Captain Jones Drives Model T Ford in First Starfleet Cadet Graduation Parade

October 10, 2380

Story By: Tom Sloan
Starfleet Deep Space Twenty Gazette

Starfleet Captain Benjamin Jones, commanding officer of the Federation space station Deep Space Twenty, was very difficult to miss yesterday as he drove through Paris, France in Starfleet's first annual graduation parade for their newly graduated cadets from Starfleet Academy.

Captain Jones was driving a newly built ancient 20^th century Earth 1913 Model T Ford. Jones, along with a small team of Starfleet, Ferengi and Federation engineers and historians, built the ancient automobile from scratch on Deep Space Twenty by using replicated parts and pieces of scrap metal that could be found aboard the space station and on nearby uninhabited planets and asteroid belts in Federation space.

"The ancient automobile has real kerosene lights and you have to crank it by hand to turn on its internal combustion engine,'' Captain Jones said. "It took me six months to complete the project. I had to build the automobile during my spare free time when I wasn't busy attending to my regular duties as commanding officer of Deep Space Twenty."

When asked what the most difficult challenge was of building the Model T Ford and why he chose to do it, Captain Jones replied, "The most challenging part of building the automobile was convincing my first officer, Commander John Mynar, that I hadn't completely lost my mind and that I was building it as a hobby. I also wanted to do something special for the new graduating class of Starfleet Academy during their very first graduation parade."

After Captain Jones finished driving through the streets of Paris in the graduation parade, Admiral Cathy McDonald of Starfleet command approached Jones and asked if he would be willing to donate his Model T Ford to the Federation Museum of Ancient Earth History in San Francisco.

Captain Jones accepted Admiral McDonald's offer and today he no longer has his Model T Ford. However, Jones is still pleased that Starfleet is recognizing the hard work and contribution of both himself and his team to the graduation parade with the creation of the ancient automobile.