Paint and Powder

A Star Trek anthology by Andrew Joshua Talon

DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit fan based work of prose. Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager et al are the property of CBS Television, and creation of Gene Roddenberry. Please support the official release.

2358, Earth, San Francisco, Starfleet Academy

Worf, son of Mogh, would never admit to feeling nervous. He was a Klingon warrior: Such feelings were to be controlled and managed. But he would admit to a certain... Anticipation, as he waited outside the office of a somewhat infamous instructor.

The door opened, and his roommate, Zak Kebron, walked out. The Brikar stood up straight, but he looked a bit... Tense. Even for him.

"She wants to see you next," Zak grunted, as he headed off down the hallway. Worf nodded, just a bit, and stood. He walked into the office, his keen eyes taking in everything within the small, well lit room.

All the furniture was made of wood. The desk was an old, battered thing with numerous scars, but was well polished and cared for. The shelves were made of wood, covered in books and artifacts from a dozen worlds. On the wall was mounted a sword-A mamaluke, if Worf remembered correctly. The chairs were wooden, and bare of any cushioning. He stood at attention, as the occupier of the office looked down at an old book. Worf studied her intently.

Like many shipgirls, she preferred a skirt to pants. This showed off her legs-Scarred from numerous battles, faintly showing the gynoid's superstructure. She wore tall combat boots, as well as kneepads and pouches-All black, same as her skirt. Over it she wore a tan combat "smock" over a white shirt, with a black tie underneath the smock. Over this was a harness, locked into place under her tie: A phaser was worn at her side in a holster, a 2290 assault phaser II pistol if Worf was not mistaken.

Her arms were covered by her shirt, and Starfleet gold "waders". Her hands, encased in black combat gloves. On the back of her chair hung a tattered, dark green trenchcoat, covered in patches of campaigns of the past: Kobax VI, T'vam, and Xoxa.

Every one known to Worf like the back of his hand.

Her face was young, like with any AI, but stony and stoic. Her hair was platinum blonde, but gray in some areas, and wrapped in a tight, long single braid that went down her left shoulder. She had yellow highlights in her bangs. She looked up, one yellow eye boring furiously into him, while her other eye was covered in a black eyepatch. A black mole was underneath her visible eye, resembling a teardrop.

She set down her book (E.B. Sledge's With the Old Breed) on her desk, and nodded minutely to Worf.

"Cadet, sit down," she ordered. Worf did so, noting happily that the chair was very uncomfortable. The AI sized him up.

"Worf. Son of Mogh. Tell me: Why are you here?"

"Professor Veracruz," Worf began, "I wish to join the Advanced Tactical Training Course."

Veracruz didn't react at all, just sizing him up with her one eye.

"Why?"

Worf bowed his head in respect.

"It is said that you are the finest instructor in all of Starfleet, a teacher of the old ways. It would be an honour to learn from you."

Veracruz studied him carefully.

"I am also said to be obsolete, in this era of peace," Veracruz said. Worf scowled.

"That is not true," he stated, "the fact you are here, to teach us how to fight, is proof enough!"

Veracruz gave him a wry look.

"I thank you for your compliment, but this is not enough," she said, "do you wish to fight for fighting's sake?"

"No," Worf stated, "I do not. But I know my heart, Professor... I am a Klingon."

"There are Klingon engineers, Klingon doctors, Klingon diplomats," Veracruz counted off, but Worf shook his head.

"Those are honorable professions... But it is not for me," he stated. "I am a warrior, at heart."

"Well, I am a soldier," Veracruz said, "or rather... I was. I teach you how to be a soldier. There can be a difference."

Worf nodded.

"I know. But in both cases, a true soldier or a true warrior must adhere to three things: Duty, Honor, and Loyalty. Without these things, you are nothing but an armed savage, seeking only self interest."

Veracruz gained a smile, just a bit, before she became serious again.

"The works of General Chang... I am familiar with them," she said. "It is good you are too."

"His teachings were wise, even if he was unable to escape his own choices at the end," Worf said back. Veracruz glanced at her sword on the wall.

"Aren't we all?" She murmured. She again looked Worf over carefully.

"I have slain many Klingons in my time. Personally. This does not bother you?"

"No, it does not," Worf stated primly, "If they were slain by you, then they have found their way to Sto-vo-kor. There can be no higher honor for a Klingon."

"You think me a valkyrie of some sort?" Veracruz asked, faintly amused. Worf shook his head.

"No. But... You are deeply respected in the Empire to this day, Professor. You are held up as an example of a great warrior of the Federation. One whose mettle was a worthy test for any true warrior. Your deeds are known and respected by both the Federation and the Empire."

Worf looked around the small, quiet office. Something had been bothering him from the moment he had come in here. He locked his eyes on Veracruz's as he put it together.

"Even if the Federation cannot appreciate it... I can," Worf stated, "and that is why I wish to be instructed by you. No one else will do."

Veracruz stared back evenly at Worf. He did not flinch or look away.

"You think that being locked away at a campus, told to make my lesson plans 'more sensitive and diplomatic', and told I am no longer required... You think that isn't the Federation appreciating me?" Veracruz asked.

Worf shook his head.

"No. I do not," he said.

Veracruz smiled again, briefly, before she nodded.

"I'm glad this year's class will have at least two perceptive members," she stated. "You will receive your syllabus this evening. Do not be late to class. And keep in mind, this was the easy part, Cadet."

Her eye narrowed, and flashed with fire.

"I will push you, and push you, until your breaking point. Because it is only there that you will truly know yourself. Understood?"

Worf actually smiled, baring his sharp teeth.

"I look forward to it, Professor."

Zak was waiting for Worf outside the building. The Brikar nodded to Worf, and they began to walk together in silence back to their dorms.

"I take it you got in?" Zak asked.

"Yes," Worf stated. Zak nodded.

"As did I," he said.

Worf sneered a bit, but nodded.

"Good. I will need a worthy rival to keep my blades sharp."

Zak smirked, the expression odd on his rocky face.

"You will have no competition for the Professor, I assure you."

Worf grimaced, and looked away.

"I-I harbor no such feelings for her-!"

"You wrote a poem for her every time you saw her," Zak snickered. "'Ember eyes, glowing like a campfire-'"

"I warn you, Brikar, I shall smash you into rubble-!"

"'Her hair waving like a battle flag, charging across the plains-!"

"GET BACK HERE!"

USS Veracruz, NCC-75400, Chimer-class modular explorer/multirole battleship

Bio: Veracruz began life as the AI for a Chandley-class marine frigate in 2263. She served in the Four Day's War, capturing a Klingon mobile repair space station with a Marine assault, but had to withdraw due to the Organian Peace Treaty. Among her most famous missions was successfully deploying Starfleet MACOs to rescue Commander Pavel Chekov from a race called the Anjiri-Nykuss without any casualties on either side. She would spend the next fifty years in the service of the Starfleet Marines/MACOs, mainly training but also assisting in disaster relief and emergency aid. She would upgrade to a Curry-class hull in 2300. Many of her Curry-class sisters were decommissioned during the drawdown period following the Khitomer Accords, but she escaped this fate thanks to several border conflicts with the Cardassians, Talarians and the Tzenkethi.

During the Cardassian Wars she made two assaults: to liberate Dorvan V, and an assault on the Cardassian colony world of Xoxa. She would aid in the Talarian and Tzenkethi wars, her troops capturing ten enemy vessels, one Talarian Starbase, and aiding in landing troops on Alba IV to liberate it from a Tzenkethi invasion force. Her success at seizing ships made her crew nickname her "The Pirate Queen".

Veracruz remained on assignment around the Federation as a relief ship, in keeping with the "peacenik" era, before she was placed on reserve and then put on assignment as a tactical trainer at Starfleet Academy in 2349. Her Curry hull became an Academy training ship.

She was one of the first vessels to respond to Wolf 359 and rescued several of her sister AIs and many escape pods. Afterwards, with the remilitarization of Starfleet, she was put back under nominal control of the Starfleet Marines and worked to rebuild the ability of the Federation to fight a ground war.

Her existing hull proved inadequate though, despite her experience. As a result, by 2371 she was transferred to the second Chimer-class starship: An advanced heavy explorer with modular saucer section modules. She would spend the next two years aiding in the shakedown and testing of the complex vessel class, helping to develop combat specific modules and tactics. She fought with distinction in the Dominion War, helping to liberate Betazed, capture Chintoka, and provided troops for the occupation and rebuilding of Cardassia Prime. She also participated in several covert operations with Starfleet Intelligence and the MACOs, helping to destroy several Dominion bases and aiding the Cardassian Resistance-going via gynoid avatar on several occasions.

Veracruz is a stoic, serious AI who is very strong and determined. She is very loyal to her crew and works them hard to bring out the best-rarely angry, always pushing them to be more. She has a fascination with projectile weapons and was overjoyed when the Federation reintroduced them. She helped develop tactics for their use, alongside grenades and personal forcefields. She loves old Earth brandy, and can be quite philosophical about war and the battlefield. She loves dogs.

I did love Peter David's Starfleet Academy series (and later, New Frontier), so here's a brief bit from that time and a bit of Zak and Worf's vitrolic friendship. And of course, showcasing what USS Veracruz was up to before Wolf 359 and the Dominion War forced her back into service.