Several FanFic Questions

[Bynar0110]

I have some questions related to Star Trek Fanfiction.

1. Would it be plausible for a Starfleet officer to hold the rank of Lt. at the age of 19 or 20?

2. Is this story plot plausible. Set in the The Next Generation era.
Two Starfleet officers(The officers are parent and child) are heading for their next assignments via shuttle-craft. During the journey an unexpected rip and tear in space appears and it sends shuttle craft back in time to the late 20th Century where they end up meeting and getting to know their ancestors, while trying to figure out a way to return back to there time period, and avoiding giving any hints they're from the future. The characther's are OC's by the way.

 

[CeJay]

I have some questions related to Star Trek Fanfiction.

1. Would it be plausible for a Starfleet officer to hold the rank of Lt. at the age of 19 or 20?

Sure, and if they serve on Discovery, they could even be the first officer. Or if you set it in the Kelvin timeline, they could probably be the captain.

But joking aside, considering you would likely have to complete at least high school to join Starfleet Academy, and the Academy lasts about 4 years, it's probably not incredibly plausible to have such a young lieutenant.

Now, your story does not have to be plausible, but if you want it to be, I'd probably first ask myself if the plot absolutely requires such a young officer. Could they be a cadet, instead? Could they hail from a long-lived species like Vulcans or an all-original race? If you're dead-set on a really young human officer, you could try and find an explanation on why they are so young, temporal anomaly, Dougie Howser-scenario, etc. The limit is your imagination.

As for your plot, I don't see why that couldn't work. Time travel is not the most original Trek story, but I don't think a time-displaced parent/child scenario has been done much before. That could be interesting.

 

[Robert Bruce Scott]

1. Would it be plausible for a Starfleet officer to hold the rank of Lt. at the age of 19 or 20?

There is the possibility of someone completing the equivalent of a bachelor's degree at a young age, then entering service via 6-months training Officer Candidate School. Or complete a degree at a young age while enrolled in Reserve Officer Training Corps. Graduates of OCS or ROTC enter service at the rank of Ensign. Typically at least another 24 months to qualify for 2nd Lt. It's unlikely for Star Fleet to allow a human to enter active duty before age 18 (although they could be in ROTC or OCS as early as age 17 + 6 months - the youngest age a human would likely be allowed to enter Star Fleet Academy.)

People who complete a bachelor's degree before age 18 are very rare - but there have been instances of people completing doctoral programs before age 20. So if your human were a driven genius who completed a degree by age 18, including OCS, they could conceivably enter service as an Ensign and qualify for promotion to Lt. J.G. before age 21.

You would probably want to do some research into wunderkind before writing one. STNG writers had a devil of a time with Wesley Crusher.

I generally agree with CeeJay about the plot. If you are going to do a time travel story, give some thought to the mechanism that sends them through time. Close encounters with malfunctioning romulan ships, for example, can play havoc with time. If you have an interesting mechanism, it could be used to provide an additional problem so that it's more than a standard time-travel story. Additional problems could include premonitions, time glitches, bleed-through from other time periods - or some really dark and spooky stuff. Any of these issues could add a clock to your story, which adds tension ("If we don't resolve this issue within 32 hours, a 17-headed demon named Dexter will start eating relativity" (or some such nonsense.))

It could spice up your story quite a bit.

Thanks!! rbs

 

[Admiral2]

I have some questions related to Star Trek Fanfiction.

1. Would it be plausible for a Starfleet officer to hold the rank of Lt. at the age of 19 or 20?

Sure. Just make it a meritorious promotion or battlefield commission. It's arguable that if the USS Valiant, from DS9's "Valiant," had successfully completed her mission her cadets would likely have been able to retain their battlefield ranks, or full commissions at the very least.

And of course, someone mentioned Wesley Crusher. Wesley was a problem character from episode one, but you don't need the character to be a wunderkind. Promotion for merit just requires the character to do something heroic or otherwise important to a mission. Battlefield promotion is even easier. Somebody just has to die and leave a pressing need for a new lieutenant.

2. Is this story plot plausible. Set in the The Next Generation era.
Two Starfleet officers(The officers are parent and child) are heading for their next assignments via shuttle-craft. During the journey an unexpected rip and tear in space appears and it sends shuttle craft back in time to the late 20th Century where they end up meeting and getting to know their ancestors, while trying to figure out a way to return back to there time period, and avoiding giving any hints they're from the future. The characther's are OC's by the way.

The Next Generation is a series where in one episode the non organic hero ship gave birth. "Plausible" has never been the point.

The point is whether you can tell the story in a way that someone enjoys reading, and the only way to really know is to write it, post it and see how the audience reacts. If the story is entertaining and engaging enough, nobody will worry about whether or not it makes sense.

 

[Bynar0110]

Thanks to everyone for the advice. I be sure to keep in mind when I begin working on my story.

 

[Bynar0110]

Any tips when doing Stardates?

 

[Robert Bruce Scott]

Memory Alpha: Stardates

Memory Beta: Stardates

The link to Memory Beta will probably be more useful. Thanks!! rbs

 

[Sgt_G]

1. Would it be plausible for a Starfleet officer to hold the rank of Lt. at the age of 19 or 20?

Using modern military as a guide: LT (O-3) = no, LT-jg (O-2) = at 20 is possible but highly unlikely as the minimum age is 18 and it takes two years time-in-grade from O-1 to O-2 (and another two to O-3).

EDIT: .... minimum age TO BECOME AN OFFICER is 18 ....

 

[WarpTenLizard]

1.) If they're a prodigy, or from a species that ages faster than humans, both of which are commonplace in "Star Trek."

2.) Sounds like a pretty standard plotline. You might need a quick justification for why a parent and kid are serving together, depending on the seriousness of the mission. Of course, Dr. Crusher and her irritating spawn both served on the Federation's flagship, and the lead character of "Lower Decks" is the captain's daughter, so it seems Starfleet is pretty lax on relatives working together.

 

[Bynar0110]

I guess it would be unoriginal if Q was the cause of the time travel mishap?

 

[Bynar0110]

As for the parent and child being together. They were on Shore leave before heading to there new assignments. The Parent by the is way are in there late-40's.

 

[Robert Bruce Scott]

I guess it would be unoriginal if Q was the cause of the time travel mishap?

A Q is perfectly capable of it. They tend to have some reason for bothering with such unbelievably trivial acts - a particular interest in an individual or some sort of amusement from the ensuing chaos.

If a Q is involved, that will presume that it will be watching, which will then make appealing to it the presumptive solution for your protagonists.

As long as the Q's interest is thought out and you understand its motives and perspective, it can be a very original story. Just be very careful that the Q is not some sort of altruistic angel as they are anything but. Q are profoundly bored and tend to find limited species such as humans stultifyingly boring.

Thanks!! rbs

 

[Bynar0110]

Another idea I had was Gary Seven lending a hand to the stranded time travelers in helping them get back to the 24th Century, while trying to keep the timeline of history intact. I don't know if that's overkill, especially if Q is going to be causing trouble. Can Gary Seven even make good foil for Q?

 

[Bynar0110]

Again, thanks to everyone to for sharing there thoughts. Reading them has my writing muse very motivated.

 

[Robert Bruce Scott]

Another idea I had was Gary Seven lending a hand... Can Gary Seven even make good foil for Q?

The Great Bird would have definitely cast Gary Seven as a foil for a Q, had the actor been available. You really can't go wrong including him. His canon appearance leaves him wide open for interpretation - is he actually human? Or could he be, like Crewman Daniels, a hybrid of several Federation species from the future? Who knows what all abilities he has - he could have some betazoid and vulcan ancestry, with long life, physical strength and telepathic abilities... He would not be anywhere near an even match for a Q - but he could prove a resourceful and clever foil. Always fun to match wits against raw power...

BTW - there's a fan theory that Trelane was a baby Q...

Thanks!! rbs

 

[Bynar0110]

Is technobabble required in a star trek fanfic?

 

[Robert Bruce Scott]

If you like writing technobabble and have a feel for the better trek tech stuff - let'er rip. Not needed if you don't want it. Especially if your characters aren't engineers. But try to avoid the four sins...

Unless you can work them in humorously...

 

[Bynar0110]

The parent is a starship captain , while the child is a science officer.

What are the four sins?

 

[Robert Bruce Scott]

What are the four sins?

See cartoon above: Divert all Power to Engines; Reverse the Polarity; Cross the Streams; Reroute through Deflector...

 

[Galen4]

See cartoon above: Divert all Power to Engines; Reverse the Polarity; Cross the Streams; Reroute through Deflector...

Ah, so this is where that “reverse the polarity” comment is coming from, Robert.