Lineages, Part I
Posted on Wed Aug 26th, 2026 @ 4:16pm by Commander Percival "Percy" Tapper & Lieutenant Tyler Hunt
1,485 words; about a 7 minute read
Mission:
Escape Velocity
Location: Various, USS Eventide
Timeline: 15 days before launch
Percy's quarters had begun the slow transition from assigned accommodation to something that approached being a home, though the ship itself continued to offer frequent reminders that she remained a work in progress. A pair of moving creates still occupied the far corner beneath the viewport, their contents waiting for a free afternoon that never seemed to come. The desk had been installed, but only in the broadest sense of the term. Its surface already held a teacup and saucer, two data PADDs, and a stack of books that were threatening to become permanent fixtures before Eventide's senior staff could arrive.
Behind the desk, the bulkhead remained open to the frame. Bundles of coloured fiber conduits snaked behind exposed circuitry, and a maintenance panel leaned against the opposite wall.
Percy had chosen to ignore it. There were bigger concerns. The engineers at Cochrane Shipyards had been revising their timeline for launch by adding more and more days to an already delayed schedule. Transporter systems were still offline. Several labs were still missing key equipment. Some sections were missing doors and from what Lieutenant Commander Kikuchi had mentioned yesterday, parts of three decks were experiencing temperature malfunctions. More than anything, Eventide's warp engines were still a problem. Again, he had decided to let these problems remain the problems of Kikuchi's team.
He lay stretched comfortably along the small sofa with one boot resting on the floor and the other crossed loosely over the armrest, his uniform jacket unfastened well below the collar in quiet defiance of regulations that sensibly allowed commanding officers to be off-duty from time to time. An old hardbound volume rested open across his chest. Its cover bore the title 'Fire Beneath the Lake: Comparative Myths of Renewal Among Pre-Warp Civilizations'. A folded slip of paper marked several earlier chapters, though Percy had wandered ahead after finding himself unexpectedly absorbed by a discussion comparing flood legends on worlds separated by hundreds of light-years.
The ship's internal comm interrupted just as one author was making an optimistic argument about the personification of bodies of water.
[Cochrane Operations Control to Commander Tapper.]
Percy slipped a finger between the pages before reaching up to the comm panel above the sofa.
"Tapper here."
The reply was calm and efficient.
[Lieutenant Commander Iverson, sir. You asked to be notified when the USS Meridian arrived."
Percy smiled to himself as he closed the book.
"Thank you, Commander. I appreciate you remembering."
[My pleasure, sir. Have a great evening.]
The channel closed.
Percy remained seated for another moment, resting the book carefully on the coffee table before rising. His eyes drifted briefly toward the exposed wiring behind his desk.
"I suppose you'll still be there when I get back."
[Main Shuttlebay]
The shuttle bay echoed with the sounds of preparation as cargo handlers guided antigrav pallets into position while technicians consulted loading manifests. An engineer was overhead loudly voicing his hope that components for the ship's antimatter injectors were finally here.
Percy stood near the edge of the landing markings. The broad bay doors remained closed against the vacuum of space even though the forcefield shimmered as a shuttlepod crossed the threshold and landed gently on the deck. Its hull carried the insignia of the USS Meridian, accompanied by a tiny layer of scorched residue from frequent use of impulse engines.
After a moment, the hatch cycled open.
Five passengers emerged in no particular hurry, each carrying enough luggage to start their new life aboard Eventide. Behind them, the shuttle's pilot exchanged a few words with the deck crew before stepping aside to allow engineers to access the cargo compartment. Within moments, the antigrav units had appeared and were balancing supply containers that looked considerably heavier than they moved.
One of the cargo specialists glanced toward Percy as a container floated past.
"Commander, any idea when transporters are going to be working?"
Percy's eyes followed the crate for a few seconds before he looked back with an apologetic smile.
"Crewman, I can only offer one reliable answer to that."
"Sir?"
"You'll have to ask Cochrane Operations Control."
The cargo specialist burst into laughter and moved along. "Understood, sir."
The man shook his head with amused resignation before returning to his work, leaving Percy to watch the remaining passengers step down onto Eventide's deck.
The shuttle's pilot stepped out of the cockpit and down the short ramp as the antigrav units moved away. He hit a button on the hatch and they slowly whirred to a satisfying close. She was a tall woman in her thirties with long curly reddish locks and freckles dotting her face.
Percy stepped in front of her as she was about to leave and saw her eyes widen at the sight of him.
"Excuse me, Lieutenant."
"Sorry, sir."
Percy smiled. "Nothing to be sorry for. I was looking for Lieutenant Hunt."
"Hunt, sir?"
"Yes."
She smiled in return and her saw the creases around her eyes. "I believe he decided to remain on Meridian for the evening with his father."
"Ah." Percy nodded and stepped aside, gesturing widely for the Lieutenant to continue on her way. "Thank you, Lieutenant."
She paused and nodded. "Good night, sir."
Percy knew there were likely a few others who would make their way over from Meridian in the coming twenty-four hours. He decided it best to return to his quarters and pick up where he left off in his book.
After speaking with Taras and getting on the ship, Tyler had every intent of meeting his commanding officer before doing anything else. When getting up this morning, he was told that Commander Tapper had actually attempted to meet him when the Meridian had initially arrived. Which was embarrassing that he missed an important opportunity to meet the most important person in charge. Moving down the corridor, he made his way to the ready room. Prior to arriving, Lieutenant Hunt had completely familiarized himself with the blueprint of the Eventide.
A few minutes later, Tyler found himself standing in front of the door of Tapper's office. Giving himself a quick look over, he took a deep breath and pressed the chime. No matter how often, he found himself meeting a new CO, there was always that feeling of showing up to the first day of school.
"Come on in," came Percy's resonant but somewhat raspy voice.
Entering the office, Tyler found his CO behind the desk. Approaching, he immediately went to the position of attention. "Captain Tapper. Lieutenant Tyler Hunt reporting aboard as ordered."
Percy looked up from his computer terminal which contained an exhaustive list of the most recently completed work on Eventide. The night before, Meridian had completed delivery of three shuttle loads of equipment from Earth Station including the Tellarite-designed antimatter injectors.
Placing both hands on his obsidian desk, he stood slowly, lifting his chin slightly in a close naval inspection of the younger man.
"At ease, Lieutenant," Percy said softly, his slightly raspy voice sounding firm but welcoming. He knew first meetings were everything--especially to a young officer like Tyler Hunt.
Tyler allowed himself to relax a little while, placing his arms behind his back. Even though his father had told him a little bit about his new CO, he was still very much unfamiliar with the man. Therefore, getting comfortable at this point wasn't an option.
As Tyler relaxed, Percy came around the corner of the desk. He hated greeting people from across furniture and avoided it whenever possible.
"It's good to finally meet you."
"You as well, Sir," Hunt replied as he extended his hand to the superior.
For a moment, Percy studied the younger man's face with the same curiosity that came so naturally to him. The resemblance to his father was unmistakable around the eyes and nose. However, he noted that Tyler carried himself with a reserved that belonged entirely to him alone.
Percy found himself remembering a younger Andre among a group of United Earth Fleet hopefuls in Sao Paulo, several weeks after the Xindi attack. Earth was a very different place twenty-seven years ago.
While never becoming friends, both Percy and Andre were well-acquainted and had brushed shoulders more than a dozen times over the years.
"I've known your father for a bit," Percy said with a nostalgic smile. "He was serving aboard Meridian during the stand-off with the Nausicaans while I was aboard Spetsai."
To Be Continued...
Commander Percival Tapper
Commanding Officer
USS Eventide
Lieutenant Tyler Hunt
Chief Operations Officer
USS Eventide
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