The following is a non-profit, fan work based off the respective works Gene Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Brannon Braga

All rights belong to the original creators, CBS, and Paramount

The Bluefire Phoenix presents...

Enterprise Prime
Episode 1: First Star on the Right… Part 1

Act I

Jonathan Archer's Personal Log, 18 January 2151: After ten years of development, Starfleet is little over a year away from unveiling its greatest success so far: the NX project. We've been working overtime to get everything ready to go for the Enterprise's maiden voyage. Spirits are still high at headquarters.

Most of us captains have been eagerly awaiting to see who will be awarded the monumental command of Enterprise. The simulation rooms have been booked solid for months now. Unfortunately I haven't had much time with them, thanks in part to the start of the spring semester. I still plan on getting my command one day. Until then I'll continue my work at the Academy.

The city of San Francisco was starting to stir in the early morning sun. Starfleet Academy and Headquarters was filling up cadets and staff going about their morning schedule. Several fresh faced cadets entered a large auditorium. On the stage was Captain Jonathan Archer dressed in his dark purple Starfleet uniform, lined with a yellow stripe around the shoulders and four silver pips proudly adorned on its chest. A pleasant smile greeted the cadets. His brown hair was meticulously combed.

A pleasant electronic bell chimed and the room went silent. Archer straightened out his uniform. He stepped up to the podium. "Good morning ladies and gentleman, welcome to Stellar Cartography one-oh-one," Archer cheerfully greeted. He took the remote off the podium and hit the power button. A projector lowered from the ceiling.

"For some of you this is an elective or something you are just trying to get out of the way. That's fine, but don't think that this is a blow off class," Archer declared. He gave the remote another click. The room dimmed and projector produced around three dozen white spheres above the students. The spheres came in a variety of sized and distance from one another.

The students looked up at them in slight confusion. "Can anyone tell me what this is?" Archer asked the class.

Some murmurs erupted but nothing substantial came of it. Archer took out a laser pointer and aimed the beam at the sphere closest to the center of the cluster. "I'll give you a hint: we are here, near the center of this sphere," he said. The mummers that followed pleased Archer a little more. "I think I heard it. This is a scale model representing every recorded solar system a human being has ever visited, a scant thirty-four in total. Any helmsmen or captain worth their salt will have this chart memorized."

Archer pushed another button. Fourteen of the spheres turned blue. "And anyone who values getting back to civilization will know this one well," he said. "These are the systems with a human colony in it." The captain hit another button and the spheres shrunk and hundreds of other spheres appeared. It formed a massive cluster.

"For scale, this is a model of our local cluster. So hopefully, you now realize how little we've actually explored," Archer added.

The class went well and after the last of the cadets left, Archer went out to a series of hangers situated near an air field not far from the academy. He stopped at one whose doors were parted open. The inside was illumined by the midmorning sun.

The captain walked to a desk near the center of the hanger. On it was dozens of scraps of paper, each filled with equations, star charts, and notes. The only other memorabilia on the desk was pair of charred work gloves near the edge of the desk.

The hanger hosted the disabled shell of a warp core. Various parts and tools were strewn all over the place. A pair of legs dressed in a Starfleet uniform stuck out from underneath the core. Archer walked over to the core and leaned on.

"You know boss-man, it this thing were alive you'd be a crisp little tender right about now," the man said, his voice muffled. He curled his legs up and started to crawl out from under the core.

Commander Trip Tucker stood up and dusted off his uniform; his shoulder stripe was red and had three pips on his chest. He walked over to Archer. His dark blond hair was a bit unkempt. A large smile was draped over his sweat covered face.

"And what about you?" Archer countered.

"Oh I reckon I'd be nothing more than black dust," Tucker said. His voice was line with a thick southern drawl. He laughed a little. Archer shook his head and went over to his desk. He sat down in the chair, eyes wearily going over the pages.

Tucker leaned forward on the desk and raised his hand in front of Archer's face. He snapped his fingers a couple of times causing Archer to recoil back into his chair.

"Hey boss-man, don't get lost in there," Tucker said. Archer rubbed his forehead.

"Sorry Trip. It's…well there is just so much to do here," Archer mumbled. He looked over his work and frowned. Trip was interrupted by the chirping of the captain's communicator. Archer flipped it open and answered.

"Archer here," he said in a much clearer voice.

"This is Admiral Forrest," a man bluntly greeted over the communicator. Archer reflexively straightened up. Trip cocked an eyebrow.

"Good to hear from you, Admiral. It's been too long," Archer said.

"Are you alone?" Forrest bluntly asked. Archer looked to Trip. The commander gave a half-hearted shrug.

"No sir, Commander Tucker is with me," Archer answered.

Forrest sighed. "Of course he is. Fine, both of your current duties are suspended and you are to report to the Cape Canaveral Base ASAP," the admiral ordered. Archer shot a confused look at Tucker.

"Sir?" Archer asked.

"You are not to speak a word of this to anyone. Failure to comply with these orders will result in an immediate dishonorable discharge from Starfleet."

The line went dead. Archer scratched his head. Tucker locked his finger together and sucked his teeth. Archer's communicator chirped again. The men exchanged a weary glance. The captain hit the answer button. "Archer here," the captain said again.

"Sir there is a Shuttlepod that just landed here and is saying it is for you and Commander Tucker," an uncertain comm officer reported.

"Thank you, Lieutenant," Archer said. He closed his communicator.

Tucker gave a sharp whistle. "It's not like high command to be so…I don't know: jumpy," he commented.

Archer clipped his communicator to his belt and stood up. "I don't care for it myself Trip, but we better not keep the admiral waiting," he said.

The men exited the hanger, locking the door behind them. They walked down to the transport hub. A single Shuttlepod was there. Two guards red striped uniforms were standing by it. They had two pips on their chests and a Phase Pistol holstered on their hips.

They saluted Archer and Tucker. Archer saluted back. One of the guards suspiciously eyed Tucker for a moment. She nodded in approval. "Sir, you will take this unit straight to the Cape Canaveral Base. Do not stop for any reason," the other guard said.

"Will do," Archer said. The men boarded the Shuttlepod. Tucker took the pilot seat and began powering it up. Archer rubbed his cheekbone with his thumb.

Tucker froze mid-manipulation. "What's wrong?" Archer asked as he took the co-pilot seat.

"Well captain, there is no auto-pilot," Trip reported.

"You mean no auto-pilot route?" Archer attempted to correct.

"No sir, the auto-pilot is gone. Not off or disabled, just gone," Trip blabbered.

Archer cocked his head to the side. "Care to switch seats?" he nervously asked.

"Nah, I can do it."

"Are you sure? I mean really sure."

Trip raised a finger to the captain without looking away from the controls. "A captain should never have to pilot when there is a subordinate around," Trip insisted over the roar of the engines. "Besides I could use the flight time." The craft shuttered a bit as he lifted off the ground. Archer took a quick, anxious look around the controls. He double checked his seat belt.

The Shuttlepod skipped over the clear skies of the southern lands of the United States. It began to lower its trajectory. On the ground below a massive concrete complex of runways, platforms, and bunkers was interspersed with various hangers and warehouses.

"Shuttlepod Twenty-two Alpha, you are clear to land on pad seven," the comm officer at the Cape Canaveral Base said over the radio.

"Copy that, Canaveral Base. ETA two minutes, standby," Tucker said. He released the talk button just as the shuttle pod was buffeted by turbulence. Archer looked over to his pilot. The blonde haired man's brow was covered in a fresh layer sweat. His eyes were locked on the various gauges of the craft. He tightly gripped the controls. His knuckles were pale.

"You got it?" Archer asked. Trip nodded by awkwardly rocking his entire body. "Okay, take her in slowly."

"Will do boss-man," Tucker whispered. His head swiveled around, eyes locking onto the appropriate pad.

The balding Admiral Forrest was waiting at the foot of the pad. He wore a black admiral's uniform that did its best to hide how portly its wearer had become. The tie he wore under the tunic was a little off.

The two men got out of the Shuttlepod and saluted the admiral. Forest merely motioned for them to follow. It was a silent trip down to an out of the way bunker. The group made it down to the bottom of the fortification.

Outside an imposing steel door was a pair of guards. They quickly patted down Tucker and Archer then let them through. Forrest walked to the end of the chamber. He sat at the left end of a table that was already occupied by two other admirals. Two chairs were placed ominously before the admirals.

Admiral Gardner was at the center most position. He was the youngest man at the table, easily in his mid-fifties. His green eyes wearily shifted between the two subordinate officers from underneath lightly thinned brown hair. A remote was sitting on the table near his left hand.

To Gardner's left was Admiral Douglas, who appeared slightly older than the other two admirals. He was still in excellent shape. His silver hair was cut extremely short. Douglas kept his hands locked and set on the table.

Archer hesitantly sat on one of the chairs in front of the table. Tucker quickly followed suit. The door sealed shut. The lights dimmed.

"Captain Archer and Commander Tucker, the contents of this meeting will not leave this room. Is that clear?" Admiral Gardner ordered.

The subordinate officers nodded. Their chairs turned around and a screen lowered from the ceiling. A star map appeared on the screen. Archer's eyes quickly scanned the map, recognizing it. Tucker brushed it off.

The captain briefly brushed his upper lip with his index finger. "That's Vulcan space," Archer said.

"Yes captain, and this," Admiral Gardner said. He hit a button on the remote. Several copies of the Vulcan High Command's insignia appeared. They were fairly evenly distributed throughout the territory. Tucker lightly clenched his fist.

"Is the deployment of the Vulcan fleet a year ago," Gardner finished. He clicked another button. "This is their deployment as of last week." The icons were now concentrated on the upper edge of the screen.

"The Vulcan High Command insists that they are merely starting a large scale fleet exercise," Gardner added.

"I take it you don't believe them," Archer opined.

"We believe that their talks with the Andorian Empire over colonization rights along their shared border are starting to fail," Douglas continued.

The screen pulled up and Archer and Tucker's chairs spun back around. "If it comes to war, there is a good chance we will be targeted due to our alliance with the Vulcans. If it turns to war, the Vulcans may not be able to defend our territory as well as theirs," Douglas said. Tucker murmured something under his breath. Archer jabbed him in the ribs.

"In short captain, we are hilariously unprepared for such an outcome. That's why we've moved Enterprise's launch date up," Forrest grimly announced.

Archer straightened up at the news. "Is that wise admiral, there are so many things that could wrong with that decision. We could forget—"

"What about hilariously unprepared did you not understand, Captain? Our merchant fleet can barely fight off pirates, let alone out run them. We have seventeen extrasolar colonies and our only direct line of communication is through our ill-equipped freighters. Captain we need to get out there, otherwise this little venture of ours will be snuffed out before it even has a chance to really get going," Gardener prophesized.

Archer nodded in understanding.

Tucker crossed his arms. "What can one NX do to fend off an invading enemy exactly? They aren't what I'd call battleships, sir," he spoke up.

The admirals narrowed in on Tucker for a brief moment. "You are correct, commander. However we don't have a lot of options at the moment. Something is better than nothing at this point," Forest answered. Archer squirmed a bit in his seat.

"Your mission will remain the same, regardless of the political climate: Explore uncharted systems, build infrastructure, and defend the interests of Starfleet and humanity in general," Gardner assured the officers.

"Your, as in mine?" Archer sputtered. "Are you saying that you are giving me command of Enterprise?" Archer finally asked.

"Yes captain, we believe that you are the best fit for this posting. What say you?" Douglas asked.

"Of…of course I…I accept, sir," Archer answered. He took a deep breath. "Do—do the Vulcans know about this?"

Gardner shook his head. "Not at the moment."

"Why the deception then?" Archer followed up.

"The Vulcans have been handholding us pretty much since we developed Warp capability. We think it's time to show them we are ready to stand on our own," Forrest said. Tucker nodded in agreement with a pleased smirk.

"Alright, you have until April to pick out your officers and crew. Until then you are relieved of all other duties. The gag order will remain in place until we make the official announcement," Gardner informed. "Starfleet is at your disposable, captain."

The meeting adjourned. Forrest escorted the younger officers back to the shuttle. Archer paused at the bottom of the steps. He took a deep breath.

"Why did you choose me, sir?" Archer asked the admiral.

Forrest bit his lip a moment. "Come on, John. You are the best cartographer in Starfleet and—"

"You and I know that are far more qualified captains than me."

A small chuckle rumbled out of Forrest's throat. "You're right. I suppose you should know the truth. In the end it came down to politics. As it happens, you step on the least amount of toes," Forrest lamented.

"Is that all? I got the job simply because I happen to be convenient?"

"I'm sorry but it's the truth. As much as we'd like to believe Starfleet represents the best of humanity and its values, in reality we're nothing more than a bunch of squabbling bureaucrats looking to score a few point. Look at us John. We are a fleet without a damn fleet. I have dozens of officers squabbling to get into space but no way to get them there. That's why I am glad you're the one going. You haven't got caught up in the race. I'm sorry if that deflates the romance of it all, but Starfleet isn't about the romance," he admitted. Archer stoically saluted and boarded the craft without another word. Something twitched in the pit of his stomach.

Tucker gracelessly took off from the pad once everyone was clear. He started back to San Francisco. A quick glance at Archer brought a frown to his face.

"What's wrong? You just got a historic posting and you look like someone just shot Porthos," he said. Archer shook his head.

"It's nothing Trip," Archer muttered. He stared out the window.

"Well don't be so down then boss-man, pretty soon the two of us will be the first guys to go cruisin' through the galaxy at smooth Warp Five," Trip insisted.

Archer jokingly rolled his eyes. "What makes you think you're coming with me Commander Tucker?" he asked his pilot.

Tucker turned to Archer with an almost evil glare. "With all due respect Captain Archer, you ain't even going into orbit if I ain't there to make sure that your ship is stays in good order. Sir," Tucker declared in a snarl. Archer snorted a laugh.

"Well then, I guess that's one down. Only eighty-three to go," Archer mused as the shuttle passed over the Rocky Mountains.

To be Continued...


A/N: Prime may seem like an odd and presumptuous name for a project title. But in mathematics, a prime represents the derivative of an equation. That is the definition I'm using as is a good parallel to the goal of this project. Enterprise has a reputation for being the really bad Trek series. I can't say I disagree with that assessment. It had a lot of problems but also had some good ideas and hell even some good moments. This project will try to take out the problems and attempt to add to the good stuff.

The most obvious detriment to Enterprise is the prequel problem. Prequels present a unique challenge in terms of writing. Generally speaking, we know how a prequel is going to end. So it falls on the writer to put together a strong story in order for us to get invested in the events. See the recent Planet of the Apes films and Fate/Zero for good examples. However Enterprise could circumvent the problem prequels face, hardcore continuity. Yes the show was still bound by certain events and tech, but overall they had a very interesting opportunity to look at the early days of Starfleet. Particularly the logistics of setting up such an organization. Thus one of my first ideas was to have a Starfleet bogged down in internal politics. We can see the potential of such an organization but it is still trapped by the lesser parts of our nature.

Next are the characters. Archer in the show is...meh if we are being really nice about it. One the problems in my opinion is that when Rick and Brannon sat down to write the character they seemed to be trying to pick between Picard and Kirk, and ended up somewhere in between on a conceptual level and suck at both on a practical level. So when it came time to revise Archer, I decided to move him into a position similar to Cisco at the start of DS9. I think this allows for a more interesting chance at character development.

Then there is Tucker. They came so close to greatness but left me angry. My changes for him will be revealed with time.

One thing I did like about Enterprise is the idea of a temporal cold war. However considering that the arc went no where and I don't care much for time travel anyway, I'm just going to pass over it and work with a easy to manage arc.