Star Trek/Merlin: the crew manifest

Fandom: BBC’s Merlin AU / Star Trek (reboot) AU: Merlin Trek Series: Fandoms in Trek AUs [masterpost] Related: ship’s patches (seal, enamel coin)

SF:\Starfleet\Starships\USS Excalibur>NCC_1664>_

“Once and Future” Ship’s Name: U.S.S. Excalibur Ship’s Registry: NCC-1664 Command History: Captain Arthur Pendragon (2258-PRESENT) Ship’s Class: Constitution Class Ship’s Type: Heavy Cruiser Ship's Assignment Patch: << click to open file >> Ship’s Overview: One of the so-called "Big Sisters", the twelve Constitution-class ships currently designed as the premier frontline Starfleet vessels, in an in-joke with the surname of the current captain, it has been unofficially nicknamed by its crew "The Den of the Dragon". It has made the reputation of the one ship with the most anarchic management and most eccentric leadership, for its captain promotes and sponsors those he considers fit for a specific position, uncaring for the division the officer comes from. Ship’s Service History, abridged: _ Constructed at the Great Dragon Shipyard, and planned to launch in late 2258, its maiden voyage was hastened to replace the starships lost to the Narada attack. << access complete service history >> Status: Active (2261.18) Crew complement: 1,098 (1,100) Crew manifest: _ <read more for the extensive list>

Liaison officer: Admiral Uther Pendragon Captain for 25 years of the Albion-class USS Camelot and head of the powerful Pendragon clan, a surname that had been Earth's elite dating back to centuries before the foundation of the Federation, Uther Pendragon is Startfleet nobility at its purest. He embodies the most severe side of the institution, the commanding officer who accepts that lives under his command will be lost, that a captain will always have to choose what is right for the benefit of the ship, Starfleet and the Federation over the lives of their officers. Ambitious and self-driven, he's widely known within Starfleet for his sternness that borders on tyranny - infamous is the so called "Purge", the implementation on the Camelot of a strict non-fraternization protocol between all the crewmembers under his command, an harsh policy that led to demotions and forced transfers to other ships. On top of his own personal career, Uther's focus has always been on his son, from whom he expected to always excel. He made use of his family's power on top of his ever-growing personal connections to have a say on his son's career, starting from cadet Pendragon's first assignment to space duty on a warship, but moved heaven and earth until he managed to get his son on the Camelot. Any concern about a potential conflict of interest between his role of Ensign Pendragon's direct superior and his role as the officer's father was soon proven to be unfunded. Arthur Pendragon's harshest judge, his choice to ask a court martial for his son for the "Troll Tax Crisis" raised few eyebrows within Starfleet HQ, as did the confinement to the brig for the unauthorized Mortaeus mission (despite Lieutenant Pendragon's risky gamble saved the lives of many crew members) and the threat to have him demoted over the "Queen of Hearts Incident". Worried about his son's inability to keep a yeoman, he is the one who - as captain - choose Crewman Emrys for the position and forced him to Arthur, at the time security chief; while Emrys proved more than once his sense of duty and loyalty toward Arthur, Uther might've regretted his decision more than once, for he has the feeling it has been Emrys who ruined an officer who was reliable and dutiful before. When it was the time to assign command of a new batch of Constitution-class, Uther spent his personal leverage to get his son included in the list of potential captains; displeased by Starfleet's initial choice to assign the Excalibur liaison officer position to someone else but him, his status allowed for the role to be assigned to him. He's a member of the prestigious British gentlemen's club Five Kingdoms, alongside Albion-class former captains Olaf and Alined.

Commanding officer: Captain Arthur Pendragon Born into a wealthy family, as the only son of Starfleet nobility Admiral Pendragon, and orphaned of the mother (the late Commander Ygraine de Bois of the USS Camelot who died immediately after childbirth), Arthur's childhood was marked by the oppressive shadow of his absent father, who clipped his wings and imposed him an heavy study course. Talented in many sports, with a promising career in the British fencing team, plenty of gold medals already in his pocket and an invitation to be part of the team for the next Olympic Games, he had to give up his dream of ever fencing at the Interplanetary Games to enlist at a young age at his father's wishes, although he indulged a little rebellious strike by applying for operations track instead of command. The pressing need to best Morgana, his father's ward and unofficial adoptive sister, gave him the necessary will to go through the Academy, from which he graduated as a security officer, trained in combat arts and the use of weapons. Moving from ship to ship, always his father's behind any assignment, he raised through ranks until gaining the stripes of lieutenant commander. Reassigned to the Camelot as the new chief security officer under the captainship of his own father, here he met his long-time friend and platonic half, then Crewman Emrys. After a brief stint as acting captain, to replace an ill Uther, his father orders him to return to the Academy and finally get his Command School post-graduation, unless he plans to forever be someone's second. Dragging Emrys with him, Arthur obeys and when he's back to ship's duty, Uther managed to have him assigned as the commanding officer of the Knights fighter units until it's time for Uther to accept his promotion to admiral; with Arthur ready for the three stripes, Uther makes good use of his connections to have Arthur picked as his successor on the chair of the Camelot for the last leg of the ship's journey. Initially planned to be a quiet year in space before seeing the ship off to a deserved decommission, his first captainship turned out to be turbulent as the Camelot is dragged in a series of skirmishes, including the destruction in Camlann system; the victory warranted him the title of "High King", bestowed on him by the system's inhabitants he saved from the brutal Saxons who attempted to invade and destroy their planet. Uther's plan to buy Arthur's time and prepare him for a more high-profile captainship pay off. With Arthur's recent achievements, it's easy for Uther to get him included in the list of captains to be considered for a Constitution-class and Arthur's own clout gets him the Excalibur. The day Arthur is officially assigned the ship in a ceremony is Uther's happiest day. Called by his crew "Chief Dragon", he's a captain who spends more time off the chair than on it, preferably leading an away team to check a new planet. He will stop at nothing to protect his ship and the people living on it (friendly named respectively "the den" and "the hoard" by his half-sister). In an in-joke with the ship's name, the captain's inner circle is called "The Round Table", with the security branch of them taking the name "Knights of the Round Table". Long-time rival of the USS Essetir captain Cendred, who never forgot him for the promotion to a Constitution-class, he has an enemy in Captain Lot of the USS Dumnonia since the time of the Camelot - Lot's son died in an incident on the Camelot, where he had been assigned as a cadet for a quarter, and he blames Arthur as his son's direct superior. Selected to be team leader for the secret mission labeled "The Eye of the Phoenix" to retrieve an ancient alien artifact, was assigned the code name of "Courage" by the mission supervisor, Lieutenant Grettir. He's member of the Hot Shots, the group made by the younger generations of captains and lead by James Kirk of the Enterprise.

First officer and Weapons specialist: Commander Guinevere Smith Daughter of an engineer, to follow her father's footsteps has never been Guinevere's ambition, an earthbound life was what she wanted. But with a best friend as boisterous and ambitious such as Morgana Gorlois, she was doomed. To give up one own's path to follow a friend to university is not unheard, as it isn't two friends that apply for Starfleet Academy willing to stay together. What's unusual is that not only both pass the entrance test and are admitted but that the friendship lasts despite the choosing of different tracks and the heavy study course that leads to graduation. Thanks to the connections of Morgana's guardian, Uther Pendragon, they always serve together, moved from ship to ship as if they were married. The only time they are forced to split is when Guinevere has the true chance to shine on her own. Her reliability and honesty helped her raise through ranks until earning the stripes of lieutenant commander. Chief communications officer on the Camelot for the last months of the ship's glorious service, she earned the respect of Captain Pendragon by proving to be a good mate to have at the side on a planetside mission. Seeing in her the seeds of a future captain, it's Pendragon who fights with Starfleet HQ to have her as his first officer for the Excalibur, despite Guinevere not having any command school training. (Arthur chose to fight for her promotion because he was tired of being told that only command school could be first officers and that USS Enterprise's Spock was the exception to the rule; it's his way to rebel to a rule he thinks stupid, a rule that forced him to return to the Academy if he wanted to ever hold a commanding position). The unofficial captain of the Excalibur, she spends most of the time sitting on the command chair in stead of Captain Pendragon, who takes part to every single planetside mission. She's undoubtedly the most level-headed of the whole senior crew. With a passion for craftsmanship, she learned how to bend gold and metals from her father, and she made jewellery-making her hobby, her favorite shapes are keys and small swords replicas to be worn as pendants. She's the only female member of the "Round Table" club. Everyone but the captain calls her by the nickname Gwen. Chief engineer Elyan Smith is her brother.

Chief science officer and Third officer: Lieutenant Commander Merlin Emrys Curious and hyperactive and with an uncanny natural affinity for every science branch, as much as unconcerned by rules and with no care for any form of hierarchy, Merlin is the kind of chief science officer a captain would never want to have on the ship. Despite his inability to be tidy and the tendency to improvise, he's still a genius in a blue shirt and he hides his intelligence behind a facade of goofy, always happy simpleton. He also doesn't know what "chain of command" means. Inexplicably, Captain Pendragon always refused to kick him out of the ship and went out of his way to save his scrawny ass too many times to count, and he's also the only officer on board who have the galls to refer to the captain as "a dollop head" and other kinds of epithets in his face. Having grown together in the field and having stricken an (almost unhealthy) close friendship bond, he has the captain's ear and his complete trust - so much that the crew affectionately refers to him as the éminence grise of the Excalibur. There are mornings in which he wakes up and can't still believe he's been put in charge of a whole department like his father, the Camelot's late chief science officer Balinor, had been. He actually can't believe that in a couple of years he raised through the ranks until becoming part of the senior crew. And that he managed so despite starting his career as a non-commissioned officer. The captain might be a prat, but Merlin won't thank him enough, since it was Arthur that half talked/half ordered him to apply for the Academy in the science division, promising he'd wait for him to graduate before set out to space again - Merlin paid back by speeding up his academic course and making it in two years and half instead of the standard three for enlisted officers. He hides a powerful strike of authority under his friendly demeanor and the science department almost reveres him like a god; since that one mission in which he was mistaken by the locals for a warlock, when his knowledge of science impressed the primitives, the crew started to call his department "the Magic People". At the start of his career, when he served as then-Commander Pendragon's assistant for his first assignment (posted there by Admiral Uther Pendragon in person), he was tutored by Lieutenant Blaze, whom he considers some kind of adoptive father figure. He's a member of the "Round Table" club. His father is officially MIA since he vanished not much after "the Great Purge" of the USS Camelot; Merlin hopes that, one day, he'll be able to figure out what happened to him. He took part to the "The Eye of the Phoenix" mission with the assigned code name "Magic".

Chief armory and tactical systems officer and Second officer: Lieutenant Commander Leon Cameliard Son of a wealthy family, he received the best education and attended the most prestigious schools of Europe, Earth. His preparation had him admitted to Starfleet Academy with high scores. Unfazed by the reputation of the red shirts, he chose operations track, interested in a career in security. Reliable and trustworthy, perhaps a bit overzealous, his bravery earned him his officer's commission during the third year. The meeting with Arthur Pendragon is what will shape his life. Leon is a ensign fresh of graduation, the Pendragon is a second-year cadet serving a semester on the ship. Sharing interests about ancient weapons and medieval melee, they strike a friendship that lasts even when Pendragon ends his assignment and returns to the academy. They manage to serve again, and Leon doesn't mind that the younger offices gets promoted over him; facing side by side dangers in planetside missions, Leon develops a strong sense of loyalty toward a friend that he recognizes as command material. Never afraid to speak up if he feels his superiors make questionable choices, it's such honesty that wins him Pendragon's respect. Then-Lieutenant Pendragon eventually raised to the position of chief security officer on the Camelot, supported by assistant security officer Geraint Sir. Leon is happy to take orders from the two. The sadness for the loss of Geraint is mixed with the honor he feels when Pendragon chooses him as his new second. Together they make a good couple. He's promoted security chief when Pendragon suddenly leaves to return to the academy, and he's still serving in such position when Pendragon comes back to the Camelot as the new captain to see the ship off to a well-deserved retirement. Picked to resume the position on the Excalibur, few months later he's gravely injured during a mission. To heal he was forced to take a leave of absence but when he returned his position was taken by his former assistant, Lieutenant Du Lac, and the captain seemed reluctant to demote Du Lac. Knowing about Leon's expertise on weapons, Captain Pendragon bought himself some time by offering Leon to temporarily take over the vacant chief armory officer position; Leon faces the new assignment with his deep sense of duty. The change proves to be welcome: after years of stressing about assuring the safety of others and to maintain order above the ship, it feels refreshing to be in charge of virtually every weapon aboard the Excalibur and he's not eager to return to his stressful previous position. When the captain is reassured that his friend and loyal subordinate is happy with the current assignment, he promotes Leon to chief tactical systems officer as well so he might be responsible for the efficiency and improvement of the starship weapons on top of the status of the small arms and weapons stored in the armory. He's known to give dissertations to every crew member who happens to ask him a weapon. If you are in need of a weapon for a specific mission, he shall find the perfect one! While considered the most serious of the "Knights of the Round Table" club, he always joins his peers in their jokes and teasing.

Head nurse: Lieutenant Gaius Blaze Gaius enlisted as a young boy and most of his service record is related to Admiral Pendragon. Despite his almost decennial experience built on the field that brought him to the position of head nurse and the rank of chief petty officer, it never occurred to him to take a leave to obtain a medical degree that he could easily get. Thus his career stagnated, until then-Commander Uther Pendragon forced a leave on him with the order to enroll in the Academy and get if not the medical degree (that would grant him a chance to run for the position of CMO) at least the commission. After graduating, Gaius returned to service with Commander Pendragon and followed him at every transfer until they both settled on the USS Camelot. After Uther was promoted and the ship reassigned to Arthur Pendragon as his first captaincy after the brief stint as commanding officer of the Knights fighter units, he considered his obligation to continue to serve on active duty by following Uther's son and, by doing so, he met the boy-now-man he considers the child he never had: Lieutenant Commander Emrys. His Eyebrow is made of legend and its renowned in the whole 'Fleet, second only to Enterprise Spock’s: he will make you do what he wants just by silently staring and pointing his Eyebrow at you. Alongside CMO Cara, he's the only active crew member who served under both the Pendragon father and the Pendragon son in a senior capacity. He recently rekindled his romance with Chief Petty Officer Manticore after twenty years of separation.

Chief communications officer: Lieutenant Gwaine Lotson Son of a red shirt died under late Captain Caerleon's command when he was little, Gwaine grew resentful of high-ranking officers, as he blamed Caerleon for his father's pointless death. Reckless and carefree, he embarked as security on freighters traveling in dangerous space areas, learning the job on the field. He stumbled upon then-security chief Pendragon and his loyal shadow, then-Ensign Emrys, under disguise in a shady place, and was dragged in a brawl, where soon weapons popped up and Gwaine ended up having a close encounter with a knife. Gwaine woke up in a Federation starship's sickbay, where he discovered whose life he tried to protect but, definitely enchanted by Emrys contagious smile, he grudgingly accepted to help the duo in their mission, proving he and Pendragon made for an awesome team. Gwaine parted ways from his new friends with the promise of giving the Academy a try (according to Pendragon, he was wasting his talent with freighters and Gwaine was getting bored anyway). He failed the exams on his first entry but, out of stubbornness, he decided to try another time: thanks to his high scores, he was allowed to reapply the following year, when he was accepted. To his surprise, he soon met the Dynamic Duo again in San Francisco, where they had transferred back to the Academy. Pendragon complained for the whole duration of the course that Gwaine was ruining Emrys, but Gwaine was just dragging his favorite science cadet to a place or two to show him how to live la vida loca: it's not his fault if Pendragons are stuckup bores. He speaks much, and most of the time his blabbering makes the captain develop a headache, but he's the most reliable communication officer one would wish to have at one's side when dealing with hostile aliens: he specialized in languages while training as security officer after serving for years on freighters traveling the worst backward routes of the quadrant, after all. He's the one who came up with the term "Knights of the Round Table" to call the red shirts of the "Round Table" circle like himself. Personally picked by supervisor Grettir as the third officer for the small team that would sneak into hostile lands to retrieve an ancient artifact under the secret mission labeled "The Eye of the Phoenix", he was assigned the code name "Strength".

Assistant computer systems officer: Lieutenant Commander Morgana Gorlois Daughter of Lieutenant Commander Gorlois, late security chief of the Camelot, Morgana was orphaned at ten when her father died during a tragic mission planetside. Feeling guilty for the failure of saving the man he had been friends with since the Academy, then-Captain Uther Pendragon applied for her custody and provided the best schooling his money could buy. Despite not asking for an official adoption, he treated her as a daughter and she and young Arthur grew to consider each other as some kind of reluctant siblings. Always competing for any scrap of attention the absent Uther was willing to offer, they took their never-stopping rivalry to the Academy, where they applied the same year. Despite her penchant to give orders and dominant attitude, Morgana declined the appeal of command track and picked science instead. Gifted in hand-to-hand combat and a fierce épée fencer, a sport she practiced since she was in primary school, she was part of the Academy fencing team where she excelled as one of the most talented of the recent years. She and Arthur both won golden medals to the Academy in any tournament; although she claims she could beat him, they never publicly faced each other on the Academy piste. Her best friend is Commander Smith. Close since Morgana came to live in the Pendragon house, they enlisted together and managed to be roommates for all four years. Morgana had no qualms in asking Uther Pendragon to intercede so they could serve together in every assignment they got. Her presence on the Excalibur is a mix of stubbornness, entitlement and nepotism. When news of Pendragon's captainship was official she decided she wanted to be assigned to a Constitution-class as well to not be undone by "her stupid little brother". But when Arthur managed to convince Starfleet to let him pick Lieutenant Commander Smith as his first officer, Morgana knew her place was on Excalibur as well, to help her friend manage the unruly captain. Arthur, initially adverse, relented to her request out of exhaustion and Uther interceded, buying a dispensation to the rule that requires siblings to serve on different ships. Always eager to learn more about computers and their language, Morgana is the only one on board, with Lieutenant Emrys, who can backtalk to the captain and not end up in the brig for insubordination. She might abuse of her ability to manipulate Captain Pendragon, but always for the good. Usually. Eager to "get her hands dirty", she tries to impose herself to the away parties. Every time. And she usually gets it her own way. He has won the nickname of "high priestess of the computers" because of how magical her skills happen to be. Her late mother Vivienne cheated on Gorlois with Uther, an affair during which Morgana was conceived, thus making her the blood older half-sister of Captain Pendragon. Vivienne didn't reveal the truth to her husband and Morgana was thus never told her true parentage. For his own reasons, Uther Pendragon is resolved to take this secret to the grave.

Security chief: Lieutenant Lancelot Du Lac Grown up on a small planet outside the Federation borders, he witnessed the destruction of his village at the hands of interstellar bandits. Vowing to never be helpless again in the face of tyranny, he dedicated his life to study with the dream of enlisting to Starfleet, the formidable force of peace that provides security in the quadrant. His dream got cracked when, in front of the recruitment booth, he discovered that non-Federation citizens candidates cannot attend the Academy if not sponsored by a command-level officer. Lancelot had no connections but he managed to qualify for the limited list of non-Federation applicants allowed to apply as non-commissioned personnel and thus Lancelot signed up as yeoman for the services department His training brought Lancelot to the Camelot, where he had the chance to met then-Lieutenant Pendragon, who managed to get him transferred to security. A planetside mission gone wrong, in which Lancelot defied orders to save a life, drew on him the rage of Captain Uther Pendragon, who filled in an immediate transfer with a black mark on his file. Despite Arthur's reassuring words, Lancelot left the Camelot knowing his career is ruined and retires, returning to a civilian life. Two years later Lancelot, who was working as security for a ruthless businessman called Hengist on a small planet in the middle of nowhere, is reached by a letter of reference written on his behalf by just promoted Captain Arthur Pendragon. Stunned, Lancelot took the first ship leaving the planet and got admission to the Academy Preparatory Exam and the high score opened him the doors of the Academy, where he applied for Security. Here he met cadet Grail, with whom he'll share quarters for all the academic years. His hopes to return to the Camelot are crushed when news of the ship decommission arrive and Lancelot is still a cadet. But, once again, Arthur Pendragon looks over him because, as soon as he graduates, Lancelot is assigned to the new Excalibur, where raises thorough the ranks and soon is assistant chief security to Lieutenant Commander Cameliard, who then replaces as chief security officer. Despite Admiral Pendragon not approving of his promotion (and being vocal about it), Lancelot proved he earned the position in countless times and has the complete trust of his captain. He's the most reliable and serious of the so-called "Knights of the Round Table", the operations branch of the Round Table circle.

USS Excalibur mainframe conduit: Ensign Freya Bastet Affected by a mood disorder that started after an assault she was victim to when she was seventeen, Freya's life is a precarious balance between extreme happiness and extreme depression. Despite early diagnosis and medication that prevents relapses, she developed a sense of shame that lead Freya to a solitary life, scared about letting people get close to her to then see them leave as soon as they discovered about her "curse". After years serving at a research station that had started to feel like a prison and worsened her mental health, Freya longed for a change and applied for a transfer on a starship. With her medical history she could've never thought her application would be not only accepted, but that she would be ordered to report to one of the Big Sisters. Freya was very nervous at the prospect of serving on a starship the size of the Excalibur, too many people, a high risk of stressful episodes. Skittish and defensive, she actively made sure to not draw attentions on herself. Her service record granted Freya a quiet post in one of the many small control rooms of the big ship and she was fine. This until chief science officer Emrys was made aware of her apparent aloofness and, as head of the science department, approached her to see if everything was fine. Freya even today can't explain how and why, but she grew to trust Emrys and eventually opened up until, for the first time, she revealed her "curse". Unlike all the previous people in her life, Emrys doesn't judge her and put himself instead into slowly introducing her into the crew. She's long since embraced the potential of living on what is a moving big village made of people who consider themselves an adoptive family. Freya now has many people she can call friends, she smiles whenever she goes on duty and feels welcome as person as much as valued as officer - with positive effects on her mood disorder. She still gets her regular stabilizers injections and she's been assigned a psychotherapists to follow and assist her. She loves lakes, as they remind her of her happy childhood, the quieter the place the better is her mood. First officer Smith discretely includes Freya's name in the landing party when a lake presence is confirmed in the place the team will visit and the planet is deemed safe.

Deputy security chief: Lieutenant Percival Grail Easygoing and funny despite his ruff appearance, he has become the running joke of the starship because the tunic fabric doesn't stand the power of his biceps (and he's the only competitor that could beat Enterprise's Kirk outrageous record numbers for the Award of Most Shredded Shirts). His has been the only request to have sleeveless tunics added to the standard array to ever reach Starfleet HQ. Despite his size and intimidating looks that - in conjunction to his strength and skills - make him a formidable security officer, he's softhearted and possibly the most gentle of the so-called "Knights of the Round Table". He's the right hand of security chief Du Lac with whom he's struck a friendship when they both were cadets; when Lancelot was ordered to report to the Excalibur, he followed suit without even blinking and applied for the same ship. His best friend and partner-in-crime is chief Communications Lotson.

Chief computer systems officer: Lieutenant Commander Morgause King-Gormause After a course of studies at the most exclusive schools of the planet and a Master of Science in computer systems, she enrolled at the academy where she picked operations track to become a security officer, her goal to climb Starfleet Security. An expert in hand-to-hand combat, she practiced several combat sports since a young age. She served on different ships, including a brief assignment on the Essetir as chief security officer but, unimpressed by the captain and tired of risking her life to protect unworthy men, she decided for a drastic change: return to the Academy to resume her studies in science. Promoted to the chair of Advanced Computer Programming, he was the teacher of cadet Gorlois, for whom she found a natural affection; under her tutoring, cadet Gorlois had the highest overall score in the class and finished her thesis two weeks earlier than her classmates. Despite the disdain for male captains grown through the years, she cannot resist the lure of the chief computer position on a Constitution-class, although she accepts the offer with mild pleasure after discovering that her former pupil, now-Lieutenant Gorlois, will be on the crew as well. It's easy for her to get Gorlois assigned to her as her second in the computer systems department. A firm believer that women are superior to men, she finds it hard to serve under them, and her hopeful ambition is to see Morgana Gorlois eventually replace her adoptive brother Arthur as captain of the Excalibur and, with herself as first officer, finally restore discipline on the ship. The poor girl still has to understand that the USS Enterprise has established a glorious tradition of insubordination that leaked through the rest of the Constitution-class fleet, a tradition to which there is no cure. She has an on-and-off sexual relationship going with her former commanding officer, Essetir Captain Cenred, through virtual means such as private communications channels. Obsessed by her since her stay on the Essetir, Cenred worships her and would do anything to win her over, including offering her the position of first officer. She welcomes such groveling but she hasn't the slightest intention of trading the Excalibur for a promotion on a lesser retrofitted ship. In truth she isn't much interested in a relationship on equal terms with a man, gender she believes should exist only to serve women in any capacity they might be able to. She learned to work with men, she doesn't want to live with one. And she definitely wouldn't take orders from the man she has sex with. Entrusted to an extremist cult based on ancient beliefs and made only of women when she was an infant, any record of her parentage has been lost; she isn't unbothered by this fact, though, for she considers the Nine Sisters - the heads of the cults - her own family.

Chief engineer: Lieutenant Elyan Smith Brother of first officer Guinevere, he happened on the Excalibur by fate, when the Constitution-class stopped at Star Base Fyrien where he was staying as part of the USS Essetir crew. He bumps into his sister and it's a shock for both, as they hadn't seen or heard from each other in four years, but they have the chance to sit down and smooth any disagreement. Captain Pendragon, hearing about them from Lieutenant Emrys, decided to ask Starfleet to give him Elyan, with the hope that the siblings could catch up the time lost - he does it for his first officer, but stealing a crew member to Cenred is a bonus point and a chance he doesn't want to miss. Besides, Cenred was under-employing Elyan, and the Chief Dragon doesn't like it when talent is wasted. He has inherited the passion for engineering from his father, who served many years before as maintenance engineer under Uther Pendragon's captaincy of the Camelot. In the four years of service previous to the transfer, he served on four different ships under dozens of capacities, picking up many skills, thus making him a well-rounded and capable engineer worthy to be entrusted the very pulsing heart of the ship. He's one of the so-called "Knights of the Round Table". He's been recently possessed by the spirit of a boy, and the experience left him shaken.

Chief medical officer: Lieutenant Commander Nimueh Cara The medical officer who followed Commander Ygraine de Bois's pregnancy, she was in charge of the medical team that oversaw the delivery and the one who certified the commander's following death. Her role in the tragedy and her inability to save his wive drew on her the brunt rage of then-close friend Captain Uther Pendragon, who had her kicked away from the Camelot with her career in shambles. A ship assignment suddenly forbidden, Nimueh returned to Starfleet Medical and then accepted a position on deep space starbase Isle of the Blessed. At first the newest and youngest doctor out of nine, with time she climbed the ladder until she was left in charge of the medical facilities: as the senior medical officer on the small outpost, she learned to run a sickbay with despotic manners, expecting anyone under her charge to bow the head and obey. Years later, the announcement of a future launch of the Excalibur under the command of Uther Pendragon's son forced Nimueh out of her semi-retirement on the Isle of the Blessed. Eager to keep an eye on the son of the late Ygraine, that small boy she was the first person to hold after the birth, she asks to return to ship duty and applies for the position of chief medical officer for a Constitution-class: her track record makes her qualified for the job while her own connections pay off and do the rest, getting her the assignment on the Excalibur before Admiral Pendragon can have a say and put a veto on her name. The nightmare of every patient, she acts as if she were the ruler of the sickbay. She disdains most of the crew, and resents the rest of them, but she's learning that the Excalibur isn't a place too bad to settle in.

Security officer and Security area chief: Lieutenant Junior Grade Mordred Bane Grown up in a small colony made of a simple life, a barely teen Mordred just arrived on San Francisco with his guardian Cerdan when an incident that killed Cerdan left him alone and lost in one of the biggest cities of the Federation founding-planet. He roamed for few days before he picked the attention of Morgana Gorlois, who offered him a place to stay and some help while her adoptive brother Arthur found a way to get in touch with Mordred's family and volunteered to escort him during the necessary shuttle trip. Grateful, he promised himself that he would eventually repay the siblings kindness. Years later he enlisted in Starfleet. Initially set on a non-commissioned officer career, he briefly served on a ship with then-Lieutenant Gorlois. Once again planetside, he met once again Arthur Pendragon, at the time back on Earth to graduate from command school, who convinced him to apply for the Academy and helped him prepare for the entrance test. His assignment to the Excalibur was sponsored by Lieutenant Commander Gorlois, who had felt a bond with him since that time years before. He is the youngest member of the crew and one of the youngest commissioned officers in the whole Starfleet (sharing the record with USS Enterprise's Chekov). Eager to learn and improve himself, he looks up to the captain who accepted him in the Hoard and wants nothing more than make both of his siblings sponsors proud of him. After a very secret and very embarrassing initiation carried out by the "veterans", he's been recently admitted to the exclusive and completely unofficial club of the "Knights of the Round Table".

Counselor: Lieutenant Commander Alator Catha Gifted with a superior intelligence and high esper ratings, Alator graduated in many science branches before enlisting to Starfleet with the mission to further deepen his knowledge. Ten years after rotating through assignments on science vessels, he makes the decision to return to Earth to study psychology, of which he soon becomes a renowned specialist. Researcher of cognitive psychology and everything related to the mind, he wrote many dissertations and signed important science papers. His work brought innovations and inspired other scientists, including the revolutionary doctor Adams of the Tantalus Penal Colony, but his dedication was then diverted on helping people who suffered amnesia to recover the information still archived in their brains: with his team he developed the prototype of a device that gave promising results. When his research was confiscated by Section 31, and his device used to extract information from unwilling prisoners in what could only be labelled mental torture, saddled with remorse, he put aside all his studies and returned to ship duty, where he served as science officer. Picked to serve on the Excalibur, after getting to know his superior officer, he considered it an honor to serve under Lieutenant Emrys as his second. When Starfleet, after a successful trial on the Eagle, decided to roll out the figure of the counselor on all the Constitution-class starships, his was the name selected for the position. Initially reluctant, it was Emrys to convince him to accept. A man of few words, controlled and reserved, he instills respect and awe in others. In front of him, even the most reluctant crew members eventually open up.

Records officer and Historian: Lieutenant Geoffrey of Monmouth Professor of Monmouth, renowned for his publications about Earth medieval period (including the famous chronicle "The History of the Kings of Britain"), was asked to take part to an expedition as cultural observer on a planet where society and development resembled that of the Late Middle Age in Earth's Europe. He easily settled in, recording events and crossing them with what is known about Earth's history, for ten years before a war erupted and, in the state of anarchy that followed, an extraction mission lead by then security chief Uther Pendragon of the Camelot successfully saved him from falling victim of a deadly disease. A forced prolonged stay on the starship taught him that an historian figure should be required on every starship assigned to exploration in uncharted space, so when he was finally able to return to Earth, he took the decision to enlist. Captain Pendragon welcomed him back on the Camelot, where Geoffrey served as records officer for nearly twenty years, before retiring from active service to teach Earth history at Starfleet Academy instead. Captain Pendragon's son Arthur and ward Morgana studied at his course. The promise of new civilizations to discover in a five-years deep space exploration into uncharted space lured him out of his retirement and Admiral Pendragon convinced him to resume his position as records officer on the Excalibur, under Arthur's command. On top of compiling and managing information regarding the ship's missions, he is working on the last draft of his recollection of the stay on the medieval planet. He's passionate about paper books. Every wall in his home on Earth has been turned into a shelf to collect all the ancient tomes he acquired through the years.

Senior helmsman: Lieutenant Tristan Lyonesse One of the few, in the whole crew, who dared to openly disagree with the assignment of a brand-new Constitution-class to a green captain like Admiral Pendragon's son and point out the giant elephant in the room (nepotism within Starfleet), Tristan's pastime is still to grumble about the captain's oddities (first of all his protectiveness and propensity to always not be where he should - namely, with his ass on the chair), although he long since changed his mind on Arthur Pendragon's worthiness of sitting on the chair. His hatred for Starfleet's so-called nobility, and the power these admirals wield within the service, makes him distrustful of any officer with the wrong surname, and each of them have to prove themselves before earning his trust, but when he opens up he's the most loyal officer one could hope to find. He's in a serious relationship with his duty partner, Lieutenant Blanchmains, although they often claim that they won't marry, as they're already "partner for life" and "don't need any paper trail to prove it".

Pet FSN-345-58-0047: Crewman, 3rd class Kilgharrah Emrys The not-so-cute reptile pet of Lieutenant Commander Emrys. He hates cuddling but, at least, he is quite calm and isn't a nuisance. He belongs to an alien species that resemble Earth's mythical dragons, although they're more like cats, both in size and temperament; very intelligent and possibly able to understand the human language, at least at its basic, their favorite place to laze off is a human's shoulders as they like the warmth humans radiate. Emrys inherited Kilgharrah from his father Balinor, who had discovered him during a planet exploration and brought with himself during his tenure on the USS Camelot. For this reason, Kilgharrah is used to living on a starship and what it entails.

Chief navigator and Tactical officer: Lieutenant Isolde Blanchmains Brave and loyal, she usually balances the more aggressive side of her other half, Lieutenant Tristan, and she's the only reason why the Excalibur wasn't about to leave spacedock for her maiden voyage without her senior helmsman (Tristan really didn't want to serve under the "halfwit Pendragonling captain"). She and Tristan spend their on-duty time gossiping and commenting about the rest of the crew (and especially the commanding crew). Although her main duty is sit at the helm station, she always volunteers herself (and Tristan) whenever there's an undercover mission on the workings: inexplicably, their disguise of smugglers always works. She bonded with Commander Smith over the mutual curse of having to temper an impulsive male counterpart they cannot outrank.

Transporter chief: Chief Petty Officer Mary Collins In her previous assignment, Yeoman Collins was part of a away team visiting a science colony when a strange radiation affected her and her peers, causing rapid aging. The medical team of the small vessel was unfortunately unable to find a cure. The destruction of the radiation source stopped the accelerated cells degrading her and her mates suffered, but Mary was left with a body she didn't recognize and a heavy psychological trauma. Judged unfit for duty in her aged state (and out of a perhaps vain but understandable wish to see her beauty and age return), Mary took an extended medical leave to buy herself and her career some time. Some years later, by now resigned to her fate, and with her psychological status degrading as her body did before, she was considering taking her own life, when a communication from Starfleet Medical offered her some hope: the USS Enterprise encountered as similar effect and their advanced, state of the art medical department found a cure to save their senior crew. It's uncertain if the cure will work on her, as too much time has passed by, but it's Mary's last chance: the procedure to counteract the decaying effects is long and painful but her body slowly but steadily de-ages. When she's finished, and psychological support clears her, she's returned to active duty and her physical and psychological pain is partially recompensed with an assignment to the Excalibur as its new transporter chief. The renowned soprano soloist and performer of the acclaimed musical piece "The Witch's Aria", Helen Mora, is her twin sister.

Senior medical officer: Lieutenant Aglain Serket Gentle and kind-hearted, Aglain embraced a pacifist way of life since a young age. Passionate about meditations practices, he spent years researching the many techniques of Earth, mastering them. Eager for knowledge, his personal journey to achieve higher peace brought him to Vulcan, where he studied the teachings of Surak and was given access to the meditations techniques of the Vulcans. He's one of the few outworlders afforded the honor to spend time in a Vulcan temple and given access to the most secret traditional rituals that bring the fusion of spirit and intellect. Driven by the wish to help those in need, he attended medical school and then brought such a mission with him when he enlisted. Through mastering the meditation techniques, he achieved an emotionally calm and stable state that helps him manage the stress that come with working on dangerous conditions such as a starship assigned to deep-space service. Quiet but assertive at the same time, he can keep his mind cool and not loose control even during a crisis such as a red alarm condition or under fire. Completely different in both attitude and nature, he's the stark contrast to his superior officer, CMO Kara. During his time on Vulcan he volunteered at an animal sanctuary, working with a small colony of serkets, the big scorpions native to desert planet, from which he took his surname. He's teaching Lieutenant Commander Gorlois meditation to help her manage the bouts of stress that make her sleeping path erratic.

Assistant Chief Engineer: Chief Petty Officer William Ealdorsprince Native from the same small colony, William and Merlin have been buddies since when they were toddlers. Their friendship came to a screeching halt when Merlin expressed his wish to enlist, a choice Will didn't understand as both had grown up fatherless because of Starfleet. They parted without even a goodbye, Will too stubborn to go see his friend one last time. Merlin returned into Will's life out of the blue, during a shore leave, dragging along his new best friend as well as superior, then-Lieutenant Commander Pendragon, a pompous Starfleet Brat with a powerful surname and likely richer than most of the colony in its whole. Will immediately confronted Merlin on his very dubious tastes in friendships (a Starfleet Nobility, seriously Merls?) and did nothing to get along with the oh-so-important-dragon-something, but Merlin is nothing but stubborn and pushy that somehow Will found himself agreeing into enlisting instead of wasting further time on a small farming planet. In front of his bulging eyes, Merlin had wrung out of Mr. Starfleet Prince the promise that there would always be a position open for William whenever the Pendragon got his captaincy. Will might still not like the 'fleet Brats, but never to say that Arthur Pendragon doesn't keep his word because, as soon as the name of the Excalibur's captain became official, he got the offer to transfer there. He might've changed his mind on Mr. Prince of Starfleet, but this doesn't stop William from joking about it now and then. His superior, chief engineer Smith, finds his jabs hilarious anyway.

Navigator and Tactical officer: Lieutenant Commander Mithian de Nemeth The only daughter of admiral and member of the Starfleet Aristocracy Rodor de Nemeth, graduated with the highest scores and set on the path to get her own starship in the future, Mithian's arrival on the Excalibur happened out of a betrothal that almost lead to a rushed marriage. She and Arthur Pendragon met when, both cadets of Command College at the Academy, were invited to Advanced Tactical Training and made captain of respective team Beta and Alpha. While rivals in the course, they found out they shared plenty of interests and started to hang out in their free time. Their growing attraction didn't hinder their performances in ATT: Mithian, with her Beta team, beat captain Pendragon's Alpha team in the first contact (the Lands of Gedref scenario) and science finals (the Hunter's Heart scenario), Pendragon won the security mission (the Sorrow scenario). The engagement came out of nowhere, a surprise to both their fathers and they were one step away from the marriage when they came to their senses and realized they were perhaps too much invested with their respective careers for an healthy relationship to work: marriage would mean they would always get assignments on the same ship, limiting their chances. They parted ways as friends. When Pendragon was assigned the captainship of the Excalibur and was invested with the task of putting together a crew, Mithian was one of the first names that came to his mind: facing such a challenge such as a Constitution-class, she was one of the officers he wanted at his side. The invitation to serve on the Excalibur wasn't what Mithian expected, but she jumped on the honor to work on one of the Big Sisters - although Pendragon couldn't offer her the position of chief navigator he initially promised her. Mithian and the captain's relationship is one of mutual respect and their past together doesn't come in the way: she actually is proud to be considered one of the captain's most trusted friend. An Arthur Pendragon in skirt, as Merlin would grudgingly say, she has drawn the attentions of Lieutenant Gorlois, who still has to decide if she hates or loves Mithian more (she has with Mithian the same conflicting relationship she has with Arthur Pendragon).

Pet FSN-682-43-1054: Crewman, 3rd class Aithusa Gorlois Cute and loved by virtually everyone aboard - with the only exception of the captain who hates both the overgrown lizards - she makes many happy sounds and steals everyone's attention. She loves cuddles and scratches. Officially she is registered as belonging to Lieutenant Commander Morgana but she might be drawn to Merlin. She is very confused about which two-legs is her favorite. She's of the same kind of Lieutenant Commander Merlin's Kilgharrah, but much more younger, as she hatched from an egg Merlin acquired recently.

Helmsman: Lieutenant Commander Elena Gawant Daughter of Admiral Gawant and last heir to a wealthy family that can trace its origins back to a noble lineage from Britain, for as much as his father tried to shelter her, she has grown up breathing Starfleet and it felt natural for her to follow her father's steps, especially when it became clear that she wasn't suited to mingle into high society. She's highly efficient and skilled at the helm as much as goofy as soon as she leaves her station. Receptions and gala are her worst nightmare, she always embarrasses her peers when she's forced to sit at a table amidst flag officers and she doesn't hold her tongue in presence of politicians. She hates the dress uniform, skirts and gowns - one of the reasons why she opted for the trousers female duty uniform. She loves horse riding and her favorite pastime, whenever she's allowed leave, is to set a horse off, brace herself, and let the animal ride wherever it wants. She loves frogs and has a themed collections that keeps growing every time the Excalibur stops at a planet or starbase: every officer that stumbles upon an object that resembles a frog at an alien market eventually buys it as a gift for her.

Captain's yeoman: Chief Petty Officer George Brass George is the perfect yeoman, a role he is proud to cover. Often he's asked which position he'd like to be promoted or move to, but he genuinely likes what he does, and he feels honored to do it so for the captain of one of the Sisters. His best quality? Efficient to perfection. Which might also be quite irritating, if you ask the captain who, nonetheless, never fails to point out to Merlin how much of a better yeoman George is. Unfortunately, his humor is made only of cracks about clean and shining surfaces.

Medical officer: Lieutenant Edwin Muirden Only son of two doctors, Edwin breathed medical science since he was born. With his parents he traveled the quadrant, on a mission to cure those in need, but his life changed when they stopped by a small planet home to a primitive race. Accused of witchcraft because of their extensive medical knowledge, an helpless young Edwin witnessed the death of both his mother and his father on the pyre - his attempt to either follow them or save them left him permanently scarred. The trauma cast a shadow that followed him through the years. Saved by the Camelot that arrived too late to prevent the tragedy, the orphaned Edwin was entrusted to some relatives. Edwin put all of himself in his studies. Curious and passionate despite his dark past, his superior intelligence allowed him for a quick course of study and opened him the doors to the most renowned medical schools. Moved by a secret vengeance, he enlisted in Starfleet to have the chance to get at then-Captain Uther Pendragon whom he blamed for the death of his parents, by the time he had earned the stripes and could apply for an assignment to the Camelot, the warship was retired and Uther Pendragon promoted admiral. Serve on the Excalibur, captained by Uther Pendragon's son, felt a natural choice: the plan was to exact revenge on the admiral by striking at Uther's beloved son. But he's long since decided that the young Pendragon doesn't deserve to pay for the crimes of his father.

Yeoman: Petty Officer Sefa Ruadan Shy and always uncertain about herself, young Sefa only wished to lead a quiet life, but her father Ruadan had different aspirations for her. His application to Starfleet Academy rejected, Ruadan wanted for his only daughter the Starfleet career denied to him. Enlisted on her father's pressure, Sefa never felt the call for stars and discovery that drives all the young cadets, and she faced the training with mild interest with no inclination for a specific subject. The Excalibur is her first assignment in space. Fit in such a big crew is an hurdle for her. Surrounded by hundreds of people who chose this path and strove to arrive on the Excalibur, she fears that her peers will eventually discover that she never had such a big starship in her sights and she will be singled out. Despite everyone reaching out to help her feel home, she feels out of place and undeserving. First officer Smith, who keeps a close eye on every new crewmember, notices Sefa difficulties to mingle and takes the yeoman under her wing. Serving on rotation, Sefa is thus assigned to communications, as one of the yeomen working under Commander Smith.

Nurse: Lieutenant Iseldir Chieftain Born in a self-sustaining small ecocolony in the which there was no concept of private property and everything was shared, Iseldir grew up as one of the community children, his father all the men, his mother all the women. His formative years were spent in the woods, learning to become one with nature. The call of the stars eventually reached him, driving him away from the simple life afforded by the colony, and he left his home with only the clothes he owned and a dream to become a doctor and visit far away worlds. It turns out that the bare education received in the community isn't enough to enter medicine school, too much to study to catch up, too many years to spend earthbound. Iseldir, longing for space, thus chose to become a nurse instead, a shorter course in a similar field. He loves his job and every night, before he retires to sleep, he prays his gods and thanks them for giving him the chance to be of help to those he assisted in the day about to finish. No amount of ambition can be find in him: happy for his current position, he's uninterested in a promotion.

Tactical systems officer: Lieutenant Helios Southron Born in a small independent system where the survival of the fittest was the rule, Helios trained and became a soldier in the army of his tribe. Growing cold and harsh in a world where the winner takes the spoil and the weak becomes slave of the strong, he raised through the ranks until becoming a respected warlord. Always hired to fight someone else's war, the war eventually arrived on his planet when the Klingons came to conquer it. The system was aided by the Federation, and the Klingons were driven back, and its leader chose to became part of the Federation. With mercenary activity forbidden by the new law, Helios is left with the choice of enlisting. He's taken a fancy into Commander Smith, but he's loyal to Lieutenant Gorlois, for whom he would be willing to single-handedly conquer the captainship, if she only asked.

Assistant science officer: Lieutenant Finna Bendrui Enrolled to an exclusive science academy that trains the most renowned scientists of the Federation, she failed to meet the exceptionally high standards of the institution that claims to compete with the Vulcan Science Academy and resorted instead to enlist to Starfleet. Kind, sensitive and polite but with an iron will, she's provided with a strong sense of duty: if she's given a mission, she will put her everything to carry it out. When Lieutenant Commander Alator is appointed counselor as the first for this new position, Finna is the natural choice to succeed him as assistant science officer. With Emrys permanently sitting at the science station on the bridge, the coordination of the science division is in her competent hands.

Security officer: Ensign Kara Freedom Stubborn and set into her beliefs to the point of being blinded, Kara stands her ground whenever she feels she's right, and this lead to a couple of insubordination reports that mark her otherwise spotless service record. Completely unable to hide her personal disdain toward the captain - and not willing to even give it a try - her attitude is a reason of many headaches for her boyfriend, security officer Bane, who just wishes to live a quiet life on the Excalibur and not to be put in front of the though decision of choosing between his new family and his love. Kara's stay on the ship is secured as long as the captain turns a blind eye to her behavior just for Bane's sake, but Mordred knows it's just a matter of time. Kara genuinely loves him, but her hatred for the Pendragon family blinds her, for she blames now Admiral Pendragon and his arrogance for the death of a relative she was close to, and she just sees Uther Pendragon in his son Arthur. She and security officer Bane have already shared a romantic relationship back at the Academy, before his graduation took him at the other side of the quadrant.

Physician: Chief Petty Officer Alice Manticore Skilled doctor, after practicing in her small town, Alice felt the call of the stars and enlisted as medical officer, not expecting that on a starship she would find love. With Captain Uther discouraging personal relationships between his enlisted and non-enlisted crew members, she and Lieutenant Blaze were forced to hide their relationship and kept their engagement a secret. Thus, when "the Purge" happened and the axe fell on Alice's head, Gaius couldn't request HQ to transfer them on the same ship; desperate, Alice appealed to the captain, hoping that by revealing him about the engagement, Uther Pendragon would make an exception for his friend's sake. He didn't - actually, this drew Uther's petty and vengeful hatred on her. Uther's power reached everywhere and knowing that her chance to ever enroll in the Academy was gone forever and that Uther would make sure to ruin her career wherever she went, Alice was forced to take a long absence of leave and practice as civilian doctor on the outer frontier. She took a chance to return to Starfleet and active duty on ships only when the news of Uther's promotion to admiralty reached where she was living: she hoped now he'd be too busy to pay attention to her return. Thanks to what she'll always claim was a favorable astral conjunction, her application for an assignment on the Excalibur slipped under the powerful admiral's radar and her transfer was countersigned. She and Gaius have long since resumed their romance. This time they're not willing to waste more time and bother with secrets, and they've already planned for a private marriage ceremony: captain Pendragon already agreed to officiate. From the outer frontier she brought with herself a curious (and quite ugly) alien pet animal that looks like coming out of Earth's myths, some kind of cat-sized lion with a scorpion tail and the head resembling the one of a human; despite its looks and the threatening stinger, it's harmless and spends most of his time in a box, napping.

Engineer: Petty Officer Tyr Seward A humble and simple boy with a love for his job, Tyr takes much pride in serving in the engineering of such a fine ship like the Excalibur under Captain Pendragon's command. He doesn't care that he's just one of the hundred of operations that swarms about the room, or that he'll never see a stripe around his wrist: he wears his red shirt and his petty officer pin with upmost pride. He likes to compare himself to just one busy bee who does his share: for how much little it might be, it works toward the goal of keeping a huge hive like the Excalibur thriving.

Yeoman: Ensign Gilli Ring Gilli was raised by his single father, a war veteran turned strict pacifist. Remaining true to the vow to never use violence again, the man refused to resort to weapons or his training to defend himself when he was attacked by three thugs for refusing to pay them protection bribes. His resulting death left a mark on Gilli, who grew ashamed of his father and his attempts to hide who he was. The admission to a good school was the compensation he was looking for, but he was singled out by a couple of bullies during the whole course. Quiet and mild mannered, he tried to be respectful and polite, but such experience hardened further his hearth: firmly believing that he was owed respect, he swore that he would now get it at all costs, he would learn how to fight and to never hold his fists. Putting aside his science inclination, he enlisted in Starfleet Security. His life changed when, a couple of years later, he met then-Ensign Emrys on a starbase. Mistaking Emrys for a civilian who could use some help from two drunk obnoxious Starfleet members, he stepped in. Sitting at a small table at the cafeteria, Gilli shared with Emrys his harsh view of society and what he was set on achieving, that he was set on rising through the ranks at all cost. Emrys attempted to talk him into a different approach but failed. Two days later the same arrogant crewmembers singled out Gilli again. Ready for a fight, this time it was Emrys to step in, revealing his rank and suffusing the situation before it could escalate. Emrys sat down with the frustrated Gilli explaining he took the liberty to take a look at his records and eventually convinced him to attempt the entrance test to the Academy and get an officer's commission, with the promise that Emrys would do his best to find him a place wherever Emrys would be assigned next. Emrys kept his promise. Fresh from graduation, Gilli is assigned to the Excalibur and Emrys, now a senior officer, immediately took him under his wing. After a rough planetside mission in which he was forced to kill to protect himself, Gilli finally made peace with his father's views, for years a source of shame. Now he understands why his father clung to his believes so much as to give his own life. Polite and eager to learn, he hung at the science labs too much; Emrys had him quickly transferred to the science department to tutor him. His most precious possession is the special forces class ring that belonged to his father; the object is always on his middle finger.

Communications section chief: Lieutenant Commander Vivian King Daughter of awarded Admiral Olaf King, she grew up sheltered and spoiled, surrounded by richness. Entitled and haughty, she walked through the academy course as if high rates and commendations were her birthright; such an attitude didn't win her any friend. Her father's protectiveness is legendary, scuttlebutt say that then-captain threatened any cadet that tried to woo or get too intimate with Vivian. To escape her father's oppressive clutches, she asked an assignment to deep space, hoping to get as far from Earth as she could. Her reputation precedes her wherever she goes, and when she arrives on the Excalibur, any crewmember expects to work with a conceited officer. She makes no effort to change any expectation. Firm believer that only those who graduated in command track should be promoted to senior positions, she's quick to develop resentment toward Commander Smith, a red shirt not only promoted first officer but also her own superior officer in the communications department. Captain Pendragon just grins and bears it, to not make an enemy of Admiral King her father. All in all, she shows competence and high efficiency in her duties so, for as much as he wishes to, he can't find any reason to force a transfer. An incident with some alien chemical that acted like a love potion on her and Captain Pendragon and almost got them to elope and get intimate, left Vivian with lingering one-sided feelings for the captain. In the hopes to win his love, she decided to change. It's a slow mission, but she's putting all of herself in it. Luckily for the captain, Admiral King hasn't discovered about the incident, or he would be running to the Excalibur to challenge Arthur Pendragon to a duel.

Orderly: Crewman, 1st class Daegal Druidson Orphaned since a young age, Daegal learned from very early to tend to himself and not expect much from others. His decision to enlist came for a lack of choices, an occupation like any other that would take him away from the poor colony where he grew up, for a person worth nothing like he thinks he is. With no specific skills to distinguish him, he was set on becoming one of the nameless redshirts that come and go unnoticed; it was with surprise that at orientation he was suggested to pick science division, after his attitude tests showed a caring and nurturing disposition. The one on the Excalibur is his first assignment in space. As orderly his duty is to aid medical officers with non-invasive and menial tasks, but his extreme kindness toward patients have quickly caught the attentive eye of senior doctor Serket, who monitors each member of the medical family. Eager to improve, willing to serve double duties and humble enough to accept and welcome any reprimand whenever he makes a mistake, Daegal is liked by most of the medical personnel, and to many comes natural to tutor him on how to do things pertaining to his job, or explain him instruments and procedures. His quiet presence in sickbay is acknowledged when he assists Lieutenant Commander Emrys during his recovery from a poisoning. Emrys, impressed by the efforts and caring Daegal showed toward him, complimented the orderly and then suggested CMO Cara to nurture an officer who, quoting, "had the gift". Daegal was then ordered to shadow head nurse Blaze, from whom the young crewman may learn more about the medical field. Daegal's wish is now to earn a promotion to medical assistant and then, one day, perhaps have the chance to study to become a nurse, so to better cure patients and people in need of a medical help.

Archive vault officer: Petty Officer Julius Borden Pupil of Lieutenant Blaze, he served as an orderly in the Camelot sickbay for his first years in space. When the big crew reshuffle known as "the Purge" happened, Julius left his mentor and the ship without any word, to then soon retire from Starfleet to purse his own interests. After dedicating almost twenty years of his life to the search of the triskelion, an alien artifact said to be the key to access an ancient tomb that hides an immense treasure, he found himself with just a piece of the ancient item acquired, the other two parts missing and no idea where to find them. Broke and disillusioned, he decided to return to Starfleet in the hopes of using the service's unmatched resources to complete his quest. Switching to operations, so to broaden his chance to be assigned to different positions that could get him in away parties and get privy to any information pertaining his search, and after working hard to earn the trust of any superior he served under, he finally managed to get himself transferred to one of the Sisters as the new archive vaults officer. He didn't foresee to meet his former mentor there, of all places (he thought Gaius retired from active duty when the Camelot was decommissioned and Uther Pendragon promoted to admiralty), but he immediately took preventative measures to protect himself in case Lieutenant Blaze suspected his reason to return to Starfleet after all the years spent as a civilian doing shady businesses: always quick to find out who really matters in an environment, he went straight to befriend the powerful éminence grise of the Excalibur, Lieutenant Commander Emrys, by showing interest in that odd (and annoying) pet of his, thus securing his stay on the ship. Ironically, he's unaware that he's never been closer to his goal, as both the triskelion missing parts he seeks belong to the families of two officer he serves with: one has been in possession of nurse Iseldir's family, and the third part was acquired by then-Captain Uther Pendragon and now is on display as part of his alien artifacts private collection at the Pendragon mansion.

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Updated version of version of an edit posted in April 2017. If you really, really want to see it, you find the original version here.

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Notes The USS Excalibur is TOS canon: is one of the four ship involved in the test of the M-5 ("The Ultimate Computer"), and its registry was confirmed only in 2008 as NCC-1664.

Reflections about how can Uther be Arthur's boss, and a reason for all the characters that were left out at the addendum post.

I deliberately didn't specify any pair (unless Tristan and Isolde, which is a given, and a Morgause/Cenred), so everyone can enjoy this "AU". Personally, I'm torn between an Arthur-Gwen with a side of Merthur, or a Merthur with a Gwen-Lancelot but you're free to not agree with me. Or also a gen, because they can work well even without romance complicating things.

———————————————————————————————

About the “made up” roles Liaison Officer, Computer Officer, Armory Officer and Security Chief don’t exist in either canon or non-canon Star Trek and were made up by me. See more at this post.

About assignments, ranks, surnames and other changes and reflections: to not disrupt the post into turning it into a textwall, these have been collected at the addendum post.

———————————————————————————————

Crossposted: Livejournal: prue84.livejournal.com/62323.html Dreamwidth: prue84.dreamwidth.org/57454.html Deviantart: edit (deviantart.com/prue84/art/Star-Trek-BBC-s-Merlin-crew-676312191) and text (deviantart.com/prue84/art/Star-Trek-BBC-s-Merlin-crew-the-manifest-940818683) AO3: archiveofourown.org/works/43584367 SquidgeWorld: squidgeworld.org/works/46637

love my giant wasp man heres some of the stuff hes based off of (warning for Bugs, of course)

parasitoid wasp. i looked at these and went ‘god I HAVE to make a character based off of these that doesnt kill their hosts’

black paper wasps like the ones that live on my porch and make extremely beautiful nests which i have parts of frozen in my freezer until i figure out how to preserve them and hang them in my room

Mud daubers, which i used to collect and planned to pin until my mom threw them all out because she thought they were gross :^(

earwigs, which have some of the most gorgeous wings that are Very foldable

praying mantis

a loving father :^)

Events 5.15

495 BC – A newly constructed temple in honour of the god Mercury was dedicated in ancient Rome on the Circus Maximus, between the Aventine and Palatine hills. To spite the senate and the consuls, the people awarded the dedication to a senior military officer, Marcus Laetorius. 221 – Liu Bei, Chinese warlord, proclaims himself emperor of Shu Han, the successor of the Han dynasty. 392 – Emperor Valentinian II is assassinated while advancing into Gaul against the Frankish usurper Arbogast. He is found hanging in his residence at Vienne. 589 – King Authari marries Theodelinda, daughter of the Bavarian duke Garibald I. A Catholic, she has great influence among the Lombard nobility. 908 – The three-year-old Constantine VII, the son of Emperor Leo VI the Wise, is crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire by Patriarch Euthymius I at Constantinople. 1252 – Pope Innocent IV issues the papal bull ad extirpanda, which authorizes, but also limits, the torture of heretics in the Medieval Inquisition. 1525 – Insurgent peasants led by Anabaptist pastor Thomas Müntzer were defeated at the Battle of Frankenhausen, ending the German Peasants' War in the Holy Roman Empire. 1536 – Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, stands trial in London on charges of treason, adultery and incest; she is condemned to death by a specially-selected jury. 1567 – Mary, Queen of Scots marries James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, her third husband. 1618 – Johannes Kepler confirms his previously rejected discovery of the third law of planetary motion (he first discovered it on March 8 but soon rejected the idea after some initial calculations were made). 1648 – The Treaty of Westphalia is signed. 1718 – James Puckle, a London lawyer, patents the world's first machine gun. 1730 – Robert Walpole effectively became the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. 1776 – American Revolution: The Fifth Virginia Convention instructs its Continental Congress delegation to propose a resolution of independence from Great Britain, paving the way for the United States Declaration of Independence. 1791 – French Revolution: Maximilien Robespierre proposes the Self-denying Ordinance. 1792 – War of the First Coalition: France declares war on Kingdom of Sardinia. 1793 – Diego Marín Aguilera flies a glider for "about 360 meters", at a height of 5–6 meters, during one of the first attempted manned flights. 1796 – War of the First Coalition: Napoleon enters Milan in triumph. 1800 – King George III of the United Kingdom survives an assassination attempt by James Hadfield, who is later acquitted by reason of insanity. 1817 – Opening of the first private mental health hospital in the United States, the Asylum for the Relief of Persons Deprived of the Use of Their Reason (now Friends Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). 1836 – Francis Baily observes "Baily's beads" during an annular eclipse. 1848 – Serfdom is abolished in the Habsburg Galicia, as a result of the 1848 revolutions. The rest of monarchy followed later in the year. 1849 – Troops of the Two Sicilies take Palermo and crush the republican government of Sicily. 1850 – The Bloody Island massacre takes place in Lake County, California, in which a large number of Pomo Indians are slaughtered by a regiment of the United States Cavalry. 1850 – The Arana–Southern Treaty is ratified, ending "the existing differences" between Great Britain and Argentina. 1851 – The first Australian gold rush is proclaimed, although the discovery had been made three months earlier. 1858 – Opening of the present Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London. 1862 – President Abraham Lincoln signs a bill into law creating the United States Bureau of Agriculture. It is later renamed the United States Department of Agriculture. 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of New Market, Virginia: Students from the Virginia Military Institute fight alongside the Confederate army to force Union General Franz Sigel out of the Shenandoah Valley. 1867 – Canadian Bank of Commerce opens for business in Toronto, Ontario. The bank would later merge with Imperial Bank of Canada to become what is CIBC in 1961. 1869 – Women's suffrage: In New York, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton form the National Woman Suffrage Association. 1891 – Pope Leo XIII defends workers' rights and property rights in the encyclical Rerum novarum, the beginning of modern Catholic social teaching. 1904 – Russo-Japanese War: The Russian minelayer Amur lays a minefield about 15 miles off Port Arthur and sinks Japan's battleships Hatsuse, 15,000 tons, with 496 crew and Yashima. 1905 – Las Vegas is founded when 110 acres (0.45 km2), in what later would become downtown, are auctioned off. 1911 – In Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v. United States, the United States Supreme Court declares Standard Oil to be an "unreasonable" monopoly under the Sherman Antitrust Act and orders the company to be broken up. 1911 – More than 300 Chinese immigrants are killed in the Torreón massacre when the forces of the Mexican Revolution led by Emilio Madero take the city of Torreón from the Federales. 1919 – The Winnipeg general strike begins. By 11:00, almost the whole working population of Winnipeg had walked off the job. 1919 – Greek occupation of Smyrna. During the occupation, the Greek army kills or wounds 350 Turks; those responsible are punished by Greek commander Aristides Stergiades. 1925 – Al-Insaniyyah, the first Arabic communist newspaper, is founded. 1928 – Walt Disney character Mickey Mouse premieres in his first cartoon, "Plane Crazy". 1929 – A fire at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio kills 123. 1932 – In an attempted coup d'état, the Prime Minister of Japan Inukai Tsuyoshi is assassinated. 1933 – All military aviation organizations within or under the control of the RLM of Germany were officially merged in a covert manner to form its Wehrmacht military's air arm, the Luftwaffe. 1934 – Kārlis Ulmanis establishes an authoritarian government in Latvia. 1940 – USS Sailfish is recommissioned. It was originally the USS Squalus. 1940 – World War II: After fierce fighting, the poorly trained and equipped Dutch troops surrender to Germany, marking the beginning of five years of occupation. 1940 – McDonald's opens its first restaurant in San Bernardino, California. 1941 – First flight of the Gloster E.28/39 the first British and Allied jet aircraft. 1941 – Joe DiMaggio begins a 56-game hitting streak. 1942 – World War II: In the United States, a bill creating the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) is signed into law. 1943 – Joseph Stalin dissolves the Comintern (or Third International). 1945 – World War II: The Battle of Poljana, the final skirmish in Europe is fought near Prevalje, Slovenia. 1948 – Following the expiration of The British Mandate for Palestine, the Kingdom of Egypt, Transjordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia invade Israel thus starting the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. 1957 – At Malden Island in the Pacific Ocean, Britain tests its first hydrogen bomb in Operation Grapple. 1958 – The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 3. 1960 – The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 4. 1963 – Project Mercury: The launch of the final Mercury mission, Mercury-Atlas 9 with astronaut Gordon Cooper on board. He becomes the first American to spend more than a day in space, and the last American to go into space alone. 1966 – After a policy dispute, Prime Minister Nguyễn Cao Kỳ of South Vietnam's ruling junta launches a military attack on the forces of General Tôn Thất Đính, forcing him to abandon his command. 1969 – People's Park: California Governor Ronald Reagan has an impromptu student park owned by the University of California at Berkeley fenced off from student anti-war protestors, sparking a riot. 1970 – President Richard Nixon appoints Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington the first female United States Army generals. 1970 – Philip Lafayette Gibbs and James Earl Green are killed at Jackson State University by police during student protests. 1972 – The Ryukyu Islands, under U.S. military governance since its conquest in 1945, reverts to Japanese control. 1972 – In Laurel, Maryland, Arthur Bremer shoots and paralyzes Alabama Governor George Wallace while he is campaigning to become President. 1974 – Ma'alot massacre: Members of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine attack and take hostages at an Israeli school; a total of 31 people are killed, including 22 schoolchildren. 1976 – Aeroflot Flight 1802 crashes in Viktorovka, Chernihiv Raion, killing all 52 people on board. 1987 – The Soviet Union launches the Polyus prototype orbital weapons platform. It fails to reach orbit. 1988 – Soviet–Afghan War: After more than eight years of fighting, the Soviet Army begins to withdraw 115,000 troops from Afghanistan. 1991 – Édith Cresson becomes France's first female premier. 1997 – The United States government acknowledges the existence of the "Secret War" in Laos and dedicates the Laos Memorial in honor of Hmong and other "Secret War" veterans. 2004 – Arsenal F.C. go an entire league campaign unbeaten in the English Premier League, joining Preston North End F.C with the right to claim the title The Invincibles 2008 – California becomes the second U.S. state after Massachusetts in 2004 to legalize same-sex marriage after the state's own Supreme Court rules a previous ban unconstitutional. 2010 – Jessica Watson becomes the youngest person to sail, non-stop and unassisted around the world solo. 2013 – An upsurge in violence in Iraq leaves more than 389 people dead over three days.

by BubbaKnowlton

The USS Nobility is a Sovereign-class starship on a mission of exploration; Ensign Molly O'Brien is one of her science officers. Experienced with how motley crews can become a family of sorts, Molly makes it her personal mission to make sure the crew of the Nobility does, even if certain members find it harder than others to be accepted.

-

After coming across a telepathic colony, the crew suffers from residual telepathic energy that manifests as nightmares and anxiety, especially about past memories.

Words: 1566, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Series: Part 3 of USS Nobility

Fandoms: Star Trek, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Molly O'Brien, Mekor Dukat, Original Male Character(s), Original Female Character(s), Original Child Character(s)

Relationships: Mekor Dukat/Original Male Character(s), Molly O'Brien & Original Character(s)

Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Nightmares, takes place about 17 years post end of ds9, original parasitoid species, Two-Spirit Character, science officer!Molly

from AO3 works tagged 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine' https://ift.tt/2qdY1LT

If you have a giant wasp for a boyfriend and you Don't ride him like a horse/riding hound are you even living

If the USS Nobility was episode structured there would absolutely be a subplot in one where Mekor bans Yek from holding their son because he drops him again when giving him a piggy back ride and the rest of the medical staff comes together to try and change Mekor's mind

I'm very tired but,,, Yek is always very worried when he holds Saint because his son is just so small. He's so tiny and very easy to break.

I Really need to go to bed but also I just really want to draw Yek.

The whole (Dukat-)Yek family getting ready for bed in Yek's almost class-Y atmosphere quarters after a long day of research in the lab/work in the infirmary/Being A Baby.

Another USS Nobility fic, this time ft. my OC Dr. Yek, a parasitoid who functions as the CMO’s assistant. Molly is in this one for a brief moment but Yek doesn’t know her name yet. I’m also writing a version of this from Molly’s perspective, the ‘first’ fic in the series

Also on AO3

Reunion

It’d been so cute to see the Cardassian try to repeat his full name, try to mimic all the clicks and trills and whistles. He couldn’t get the humming vibration right, so he’d purred as he said his name, which only made him lose his focus. After a few mostly failed attempts, he’d given up and asked if he went by a nickname.

“How can you be a good doctor if your patients can’t even say your name?”

He’d laughed, and pressed two of his hands to the Cardassian’s, using his other two to push his chest harder against the mattress. Everything about him had been fascinating, perfect, and he’d finally understood what his peers back home had meant by finding the one, the perfect host.

Yek had taken the last syllable of his name, mangled by his host’s reptilian tongue, and decided to go by that. He’d cherished the way his perfect host said his name, and then felt a stab of loneliness whenever he’d heard it after they’d gone their separate ways. He had to go to Denobulan medical school to pursue his career, and his host couldn’t follow him there, his people’s political relations with the Federation shaky at best.

So the Cardassian had taken their son and gone to study at a university in a different territory entirely.

And Yek had drifted off to Denobula to study other species’ medicines, always avoiding questions about his people’s technology, their culture and traditions, the location of and details about his homeworld. He’d befriended a few doctors and taken trips to other Federation worlds, learning all he could to distract himself from how much he missed his host.

When Starfleet issued a notice that they were running the medical exchange again, Yek quickly applied. A three year mission of exploration was bound to distract him, and perhaps he would find what he was looking for.

A home for his perfect host and their son.

Cardassia wasn’t suitable at all, and his host had begged him to make sure he never had to go back there. His own homeworld was too dangerous for a living host. Had his Cardassian died during the incubation period, he would have never become a doctor, and would have taken their son home.

The ship was beautiful, an upgraded Sovereign-class starship ready for almost anything that might get thrown at her. Emblazoned on her side was her registration number and her name.

U.S.S. NOBILITY

Yek’s wings twitched inside of his life support suit, and he took in all the technical information his helmet’s screen displayed. Since he wasn’t going to be acting as engineer, he didn’t tuck it into an important place in his memory. Instead, he packed it in with his other background knowledge, and then looked around at all the people around him.

People were important. He would need to remember crew members, medical histories. Observation was important. Noting friendships and preferences. All his instinctual skills meant for stalking and preying on unsuspecting hosts would be useful for his work as the chief medical officer’s assistant.

He noted a human woman walking past him; an ensign wearing a science officer’s uniform. She was shorter than average for her species, not quite thin, but somewhat muscular, and her hair hid her neck. It’d be difficult to bite her with her hair and uniform collar in the way, and she was a bit small to be a proper-

I have a perfect host already, Yek reminded himself. I do not need to follow my instincts, because it will get me court-martialed before I even set foot in the infirmary, and because I will find my perfect host again someday.

Maybe such a social profession hadn’t been right for him. Perhaps he should have pursued something involving technology after all. Now he was going to spend the next three years surrounded by viable hosts and missing his lover sorely. If only there was an easier way to find a perfect home somewhere! He wished he could whisk away his family to someplace like the Delta quadrant, so his perfect host wouldn’t cry such bitter tears over the reminders of his homeland.

Restraint was a small price to pay for free passage into the unknown. A few years would be nothing by the time it was over, he was certain. It would be worth it to track down his Cardassian and tell him of the wonderful planet they would call home.

For now, his focus would have to be on helping the CMO ensure the infirmary was up to their standards, and then reading through the crew manifests. On a ship going on an exploration mission, the most important crew members to read about would be the senior staff, and then the engineering crews. Then, the young command path and security officer ensigns that would inevitably be assigned to dangerous away missions.

He came to a halt when he spotted someone walking towards the ship with a bag slung over his shoulder, a child held in his arms.

The person turned slightly to watch as a load of cargo was pushed onto a transporter, and he could see those delightful ridges lining the man’s neck, the beautiful grey scales adorning his skin that Yek had spent nights tracing and memorizing. His hair was slicked back as always, and he’d let it grow out since he’d last seen him, the fine black protofeathers now teasing his shoulders.

It seemed the mission wouldn’t be so miserable after all.

“Mekor Dukat!” he called out loud. His Cardassian turned around at the sound of a familiar robotic voice calling his name. 

“Yek?” Mekor stared at him in disbelief. Their son perked up in his arms, chirping inquisitively. 

A few of the Starfleet officers looked as Yek rushed up to him. Mekor laughed as he was pulled into a tight embrace, and their son trilled, bouncing as he tried to give him a hug as well. “Father!”

Yek nuzzled his son’s helmet, rumbling. The toddler was vibrating with the intensity of his own purr, and Mekor looked a bit overwhelmed, eyes wide with shock even as he smiled. “Yek, what are you doing here?” he asked, voice incredulous.

“I am the assistant of the chief medical officer. What about you? I thought you were in Lissepian space.”

“I- I got a degree in virology there, and we’re civilian passengers. I’ve been granted permission to do research on the vessel, provided I share my findings and research with Starfleet.”

“That means we will both be in the lab a lot! We are finally going to be together, far away from home, just like I promised you! We will be able to look for a planet together.”

Mekor smiled, eyes shining with an emotion Yek had never been able to identify. He hoped it was positive. “If you didn’t have that helmet, I’d kiss you.”

“I can take off my helmet in my personal quarters. They have been modified to suit my needs. It would be preferable for you to move into them.”

“Saint hasn’t been in a proper atmosphere since we left your ship. That’ll be perfect for him.” Saint trilled again, and Mekor leaned his head against the boy’s helmet. “Are you happy to see your father again, my dear?”

“Yes! Father, I have missed you. Yadik missed you very much too.”

Goodness, if he were Cardassian, he might have teared up. His wings and antennae twitched instead, and he rumbled quietly. “I missed you both as well.”

i Only write self-indulgent fics so here’s something from later on in my story about the USS Nobility, a sovereign-class starship that’s on a mission of exploration ~18 years after ds9, which focuses on Ensign Molly O’Brien, a science officer. This one’s about her friendship with the virologist on board, Mekor Dukat Yek.

Also on AO3

Taste and Distaste

They were laying underneath the view port, an almost empty bottle of kanar between them. Mekor hadn’t drank any of it, but Molly had consumed a considerable amount of it, and was definitely feeling the effects. She had been wary when he offered the red encrusted bottle to her, but he could be irritatingly convincing, so she’d popped it open and taken a sip of the viscous substance.

It wasn’t very good. Most things Cardassia had the faint taste of metal, but then the alcohol content had hit her, and she’d agreed to drink it while they talked.

Their ‘hang out’ time was important to the both of them. Molly had many friends on board, but she knew the only other people Mekor was close to were Doctor Yek, Saint, and Ensign Hoji Andu. Though he enjoyed their company, they weren’t exactly friends. Ensign Hoji was still nervous around Cardassians, and saw Mekor as a sort of brother-figure instead of a friend. Mekor viewed him as a youth that he was happy to give advice to.

Doctor Yek, as Mekor’s husband, couldn’t fill the spot of friend like she did. Molly had no doubt the two of them were friends as well as lovers, but Mekor was Yek’s chosen host, first and foremost. And Saint was his son, so Mekor would always see himself as the boy’s parent more than a friend. She wasn’t even sure Cardassians saw being friends with their relatives as important.

So she was the only one on the Nobility that could fulfill that role, and she did it gladly.

“Do you ever think about your home planet, Mekor?”

“On occasion, I remember Cardassia. I don’t like to. Do you often think of Earth?”

“Not as often as I should, I think. I think about Bajor, too. ‘Cause I grew up on the station.”

“My father’s station.”

“Captain Sisko’s station,” she corrected. Mekor huffed a laugh. “And now Aunt Nerys’ station.”

“Nerys?”

“Admiral Kira.”

“Ah. Any true relation, or is this another of your parents’ friends?”

“She was the Bajoran surrogate that carried my younger brother.”

“I see.”

“Your dad used to harass her all the time.”

Mekor made a disgusted sound. “Would you pass on to her that I sincerely apologize for my father’s behavior? How distasteful of him.”

“We could- we could call her. Tell her yourself. It’ll mean a lot to her, and I meant to introduce her to you and Saint.” She sat up, convinced. “We can go to my quarters and call right now.”

Mekor stared at her. When he realized she was serious, he raised his brow ridges. He slowly sat up, careful not to jostle his son, who Molly was pretty sure was sleeping on top of him. The boy didn’t seem to notice being moved, but Molly couldn’t be certain. Not with his life support helmet covering his helmet. 

He tilted his head and asked, “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“Absolutely! It’ll make her day. Night. I don’t know what time it is on the station.” She stood up, swaying on her feet. Mekor rose and used one arm to steady her. She beamed at him. “Thanks!”

“To your quarters, then?”

“To my quarters!”

-

Mekor hoped that Molly would change her mind as they walked to crew quarters, but she remained just as eager as the moment she thought of the idea. A few people stared at them as they walked, and some of the officers whom Mekor recognized as Molly’s friends laughed. 

“Need any help, Mekor?”

“I believe we can return her to her quarters on our own.” 

His son made a little trilling sound, happy to be included. Molly made a delighted noise and reached over to give his arm a squeeze. “Saint, you’re awake! Hello, little guy- how are you feeling today?”

“Good,” a robotic voice answered, as the life support suit translated the high pitched chirp he made. Mekor was proud to hear him talk to someone other than him or his husband. 

Molly got over the novelty of hearing her friend’s son speak quickly, and surged forward. “Let’s keep going!”

“I obey.”

She laughed, turning to give him a lopsided smile as they walked down the hall. “Sometimes you really sound like a soldier.” She laughed harder when he cringed. “You’d make a poor soldier, though.”

“I am unsure whether or not that is an insult, Molly.”

She thought for a moment, and then elaborated, “You’re too much of a family man to be a soldier. And you hate leadership.”

“That is true. I have no desire to pursue a military career. My only wish is to raise Saint to be a healthy and happy adult. And-” He could see her begin to ask a question, and knew exactly what it was. “-I still do not understand what pants and relationships have to do with one another, but I do defer to Yek’s judgement more often than not.”

“Yeah. But doesn’t he drug you all the time?”

“I don’t see what that has to do with anything. I listen to him because he is older than I, and has more experience. As for the venom, I choose to allow him to inject me. It is for Saint’s welfare.”

“I guess, but doesn’t that seem kind of creepy?”

“Molly, Yek has never injected me without my permission. He would not force me to agree with him by intoxicating me. Frankly, I’m insulted that you would imply that he is somehow controlling my decisions. If you weren’t drunk, I would be angry.”

“Sorry. Just wondered.”

“Apology accepted. Do not bring it up again.”

“I was worried, for a second-”

“Molly. I do not wish to continue this conversation. Please, change the subject. How exactly do you plan to introduce me to your aunt? I can’t imagine she’ll be happy to see me standing next to you. I bear a close resemblance to my father, after all.”

-

Molly struggled a bit with her computer console, both due to intoxication and how dim Mekor had kept the lights, but managed to send a call to Nerys. She slumped back in her chair. Mekor dragged over a second one and sat down near her. Saint was sitting on his lap, patting his arm softly and making cooing sounds.

“Good. Warm. Good. Safe. Warm...” Mekor pressed a button on his son’s helmet, and it ceased translating. Then he wrapped his other arm around the boy. Saint patted that one too, still cooing. Molly reached over and patted his arm as well. Mekor gave her a look, and she pulled her hand away.

Her console beeped as Nerys answered, and Molly beamed. She tapped the console, and Nerys’ face showed up on screen. She was in uniform, the lights bright around her. “Molly, how are you?”

“Aunt Nerys!”

“You’re drunk, aren’t you?”

“I am. I drank a lot with my friend. He didn’t drink any, because he has his kid with him.”

“It’s so dark, Molly, I can barely see you.”

“Oh! Lights, 100%!”

Mekor hissed as the lights suddenly went to full brightness, bringing his hands to his face. “Molly! I don’t have my glasses!”

“Oops- Computer, dim lights by 20%. Sorry.”

He rubbed his eyes. “Chaos, that’s painful.”

“Is that a Cardassian?”

“He’s my friend! He’s a virologist, and he gave me kanar. It tasted horrible.”

“Exactly why I... pawned it off on you. Molly, I feel as though I’ve gone blind.” Saint reached up for his face, making a worried chirp. “I’ll be alright, son.”

“Where did the bottle go?” Molly looked around. She hadn’t grabbed it. She remembered she was supposed to be talking to Nerys. “How are you?”

“Good, I guess. Who’s your friend?” Mekor lowered his hands, blinking rapidly. “Dukat?”

“Mekor Dukat, formerly.” He squinted. “It’s been Mekor Yek since I got enjoined.”

“Mekor wanted to apologize to you!” Molly was proud of her brilliant idea. She couldn’t wait to tell her other friends about it.

“Apologize?”

“When Molly told me how my father used to harass you, I asked her to pass on my apologies for his extremely disgraceful actions. She... cleverly suggested that I tell you myself.”

“Huh.”

“I’m aware of how my father used to act, and I am sorry you had to experience close proximity to him.”

“Mekor doesn’t like his dad,” Molly added, feeling helpful. “He hates Cardassia.”

“I don’t hate Cardassia, Molly. I prefer not to think about it.” He sighed. “How are things on Bajor? Molly speaks fondly of your station.”

“Molly, does your dad know you’re friends with Dukat’s son?”

She didn’t see why that mattered. And even if it did, she was an adult, and could make her own decisions about her friendships. “Uh, no. I tell him about my Cardassian friend Mekor a lot, but Dukat isn’t even his last name anymore.”

“Yek, right?”

“Yes, that is a fraction of my husband’s name that I chose to replace my surname.” Saint waved his arms. “No, darling, it is not part of your name. Parasitoids don’t have surnames, and your father requested that we following his people’s naming tradition.” The boy slumped, arms going limp.

Nerys still looked wary, but Molly was sure that with a little bit of effort, she could get her aunt to like her friend. But... She was getting tired. Folding her arms on her computer console, she put down her head. She heard Saint coo at her as she drifted to sleep, and Mekor saying, “Goodness, she always does this.”

“Goodnight, Molly.”

-

“And you just let me call Admiral Kira?” Molly almost shrieked, as Mekor told her what had happened while they ate breakfast together. A few people stared, someone laughed. “I don’t remember that at all!”

“After you fell asleep, we had a rather pleasant conversation, once I assured her that I meant you no harm, and that you were the one who chose to intoxicate yourself.” He poked at the Cardassian meal he was eating. “I told her all about you.”

“God...”

“She seems like a respectable woman. I can see why my father pursued her.” She glared at him, and he gave her a small smile. “A joke. Nevertheless, we did have a nice chat. Saint grew tired, so I bid her farewell and put you to bed before returning home.”

“Was Yek upset that you were late?”

“Oh, he whined like a needy child that had been abandoned.”

“How long did he whine this time?”

“I wouldn’t know. I shut off my translator and went to bed.”

Molly saw someone headed their way. “Speak of the devil.”

Four hands clasped Mekor’s shoulders and arms, and a helmeted head ducked down next to his. “Hello, Mekor! Are you ready to go to work with me? That new virus from the binary system won’t study itself! It’s begun mutating in response to that cell specimen you added to it.”

“So quickly? Has it permeated the cell membranes yet?””

Molly noticed that Saint was hanging onto his father’s back. She waved to him, and he waved back. Mekor got up. “Leaving so soon?”

“My apologies, Molly. We’ll have a proper breakfast tomorrow.”

“Maybe I’ll swing by the infirmary if I don’t have too much to do in the lab.”

“Sorry to steal him away, Ensign O’Brien!” Yek dipped his head in apology. Saint squeaked as he almost fell off, and Mekor grabbed him. “Oops. Sorry, son.”

Mekor Dukat and Saint from my fic series USS Nobility

thinking about how in one of the beta canon books Dukat’s son Mekor is the Only survivor of his family (besides Dukat’s cousin and the half bajoran baby) and hes like. 15. poor little lizard kid

whom are your st ocs!!! tell me stuff

ive got!!!! a lot!!! because i have no self control! 2.5 crews n a bonus OC i made for my sibling’s oc crew. im going to ramble about All Of Them given this opportunity here they are under the cut.

My first (all OC) crew is the USS August AKA The USS Rejects. Basically starfleet’s former ‘best’ got shoveled onto one ship after they outlived their use. 

Captain Hyrel, a gender-neutral Axanar, is like the parent of the whole crew and refuses to court martial any of them even though they beg them to. Used to be really good at winning battles during various wars, but then gave up and said they would only take peaceful scientific missions from there on out. They’ve got a lil human son (Hyrel Jr.) they rescued when he was a baby.

Commander Petrov ‘J’ Jorge is their first officer, human dude. He was a model officer on his way to being Captain when a first contact mission went horribly wrong and he was left permanently disfigured with a head injury that completely altered his personality. Has anger management issues and wants to quit, but Hyrel won’t let him. In love with a Romulan centurion he met in neutral space.

Lt. Commander T’kae, vulcan lady. She hates J and really wants to be the first officer, but Hyrel won’t promote her. Impatient with her 2 superiors and is usually fed up with the crew, though she’d die for any of them.

Ensign Saurvin, my disaster vulcan boy!! He’s been promoted and demoted a lot, and has completely rejected logic and embraced emotion. Gets into fights a lot but cares a LOT about his friends, starts a little club on board for crewmembers who are too different from the rest of their species. He’s engaged to a Ferengi and plans to quit starfleet as soon as his bf becomes a Daimon so they can travel the galaxy together and have a blast.

Doctor Stovek, not the CMO, human/vulcan hybrid dude who resents his human heritage and hasn’t spoken to his human dad since his mother died a decade ago. Close friends with T’kae and they both try to follow the path of logic together. Refuses to join Saurvin’s club.

Counselor Fer Xeandi, betazoid guy who can’t help but read everybody’s thoughts. Really friendly and outgoing, and has a crush on J.

Ensign Kaya, betazoid/ullian hybrid girl. Fresh out of the academy and is very shy and quiet. Has a lot of family issues (her betazoid dad is really sick, she doesn’t talk to her mother, and her twin brother hates her and convinces the rest of their betazoid family to disown her) due to her not having any telepathic ability at all. She’s Saurvin’s best friend and a member of his club.

Chief of Security Arcus Nyo, a caitian dude who has a LOT of fur and is big. He hates Ensign Saurvin because Saurvin makes tons of cat jokes around him to make Kaya laugh. Has a massive crush on the chief engineer, Aaraa, and everyone knows it though he insists it’s not true. Loves arachnids a lot, owns some tarantulas & stuff in his quarters.

Chief Engineer Aaraa, an Aaamazzarite guy. Kind of quiet but firm when giving orders. His quarters are absolutely coated in his webbing which is disgusting to almost everyone but Arcus. Has no idea what a spider is, but boy does he love them when he finds out. His eventual dream is to retire, get married to Arcus, and live out the rest of their days happily on a tarantula farm.

CMO Sokaa Eri, a human woman raised by a human and vulcan couple. She’s really sweet but also terrifying when she wants to be. Deals with so much all the time, she needs a vacation but refuses to take shore leave out of fear that someone will die on board without her there.

Nurse Kive Idor, a mostly Bajoran man. His grandfather was a Cardassian, he assumes. He was raised by a Cardassian woman named Ricana Idor in Federation space after his parents died in a transport shuttle accident. Really doesn’t like being called by his first name, and doesn’t care for Bajoran culture, even though his mother made sure to teach him all about it and encouraged him to follow it if he wanted to.

SECOND CREW i made after watching ds9, the USS Akira ! A bunch of useless gays are gathered onto one ship by a captain who actually listens to his first officer when told not to go on an away mission, every time.

Captain Niko, human dude. Literally says “Oh, if I wasn’t such a nice person I wouldn’t have picked up so many strays.” and surprisingly no one around him wants to kill him for saying that because he is just a nice person. Joined starfleet to get away from his physically abusive father to try and find a faraway planet he could start a new life on, was accidentally really good at being an officer and before he knew it he was being promoted to Captain and being sent on a long exploration mission. Found and adopted a Vulcan boy, Sarin. Won’t go on dangerous missions because he doesn’t want to leave Sarin without a father.

First Officer Commander Onarog, ferengi dude. Very smart and hardworking, but not very good with social skills. Very perceptive and can always tell when someone is upset. Niko likes joking he should have been a counselor.

Second Officer Lt. Commander Qihata Xirad, a Bolian girl. She’s very friendly and loves gossip. Likes surprising people but doesn’t always realize when someone isn’t in the mood. Excitable and has a big crush on one of the nurses, Kezrell.

CMO, Meneha Adado, betazoid. Quiet lady who keeps to herself and uses her telepathy to figure out how her patients feel. Has a wife and kids on Betazed that she visits sometimes, misses. Niko’s oldest friend, but respects his wishes for her not to read his thoughts and find out about his past.

Chief Engineer Taiggok. Orion male, very nervous and doesn’t like talking to anyone but his team and the bridge crew (when he has to). Very strong, and his favorite thing is to go back to his quarters every day to take care of his pet salamander.

Chief of security, Lt. Zac Ramirez. Human/orion hybrid guy, but hides the fact that he’s half orion. Kind of withdrawn, but is best friends with his second in command and really wants to befriend Taiggok.

Security officer, Lt. jr. Vimio Zh’raqass. Andorian, they’re always by Zac’s side and are very excited. Don’t realize that they’re in love with Zac, just think they really want to be his best friend. Worries about their friends a lot, has no clue that Zac isn’t fully human.

Nurse Kezrell, an unjoined Trill girl. Is absolutely terrified of the thought of being joined. She actively avoids other Trill and falls in love with every pretty girl she sees.

Science officer, Lt. Terim. He’s a Xindi-Reptilian, and is handsome, since i was using a character generator and it said a xindi-reptilian that everyone thinks is very handsome. Thoughful/kind dude who will gladly try to cheer up anyone. Loves a friendly tussle, is very handsy with people he’s friends with, and is close friends with Onarog.

Ensign Genna, a Xindi-Arboreal. She’s always tired and is very forgetful and often confused, though she tries her best. Is friends with Terim, and tries to be friends with the rest of the crew. Is too tired to notice that her fellow ensign is in love with her.

Ensign Zura Jejo, a Bajoran girl. Pretty fearful and depressed, misses Bajor a lot. She’s really scared of Yeoman Loket, since he’s mean to her because her station is right next to his. Gets really flustered around Genna, and prays to the prophets that one day Genna will notice.

Yeoman Loket Arlat. A Cardassian man exiled after being framed for murder. Niko saved his life and he feels he owes the Captain a debt in return. Says that he’ll leave after he returns the favor, but Niko refuses to put himself in harm’s way so he’s been there for years. Pretty much like Niko’s second son. Is pretty mean to everyone but Niko and Sarin.

Bonus non crew member: Commander Rutora, an exiled Romulan who failed a huge mission. Stole a warbird and after meeting Niko and falling in love with him he follows their ship around and acts like a nuisance. Ashamed of being in love with a human and keeps promising to kill Niko, but can’t bring himself to.

The OC members of my ‘next generation’ style ship, the USS Nobility, where i gather up all the canon kids and stick them on one ship and fill in the blanks with OCs:

My life and love, my baby boy and darling Bug Man, CMO’s Assistant Doctor Yek. He’s an original species I made up called a Parasitoid, based on parasitoid wasps. Big bug boi who wears a life support suit because he comes from a class Y planet he can’t reveal the location of. Is married to Mekor Dukat and has a small lizard/bug hybrid baby with him, Saint. He would do anything for his family and doesn’t follow his people’s tradition of killing their chosen hosts and returning home. Wants to find a nice planet far away from Cardassia to raise his family.

Acting Ensign ‘Checkers.’ A two-spirit teen who comes from an alternate universe after the ship hits an anomaly. Is the fusion duplicate of Janeway & Chakotay after a transporter accident, but won’t tell anyone because they don’t want to interefere with the timeline. The entire crew adopts them.

Ensign Hoji Andu, nervous Bajoran man who joined starfleet to explore, but feels guilty about leaving Bajor and his two older siblings, who are the Cardassian/Bajoran hybrid twins (named Irza Miyo & Moha) his mother had during the Occupation. He and his father weren’t the best to them, and he regrets it and believes they hate him. He promised his mother he would look after them before she died.

Lt. T’rea, vulcan woman who is an engineer, but also acts as an unprofessional therapist for the rest of the crew when she has spare time. Very much misses her wife who lives on Vulcan, though she’d never admit it.

BONUS OC for my sibling’s crew of beautiful women who could annihilate me, a kind Vulcan man, and my nonbinary goblin who deserves an ass kicking

Ensign Alek Ch’zei, a Cardassian/Andorian hybrid who loves flirting and has yet to find a temperature they find comfortable. No one likes them because they’re rude, keep fighting people, and won’t shut up. The vulcan lieutenant (a dude named Stafuck) dates them on and off to explore emotion and a lack of Logic. When Stafuck reaches his pon farr and the Captain starts worrying because they’re too far from Vulcan, Alex unzips their shirt and goes ‘don’t worry. i’ve got this’.

was thinking about making my uss nobility crew on the sims and was excited to make mekor first before i remembered that i Already have a dukat sim and i’d just have to change his clothes and weight

Hitting the Books: A look at the 1920s airship that nearly made it to the North Pole

During the Roaring '20s just about everybody was convinced that dirigibles were not just the future of luxury travel but that these lumbering airships could also serve as platforms for scientific exploration and adventure. Why slog through malaria-infested jungles, parched deserts and frozen tundra when you could simply float an expedition to its destination? Among the technology's most fervent adherents were famed Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and Italian airship designer General Umberto Nobile. In 1928, Nobile attempted to lead the first expedition to land people at the North Pole aboard Airship Italia. However, a brutal storm forced the vessel to crash land, stranding its survivors with precious few provisions and setting off the largest arctic rescue effort in history. 

N-4 Down, by journalist and author Mark Piesing chronicles that rescue effort, led by Amundsen himself. In the excerpt below, we get a quick look at just what level of technological prowess the crew of the ill-fated expedition were actually dealing with.

Harper Collins Publishers

From N-4 Down by Mark Piesing. Copyright © 2021 by Mark Piesing. Reprinted by permission of Custom House, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Amundsen may have dreamed of multiple air bases in the Arctic Circle, but in 1925 his was one of the only ones. It consisted of two flying boats, no hangars, and a rough runway made from ice.

For the flight he had a team of six men who would be split between the two planes. Lincoln Ellsworth would be in one, Amundsen in the other. The Norwegian had also brought with him for the first time two journalists and a photographer to record the expedition.

The flying boats that Amundsen transported from Pisa, Italy, weren’t just any flying boats. The N-24 and N-25 were state-of-the-art Dornier Do J “whale” flying boats, which went on to pioneer many air routes across the world.

These expensive German-designed machines were cutting edge in 1925. This meant that they were all metal, with a whale-shaped hull and high, raised wings. Two stub wings, known as sponsons, kept the plane stable, while ribs on the hull gave the plane the strength to land on sea or ice. Two chunky Rolls-Royce Eagle propeller engines were arranged back to back: one to pull the plane through the air and the other to push it. The Eagle engines were the first aeroengines that Rolls-Royce ever built.

Alas, the pilots were still housed in an unheated open-air cockpit, obliged to wear woolen underwear, sweaters, two pairs of pants, a sealskin greatcoat as well as a leather jacket, a leather flying helmet, gloves, scarves, and heavy boots to stay warm while flying at high speeds. They all had a parachute (one of the conditions Ellsworth’s father made him agree to in exchange for his money), though the terrible battle to survive they would face if their parachutes worked was something it was better not to think about.

The state of aerial navigation wasn’t much better. Pilots, who still who relied on distinguishing features such as railways, rivers, and castles to help them work out where they were going, were always going to be challenged by the featureless and shifting Arctic landscape. As mariners had done for the last two hundred year, sextants could be used to determine their aircraft’s altitude, position, and ground speed. These sextants were of less use, of course, when visibility was blocked by fog or thick clouds. Then these early pilots could use a magnetic compass, which becomes less reliable the closer to the North Pole the aircraft flies, or a solar compass, which worked like a sundial by using the position of the sun to establish a bearing (particularly useful near the North Pole).

Radio had started to challenge these far older methods of navigation. Radio direction finding allowed a navigator to find the direction to a radio station, or beacon. Then if you could pick up the signals of two or more stations, or beacons, then you could work out where you were by simple triangulation. Airplane navigators had to take all these readings in conditions that didn’t lend themselves to accuracy, taking measurements and keeping records in what was usually a freezing cold — and sometimes open — cockpit in a noisy and unstable machine.

Unfortunately for the crew of his new expedition, the Amundsen of 1925 was not the Amundsen who beat Scott to the South Pole. It could be said that he had lost his eye for detail.

The planes had been test flown in the Mediterranean before they were shipped by train and boat to Kings Bay. What they hadn’t been was properly test flown in the below-freezing conditions of the Arctic. In 1925, no one really understood how these flimsy aircraft and their internal combustion engines would cope with the cold of the Arctic, and Amundsen didn’t seem particularly curious about the possible distinction. Then there were the sextants that didn’t work and the radio sets that hadn’t arrived yet, and which Amundsen decided they couldn’t wait for. Finally, Amundsen didn’t formulate any emergency procedures in the event that one of the planes had to land. Without the radios, there was no way for the crews to talk to each other midflight if something went wrong. He had compounded this risk by turning down the US Navy’s offer of the giant airship USS Shenandoah to act as a rescue ship the year before. But he did remember to take a moving-picture camera with them.

Amundsen’s haste was due to his worry that a narrow window in the Arctic weather was set to close. There was also the nagging fear that someone else would fly to the North Pole before him.

Finally, on May 21, 1925, after one last leisurely, rather staged cigarette to calm their nerves, and with a final shove of the plane from the miners — who were given the day off for the occasion — the two overloaded planes roared one after the other across the rough-ice runway like toboggans, the crews feeling every bump in the ice through the flying boats’ metal hull, then out on to the water and into the air. “It was unreal, mystic, fraught with prophecy,” Ellsworth wrote. “Something ahead was hidden, and we were going to find it.”

The low-lying fog quickly cleared. The film that the crew shot of the glaciers of Svalbard comprised the first images ever taken from the air of these rivers of ice.

Amundsen’s dream of flying over the Arctic Sea was realized. The explorers were covering in hours what would take a week to do with dogs and skis. “I have never seen anything more desolate and deserted,” Amundsen remarked. “A bear from time to time I would have thought, which could break the monotony a little. But no—absolutely nothing living.”

After eight hours, they should have been near the North Pole, and the plan was to try to land. But one of the engines of Amundsen’s plane started to splutter on their descent. It quickly became apparent that they had to land rather sooner than they wanted.

“I have never looked down upon a more terrifying place in which to land an airplane,” Ellsworth wrote. For what had looked like smooth ice from high altitude turned out to be cut by ridges, gaps of open water called leads, and icebergs.

Amundsen’s plane made it down safely thanks to the skills of his pilot. Ellsworth’s was not so lucky. His plane eventually found a stretch of water they too could land on. Unfortunately, distances are deceptive at that height and what had seemed long enough was too short. Ellsworth’s plane bounced across the surface of the sea and smashed into an ice floe. Water poured in. That the rivets on the hull had burst due to the rough takeoff only added to their problems.

Soon there was nothing Ellsworth and his men could do to rescue it; the flying boat floated there like a dead whale. Ellsworth’s men were cold and wet, and they had been awake for twenty-four hours. They needed rest and food, but there wouldn’t be any of either for a while. They had to try their best to protect the plane from being crushed by the ice or sinking while they tried to salvage what they could. Eventually they stopped, exhausted—and the peril Ellsworth and his men were in suddenly hit him. “In the utter silence this seemed to me to be the kingdom of death,” he wrote.

The two crews were now separated from each other by many miles. It was twenty-four hours before they spotted each other across the ice pack.

Even when they were in sight of each other, communication across the ice was hampered because no one knew Morse code or semaphore. Instead, the two crews managed to get a rudimentary flag system going between them. It took two to three hours to communicate a simple message. Walking across the ice wasn’t an option either. It was simply too dangerous.

They were lucky in the end. The blocks of sea ice floated closer together, making it possible for the crews to be reunited after five interminable days. This still wasn’t without risk. Attempts by the men to walk across the ice floes with as much equipment as possible nearly ended in disaster when two of them sank through the slush into the freezing water. One of the men screamed, “I’m gone! I’m gone,” as the current tried to pull him under the ice.

Amundsen looked shockingly changed, exhaustion and anxiety cut deep into his face, but he was now back in the world of the ice pack, a world he knew so well. Quickly he took control. He realized that they had to combine the supplies from both planes to give themselves a chance of survival. More important, perhaps, they were able to siphon the fuel out of Ellsworth’s plane to give them enough to reach home again with the heavier load of all the men on board. But before they could attempt this, they first needed to carve a runway out of the ice. Of course, they hadn’t brought any specialized tools with them, despite having planned to land at the North Pole.

Without radio contact, the world first suspected that something had gone wrong when the planes didn’t return to Kings Bay straight away. Even then, some people thought that the aviators could have stayed at the pole for a couple of days or even flown on to Alaska, as Amundsen had long wanted to do. Some remembered conversations where Ellsworth had said it might take a year for them to walk out of the wilderness if their plane crashed.

When nothing was heard from them, newspapers across America started to report that the planes were overdue. There were demands for a rescue effort to be launched. But the lack of ships, planes, airships, and any idea of where Amundsen and his men had crashed presented would-be rescuers with a fearsome challenge. Still, the pressure was there. One headline in the New York Times proclaimed, “Coolidge Favors Amundsen Relief Should He Need It; President Would Approve Naval Plan to Send One of Our Giant Dirigibles to the Arctic.”

The US Navy was keen to launch its own expedition to rescue Amundsen. Two years earlier, naval plans to explore the Arctic with one of its huge dirigibles had been canceled owing to the expense. Now they were pushing the president to dispatch the giant USS Shenandoah or USS Los Angeles airships to search for Amundsen. Either of the two ships could be ready in days for the mission, sources told the New York Times journalist. The flight itself to Greenland (a possible base for the mission) would then take a couple of days, depending on the weather and where the ships were based at that time. “Practically, every officer connected with the aeronautical service of the Navy will volunteer in the event that a call for help is made on behalf of Amundsen,” the reporter explained.

from Mike Granich https://www.engadget.com/hitting-the-books-n-4-down-mark-piesing-harpercollins-153021951.html?src=rss

by BubbaKnowlton

The USS Nobility is a Sovereign-class starship on a mission of exploration; Ensign Molly O'Brien is one of her science officers. Experienced with how motley crews can become a family of sorts, Molly makes it her personal mission to make sure the crew of the Nobility does, even if certain members find it harder than others to be accepted.

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The CMO's assistant, Dr. Yek, is ready to board the USS Nobility as she prepares to set off on her three year mission of exploration, but he has his doubts about his choice of career until he spots someone from his past.

Words: 1259, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Series: Part 2 of USS Nobility

Fandoms: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Mekor Dukat, Original Male Character(s), Original Child Character(s)

Relationships: Mekor Dukat/Original Male Character(s)

Additional Tags: Post-Canon, takes place about 16 years after the end of ds9, science officer!Molly O'Brien, original parasitoid species

from AO3 works tagged 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine' https://ift.tt/2CVfTn8