Agamemnon (TQB episode)

Agamemnon is the first episode of the Star Trek: The Quarterdeck Breed anthology series. It was originally published on April 2, 2002 at FanFiction.net.

Summary

Stardate 53441.4: Lieutenant Commander Richard D. James reports for duty aboard the Apollo-class light cruiser USS Agamemnon, presently docked at Deep Space 4. He has been transferred from Starfleet's Exploration Command to the Border Patrol division. Upon arrival, he notes the slovenly state of the crew and finds the source to be their commanding officer, Commander Henry Grayum.

Grayum has his own agenda. His intent, after forty-three years of service in the Border Patrol, is to make captain and retire. He hopes James' arrival and a highly classified mission given to him by the Border Patrol's lead admiral, is the ticket to that lifelong dream. The mission: to venture deep beyond the Breen border and seek out a rogue element that has withdrawn from the Treaty of Bajor. Agamemnon is provided with a Romulan cloaking device, as well as a Romulan officer to oversee its installation and operation during the mission.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Halley Gage, the ship's chief engineer, does not like James' attention to proper decorum one bit. She makes certain the new executive officer gets an earful from her. When he pulls rank and threatens disciplinary action, she acquiesces under protest, hoping that his tenure with Agamemnon will be short.

khre'Arrain Nuhir t'Aimne arrives as ordered by the Romulan Star Navy, and observes the crew she is now a part of. She begins making locked personal log entries about her observations for later transmission to the Tal Shiar. Grayum installs her as the ship's third-in-command and tactical officer, much to the dismay of both James and Gage.

Memorable Quotations

"Shit, son, call me Hank."

— Commander Henry "Hank" Grayum, after meeting Lieutenant Commander James for the first time.

"Watch it, Chief."

"Kiss my ass, Lieutenant."

— Lieutenant Halley Gage and Chief Petty Officer Heather Munoz.

"One Romulan against the whole ship doesn't make for very good odds."

— Grayum to James and Gage, after they protest the Romulan officer t'Aimne's appointment as Agamemnon's third-in-command.

"Speaking of which, she's royalty. Or at least, in her house, she is. The t' prefix is significant. She would be a Lady of the House of Aimne, if I'm recalling the naming structure correctly."

"She sure doesn't act like royalty."

— James and Grayum, speaking on t'Aimne.

"You have a very strong hand, Commander."

— Ensign Rittian Low, after his wrist was nearly crushed by t'Aimne for failing to observe protocol at the dinner table.

Background & Notes

• Original title: "Untitled #14"
• The short story was originally written as a imagery exercise for creative writing.
• The character of Halley Gage is named for Matilda Gage, a woman's suffrage activist.
• Agamemnon was intended to be a one-shot story, but readers reviewing the short liked the idea of t'Aimne remaining on board that a second story (in novella form) was begun: The Sacrifice of Agamemnon.
• Until the next short, Bellerophon, this story stood alone without a series name.
• The original outline of this short included two cadets on a training cruise. This plot was moved to the next short story in the series, instead.

References

Apollo-class; cloaking device; Deep Space 4; Excelsior-class; USS Fearless; Romulan Star Navy

External Link

• Agamemnon at the Ad Astra Star Trek Fanfiction Archive