#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

[tinynerdz360]

Future Ghost Chapter 11 New Mission

Krik sat in his office waiting for an important call from command.

Kirk's computer terminal beeped with an urgent hail from Starfleet Command. He tapped the screen to accept the call. Admiral Nogura's stern face appeared, his brow furrowed.

"Captain Kirk, we need to discuss your report on the stowaway...this time traveler, Danny Fenton," the Admiral said, his tone clipped.

Kirk tensed. He had a feeling this conversation was coming, but he wasn't looking forward to it. "Yes, Admiral, I’ve made a detailed report on him. What else would you like to know?"

Nogura leaned forward, staring intently through the screen. "Is there any possible connection between this boy and the disappearance of Amity? Ensign Gray brought us concerning findings about unusual energy signatures at the crater site. But damn it, Kirk, we've lost so much data from the wars. It's beyond frustrating." The admiral shook his head wearily. “What baffles me is that nobody, and I mean nobody noticed a whole city was gone. All these decades, not a mention of it.”

Kirk blinked in surprise, not expecting that to be the first topic at hand. It looks like Chekov’s friend had gone to Starfleet with her findings. Kirk chose his words carefully. "At this point, we haven’t asked him about it. We had some concerns about his ability to handle such news. He’s already stranded in time. We’re giving him more time before we break the news to him. But as far as we can tell, we don't have evidence directly linking Danny to Amity's disappearance.” However, Kirk knew more than he was letting on. The boy's abilities, his true nature...but Kirk needed to protect him.

"Our scientists have been studying the site and noticed some unusual phenomena." The admiral's eyes narrowed. "For one, there's a distinct lack of signs of weapon use. No residual energy signatures, no debris patterns consistent with known weaponry."

Kirk nodded. "That is strange. Have the scientists there found anything, maybe in historical documents?"

The admiral shook his head, frustration evident in his tone. "That's the problem, Kirk. With so much data lost during the wars, we can't even pinpoint exactly when the city vanished. It could have been at the beginning, in the middle, or even after the conflicts ended."

Kirk's fingers drummed on the armrest of his chair, a nervous habit he'd never quite been able to shake. "What about the crater itself? Anything unusual there?"

"Yes, and it's deeply concerning." The admiral's image flickered, the transmission wavering momentarily before stabilizing. "The crater is in a state of stasis, almost as if time itself has stopped within its boundaries. The soil remains barren, no signs of life or growth. It's as if the very essence of the place has been drained away."

Kirk tapped his chin in thought. “Maybe these energy beings from this Zone Danny mentioned have something to do with it?”

The admiral's expression turned grave. "It's a possibility.”

Kirk's thoughts turned to the enigmatic teenager under his command.

"There's something else, Kirk." The admiral's voice jolted him back to the present. "The energy interference around the crater is playing havoc with our equipment. Sensors malfunction, scanners give false readings. And some of our scientists...they've been affected too."

Kirk sat up straighter, alarm bells ringing in his head. "Affected how?"

"It's like they're in a trance. They keep leaving the site, drawn away by some unseen force. We've had to establish a quarantine zone just to keep them contained. Once they're far from the crater, they return to normal with no memory of the place."

Kirk met the admiral's gaze, determination etched into every line of his face. "I'll get to the bottom of this, Admiral. You have my word."

The admiral nodded, his expression softening just a fraction. "I know you will, Kirk. But be careful. We're dealing with forces beyond our understanding. Tread lightly and keep a close eye on that boy."

"Oh, and Kirk," the admiral's voice cut through Kirk's musings, drawing his attention back to the matter at hand. "There's another situation that requires your immediate attention."

Kirk straightened in his seat, his eyes sharp and focused. "Go ahead, Admiral."

The admiral's face was grave, the lines around his mouth and eyes deepening with concern. "We've lost contact with the science vessel USS Hades. They were studying a newly discovered planet, one with the ruins of a long-dead alien civilization."

Kirk frowned, a sense of unease settling in his gut. "Lost contact? For how long?"

"Nearly 48 hours now," the admiral replied, his voice tight. "Their last transmission mentioned a distress call from the planet's surface, but we haven't been able to raise them since."

Kirk's mind raced with possibilities, each more unsettling than the last. A distress call from an unknown planet, a science team gone silent... it had all the makings of a mystery and a dangerous one at that.

"We'll investigate immediately, Admiral," Kirk said, his voice firm and resolute. "I'll have my crew prepare for departure within the hour."

The admiral nodded, a flicker of relief crossing his face. "Good. But Kirk... be careful. We don't know what you'll find down there."

Kirk's jaw tightened, his eyes hardening with determination. "We'll take every precaution, Admiral. But we will get to the bottom of this.

Kirk stood from his chair, straightening his uniform as he moved towards the door. The conversation with Admiral Nogura played over in his mind, the weight of his responsibility as captain pressing down on his shoulders. He had to ensure the safety of his crew, but he also felt a strong need to protect Danny, the mysterious teenager with abilities beyond anything he'd encountered before.

Kirk called his senior officers in for a meeting about their next mission.

Kirk turned to his senior officers, his expression grave. "We have a situation," he began, his voice carrying the weight of command. "The USS Hades has gone silent. They were studying ruins on a newly discovered planet when they sent out a distress call. Our orders are to investigate and render assistance."

Uhura's eyes widened, concern etched on her face. "A distress call? What could have happened?"

"Unknown," Kirk replied, his brow furrowed. "But we'll find out. Spock, I want you to coordinate with the science department. Gather all available data on that planet and the Hades' mission."

Spock nodded, already mentally compiling the necessary information. "Understood, Captain."

Kirk's gaze shifted to Scotty, the ship's chief engineer. "Scotty, I need the Enterprise ready for anything. Make sure all systems are at peak performance."

Scotty grinned a glint of excitement in his eyes. "Aye, Captain. She'll be purring like a kitten."

Kirk allowed a small smile before his expression turned serious once more. "There's one more thing," he said, his voice low. "The admiral has concerns about our young stowaway, Danny. He wants us to keep a close eye on him and report any unusual behavior."

McCoy frowned, his protective instincts flaring. "Jim, the kid hasn’t done anything wrong. We can't treat him like a suspect."

Kirk held up a hand, his eyes understanding but firm. "I know, Bones. But we have our orders. We'll handle this delicately, but we need to be vigilant."

As the meeting adjourned, Kirk's thoughts turned to Danny. The boy was an enigma, his abilities both fascinating and potentially dangerous. Kirk knew he would have to tread carefully, balancing his duty to Starfleet with his instinct to protect the young hybrid.

The crew bustled with activity as they prepared for the mission, a sense of urgency and anticipation filling the air. In the science labs, Spock and his team pored over the limited data on the mysterious planet, searching for any clues that might shed light on the Hades fate.

And on the bridge, Kirk sat in his command chair, his eyes fixed on the viewscreen as the stars streaked past. 

Chapter 12

[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.’  

[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.

[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. 🥰

[startreksetplans]

N3r0 - Project Shinzon

[Non-Canon AU idea]

The Romulan infiltration unit set up Project Shinzon (named after an ancient Romulan God of Deception) - an attempt to replace the entire Starfleet command structure with clones.

Amongst them was unit N3R0

Each clone was "flash" grown - accelerated with the risk of premature ageing.

All clones were programmed with a fanatical loyalty to the Romulan people, advanced tactics & subterfuge, personal information, and their target brain patterns (obtained surreptitiously)

The first batch included many Admirals and fleet Captains. However the initial programming proved to be unstable.

Certain admirals made terrible decisions that immediately ended their careers. Fortunately no one discovered they were clones.

The next batches had far better programming.

So called "Mad Admirals" were a waste of the program - it was a miracle their cover had not been blown.

Although the later batches proved faultless, the highest levels of the Romulan State gave its order - Project Shinzon and all the clones must be liquidated

All project records, facilities, personnel and clones were all destroyed. Nothing escaped the purge...

Except for clone N3R0, the latest and most advanced of all the clones. Following his escape, and a little plastic surgery, he blended into the population and vanished.

Now going by the name "Nero" (a name from one of the smaller equatorial continents), he became a rising star in first local than national politics. His debating and diplomacy skills were second to none. Those opponents he could not win over, were taken out with "natural causes".

Soon Nero had ascended to the highest office of all - Praetor. His enemies defeated, his future secured.

But clones cannot last forever and a significant amount of material and fluids from his originator was needed to extend his life. Picard must be lured to Romulus.

After the Cardassian Incident, Starfleet was much more wary of sending Picard on missions beyond the Enterprise.

So a scenario must be created for Picard and the Enterprise to come to Romulus. Entry to the Federation.

For this to be feasible, Romulus had to change. The people's dissatisfaction with the old guard's handling of the Dominion had allowed Nero to remove them all and replace them with younger idealistic senators.

A great many reforms made the Empire more palatable to the Federation

Even the underground Logic movement was welcomed into the light - there would be no more persecutions under the benevolent Nero.

The Tal Shiar was seemingly disbanded for "a government should not fear its own people", but they were instead secretly redeployed to a hidden fleet.

Senators were sent to the federation to begin the talks.

With the subterfuge in place, Picard was chosen as the envoy - the only Starfleet officer and diplomat with any real experience of Romulus itself.

The Enterprise D ( newly refitted after Veridian III ) was dispatched.

The trap was sprung, but failed to ensnare Picard for he had allies on Romulus - Spock and his Logicians

Nero was exposed as a clone - a most heinous of things to the Romulan people and fled aboard his flagship. Oddly his anger was focused only on Spock, not Picard his double.

Years later when Spock tried to save Romulus from the warp accelerated supernova, Nero returned.

He blamed Spock for tipping the balance in favour of his equal Picard, and sought to destroy Spock's ship.

Nero did not know of Spock's mission, and so Romulus was destroyed.

Fortunately all the Romulans had evacuated, as the government founded by Nero was more than willing to listen to Spock's warnings. Also as members of the Federation, all Federation worlds sent ships to assist.

Nero’s mind snapped into pure rage at the loss of Romulus - his preprogrammed love of the world was at the very core of his being.

Spock's Red Matter device created a spatial rift that consumed the energy of the supernova wavefront, and saved the other worlds of the Romulan Free State.

Nero's pursuit of Spock would drive them both into the Rift.

The USS Kelvin, commanded by Commodore George Kirk, encounters a spatial rift from which emerges a massive ship with spike blades extended.

The old ship is no match for the 24th Century powerhouse.

Nero vows that just as the twin worlds of Romulus have been destroyed, so too will the twin worlds of Spock - Vulcan and Earth.

Now the Enterprise, captained by Christopher Pike must engage this foe from the future.

Though the newly promoted first officer Jim Kirk is still reeling from the news of the loss of his father.

Kirk can only turn to the third in command, science officer Spock for help.

Cue opening titles

[cdr2002]

So I thought it would be fun to share some character write ups to give myself a mental idea of backstory and personality outlines going into my Trek fanfic project, the Mirror Revolution Saga, which includes my currently published and starting out fic, Star Trek Fixing the Mirror.

Obviously this project requires creating completely original mirror personas for a variety of characters never seen or very minimally characterized on screen, and I’ve quite enjoyed the challenge.

To start out, here’s one:

Nyota Uhura

ISS Enterprise communications officer turned revolutionary. Formerly believing herself to be nearly powerless within the structure of the Empire, she is inspired by Spock’s vision of a world of compassion and the fortitude of her prime universe counterpart (observed via security footage) to fight for a better future.

In her position, she has been privy to many grisly details of the operations of the ISS Enterprise: casualty reports, horrifying orders from Imperial Command, including the extermination of entire worlds. Though she has done her duty, else face death herself, Uhura despises all of the bloodshed and wishes to bring about a society where people care more than they kill. In addition, her studies of xenolinguistics have afforded her a unique outlook on alien life: seeing them as new cultures to experience and interact with, rather than to be conquered.

Later finding out that the shuttle accident which killed her parents was orchestrated by Imperial agents to silence their pro-intellectual anti-xenophobia views has only strengthened her resolve to see the entire system come down, even if it means disappointing her grandmother, a veteran of the Imperial Starfleet. A small price to pay for the liberation of billions.

[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.