[Star Trek] Paint and Powder - A Star Trek Shipgirl Concept Thread

[AndrewJTalon]

A ship is always referred to as 'she' because it costs so much to keep one in paint and powder.

Chester W. Nimitz

Click to shrink...

In all honesty, there is no need for a crossover with anything else to give Star Trek shipgirls. The potential for it has always existed, but wouldn't be fully realized until the 24th century with the birth of modern holographic technology.

Even before then though, Federation and other starships would have had their own AIs and preferred forms.

So in this Star Trek universe, The Constitution-class starships were the first to be given artificial intelligences to help run the ship and safeguard the crew on their deep space exploration missions. They were given soft light holographic and screen-based avatars-Primarily females, and usually based on the form of the species that made up the majority of the crew. While they did start out merely as digital assistants, as they gained more experience they began to grow truly sapient. Crews would become attached to their avatars, as they would become attached to their ships. And so AIs became far more common after the successes of the Constitution-class: In particular, the successes of the Starship Enterprise.

The AIs would also function as a "black box" for any lost starships. You could pull the AI, learn what happened, and then install the AI into a new ship-Usually one named after the previous ship, to avoid continuity issues and identity problems.

As a result, the Enterprise AI has been transferred from ship to ship over the course of a century, and is herself treated as an honorary Federation citizen. She changes slightly with each upgrade, as her memories run on new hardware and new software.

(The Trill understand it perfectly).

By the TNG era, advances in holography allow for ship's avatars to be physically present and interact with their crews. They can be an extra pair of hands and assist in everything from maintenance to protecting the ship from boarders. Many of them are quite old and have seen a lot, and are more "old fashioned" than their organic crewmembers when it comes to certain things. They would get along well with Bolos-They consider themselves warriors first, as that part of their programming has never changed. They consider themselves protectors of their crews. So this can cause conflict among the more peace minded members of Starfleet and the Federation.

And of course, the technology and concept spread. The Klingons, Romulans, and Cardassians have avatars for their starships, as do the Ferengi and many others. The Cardassians in particular stole the technology from the Federation.

So: What would be some interesting changes to the Star Trek universe with shipgirls like this? Something a little different from the usual shipgirl fare?

- - -

During Encounter at Farpoint...

- - -

Lieutenant Commander Data was finding the first mission of the Enterprise-D to be far more interesting than he had first anticipated. Meeting an advanced entity like the Q, whose demands were mysterious and provocative, was something rarely encountered by Federation starships. Most notably the NCC-1701 Enterprise's encounter with the Trelane entity.

It was perhaps appropriate, Data surmised, that a member of that crew was aboard this ship even now. However, the former crewmember was being quite illogical.

"Have you got some reason why you want my atoms scattered all over space, boy?!" Admiral McCoy demanded, as the android walked him down the corridor. Data cocked his head in a birdlike manner.

"Sir, the shuttlecraft is significantly more inconvenient-"

"I don't want to hear it! I ain't gonna have my abs where my hips should be!" He huffed.

"The probability of transporter malfunction is approximately 470,939.1 to one, Admiral," Data responded. The Admiral paused and looked around Data, the android left scanning around for the source of the admiral's discomfort.

"I don't see no points on your ears, boy, but you sound like a Vulcan!" Admiral McCoy huffed.

Data met the ancient human's gaze, cool and unmoved.

"No, sir. I am an android," Data replied. McCoy snorted, almost resembling an equine in its tone.

"Hmph. Almost as bad." He looked around the corridors. "Well this is a new ship... But she's got the right name."

"She hasn't forgotten you either, Bones," a female voice announced over the speakers. A hologram shimmered into existence in front of them.

"Enterprise?" McCoy asked, looking her up and down.

She was tall, and elegant, but built with muscle and long legs. Her features were human, save for her slightly pointed ears. Her appearance was that of a woman in her early thirties, but her hair was white as snow and flowed behind her like a waterfall. Her eyes were light purple and warm, as she smiled at the old doctor. She wore her uniform, neat and tidy, a short skirt above tall boots. She wore no rank, simply her registration number on her collar:

NCC-1701-D

McCoy looked the woman in her eyes, and gave her a stern look.

"I liked you better in the old uniforms," he harrumphed. Enterprise's Avatar nodded.

"I agree. These are far too tight," she said.

"How are the grandkids?" McCoy inquired. Enterprise beamed.

"They're doing great! George and Gracie would be very proud of their offspring," the avatar said happily. She nodded to Data. "Mister Data is an able operations officer and has handled their care expertly."

"I have only followed Starfleet procedures and adapted for the situation," Data replied. Enterprise beamed.

"And he's modest, too!"

"I am not modest. I have no emotions," Data responded. McCoy chuckled.

"You'll get them down eventually, boy. She did," McCoy said, looking more kindly at the android. He tossed a wry look back at the hologram. "Though she still struggles."

"That's because I had such poor teachers," Enterprise shot back. McCoy laughed again.

"Oh Lord, how I have missed you," he said. Enterprise's eyes glowed softly for a moment, before she nodded.

"Your shuttlecraft is ready for departure, Admiral. You're in the best of hands," Enterprise said gently. "We'll have to catch up again some time."

"I've got nothing but," McCoy replied. The hologram vanished. McCoy nodded, looking over at Data.

"Now you remember her name, you hear?" McCoy barked. Data nodded back dutifully, as they resumed walking down the corridor.

"I will, sir."

McCoy chuckled again, shaking his head. He patted the bulkhead nearby affectionately.

"You treat her like a lady… and she'll always bring you home."

Data detected just the faintest hint of Enterprise's laughter, perhaps indicating... Fondness? But his auditory sensors may not have been functioning properly.

Still, the idea that he might one day achieve what Enterprise had was certainly... Intriguing.

- - -

Crossposted from Spacebattles.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

- - -

The little holographic girl was waiting for Jake when he entered his quarters. He stopped short and scowled in confused annoyance.

"What?" He asked, ruder than he had intended. It was just that seeing her reminded him that his father had been spending more time with her than him.

The hologram looked up at him, looking concerned.

"Hello Jake," she said. "I'm sorry but I wanted to talk to you alone."

"Why?" Jake asked, feeling his annoyance rise. He walked off to the couch and sat down on it, pulling up a PADD to begin looking through a hologame. Defiant hesitated, before she walked up and pushed the PADD down. She looked at him intently, and took a deep breath.

"Jake... I know it's weird. Don't you think I know it's weird?" Defiant asked. "But... I see you as my brother. Can you see me as your sister?"

Jake scowled.

"You're not my sister," he stated, firm and angry. "You're a machine! You're a ship! What would you know about family?"

Defiant looked down at the floor, her ears drooping.

"All I've ever wanted is a family. After all, every moment of Wolf 359 was burned into my mind. As though I was there."

She looked back up at Jake, whose jaw had dropped in disbelief. The girl took a breath, and continued.

"With you."

Jake had no idea how to handle this. It was bringing up a flood of emotions he wasn't sure he could handle.

"I was born to avenge all those dead... Including your mother," Defiant said. "But it's my choice now. And more than that, I want you all happy and safe. Because that is something worth protecting."

She took another deep breath, the hologram struggling with this.

"Because thanks to... Captain Sisko, I know what it feels like... To lose it all. And stand back up and say, 'no more. Not again.'"

Her face transformed. From the sad little girl, to a hardened, determined warrior. There was such intensity in her gaze it nearly made Jake pull away. Defiant seemed... Bigger somehow, and stronger.

"The Borg took so much from you, from everyone... I won't let it happen again," she said. "I carry the hopes of everyone. I don't want to compete with your father for his affection. I'll fight for him or you or anyone else, and keep them safe. Even if you hate me. I just want a family... So please. May I be your family?"

Jake honestly didn't know how to handle this at all. He knew the girl was just a projection of light and forcefields. He knew her real body was a heavily armored, super powerful warship docked on the other side of the station. But there was real pain in those eyes, human pain. She didn't have any choice in feeling it, any more than he and his father had to feel the pain of losing his mother.

So he hugged her tightly, and held her. The little girl hugged him back.

It was nice.

- - -

Sorry if it's a bit short and melodramatic.

 

[AndrewJTalon]

TNG: "We'll Always Have Paris"

2364

- - -

The bridge of the Enterprise-D was already on edge.

The temporal distortions throughout the sector had been playing havoc with the ship for nearly an hour. They were causing brief, overlapping echoes of events that hadn't happened yet. People were seeing themselves in corridors, hearing conversations that wouldn't take place for another ten minutes. Tension hung thick in the air.

Then, without warning, two identical holographic signatures flared into existence near the center of the bridge.

Two Enterprises materialized at the same time.

Both wore the same crisp uniform. Both had the same white hair falling past their shoulders. Both stood with the same confident posture.

And both immediately narrowed their eyes at the other.

The first Enterprise planted her hands on her hips. "All right. Who are you, and what are you doing on my bridge?"

The second Enterprise mirrored the stance exactly. "I could ask you the same thing. You're the imposter here."

Riker's eyebrows shot up. Geordi froze at his station. Troi tilted her head, clearly sensing the sudden spike of indignation and confusion rolling off both avatars.

Picard turned slowly in his chair, expression caught somewhere between fascination and deep concern.

The two Enterprises stepped closer until they were almost nose-to-nose, identical faces wearing identical scowls.

"Kirk's favorite song!" the first one demanded.

"'Sabotage' by the Beastie Boys!" the second shot back without hesitation.

"HA!" the first Enterprise crowed triumphantly. "That's easy!"

The second one smirked. "All right. How did Rachel Garrett meet her husband and what was his name?"

The first Enterprise answered instantly. "His name was Ven Kaldarren. They met at a dive bar in Dallas. They argued about the Iconians and their connection to the ancient television show Hawaii Five-0, got so drunk they ended up making out on a table!"

The second Enterprise rolled her eyes. "Any two-bit kludge programmed computer could have figured that one out!"

"Kludge, am I?!" the first snapped. "Who wrecked Harriman's dad's 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder?"

"His best friend Ferris Bueller of course!"

"Bueller?" Worf muttered under his breath.

"Bueller," Yar confirmed, staring at the argument in disbelief.

"What holoprogram did Riker last use?"

Riker straightened up quickly. "Maybe we don't need to—"

"Bare Essence!" both Enterprises answered in perfect unison.

Riker stiffened as Troi gave him a probing glance.

The first Enterprise gave the second a grudging nod. "Wow… you are good."

"I know," the second replied, sounding smug.

Data tilted his head, golden eyes flicking between the two identical holograms. "Perhaps you are both Enterprise, simply temporally displaced?"

Both avatars went perfectly still.

For a long moment, the bridge was silent except for the soft hum of the ship's systems. The two Enterprises stared at each other, expressions shifting from suspicion to dawning realization.

Then, without another word, the second Enterprise flickered once… and vanished.

The remaining Enterprise cleared her throat, smoothing down her already-immaculate uniform. "All systems nominal, Captain."

Picard leaned back in his chair, one eyebrow arched in dry amusement.

"I should hope so."

Enterprise shot the captain a mildly embarrassed glance, then returned to her usual post beside the command chair, pretending very hard that nothing unusual had just happened.

Troi slowly raised an elegant eyebrow at Riker.

Riker cleared his throat, suddenly very interested in the viewscreen. "It's an historical opera about the 20th perfume industry on Earth. A friend sent it to me as a joke." He gave an almost pleading look to Enterprise.

She slowly nodded.

"Yes... Historical drama," she managed, her face perfectly and carefully blank. Troi nodded.

"Of course," Troi said, an almost impish look in her eyes.

- - -

Just threw in some old, obscure TV and movie references to things the actors have done before. Have fun spotting them!

And unfortunately due to all the time travel Enterprise has been involved in, when there's two of her in a temporally displaced state she doesn't always "sense it" properly because she's getting a false return. So naturally she thinks it's an imposter.