Star Trek: Fortitude
Episode Two: “Steamrunner”
By Jack D. Elmlinger
PROLOGUE
“We need teeth!”
“I hear you, Ewan, but this isn’t a battle station!”
Rear Admiral Edward Blackmore enjoyed these little debates with Captain Ewan Llewellyn. They were getting along famously, forming something resembling a father/son relationship in such a short space of time.
Ewan spoke his mind and Blackmore respected that, rarely slapping him down for the lack of Starfleet protocol. Obviously, when other people were present, it was formal talk only, but they were alone now, standing in the private observation deck of Starbase 499 that was overlooking Santrag II. They were sharing coffee, welcoming the end of a long day, and the conversation was once again turning to recent events.
“Luck won that battle for us, Boxer,” he pressed on, using the nickname that a lucky few attributed to the Rear Admiral. “That little photon torpedo trick won’t work against a bigger fleet, or against countless other possible alien threats.”
“I know, I know, but what do you propose?”
“We’re on the edge of Federation space, alone, far from Earth and any starship capable of running to assist us. I’m preparing the Fortitude for her first exploration missions which means you’ll be left alone with your Oberth and your Miranda.”
“I’m still not getting an answer from you, Ewan. What do you propose?”
“A new starship assigned permanently to Starbase 499. As I said before, something that has teeth.”
Blackmore laughed hard, his weathered face creasing up in sheer disbelief. This young upstart Welshman had some funny ideas about deep-space assignments. That was for sure, but a new starship? He had to be kidding.”
“I’m serious,” Llewellyn answered the unvoiced question.
“And where will we magic up this new starship, hmm?,” Blackmore growled, his age increasing his pessimism. “I suppose you’ve got some master plan for making all of this work, because I can tell you, Starfleet isn’t going …”
Ewan held up a hand, stopping the Rear Admiral. Producing a PADD from behind his back, he typed in a few commands and brought up a status display. On it was a schematic for a starship and he proudly handed it to his superior. A satisfied grin crossed his face, a grin that had broken many hearts and won many hands at poker.
“What is this?”
“Steamrunner.”
ACT ONE
The Senior Staff meetings were starting to flow. All of the personalities in the conference room which was situated to the right of the Bridge, were getting to know each other, merging together to create an effective debating unit.
Seated at the head of the table, Captain Llewellyn watched his officers analyze and argue over his latest master plan. He hoped for their approval but he also knew that there would always be one, someone who didn’t think that it could be done. Someone who could disagree or suggest something different. This morning, in this case, it was Chief Engineer Sollik.
“Sir, we just got Fortitude up and running,” protested the Suliban. “Now you want us to do it all over again?”
“Let me get this straight,” Commander Valerie Archer interrupted, clearing things up not only for herself but for everyone in the room at the same time. “Before accepting this command, you were in charge of a design team at Utopia Planitia, working on Project Steamrunner. You developed a prototype vessel, but the problems that you encountered were far too great to fix?”
“You’ve got it, Valerie,” Ewan said, nodding. “We immediately returned to the drawing board and the second prototype that we developed sorted out most of the problems with the design. That second prototype turned out to become the USS Appalachia, which is now on assignment for Starfleet Command. That leaves us the first prototype, the USS Steamrunner, NX-52126, going begging in a drydock over Mars.”
“What sort of problems did you encounter?,” Armstrong asked him, leaning forward with interest.
“Well, for starters, we didn’t know what to do with her. The Steamrunner-class that we came up with was too big to be an escort like the new Defiant-class ships, but it was also too small to be of any use as an exploration vessel. It took the second attempt to fit everything that we wanted into the hull space and come up with a clear mission profile.”
“So you’re saying, Captain, that the Steamrunner is an empty shell?”
“Exactly, and that’s why Starfleet won’t mind us taking it and seeing what we can do with it.”
“For what purpose?,” inquired Doctor T’Verra, her eyebrows arching in typical Vulcan fashion and creasing her elderly forehead. “Starbase 499 already has two starships on permanent attachment, and now we are at their disposal as well.”
“Doctor, you of all people should understand that one. You had two people in your sickbay, the other day, for plasma burns as a result of the alien attack. This is the edge of nowhere! I’m surprised that Rear Admiral Blackmore has lasted this long!”
“It won’t be quick,” hissed Sollik. “It won’t be pretty, either.”
“It doesn’t have to be. At least, not right away.”
Archer was quietly sizing up her captain with a cool stare. Her piercing grey eyes were more effective than the latest tricorders at scanning and getting results. She allowed her thin red lips to twist into a slight smile as she reached her conclusion.
“It’s already on route, isn’t it? When does the Steamrunner arrive?”
Llewellyn couldn’t help but return her smile. Damn, she’s good.
“Six days. They stuck a warp core in her as soon as I sent the message. As for the other systems… Well, that’s where you come in, Sollik. Start getting your teams together. This is your project, understood? You decide who gets what job, use anybody you want, and start wherever you want. Hell, borrow any of the senior staff if you like.”
There was a smattering of nods around the conference table. Rising up from his seat, Ewan was perfectly framed by the window behind him overlooking Santrag II. With a confident attitude, he closed the meeting.
“Let’s make sure that this place has a bite to match its bark. Dismissed.”
* * * *
“You don’t trust him, do you?”
Fresh from his latest shift at the helm, Lieutenant Arden Vuro was rubbing his bald blue head as he walked through the maze of corridors aboard the Fortitude. Alongside him, the mottled green features of Sollik were twisted into a scowl. The pilot and the chief engineer had started to become friendly.
Perhaps, it was chatting with another obvious alien, rather than confiding in a Human. That was the reason and regardless of it, he weighed his answer carefully.
“It’s not that,” he hissed. “I just think, to use an old Earth expression that I picked up, that he’s ‘bitten off more than he can chew’.”
“Captain Llewellyn is a young commanding officer. He’s eager to prove himself to Rear Admiral Blackmore, and eager to fit in around her. I think that this Steamrunner idea is a good one. Then again… I’m not the one retrofitting the blessed thing when it arrives. From that perspective, I suppose I can understand your frustration.”
“Yeah, well, don’t get too comfortable up on the Bridge, Vuro,” Sollik laughed from behind his yellow teeth. “Llewellyn gave me permission to use whoever I wanted to get the job done so I hope you don’t mind getting that blue skin of yours dirty.”
“As long as it’s warm,” the Bolian laughed too.
Sollik was tall and thin, like the majority of his people but Vuro was anything but a normal Bolian. He was athletic, with a well-toned body by Human standards. The stereotypical image of Bolians was one of rounded, jolly-looking creatures squeezing themselves into Starfleet uniforms but not Fortitude’s pilot. His red-shouldered uniform was a tight fit, showing off his physique to many of the surprised faces aboard both Fortitude and Starbase 499. It gave him a slightly arrogant edge, but only in extreme circumstances.
“I’m heading to the Mess Hall for dinner,” he told his Suliban friend. “Do you want to join me for some citric chicken?”
Sollik made a disgusted face and recoiled. “Aged meat stewed in acidic liquids? No thanks,” he shuddered. “I’m quite fond of my tongue, actually.”
Vuro had to laugh. One day, he would get everybody on board eating Bolian cuisine.
ACT TWO
Captain’s log, Stardate 48799.7;
Right on schedule, and with thanks to the efficient Admiral Owen Paris, our new starship has arrived at Starbase 499. I’ve immediately put Sollik and his engineering teams to work, but she’s been completely gutted. While I’m beginning to wonder if my plan is actually possible, I do have to admit that it’s great to see the Steamrunner again. Even if this all falls apart, I’ll be able to take away a rewarding trip down memory lane.
Together, Edward Blackmore and Ewan Llewellyn walked slowly through the narrow dark corridors of the USS Steamrunner, NX-52126, surveying the state of the vessel with a sudden sense of reality. The Rear Admiral had been excited, at first, after his initial disbelief at Ewan’s proposal. Now that disbelief had returned. It was now focused on the task of getting the starship spaceworthy, rather than getting it assigned to Starbase 499 at all.
Llewellyn could feel his disappointment but his sunny optimism was putting up a damn good fight. “As soon as the ODN relays are back online,” he was saying to Boxer,” our main task will be weapons and shields, and we’ve got all of the components that we need over in 499’s cargo bays. We could also use a Type-9 shuttlecraft if you can spare one. The bay is looking somewhat empty.”
“I’ll see what I can convince Erica to part with,” muttered the older man. “Ewan, seriously, this is… I never imagined it would be this bad.”
“It’s nothing that a lick of paint won’t solve, Boxer. Chin up, sir.”
“Hmm,” came the growl in reply. “Anyways, I’ve got lunch with the Santragan Prime Minister. Which way is the transporter room?”
“The transporter room? Ah…”
“Let me guess, offline?,” the rear admiral laughed, putting on his best face for his newfound friend and ducking underneath a swinging pipe that had, for some reason, come loose from the conduit above. “Tell you what, you get out and push while I steer us in the general direction of the dining hall.”
“I’ll schedule your next inspection for when she’s, at least, at basic operational status. I promise,” Ewan apologized.
“On your head be it, Captain,” Blackmore warned him, tapping his combadge. “Blackmore to Starbase 499. One to beam over from the Steamrunner.”
Llewellyn watched the Rear Admiral dissolve with a forlorn look spread across his face, using the few resulting seconds to shuffle his thoughts and process what was racing through his mind.
Was this wishful thinking?
His log entry kept playing back over and over… I’m beginning to wonder if my plan is actually possible…
Were those his words? Was it self-doubt? This early on?
The ship had only just arrived. No, Boxer was right. On his head, be it, and for that reason alone, he wasn’t giving up. This project wouldn’t fail.
With renewed determination, he headed for Engineering. It was time to see how Sollik was doing.
* * * *
“Well, check it again!”
It was perhaps the most chaotic place to be aboard the Steamrunner. Llewellyn’s eyes immediately widened with shock as he saw the utterly abysmal state that Starfleet had left Engineering in. rushing to slap the warp core into place, they had bypassed and therefore, trashed almost every other subsystem. Of course, they didn’t feel that they needed any of the subsystems. Setting the ship on automatic pilot from Earth to Santrag II, there had been no crew to worry about. It was a blessing that life-support was still online.
Sollik was enraged at this point. His teams were desperately trying to repair the ODN network. As soon as that was complete, the rest of their tasks would be so much easier in an instant. LCARS would function and the computer could tell them what went where. Until then, the engineers from the USS Fortitude had to make it up as they went along.
Turning, Sollik saw his captain enter Engineering. “Coming to inspect your long-lost daughter?,” he snarled without thinking.
“All right, Lieutenant Commander,” Ewan replied, using a stern voice as a long-overdue reminder to his chief engineer,” drop the attitude, right now, and give me a status report.”
“Sorry, sir. I suppose you’ve given me too much freedom. That, plus a task bordering on the impossible.”
“I’ve got faith, Sollik.”
“Thank you, Captain. I hope it won’t be misplaced.”
“I’m sure that it won’t be.”
“Captain, may I ask a question? Speaking freely, of course.”
The Welshman nodded, allowing the Suliban to fold up his tricorder and lean his thin frame against a bulkhead.
“Why are you pushing for this?”
“Let me ask you a question, Sollik,” countered the captain. “You signed up for Starfleet, attended the Academy, passed with distinction, and wound up here. You requested this posting to the Fortitude. My question to you is why?”
“Ah, that’s simple, sir. I’m an explorer. I want to explore the unknown.”
“There’s your answer,” smiled Ewan.
“I don’t understand.”
“Our mission here, attached to Starbase 499, and exploration of the unexplored regions of the Beta Quadrant beyond the Santragan system, cannot advance forward without the Steamrunner. You saw what we arrived to find. There are forces out there that we don’t understand yet. Dangerous forces that threaten the hundreds of lives aboard the starbase and the hundreds of thousands of lives on the planet below. We arrived in a modern, state-of-the-art Intrepid-class starship, a ship we used to defend against the alien threat successfully. Now, say tomorrow, we head out to explore and we’re fifty lightyears away when those aliens return. Rear Admiral Blackmore had two ancient starships at his disposal. Both of them are falling apart, with limited weapons.”
“Okay, sir,” Sollik interrupted, his frown lifting from his face,” I understand. Honestly, I do. I’d hate to keep looking over our shoulders, every time that we move further away from 499.”
Ewan smiled, placing his hand on the Suliban’s yellow-shouldered uniform. “So, what’s the status of the ODN relays?”
“I’ll have them online within the hour, Captain. You have my word.”
At that exact moment of the day, a newfound understanding was forged between Ewan Llewellyn and Sollik. The misconception of the captain being an inexperienced happy-go-lucky puppy was destroyed in an instant, replaced by the compassion and determination that projected from him in his speech.
It worked too.
Within the hour, the Steamrunner had a functioning optical data network.
* * * *
Back aboard Fortitude, Valerie Archer was just about to sit down to a well-deserved bowl of replicated pasta and a mug of coffee when her doorbell gave a familiar chime. Standing and moving away from the dinner table, she called out for whoever was visiting her quarters to enter. When the door slid open and revealed Ewan Llewellyn, the First Officer snapped to attention.
“You can cut that out for a start, Valerie,” Ewan laughed before his eyes fell upon her uneaten lunch. “Oh, I’m sorry. I’ll come back later.”
“No, Captain, seriously! It’s all right, really. Actually, come to think about it, when was the last time that you are?”
“Uh… I can’t remember. I’ve been a little busy.”
“Would you care to join me?”
“Well, I…”
Before he could even finish making up an excuse for leaving, Valerie was strode across the room to the replicator and plucked a second identical bowl of pasta out of thin air, along with a second cup of coffee. She certainly wasn’t taking no for an answer, even though he hadn;t technically given her an answer yet. With a welcoming gesture, she pulled out a chair at her table.
“The captain’s wellbeing is the shared responsibility of the Chief Medical Officer and the First Officer,” she pointed out to him,” and since I don’t see T’Verra anywhere, I guess it’s my duty to feed you. Take a seat… sir.``
“How many times do I have to remind you?,” Llewelly sighed as he complied. “Please call me Ewan, okay?”
“Aye, Captain,” she replied with that cheeky schoolgirl humor of hers.
After picking at his pasta for a minute or so, he became very aware that he was giving off a certain vibe. Valerie wasn;t stupid and she qucikly picked up on it. Breaking the silence that the consumption of food brought, she dropped her fork and dabbed the side of her mouth with a napkin.
“You’re worried about something,” she observed. “Tell me, why did you come here? Is it something that I can help you with?”
“I guess I’m just tired,” he lied badly.
“Ewan…”
“I don’t know,” was his muttered response as he dropped his own fork and left the table, heading for the panoramic window with his coffee. “I’ve got nothing to complain about, really. The crew are doing a fine job. I’ve even reached an understanding with Sollik in Engineering. However, we’re retrofitting the Steamrunner to basically kick some alien tail in the event that 499 gets attacked again.”
“It’s not what you envisioned your creative pride and joy doing, is it?”
“There is that, but we’re also Starfleet officers. What happened to peaceful exploration? It seems like every time that the Federation does anything or goes anywhere these days, we take phasers and shields with us as standard equipment. Fortitude is here for all of the right reasons. There’s no denying that. Our mission is peaceful.”
“And yet,” Valerie nodded,” we’re unable to leave and undertake that mission until we’ve finished our work on the Steamrunner. We’re unable to boldly go in the name of galactic peace until we’re locked and loaded.”
“You’ve got it.”
Getting to her feet and cradling her own coffee mug as a mother would cradle a newborn child, the commander walked over to join her captain at the window. As the pair of them overlooked Santrag II and the floating majesty of Starbase 499, they realized that they were both on the same wavelength.
ACT THREE
Captain’s Log, supplemental;
After working around the clock, forty-seven engineers from Fortitude and Starbase 499 have finally completed their work on the Steamrunner. When I first proposed this undertaking to Rear Admiral Blackmore, I was eager to get results so that we could begin exploring space without a guilty conscience. Now, with the job done, I find myself wondering if we’ve really done the right thing. Is Starfleet now a fleet of battleships?
“Launch ceremony in twenty minutes, Captain.”
Walking from his Ready Room and out onto the Bridge of the Fortitude, Llewellyn took in the spectacular image on the viewscreen. It was something that he never expected to get used to, and that was the beauty of space. There, right there in front of him, was an alien world, a mammoth starbase, and a starship that he had helped design. If he hadn’t been fighting an internal conflict of interests, he would have been the most contented person in the sector, right now. Unfortunately, every time that he saw the Steamrunner through a window or on the viewscreen, he was questioning his own actions.
“Thank you, Ensign,” he replied to Jason Armstrong at Ops. “I hadn’t forgotten.”
“Just making sure, sir,” the young officer grinned. “You must be feeling very proud of yourself, if I may be so bold?”
“You may.”
Valerie Archer appeared in the turbolift, a second later, walking down to stand beside her commanding officer and handing him a final status report. As he read it with a furrowed brow, she detected his mood once more and tilted her head with concern. Ewan’s eyes flickered up from the report long enough to notice and gave her a reaction.”
“Don’t worry, Commander. I think it’s something I can live with.”
“Just remember the benefits,” she advised him. “In a few weeks, when we make First Contact with a new species, or chart an unknown phenomenon, you’ll have completely forgotten about it.”
“Hmm… Maybe T’Verra has a useful hypospray instead.”
“She’d probably send you off to Vulcan to purge you of those pesky emotions of yours.”
“I like your solution better.”
Finishing with the PADD, he finally let out a deep sigh and realized that he should probably get changed into his dress uniform and beam over to the Steamrunner. In less than ten minutes, he would be expected to break the bottle over the warp core and order a trial run to a nearby asteroid field where a few potshots would test out the phasers and everybody would applaud the sheer destructive power on display. He would be congratulated by Rear Admiral Blackmore for his ingenious plan. Congratulations that he would sidestep and pass on to Lieutenant Commander Sollik and his engineering teams.
Then dinner, a sonic shower, and bed would conclude the rest of his day. He hoped that he would be able to sleep this off.
* * * *
Blackmore’s speech was short. He thanked everybody for their hard work and said a few lines about Santrag II now being the most secure corner of Federation space before stepping aside and introducing Captain Ewan Llewellyn as the much-celebrated father of the Steamrunner. As the applause echoed around the main engineering room of the new starship, he stepped up to the small platform that had been replicated for the launch ceremony and cleared his throat.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” he began with a smile,” it looks like we made it. I’d like to join our commanding officer in congratulating all of you for achieving the seemingly impossible task of the retrofit. The Steamrunner was an empty shell when she arrived and well… check her out now, eh? We even changed the paint and I’ll warn you now, the first person who scratches it gets to scrub plasma conduits for a week!”
Everyone present, with T’Verra being the only exception, laughed.
“I was asked a few minutes ago, whether or not if I was proud of this job,” he continued with honesty. “I suppose I have to admit that I had my reservations. Sure, I pushed for this more than anybody. It was my idea in the first place, but as we progressed, I started to think about the reasoning behind the retrofit. I think, when Lieutenant Commander Sollik got on board with the idea and we all started making progress, I lost my optimism. It had nothing to fight against and when it left me, my mind had time to think. And what have we done here? We’ve created a fighter! A starship with powerful weapons designed to wage war against hostile aliens. So, I began to ask myself; could I live with the responsibility of ordering the construction of a weapon?”
To his surprise, Ewan saw nods of agreement and understanding in the assembled crowd. Has everybody else been thinking the same thing? Of course, they had, he told himself. They were Starfleet officers too, sworn to the Prime Directive and therefore sworn to peace and exploration, not battlegrounds and wars.
“The answer is clear, ladies and gentlemen,” he continued, intending to wrap up his speech. “The USS Steamrunner will save lives, not take them. In doing so, she will stand for the values of the Federation, allowing my ship and crew the opportunity to reach out and touch all of the unexplored star systems that we’re eager to see. In briefing this bottle of rather fine Altairian Grand Premiere Champagne, I hope we’ve got some more to actually drink, otherwise I’m not wasting it. Anyways, in breaking it over the warp core, I guess I’m finally answering that question of pride. Yes, I am proud. Not of myself or the Steamrunner herself. I’m proud of you. Of the work you’ve done and of the lives we’ve helped to save. To the Federation!”
In chorus, Engineering repeated his final words as the glass shattered and the sparkling beverage cascaded all over the deck plating.
With excitement comparable to a kid in a candy store, to doubting the abilities of his crew members, to a foreboding crisis of morality, Ewan Llewellyn had certainly been through a tirade of emotions over the Steamrunner. It had tested him, and he would learn to view the tests in retrospect as the days passed by and his mission progressed.
Besides, he wasn’t in charge of the Steamrunner. He was handing that position over to whoever Edward Blackmore selected from Starbase 499.
Picking up a glass, he finally joined the party in both body and soul.
EPILOGUE
The door chimes rang. It was late.
“Come in!”
With confidence and compassion, Valerie Archer stepped into Llewellyn’s quarters. The captain closed his book and stood as the door slid shut behind her.
“Valerie… can I get you something?”
“No, thank you,” she answered. “I just wanted to say goodnight and once again, congratulate you on your speech. I imagine that it felt good to get everything out in the open. It’s a good policy to have. They’ll respect you more now. You know… the crew, for opening up like that, in public. I guess I felt it was my duty to let you know that all of us think that you’re a fine captain. It’s rare to realize it so early on, but I’ve had department heads already tell me that they’re honored to be serving with you.”
“That’s perhaps the nicest thing that I’ve ever had anybody tell me.”
“It’s the truth and I’ll be here every day, reminding you of it. Goodnight, Ewan. see you in the morning.”
“Goodnight, Valerie.”
The End...