Synopsis

After failed negotiations with the Romulan Star Empire following the events of “Star Trek: Nemesis,” the United Federation of Planets is at war with the Romulans. Starfleet has suffered severe losses of personnel along with the destruction of many starships, starbases, and Federation colonies and outposts on outlying planets. The casualties are continuing to increase. The medical personnel aboard many of the starships are unable to handle all of the casualties, so Starfleet has re-commissioned several old ships and small science vessels as hospital ships. In addition, they have built two new hospital ships with the most advanced medical and science systems of any ship in all of the Federation: the U.S.S. Excalibur[1] and the U.S.S. Benevolence[2].

The first vessel, U.S.S. Excalibur, is rushed out of spacedock before completion to evacuate a Federation colony that has been attacked by the Romulans. Upon arrival, the ship is ambushed and destroyed by Romulan warbirds. Realizing that not even hospital ships on rescue missions are safe from Romulan attack, Starfleet decides to change its current policy regarding the response of those vessels to an emergency as well as upgrade the shields and weaponry aboard the U.S.S. Benevolence.

Meanwhile, an unknown temporal disturbance has brought the staff of County General Hospital in 21^st century Chicago to the 24^th century. Upon being discovered, the staff is sent to Starfleet Headquarters in San Francisco to be questioned by Admiral Janeway, Captain Picard, Captain Riker, and Dr. Crusher of Starfleet Medical. After they have asked all of their questions, the Starfleet committee decides that the best course of action would be to rush the staff through all of the courses necessary to operate a starship, bring them up to speed on all of the medical breakthroughs in the past 300 years, and give them honorary commissions as Starfleet officers. What normal officers take four years to learn at Starfleet Academy is taught to the County General staff in condensed classes over the course of 6 months while the U.S.S. Benevolence is being refitted. Upon completion of the six-month training program, the staff is given ranks and positions based on the scores of the staff’s final examinations as well as the opinions of Starfleet command as to who is best suited for what position and rank[3].

The Ship

Name	U.S.S. Benevolence
Registry	NCC – 32928
Class	Excalibur
Decks	20 Including Bridge (Deck 1)
Warp Drive	Cruising Speed: Warp 5 Standard Emergency Response Speed: Warp 8 Top Speed: Warp 9.95
Shields	Quad-Layer Shielding with Rotating Modulation
Weapons	2x Forward Quantum/Photon Torpedo Launchers 2x Aft Quantum/Photon Torpedo Launchers Forward and Aft Phaser Arrays Federation Cloaking Device Cloaking Field Disruptor
Personnel Capacity	500+ Crew Members 1,000+ Patients
Medical and Science Facilities	5 Decks Dedicated to Emergency Medical Facilities 5 Deck for Surgery, General Medicine, Medical Laboratories, and Science Laboratories
Support Craft	Starfleet Type 11 Shuttlecraft Starfleet Emergency Medical Transport Shuttlecraft

The Crew[4]

The information in this section is about the characters that will be the focus of the series. The first episode of the series will feature additional characters and all main characters will have slightly modified ranks and positions that will change due to circumstances revealed in the first episode. In audition, the series will feature several recurring characters that are not the focus of the story, but contribute to the story in some way. The following two sections give a list of the first episode’s guest characters and a brief biography of the recurring guest characters.

Capt. John Carter (Noah Wyle)

Dr. Carter is the ER's Chief Resident. He's affectionately regarded by his co-workers, who watched him mature from a naive medical student into a respected leader. After briefly pursuing a career in surgery, he decided that the ER was where he belonged.

Following his displacement into the 24^th century and the specialized six-month Starfleet training program, Carter was assigned to a command position aboard the U.S.S. Benevolence.

Cmdr. Luka Kovac (Goran Visnjic)

Dr. Kovac is an ER attending physician from Croatia with a painful past. Having lost his family in his war-torn homeland, Kovac came to America for a fresh start.

Luka’s skills as a physician and authoritative nature prompted Starfleet to assign him a high-level position aboard the U.S.S. Benevolence following his completion of the six-month training program.

Lt. Cmdr. Susan Lewis (Sherry Stringfield)

Attending Physician Dr. Susan Lewis left Chicago to live near her sister's family in Phoenix for five years. Upon her return to County General, she continued to rebuild relationships, while adjusting to her new authority in the ER.

During the Starfleet training program, Dr. Lewis displayed a special talent for quickly understanding the new technologies that the staff now faced in the 24^th century. Of the County General staff, Lewis scored the highest on the Engineering portion of the final examination. Starfleet assigned Dr. Lewis the rank of Lieutenant Commander and named her the new Chief Engineering Officer of the Benevolence.

Lt. Jing-Mei “Deb” Chen (Ming-Na)

Dr. Chen was an attending physician who had sacrificed everything for her career. Recently fired for a misdiagnosis that resulted in a patient's death, Chen returned when she was able to prove Dr. Weaver's negligence in the case. Their relationship remains awkward at best.

After completing the Starfleet training program, Chen was assigned the rank of Lieutenant and named the Chief Helm Officer of the Benevolence.

Lt. Greg Pratt (Mekhi Phifer)
	Dr. Pratt’s Starfleet exam scores and skills during tactical simulations earned him the rank of Lieutenant and the position of Chief Security and Tactical Officer aboard the Benevolence.

Lt. Samantha Taggart (Linda Cardellini)

Samantha Taggart was the head nurse at County General prior to the temporal disturbance that brought her, her co-workers, and her son, Alex, to the 24^th century. She has worked many different jobs in the past in order to earn enough money to support Alex, who was born when Samantha was only 15 years old.

Upon completion of the six-month Starfleet training course, she was assigned the rank of Lieutenant and given a choice of either Chief Communications Officer or Chief Science Officer. Feeling overwhelmed at the idea of translating messages in the event of a universal translator malfunction, Taggart chose to become the Chief Science Officer of the U.S.S. Benevolence.

Ens. Abby Lockhart (Maura Tierney)

A former medical student, Abby Lockhart quit medical school one year shy of graduating, choosing instead to pursue a nursing career in the ER. However, she made the decision to return to medical school shortly before the temporal disturbance.

After completing the Starfleet training program, Lockhart scored slightly lower than Samantha Taggart, earning her the rank of Ensign. Lockhart was assigned the position of Chief Communications Officer aboard the Benevolence after Lt. Taggart accepted the position of Science Officer.

Ens. Neela Rasgotra (Parminder Nagra)
	Neela Rasgotra was a medical student working at County General at the time she was transported to the 24^th century. She is kind to her patients, soft-spoken, and compassionate about her work. These attributes prompted Starfleet to assign Rasgotra to the Benevolence as the ship’s counselor. Her exam score following the training program earned her the rank of Ensign.

Cdt. Alex Taggart (Oliver Davis)

Alex, son of Samantha Taggart is a child that is misunderstood by his peers and elders alike. He has been known to behave in ways that are not appropriate at times. However, Alex is not always a troublemaker- he can be very kind and he has never intentionally caused harm to others. Alex is very intelligent has a vast knowledge and appreciation for medical science and procedures.

Upon being transported to the 24^th century, Alex wanted to accompany his mother (Ens. Taggart) and friend (Cmdr. Kovac) aboard the U.S.S Benevolence, but Starfleet did not see fit to place him in the six-month training program and Federation policy forbids the placement of civilians on starships during a war. Alex appealed directly to Admiral Janeway, who compromised with Alex and admitted him to Starfleet Academy, making him the youngest cadet in Starfleet’s history. Alex earns credit towards becoming a fully commissioned medical officer as he works on the Benevolence as an assistant to the bridge crew.

EMH 1 – Zimmerman Model (Robert Picardo)

The 1^st Emergency Medical Holographic Program built into the U.S.S. Benevolence’s medical facilities was actually the same program installed on the starship Voyager. Starfleet Command felt that the Benevolence would benefit from the added experience of the EMH that served as Voyager’s Chief Medical Officer during that vessel’s long journey home to the Alpha Quadrant after accidentally being hurled to the Delta Quadrant. This version of the EMH was modeled after the developer of the program, Dr. Lewis Zimmerman.

EMH 2 – Greene Model (Anthony Edwards)

To supplement the first EMH program, the builders of the Benevolence copied the program of the first EMH and created a second Emergency Medical Holographic Program. Referred to as EMH 2, the second holographic doctor’s appearance was later changed, as per Captain John Carter’s orders. EMH 2 now appears with the same voice and physical appearance as Carter’s late friend, Dr. Mark Greene, who died just a couple of years prior to the temporal disturbance of a brain tumor.

First Episode Guest Characters

The following characters from “ER” will appear in the first episode, but will be written out before the end of that episode and will not appear in future episode for varying reasons.

· Captain Robert Romano (Paul McCrane)

· Engineer Michael Gallant (Sharif Atkins)

· Dr. Elizabeth Corday-Greene (Alex Kingston)

Recurring Guest Characters

The characters in this section are characters that will be a part of several episodes, but not regular characters that are a major part of story development. There will also be numerous other guest characters throughout the series, some of which may appear on numerous occasions. The characters discussed in this section are the ones planned to appear most frequently through the earlier episodes.

Admiral Kerry Weaver (Laura Innes)

Driven and ambitious, Dr. Weaver has never let a physical handicap - or other people's opinions - stand in her way. While her tough-as-nails tactics may seem harsh, they kept the ER running efficiently and the doctors on their toes.

Given her strong leadership abilities, Starfleet made the decision to make Weaver a fleet admiral at Starfleet Headquarters. She has been given direct control over Starfleet’s fleet of hospital ships. She is responsible for assigning the U.S.S. Benevolence and all other hospital ships to their missions as well as ensuring they are given all of the supplies and equipment they require to carry out their missions.

Engineer Sim Tucker (Connor Trinneer)

Sim is a clone of Cmdr. Charles “Trip” Tucker III, the Chief Engineer of Starfleet’s first “Warp 5” starship, the U.S.S. Enterprise (registry NX-01) in the 22^nd century. Sim was created in order to provide that ship’s medical officer, Dr. Phlox, with a donor for necessary neural tissue needed to save Cmdr. Tucker’s life after the engineer was seriously injured. After donating, Sim died. The Enterprise crew held a memorial service for him and launched his casket into empty space inside the Delphic Expanse. The cold of space froze his body, effectively preserving it.[5]

In the 24^th century, the U.S.S. Benevolence recovers the casket after responding to a distress signal inside the Delphic Expanse. The EMH 1 uses 24^th century technology and techniques learned during his prior experiences in the Delta Quadrant to repair the damage to Sim’s neural pathways and performs a “post-mortem resuscitation[6].” The doctor also alters Sim’s genetic structure to remove the artificial growth acceleration that Dr. Phlox created in order for Sim to mature in time to save Cmdr. Tucker. After being revived, Sim wants to become a part of the crew. He possesses all of the knowledge and memories of Cmdr. Tucker up to the point of his creation, so is trained while working in engineering by Chief Engineer Lewis.

Security Officer Maurice “Bosco” Boscorelli (Jason Wiles)

Visiting Chicago as one of many law enforcement officers from throughout the United States attending an anti-terrorism practice exercise, Officer Maurice Boscorelli fell from an elevated platform and broke his leg. He was one of the many patients at County General Hospital on the day of the temporal disturbance. Bosco was transported to the 24^th century along with the County General Staff. Starfleet was reluctant to include Boscorelli in the six-month training program with the others because of the attitude he exhibited during questioning by the afore mentioned Starfleet committee assigned to the people transported by the temporal anomaly. In addition, he had no prior medical experience. Eventually, Boscorelli was able to convince Starfleet that they needed people on the U.S.S. Benevolence that had experience in combat situations. Prior to becoming a police officer, Bosco was an Army Ranger and during his service in the NYPD, he trained to become a member of the Emergency Services Unit, although he later decided not to pursue a position in that unit. Starfleet placed him in the six-month training course with a replacement of tactical training instead of medical training. Following the completion of the course, Starfleet made a decision that was controversial among the committee members to make Lt. Greg Pratt, a medical expert, the ship’s chief security and tactical officer instead of Boscorelli. Boscorelli is given the rank of Lieutenant and assigned as the second highest ranking security officer aboard the Benevolence.

Appendix: Crew Summary and Uniform Recognition

REGULAR CHARACTERS

UCC	Senior Staff Positions	Character	Rank Insignia
	Captain	Capt. John Carter
	First Officer	Cmdr. Luka Kovac
	Chief Engineer	Lt. Cmdr. Susan Lewis
	Chief Helm Officer	Lt. Jing-Mei Chen
	Chief of Security/Tactical	Lt. Gregory Pratt
	Chief Science Officer	Lt. Samantha Taggart
	Chief Communications Officer	Ens. Abby Lockhart
	Ship’s Counselor	Ens. Neela Rasgotra
	Emergency Medical Hologram 1	EMH “Zimmerman Model”
	Emergency Medical Hologram 2	EMH “Greene Model”
	Starfleet Cadet – Medical Field	Cdt. Alex Taggart

UNIFORMS

Basic Design
Com Badge
Crew	Command Navigation (with Medical Training)	Engineering Security Operations (with Medical Training)	Medical Science Counseling (with Medical Training)	Cdt. A. Taggart
Uniform Color Code (UCC)

A Note to Readers of this Document

“Star Trek: Benevolence” is not an actual TV series in development, but a “Star Trek” and “ER” crossover fan-based project is being written as though it were an actual series. None of the actors credited are actually involved with this project. Information about the shows and characters mentioned in this document (including copyright information) and used throughout the project as well as the photographs used in this document can be found at the following sites:

NBC Media Village – http://www.nbcmv.com
NBC – http://www.nbc.com
The Official Star Trek Website – http://www.startrek.com

The model used for the ship design graphic in this document was downloaded from the Internet- not created by me, although I retextured it and rendered the image using Bryce 3D. Information about that model including the modeler’s name can be found at http://www.startrekaustralia.com.

STAR TREK

BENEVOLENCE

startrekbenevolence.0catch.com

[1] As established throughout “Star Trek’s” history, the ship’s class is named after the first ship of that class; therefore, the new hospital ships are dubbed “Excalibur Class.”

[2] This vessel will be the “hero ship” for the series. Its registry number is NCC-32928.