Star Trek: 500

[BrotherBenny]

I was thinking about all the science fiction shows I have seen over the years and wondered whether any could be modified for use in Star Trek. I think I found one. What follows is a brief profile for the main character and then a desciption of the series.

Bearing in mind that I'm alread writing two fanfic series already, this one will happen when I get stuck on the other two. Hell, it's how I came up with this one in the first place...



Ashley Turner is a twenty-three year old man who managed to survive the flood which almost destroyed Sheffield in 1864, but his leg was broken. He fell asleep against a tree waiting for the floodwaters to recede but when he woke, he found himself lying on a patch of grass in the middle of a field being stared at by a sixteen year old girl. She took him to her family where he was nursed back to health and told that the year was 2364. Turner has been thrown five hundred years into the future. The girl’s father, a Starfleet doctor, reports the man’s appearance to the Department of Temporal Investigations, who debrief him.

Turner, a jack-of-all-trades, is told about the future and given an extensive history lesson. In return for the doctor’s kindness, he enlists in Starfleet and takes basic training in the engineering, operations and security disciplines, discovering that he actually has a talent for problem solving. After his training he is assigned to the USS Hood, under the command of Lieutenant Commander Zane Cavanaugh, the chief engineer.


Cavanaugh, in addition to being the Chief Engineer, is also the head of an elite squad of the Starfleet Corps of Engineers assigned to the Hood. The program is an experiment in assigning a team of the Corps to ships of the line to test their usefulness. Unfortunately, this experiment does not succeed. In 2367 Cavanaugh is promoted to full Commander and his team is reassigned to the Oberth-class starship USS Sanzio under the command of Captain Elizabeth Sarah Braswell. The Sanzio is one of six dedicated Starfleet Corps of Engineers vessels overseen from the Tucker Memorial Building by Admiral John Harriman.



Well folks, what do you think?

 

[Mistral]

I'd want to see a bit more, obviously, like why the experiment doesn't work, how our hero plays into it etc but it sounds interesting. I'm a time-travel freak so I dig anything that even hints of it.

 

[TheLoneRedshirt]

An interesting idea for a series. What SciFi show are you deriving this from?

 

[Gibraltar]

It’s definitely a fascinating premise, but I just have a hard time believing someone from the 19th century could make the necessary mental transition to the 24th I can’t see someone from such a relatively ‘primitive’ era being able to grasp the fundamentals of energy sciences, quantum mechanics, and faster-than-light space travel in just a few years. I might believe a person like this merely existing in the 24th century with access to plenty of psychological help to ease the transition, but serving in Starfleet? I’m not so sure. Perhaps if the person was a member of the British Royal Navy at the time, and was used to a hierarchical command structure, and had solid combat experience from that age… just maybe they’d feel some affinity for Starfleet service.

 

[hellsgate]

Hmmm. Interesting.

Though, I'd make him a victim of the Skagarans from "Ent" (or someone else), whom had found your character injured, scarcely conscious & slipping into shock by an alien science/scout craft. Figuring no-one would find him in-time, & imminently approaching a drowning death, they loaded him up into their cargo bay in 1864.

Fast forward to 2364. He's been found & revived from cryogenic stasis by yet another astonished TMP-era Starfleet crew. On a world with little obvious indication of an intelligent populace, located on the border of the Alpha & Beta Quadrants, much like Earheart & the 37's on the Briori homeworld. Of course, Ashley has no idea whatsoever how the hell he wound-up looking out at them from a stasis pod. The structure is located by the Away Team from a Phobos-Class (Loknar-Class upgrade) survey vessel strictly by a thousand-to-one accident. The vessel decides to pull into standard orbit on the opposite side of the planet to scan the same site some Klingons are sniffing around, but a little more intensely than usual.

(The Skagarans have grabbed Humans before, so it seems feasible.)

He's gradually naturalized into the 24th century over months, & then assigned as already described.

Just my $0.02

 

[Mistral]

And worth a dollar.

 

[Starkers]

I think this would only work if it featured a cute little robot that said 'bidi bidi', and Erin Grey in a very tight jumpsuit...

 

[BrotherBenny]

Starkers said:
I think this would only work if it featured a cute little robot that said 'bidi bidi', and Erin Grey in a very tight jumpsuit...

Ten points.

Gibraltar, he is out of his depth and ordinarily, I would agree that someone like that has no place in the 24th century, but you're all missing the big picture.

How the HELL did he get to 2364? That's his quest over the series, his motivation, and you'll eventually discover something about him that explains much. And before you ask, it's not Q or any of the TOS gods.

 

[TheLoneRedshirt]

Buck Rogers! Of course! (Slaps hand on forehand) I should have picked up on that. I still think it makes for an interesting story line. Go for it!

As to how he got there . . . Well, sometimes you just shouldn't follow the white rabbit.

 

[DavidFalkayn]

I think that you could have some interesting byplay--especially if he brings his nineteenth century outlook and worldview with him. Oddly enough though, much of that would be quite compatible with Starfleet's worldview, while much of it would conflict.

 

[BrotherBenny]

I'll write a teaser this weekend and see what happens.

 

[BrotherBenny]

Rising Tides

Teaser

Ashley Turner, personal log, May 17th, 2364, stardate 41375.1
In the last three months I have survived a flood with a broken leg, been sent five hundred years into the future, had my leg healed without the need for a splint or surgery of any kind and been interviewed by a group of strange people about the nineteenth century and what I did there. I’ve also had time to think about what the hell happened to me and why and I have come to a simple conclusion. I don’t know. I knew that in my time, 1864, I was considered to be an oddity—an intelligent young man born to ignorant parents with an apparent ability to absorb information quickly—and yet was a simple jack-of-all-trades. I was considering my options when an opportunity presented itself. The doctor that healed my leg came to see me.

‘How have you been settling in?’ he asked.

‘Quite well, but I’m still not sure what to do with myself. In my time I needed to work to earn money to live somewhere and feed myself, but here it is all provided for me. I have some ability but there’s nothing for me to do.’

‘That isn’t quite true. Now that Temporal Investigations is through questioning you, they’ve given me permission to speak with you. I belong to an organisation called Starfleet Command. We’re a sort of space navy that explores the galaxy. I gather you’ve seen the aliens on this planet?’

I nodded. ‘Are they slaves?’

‘No, they are friends and members of the Federation, the alliance of worlds I told you about before.’

‘I remember,’ I said. ‘What does this Starfleet do?’

‘We explore, and if the need calls for it, we fight to protect what we have.’

I disliked fighting and said so. He had an answer for everything.

‘We use violence as a last resort, and only then for defensive purposes. But you don’t have to be on a ship out there. You can work here on Earth or spacedock in orbit.’

‘I saw it, it is incredible that we can build such a thing, and seeing Earth from orbit…’

‘Many people feel that way the first time, and many feel that way every time. I came to ask if you would like to join Starfleet. You said to me when my daughter found you that you were a jack-of-all-trades, able to fix or build anything. In Starfleet there is a group of people just like you all working together, in teams. We call them the Corps of Engineers.’

‘Like the Royal Army Corps of Engineers?’

The doctor looked at me strangely for a moment and then nodded. ‘Yes, except on a much bigger scale.’

It was just the opportunity I was looking for. ‘I don’t know much about the technology in this century. Won’t that make it difficult for me to become an engineer?’

‘You learn quickly, Mister Turner, I don’t think it will be a problem for you. And you may be able to solve problems that others can’t because of your insight, a fresh approach from a different perspective. Come with me, I’ll introduce you to a friend of mine.’



Ashley Turner, personal log, supplemental
As the San Francisco day turned into early evening, and the temperature plummeted, Doctor David Allen took me to a large building next to what was obviously a huge hospital complex. The Tucker Memorial Building was apparently the headquarters of the Starfleet Corps of Engineers and on the top floor, about thirty storeys above ground level, was the office of the Corps Liaison to Starfleet Command. I waited in the anteroom while he spoke with the office’s occupant. I spent the time looking at the models and images that adorned the walls. They were, I learned, of famous Corps vessels which had served the fleet or officers who had held the post, as well as plenty of party pictures in which the liaisons looked bored with the VIP they were snapped with. A wiry man emerged from the office with Doctor Allen and I noticed the number of pips on his uniform. He was an admiral, if my recent memory served, and a high-ranking one. I didn’t like the look of the uniforms; they seemed too restricting. Both men were smiling as they approached and the admiral offered his hand to me.

‘Mister Turner, my name is John Harriman. It’s a pleasure to meet you.’

I shook his hand. ‘Admiral, it’s an honour. Doctor Allen has been telling me a lot about you.’

‘All of it good, I hope,’ Harriman said with a grin.

‘Of course,’ Allen replied.

‘Come in, we have a lot to discuss.’

I followed Admiral Harriman into his office, which afforded a grand view of the San Francisco skyline. He sat down on a couch and gestured for us to join him, which we did.

‘David tells me that you just arrived from the nineteenth century.’

I nodded. ‘I’m not sure how, yet. But I intend to find out.’

‘Is that your motivation for wanting to enlist?’

I considered the question. ‘My main motivation, yes, but I’m bored and want something to do with my life. Sitting around all day holds no interest for me and I used to be a kind of engineer in my time.’

‘A “jack-of-all-trades?”’

‘Yes.’

‘Obviously the technology is quite different to what you were used to, but if you can adapt to it as quickly as you have adapted to general life here, then I see no reason why we can’t find something for you to do.’

‘I would like to spend some time catching up on history and technology before I make a firm commitment.’

Harriman smiled. ‘I’m afraid it doesn’t work like that. History is easy but much of the technology is classified for Starfleet use only and you will need to have agreed to abide by the regulations before we can allow you to learn more than the basics. If you truly want to learn how and why you were sent here, then this will be the best place for you to learn the answers to those questions.’

‘I will take the oath.’

‘Excellent,’ Allen said. ‘Perhaps one day we will serve together.’

‘What ship do you serve on?’

‘I am the chief medical officer of the Saratoga,’ he replied with pride.

‘I will add your name to the list of new recruits,’ Harriman said. ‘The next oath-taking will take place in a week’s time at Starfleet Academy. After you take the oath, you’ll be given training in an area of expertise based on your abilities and then assigned to a starship or starbase. Do you have a preference?’

I had been thinking about that very question since David posed it to me during our walk to Starfleet Headquarters. ‘I would like to be given training in all areas of engineering and assigned to a starship.’

Harriman nodded. ‘Earth too small for you?’

‘I have gone from thinking humanity was alone to learning that there is a whole galaxy to explore, and if I’m out there I might run into the people or culture that sent me here.’

The SCE liaison smiled. ‘Good answer. I think I can arrange that, and as for your training, I believe that the beginners’ engineering course which they teach at the Academy will be suitable to your purpose. It is a three month course, after which time—and provided you pass—you’ll be assigned to a starship.’

‘Good luck, Ashley,’ David said to me, clapping me on the back.

‘Welcome to the twenty-fourth century,’ Harriman said from his seat.

I hadn’t told Temporal Investigations or anyone else the whole truth about my life. The flood was the best thing to ever happen to me, even if I did break my leg. I was running out of money and work was drying up as people learned to repair things themselves. Unless new technology was created, I would probably have starved to death in short order had someone or something not sent me here, to this future.

I still wonder why and being in Starfleet gives me an unparalleled opportunity to find out.

 

[Kaziarl]

Definitely a promising start. I'd like to see something along the lines of his psychological reaction to the situation. I don't think anyone can really adjust that easily. It's almost like he woke up and went "meh, ok." Other then that. Keep it up.

 

[HyperionReborn]

Kaziarl said:
It's almost like he woke up and went "meh, ok." Other then that. Keep it up.

Heh, yeah, my feelings exactly.

 

[TheLoneRedshirt]

Certainly a good start and an interesting character. I would think that Starfleet would have a counselor shadowing him, even surreptitiously, to observe his psychological health and how he adjusts to life in the future. He's obviously interested in how he arrived in the 24th century. Hopefully, Starfleet can help him in that regard.

 

[Kaziarl]

I agree with the counsler, but even with the best one in the fleet, like the Doctor when he was first activated (bad joke alert) 3 months is still kinda short.

 

[BrotherBenny]

I was thinking about having a counselor but decided against it for reasons you'll see. His mental attitude, to my mind, is a little like McHenry's from the NF series - but the two are not related exactly

 

[DavidFalkayn]

I'm probably bringing up stuff that you're planning on addressing later on, but I don't really get the "fish out of water" feeling with Turner yet. Here's a nineteenth century British man coming from the period where Victorian Britannia ruled the waves. How would he react to taking orders from a woman--or a man with darker skin color than himself? How does he feel not just about interracial relationships--but interspecial? How does he feel about the legacy left behind by his time? Does he view Federation society as decadent or enlightened? I'm hoping these are some of the themes you're going to be dealing with here.

 

[Mistral]

I'm with Falkayn. And also, the bit about his quick adjustment. Remember, this is a man who probably believes in God on a level only found in modern day Christian Fundamentalists. His view of the "proper" way to live is probably askew from the 24th century on many levels. And(sorry for nitpicking) how is he going to learn anything useful in 3 months? How would anyone? This guy has to learn 400 years of tech. That's like expecting Rembrandt to learn CAD design in 3 months. Anyway, I bring these points up because they are great ways to introduce conflict in your story(s) NOT to criticize. However you go about this, I'm sure it will be interesting.

 

[BrotherBenny]

I see where you're all coming from, and I agree with it all. However, I am going to give away a little hint about where I want this series to go. Turner might have been in the nineteenth century but he never felt like he belonged there, because he didn't.

That doesn't spoil it much, because he'll learn that in the next part which I'll be writing soon.


Edited to add: Actually, I think I'll rewrite it and introduce a counsellor. I just had a friend nitpick and I realise that it isn't all that realistic, even given the direction of the series.