Star Trek: Invincible - by Robin Day and Paul Witter

The Dominion have settled down in the Cardassian Empire, the Romulans are unusually quite, the Borg haven't shown their collective faces for nearly ten years and the Klingon Alliance is back on relatively even ground. At last, the Federation is at peace...

Whilst serving as First Officer on board the Enterprise, the android Data designed an incredible ship. Incorporating the most advanced technology from all the races Data had encountered and studied. Now, in this time of peace, the Federation has allowed Data to build his greatest masterpiece. The USS Invincible NX-290489 would be his to command. To boldly go where no android has gone before? Or to help protect the Federation from its deadliest enemies?

Return me to the Battle Bridge please.

Here is a little of the novel...

"Wow, she is beautiful, sir. I mean, I know I helped design her but I didn't think she would look like this!"

"Yes, she is a beauty Reg. I would like to know why you didn't beam over earlier with the rest of the crew.

"Ah, well, sir. You know how I don't like molecular transport."

"Reg, I thought you got over your fear."

"Well, I did. But I just don't like to do it when I can take a shuttle, that's all, sir."

Reg, before being promoted to Lt. Commander had served with his new Captain on the USS Enterprise before it was destroyed in the attack at Veridian III over ten years ago. Reginald Barclay was a competent engineer when on the Enterprise, but since then he had become something more. Certain past experiences had given Barclay an enormous mental capacity and now he knew how to use it, he was a great Chief engineer. In fact, he had almost single-handedly designed the propulsion systems for the most radically advanced ship in the fleet. Now with his Captain, he was on board the Shuttlecraft Montgomery, the Captain's own shuttle headed for the USS Invincible. Already waiting there was most of the crew. There would be the usual ceremonies and then a reception but Reginald Barclay wasn't interested in any of that. He would be where his Captain wanted and needed him, in Main Engineering.

The Invincible hung silently in space, awaiting her captain and designer. Here was a ship designed and built to the specifications laid down by her captain. A prototype vessel, the only one of it's class. And it truly was in a class of it's own.

It had actually been Commander Barclay who had named the vessel. When he first saw the starship's schematics and mission profiles, he'd breathed "She's going to be invincible...." Barclay's remarks were swiftly acted upon.

Many years ago, Invicible's captain had chosen a name for himself, also based on a simple statement of fact. He was, simply, "Data". Some might have called the android captain humble in this choice of his own name, those that knew him would have described him as "literal". Captain Data considered his starship was aptly and concisely described by the name - "Invincible".

Of course, it wasn't every captain in Starfleet that had the privilege of building his own ship. The circumstances were quite exceptional. With Captain Data's now vast experience of starship operations and his equally vast knowledge of science and engineering, Starfleet Command were eager to support his request to be involved in Starship design. They soon found that they had made an excellent decision.. Had he been human, one would have said that Data was consumed by a passion to produce the ultimate Starship. Whatever the driving force, the result was, according to those experts who knew about such things, "Mind blowing".

Go back to the Battle Bridge
© Paul Witter aka Captain Data