Starfleet Archives- Oral History Project research: Niagara Class

Entry 7725-01

Interviewee: Commander Jorel Trask (Retired), Former Chief Engineer U.S.S. Fairfax NCC-28461

Date of Interview: Stardate 78628.7

“You want to know what she was like?, Well, to most of us, Fairfax wasn’t just a ship… She was a partner and a home. She may not have been the flashiest, and definitely not the most prestigious assignment. She had her quirks. You learned to live with them, or she’d teach you the hard way.”

“I served aboard her during the Dominion war. The first thing you’d notice when you stepped on board was the hum. Somehow, it was deeper and steadier than other ships, probably something to do with having three nacelles and the geometry of her warpfield… But I liked to think it was something more personal. You see, the Fairfax had a personality… don’t care how irrational that sounds, but it’s true. I used to tell the new recruits on their first day, ‘Learn the tone of her hum.’ She’ll speak to you and let you know when she’s not happy.”

“A day that stuck with me most was the Chin’toka retreat in ‘75. We got orders to haul nine-point-seven back and forth to rescue as many survivors as we could. Everyone said that she would fly apart, couldn’t take the punishment… but she did…four brutal hours of it. She complained the whole way through… a shudder in the starboard nacelle strut, temperature and pressure alarms screaming… deck plating rumbling and vibrating like every screw and bolt was desperate to break loose… but she got us there… I like to think she knew how important her job was and didn’t want to lose anyone.”

“We put in for an inspection after the battle… but no one could find a single panel out of place… It’s like she was proud of her accomplishment and was asking for more! After that day, it became a bit of a tradition before every mission to pat the frame of the starboard pylon… where it anchors to the engineering hull. I know it sounds silly, but somehow, she seemed more motivated when she knew the crew appreciated her.”

“How would I describe her in one word?….. Resilient. She might not be the fastest ship in the quadrant anymore, but she’s the one you wanted when you needed to get somewhere when it counted. And if they drafted me again tomorrow, gave me a choice of the fleet… I’d still pick Fairfax every god damn time!”

END OF FILE

Log entry: Captain Alexander Dubois

Stardate: 79628.7

Time index: 11:42hrs

“Captain’s Log, Stardate 79628.7

We’re now six weeks out of Starbase 98 en route to the Talvath sector to retrieve deep-space monitoring equipment for service. Both ship and crew are performing their duties well,  even nearly twelve months after Fairfax was returned to active service; there are still some minor teething problems.

My chief engineer, Lieutenant Commander zh’Shaleth has been working closely with our guest, Retired Commander Jorel Trask, who starfeet provided as an advisor to help the new crew iron out some of these creases on our latest voyage.

Shakedown was something of a minor disaster, and I had my doubts as to whether this ship was still space-worthy, but it pleases me to say that under the Commander’s Guidance, Fairfax seems to be running a lot smoother, and it appears we can finally begin to focus on our mission.”

The low hum of the engine room was a truly calming environment to focus on one’s work. Here, every panel and floor plate seemed to resonate along with the warp core in unity, like a well-conducted symphony orchestra where each instrument complements the harmonics of the auditorium to touch the soul of the listener with every chord and note.

This was a harmony that was harshly interrupted by booming voices from the maintenance corridor, clearly engaged in a disagreement.

“Just trust me on this, will you, please!” one voice said, male, with a seasoned rasp.

“Look, I respect you’re experience, commander, even agree with you to an extent, but you’re here to advise, not to interfere!” a second voice cried out, female, delicate, but you could tell there was some power and venom in the voice that was being held back.

Emerging from the corridor with a purposeful stride, Lieutenant Commander T’lira zh’Shaleth immediately stowed her toolkit in a nearby locker before storming off towards the control room, her head buried in her PADD, crunching numbers. 

A short distance behind her followed an older gentleman, around her height, but slowed by requiring the aid of his cane to walk. He was not dressed in a Starfleet uniform and wore a fairly plain boiler suit, clearly covering some more comfortable attire underneath. About the only thing they shared in common was the colour of their hair; both of them had locks of pure white, turned damp by the heat and humidity in the bowls of the ship.

The gentleman hobbled towards the control room, doing his best to keep up with his charge.

“I’m  not trying to interfere, Commander, but I know this ship like family!, I’m telling you’ve got the intermix ratio all wrong; she’s suffocating slowly… just give what I’m suggesting a try, you’ll see!”

T’Lira’s antennae shot backwards, casting a shadow on the floor that resembled horns protruding from her skull. She’d had enough of being told what to do by this geriatric. All her training and her senses were telling her that the engine was intermixed properly; there was no need to mess with it further. Early on in this cruise, she was open, even excited to have a veteran guide her on how to speak to her ‘Snowfire’ – the pet name she had given to Fairfax’s warp core, like she had done with every ship she’d served on.

But now, after six weeks of it, she was merely frustrated, maybe a little insulted that her expertise as an engineer was being challenged by someone who hadn’t held a hyperspanner in over a decade.

She clenched her fist against the workstation and counted to five in her head. Half Aenar, she was a sworn pacifist, but even she was battling with her Andorian half not to snap at the Veteran’s relentless meddling in her day-to-day affairs.

She turned about, looked the old man in the eye, and was about to ask him to leave when her antenna detected footsteps approaching from the walkway behind the control room. She recognised them immediately as the Captain and the XO, so she bit her tongue for a moment and turned back to greet them. “Captain, Commander,” she nodded as Alex and Wallace entered the compartment.

“Morning Commanders, just stopping by to see how things are going?” Captain Dubois greeted. He was a unit of a man, standing 6ft 4’’ and 225lbs of lean muscle, which was barely contained within his neatly pressed uniform. He stood relaxed, with a fresh mug of coffee held close to his chest in one hand and the seams along his curled bicep clearly reaching the limit of their integrity as he lifted the rim of his mug to his lips for a sip.

It was evident he had just finished a set in the gym; his hair was still moist from the sweat.

T’Lira was just about to speak when her dusty counterpart piped in. “Don’t you worry, Captain, before long, we’ll have the girl running so smooth, you’d think she was fresh off the line.” The veteran quipped, a smile on his face from ear to ear.

T’Lira could not hide her frustration, as much as she tried, her antenna just telegraphed for her. 

“Something to add, Commander zh’Shaleth?” Wallace chimed in, his arms folded, leaning against the bulkhead. Commander Jones made it his job to become intimately familiar with his department heads. As the Executive Officer, he was the liaison between them and the captain. 

“No, sir, like Commander Trask said, it’s all going smoothly down here.” T’Lira conceded. She was too proud to say anything that might embarrass her colleague in front of the Captain; she knew he was passionate about his former ship and just wanted to help, but this did nothing to subdue her frustration about his outdated methods.

Wallace was not buying it. He’d known T’Lira for nearly 8 months by this point, so he could see something was bothering her. “Why don’t you take me through the new field calibration settings?” he said, ushering her over to the master systems display, out of earshot of the captain and the retired veteran.

The pair took a short stroll out of the room while the veteran began sharing some of his old war stories with the captain. Wallace was an engineer by his own trade, previously held a command of his own, but really found his feet as the second in command, especially under Captain Dubois’ command. Together, they made a good team, and this visit to engineering was clearly well-rehearsed and planned.

Arriving at the Master Systems display, Wallace loaded the warp field schematics to give the impression they were discussing the calibration settings, before extending an olive branch to his Chief Engineer. 

T’Lira was visibly relieved to have a brief respite from her shadow. She appreciated the gesture from the XO, but honestly would have been happy to discuss the warp field as a breath of fresh air from having the veteran breathing down her neck.

“He’s certainly a character, isn’t he? Most war veterans are,” Wallace added as a grounding piece of context.

“Commander, I’ll be honest, I don’t know how much more of this I can take. It’s like working with a grandparent who doesn’t trust you to make your own decisions!” T’Lira sighed.

“I get that, just remember, you’re the chief engineer. His responsibility is to advise and provide guidance; there aren’t many engineers left who are familiar with this design and have firsthand experience, but you’re still the one in charge down here.” Wallace responded sympathetically.

“I know, but he’s just so suffocating to work with, he’s constantly questioning every adjustment I make, suggesting completely absurd calibrations like the ship’s actually alive… I mean, you know me, I feel connected to Snowfire more than anyone else, but he’s on a whole different level!” 

“Maybe that’s the common ground you need to need to find between you, you both feel a connection to the ship…”

“Yeah, but he just seems delusional, like yesterday he told me that Fairfax flies faster when she’s showing off, the old-timer is certifiable!” T’Lira braced herself against the console and took a deep breath, feeling a wave of frustration vent.

“But in the same way, you call the core Snowfire, you talk to it and feel its presence. Now I don’t know who’s right and who’s wrong on this subject, I trust your abilities and your unique perception when it comes to machines, but he shares a lot of that same connection to the ship, his just seems more poetic and romanticised.” Wallace added.

“He argued with me, just before you walked in, about adjusting the intermix ratio to a setting I know, the manual says, would be out of balance. Part of me is tempted to try it, but the laws of physics tell me it’s not a good idea!”

“I can tell you from experience that what the manual says and what works can be two different things, especially on these older ships. These things were mainly hand-built back in the day, and they have little quirks that no manual or simulation can account for… Maybe it’s a case of ‘trust the process,’” Said Wallace.

T’Lira pondered for a moment; the commander’s point of view made sense; she had been trying to run things by the book and basing her adjustments on data she could perceive rather than intuition. She also respected that the Veteran had valuable firsthand experience.

“Maybe it’s worth a try. The worst that could happen is Snowfire throws a fit, and I spend the next week de-gaussing the plasma manifolds,” she quipped, her antennae relaxing somewhat.

“That’s the spirit, and if she does, give me a call, I’ll put on a gold uniform and give you a hand!” Wallace chuckled with a smile.

T’Lira appreciated the sentiment; she needed the pep talk to ground herself again. She knew full well that the Veteran was just an advisor, but he had valuable experience to offer. This was a rare opportunity to gain knowledge she would never be able to obtain anywhere else. If she could only get past the clash of personalities, she’d do Snowfire a great service by setting her up just right.

‘BRIDGE TO CAPTAIN DUBOIS’ 

The comm system suddenly burst into life, and Wallace glanced over to the CO.

“Go ahead, Lieutenant.”  Alex recognised the bass tone of the voice as his Chief of Security and Tactical, Lieutenant K’vagh. This left him a little curious as to why he was being summoned.

‘PICKING UP A DISTRESS CALL FROM AN AZURAK FREIGHTER ON LONG-RANGE COMMUNICATIONS, CAPTAIN!”

“Standby, Lieutenant, Commander Jones and I are on our way, Dubois out.” Alex was both curious and cautious. A freighter in distress is seldom a routine affair this far out into deep space; even more curious was that it was an Azurak freighter. To his knowledge, they rarely requested assistance from outsiders.

Alex nodded to his first officer and the pair excused themselves, making a swift exit towards the turbolifts. 

T’Lira could sense the Veteran hobbling over to her. She took a deep breath and began to digest her pep-talk.

“On second thought, Commander, why don’t you walk me through that intermix calibration you wanted to try?” she said with a hint of a smile on her face. She wouldn’t be pushed about in her own engine room, but on reflection, she felt she could find some room for a little flexibility.