Chapter 36 - The USS Cairo (Patreon)

“Starfleet has dispatched the U.S.S. Cairo to repel the Collectors and assist the planet with emergency operations in the aftermath,” T’Maz reported. “They are still 16 hours away at maximum warp.”

“Why does that ship sound familiar?” I asked aloud.

“It is an Excelsior-class starship under the command of Captain Edward Jellico,” T’Maz added.

“That’s it. I remember hearing…” I started, before abruptly trailing off. I tried to cover my slip up by pulling up any information I had access to on both the Cairo and Jellico on my omni-tool.

While I didn’t immediately remember what ship he had previously commanded, I did remember Jellico from an episode of TNG where he had assumed temporary command of the Enterprise when Picard, Worf, and Crusher had gone on a secret mission against the Cardassians. Picard was captured during that mission, which had been the true objective of the Cardassians, and was then tortured by them. It was an incredibly well-liked episode and had showcased just how incredible an actor Patrick Stewart was. Unfortunately, I had no way to know whether those events had happened yet or at all in this different dimension, so I really couldn’t explain my knowledge here. I was surprised this didn’t happen more often.