Star Trek Hunter
Episode 15: A Stitch in Spacetime
Scene 10: The Sun, the Moon and All the Stars

15.10
The Sun, the Moon and All the Stars
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As the U.S.S. Hunter's Chief Operations Officer, Lt. Cmdr. Mlady had direct supervision of the Ground Operations, Flight Operations and Engineering departments. She met with the candidate for the ensign position in the Hunter's Engineering department as soon as he arrived from Earth. As final preparations were underway to ready the Hunter for departure, they met in a small conference room on Star Base Eleven – the same room where, a little more than a year ago, Rear Admiral Samantha Burton had met with then Governor Emory Ivonovic.

The new recruit was dressed in the standard red uniform. He was part Rigellian Chelna, the only evidence of which was the unusual golden color of the iris of his eyes and a slightly protruding jaw, which, combined with a thick mane of blonde-gray hair and beard, gave him a bit of a leonine look. Combined with his age and unusual height – nearly 6'6" – this gave him a stately appearance that was further enhanced by his cultured British accent.

"I will ask the obvious question," said Mlady. "Why did you decide to join Star Fleet at your age?"

"I appreciate your directness, Lieutenant Commander. It spares us at least an hour of beating about that particular bush," responded Ensign Geoffrey Horatio Alstars. "My cat died."

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"Your… cat."

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"Mittens. I was just batty about her, but she lived a good long life – 28 years. She was a very good kitty."

"You do realize that to qualify as an Ensign or higher officer rank on the U.S.S. Hunter, that you must be licensed by the Federation Tribunal to practice federation law?" Mlady asked.

"Well, it seems I am in luck. I received my license just last week," Alstars replied.

"Again, I have to ask, why?"

"I have filed an age discrimination complaint against Star Fleet. I joined because I wanted to see the stars – not sit around a recruiting station in Oxford talking to students. I was a math professor for 50 years. I've already talked to all the snot-nosed Oxford students I ever wanted to. But just because I'm 78 years old, Star Fleet refuses to transfer me from Star Fleet Personnel to Space Command. I meet and exceed all of the physical and psychological requirements based on my age and species. I want off that crowded planet and they couldn't even take me out of Oxford."

"I am not offering to transfer you to Star Fleet Space Command, Ensign. Would you settle for the Office of Judge Advocate General?" Mlady asked.

"If it will get me out of Oxford," Alstars replied.

"You will have to drop your lawsuit…"

"Well, being assigned to serve on an actual space vessel that is actually serving in actual non-terrestrial space would rather cut the legs out from under my legal argument, wouldn't it?"

Mlady stood up. Even standing, she was not as tall as the elderly ensign seated across the table from her. "One thing I should warn you about serving on the U.S.S. Hunter, Ensign: It is not a deep space exploration vessel. Hunter is a patrol craft and most of it is rather cramped. Not optimal for tall people. The only areas where you would be able to stand up straight would be your sleeping/escape pod, medical, deck 8, the running track on deck 5 and main engineering deck – which is where you would spend most of your time."

Ensign Geoffrey Horatio Alstars thought about it for a few minutes, then stood up and stretched. Despite his age, evident in the wrinkles on his face, he was lean and straight. "I think I can manage that," he said, "Thank you, Lieutenant Commander."

"Welcome to the crew of the U.S.S. Hunter, Dr. Alstars," Mlady said. "You will need to exchange that red uniform for the black one – gold piping for operations."

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15 – A Stitch in Spacetime
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Stay Tuned for: Episode 16 - Slavers

Crew of the U.S.S. Hunter: (Ship's Interactive Holographic Avatar - Hunter)

At-Large Appellate Justice, Captain Minerva Irons…..159
Chief Executive Officer - Commander David Pepper….46
Chief Operations Officer - Lt. Commander Mlady….unknown

Medical Director - Commander Tali Shae…..59
.Asst. Medical Director - Lt. Jazz Sam Sinder….38
.Epidemiologist - Lt. Napoleon Boles…...34
..Ensign Chrissiana Trei…..35
...Forensic Specialist - Midshipman Sif…...32
...Emergency Medical Hologram - Dr. Raj
...Tactical Medical Hologram - Dr. Kim

Director of Flight Operations - Lt. Cmdr. Kenneth Dolphin…..52
.Asst. Flight Dir. - 2nd Lt. Gaia Gamor….26
...Navigator Johanna Imex…36
...Navigator Eli Strahl…..22
..Ensign Ethan Phillips….23
...Chief Flight Specialist Dewayne Guth…38
...Chief Flight Specialist Thyssi zh'Qaoleq….23
...Flight Specialist Dih Terri….25
...Flight Specialist Winnifreid Salazaar…25

Director of Ground Operations - Lt. Tauk….24
.Asst. Ground Ops Dir. - 2nd Lt. T'Lon….26
...Investigator Buttons Ngumbo…29
...Investigator - vacant
..Ensign Tolon Reeves….47
...Tactical Specialist Jarrong….19
...Tactical Specialist Belo Rys…20
...Tactical Specialist Belo Garr….18
...Tactical Specialist Belo Cantys…17

Director of Engineering - Lt. Sarekson Carrera…24
.Asst. Engineering Dir. - 2nd Lt. Moon Sun Salek…42
...Midshipman Tammy Brazil….40
...Transporter Engineer K'rok….19
..Ensign Sun Ho Hui…..24
.Flight Engineer Yolanda Thomas…28
...Flight Engineer Thomas Hobbs…57
...Flight Engineer Tomos…104
...Flight Engineer Kerry Gibbon…..19