Ship's log: U.S.S. Minnow NCC 73400/7Stardate 52112.4
Lt. George Bogler
This is a summary record of the fateful trip of the shuttlecraft Minnow from stardate 52112.0 to stardate 52112.3 (Nov 21-22, 1998) Personnel assigned to the mission: Lt. Cmdr Jill Bogler, Commanding; Lt. George Bogler, Flight Engineer, Lt. Dawn Harvey, assigned as cultural specialist as part of our cover; and Lt. Christy Thorsen, mission trainee. Our mission was to attend a trading conference on Boi C as cover for our primary assignment to meet with other Federation officers who would be there to share information relevant to the war. A secondary mission objective being to negotiate a USO show with Federation Cultural Attaché Dave Scott.
We departed the U.S.S. Kelly at 14:30 hours on Friday with myself piloting. We docked aboard the supply vessel U.S.S. Syracuse about an hour later to allow Lt. Harvey to meet one of their Communications Officers with whom she had been pursuing an electronic-only relationship. After that we rendezvoused with the Ticonderoga where Lt. Cmdr Bogler had a special item beamed aboard.
It was about this time when the Minnow started running rough. I assumed it to be an intermix problem?nothing to be concerned about. The shuttle had been exhibiting this problem for a while, but only when running directly off a cold start. It was annoying but not a threat to the mission. However the problem gradually got worse. The warp core was actually sputtering. It was too late to turn back. Since the sparsely populated Ida-ho sector was no place to tinker with the engines I decided that as the only Engineer aboard I was best qualified to man the helm and cajole the shuttles cooperation in reaching Boi C.
Several hours after entering the Ida-ho sector we noticed low deuterium levels. We landed at a small agricultural station just as the tank ran dry, but they lacked the ability to refuel us beyond a emergency supply sufficient to get us the few parsecs to the Bliss Colony. At Bliss there was a refueling facility. I added some solvent to the deuterium mix to clean the reaction chamber. It seemed to work. The rest of the trip to Boi C was much smoother. However, the weather started getting rough. We ran into a level 3 ion storm. Our tiny ship was tossed. Visibility was comparable to driving on a dark highway in the middle of nowhere in a driving rainstorm. We finally arrived at Boi C at apx 2300 hours.
The trade conference began early the next morning and ran all that day and the following. It included in addition to the trading hall, a special presentation honoring several crewmembers of the original U.S.S. Enterprise (NCC 1701/1701A). Those featured were Montgomery Scott, Hikaru Sulu, Nyota Uhura, Pavel Chekov, Gary Mitchell, and Arlene Gallway. Other entertainment was provided by a group of three actors from the Battlestar Galactica "television" series: Dirk Benedick (Starbuck), Herbert Jefferson Jr. (Boomer), and Anne Lockhart (Sheba). ~Personal note:That show was ahead of its time. Some of their technology is comparable to our own, and what we couldn't do with a ship like the Galactica in this war with the Dominion!~
Also attending the conference were the Marine Transport Vessel U.S.S. Kensington, the Starship U.S.S. Solar Flare, and the former Maquis ship U.S.S. John F. Kennedy. Their commanders send compliments and greetings to the Kelly and the 7th Fleet. Additional VIPs included the Commanding Admiral of the INSFA Fleet, the heads of the local Klingon group as well as delegates from house Veska of D'e'Nver, with which we are familiar.
To maintain our cover all four of us shopped and attended the seminars. Jill and Dawn entered the costume contest. Dawn, being experienced in costuming took 3rd Place. Jill, although skilled with sewing, was quickly eliminated. Christy, not having been on such cover missions before, gained valuable experience for future missions. Jill & I met with the various ships' representatives. The information exchange went well. I successfully negotiated with Dave Scott to bring a troupe of entertainers to the 7th Fleet in 9-12 months time.
We left Boi C around 1700 Sunday. The intermix problem with the Minnow resumed almost immediately so I remained at the helm most of the way back. So intent on the piloting was I, that I failed to notice a dangerously low deuterium tank level. No sooner did it come to my attention then it ran dry. This time we were adrift. A refueling asteroid was just ahead on the scanners, but we were out of their tractor range. Fortunately a shuttle from the U.S.S. Star Valley had been attending the same conference, and was taking our same route back to the Wyahmin Sector and they got us to the refueling asteroid.
The warp core problem was getting worse. We were using an extraordinary amount of fuel. We stopped on a nearby barren asteroid to let the engines rest. We repeated this process several times until we passed within the patrol areas of the Rendezvous and Ticonderoga. I was finally so fed up that I decided to push the engines all the way home if possible. We were all so tired from the trip and I had a nasty backache from fighting the controls all those hours. My strategy worked and we re-docked aboard the Kelly at 0:30 hours Monday morning.
By the time I got down to the shuttle bay later that day, my staff had already worked the Minnow over. All that was required was cleaning the injector coils and replacing the dilithium crystals--in 20th century terms, a "tune-up". The shuttle is running fine now.
End of Report.
Addendum to follow
Ship's log: U.S.S. Minnow NCC 73400/7
Stardate 52112.4
Lt. George Bogler
Addendum
Jimmy was perhaps the least involved guest at the convention. He had trouble hearing, tired easily, and squinted a lot. It is easy to see why he is retiring from the convention circuit. However when he did hear, he responded with wit and charm. Age may have slowed him down physically, but his mind is still sharp. He plans to continue his role as spokesman for Phillips Electronics and will make some personal appearances for them. He does not foresee being asked to appear in any Star Trek movie or TV episode. He says, "They don't want old people". Sadly, he is probably right.
Nichelle is still going strong and still has a beautiful voice. Her current projects are promoting her line of accessories and writing a sequel to her previous book (not her autobiography). She promotes herself through her website " www.uhura.com". There was a great moment during the joint Fab Four appearance on Sunday. They were having trouble with the microphones and feedback. After calling for help to no avail several times, Nichelle got off the platform and started adjusting the sound controls herself. Uhura to the rescue!
George is the same guy we saw here in SLC a couple of years ago, right down to complaining about the cold. I missed most of his solo address because we needed to eat lunch sometime and we had heard him and Walter recently. He still champions his favorite lost cause: a Captain Sulu series. He is the favorite foil for the others' practical jokes, and is especially susceptible to Walter's gags. He has some acting jobs recently completed and lined up.
We also missed out on Walter's talk during lunch, but he seemed more pleasant than he was last year. The Fab Four play beautifully off of each other. He continues work with his stage group.
Gary was a surprise guest, arranged only a few day before the show. He talked about his experiences doing Where No Man Has Gone Before and 2001. He answered question in a manner I would describe as "shooting from the hip". He refers to himself as a cowboy, which I think fits him. He pulled no punches when given an opportunity to comment on any subject from politics to the current state of the acting profession. He spends a great deal of his time travelling the country in a motor home with his most recent wife.
Beverly is an accomplished actress, having worked as a child star with many of the great actors of our time. Her claim to Trek fame is her one-time role of LT. Gallway in The Deadly Years (she got to die in Captain Kirk?s arms). She was an interesting and gracious speaker, but she would never hold her own as a headliner at a con.
Pretty much the leader of the group, he talked alone on Saturday to fill Gary Lockwood's time as the latter was delayed on the road. He talked about Battlestar and the A Team, and life in general. After a cancer scare several years ago, he changed to a health food & vegetarian lifestyle. He has written two books about life. Other than that & the occasional convention, he lives as a cattle rancher in Montana. His website is www.kamikazecowboy.com
Herb has a few acting jobs he working out, "irons in the fire" he calls them. He was very pleasant to talk to at his table, but I don't recall much of the conversation.
A very pleasant lady, and a clear crowd pleaser. She does a lot of voice work, mostly un-credited, including the computer voices for Gattica. Her most asked question is, "What was in the wreckage of the ship (Gallactica) that the others didn't want Sheba to see?" The answer is that it was supposed to be the true (demonic) form of Count Iblis, NOT, as many believed, her father's (Commander Cain's) remains. The actual prop she describes as looking like "a dead goat under a blanket". If you are ever at a con with her, ask her the meaning of, "Work the Pipe!"