CHAPTER ONE

In the Utopia Plantetia Yards


     Captain William Thomas Riker, middle finger of his left hand pulling vainly at the tight collar of his full dress Starfleet uniform, wondered why he had agreed to bring his starship in off of patrol to attend this ceremony for about the fiftieth time in about as many minutes.  The synthwool of the tunic was itchy, the sunlight under the dome was warm, Riker was both hungry and thirsty, and the ceremony was only half over.

     Of course, seeing Admiral Jean-Luc Picard, Starfleet, retired, sitting on the dais in his dress uniform, put any sense of wonder on hold.  Riker knew that his friend and mentor deserved to have at least a few of the people with whom he served here present.  Even still, this type of ceremony was best attended by widows, orphans and distant relatives of those being honored.  Perhaps, those crewmembers yet alive, but to bring an entire crew and the starship they served aboard in from patrol seemed a bit like over kill to Riker.

    Since the end of the Dominion War, with relative peace on the frontiers between the Romulan, Orian, Klingon and Cardassian borders with the territories and planetary systems claiming loyalty and allegiance to the United Federation of Planets, routine patrol had become just that.  Even the commissioning of the first ship in a new class of Starfleet vessels, therefore, could prove to be a worthy diversion.  If only there wasn’t so much pomp, circumstance, and tight dress uniforms.

    Not that these ships were not needed, either. The Dominion War had depleted Starfleet’s battle ready numbers to the point where the Federation may as well have had only the original twelve Constellation class NCC-1700 series vessels out on the frontiers, so thin was the “fleet” stretched.  Riker’s own command USS Mahan was, originally, designed to do extended deep space research.  Perhaps, once these new ships joined the fleet she and Riker could get back to doing that job, instead of routine patrols between, what the Bajoran medical officer assigned to Mahan referred to as, the planets Tedium, Boredom and Apathy.  

   Sitting there, beside the Admiral, in even military rows, beginning with their Captain, was the “plank breaking” crew of the new ship.  Formally known as the “MEDAL OF HONOR” class of star frigates, the buzz around the fleet was that it was actually the ENTERPRISE class, since the first five ships would be named for ENTERPRISE captains who had been awarded the Federation Medal of Honor.   Only twenty-two Starfleet personnel had been awarded the medal, since it was created.  Almost half of these, at nine awards, had gone to crew persons aboard one of the Enterprise starships. Eventually, it was planned that all twenty-two honorees would have a MOH class vessel named for them.  These first five, though, coming on line now, would allow the older ships in the fleet to come into the yards and dry-docks of various Deep Space stations or Utopia Plantetia for much needed repair, refit, and restoration.  

    The first of these ships, USS Robert April, was ready to receive her crew.  USS Christopher Pike, the next to be completed would be commissioned in 6 weeks.  Pike would be followed on by USS James T. Kirk, which in turn would proceed down the ways only five weeks before USS Rachel Garrett.  The last Medal of Honor winner, and the only one still alive to be honored, with a namesake ship in the fleet, would be the speaker at this days ceremony.  That ship his ship would be, and indeed, in keel, engine nacelles and main saucer section was even now, the USS Jean-Luc Picard.

     Riker had to admit that the engineering team for the new class ship had done a marvelous job. His friend Geordi LaForge had had a great deal to do with the flexible nacelle design, and the engine room consoles were a LaForge upgrade.  Reg Barclay had come up with such a quirky weapons system that Starfleet armorers were still shaking their heads in wonder that no one had come up with such ideas before.  Reg, in all modesty, had told them he had only reinvented the wheel.  He had been part of an archeological recovery team of an ancient British frigate from the Elizabethan Era.  Seeing the gun decks of the old hull had sparked an idea.  A few replicated napkins and pencil stubs later, Reg had the Starfrigate  “gun deck” (actually phaser banks and photon torpedo tubes), laid out in blue print form.

      Barclay had grasped the concept that starboard and port “gun decks” on an escort vessel could better defend a convoy than could the traditional Starfleet design of bow and stern armament.  Reg had also added a tweak by spacing phaser banks with photon torpedo tubes.  Each of the StarFrigates comes equipped with four phaser units on each flank.  Between these are three photon torpedo launchers.  A “broad side” from one of these frigates, Barclay had contended would be as much firepower as a standard Enterprise-D Ambassador class starship.

    Barclay had then contacted LaForge, for whom he had worked in the old Enterprise-D, and in typical Reg, hyper nervousness had explained the theory of the new system to LaForge.  Geordi, in turn had been eagerly seeking ideas for a radical new design of long range patrol craft to replace the Rivers class runabouts. It was no great secret that the patrol jobs to which the surviving Rivers ships had been assigned were well beyond the capabilities of that class of ship. The philosophy of “make do with you have” pervaded Starfleet and the Federation for months after the Dominion War had ended.  Now, however, the rebuilding had begun and innovations were welcome at the design table. Seeing the design lay out in front of him, Geordi had called in his team of Naval Architects, who tweaking here and modifying there had come up with a completed hull design.  Presented first as paper plans and then as a three dimensional model to the Admiralty review board a construction contract was awarded only six months from the date Barclay sketched his first drawings on the rep-napkins.

     Now 23 months earth standard later, the first of the StarFrigates was ready to take on her crew.  One hundred nineteen of Starfleet’s finest would be aboard her.  Eighty-seven of them were the ship complement, those who would man APRIL on her duty roster rotation.  Thirty-two others would man a secondary system unique to the MOH class ships.  Four torpedo patrol boats, each with an eight-person crew, were also stationed aboard the MOH’s.  As the MOH class was designed to be a convoy escort, primarily for protection against border raiders on the frontier, these additional craft would provide mobile firepower away from the main vessel. Each was designed with defensive phasers and four torpedo launchers carrying two torpedoes each. Enough to turn one Starfrigate into a small armada if the need arose.  In addition, one or two would be enough to stay with a crippled freighter, ore carrier or planetary exploration barracks ship until repair could be made and provide the straggler cover until the main convoy could be rejoined.  Piracy was, again, a major Starfleet concern.

   Riker stood with the assembled crowd and cheered in a decidedly unmilitary fashion when Picard was announced and stepped to the podium to begin his prepared remarks.  Every camera crew from every news media seemed to need extra wattage for their lights and the already warm arena became even warmer with several million-candle power of bright white light.

“My friends, my colleagues, honored dignitaries and guests. I am overwhelmed by the attention you have given me over the past several months and weeks of preparation for this day”, Picard began.  “Mine, I fear, was a career not devoid of adrenaline charged adventure and yet well tempered by the tedium and boredom that often accompanies an officer in the service of this Federation throughout his years of service.”   Continuing Picard enumerated a few of the well known highlights those years held, youngest Captain elevated to that rank, the Star Gazer years, the years on Enterprise-D and the follow on Enterprise-E, the years as commandant of Star Fleet Academy, and finally retirement to his beloved vineyards in France. “ Mine was to be a retirement of pleasure and exploration of the archeology and arts I have loved all my life," Picard continued; "however, this old war horse has answered the call to battle one last time,” Riker, who had drifted with the recitation of Picard’s accomplishments, many of which he was present for, suddenly became alert, “I have accepted the appointment of the Federation Diplomatic Corps as the first plenipotentiary legate to the Breen home world.”   At this, Riker really awakened and began to pay strict attention.  Even the well connected Will Riker had not heard that negotiations had been opened or that they had proceeded sufficiently for a legation appointee to the Breen.

      After the Dominion War, the Breen, who had allied themselves with the Cardassians and the Jem Haddar forces of the Founders, had sunk back into the same isolationism that had cloaked the race with mystery for many years before. Riker could not help but wonder who had been in the “smoky back room” with their suit jackets off and shirt sleeves rolled up hammering out the details which allowed Picard to become the off world spokesperson for the Federation to the Breen.

    Speaking with a tinge of pride in his voice, Picard continued, “ and so I shall not be present when the vessel which carries my name leaves space dock for the first time, yet, I shall know the pleasure of being carried to my new assignment aboard her elder sister, the USS Robert April.” With that, his remarks concluded, the crew of the April stood and cheered.  They were followed to their feet by the remainder of the people on the dais, and the general audience.  Riker beamed, his mentor had scored another stunning success with all the style and grace to which Riker had become accustomed.