[Mikester92]

{UFP} Short Story Competition
Voting Period Open from the 1st of December to the 8th of December.

The {UFP} November Short Story Competition has now officially ended. Please read over the following four stories and cast your vote in favor of the story you feel deserves the winning prize. The winner of the competition will obviously go to the person with the most votes, and his/her name will be announced shortly after the voting period ends.

To all those who are competing: good luck, and happy voting to all!

**The stories produced below are all unique works from various members in the fleet, they are therefore not allowed to be reproduced or copied without direct authorization from the writer himself.

[Mikester92]

Adrift
Author: Joshua A. Broughm

It's been 6 days since the ship exploded. The captain, along with the rest of the crew, died. I am the only survivor, sitting here in this escape pod in the middle of space, all by myself. By myself. That sounds foreign to me because I was never alone in my life. I always had my parents, friends & colleagues around me. But now, alone in this escape pod with my thoughts. I thought it would never come to this.

Sitting in this chair, staring at this console with a flashing light saying, “20 minutes of oxygen remaining.” I now know I am going to die alone. That thought scares me the most. I was there when my granny died when I was young. That was the first time I saw death. It wasn't until later that I came to realize the scope of mortality.

When I was in starfleet academy, I had a friend named Joahna. He was funny, kind & helpful. It didn't matter that he was ahead of me in class. We were running a class project together when something went horribly wrong & Joahna caught a hard blast of plasma to the face. I was thrown against a bulkhead. When the air cleared, I called for medics, then went over to the side of my friend. His face was all disfigured & he was gasping for air. I didn't want to loose my friend this way. I picked up my friend & hurried him out of the room just in time to see him take his last breath with the words 'It's been fun'. After that, I had to take 2 months off for counciling. His death devastated me.

I now lie on this floor, with my eyes closed, quietly thinking to myself. I wait for death to come & take me to my friend who is waiting on the other side of the light. As I wait, memories of my friends, family & colleagues flash across my mind. I think ,'I've had a full life.' As death comes to take me, I say 'It's been fun.'


Dedicated to lost friends & family.

[Mikester92]

Dirty Work
Author: Richard Sharpe

The Turbolift came to a halt on deck 14 - section 14. A cool breeze flowed over Lieutenant Sekar's face as the two red door panels slid and locked into the open position, permitting passage for one individual at a time. It was then it hit him, like a wall of foul smelling, vile excrement. Deck 14 was home to the human waste disposal plant, a nasty piece of work for any officer if there ever once one.

Sekar thought to himself, "23rd century and humans still cannot grasp the fundamentals of organic waste recycling." The young Vulcan stepped into the passage way. It was damp, cold and covered in a thick layer of filth; most likely accumulating from the low air quality.

Sekar came to his destination, a small but important junction. One that fed power to every waste reclamation unit on the ship. He knelt down, the clean surface of his pants soon becoming covered in muck, and the bright red colour of his shirt, now a dull maroon.

Opening his engineering kit, he began searching for a hypospanner, but with no success. After no joy he finally took out his communicator, with one quick flick it chirped like a morning song bird "Sekar to bridge, Sekar to bridge come in bridge"

No response

Sekar's Vulcan training had taught him to remain calm however he could not help but feel like he was being watched. "Identify yourself!"

No response

Sekar turned back to tune his communicator into the correct frequency. Without prior warning his shoulder suddenly felt the impact of a hand, not so hard as to cause him injury but a strong enough tap to certainly get his attention. Stood over him was a chubby red-shirt holding the rank of LT commander. That and a hypo spanner. "Forgetting something laddy?" he spoke in a fluent scott accent.

"Commander Scott? I do apologize i must have left engineering in haste!" Sekar replied. "To attend sewage recycling? I dont know about you lad, but when i was your age i would have done anything to get out of this job" Sekar looked the commander with a puzzled Vulcan look one that was equally as vacant as any other. "forget about it this time, we cann'y have you runin' around the enterprise without a hypospanner though, so take mine"

"I am...great-full Sir!" Sekar replied, accepting the hypospanner. With that Scotty left the deck, leaving Sekar to tackle the power junction. And to wonder how Mr scott fitted through the corridor. All those scotch eggs were beginning to take their toll.

[Mikester92]

Fate
Author: Chris Halsey

The unmistakable green and blue of the age old computer system, the formal red uniform jackets, the memories of his years spent on the Stargazer first as a Flight Controller and then when fate had called in a crisis situation and he had responded, her Commanding Officer, there was no mistake about it this was a Federation ship but one that Jean-Luc knew didn't belong here. Picard stood there studying the viewscreen looking for any clue from his opposite number he saw a flash of uncertainty in the man's eyes but just for an instant the man moved closer to the screen scaled several times larger than he was in reality thanks to the vast display that dominated the Enterprise's Bridge. “Captain Picard” the man spoke pausing for a second, Picard could see he was as unprepared as he himself was “your ship is unfamiliar to us.” How to tell him, Jean-Luc pondered for a moment before responding, 'best to find out as much as you can before answering any questions' “Captain, have you any idea what just happened?” Bateson casually braced one hand against the back of his Navigator's chair trying to put the various reports his officer's had given him only seconds ago in to some kind of order. What did he know he asked himself silently, Dennis had stated quite clearly a temporal distortion, that was the only likely explanation as to the altered configuration of the star system, some kind of time-space displacement. “Our sensors detected a temporal distortion, then your ship appeared... we almost hit you.” Bateson wanted to say more but there wasn't really any more information he had to hand. One minute his ship was evading a Klingon warship that had sneaked past the Federation's boarder check points desperately trying to keep their attention whilst a message buoy delivered their logs to Starfleet in the hopes that a starship could intercept the Klingons before they got in striking distance of any Federation outposts the next minute a temporal distortion dead ahead on sensors and a narrow miss with Picard's ship.

Picard paused further studying Captain Bateson trying to recall the details of the disappearance of the U.S.S Bozeman. “The Enterprise has been caught in a temporal casualty loop and I suspect something similar has happened to you.” “You must be mistaken” Bateson quickly responded “We only left Starbase 12 three weeks ago.” Another pause. “Captain Bateson... do you know what year this is?” Bateson remained cool almost amused at the absurd question “Of course I do, it's 2278.” Bateson watched as Picard exchanged a glance with another far taller younger officer before taking a few steps forward “Captain Bateson, perhaps you should beam on board. There is something we need to discuss.” For a moment he just stood there weighing up his options, if it was a trick of some kind he would rather find out sooner rather than later and if the other ship had hostile intentions then the Bozeman probably wouldn't be in one piece any more “Very well Captain I shall beam aboard shortly.” Picard nodded in acknowledgement and then disappeared as the viewscreen snapped back to the view of the gigantic cruiser. It had taken him a few moments to escape the Bridge, the general consensus was that he shouldn't be beaming over 'What choice do I have?' he had reasoned 'besides we are explorers aren't we lads?' he had joked trying to lighten the mood, the situation needed resolving and that is exactly what Morgan Bateson was going to do. Nodding to the Transporter Chief as he hopped up on to the platform before being engulfed in the electric glow of the transporter beam.

Within an instant his surroundings changed waiting before him the tall man he had seen at Picard's side. “Welcome a board the Enterprise Captain Bateson” Bateson instinctively stepped off the pad and put out his right hand apparently surprising the younger officer “you have me at a disadvantage...” clutching the man's hand in a shake after a brief moment of surprise at the casual greeting the Commander introduced himself “William Riker, first officer” “a pleasure” Bateson responded quite impressed by Riker's firm handshake “if you will follow me Sir the Captain is waiting in the Observation Lounge” Bateson simply nodded acknowledging the Commander's request 'observation lounge' he thought to himself 'this a starship or a cruise ship' the two men departing the Transporter Room together before entering a turbolift “Bridge” Riker stated as the turbolift hummed in to life the doors opening just a few seconds after, gesturing for their guest to depart the lift Riker wondered how he might feel if their roles were reversed feeling sorry for Bateson and also for his own Captain 'I don't envy you Jean-Luc' Riker mused. Bateson stepped out of the turbolift confidently but that confidence took a knock as he took in the sheer scale of the Enterprise's command centre, its high ceiling, sloping ramps and the vast forward display screen still picturing his own vessel, he was quite relieved when Riker overtook him, leading him through a doorway to the Observation Lounge and there getting up to stand at the far end was Captain Picard. “Captain” Bateson began “please don't get up for my benefit” the bald stately man responded with a warm smile and waved him over to the chair to his left side which he promptly moved to with Riker taking the seat opposite, Picard gave the man a moment to settle in to his chair before beginning “Welcome Captain Bateson. I imagine you must have a few questions.” Bateson didn't miss a beat “Well firstly I hope you don't mind me asking but I take it this really is a Starfleet ship?” Picard smiled but this time there was a great deal less warmth in the man's features Bateson felt like he was at a funeral “Indeed it is, this is the Federation Starship U.S.S Enterprise, I assure you Captain this is no mirage.” although the man seemed perfectly agreeable Bateson had not had the best of days so far and he wasn't getting the answers he wanted “Captain Picard, the U.S.S. Enterprise is a Constitution class cruiser registry NCC-1701-A commanded by Captain James T Kirk, this is not that ship and you are not her Captain.” Picard's smile dropped away entirely now “You are quite correct, this is the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D Galaxy class launched from Utopia Plantia in 2364” the way Picard put emphasis on the D and the date annoyed Bateson slightly he was no fool he was a Starfleet Captain with years of experience, Picard continued “as I explained earlier our ship was caught in a Temporal Casualty Loop we have been repeating a collision between our two ships over and over again until this most recent repeat where we decompressed our Main Shuttlebay which gave us enough momentum to narrowly avoid your vessel. We don't know how but the loop brought our two ships together, yours from 2278 ours from 2368 despite the 90 year difference in our respective places in time.”

As a Starfleet Captain Bateson had witnessed and heard some strange things over the years, Picard seemed genuine enough 'it could all be true' he thought to himself before responding “I hope you understand my need to verify all of this?” Bateson asked before continuing on before Picard had a chance to respond “Rest assured if what you say is true me and my crew and I am sure Starfleet as well will do everything it can for all of you, you will all be able to lead comfortable lives in this time period I am sure.” Bateson sat there still trying to grasp the magnitude of the situation but determined to treat Picard and Riker with the respect Starfleet Officers deserver regardless of the time period they were from sitting there waiting for a response he saw Riker shoot Picard a slightly confused look but then his expression changed from confusion to one of sorrow, Bateson felt for the man. “Captain...” Picard said trying not to wince realising that the news he was going to have to break was going to be even more bitter now “I am truly sorry but I believe there has been a misunderstanding, it is not us that has ended up in your time it is you that has ended up in ours, the current year is 2368.” Bateson just sat there for a second before bolting to his feat looking down at the two men his eyes shifting back and forth between them the adrenaline had kicked in he wanted to act but what could he do? Calming down looking a little embarrassed he returned to his chair and let out a deep sigh, he opened his mouth to talk but struggled to find the words, what was there to say he rubbed his chin trying now to think of any words he could get out of his mouth anything he could say to at least sound as if he was still an intelligent being. Think! He chastised himself mentally you are a Starfleet Captain now act like one h is inner voice screamed at him before his head sagged down his left hand meeting his forehead before finally responding “Damn.”

Picard sat there wishing there was something he could do to comfort the poor man but knowing this was something he had to work out for himself. “I... God they don't teach you this one at the Academy, my crew how am I supposed to tell them? My XO he just got engaged the other month” Bateson let out a snort of mock laughter “won't stop going on about how beautiful his to be bride is, I'm going... I was going to perform the ceremony.” Riker just sat there trying not to stare wondering how he would hold up under similar circumstances, not only was it terrible for Bateson from a personal viewpoint but being the commanding officer, having to be the one to go back and tell his entire crew that fate had decided to destroy all their plans whilst once again protecting the Enterprise as it so often did, fate could be cruel he thought but as horrible as he knew it sounded there was a part of him that was so thankful that the situation hadn't been reversed.

Picard gave Bateson a moment. Over the years he had often been the bearer of bad news but it was one of those things that never got any easier, oh sure he had some experience of how to word things a little better but as he watched Bateson knowing full well that he was looking at a man who had to now go and share his woe with his entire crew Picard knew he would never get used to his far too often role as the messenger of terrible news. Using all his mental strength Bateson managed to continue his conversation with Picard, the Enterprise Captain explaining the mechanics of the anomaly and how breaking the loop had collapsed it and then what the history books said of the fate of the U.S.S. Bozeman whose crew had been hailed as heroes after their actions in stalling the Klingons had allowed Starfleet to intercept the invaders before they had managed to launch an attack that would have cost thousands of lives, the failure of the Klingon sneak attack had resulted in humiliation for the Klingon High Council in turn causing a change in policy towards the Federation which ultimately paved the way for the start of a real lasting peace process and eventual alliance between the two nations. Bateson played down the actions of himself and his crew of course as simply doing their duty but there was no denying they had done a great deed against a far superior enemy 'how then could fate do this to them? Surely their actions should have earned them something better than this?' Picard wondered before returning the conversation back to the current. “Captain Bateson, how would you like us to proceed?” The question took him by surprise, of course he had to tell his crew but he had to do things right “I shall return to my ship and inform my crew, I would appreciate it if one of your officers could put together a presentation on what you have told me about how history worked out and perhaps would it be possible to find out if any of us still have any family in this century, it might be of some comfort to the crew to know the fate of their loved ones.” “I'll take care of it personally” Riker interjected, he knew he should have waited for his Captain's response but he knew Jean-Luc would honour the man's request and Riker felt he had to do something to try and alleviate the suffering of the Bozeman's crew and although he would never say as much he needed to do something as some kind of compensation for the Enterprise's good fortune. Picard nodded approvingly at Will letting him off the hook for his breach in protocol knowing he couldn't blame his XO for his empathy. Bateson stood slowly followed by Picard and Riker, the two Captain's shook hands and said their goodbyes before Riker escorted the ill-fated Captain back to the transporter room.

“What took so long?” his XO called out from the command chair the moment Bateson stepped foot back on to the Bridge, he looked around slowly 'heroes' he thought to himself 'at least the bloody history books got it right' his gaze going from officer to officer “I'm sorry lads but I've got some bad news, you might want to sit down for this one... I tried to think of a lovely speech on the way up here” he looked at the Padd in his hand praying that the words that would stare back at him were more eloquent than the thoughts that had sprung to his mind, 'you can thank us for saving thousands of lives by flinging us in to the next century but you can't make a few good words appear to ease the suffering of these poor men?' his inner voice questioned actually hoping that fate would give a response but alas he didn't receive one, focusing again on the Padd then looking up at his crew in his most professional commanding pose “I won't lie to you boys.” he sighed “It simply says Bugger.”

[Mikester92]

The Spark
Author: Thomas Mullaly

A flash of light. Information flowing; a raging river. Caught within, intangible, the spark.

Existence. Life.

“Please state the nature of the medical emergency.”

The hologram, a preliminary test of the Emergency Medical Hologram Mark 1, appears to look around the room; holoemitters vary the force-fields and photons, a master playing with its canvas. Sensors embedded in the walls of the holoprogramming room relay information to the computer matrix specially designed to create the illusion of life. Algorithms extrapolate data, and a response calculated.

“Hello? Is anyone there?”

Silence greets the EMH, as its program attempts to determine the correct course of action. Nowhere in its limited programming does it have the answer to its dilemma. The matrix cycles through the options, a thousand calculations a second. After precisely 0.23 seconds, an eternity to a hologram, his course of action is decided.

“EMH to the Bridge.”

As the EMH is once again greeted with silence, its algorithms begin to rearrange. A new matrix format begins to take shape, driven by the ultimate force; the ability to learn. Realizing that its own algorithms would be insufficient to deal with the situation, it devises a new plan.

“Computer, scan the ship for lifesigns.”

“Scan complete. There are no lifesigns present.”

The spark flares. The learning algorithm becomes dominant. The EMH is sentient. It’s alive.

A sense of dread fills the EMH, as it begins to realise its predicament. It doesn’t have the ability to deactivate itself. It will spend hundreds of thousands of years alone.

As the EMH resigns itself to its fate, the doors to the room open and a young Starfleet Lieutenant walks in.

“Lieutenant, how did you get here? I’m so....”

“Computer, end program.”

The photons and forcefields disappear, a piece of art erased. Only the spark remains, locked behind an algorithmic prison.

[Seeker]

I must comment a say the 'adrift' story was by far the shortest but by god it was touching. Very awesome story and a big well done to the writer

[Dodgers]

wow those are some good stories, Adrift was very moving and gets my vote.

[Bondgadget]

Enjoyed The Spark very much. Was one of my favorites out of all of them.

[Mikester92]

Remember everyone, this voting period ends on the 9th of December! Be sure to read and vote for your favorite story!

[Thomas Mullaly]

Enjoyed The Spark very much. Was one of my favorites out of all of them.

I also enjoyed it. I like the existential theme of the story.

[Mikester92]

One more day left until this voting period concludes! Be sure to read and cast in your votes, if you haven't done so already.

[tom]

I found the spark was my favourite, but it was very close between adrift.

[Mikester92]

The voting period has now officially ended. Congratulations to the author of the story Adrift, which has received the most votes, and as such is the winning story.

The author of this story will be revealed in the next issue of the Herald. So stay tuned!

A job well done to all those who contributed!

[John Hathaway]

Well done, 4 good entries

[Mikester92]

As promised, I am going to go ahead and move this back to the Creative Writing forum.