Headcanon - Canon!AOS minor characters: Kyle
Series of headcanons about minor characters from the Kelvin Timeline movies that were never developed on screen. Includes characters that were given a spotlight in the IDW comic series and didn’t need much working from my part.
Post-Into Darkness canon compliant. Darwin and Keenser include Beyond and post-Beyond mentions.
1. Recurring (Hendorff, Keenser, Kyle) | 2. Gaila (Star Trek 2009)
3. 0178 (Into Darkness) | 4. Darwin (Into Darkness) | 5. Moto (Into Darkness)
Posted also at Dreamwidth, Tumblr, AO3, Ad Astra and SquidgeWorld.
Christopher Kyle, transporter chief by accident
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Occupation: Transporter chief
Ship: USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)
An experienced officer with many years of service under his belt, transporter chief Christopher Kyle is back on Earth after the frigate where he served on for the last three years has been decommissioned. While waiting for Starfleet HQ to decide on his next assignment, he’s given a temporary position as transporter operator at San Francisco's Old City Station facility. It’s nothing special but, after several years in space, Kyle doesn’t dislike some earthbound routine in a forgotten facility - he doesn’t care how officers call that post, nor that he covers nights shifts when hours drag longer. After the excitement of a starship, boredom is a welcome change.
Fast forward to 2258.42. He’s sleeping in his accommodations when every officer available in town is hastily recalled to service to crew ten ships to respond to Vulcan’s distress call, replacing officers on leave and unavailable for a quick launch. More worried about the reason for the impromptu emergency mission, he doesn’t care much for which ship he’s assigned to. The Enterprise is as good as any other ship, really.
Besides, he’s just one of the many transporter technicians on a ship as big a constitution class.
Kyle is on duty, working alongside the transporter chief, when his superior is unable to lock on the two officers stuck on the drilling device.
He’s there when a kid that looks too young to be even allowed to enroll in the Academy, let alone serve on a ship, barges inside, frantically ordering to move away and free the console.
He’s there when the two officers, successfully saved from their fall to death at the very last moment, violently crash on the pad.
He’s there when acting captain Spock ignores everyone and orders to be beamed on down on Vulcan, despite the dangers.
He’s there when Spock is beamed back, arm outstretched, after the young kid from the bridge failed to save the Vulcan’s mother.
He’s there when a new voice on the com explains that acting captain Spock resigned command and as the new captain they order the pursuit of the enemy ship.
He’s still there at the transporter station when a chief engineer he’s never seen or heard about comes, claiming that “the two bloody bastards on the bridge” have a plan that’s an hazard but all senior crew worked together on this and yes, they’re about to send the ship’s commanding duo on the enemy ship for an extraction mission to save captain Pike. Kyle, poor Kyle, used to crews where some kind of standard procedure is followed, doesn’t even have the time to blurt out an outraged “what?!” (or even a “who the hell are you, Sir?”) that now acting captain (and seriously, how come that since he boarded this ship, there’s been already three different captains? What kind of ship is this?) and first officer-former-acting-captain arrive.
And he’s there when whom he’s told is the communications chief promoted on field kisses the resident Vulcan (weren’t Vulcans, like, known for being emotionless? Kyle is very, very confused, and apparently the chief engineer and acting captain as well, so there might be something wrong in the Vulcan engaged in some PDA with another officer on the beaming pad).
And, finally, he’s there when the chief engineer manages to get three people from two targets onto one pad. A success he might have a small part in.
After the rescue of the three captains (yes, the very definition is bordering creepy and he’s about to loose count of how many of them there are) the ship is jettisoned into another crisis, and Mister Scott is gone, to tend to engineering: Kyle barely had the chance to exchange few words with him. Then the Enterprise rocks and shakes, all the alarms blaring, and then blessed silence again. And when the acting-captain’s voice resounds through the speakers again, reassuring the crew that they’re safe and will have to wait for Starfleet to pick them up because to save the ship the chief engineer ejected all the warp cores, Kyle is more than puzzled. Especially when he asks around and none of his transporter colleagues had seen the Scottish guy around before he appeared in the room to take command of the transporter console.
Then what follows are long hours of waiting. First the Enterprise sits in space, the engineers deeming it not safe to travel until structural damage to the hull has been excluded, then engineers give the green light to use the impulse drive and the Enterprise moves at sublight speed. Kyle now hears stories about the new chief engineer, something about beaming on the ship with the acting-captain. While traveling at warp. Which is clearly nonsense: everyone knows that trans-warp beaming is impossible. Still, the Scottish guy looked pretty decent, and competent in his field, so Kyle hopes to have the chance to exchange a word or two with him, and perhaps talk about transporters, before the Enterprise arrives at the nearest starbase.
He doesn’t.
The chief engineer is busy supervising the operations that bring the warp core drive back online. And, before Kyle knows it, they’re at Earth’s spacedock and the senior crew is ushered away.
Apparently being part of three rescue missions, albeit as little more than a mere witness, warrants Kyle the chance to be invited to the sober and private gathering held by the young - too young - senior crew to celebrate their survival against all odds. Removed from the chaos of the mission, they all look like the scared cadets they are, thrown in a crisis too big for them. All the camaraderie is lost. It’s as if, now that the danger who made them a team has ended, they don’t know what to do.
Here, in front of a bottle of scotch, finally Kyle has the chance to sit down with Montgomery Scott, the eccentric chief engineer, and get to know him. They have so much to bond over and the Scottish is eager to take him under his wing.
They are all cadets, while he’s an experienced lieutenant commander, yet this thrown together senior crew threat him as one of their own. Apparently there is nothing like a bond grown over a crisis.
Most of the officers at Starfleet HQ look down on these young cadets who were trusted in the middle of the Federation biggest threat and came out winning. Kyle doesn’t. He was there, he knows what they did, how close they’d been close to loose it all, how close Earth people was close to loose it all; he feels but honor to be called friend by these heroes.
Montgomery Scott is appointed new chief engineer to the Enterprise, and this gives Kyle both the courage to apply for the flagship and the clout necessary for his request to be accepted as soon as it lands on brand-new Captain Kirk's desk.
His experience gets him the position of primary transporter chief, but he also works as engineering assistant.
He is father of two daughters, Susan and Dawn, who live in New Berlin, Luna, with his wife Rebecca. He also has an older twin brother, John, who has recently left his civilian career to enlist and he's now a cadet in the operations track.
Notes: Canon-speaking, Chris Doohan's character has no name, and in Into Darkness he is credited as "Transport Officer". On Twitter in 2009, Chris Doohan replied to an (rpg)account of lieutenant Kyle with a "It was a pleasure being you in Star Trek XI :)" and even the people at Memory Alpha accepted that his character is the alternate version of that Kyle.
Since the TOS character has never been given a name on screen - and in official non-canon material has doubly been named either John or Winston after his actor - I decided to give AOS Kyle the name Christopher, in honor to Chris Doohan who portrayed him.
However.
Time speaking, it makes little sense that Doohan's character could be the lieutenant Kyle from TOS. Not counting the non-canon material, that makes Kyle graduated in 2263 or born in 2241, it's still a stretch that a character that is a lieutenant in 2267 in a timeline manages to become a lieutenant commander by 2258 in that timeline's derivative timeline. I elected to then, in homage to Christopher Doohan and his twin Montgomery who made a cameo in The Motion Picture, make two Kyleses where there should be one: the first, Doohan's, and a John who can follow a different path and become the TOS!Kyle in due time.
In Strange New Worlds a Kyle has been introduced. Should a name be made canon in the series, I don’t plan to update/change AOS Kyle (or his brother’s) name to reflect it.
In the movie the Narada sensors pick up seven ships, which would make the rescue mission made of eight ships with the Enterprise. For some reasons, Memory Alpha makes them ten by including all the ships seen at spacedock. I decided to stick with their count.
Post-Into Darkness canon compliant. Darwin and Keenser include Beyond and post-Beyond mentions.
1. Recurring (Hendorff, Keenser, Kyle) | 2. Gaila (Star Trek 2009)
3. 0178 (Into Darkness) | 4. Darwin (Into Darkness) | 5. Moto (Into Darkness)
Posted also at Dreamwidth, Tumblr, AO3, Ad Astra and SquidgeWorld.
Christopher Kyle, transporter chief by accident
Rank: Lieutenant Commander
Occupation: Transporter chief
Ship: USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)
An experienced officer with many years of service under his belt, transporter chief Christopher Kyle is back on Earth after the frigate where he served on for the last three years has been decommissioned. While waiting for Starfleet HQ to decide on his next assignment, he’s given a temporary position as transporter operator at San Francisco's Old City Station facility. It’s nothing special but, after several years in space, Kyle doesn’t dislike some earthbound routine in a forgotten facility - he doesn’t care how officers call that post, nor that he covers nights shifts when hours drag longer. After the excitement of a starship, boredom is a welcome change.
Fast forward to 2258.42. He’s sleeping in his accommodations when every officer available in town is hastily recalled to service to crew ten ships to respond to Vulcan’s distress call, replacing officers on leave and unavailable for a quick launch. More worried about the reason for the impromptu emergency mission, he doesn’t care much for which ship he’s assigned to. The Enterprise is as good as any other ship, really.
Besides, he’s just one of the many transporter technicians on a ship as big a constitution class.
Kyle is on duty, working alongside the transporter chief, when his superior is unable to lock on the two officers stuck on the drilling device.
He’s there when a kid that looks too young to be even allowed to enroll in the Academy, let alone serve on a ship, barges inside, frantically ordering to move away and free the console.
He’s there when the two officers, successfully saved from their fall to death at the very last moment, violently crash on the pad.
He’s there when acting captain Spock ignores everyone and orders to be beamed on down on Vulcan, despite the dangers.
He’s there when Spock is beamed back, arm outstretched, after the young kid from the bridge failed to save the Vulcan’s mother.
He’s there when a new voice on the com explains that acting captain Spock resigned command and as the new captain they order the pursuit of the enemy ship.
He’s still there at the transporter station when a chief engineer he’s never seen or heard about comes, claiming that “the two bloody bastards on the bridge” have a plan that’s an hazard but all senior crew worked together on this and yes, they’re about to send the ship’s commanding duo on the enemy ship for an extraction mission to save captain Pike. Kyle, poor Kyle, used to crews where some kind of standard procedure is followed, doesn’t even have the time to blurt out an outraged “what?!” (or even a “who the hell are you, Sir?”) that now acting captain (and seriously, how come that since he boarded this ship, there’s been already three different captains? What kind of ship is this?) and first officer-former-acting-captain arrive.
And he’s there when whom he’s told is the communications chief promoted on field kisses the resident Vulcan (weren’t Vulcans, like, known for being emotionless? Kyle is very, very confused, and apparently the chief engineer and acting captain as well, so there might be something wrong in the Vulcan engaged in some PDA with another officer on the beaming pad).
And, finally, he’s there when the chief engineer manages to get three people from two targets onto one pad. A success he might have a small part in.
After the rescue of the three captains (yes, the very definition is bordering creepy and he’s about to loose count of how many of them there are) the ship is jettisoned into another crisis, and Mister Scott is gone, to tend to engineering: Kyle barely had the chance to exchange few words with him. Then the Enterprise rocks and shakes, all the alarms blaring, and then blessed silence again. And when the acting-captain’s voice resounds through the speakers again, reassuring the crew that they’re safe and will have to wait for Starfleet to pick them up because to save the ship the chief engineer ejected all the warp cores, Kyle is more than puzzled. Especially when he asks around and none of his transporter colleagues had seen the Scottish guy around before he appeared in the room to take command of the transporter console.
Then what follows are long hours of waiting. First the Enterprise sits in space, the engineers deeming it not safe to travel until structural damage to the hull has been excluded, then engineers give the green light to use the impulse drive and the Enterprise moves at sublight speed. Kyle now hears stories about the new chief engineer, something about beaming on the ship with the acting-captain. While traveling at warp. Which is clearly nonsense: everyone knows that trans-warp beaming is impossible. Still, the Scottish guy looked pretty decent, and competent in his field, so Kyle hopes to have the chance to exchange a word or two with him, and perhaps talk about transporters, before the Enterprise arrives at the nearest starbase.
He doesn’t.
The chief engineer is busy supervising the operations that bring the warp core drive back online. And, before Kyle knows it, they’re at Earth’s spacedock and the senior crew is ushered away.
Apparently being part of three rescue missions, albeit as little more than a mere witness, warrants Kyle the chance to be invited to the sober and private gathering held by the young - too young - senior crew to celebrate their survival against all odds. Removed from the chaos of the mission, they all look like the scared cadets they are, thrown in a crisis too big for them. All the camaraderie is lost. It’s as if, now that the danger who made them a team has ended, they don’t know what to do.
Here, in front of a bottle of scotch, finally Kyle has the chance to sit down with Montgomery Scott, the eccentric chief engineer, and get to know him. They have so much to bond over and the Scottish is eager to take him under his wing.
They are all cadets, while he’s an experienced lieutenant commander, yet this thrown together senior crew threat him as one of their own. Apparently there is nothing like a bond grown over a crisis.
Most of the officers at Starfleet HQ look down on these young cadets who were trusted in the middle of the Federation biggest threat and came out winning. Kyle doesn’t. He was there, he knows what they did, how close they’d been close to loose it all, how close Earth people was close to loose it all; he feels but honor to be called friend by these heroes.
Montgomery Scott is appointed new chief engineer to the Enterprise, and this gives Kyle both the courage to apply for the flagship and the clout necessary for his request to be accepted as soon as it lands on brand-new Captain Kirk's desk.
His experience gets him the position of primary transporter chief, but he also works as engineering assistant.
He is father of two daughters, Susan and Dawn, who live in New Berlin, Luna, with his wife Rebecca. He also has an older twin brother, John, who has recently left his civilian career to enlist and he's now a cadet in the operations track.
Notes: Canon-speaking, Chris Doohan's character has no name, and in Into Darkness he is credited as "Transport Officer". On Twitter in 2009, Chris Doohan replied to an (rpg)account of lieutenant Kyle with a "It was a pleasure being you in Star Trek XI :)" and even the people at Memory Alpha accepted that his character is the alternate version of that Kyle.
Since the TOS character has never been given a name on screen - and in official non-canon material has doubly been named either John or Winston after his actor - I decided to give AOS Kyle the name Christopher, in honor to Chris Doohan who portrayed him.
However.
Time speaking, it makes little sense that Doohan's character could be the lieutenant Kyle from TOS. Not counting the non-canon material, that makes Kyle graduated in 2263 or born in 2241, it's still a stretch that a character that is a lieutenant in 2267 in a timeline manages to become a lieutenant commander by 2258 in that timeline's derivative timeline. I elected to then, in homage to Christopher Doohan and his twin Montgomery who made a cameo in The Motion Picture, make two Kyleses where there should be one: the first, Doohan's, and a John who can follow a different path and become the TOS!Kyle in due time.
In Strange New Worlds a Kyle has been introduced. Should a name be made canon in the series, I don’t plan to update/change AOS Kyle (or his brother’s) name to reflect it.
In the movie the Narada sensors pick up seven ships, which would make the rescue mission made of eight ships with the Enterprise. For some reasons, Memory Alpha makes them ten by including all the ships seen at spacedock. I decided to stick with their count.