Cadets

JONATHAN'S LOG: THE EXPLORER

It was just a normal day aboard the Enterprise. We were travelling at full impulse to our next destination in our training cruise. Jennifer and I were in the mess hall having lunch minding each other's business. Jennifer was reading a book while eating a salad, and I was eating with Tom and Max while playing a game of chess.

Tom wasn't much into chess, but Max was. He sure played a mean game.

Just as he was about to win, the bridge informed me that we were receiving an incoming transmission from Starfleet, saying they had urgent news for me, and my sister.

We took it in my office and were in contact with Dean Weatherstone. She first asked about our status, and then got down to the point after reporting that everything was in order.

She wanted us to divert from our scheduled course and rendezvous with the starship Endeavour to meet up with captain Polly Anderson.

Jennifer and I knew Polly Anderson since we were little. She was an old schoolmate of dads. She served aboard the same vessel our father commanded when he was a cadet.

The ship they served on was called the Explorer, which was an X class starship. They were one of the earliest ships built by the Federation, and formed the basic blueprints for many designs, including our own ship. They were fast and powerful for their time and were often targets for pirates to commandeer. Sadly, all the X classes had been scrapped over the years, and not a single one of them survived intact.

The Explorer X-23 became the first Federation starship to travel farther into space than any other vessel had gone before. When it was retired from official service it became a training vessel for cadets. It was also the first vessel my dad served on as a cadet captain, and Polly was the helmsman.

Dad used to tell me and Jennifer amazing stories about his adventures aboard the Explorer. I could tell he loved that old ship and was heartbroken when he had to abandon it.

During his third-year training cruise, his final year as a cadet, his crew fell under attack by pirates who caught them off guard. No doubt they were trying to commandeer their ship. They suffered a great deal of damage but were able put up a fight against the pirates and were victorious. Unfortunately, the victory was in vain as the Explorer was damaged beyond recovery. Dad and his crew had no choice but to abandon ship. They limped through space in shuttlecrafts for weeks before they were picked up. The Explorer was lost to the stars and was never seen again.

Dean Weatherstone was impressed with my history and added that the Explorer was our reason for being diverted from our scheduled course. What she told us next shocked us both.

Starfleet intelligence recently reported that the Explorer had been found, and they were giving us special permission to retrieve it for the Galactic Federation fleet museum. Jennifer and I happily accepted this assignment. Weatherstone was glad, because captain Anderson would be accompanying us, which made it even better. The Explorer was not only special to our dad, but to almost every cadet who served on it, including Polly.

It didn't take us long to rendezvous with the Endeavour. News of the Explorer soon spread throughout the Enterprise. My friends very excited, especially Nym.

He had read a lot about the X classes, but he always dreamed about seeing one in person, which was up till now impossible.

Tom on the other hand didn't show much interest. He had less respect for the Explorer because it was an old ship that was out of date with the faster and more powerful ships of today. Despite lecturing him about its rich history, he didn't give an inch.

Captain Polly Anderson arrived aboard our ship, and Jennifer and I greeted her warmly the moment she stepped through the teleporters. She was equally excited as we were about this whole mission. She never imagined that she would get to see the Explorer again after all these years.