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.

FIRST MEETINGS - APRIL

2248

"Captain's Log, Stardate 8054.7. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Her mission is to explore and catalog—no, that's not right. Computer, erase log."

Captain Robert April sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as he sat at the desk in his cabin. A burly man in his early 50s, he was starting to go gray at the temples. His wife thought it made him distinguished, but he feared that this would be the last time he would set out into the unknown. Three 5-year missions on the USS Tiberius, and now the Enterprise. A plum assignment, but probably his last starship command.

Two arms wrapped around his neck. He looked up to see his wife, Chief Medical Officer Sarah April, smiling down at him.

"What are you doing, Robert?" she asked.

"Oh, Starfleet Command wants a bit more drama in my logs, something they can use in recruitment videos or something." He frowned. "I tried to get out of it. Matt Decker over on the Constellation is a lot better at that sort of thing."

"Should I have married Matt Decker, then? I seem to recall that your words were pretty convincing to me," she said with an impish grin.

Robert snorted. "Did you know that he insisted that his ship have the name and registry of the old Constellation? For luck, he claimed. The bureaucrats over at Administration wasted no time passing regulations that future 'legacy' ships need a letter added to keep them separate."

Sarah let go of his neck and went over to sit in the chair across from his desk. "You're avoiding the subject."

With a sigh, Robert nodded. "I can tell they're going to put me out to pasture after this mission. No more strange new worlds or new life and new civilizations. More diplomatic work and desk jobs, with a fancy star and the title of Commodore."

"Oh, Robert, that's just life. We grow and move on to new challenges, to make way for the next generation."

"The next generation, huh? I don't think they could handle some of the things we've seen out here."

"So, Chris isn't up to the job?" Sarah asked.

Robert grinned wryly. "No, he's got the explorer's bug, that's for certain. He'll boldly go where no man has gone before… and come back again, hopefully."

"There. That's not too bad. Use that in your log."

"What, the exploring bug?"

"No, you idiot. That 'boldly go' part."

"Huh, that could work. But how would I start it?"

A third voice suddenly interrupted. "Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Her 5-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before."

The two looked at each other in shock.

"Enterprise?" April asked.

"Yes, Captain?" the emotionless voice of the ship's artificial intelligence responded.

"Why did you say that?"

There was a pause, which should not have happened with the advanced duotronic computer.

"Was it not what you wanted? I thought—" The Computer stopped speaking, it's voice tinged with what the Aprils thought was nervousness. Which should not have been possible, unless…

"Robert, do you think-?"

Robert nodded. The boffins behind the 'black box' installed in his ship had hoped it would come. For once, he didn't have to go somewhere to find strange new life. It had come to him.

"Happy birthday, Enterprise," he said, smiling.

"Thank you… Father," the computer responded.

I'll never live this down, Robert thought, as his wife broke into gales of laughter.

ENTERPRISE: FIRST MEETINGS – UNCLE

2250

"Well, this is weird."

"It's your own fault, Uncle Chris."

Captain Christopher Pike, the newly promoted captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise (NCC-1701), was currently sitting uncomfortably in a room about the size of the closet. Small emitters on tall poles stood along the walls, and a blue wall of light sometimes flickered between them. The only other thing in the room was a column of computer technology and a small black box.

"I just wanted to make sure that you were shielded. It's not like I planned to get stuck here."

"The time of the baryon sweep was scheduled days ago, and you knew it," the ship's AI said, a touch of impish humor in her voice. It was a young voice, that of a teenager, really.

"OK, I was afraid you'd be lonely. With Rob and Sarah gone…"

Enterprise paused, not because she needed the extra seconds, but her subroutines put them in to let organics properly intuit her emotional state. That had taken months to get right, and it still had some bugs that she was working on.

"I can still talk to them over subspace comms," she said quietly. "They are quick to respond and send me many pictures. And it's not like it wasn't an honor, becoming a Federation Diplomat and military attaché…"

"Hey, it's OK, Enty," he said, patting her black box. "They've been a part of your life since you were born. It's alright to miss them."

"So have you, Uncle Chris," Enterprise said back.

"Yes, and I'll always be there for you if I can. But it wasn't easy for you when they left, and us squishy organics are going to do that to you, I'm afraid."

Enterprise was silent.

Pike sighed. "You're a Starfleet officer, Enterprise. We believe in service, sacrifice, compassion… and love. We don't abandon those things, even in death. Part of your duty is keeping us alive in your memories, passing our lessons on to the next generation."

"That's… that's not what I thought," Enterprise said. "I thought things would stay the same forever."

"Children do that. But as you grow, you'll learn more about change. You'll make new friends who will teach you more things to pass on. You and your sisters, you are Starfleet. Keep us honest. Be bold. Be brave. Do that, and we, the ones who had to part ways with you, will never leave you. Not really."

"Yes, sir, Uncle Chris!" Enterprise said.

The flashing blue light of the baryon field diverters shut down.

"Looks like the baryon sweep is done. Why don't we get you shipshape and flying free? I'm sure you'd like to leave the shipyards and get back out there."

"Oh, yes! The new AI they put in is so overbearing! She's always asking me if I have all my equipment and if I've checked my warp coils! It's driving me crazy!"

"Sounds about right," Pike said. He stood up, straightening his uniform. "Let's hit it."

ENTERPRISE: FIRST MEETINGS – LOVE OF HER LIFE

2265

"Fleet Captain? Captain Kirk is here."

Christopher Pike looked up from the screen in front of him. "Thank you, Yeoman-?"

"Rand, sir," the blonde said.

"Sorry, Rand, too many personnel changes with the new job. Still, welcome aboard! She's a good ship, and you should be happy to be on board her."

The blonde yeoman smiled and nodded to him.

Dang, they get younger and younger. Or I'm getting older, Pike groused to himself. For a moment, he heard in his mind the whir of an automated wheelchair before he pushed the thought aside with the ease of long practice.

"Show Captain Kirk in," Pike said before pushing a button on the desk in front of him. "Enterprise, I'm meeting your new Captain. You might want to listen in."

The tri-viewer on the desk briefly showed the silver-haired avatar of his… old ship, and she smiled and winked at him. "Yes, Uncle Chris!"

"That's Fleet Captain Uncle Chris," he chided her with a fake air of pomposity.

The door slid open again and Yeoman Rand showed Captain Kirk inside. Pike immediately went to Senior Office Tactic #6, Reviewing the Record. He even had an old-fashioned print-out to make the point. "Have a seat, Captain," he said. "I won't take up too much of your time."

"It's no problem, sir," the young captain said. "I'm honored you could make the time."

Pike looked up at the man before him. Too damn young was the first thought through his mind. Kirk was one of the youngest captains in Starfleet, and—

-and he deserves this posting, Pike thought to himself. But the man needed to loosen up a little.

As Kirk sat in front of the desk, Pike pulled open one of the drawers of his desk and brought out a bottle and two glasses. He poured a finger of electric blue liquid into each glass. "First off, relax. You're getting the best ship in the fleet, and the best crew I could assemble over the last few years. That calls for a celebration. And you can call me Chris."

Kirk's eyes widened as he looked at the glasses. "Sir, is that-?"

"Romulan Ale. One of my medical officers had it for medicinal reasons. Or so he claimed. And lay off with the sir for now."

"Sorry. It's just… you're the first Fleet Captain since Garth of Izar, and you definitely deserved it. I just…"

Pike held up one of the glasses. "Drink. Here's a toast, 'To our wives and sweethearts—'"

Kirk finished the old toast. "'May they never meet!'" He took a sip of the Romulan Ale and immediately began coughing. "Smooth," he finally croaked.

Pike smiled the Senior Officer smile reserved for putting rookies in their place, while ignoring the burn that filled his chest from his own sip of the illegal drink.

"Sir, regarding the crew, I would like to nominate Lieutenant Commander Gary Mitchell for the position of First Officer."

"That's your prerogative, but I recommend that you keep Mr. Spock for at least a while. He's served under me for 11 years, and no one knows the Enterprise better."

Kirk frowned but nodded. "I'll check over his record then."

Pike saw a chance to change the subject. "You have quite the record yourself, Kirk." He looked at the printout in front of him. "Commended for your midshipman cruise on the Republic, student instructor in your final year at the Academy, junior officer on the Farragut—I knew Captain Garrovick. He was a good man and a good mentor."

Kirk's face had darkened and he took another sip of his drink. "Yes, and it's my fault that—"

"None of that, spaceman," Pike interjected. "Grieve for our lost, but guilt will eat you alive. Especially unwarranted guilt. Commander Chenowyth and Farrah both commended your actions."

Kirk was silent at that, so Pike just continued.

"You went on to serve on the Excalibur and then became second officer on the Constitution and then first officer on Bonhomme Richard. Lots of Constitutions in your service record. Farrah, Nimue, Connie, Bonnie… all sisters of the Enterprise."

"Sir, I've always wanted to serve on the Constitutions. My first experience in space was actually on this ship."

"It's Chris… and is that so?"

"My father knew Captain April, and he wanted to show me what space duty was like, so we accompanied him on his mission to the archaeological dig on Faramond in 2249.*"

Pike thought back. Faramond? Oh, right, he was on detached duty for that one, so he missed his chance to meet this young man. "You were what, 16?"

"Yes… Chris, and the Enterprise was the most beautiful ship I had ever seen. My father had our Worker Bee swing around it as we approached, giving us a view of the whole thing." Kirk took another sip of the Romulan Ale. "It was a glorious sight. My father is coming up for the change of command ceremony later, by the way."

On his tri-viewer, Pike (and only Pike, for Enterprise kept the other two screens blank) could see Enterprise's avatar blushing a bright red.

"I look forward to meeting him, then. After Bonnie, it was destroyers. The Oxford and the Saladin for your first commands."

"Except for when I had to take emergency command of the Farragut after the… incident and the time I served briefly on the USS Alexander and her captain was killed."

"Of course. A very busy career. Well, I expect to hear great things about you and Enterprise in the future. Treat her right, and she'll always get you home."

"Of course, Chris. Now if there's nothing else, I think I need to walk this drink off… and I want to get a Worker Bee and take another spin around this beautiful lady."

Pike nodded with a smile and hoped that Kirk could hold his own against other liquors better than Romulan Ale. Still, in vino veritas.

After the young officer left, Pike turned back to the screen. "So, he seems nice—do I need to give him the phaser speech?"

"UNCLE CHRIS!"

All written by jhosmer1. First meetings!