An interview with Captain Bennek, by Iana Darnena.
DARNENA: Good day Captain. Thank you for letting me interview you. You are now docked at Pandora Station, while your ship, the USS Odyssey, is receiving an overhaul. You're getting transwarp now: that's a mighty big change from your normal day to day operations as a Starfleet Captain, isn't it? After all, having just plain old warp, or state of the art transwarp, will make Captaining your ship different, will it not?
BENNEK: Basically being the captain remains the same, the Odyssey will still be the Odyssey. I think the sort of missions we will get will only change slightly, because we are the ship that explores federation borders. The one thing that will change is the long travels we used to make. No longer spending three weeks to cross federation space is a great luxury.
DARNENA: Thank you Captain, that was a very clear answer. Now, as we both know, the transwarpdrive technology was brought back by the USS Voyager, also an Intrepid class. . . . like the USS Odyssey. How do you feel about the transwarp technology being brought back to the Intrepid class now? Does it have some. . . how shall we say it. . . poetic justice to it all?
BENNEK: We can thank the Voyager for bringing back a lot of new technologies, but it's not new that this Intrepid class ship gets them installed. The Odyssey installed the ablative armour that was brought back by Voyager as well. The difference is, the USS Voyager already had the armour installed. The Odyssey is going to be the first Intrepid class ship with transwarp. That's certainly an honour.
DARNENA: It certainly is. There might be one problem though: this transwarp overhaul will take quite some time, won't it, Captain? How long was it again? 6 months? What are you planning to do in this time? Or does Starfleet have another ship waiting for you, in the meantime? And what will happen to your crew in these 6 months?
BENNEK: First of all: not all personnel will be idly waiting while we are docked here. Most of the engineering department will be busy during the overhaul and we will keep a small group of people aboard at all times. But you are right, this is a good opportunity for shore leaves. I can't wait to return to Andoria for more than a few days. So, in the next 6 months I will not get a new command. The Odyssey remains my responsibility.
DARNENA: Hmmm. That brings me to my next question. If you had a choice, Captain. . . The Odyssey with transwarp, or the Odyssey without transwarp. Which would you want? And why?
BENNEK: Oh, that's easy. I always wanted more speed on my vessel and now I'm getting just that. This transwarp adds a lot to the capabilities of the Odyssey and in my opinion it does not loose anything. My wish comes true so to speak...
DARNENA: Interesting, Captain. With this, are you saying that you think ships without transwarp are not as good as ships *with* transwarp?
BENNEK: Don't understand me wrong. There is nothing bad about other vessels. I just think the Odyssey is a better ship with a transwarp engine. And I'm proud of my ship like every captain should be.
DARNENA: Of course Captain. That makes sense. Now, if you don't mind, I have just one final question. The biggest advantage of Transwarp is, of course, its speed. As you said yourself, a ship can reach incredible speed because of Transwarp, and it'll be able to reach its destination faster. However. . . aren't you afraid that because of your uniqueness, you'll have to chose between disasters? You're only one of the six transwarp capable ships, and you, nor any of those ships, can be everywhere at the same time. What if you're getting two distress calls? How do you decide where to go to?
BENNEK: The dilemma of two distress calls exists with the normal warpdrive as well. Deciding where to help when disasters occur is always tough. It's frustrating to know that people could be saved if only Starfleet had been there. Besides, we are not the only Starfleet vessel. Starfleet Command also makes tough decisions by sending us to a certain part of space and not to another. I'm not afraid we now have to go from one disaster to another.
DARNENA: That will put quite some strain on you, and your crew, Captain. Do you think your crew will be able to handle it?
BENNEK: I have full confidence in my crew. One thing that bothers me a bit is that this transwarp drive brings up a lot more trouble when breakdowns occur. I hope my Engineering department is up to fixing this complex engine. I don't want to get stuck far away from home.
DARNENA: Let's hope that doesn't happen then. But if you would. . . what kind of help would there be?
BENNEK: We always have our normal warp drive, additionally we can ask for help from one of the other transwarp vessels. There are 6 in the fleet after all.
DARNENA: I see. Captain Bennek, I will let you continue with whatever it was you were busy with. Thank you for letting me interrupt you to do this interview. Good luck, and maybe I'll see you later again, for another possible interview. Have a nice day.
BENNEK: It was a pleasure.
DARNENA: There you have it folks, the Captain of the Odyssey, talking about the changes which his ship and crew will undergo: the modifications to Transwarp.
