Happy belated New Year, everyone. I know things have been quiet around here lately, but rest assured I'm well into my next story, but first, something a little different. As I mentioned repeatedly in the annotations to the
Chaos Theory trilogy, I've been looking for a design for the bridge of the
Venture and I think I just have. A modder for
Star Trek: Bridge Commander going by the handle hjenterprises recently released a redesigned version of the Galaxy-class bridge refit from
Star Trek Generations, which you can see and download
here. As you can see, it definitely fits in the post-
Star Trek Nemesis era; comfortable, but functional. Warm, yet serious. It's different enough from the bridge of the late
Enterprise-D to denote both advancements in technology and make it identifiable as a different vessel, but at the same time clearly shows a continuing design lineage. Here are a few screenshots I took to do this bridge a little more justice, but first here are the appropriate credits:
Original Generation Bridge Refit model by Will Riker, LC Amaral, Sean, and Red Dragon
Lightmapping by LC Amaral
Animations by Mark
Scripts by Mark and Dasher
Original textures by Mark and LC Amaral
LCARS displays by Tobias Weismann
Additiona modifications for the Generation Bridge Refit II by hjenterprise
A view from just in front of the main view screen.
From the forward turbolift...
...and from the door to the observation lounge. Note that for whatever reason, the original Generation Galaxy Bridge flipped the science and communications stations on both sides of the bridge from how it was depicted in the film and this slight error is repeated here. As depicted in VEN, the science consoles manned by Commander Pret are on the starboard side, so it's best to ignore the difference in these pictures.
The aft consoles. Note that according to
Star Trek Generations, they should have been labeled Science IV, Mission Ops, Environment, Engineering I, and Engineering II. A similar error was made with the intitial Generation Galaxy Bridge and was again repeated here. In Bridge Commander, these stations are animated and the Environment station cycles through images of various locations throughout the ship, including the observation lounge. If I had seen this bridge beforehand, I might have had Lieutenant Tenari use this to spy on Captain Henderson and Colonel Shuvane in "Chaos Theory, Part III."
The tactical station where Tenari stands (or sits in this case) watch. Note the convienent phaser locker; handy in case intruders randomly beam onto the bridge.
The operations station of Commander Brody.
Ensign Vasquez's post at the helm.
Now, for the final picture in this batch that transitions nicely into our second topic for the day. Here's what the
Venture's crew will encounter on their next mission:
USS
Star League by Lord Schtupp
I'm pleased to announce the latest tale of
Star Trek: Venture, titled "Raise the
Star League!" To wrap things up, here's a special preview from the prologue, though note that this is still a work in progress and while this section will hopefully remain unchanged, some minor tweaks and edits may occur before the story is released:
In spite of having faced death and disasters unparalleled to anything he had ever encountered before, Captain Mark Henderson of the starship
Venture swore that this was the most nervous he had ever felt. Tonight, he wasn?t facing a power-mad general, a renegade Romulan, or a human-machine entity with an army of robotic soldiers at his command. No, this time it was something that he was far more intimidated by: politicians.
He took a deep breath to calm himself as he led most of his senior officers into the Roth Dining Room of the Palais de la Concorde, the capital building of the United Federation of Planets in the Earth city of Paris, France. The
Venture had spent almost a month and a half escorting a ship from a species called the Trinni/ek to a state dinner and diplomatic summit with President Nanietta Bacco. Said dinner was to be held in this room, which took up the whole twelfth floor of the Palais and the entrance of which was dominated by a portrait of the room?s namesake, former President Hiram Roth. Large tables filled the room and on the west wall was a raised platform with another table, presumably where the president and her honored guests would be dining this evening.
?You all right, sir?? asked Commander Alexandra Logan, his first officer. As a reward for escorting the Trinni/ek vessel to Earth and for their efforts during the recent crisis in the distant Cole Cluster, the entire senior staff of the
Venture had been invited to attend the dinner. ?You look about as white as your uniform.?
?I?m fine,? Henderson said with a calming sigh. As befitting the occasion, he and his officers were wearing their white dress uniforms, which the captain found to be a little tight in places. There was already a sizeable crowd gathering in the Roth Dining Room, mostly members of the Federation Council and of the president?s administration milling about; the sort of people whose decisions and policies were implemented by people like the crew of the
Venture. A woman in a long black dress walked up to the captain, making eye contact the whole way.
?Captain Henderson?? she asked.
?I am,? he replied.
?If you?ll follow me, I?ll show you to your table,? the woman said quickly. ?The president?s due to arrive in a few minutes.?
?Lead on,? Henderson said and they were all taken to a table some distance from the main one where President Bacco and Trinni/ek Speaker Ytri/ol, whom the captain met when the
Venture hosted the Trinni/ek for a short reception before heading to Earth. However, that was the only contact Henderson?s people had with them during this whole trip and it was something else that was making him nervous this evening. ?Have you heard from Ambassador Morrow yet??
?Not since he beamed down before us,? Logan answered as they started to sit down. Ambassador Colton Morrow was the Federation diplomat who handled most of the dealings with the Trinni/ek and seemed as equally puzzled by the Trinni/ek?s sudden silence during their journey, particularly since the Trinni/ek seemed so sociable during their visit to the
Venture. ?I wouldn?t worry about it, sir.?
?I want to know why I?m supposed to be here,? grumbled Lieutenant Commander Elios Pret, the
Venture?s Bolian science officer. ?How come Brody got out of this??
?You know why,? commented ship?s medical officer, Doctor Janell Senara of Trill. Lieutenant Commander Jesse Brody III, second officer and best friend of Captain Henderson, was presently reuniting with his wife and two children, whom he hadn?t seen in several months due to the dangerous and extended mission the
Venture had wrapped up before bringing the Trinni/ek to Earth. Henderson gave his friend permission to skip the dinner, though the captain wondered if he should have taken Brody?s invitation to a family barbecue instead of coming here. But, he had his obligations and the last person he felt he should snub was the President of the United Federation of Planets.
?Hey, I?d rather see my family than hang around here,? Pret countered.
?Your family won?t be here for a week,? Henderson noted wryly.
?Great, I?ll be spending the whole night being called ?Pret the Polluter,?? muttered the science officer, referring to the fact that he was a controversial figure in the Federation thanks to his opinions on warp drive damaging subspace.
?I?d rather be keeping those Starfleet inspectors? hands off of the engines,? complained Lieutenant Commander Valentina Koroleva, the very possessive and dedicated chief engineer of the
Venture.
?Look on the bright side,? commented Counselor Arvax, an Edosian known for being blunt with his patients, ?good food, good wine, no one trying to kill us.?
?Boring speeches,? added Lieutenant Shanen Tenari, the
Venture?s Bajoran chief of security. ?Awkward conversations. Makes me almost nostalgic for all those times someone was pointing a gun at my head.?
?Be careful what you wish for,? Logan commented. ?Who knows where Starfleet will be sending us after this??
?Thankfully not until after our shore leave is up,? Arvax said as he raised his glass of what looked to be white wine up with his middle hand. ?To the officers and crew of the
Venture. I think we?ve all earned this.?
?Here, here,? added Logan, but Henderson didn?t put his glass in just yet with the others.
?To Captain Stanley,? he interrupted, which quickly turned the toast quite somber. Warren Stanley was Henderson?s predecessor as captain of the
Venture, as well as his commanding officer and mentor. He was killed in the line of duty almost four months ago, paving the way for Henderson?s promotion and setting the
Venture on a long and dangerous journey that culminated here at the Palais.
Quietly, the senior staff touched their glasses and sipped their drinks quietly. Henderson glanced towards the entrance to the dining room, wondering how rough the hostess? ?a few minutes? figure was. In his experience, politicians rarely started things on time. After setting his glass down, he saw a portly figure walk up to their table out of the corner of his eye, a male who judging by the spots along the sides of his face was a Trill like Senara was.
?Captain Henderson?? he asked.
?Yes sir?? the captain replied as he turned to see who it was who wanted to speak with him.
?Jas Abrik, Federation Security Advisor,? the Trill explained and Henderson quickly got out of his chair to shake the hand of the important member of President Bacco?s cabinet.
?It?s an honor, sir,? Henderson said. ?I remember when you guest-lectured at the academy when I was there.?
?That was a while ago, Captain,? Abrik joked.
?Certainly feels that way,? he replied before gesturing to his crew with his left hand. ?And these are my senior officers??
?Captain, if you wouldn?t mind,? the security advisor interjected politely, ?I?d like to have a word with you in private.?
?Of course, sir,? Henderson said and they both headed over to a window that looked out onto the
Champs Elys?es that the Palais straddled and the surrounding buildings of Paris. ?Is this in regards to the Trinni/ek??
?No, this is about your mission before that,? Abrik said before he glanced around to ensure that no one was within earshot. ?About Trinity.?
?I see,? the captain remarked. Project Trinity as the organization that the
Venture had been attached to when Captain Stanley was killed and during the tumultuous events in the Cole Cluster.
?I?ve read both your report and Admiral ch?Thanek?s,? he prefaced, the latter officer being the current head of Trinity, ?and while you?re both to be commended on how you handled the situation, I do have a few concerns.?
?Such as?? Henderson asked, not sure if he liked where this discussion was going.
?The Aiarans, for one thing,? Abrik replied, referring to a species that the
Venture?s crew made first contact with inside the Cole Cluster. ?I?m not exactly fond of the idea of yet another extended mission of mercy taxing our resources for the foreseeable future.?
?Sir, as the admiral noted, because we?re partially responsible for what happened, we have an obligation to help them,? the captain explained calmly.
?Captain, we?re spread very thin out there,? the Trill said in a slightly annoyed tone, as if he had this argument before and lost. ?Cardassia, Romulus, Tezwa, and countless other worlds are receiving our aid. There?s a limit to what we can do without compromising our ability to lend assistance to our people and to defend our territory. Sorry, I?m projecting my frustrations onto you. You did the right thing and while the secrecy around Trinity will probably keep anyone from hearing about it for the foreseeable future, you should be proud of what you accomplished.?
?I am, sir,? Henderson said, ?but Nelveth deserves a lot of the credit. He gave his life to stop that Strassmann thing. I think the bigger shame is that his own people may never know what he did.?
Nelveth was a Romulan commander who in an attempt to unite his fracturing empire enlisted the aid of a human scientist named Dr. Hans Strassmann to unlock the secrets of an ancient and extinct race called the Xentarians, whom Project Trinity was tasked with studying. Strassmann merged with a Xentarian artificial intelligence, evolving into some kind of god-like being of pure thought bent on imposing order on the galaxy or wiping out those who opposed it with an army of advanced war machines. With the help of the
Venture?s crew, Nelveth destroyed his ship and himself to stop the Strassmann thing.
?It?d be nice to have some good news for that corner of space these days,? Abrik noted, ?what with the Remans and now that Mendak person causing trouble. If we could tell them how Nelveth really died, it could rally the Romulan people together; maybe stave off a civil war. Still, I find it hard to think that his sacrifice completely absolves him of the Federation lives he took.?
?I did at first, sir,? the captain explained, ?but hopefully what he did could be a first step towards a brighter future for both our peoples.?
?I hope so, too, but somehow I doubt it?ll come as easily as that,? the Trill commented. He paused a moment before adding, ?You?ll be happy to know that Lieutenant Bravel?s been granted asylum.?
?That?s good to here,? Henderson said. Bravel was Nelveth?s consort and the only survivor of his forces. She was also pregnant with the commander?s child, ordered by Nelveth to raise their daughter and perhaps one day to teach her what her father did save both of them. ?Any idea where?s going to live??
?I?m afraid that?s classified,? said Abrik. ?Considering what she knows about the Xentarians and what went on in the Cole Cluster, Federation Security?s given her a new identity and constant surveillance. The Romulans, despite assurances to the contrary, might try to grab her. Even if she didn?t know what she knows, they still could abduct her to put her on trial for treason. The praetor?s taking a hard line on traitors these days, and ironically there seem to be more of them with each passing day??
?Excuse me, sir,? interrupted the same hostess that led Henderson?s party into the dining room, ?but the president is about to arrive.?
?Of course,? he said before turning back to Henderson. ?Good to meet you, Captain. I look forward to hearing about your debriefings with Starfleet.?
?Debriefings?? Henderson asked curiously.
?Everyone in San Francisco with the highest clearance level wants a piece of you now that you?re back,? Abrik answered with a smirk. ?One doesn?t go through what you did without having to pay the piper, as you humans put it. If you thought I was being a harsh critic, just you wait until Command gets done with you.?
Great, he thought.
I help save most of the galaxy and now they want to drag me over the coals about it. Abrik departed towards a table near the main one while Henderson returned to the one occupied by his officers. Most of them were engaged in idle conversation though Logan glanced up with a look of concern on her face.
?How?d it go?? she asked.
?This is certainly a part of the job that Captain Stanley didn?t warn me about,? he muttered. His attention quickly turned to the doors leading into the Roth Dining Room, where another large group was entering. Henderson quickly recognized President Nanietta Bacco, an older human woman wearing a white jacket about the same shade as her hair plus black leggings. It actually didn?t look too dissimilar to the uniform Henderson was wearing.
?The President of the United Federation of Planets!? bellowed a Tessenite security guard loudly enough to make the glasses on the table vibrate slightly. Henderson and his officers rose and stood at attention to salute their commander in chief as the anthem of the Federation started to play over the speakers. The rest of the crowd rose and applauded Bacco as she and her party made their way towards the platform. The president occasionally stopped to shake hands and trade remarks with people on the way, however the Venture?s crew were on the opposite side of the dining room, meaning that Bacco likely wouldn?t be stopping by until later in the night.
?You still look nervous,? Logan muttered. Since they had known each other since Henderson was an ensign and she was his superior officer (and about ten years his senior in age), such minor criticisms passed without comment.
?I just hope that the Trinni/ek?s sudden shyness doesn?t cause any problems here,? said Henderson anxiously.
?What could possibly go wrong?? she asked in a joking manner.
And that wraps things up for now. Look for "Raise the
Star League!" sometime later this winter and be sure to keep an eye out for further updates.