Boarding Yorktown

Posted on Wed Feb 18th, 2026 @ 5:17pm by Captain Steven Jenkins & Ensign Talli Shalk

900 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: One Year Later…
Location: Docking Bay 17, Starbase One
Timeline: MD01 1000 Hours

Steven walked into the accessway for his shuttle over to Yorktown, a metal holdall slung over his left shoulder. The last time he'd been over to the ship was when she'd limped into dock nearly a year ago following Frontier Day. After that, he'd been promoted to Captain, assigned Command and promptly removed from active duty for 11 months of psych evaluations and mandated leave. Apparently, the crews of any ships that lost their Commanding Officer that day had all been given the same treatment. Steven understood the reasoning, but he didn't agree with it.

"Captain Jenkins?" Came a somewhat quiet voice from behind him, Steven turning to see a young Andorian woman in a red uniform with a single Ensign pip "I'm Ensign Talli Shalk, I've been assigned to escort you over to Yorktown?"

Steven looked at the woman. She looked intimidated; it was a new experience for him to project that kind of aura to young officers. He'd always praised himself on being approachable, something required given he wanted to teach. However, a year away from duty had left his internal filters somewhat diminished, leading to his response.

"Ensign, how old are you?" He asked, realizing how the question could come off as he added "I just want to be sure that my pilot is old enough to fly the shuttle."

"I'm twenty-one." Talli replied, adding "One year older than you were when you graduated the Academy, sir."

Steven half smirked to himself. The air of timidness was still there, but there was something else mixed in; a need to prove herself. He remembered when he'd been like that for his first couple of years out of the Academy.

"I stand told off." He smirked, gesturing the the shuttlebay doors "Lead the way, Ensign."

"Yes sir." She replied sheepishly as she began leading him through "Is it true that you were on Yorktown during Frontier Day?"

"Unfortunately." Steven replied with a grimace "You were..."

"Yes sir." Talli confirmed with a grimace of her own "I was assigned to Eureka on a training cruise at the time, out on manoeuvres. We had a guest lecturer with us who used the ship's transporter buffer to store all the affected crew in stasis, which was surprisingly few of us. Apparently it was a trick he'd used once before."

"I'm familiar with the theory. Only been used in practice a handful of times." Steven said "I'm sorry you had to go through what happened."

She stopped at the shuttlecraft doors, turning and looking sombrely at him.

"Permission to speak freely, sir?" She asked.

"Please." He replied.

"What happened to the younger officers that day was a violation. Pure and simple." She said "What we choose to be after that violation is what defines us. I refuse to be a victim. I'm better than that, same as everyone who wears this uniform. So while I appreciate your sympathy, it isn't needed."

"Duly noted." He nodded, a small smile creeping onto his face as he added "Now, shall we get over to the ship?"

"Yes, sir." She replied with a nod as she pressed the control to open the craft door, stepping inside and taking her place at the helm control "Do you want to take the secondary controls, sir?"

"It's all you, Ensign." Steven noted as he set his bag down, moving to the front of the craft and leaning on the empty co-pilot seat "Let's get going."

She nodded, pressing a few controls. The shuttlecraft door sealed behind them as the craft lifted into the air above the flight deck before slowly moving out through the forcefield that was in place where the bay doors would normally be. He watched as they passed multiple ships. Reliant. Stargazer. Intrepid. He even spied another Neo-Constitution at the edge of the bay.

"Yorktown. Lexington. Constitution. Enterprise." He said to himself, noting the young woman's antenna prick up "All the Neo-Constitution class ships commissioned so far. Columbia and Endeavour are both due to be launched by the end of this year."

"Yes sir." She said as they flew over the saucer of an Excelsior-II class ship "And here she is."

Steven looked out of the front viewer. Yorktown looked just as she had the first time he saw her. The sleek overall lines broken up only by the large impulse assembly at the back of the saucer. In the event of an emergency separation, the top two engines would come with the saucer while the bottom two would be left with the stardrive. The nacelles unmistakably reminiscent of those on the Constitution refit of the 2270s, the same as the Enterprise at the fleet museum. The stardrive inspired by the old Excelsior class.

"She's a beauty." Steven noted "Belle of the ball."

"I'm not sure I'd say that." Talli replied "Sir."

"Go on." Steven quizzed "What would you prefer?"

"The classic." She smiled "Constitution class circa 2270s. Clean retro lines. Smooth finish. That aztecing. Beautiful."

"Duly noted." Steven said, leaning over and pressing the control to signal Yorktown "Shuttlecraft Nightingale to Yorktown. Requesting permission to dock?"

"You're clear to dock, Nightingale." Came the response from the shuttlebay master "Welcome aboard Yorktown, Captain Jenkins."

 

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