Star Trek: The Merchant Prince
Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2009 12:30 pm
Jonathan Hawkins sat alone in the cockpit of his shuttlecraft. It seemed to him that he was always alone these days. This damned ship moved at a snails pace of what he was used to, taking weeks to travel to destinations rather than days. He had more than enough time these days to dwell on what had become of him. It was morbidly hilarious. Not that long ago, he was one of Starfleets "Golden Boys", earmarked for a command since they first took a look at his aptitude scores. In the Academy his instructors used to praise his "leap before you look" attitude, saying it was something long missing from the fleet. Everyone had expected great things from him, most of which he had achieved. He managed to graduate the Academy in three years instead of the usual four, with high honors, and a Distinguished Service Commendation. As a result of graduating first in his class and his meritorious service, he had even earned a commission of Lieutenant Junior Grade, rather than the usual Ensign.
During the Dominion War he truly distinguished himself. It was quite clear to all that officers like him were in short supply. He was considered a "Warrior Officer", a master of combat skills, strategy, and starship combat tactics, but somewhat lacking in diplomacy, engineering skills, and sciences. That was him, always taking the fight to the enemy, and doing so in a way that his own people would follow him to Hell and back, because they knew he would take care of them, and wouldn't hesitate to step in front of a poloron blast to save the lowliest crewman. He was charming, charismatic, and quite good looking. Everyone expected great things from him down the road, but not as soon as it did. Nobody however, could have predicted what happened next.
During the battle to retake DS9, he was serving on the USS Traveler, an uprated Galaxy class Starship, as the Security Chief and Tactical Officer. (Then) Lt. Cmdr Hawkins had been injured by shrapnel from an exploding console and taken to sickbay. While being quickly treated, the ships dorsal shield failed and the bridge took a direct hit, breaching the hull and killing the ships entire command crew. As the only senior bridge officer left, he ran out of sickbay to the battle bridge, where he assumed command of the ship. It's commonly held that his actions that day saved the ship and its crew. As a result of his valor, courage, and tactical abilities (and perhaps the shortage of ranking officers) he was promoted past the rank of Commander all together directly to Captain, and given command of the Traveler. At 27, he was the youngest Captain to ever command such a ship.
The next four years were wonderful. The war ended, and the Traveler was finally reassigned from Military Operations back to Galaxy Exploration. The only problem that Captain Hawkins had to deal with was a First Officer that was twice his age and make no pretenses about what he thought of his Captain. Hawkins was forced to reprimand him more than once, but only verbally, not wishing to note insubordination on the man's record.
But then it happened. While exploring an uncharted system, the Traveler discovered a MASSIVE asteroid heading toward the third planet in the system. It was an industrial level society, just beginning to send orbiters into space, but with no defense for a threat such as this. The Prime Directive dictated that he do nothing, as by saving these people he would be interfering in their natural evolution, a fact his XO smugly reminded him of several times. Hawkins saw the situation very clearly. If he acted now, the populace would never even know that a threat ever existed much less an "alien" species had saved them. If he did nothing, billions of innocent people would die. Using the same tactic that Captain Jean-Luc Picard used when commanding the Enterprise-D, he used his ship to steer the asteroid into a course back into deep space. He thought the matter over and done with, as they moved on to the next system. Less than a week later, his XO walked into his ready room without permission and informed him that per orders from Starfleet Command, he was hereby relieved of duty, to be confined to quarters, and returned to Starbase 116 for an Article 32 hearing on the charge of "Violating the Prime Directive."
A beeping from his control console snapped him out of his reverie. He was finally approaching Space Station Orion 2. An archaic Regula class outpost, it was one of six that monitored the edge of Orion space, trying to keep smuggling down to a minimum. It was also a popular place for merchant captains to conduct trades, relax, and hire new crew members. One thing Hawkins never expected was that the universe outside of Starfleet really DID still use money. The Federation still used credits inside its boarders, however as he quickly learned, without a hard monetary system to back the credits, they were somewhat useless outside of, or even on the fringes of Federation space. As with most Starfleet Officers, Hawkins had nearly never drawn against his pay, since he'd always had a replicator to provide whatever he wanted. When he'd actually looked at what he'd accumulated, he was amazed, thinking money wouldn't be a problem, which it wouldn't have if he'd decided to settle on one of the Federation worlds. But, as he wasn't a scientist, an artist, an engineer, or some other profession that would benefit society as a whole, he realized he really had nothing ahead of him. Plus he wanted, no NEEDED to be in space. He realized that his credits COULD be exchanged at a seriously discounted rate for gold pressed latnum, which seemed to be the accepted currency of the merchant class, as it was accepted most everyplace the Ferengi did business. Adjusting his course one last time, Hawkins couldn't help but remember, as he did nearly every hour of every day, the day his life ended.
18 Months Ago
"Will the Defendant please rise?" came the order from the presiding Admiral.
Hawkins and his JAG attorney both stood. Everyone had agreed the prosecutions case was weak, and expected an acquittal. The Prosecuting Officer even went so far as to offer Hawkins a deal, allowing him to avoid any punitive consequences and retaining his rank. However, he would have to give up his command, and he'd spend the rest of his career on a Starbase as an administrator. Of course he'd refused. Nobody EVER expected him to be convicted on such a charge, especially when such officers as Captain Picard, and now Admiral Janeway did so on a regular basis. He was much better able to justify his decision than most others who had run into trouble. So his heart felt like it suddenly stopped when the Jury Foreman passed the PADD to the Judge who read the verdict.
"Captain Jonathan Hawkins, this Court Martial finds you guilty on the charge of premeditatedly violating the Prime Directive. As a consequence of your actions, you are hereby stripped of your command, rank, and position. You will spend six month at a penal colony, after which you will be dishonorably discharged from Starfleet." Banging his gavel, the Admiral then announced "This Court Martial is adjourned."
His JAG attorney stammered promises of appeals as he was escorted out of the courtroom in a daze. The next day, he was transferred to a penal outpost constructed on Ceti Alpha V. He lived for six months in an underground structure enduring their "rehabilitation". Just before his release, his lawyer told him his appeal had been rejected, and he was now filing with the Federation Supreme Court. The decision had a good chance of being overturned his lawyer thought, but it could take years to get a hearing. When he was released, he was transported to Starbase 22 and simply left to make his own way. Luck, however had been kind to him. During the battle to retake DS9, the only other surviving senior officer had been Chief Engineer Fontes, who always credited him with saving her life. The base commander was an Admiral Fontes, who turned out to be a very grateful father. He had taken Hawkins aside, and offered the despairing young man some guidance. He also gave him the most generous gift Hawkins ever imagined, his own ship. The Admiral had taken a Type 11 shuttle and had it decommissioned. He had the shuttle modified for civilian use, removing the micro-torpedo tubes, and the Starfleet database and access codes. He even had the shuttle painted black, and in a moment of irony, had the ship named "Nighthawk", making use of Hawkins' old wartime nickname.
"Sir" Hawkins said "I just don't know what to say."
"Then don't say anything, lad" Admiral Fontes said "It'll make you look wise beyond your years. Because of you I still have a daughter. I want you to know that there are a lot of us who don't agree with that decision. We think people were playing politics and you paid the price. Your LOYAL former XO was given command of the Traveler, and certain members of the jury panel suddenly received choice postings. It seems strange, but all we can do is trust the system. Now, get the heck out of here kid."
With a nod, Johnny Hawkins boarded his new home.
PRESENT DAY
Hawkins had no idea what he was in store for. Everything cost money which was sapping his funds. Deuterium for fuel and bulk matter for his replicator were his biggest expenses. He discovered that civilians had restrictors built into non Starfleet replicators, and as such couldn't replicate weapons more advanced than knives. Without the might of Starfleet behind him, he learned quickly he had all new kind of worries when two thugs tried to mug him. He vented some long and pent up frustration on them, as one had a knife, and the other a stun baton, but he realized he had gotten lucky, and needed to take certain precaution. He had purchased a pair of thirty year old type two phaser pistols which he wore on either hip, plus an old type one palm phaser to hide in his boot. Those weapons had cost him more than passage on a luxury liner. Since he only had basic engineering knowledge, he had to pay for service to his ship, at non Starfleet run stations. He chose to avoid one operated by Starfleet, because he was ostracized by those he once served side by side with. This he realized he needed a job. He hoped to get a job on a merchant ship, but thus far wasn't having much luck. He had never served on a freighter, wasn't an engineer, or any other job that was in demand. Nobody wanted to hire somebody with a command background, even is a security capacity, as they seemed to be afraid he may have a hard time taking orders. He was hoping he'd have better luck here. He heard about a ship who'd lost a significant portion of her crew, but nobody knew why. He'd been warned that a lot of the people working on that ship were eccentric, and the XO was a real hardass. As he approached the station for final approach, he saw the ship at a docking port. It was an old Merchantman style freighter.
The name on the hull was "The Merchant Prince".
During the Dominion War he truly distinguished himself. It was quite clear to all that officers like him were in short supply. He was considered a "Warrior Officer", a master of combat skills, strategy, and starship combat tactics, but somewhat lacking in diplomacy, engineering skills, and sciences. That was him, always taking the fight to the enemy, and doing so in a way that his own people would follow him to Hell and back, because they knew he would take care of them, and wouldn't hesitate to step in front of a poloron blast to save the lowliest crewman. He was charming, charismatic, and quite good looking. Everyone expected great things from him down the road, but not as soon as it did. Nobody however, could have predicted what happened next.
During the battle to retake DS9, he was serving on the USS Traveler, an uprated Galaxy class Starship, as the Security Chief and Tactical Officer. (Then) Lt. Cmdr Hawkins had been injured by shrapnel from an exploding console and taken to sickbay. While being quickly treated, the ships dorsal shield failed and the bridge took a direct hit, breaching the hull and killing the ships entire command crew. As the only senior bridge officer left, he ran out of sickbay to the battle bridge, where he assumed command of the ship. It's commonly held that his actions that day saved the ship and its crew. As a result of his valor, courage, and tactical abilities (and perhaps the shortage of ranking officers) he was promoted past the rank of Commander all together directly to Captain, and given command of the Traveler. At 27, he was the youngest Captain to ever command such a ship.
The next four years were wonderful. The war ended, and the Traveler was finally reassigned from Military Operations back to Galaxy Exploration. The only problem that Captain Hawkins had to deal with was a First Officer that was twice his age and make no pretenses about what he thought of his Captain. Hawkins was forced to reprimand him more than once, but only verbally, not wishing to note insubordination on the man's record.
But then it happened. While exploring an uncharted system, the Traveler discovered a MASSIVE asteroid heading toward the third planet in the system. It was an industrial level society, just beginning to send orbiters into space, but with no defense for a threat such as this. The Prime Directive dictated that he do nothing, as by saving these people he would be interfering in their natural evolution, a fact his XO smugly reminded him of several times. Hawkins saw the situation very clearly. If he acted now, the populace would never even know that a threat ever existed much less an "alien" species had saved them. If he did nothing, billions of innocent people would die. Using the same tactic that Captain Jean-Luc Picard used when commanding the Enterprise-D, he used his ship to steer the asteroid into a course back into deep space. He thought the matter over and done with, as they moved on to the next system. Less than a week later, his XO walked into his ready room without permission and informed him that per orders from Starfleet Command, he was hereby relieved of duty, to be confined to quarters, and returned to Starbase 116 for an Article 32 hearing on the charge of "Violating the Prime Directive."
A beeping from his control console snapped him out of his reverie. He was finally approaching Space Station Orion 2. An archaic Regula class outpost, it was one of six that monitored the edge of Orion space, trying to keep smuggling down to a minimum. It was also a popular place for merchant captains to conduct trades, relax, and hire new crew members. One thing Hawkins never expected was that the universe outside of Starfleet really DID still use money. The Federation still used credits inside its boarders, however as he quickly learned, without a hard monetary system to back the credits, they were somewhat useless outside of, or even on the fringes of Federation space. As with most Starfleet Officers, Hawkins had nearly never drawn against his pay, since he'd always had a replicator to provide whatever he wanted. When he'd actually looked at what he'd accumulated, he was amazed, thinking money wouldn't be a problem, which it wouldn't have if he'd decided to settle on one of the Federation worlds. But, as he wasn't a scientist, an artist, an engineer, or some other profession that would benefit society as a whole, he realized he really had nothing ahead of him. Plus he wanted, no NEEDED to be in space. He realized that his credits COULD be exchanged at a seriously discounted rate for gold pressed latnum, which seemed to be the accepted currency of the merchant class, as it was accepted most everyplace the Ferengi did business. Adjusting his course one last time, Hawkins couldn't help but remember, as he did nearly every hour of every day, the day his life ended.
18 Months Ago
"Will the Defendant please rise?" came the order from the presiding Admiral.
Hawkins and his JAG attorney both stood. Everyone had agreed the prosecutions case was weak, and expected an acquittal. The Prosecuting Officer even went so far as to offer Hawkins a deal, allowing him to avoid any punitive consequences and retaining his rank. However, he would have to give up his command, and he'd spend the rest of his career on a Starbase as an administrator. Of course he'd refused. Nobody EVER expected him to be convicted on such a charge, especially when such officers as Captain Picard, and now Admiral Janeway did so on a regular basis. He was much better able to justify his decision than most others who had run into trouble. So his heart felt like it suddenly stopped when the Jury Foreman passed the PADD to the Judge who read the verdict.
"Captain Jonathan Hawkins, this Court Martial finds you guilty on the charge of premeditatedly violating the Prime Directive. As a consequence of your actions, you are hereby stripped of your command, rank, and position. You will spend six month at a penal colony, after which you will be dishonorably discharged from Starfleet." Banging his gavel, the Admiral then announced "This Court Martial is adjourned."
His JAG attorney stammered promises of appeals as he was escorted out of the courtroom in a daze. The next day, he was transferred to a penal outpost constructed on Ceti Alpha V. He lived for six months in an underground structure enduring their "rehabilitation". Just before his release, his lawyer told him his appeal had been rejected, and he was now filing with the Federation Supreme Court. The decision had a good chance of being overturned his lawyer thought, but it could take years to get a hearing. When he was released, he was transported to Starbase 22 and simply left to make his own way. Luck, however had been kind to him. During the battle to retake DS9, the only other surviving senior officer had been Chief Engineer Fontes, who always credited him with saving her life. The base commander was an Admiral Fontes, who turned out to be a very grateful father. He had taken Hawkins aside, and offered the despairing young man some guidance. He also gave him the most generous gift Hawkins ever imagined, his own ship. The Admiral had taken a Type 11 shuttle and had it decommissioned. He had the shuttle modified for civilian use, removing the micro-torpedo tubes, and the Starfleet database and access codes. He even had the shuttle painted black, and in a moment of irony, had the ship named "Nighthawk", making use of Hawkins' old wartime nickname.
"Sir" Hawkins said "I just don't know what to say."
"Then don't say anything, lad" Admiral Fontes said "It'll make you look wise beyond your years. Because of you I still have a daughter. I want you to know that there are a lot of us who don't agree with that decision. We think people were playing politics and you paid the price. Your LOYAL former XO was given command of the Traveler, and certain members of the jury panel suddenly received choice postings. It seems strange, but all we can do is trust the system. Now, get the heck out of here kid."
With a nod, Johnny Hawkins boarded his new home.
PRESENT DAY
Hawkins had no idea what he was in store for. Everything cost money which was sapping his funds. Deuterium for fuel and bulk matter for his replicator were his biggest expenses. He discovered that civilians had restrictors built into non Starfleet replicators, and as such couldn't replicate weapons more advanced than knives. Without the might of Starfleet behind him, he learned quickly he had all new kind of worries when two thugs tried to mug him. He vented some long and pent up frustration on them, as one had a knife, and the other a stun baton, but he realized he had gotten lucky, and needed to take certain precaution. He had purchased a pair of thirty year old type two phaser pistols which he wore on either hip, plus an old type one palm phaser to hide in his boot. Those weapons had cost him more than passage on a luxury liner. Since he only had basic engineering knowledge, he had to pay for service to his ship, at non Starfleet run stations. He chose to avoid one operated by Starfleet, because he was ostracized by those he once served side by side with. This he realized he needed a job. He hoped to get a job on a merchant ship, but thus far wasn't having much luck. He had never served on a freighter, wasn't an engineer, or any other job that was in demand. Nobody wanted to hire somebody with a command background, even is a security capacity, as they seemed to be afraid he may have a hard time taking orders. He was hoping he'd have better luck here. He heard about a ship who'd lost a significant portion of her crew, but nobody knew why. He'd been warned that a lot of the people working on that ship were eccentric, and the XO was a real hardass. As he approached the station for final approach, he saw the ship at a docking port. It was an old Merchantman style freighter.
The name on the hull was "The Merchant Prince".