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Star Trek: Orlando

  • Episode 01 “Rivals, part 1”

    November 20th, 2022

    USS Orlando
    routine border patrol

    2373

    Mess Hall
    Following the fall of DS9

    For smaller starships, the Mess Hall served as the center of social activity onboard.  For larger ships, it was the ship’s bar.  In the case of the New Orleans-class frigate Orlando, the same room served both purposes.  

    With three shifts operating a twenty-four-hour rotation, there were always people coming and going, and every social group had their own favorite table.  Early in their friendship, Commander Dana Sinclair and Doctor Amanda Clarke had claimed a two-seat table in the room’s lower level, and that’s where Dana found her friend.

    “Hi,” Dana began with a nervous smile, setting her lunch tray on the table.

    “Hi,” Mandy replied somewhat flatly.  The two women were close to the same size and age, although they couldn’t be more different if they tried.  Mandy had long blonde hair and a prominent nose, and her slender build made her seem taller than she actually was.

    On the other hand, Dana was a bit heavier, and she wore her dark brown hair short, usually no longer than jaw length.  She’d developed such an ingrained habit of tucking it back behind an ear that she had it cut short on that side.

    Dana felt a profound sense of relief that Mandy was even speaking to her.  After last night, she’d been expecting a much more hostile reaction.  She had broken the cardinal rule of bedroom protocol by sneaking out while Mandy was sleeping.  Dana had had what seemed like perfectly valid reasons at the time, but now she wasn’t so sure.  

    Mandy arched an eyebrow as Dana sat down.  “So about last night,” the blonde began.

    “Not here,” Dana warned, making a show of looking around.  For the most part, neither of them had any cause to feel ashamed.  However, she didn’t think the crew wanted to overhear senior officers discussing their intimate encounters, especially not while they were trying to eat lunch.

    “That’s fine,” Mandy replied.  “But for the record,” she lowered her voice, “after what you pulled, it’s not happening again.”  Mandy kept her tone friendly, but Dana didn’t doubt her sincerity for a moment.

    “Understood,” Dana nodded.  “But I do want to talk about it later in private.”

    Mandy shrugged, but before she could answer, the yellow alert klaxon sounded.

    [Bridge]

    The Orlando’s bridge shared many design elements with the Galaxy class, even though this ship was a few years older.  The biggest difference was the two side-by-side command chairs.  Clearly Starfleet had intended the command team to operate as more of an equal partnership.  At least that’s how Captain Dorian Hos had always run it.

    Now however, he was standing in the middle of the bridge, studying the main viewscreen.  The captain was a tall, broad-shouldered man with dark skin.  Indistinguishable from a Human in his late forties, although the El-aurian was over three centuries old.  

    When Dana stepped out of the turbolift, she noted the screen had been set to display the long-range tactical plot rather than a visual image.

    “A Cardassian warship just entered sensor range,” the captain explained as Dana took her place at his side.  “It appears to be alone.”

    “Have they spotted us,” Dana asked.  The Orlando’s external sensor pods extended her area of awareness far beyond many other ships her size.  This made her ideal for long-range patrol and reconnaissance missions, as it allowed her to shadow other vessels by staying outside their sensor range.

    “Not yet,” the El-aurian shook his head.  “I thought it would be best to track them, see what they’re up to.”

    Dana couldn’t argue with the cautious approach.  Orly’s sensor pods might give her a huge tactical advantage, but the ship was twenty years old and woefully obsolete by modern standards, even with her most recent tactical upgrades.  She could easily handle ships her own size or smaller, but taking on even a single Dominion battlecruiser would be suicidal.

    “They’ve got to know this is Federation space,” Dana scowled.  “So what the hell are they doing?”

    “I guess we’ll see,” Hos grunted.  “I think we should run silent though, just in case.”

    “Yes sir,” Dana agreed, tapping her badge.  “All hands, rig for silent running!  Orlando does not transmit under any circumstance!”

    Seated at the OPS console, Ensign Avery tapped a few controls.  “Silent running engaged, comm silence, passive sensors only.”

    Now they had only to wait and see. 

    Cdr. Dana Sinclair
    Executive Officer

    USS Orlando
    NCC 65214

    “Not all who wander are lost”
    –J.R.R. Tolkien

  • OOC: Updates

    May 1st, 2022

    So, after several months of real life issues getting in the way, I’ve decided to revisit the Orly. My original story idea wasn’t working, so I decided to start over with a more refined idea. I plan to resume posting shortly.

  • OOC: Real Life Issues

    October 24th, 2021

    I was honestly hoping to be able to update the site on a weekly basis, but that’s not working out for me right now. Between work and family obligations, I haven’t really had the time. However, I will keep the site running and update it as often as I can.

    Thanks for your patience,
    Mallory

  • OOC: Weekly Updates

    October 3rd, 2021

    So I’ve made a few minor changes this week, mostly to improve legibility. I also decided to add character portraits to the blog posts, so moving forward each blog post will have the main character’s picture attached.

    On the subject of characters, you might have noticed that some of them have an extensive backstory while others only have a few sentences. I intend to update those pages as I flesh out their backstories, so they’ll be updated often.

    Thanks for your patience as I continue to refine the site,

    Mallory

  • OOC: Welcome to the USS Orlando!

    September 25th, 2021

    The general idea for this fanfic has been around for a few years, and it’s taken awhile to reach this point.  I was initially inspired by Seth McFarlane’s series The Orville and started developing ideas for a Starfleet vessel with equivalent size and capability.  The New Orleans class caught my eye, and I’ve been in love ever since!

    Even while I was working on other projects, Orlando was always in the back of my mind somewhere.  It even ended up as part of a Ingrid Selvig’s backstory.  She’s one of my favorites, and I had so many different ideas for her I ended up doing the multiverse thing as a way to tie them all together.

    And then I had a flash of inspiration.  What if Ingrid and her supporting cast all served on the Orlando?  As of 2375, the Orlando is essentially a smaller version of the Galaxy class…no longer the most powerful or advanced ship in the fleet, but still capable of performing almost any mission Starfleet can come up with.

    UPDATE
    November, 2022

    After some time away due to RL issues, I decided to update and reboot the Orlando. I’ll be moving forward with new story ideas, and characters who were part of the ship’s crew from her very first incarnation (Dana, Dorian and Mandy). Enjoy and thanks for your patience!

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