Captain's log, stardate 91264.0126 a strange, red, oblong object appeared in the cargo hold, we are currently investigating.
"I'm detecting life signs," Said my chief medical officer, William O'Loughlin , "but not a type that I recognize."
"I think I do." I Said.
"Captain," Said the voice of my communications officer Jack Phillips, "there's a hail coming in from the Britannic."
"Tell them I'm on my way, I'll take it in my ready room." I Said.
"Did a thing appear in your cargo bay?" Asked Damingo, my best friend and fellow Homo Classis.
"Yes, and I think I know what it is." I replied.
"What is it?" Asked Tray, another friend and Homo Classis.
"I'd have to check," I Said, "but it may be a dragon egg."
"But dragons don't exist." said Israel, the final member of the Homo Classis.
"Neither did aliens until we became the Elemental Heroes." I said.
"Good point, but hurry up and get conformation, the sooner the better." replied Israel.
"Computer, load "Eragon" chapter one." I said.
"Program complete, enter when ready." replied the computer. Upon entering the holodeck my clothes changed to a simple undershirt and tanned leather jerkin, I had a bow in my hand. I knocked an arrow, aiming at a herd of deer grazing in a clearing that I am hunting. Suddenly there was a bright flash of white light accompanied by an explosion that knocked the wind out of me and scared the deer away. When I recovered there was a circle of blackened grass in the middle of the clearing. In the middle of the blackened circle there was an object identical to the one in the cargo bay, except this one is blue.
"Computer, end program," I said, "Phillips, hail the Britannic, Carpathia, and Lusitania, they are dragon eggs." I returned to the cargo bay, the other people who were there had left and the egg started rocking back and fourth. "Me, why me?" I asked. The egg exploded, sending red shards all over the cargo bay, in its place there was a little red dragon. The dragon sat calmly in the middle of the cargo bay as if nothing were strange about his surroundings. I walked over to it and touched it on the snout and felt a sensation I can only describe as my blood freezing and then boiling in rapid succession. When I woke up I felt a presence in my mind, a hungry presence. I carried my new dragon to the galley and surprised chef Joughin.
"What is that?" Asked the chef.
"A dragon, what's it look like?" I replied.
"Wha- how, why?" the chef couldn't seem to articulate his question.
"I need some raw meat to feed it, I can only replicate cooked steaks." I said, he found the meat and gave it to me, still in a stupor.
"Captain, there's a hail coming in, code Classis." said Phillips.
"I'll be right there, and don't freak out." I said.
"Okay sir." replied Phillips, puzzled. When I arrived on the bridge everyone there stared at the creature in my arms.
"Activate the viewscreen." I said. Murdoch hit the command, looking scared.
"Ah, I see your's hatched too." said Damingo, holding up a blue dragon hatchling that was a little smaller than mine. In the background, I had to smile Damingo's weapons officer's look of sheer terror.
"Have everyone's dragons hatched?" I Asked.
"Yeah." said Tray holding up a brown hatchling.
"Yup." said Israel, holding up a white one.
"Sir," said our communications officers at the same time, "Hail coming in from Earth."
"Onscreen." we said. An image of the vulcan admiral T'era appeared on the viewscreen alongside those of the Homo Classis.
"Homo Classis, I see you've gotten my packages." said T'era.
"Wait, what?" I said, confused. T'era pulled a blue sword with a sapphire in the hilt from under his desk.
"You're not!" I said.
"Oh, but I am." replied T'era.
"What, he's not, but is what!?" Exclaimed Tray.
"Eragon Shadeslayer." I said.
"Who?" Asked Israel.
"Go look for the Inheritance cycle in your ship's holonovel library," replied Eragon, "I put them in every library on every Starfleet ship, as the first required reading material for new riders."
"That could take a while." I said.
"I understand that, by the time you're done your dragons would be big enough to ride." replied Eragon.
"But where will they stay, they can't stay here, they'd take up the whole cargo bay once fully grown." replied Damingo.
"Yes, I know that, they'll stay with Saphira on Earth." said Eragon.
"Wouldn't people notice?" Asked Tray.
"Yes, and the people of earth have already been educated about dragons in the form of reading from the Inheritance cycle in school." replied Eragon.
"We never read that series, even when it was brand new." said Israel.
"I have." I said.
"Okay, most of us have never read the series." said Israel.
"Well, get to it," said Eragon, "I'll pull you back to Federation space so you won't be interrupted."
"What about me?" I Asked.
"I don't know, reread the series, maybe?" said Eragon.
"I would like my crew to join me." I said.
"You'll be in Federation space, you'll be safe." replied Eragon. The years passed and our crews learned how to be riders while our dragons were taught about the dynamics of flight and what types of air currents to avoid. When everyone was ready, we were recalled to Earth where our ships would be mothballed, but maintained, they would be back when we had learned everything we needed to learn to be affective riders. another year passed before we were prepared for our "graduation" from student to rider. "Time to get you your swords." said Eragon.
"But how is that possible?" I Asked, "Brightsteel is a fictional material."
"The structure of the metal in my sword is stored in the replicator." said Eragon.
"So all we've got to do is forge it into swords." I said.
"But how can we do that?" Asked Damingo.
"I've got that covered," I said, "follow me." We took a shuttlecraft out into the Pacific and I jumped from the hatch into the water.
"Captain Spriggs!" cried Eragon as I plummeted toward the water. When I hit the water, it was painful, but the shuttlecraft wasn't that high in the air. I used my phone that I had kept from my childhood to take the form of the Titanic, my powers had increased greatly since I raised it from the bottom of the Atlantic in 2063, shortly before the flight of the phoenix, and rebuilt it, continuously upgrading it into the starship that it is today. After my transformation was complete I gave the command that caused the old RMS Titanic to take shape around me, returning me to my normal human form. The ship broke the surface and nearly knocked the shuttle out of the sky.
"Wha-"said Eragon.
"We can turn into 20th century steamships," said Damingo, "I thought you would know about that, being an admiral and all."
"I knew you had that ability, but I didn't know you could also manifest the ships themselves." said Eragon.
"Why do you think we're called Homo Classis." said Tray.
"Just wait," said Israel, " you ain't seen nothin' yet." In order for the boilers of the Titanic to be hot enough, I had to enter one more command that would upgrade the ship into the Titanic 2. The ship's hull turned completely red and world war two style gun turrets appeared on the deck, it had done that ever since I went crazy and tried to take over the world, then regained my sanity and had to stop Damingo, Tray, and Israel from killing each other.
"And I'm the admiral why!?" Exclaimed Eragon.
"The rest of the Admiralty doesn't know either!" I shouted down from the forward well deck. I dropped a rope ladder and allowed Eragon and the others to climb aboard. "Follow me to the boiler room." I said.
"Why?" Asked Eragon.
"You needed a forge, this ship has 29 of them." I replied. On the way to the boiler room we passed the engine room. "Oh yeah," I said, "I've gotta vent the steam, be right back." I turned a large wheel like those on the inside of submarine hatches and heard the far off whooshing sound of steam being vented through the whistles on the smokestacks. We continued on to the boiler room.
"Who has the hammer and such?" Asked Damingo.
"Oh, that is a problem." said Eragon.
"You didn't bring forging tools!" I exclaimed.
"Can't you replicate them?" Asked Eragon.
"This isn't a modern ship," I said, "this is a pre world war one steamship."
"T'era to Starfleet command." said Eragon.
"Starfleet command here." came a voice through Eragon's combadge.
"I need you to send a hammer, anvil, and tongs to my coordinates." replied Eragon.
"Sir?" said the voice.
"I need them to forge some swords for our oldest captains." said Eragon.
"Okay sir…" said the voice. a few minutes later Eragon's combadge beeped again.
"T'era." said Eragon.
"We're over your location sir, but there is a ship that looks similar to the 20th century steamship RMS Titanic except it's red and it has world war two era gun turrets on it and its venting steam." said the voice.
"Yes, I realize that," said Eragon, "I'm in the boiler room."
"Why?" Asked the voice.
"It's the closest thing to a forge we've got." said Eragon, sounding annoyed.
"Okay sir, may I come aboard?" Asked the voice.
"I don't know, hail captain Spriggs of the USS Titanic." replied Eragon. My combadge beeped.
"Captain Spriggs." I said.
"May I come aboard, sir?" Asked the voice, "I've alway been curious about that ship."
"Sure, beam directly to my location with the forging supplies." I replied. a few moments later a man about twenty years old beamed down with a hammer, anvil, and tongs next to him.
"Lieutenant Walter Lord reporting sir!" he said snapping to attention.
"Welcome aboard Lieutenant Lord." I said.
"Okay," said Eragon, "let's get to work." As Eragon forged our swords we sang the spells sung for every previous rider's sword, they strengthen the white hot metal, more than any wards against breaking could do to a finished sword, they also protect it from magic. once the swords were forged they were heat treated with different compounds to change their colors to that of our dragons. Eragon added gems of the same colors to the hilts of our swords. "Now that the swords are finished, we must name them." said Eragon.
"How about istalri, flame." I said.
"I like thringa, rain." said Damingo.
"I think stenr, stone, would be a fitting name." said Tray.
"I'm partial to vindr, wind." said Israel. Eragon emblazoned the glyphs for these words on our swords and the sheaths he had made for them.