| |
|
Table of Contents
|
Deep beneath the wheat fields in central North America, a large number of salt mines were created in the nineteenth century. Abandoned after more economic and alternate forms of production were discovered, they remained forgotten for many years. Forgotten, that is, until a new need arose.
The concept of safe storage was always a critical one for anybody. With the advent of large-capacity computer memories, this problem was largely solved. At least, it was solved for that particular type of storage.
However, there were still many items that did not lend themselves to easy storage. These consisted mostly of special hand-written documents, various articles of memorabilia, artifacts and such which could not be put into computers and which took up a lot of space.
It was during the early days of the Federation that the age old problem became evident once again. A solution was found quickly. The old salt mines were rediscovered and after minimal planning, the Federation decided that a permanent storage facility should be constructed. The Federation Council provided liberal funding for a facility which, in their words, could house any and all items deemed worthy by the Council, Starfleet and the Diplomatic Corps.
Work began immediately and progressed quickly. Initially, the Corps of Engineers prepared a relatively small section of mines to be used. It was soon evident that a considerably larger facility would be needed. Accordingly, an expansion was ordered and an upgrade of the existing facility was undertaken.
Now, after one hundred years of existence, the Federation Historical Document and Artifact Facility housed millions of items ranging in size from the microscopic to shuttlecraft-size. The facility now consisted of several separate facilities scattered about the Great Plains area. All were operated from the central facility located in Leavenworth.
Here, both civilian and Starfleet personnel worked together full time to ensure the safety of the items stored as well as maintaining an organization to expedite the rapid location of any item within the facility.
Commander Janice Rand was the director of the Starfleet Division. Here, she worked side-by-side with the two other directors, representing the Federation Council and the Diplomatic Corps, respectively. The three directors rotated the role of Director General once every year. This particular semester, as they called it, was her turn. She didn't mind so much, except it forced her to do twice the work. Director of the Starfleet Division was demanding enough, but with the added burden of being Director General, well... that was the reason the job was rotated.
Janice loved the work nevertheless. Her training had actually begun as part of her work as a yeoman years ago and specialized as ship's historian. With over two years of shipboard duty experience, she was welcomed into her new job. Well into her first assignment, she was 'pressed' into service on the newly-refitted Enterprise. Desperate, and short of well-trained crewpersons for the emergency mission, she was chosen. Her extensive knowledge of the new transporters became a more important asset than her historical work.
The assignment got off to a bad start, with a horrible transporter accident. However, the mission was brought to a swift and satisfactory conclusion. The mission renewed her interest in shipboard duty and, after the V'ger incident, she applied for a transfer to Starfleet Command School.
While there, she continued her studies as a historian and minored in communications. She was then posted to Starfleet Headquarters for a number of years until her old friend, Hikaru Sulu, requested her services on board the Excelsior.
Delighted with the prospect of working with her old friend, she agreed and became the chief of communications. She served in that capacity for the next five years, then accepted her current assignment. She had been there ever since, balancing her time between Leavenworth and Starfleet Headquarters, with a firm reputation for getting the job done.
She sat at her duty desk and checked the latest list of requests from Starfleet and noted, with interest, several more items relating to her favorite ship, the U.S.S. Enterprise.
In the last few days, she had handled several such requests, undoubtedly due to the 01-B nearing completion. The various artifacts and documents would be part of the commissioning ceremonies. This was something they never got to do on the '01. She made a mental note to make an inquiry on the exact date of the launch. If at all possible, she would attend.
At that point, she remembered the last time she had seen the Enterprise. It wasn't very pleasant. Returning from the Mutara Nebula after an intense battle, the graceful lady she had once served on was badly damaged. The ship's beautiful silver-white exterior was scarred and pitted. Good old Scotty had rigged temporary plating to maintain structural and atmospheric integrity, but the poor ship was badly hurt. Later she learned just how bad, including a number of crew deaths. The image of that day remained with her always. Sitting in the space dock observation lounge, waiting transport to Vulcan, she remembered becoming physically ill at the sight.
Blocking out the thought the best as she could, she reviewed the requests again, then noted them on a tricorder: commissioning plaque from the '01-A, official logbooks and, the most unusual item, the personal belongings of Admiral James T. Kirk. "Now what the devil could they want with those?"
She then noted the other non-Enterprise items requested and initiated a computer search. It took only a few moments to locate them all. Afterward, she made up official work orders for their retrieval and transport.
Yes, transport, that was her favorite part of the job. It could mean anything from simply using the facility's extensive transporter systems to taking a shuttle, or even locating an available berth on a starship. She would use whatever method was necessary, but it depended largely on the actual item. With Kirk's personal belongings and the original ship logs, she would use a shuttle and this particular job she would do herself!
First things first; she activated the intercom and called the various sections to begin the retrieval process. "Rand to Kellan, I've got a few 'hot' items for you, wake up!"
A very deep bass voice boomed back at her. "Smile when you say that, lady!"
"Believe me, I'm smiling and I'm not just a lady. I'm a Starfleet officer, if you don't mind." She waited for the inevitable comeback.
"Okay, that's your loss and their gain. Now, what's on your mind?"
She tried to sound business like, "I have a few retrievals for you, ready for the coordinates?"
"Yeah, sure, if you think a terribly inadequate civilian worker can handle it."
Rand maintained her composure but at the expense of her lower lip. "Transmitting now. Requests have already been verified and endorsed. Confirm receipt of requests."
The distinctive voice came back, "Yes 'mommy,' anything else?"
"No, Mister Kellan, not at this time. And if those requests are not filled on time, I'll have you keel hauled!" 'Let him figure that one out,' she thought.
With the civilian items out of the way, she got down to the important things, those for Starfleet and the Enterprise. The retrievals wouldn't take long and then she would transport them personally.
She reached over to the intercom and activated the hanger bay circuit, "Rand to shuttle hanger."
"Shuttle hanger, deck officer here," came the immediate response.
"Deck officer, have a cargo shuttle prepared for use, I'll be up there in thirty minutes."
"We'll be ready, sir. Any shuttle in particular you would prefer?" The young officer was trying hard to please both his superior officer and the current Director General.
Janice thought for a moment then responded. "As a matter of fact, yes, how about the Isaac Asimov; is it available?"
Again the cheerful and snappy response, "Yes, sir, we'll have it ready!"
"Thank you, Rand out." The Isaac Asimov was a good ship, but more important, it had a single, large cargo bay. That made it suitable for some of the items she would have to transport today. Besides, the shuttle had been the one she was using when she received notice of her latest promotion.
She put a duty memo on the facility computers to let everyone know where she was and what she was doing. Then she picked up her tricorder and headed off towards the transporter.
Any other day, this would be just another job, but this day would be a labor of love, for the Enterprise and Captain Kirk. She smiled at the thought.
|
© 2024 Brad McDonald / U.S.S. Kitty Hawk
Star Trek and all related marks, logos, and characters are solely owned by CBS Studios, Inc. This fan organization
is not endorsed by, sponsored by, nor affiliated with CBS, Paramount Pictures, or any other Star Trek franchise.
|
