Setting:
This series of stories take place on the recently refit Miranda class starship USS Sheffield. The beginning year is 2312, nineteen years after the events depicted in Star Trek VI.
Starfleet, and the rest of the universe, have changed in the intervening decade. Chancellor Kaarg now reigns over the Klingon Empire.
The USS Sheffield has been assigned to the Beta Quadrant - the area of space which contains the Klingon Empire, the Romulan Star Empire, the Gorn Hegemony and the Borderland - a dangerous region of space home to the Orion Syndicate, and other rogues and pirates.
The mission of USS Sheffield and its crew is to explore and re-evaluate this area of space. With the Cold War with the Klingons now over, and the romulans hiding behind their neutral zone, it is now time for Starfleet to once again explore the stars.
The Crew:
The crew of the USS Sheffield are led by Captain Nathaniel Gallas Hawkins. Hawkins is a human male in his early-forties from the city of Sheffield, Earth. Hawkins is a social sciences officer at heart, specialising in psychology. His aptitude in matters of the mind are what brought him to the Sheffield, however now he has been placed as Commanding Officer, which conflicts with his nature from time to time. Hawkins brings leadership to the ship, as well as the impulsiveness of the heart, exemplified with his relationship with Lieutenant Peers. Hawkins is the narrator of the Interim Years, he is our storyteller.
The Executive Officer [First Officer or Number One] of the starship Sheffield is Commander Ilani. Ilani is a deltan female, like Ilia from Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Ilani, like all deltans, has the ability to sense emotions in others and has an advanced, sensual culture. Ilani is one of Starfleet's finest diplomats, and her natural skills sometimes puts her at odds with the captain. Ilani brings her wisdom, knowledge, empathy and spiritual nature to the crew, in addition to her natural leadership.
The Second Officer and Operations Manager of USS Sheffield is Lieutenant Commander S'sana. S'sana is a half-romulan, half-orion native of Nimbus III, the Planet of Galactic Peace [as seen in Star Trek V]. S'sana has worked hard to escape her harsh childhood and failed marriage, but her past and cultural inheritance are never far behind. S'sana brings the exotic, alien perspective to the crew, as well as the fiesty core forged from her difficult youth.
Doctor A'Ochak is the Chief Medical Officer. aboard USS Sheffield. A'Ochak is a grazerite [a bovine race seen in Deep Space Nine as the Federation President Jaresh-Inyo]. A'Ochak is an expert in all matters medical, a philosopher and a devout pacifist. A'Ochak has been persuaded by the captain to join the ship, reluctantly leaving his job at Starfleet Medical. A'Ochak brings his deep though, philosophy and respect for all life to the crew.
Lieutenant Kara Fox is the Chief Communications Officer. Fox is a native of one of the outermost colonies of the Federation, so despite her being human, sometimes her behaviour can be anything but. Fox has a dataport at the base of her skull. This dataport allows Fox to interface with computers in a manner very similar to a wireless connection today [bluetooth of the brain]. Fox is a perfectionist, strongwilled and secretive. Kara brings her linguistics, skills with computers and her ascerbic wit to the crew.
These are just a sample of the crew of the Sheffield, with 231 officers and crew making up the compliment of the ship and cast list for this rich tapestry.
Sheffield Crew 2312:
231 crew total [35 officers 196 enlisted].
Officers:
1x Captain - Nathaniel Hawkins C.O.
1x Commander - Ilani X.O.
5x Lt Commander - S'sana Ops Man. Judith Peers [Science officer], Sean O'Reilly CEO, Doctor A'Ochak CMO, Eryn Hart [special services]
10x Lieutenant - Jonathan Hirst CSecO, Henrik Kyrre, [senior flight officer], Arin Thera [security operations]
10x Lieutenant [junior grade] Markus Monsal [Helm officer], Kara Fox - Chief Communications Officer, Krrurr - Judge Advocate General, Doctor Helen Marshall
8x Ensign [includes cadets] - Ieuan Griffiths - Geological Officer, Savar - chief nursing officer.
Senior ratings:
1x Master Chief Petty Officer - "MASTER CHIEF" - [Senior Enlisted Officer]
3x Senior Chief Petty Officer
[above two ranks replace Royal Navy Warrant Officer ranks]
7x Chief Petty Officer
10x Petty Officer 1st class Beorin - Psychology of Play Specialist.
18x Petty Officer 2nd class
26x Petty Officer 3rd class
Junior ratings:
27x Leading crewman
49x Ablecrewman
55x Crewman
Author's Notes:
In recent times there have been many television and cinema genres which have been re-launched or re-imagined. Amongst those re-imagined are Batman, James Bond and Battlestar Galactica. When a format is used for too long to becomes stale. Sometimes what is needed is a fresh perspective, not a re-write. In 2003, Ronald D. Moore - a veteran scriptwriter for Star Trek: The Next Generation reimagined Glenn Larson's Battlestar Galactica. As part of the re-imagining, Mr Moore wrote a thesis called "Naturalistic Science Fiction: or taking the opera out of space opera". In this essay, Mr Moore identified several aspects of science fiction which he felt undermined the genre or were over-used. Verisimilitude, or a sense of reality within a work of fiction, was the key word for the way ahead. Character-driven stories with continuity was the means forward.
Ever since I started working on Star Trek: The Interim Years, it seems as if I have been on the same journey which Ronald D. Moore has taken. I asked some simple questions: What is Star Trek? What are the values which Gene Roddenberry felt were so important? What is the United Federation of Planets What forged Earth into the utopia of Star Trek times? Why does Starfleet boldly go? Why are the races of Star Trek as they are? What makes them tick? And the all-important question which Captain Picard asked in irony in Star Trek: Insurrection, I ask in all seriousness: "Can anyone remember when we used to be explorers?"
With recent series and movies such as Batman Begins, The West Wing, Firefly and Battlestar Galactica, the power of well-written, character-driven stories was demonstrated. These are amongst the inspirations for this website and stories. factual material which has inspired this site includes: the British Antarctic Survey, The New Great Game by Lutz Kleveman, the works of the late Anna Politkovskaya and Peter Aughton's books on Captain Cook's voyages on the Endeavour and Resolution, to name but a few.
In addition, the work of HMS Endurance, the Royal Navy, NASA and the work of oceanographer Dr. Robert D. Ballard has also influenced and shaped this work.
Using my brief experiences with the R.A.F. and experiences with the Royal Navy as a template for Starfleet, coupled with my knowledge of post-Cold War Soviet Union and research on Chechnya and Al Qaeda, I intend to portray a story of change in styles between the times of Kirk and Picard. I hope to show the beginnings of those changes. When researching for this webseries, it soon became apparent how little official material existed with respects to stardates and starship registry numbers.
The Interim Years actually consists of two distinct generations - the 'pseudo' Interim Years from 2294 to the 2330s, and the 'true' Interim Years from the 2330s to 2363. Nathaniel Hawkins comes from the first generation, Jean-Luc Picard from the second. Hawkins' generation must learn the new rules, and Picard's generation is the first to be taught the new rules from scratch. So one generation has to learn the change, and the next actually drives the changes in to the core, and builds on them. The ST: TIY webseries will focus on the first generation, with Pocket Books' Stargazer and Lost Era novels covering the second generation.
As with series such as The West Wing, I will endeavour to base the stories on the characters, keeping a firm grip on continuity. The West Wing tells powerful character-driven stories with what could be described as 'everyday' people. One of the other factors that makes The West Wing so good, is the continuity that it has. Storylines from episodes past, actions made by characters beforehand, having repercussions in later episodes. So shall it be with my stories.
Life is about choices, actions and consequences - so shall it be for the characters in the Interim Years.
Change is the theme of Star Trek: The Interim Years. These are flawed, average characters, on an average starship, who will discover truths about the universe and about themselves. They will rise above their short-comings and challenges and find out who they really are and what is really going on. This will be ordinary people on an extraordinary voyage...
For what lies beyond the Undiscovered Country...
...is the Next Generation.
