard his name being uttered in passing. She stopped dead in her tracks and looked to the couple of Maquis talking to themselves down the corridor. She must have been hearing things, because there was no way…

“—I can’t believe Chakotay agreed to all this,” one of them said, “Letting Starfleet be in command of us all.”

“Yeah,” said the other. “Just because he used to be Starfleet, doesn’t mean we all want to be shoved into their stuffy system.”

Y/N stopped listening after that. Chakotay was there. On Voyager. In the Delta Quadrant. Stranded with the rest of them for who knew how long.

“Computer,” Y/N said. “Locate Chakotay.”

“Commander Chakotay is in his quarters.”

Y/N’s heard raced. She had a brief thought of, he’s already been promoted to commander? but quickly shoved that aside and asked the computer for the location of his quarters. She made her way there as quickly as she could without looking weird. When she reached his door, her hand hovered over the doorbell.

She didn’t even know what she was going to say to him, but she needed to see him. They’d have to speak to one another and work together eventually, so she might as well rip the bandage off.

Taking in a deep breath, she pressed the console and the chime rang.

“Come in.”

Y/N’s stomach flipped at the sound of his voice. She opened the door and stepped inside, heart beating so loudly she could barely hear anything else.

“Y/N?”

She turned and her lips parted. There he was, standing not ten feet from her. He looked the same, albeit with a new facial tattoo. He was still as handsome as she remembered him being.

“Hi,” Y/N said quietly, taking another step in to allow the door to close behind her.

Chakotay’s eyes darted around her, as if he couldn’t believe she was standing there. She could practically hear the gears turning in his head.

“I… heard you were on board,” she said slowly. “Thought I would… say hi.”

Chakotay took a small, hesitant step forward. “Y/N, I—wow. It’s… been a while.”

“Yeah.”

Chakotay offered her a smile. “It’s nice to see a friendly face.”

Y/N tilted her head to the side. “Who says I’m going to be friendly?” she mused lightly.

Chakotay chuckled. “Wishful thinking.”

Y/N returned his smile. “It’s good to see you.”

“You too.” He waved to his couch. “Sit. I’d offer you a drink or something, but, well, you know the replicators are still down.”

Y/N nodded and moved to the couch. “It’s alright.”

Chakotay sat on the other end. He stared at her for a few moments in silence. “What are the odds?”

“I’m wondering that, myself.” Y/N shook her head slowly, still having a sense that all of it was just impossible; maybe she’d still wake up tomorrow and learn it was all a dream. But if it was a dream, she wanted to make the best of it.

She reached out her hand tentatively, resting it on the cushion between them.

A genuine smile spread on Chakotay’s face. He placed his hand atop hers and she took in a sharp breath. The warmth of his palm was comforting and familiar. She intertwined their fingers and Chakotay squeezed gently.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” Y/N murmured, staring at their hands. “I didn’t know you joined the Maquis.”

“When the fighting started on my home world, I had to go,” he replied simply. “I couldn’t just sit back and do nothing.”

Y/N nodded. “That makes sense.”

Chakotay made a soft, thoughtful sound.

Y/N looked up and met his gaze. “What?”

He smiled. “Nothing. Just nice that you aren’t ridiculing me.”

Y/N shook her head and gave him a funny look. “You know I wouldn’t do that. Especially not for something like that. Starfleet may deem the Maquis to be terrorists, but… If someone came by Earth one day and said we had to give the planet to, say, the Xindi? Yeah, pretty sure a lot of people would also rebel against that.”

Chakotay’s smile widened. “I knew there was a reason I liked you.”

Y/N’s cheeks flushed and she ducked her head. “I know the fight must mean a lot to you—you never were one to resort to violence unless absolutely necessary—but… I’m glad you’re here away from it.” She cringed. “Not that I want you to be stranded in the Delta Quadrant for the next seventy years, but—”

Chakotay’s quiet chuckle cut her off. “I know what you’re trying to say.”

She nodded silently.

Chakotay gave her hand a squeeze. “We should probably talk about things. If we’re going to be working together for the rest several decades.”

Y/N’s stomach flipped. She nodded because of course she wanted to talk about it, but at the same time she just wanted to keep talking to him about anything but. It was just so nice to be with him like that: close but not too close with a comfortable, unspoken trust between them. “Yeah, I know. Look, I—I’m sorry. I know it was bad—that I didn’t push you away or stop you more. I know nothing really happened, but I shouldn’t have let things get so… emotionally complicated before that night.”

“It isn’t your fault,” Chakotay said. “You aren’t responsible for my actions.”

“Still… I should have respected your relationship more.”

“I appreciate you saying that,” he said softly. “So should I.”

Y/N bit her lip and looked at him for a few moments. “Are you two still together? I know… I know a lot of people on board are struggling with the realization that they won’t see their partners for a long time.”

Chakotay’s look softened. “No, we broke up.”

“Oh.” Y/N’s heart fluttered, but she instantly felt guilty because she shouldn’t feel happy that his relationship didn’t work out.

“That night,” he said slowly, carefully, “after I left, I… I did a lot of thinking. No matter what happened with you and I, I knew I had to end things with her.”

“Oh,” Y/N repeated, unsure of what else to say.

“So I did. I broke up with her and there wasn’t anything I wanted more than to go to you and tell you how I felt.” A look of guilt passed over his features. “But it didn’t feel right. Not right after I broke up with her. So I waited to let the dust settle and see if space between you and I would change anything.” He shook his head. “But you were all I thought about, Y/N. Everything reminded me of you, but then more time passed and it just never felt right to reach out to you again. The project we’d been working on had ended and we both had new assignments… But I never stopped thinking about you.”

Y/N shifted closer. “I never stopped thinking about you, either. I felt awful for what happened. I knew it was bad, and I knew that reaching out to you so soon after would be even worse. But… but I never stopped thinking about what we could have been.”

Chakotay lifted her hand and feathered his lips to her knuckles. “It isn’t too late to find out.”

Y/N’s breath hitched. “I guess not.”

“If you want to give it a try,” Chakotay said, staring at her. “I won’t beg or force you, and I will back off immediately if you tell me to. But we’ve been given a second chance, and I… I think we could be good together.”

Y/N pulled her hand out of his and hurt flashed across his features. But then she took his face in her hands and moved closer and just before she kissed him, she saw him smile.

Tag list: @agent-catfish-kenobi, @make-me-imagine, @plaguedoctorsnake, @gatefleet, @shadyfirecollector, @space-helen, @thisismysecrethappyplace - I apologize if the tag list is incorrect, it's been a while lol

[kosmos2999]

In what ways did William Shatner's portrayal of Captain James T. Kirk differ from the way the character was originally written?

You really have to look at the difference between Captain Christopher Pike (portrayed by Jeff Hunter in the first Star Trek pilot, “The Cage”) and Captain James Kirk (portrayed by William Shatner in the second Star Trek pilot, “Where No Man Has Gone Before”) to see the evolution of the Captain in Star Trek.

As originally written, the Captain of the USS Enterprise was a rather dark, tormented man who was already thinking of resigning his Starfleet commission (in the pilot episode) because he was fed-up with the demands of leadership. That was Jeff Hunter’s portrayal of Christopher Pike.

^^^ Jeff Hunter’s Captain Pike appeared as almost a reluctant commander. He was introspective and self-doubting and mostly humorless, and he didn’t want the responsibility of issuing life-or-death orders and leading others into deadly situations.

He didn’t like women on the bridge, either, except for his First Officer Number One (because she had no obvious feminine personality).

Pike was also aggressive. He barked most of his lines, he glared a lot, and he was even violently intimidating (choking a frightened and physically-frail Talosian, for example, and directly threatening to burn a hole through the alien at close range).

^^^ If looks could kill, right. No wonder the Talosians concluded that humans were "too violent and dangerous a species for our needs.”

NBC rejected the first Star Trek pilot for several reasons, including Jeff Hunter’s Christopher Pike, who was considered too intense, angry and not very likable. Gee, wonder why?

Could it be because Jeff Hunter’s controlling wife was often on the set, badgering Hunter as well as the producer and director? That probably made Hunter’s job many times more difficult, and I think it showed in his performance.

When NBC requested a second Star Trek pilot, it was decided to rewrite some characters and do away with others. For example, First Officer Number One was entirely removed from the script; Spock was promoted to First Officer as well as Science Officer; Doctor Boyce (Ship’s Physician and bartender) was also eliminated from the script and replaced with a more down-to-earth country doctor (this was Doctor Piper, who quickly evolved into Doctor McCoy); and Christopher Pike was to be rewritten as a kinder, gentler, more likable Captain.

However, there was a contractual problem, inasmuch as Jeff Hunter had signed to do only one pilot and a series (if NBC bought it)…but he didn’t sign to do two pilots and a series. Gene Roddenberry and Desilu Studios really wanted Jeff Hunter to continue working on the show, but they knew they’d have to cajole Hunter (and his overbearing wife) into signing for a second pilot.

So, Roddenberry called Jeff Hunter in for a post-rejection screening of The Cage to discuss character revisions and signing another contract for another pilot. This is where it got messy.

Desilu production head Herbert Solow was at the screening and described it best:

“In the eyes of the New York and Los Angeles television world, Star Trek was already a failure. But we knew differently and looked forward to running the completed pilot for our star, Jeff Hunter. We hoped it would convince him to do another pilot. Gene and I waited in the Desilu projection room for him to arrive. He never did. Arriving in his stead was actress Sandy Bartlett, Mrs. Jeff Hunter. We traded hellos, and I nodded to Gene. He flicked the projection booth intercom switch. ‘Let's go.’

“As the end credits rolled, and the lights came up, Jeff Hunter's wife gave us our answer: ‘This is not the kind of show Jeff wants to do, and besides, it wouldn't be good for his career. Jeff Hunter is a movie star.’ Mrs. Hunter was very polite and very firm. She said her good-byes and left, having surprisingly and swiftly removed our star from our new pilot.”

–Herb Solow, Inside Star Trek: The Real Story

So, Jeff Hunter just vanished from Star Trek. He wasn’t fired, as some claimed…he quit. Or, more precisely, his beast of a wife quit for him. Two years later (1967), after Star Trek was a success, Jeff Hunter divorced his wife.

As it happened, there was another actor invited to that same screening (quietly taking notes), and that actor was Bill Shatner, who was waiting in the wings when Jeff Hunter opted out.

Thus entered the new Captain of the Enterprise, James R. Kirk.

^^^ Yep, he was actually named James R. Kirk in his first Star Trek appearance: It says so on his tombstone in “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” the second Star Trek pilot.

Shatner’s Kirk was basically just the opposite of Hunter’s Pike. Captain Kirk was thoughtful but not deeply introspective; he was not tormented but was supremely confident and never self-doubting; he loved his ship and crew, but was willing to take life-or-death risks with both; he was perfectly comfortable with women on the bridge (or just women in general); and he could be humorous, if a little irritating.

^^^ Captain Kirk was a more likable, humorous and confident alternative to Christopher Pike.

Captain Kirk, unlike Captain Pike, was always a ready negotiator, offering an olive branch first and only turning to violence as a last resort; indeed, even in violent scenes, Kirk was typically defending himself.

In short, Shatner portrayed Kirk as a role model for kids. Shatner fully realized that Star Trek was a kids’ show, first and foremost, so he played a kid’s idea of a starship captain…and nailed it.

It became apparent from the second pilot onward that Kirk’s human warmth was a perfect balance for Spock’s icy Vulcan logic (which evolved as the first season of Star Trek progressed). Their dynamic became pure gold for the series and the movie franchise.

^^^ DeForest Kelley’s emotional and quick-tempered Doctor McCoy assumed the role of a counter-character playing against Spock, while Kirk became the reasonable middle-man between the two, and so was born the legendary trio.

By Charles Austin Miller, Investigative Journalist and Publisher.

Found at Quora: