longpointstation

[longpointstation]

Video Call

Max and Andrea have their weekly video call. Max packs his apartment in preparation to live off-world for the first time ever.

“What do you mean you’ve never had a raktijino?” Max asks, now completely losing focus on packing his bedroom.

“Listen, I only have coffee when it’s part of my routine. I just never made raktijino part of that routine.” Andrea responds back with a bit of snark, knowing her coffee opinions and habits pushes her little brother’s buttons.

Despite his best efforts to pack, sort, and otherwise organize his move to Long Point Station, Max had to multitask during his weekly video call with his big sister Andrea. Usually, these Thursday night conversations were supposed to be distraction-free, as Andrea was a Starfleet helmsman with a tight schedule. This week she didn’t mind, especially since a permanent move off-world was a huge change for Max.

“Oh, I know your routines. I would offer so many times to make you coffee and breakfast in the mornings, and you would settle for simple bars and replicator drinks.” He made a big, exaggerated gesture as he teased his sister, then went back to organizing books into a keep and donate pile. “I thought Starfleet would give you a sense of adventure and curiosity!”

“Hey now, I have a sense of adventure and curiosity!” She laughs in response, pushing her brown hair back as she redoes her ponytail. “Those senses are just reserved for getting my ship to new places and making sure our probes are working.”

Max and Andrea had been having these weekly chats for the past few years, ever since she made the crew of the USS New Horizons B. This assignment has been taking Andrea further and further away from Earth, and these chats keep her connected to home when every other aspect of her life can feel weird and unstable. Max has been on Earth for almost all his life, outside of a handful of quick off-world vacations with Andrea and his best friend Vomain, so these chats give him a glimpse of a universe so unfamiliar to him.

“Yeah, whatever happened with that probe issue? Did it ever get fixed?” Max shot a quick glance at the video screen to get a quick read of Andrea’s face as he asked, then moved his boxes of books into his living room. As he moves from one room to the other, the video feed with Andrea follows him.

“Oh my god yes I forgot to tell you! So we figured it out, someone in Engineering was trying to increase the transfer speeds of the probes to the main computer. But I guess some configuration they were using to get those speeds up completely filled up some buffer, plus it wasn’t correctly documented with the whole team, so it would burn out some of the isolinear chips on the probes!” As Andrea describes the whole issue, her eyes light up and she sits forward in her chair.

Despite being so different, Max a bit of a shy homebody and Andrea an outgoing adventurer, the two siblings were inseparable growing up. When their parents divorced and their dad left, they seemingly made the identical unconscious decision to stick with the other sibling no matter what. While there are now lightyears between Max and Andrea now, with the two not even being in the same solar system at the moment, they try to be as close as they can when they can.

As Max is packing his room, his eyes are catching glimpses of his life on Earth. A picture of Andrea graduating from Starfleet in San Fransisco. A picture of Vomain attempting to make a silly face in front of animals at a Zoo in Seattle. A picture of him and his mom in front of cherry blossom trees in Tokyo. Cookbooks and data discs and antiques and mugs, a vastness of little objects that all remind him of home, of Earth.

Max finds a little folded up piece of paper under some notebooks. He opens it up to see a drawing from Vomain, of herself with him getting their favorite coffees together. He feels a pressure building in his chest and he looks over the pencil and ink marks, wondering what she was feeling as she drew this. Did she draw herself with a faint hint of a smile, or was that a trick of perspective? Does she draw things like this for other people? He felt the sudden urge to call her but knew she would likely be busy with her teaching job at the moment, so instead he pulled himself back to the call he was still on with his sister.

“So, when do you tell mom you’re moving?” Andrea asks. She’s been clearly wanting to ask this for a while, but the flow of the conversation never made it there, so she just charges in.

“I don’t know. I think tomorrow. I fly out next Friday, so I should probably give her the week to react. She won’t react badly. Right?” Max asks, a slight smile as he tries to envision his mother’s reaction.

“This is one Maria Navarro you’re talking about. You know how she gets. You saw it when I got accepted into Starfleet!”

“And you’re the baby of the family.” She says in a teasing song of a tone. “You know that’s going to heighten whatever her response is.”

“I really need her to take it well. I can’t have her stressing me out over this move, I’m already stressed enough as It is” Max laughs gently into his reply.

“It’ll be fine! Besides, I’m here for ya.” Andrea says with a smile. “Alright dude, I gotta go, I was supposed to get off the call 5 minutes ago to grab lunch so you definitely owe me one if I miss out on getting a Klingon Sundae cause of you!”

“You’re right, I’ll make you a raktijino.” Max teases.

Andrea rolls her eyes and laughs. “I’ll talk to you soon Max. Love you!”

“Love you too!”

The video call ends and shows the default screen, a calendar with the next two weeks marked off. Next Friday he’ll be on a ship to Long Point Station, to live there permanently.

As the stillness of the apartment builds around him, he sits on the edge of his bed and looks at the drawing from Vomain. He brushes his fingers over the linework and feels the texture of the paper. He should really call her soon.

[longpointstation]

Outlining the first "episode" of Long Point Station. More thoughts below the cut.

I'm imagining this short fiction series as if it was a series of TV, so I'm organizing my story that way as well. The first story, The Pilot, focuses on getting our main character (Max) to Long Point Station, as well as introducing other main characters Andrea (Max's older sister) and Vomain (Max's Vulcan best friend). I figure the overarching plot of the first season is focused on Max getting the coffee shop setup and running on Long Point Station, where he will run into other interesting recurring characters as the season progresses.

While I established in The Basics that Andrea is a pilot on the USS New Horizons B, I'm thinking I might have the New Horizons B hang out near Long Point Station for the first season so she can pop up randomly. Just need some reason to have her there so I can use her as a character foundation for this first season.

Vomain has not been mentioned yet, but my working idea is that Vomain and Max are best friends. They met in Corpus Christi, Texas, where Max was working at a coffee shop. Vomain was there to work on her Xeno-marine biology degree, as the Texas State Aquarium has tons of off-world marine life. Vomain is a Vulcan born and raised on Earth, so this whole trip to Long Point Station will be exciting for her!

[longpointstation]

What is Long Point Station?

Long Point Station is a slice of life short fan fiction series set in the Star Trek universe. It takes place on Long Point Station, a recommissioned Deep Space 4, set in the 2320s. It follows Max Navarro and his adventures running a coffee shop on the station.

Posts tagged #alpha canon are the official Long Point Station stories. Basically the episodes of the TV show I imagine in my head. These are the most canon.

Posts tagged #beta canon are more like writing warm ups and other small things to get me in the headspace of writing. Basically like behind the scenes, series bible style ideas. These are probably canon.

Posts tagged #charlie canon are submissions and asks. Basically like author Q&As. These are probably not canon?

Posts tagged #noncanon are administrative or generally informative, like this post.

I hope you enjoy the writings!

[longpointstation]

The Basics

Max Navarro is interviewed by S'tuvir as part of the process of moving to Long Point Station.

In an office building on Earth, a Vulcan and a Human sit across from each other. It’s a very utilitarian arrangement, with very little decorating the Vulcan’s office.

“Could you please state your name and any preferred nicknames you may have.” Says the Vulcan flatly.

“Oh, no introductions or pleasantries? Okay.” The Human says with a lightly playful tone, a bit startled at the sudden request. “My name is Maximo Navarro, but I usually just go by Max.”

“I apologize, Max. I tend to be too efficient with these. My name is S’tuvir, and I will be conducting this basic interview about your request to move to Long Point.” S’tuvir replies, with a little more personality this time.

“No worries S’tuvir, I guess you have to do this so often it becomes second nature!” Says Max with a smile.

“Yes, something like that.” S’tuvir says. “And when and where were you born?”

“I was born on February 19, 2397, just outside of Corpus Christi, Texas. A little tourist spot called Mustang Island. You ever been to Texas?” Max says.

“I have been, but I did not spend much time on the coast as I am not very fond of the water. I did go to a live music festival and enjoyed my time there.” S’tuvir says as he makes notes of Max’s answers. “And your parents, could you tell me a bit about them?”

“Sure. My mom is Maria Navarro, and my dad is Stan Sherman. They divorced when I was in school, and my dad was never quite in the picture after the divorce, which is why I took my mom’s last name as soon as I could. My mom worked for Starfleet, teaching English at the San Fransisco Academy. My dad… who knows, haven’t spoken to him in awhile.” Max says.

“When was the last time you spoke to your father?” S’tuvir asks.

“Oh maybe 4 or 5 years ago? Maybe longer, but it’s definitely been awhile.” Max says. He looks out the window ask he answers, wondering if he can even recall the date.

“Do you have any siblings?” S’tuvir asks.

“Yes! An older sister, Andrea. She’s a few years older than me, and she’s a pilot with Starfleet. I believe she just started a new assignment on the USS New Horizons B. Honestly, I couldn’t be more proud of her.” Max smiles.

“I feel there is a lot of love for your sister. And if you move to Long Point, what would you like to do there?” S’tuvir asks.

“Easy, I’d love to open up a coffee shop out there. I understand that Long Point used to be Deep Space 4, and it’s become both a bit of a tourist destination and a pit stop for trade routes and Starfleet missions. Sounds like the perfect place to set up a coffee shop, a nice place for Haulers to grab a Raktijino or two.” Max says excitedly. He seems to light up a bit, and he looks like he can imagine the coffee shop now.

“It sounds like you have thought this through. It may seem like a strange question, but why do you think the Federation should not allow you to start this coffee shop on Long Point?” S’tuvir asks, looking up from his notes and locks eyes with Max.

“Oh… well.” Max starts, some of the enthusiasm draining from his voice. “I’ve never lived off-world before. I’ve been off-world before, in fact my sister took me on a week-long trip to Bajor and Deep Space 9, but I’ve only ever lived on Earth. I’ve also never run a coffee shop before, I’m usually one to help others with a project rather than start one myself.”

“I see.” S’tuvir nods and writes more notes down. “And finally, why should be let you move to Long Point?”

Max hesitates for a moment. He looks outside the window once more and lets the image of the shop fill his mind. In this moment, he wants nothing more.

“Because I need this.” Max explains. “I know lots of people dream of exploring the stars, of joining Starfleet and making huge discoveries and going on adventures. I mean, I’ve heard the way my sister talked about her need to explore, and her dream of being part of something larger. For the longest time I wondered if I would ever feel quite as strongly about anything as she did about exploration and piloting, and I realized that supporting others was that calling for me. I want to leave my mark on the universe, and I want to provide an experience that leaves a mark on others!’

S'tuvir finishes writing his notes and looks up at Max. Max feels his heart beating hard, his ribs almost feel like they’re rattling.

“I hope you get to leave that mark on the universe, Max.” S’tuvir says and stands up. “I do believe we will be reaching out to you soon, hopefully by the end of the week.”

“Oh, thank you very much S’tuvir!” Max stands up hurriedly and smiles, adjusting his button up shirt so it fits just right after sitting for so long.

“We appreciate you taking this time with us. If I do not talk to you again, peace and long life.” S’tuvir raises his hand and offers the customary Vulcan salute.

“Live long and prosper!” Max replies, returning the salute.

Max smiles and leaves the office and walks down the halls and stairs and out of the building. His head is swimming with thoughts and dreams and ideas, but most importantly he’s filled with hope. S’tuvir stays in his office, finalizing his notes and submits his recommendation to the Long Point Housing and Community Board.

By that Friday, Max was offered the opportunity to open up a coffee shop on Long Point.