26 About the Enterprise

Attributing Human characteristics to an inanimate object is clearly illogical but even Spock cannot help but think that their Starship is beautiful and does all that she can to protect them from the cold vacuum of space.

Being built in Riverside Iowa was one more reason Jim Kirk was sure she would be his.

Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise – yeah, it does rock as much as it sounds like it would!!

Dents in the hull receive Scotty's careful scrutiny whenever he has the chance to look at them, which frankly isn't as frequently as he'd like, but they can't go to spaceport every week, Jim explains patiently.

Enterprise – a time-tested name given only to the very best of any fleet and this Starship is no exception.

Firing her phasers gives Sulu a small thrill but he'll never admit it because that might diminish his overall "cool" status and he can't risk it.

Going boldly where no one has gone before – yeah, they're good with that, especially since they know their ship will bring them safely home.

Home – it has various meanings to the crew but they all agree that there is nowhere they'd rather live than on their ship.

Jim Kirk – something else they all agree on is that he is the only Captain for their ship, and they know she knows it too.

Living in the tight quarters of a Starship, even theirs, would be more difficult if their Captain didn't make sure that they all get along, or resolve any problems that arise as quickly and judiciously as any Captain can.

Missions to the outer realms of the galaxy would be far more perilous if they didn't know that their ship is the best in the 'fleet and will never let them down.

"NCC1701 – is there any more beautiful registry number, ever?" Jim asks Spock who can only shake his head and hold more tightly to his t'hy'la's hand.

Other Starships are larger and faster but none are as special as the Enterprise.

Positions on the Enterprise are highly sought after, and Starfleet has a list of requests longer than can ever be fulfilled.

Quarters can be expanded when spousal assignments are approved and Scotty is sure she smiles every time he takes out a dividing wall.

Requisitions from the Enterprise always seem to be at the very top of pile on the desk of the Starfleet Quartermaster, a mystery Headquarters know they will never solve.

Spock knows that Jim loves him more than his ship, not that it is a contest or that he is at all jealous – that would be illogical.

'That's one well endowed lady' – words that assures Jim that Scotty loves her as much as he does, if not strictly in the same way.

Until they make me give her up – that's how long the Captain will remain on his ship.

Very soon after he first stepped aboard her, Jim knew that he and the Enterprise were meant to be together, a faith that has not diminished.

Water can be in short supply even on the Enterprise but that has never stopped Jim from dragging Spock into their shower for some slippery fun.

Xenobiologists are especially anxious to be assigned to the Enterprise because she goes to planets no other Starship would dare.

Youth may be wasted on the young, as the ancients said, but Jim puts his to good use aboard his Starship and she returns the favor.

Zebras have no place on a Starship, but Starfleet doesn't object to the ones painted on the wall of Rec Room 3, even if no one will explain how they ended up there.

Okay, to everyone who asked and/or is curious, I'm really not obsessed with zebras. I started using them and they made me (and several readers) laugh so I kept using them. Cheating? Probably. But hey – they're my stories, right? If you are tired of zebras, feel free to stop at Y. Z won't always be zebras but it still makes me laugh! And to everyone who has reviewed "26" so far – yeah, YOU rock the most!!!