So over the past several weeks, I’ve been stretching my fan-fiction legs a little and spinning out details for a hypothetical new Star Trek show. We’ve got about a half dozen characters, a couple of settings, and the general premise for my version of Starfleet Academy.
But we all know that a show is only as good as the stories it tells. So what stories would I want to tell about Kam Sulu, Jessa Atin, Herschel Williamson, and Naomi Wildman?
Truth be told, I haven’t spent a lot of cognitive effort on this. I mean, I had a few ideas when I set out, but I knew that this is all likely just going to remain here, in my little corner of the Internet. So I thought that this would be the final post of this series.
But then, as I started thinking about it, a whole bunch of threads came together and a storyline gelled. And I have to get it out of my head.
Buckle in, folks. It’s time for our friends to enroll.
Season 1
I don’t have much for this one. Obviously Kam, Jessa, Herschel, and Naomi would have to arrive on campus. They’d enroll in their first classes. They’d get the lay of the land, maybe belly up to the bar at O’Brien’s. Herschel and Kam would develop a crush on Molly. Jessa would have a hard time fitting in due to latent and blatant hostility from the other cadets. The Big Being on Campus would make his presence known.
At the midway point, our heroes would begin to pull together. By the end of the first season, they’d be friends.
They would also start to brush shoulders with the “Big Bad” of the series, a shadowy organization that has some sort of nefarious plan for the Federation. Think Section 31 or something similar.
I know that’s a bit light, but let’s be honest. Any first season of a Star Trek usually stinks up the joint. The writers need to kick the tires, see what’s working and what isn’t. And this show would need that too.
Season 2
Having survived their first year, our cadets start to feel the pressure. Some of their classmates have failed out. They feel like they might be next. But they’re also hitting their stride. The administration is starting to notice them. They’re being sent out on more field exercises to exotic locations.
We’d see some new students enroll as well. A female named Quma, a cadet from a race that’s recently joined the Federation, arrives on campus and she and Herschel pretty much fall in love right away. Another new arrival is Sienae Rehu, a Romulan cadet brought to the Academy via a cultural exchange program. Sienae is naturally aloof and stand-offish, but she finds some acceptance from our heroes (Naomi especially).
In the second half of this season, we would see the Great Race (for lack of a better term). The Academy would be given half a dozen barely functional starships, ones that would have been top of the line forty years ago. The cadets are divided up into teams and they’re given the following mission: make your ships spaceworthy, and then follow a series of instructions that will bring them through the Federation and maybe into friendly territories. They’ll have to simulate away missions, battles, diplomatic negotiations, all of it carefully controlled. An instructor is stationed on each ship.
Our heroes would likely get divided up onto different ships. Kam would be named third officer and navigator of his ship (a sleight that would bother him). Herschel would be a chief engineer, naturally. Naomi would be made tactical officer, which would make her profoundly uncomfortable.
Much to everyone’s surprise, Jessa is named captain of her vessel with Nog as her mentor.
Everything seems to be going fine, but on one leg of the journey, Kam spots something unusual (again, related to the Big Bad somehow). He tries to bring it to the attention of his commanding officer (probably the Big Being on Campus), but his captain isn’t interested. When Kam spots another oddity, he manages to find a way to contact the others. They form their own coalition to work together across their ships and figure out what the Big Bad is up to.
Whatever it is (and I’m open to suggestions), our heroes decide to conspire and cooperate. Kam stages a mutiny, rallying his crew and ousting their captain. Herschel and Naomi are a bit more diplomatic with their teammates. And Jessa (with the help of Nog) gets her crew to rally behind her. The four ships break away from the pack and take on the Big Bad, thwarting their plans.
Technically, they lose the Race. And really, they should fail the exercise and be expelled, Kam especially. But Nog goes to bat for them and persuades the commandant to let them stay. But they’re warned that they have to behave themselves from here on out.
Will they? Well, you’ll have to come back next week to find out for sure, especially since next week I’ll delve into the storyline that’s got me so excited.