Doodling
by Starsinger
Scotty's doodling again. This time, it's a future Enterprise. One that's many, many years from being built, but he can dream, can't he? Don't own them.
Scotty was in the Rec Room, and he was doodling. His doodling occasionally brought out some insanely crazy ideas, the last time he doodled, he redesigned the replicators to spit out half decent coffee. Another time he doodled, McCoy ended up with a fork stuck up his nose. It wasn't Kirk's fault that time, he was on-duty on the bridge, nowhere near the dishwasher when it…oh, never mind. Yet another time he doodled, Admiral Archer's dog disappeared.
This time his doodling was a fresh new looking starship that he dubbed "Enterprise". It was a thing of beauty. The sleek saucer section sloped downwards into a semi-flat surface that rose gracefully into its warp nacelles. The nacelles weren't set up high from the back to give it better propulsion. It was also five times the size of the current Enterprise. Further sketches showed the saucer section separating from the rest of the ship. "Why would you need to do that?" Kirk asked.
"Tis a long range vessel, Jim. She'll be taking families wi' her! When in a dire situation, the families and most of the crew will go into the saucer section where it separates and the remaining section is commanded from a battle bridge. A skeleton crew can run this second part, allowing the saucer section to get away while the rest o' the ship turns to fight whatever menace it faces!"
Kirk shook his head but watched as a shuttle bay came to life. It was enormous, "Wait, a force field that allows shuttles to enter and exit with people in the bay and not having to leave!"
"Tis possible, Captain, just not wi' our current technology." He flipped to another page, "This, ah this, tis a thing o' beauty. Tis the holodeck!" He laid out the plans in front of them deck-by-deck. Classrooms, an arboretum, transporter room, a Sickbay McCoy would drool over, and the engine room, "Allows them to run simulations and close off compartments as needed." He turned over the sketchpad to reveal the bridge. This one was horseshoe shaped. Science and Engineering in the back, tactical built into a long wooden rail that sloped down to the ground where three seats sat in front. "The middle seat is the Captain's, to his left would be his First Officer's, and to his right, whoever needs to sit there."
Scotty could already see Jim drooling. "Warp 9.5 maximum sustained speed?"
"Aye, we'd need a better matrix than the dilithium crystals, though. They're far too fragile," Scotty continued to wax enthusiastic about the design for the rest of the day.
Eighty years later, USS Enterprise NCC 1701-D
Kirk and McCoy stood on the bridge of the Enterprise. They looked around, seeing Scotty's vision come to life. Although the Klingon staring at them was a little disconcerting. "I still say Scotty should have come with us," Bones muttered. Jim laughed as he ran his hands over the Engineering console. A man with gold-tinted skin and yellow eyes escorted them into the turbolift. He showed them Sickbay, Engineering, and even the Holodeck.
"She's a good looking ship, Mr. Data," McCoy commented. "Got the right name, Enterprise." Kirk agreed, even after learning Data was an android. He silently wondered how he would learn and grow. "Treat her like a lady, and she'll always bring you home."