Crossover - Michael Jan Friedman [12]
Ensign Hammond stood to face the captive audience in the shuttle as the door beside her opened to the shuttlebay.
“Welcome,” she said, “to the Constitution-class starship U.S.S. Yorktown registry NCC-One-Seven-One-Seven. This ship was built almost one hundred and twenty years ago, in the year Twenty-two Forty-seven, at the San Francisco shipyard facility above Earth. The San Francisco facility is still operational today, producing components for state-of-the-art vessels like the Galaxy-class starships. These serve as the new flagships of Starfleet.”
The ensign was clearly reciting a memorized speech for which she had no doubt lost enthusiasm long ago. The people around Scotty didn’t seem to mind, however. And he was too busy thinking to be truly offended.
“In its day,” Hammond went on, “the Yorktown and the other eleven Constitution-class ships were the most advanced Federation vessels in space. As exploratory vessels, they were out of communication range with Starfleet command for long periods of time. Much as they do today, ship’s captains enjoyed broad discretionary powers in dealing with first contact issues, as well as matters of Federation security.
“Today, we’re going on a walking tour of the Yorktown. We’ll work our way from the shuttlebay to all of the major areas of the ship, and finally come up on the bridge. This is a modified version of the ‘walking the ship’ inspection ritual that is still performed by Starfleet captains. In the days of the Yorktown, an officer could walk every corridor and deck of the ship in a single duty shift. Today, it can take more than a week to walk every corridor of a Galaxy-class starship.”
Hammond pointed out the shuttle door. “Out in the shuttlebay, we’ll have a few minutes to explore the bay’s museum, which includes artifacts collected from the voyages of the twelve Constitution-class starships. If you have any questions about individual exhibits, you can ask the ship’s computer. And feel free to try any controls that you wish. You can’t hurt the ship.”
She looked around. “Any questions before we begin?”
A hand went up immediately. The ensign nodded at its owner, a young boy of about ten, Scotty guessed.
“Did the Yorktown ever get into a battle with the Romulans?” the boy asked.
“Well,” said Hammond, “though the Yorktown was involved in a few battles, her chief accomplishments were in the area of galactic exploration.”
The same hand went up again.
“Yes?” the ensign asked.
“Does it still work?” the boy wanted to know.
“I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean,” Hammond replied.
Scotty did. He spoke up.
“I think the lad is asking if the Yorktown`s still operational.”
Ensign Hammond gave Scotty her professional smile. “Yes, she is. All systems are fully operational. Right down to the ship’s synthesizers, which are capable of producing the uniforms, food, and other essentials that would have been necessary on a five-year mission.”
“Are there any live photon torpedoes? Do the phasers work?” the boy asked insistently.
“No,” the ensign replied—a bit tautly, Scotty thought. “Both the phaser and photon torpedo systems have been deactivated. There is little call for those types of weapons in the Starfleet museum.”
The boy’s hand went up one more time. This time he didn’t wait for the tour guide to acknowledge him. “I thought you said that the ship was fully—”
“Now, if there are no further questions,” the ensign said, turning for the door and heading out, “please join me on the deck—so we can begin our starship adventure.”
Scotty was among the last to exit the shuttle. Reaching the deck, he scanned the bay at a glance. Given more time, he would have been happy to gawk at the museum’s treasures with the others on the tour. But he knew he couldn’t spare a moment.
Making his way across the deck, he noticed that the boy had cornered Ensign Hammond. Scotty wondered where the lad’s parents were. No doubt, the ensign was wondering the same thing.
A moment later, he’d made his way to a display case— one that contained