Review

Jun

2014

Review – Voice of the Common Man

Can you hear the voice of the common man?

Background

The Star Trek fanfiction prompt was about politics. Rather than write about some Klingon cabal or big-time Federation politics, I went with what Tip O’Neill said, “All politics is local.”

I also wanted to tie up a small loose end in my overall story arc in In Between Days. In Reversal, the Calafan people are ruled by a High Priestess (Yipran) and her consort, the First Minister (Chawev). However, I didn’t want their government to be a monarchy, and I certainly didn’t want for it to be a dictatorship. It would, though, be a somewhat different style of government. It would be a constitutional monarchy with a religious basis. The religious end of it is covered in Legends.

Voice of the Common Man explores an election to the office of First Minister.

Plot

In Between Days

Doug and Lili are new residents of Lafa II, and Joss is still an infant. This is before the arrangement starts and it’s even before Marie Patrice is conceived. It’s Election Day!

There are a ton of candidates (this is not a two-party system), and it’s all rather confusing. The Becketts have studied the candidates and the issues, but it’s still a bit unclear.

Complicating matters is the fact that Doug has only recently left a universe where the government is a military dictatorship. He literally doesn’t understand why anybody votes, and can’t conceive that his opinion would matter to anyone. Not quite assured, he agrees to go and vote, as it is more or less mandatory.

The voting happens somewhat oddly, as might befit an alien culture. After a quick discussion of the issues, the voters express their support for certain positions on well-defined issues.

That is, the first round of voting isn’t really for any candidates; it’s for positions on issues. If a voter matches all of the positions with a candidate, then that voter matches with that candidate, votes for him or her (there is still an opportunity to back out), and that’s it for the day. This is rather similar to an approval ballot.

Lili finishes early, and votes for Ubvelwev, the candidate who is eventually the winner. Doug, however, much like any other undecided voter, is torn. He simply cannot decide. He holds out until the bitter end, and leaves without a decision at the end. While his vote matters, he hasn’t really cast a ballot for any of the candidates.

Story Postings

Rating

The story is Rated K.

Upshot

The voting system is somewhat confusing, and that has been one issue for readers. I was mainly trying to address problems that I have always seen in elections. This is where some people just can’t decide until the bitter end. And that has always struck me as a bit odd. I could have better explained the voting system. This would have meant probably more details and more world-building phraseology. This story could use an overhaul, although its heart and soul are in the right place.

Jun

2014

Review – Saturn Rise

Saturn Rise – this was, I feel, a necessary story to write.

Saturn Rise Background

For my own Star Trek fanfiction prompt about forgiveness, I went with a story about Malcolm, Lili, Joss, Marie Patrice, Declan, and Malcolm’s parents. This one dovetailed with a far more serious story about Pamela, Treve, and her family. It is all about offenses, hurts, slights, and pain. Some is fairly small. Some of it is devastating.

Plot

Two stories run through the piece.

Saturn System

In the first, Pamela and Treve are getting serious, and she agrees to see her sister, Lisa, who she hasn’t seen in years. She takes Treve along, in order to introduce him. It’s a major commitment for her. She wants it to be right.

In the second, Lili and Malcolm are going to see his parents. She will meet them for the first time, and they will see Declan, too, for the first time.

Undercurrents

Both scenarios sound promising. But there’s more going on there. Lisa, thinking it will be a pleasant surprise, brings her family along, and her and Pamela’s mother. Lisa is innocent and thinks it’ll be fun. What she learns is that their family was rather different from what she believed. And that Pamela, as a child, suffered abuse by their father. With a mother who seemingly didn’t do anything about it, Pamela unleashes her fury on their mother, as their father is long dead.

Pamela, or, Virtue Rewarded (1742). Mr B reads…

On Malcolm and Lili’s side of things, Stuart and Mary Reed express their concerns that the commitment between Lili and Malcolm is an illusory one, as Lili is married and her relationship with Malcolm is a part of her open marriage with Doug.

In addition, while they love Declan immediately, it takes them longer to warm up to the other two children, who they single out. Even though Mary had already given Marie Patrice a gift of handmade yellow knitted gloves (as was seen in Fortune), the two elder Reeds still hold back. An important part of the piece is Malcolm standing up to his parents, informing them that Joss and Marie Patrice are “our children”, meaning his, Lili’s, Doug’s and, by extension, also Melissa and Norri‘s.

As I often do, I twisted the conclusion a bit. Not everyone is forgiven, and maybe not everyone should be.

Story Postings

Rating

The story is Rated T.

Upshot

I was happy to showcase more of Pamela and Treve’s relationship, and not in the context of their first sexual encounter. These characters love each other, and I hadn’t really shown that before. As for Lili and Malcolm, their love was already in several stories. However, to be able to extend that to his love for her other children, the chance to do that in story form was irresistible. I think the story turned out well, and particularly like how Malcolm stood up to his parents and Pamela stood up to her mother.

Jun

2014

Review – Finnan Haddie

Finnan haddie?

Background

Finnan Haddie

The Star Trek fanfiction prompt was about family. This led me straight to the below song, which I had wanted at my own wedding, but the DJ forgot to bring it (true story)!

Plot

It’s a wedding, on Lafa II. Joss is marrying his longtime sweetheart, Jia Sulu. The family is there, but a few people are missing. It’s time for finals at Oxford, so Declan can’t make it. Doug has died, and Lili has married Malcolm. Marie Patrice has finagled a business trip, and is present with Ken Masterson, the child of Chip and Deb. Tommy has leave. Neil is there with his two women, Yinora (Yimar‘s daughter) and Ines Ramirez, daughter of Jenny and Frank. Melissa and Leonora are also there, as is Jia’s sole family on the planet, her mother, Mai.

It’s a slightly bittersweet day, as Lili misses Doug, and Declan is absent.

Plus, sadly, Kevin Madden-Beckett’s grave, next to Doug’s, is an all-too painful reminder of a child who never had a chance. For Jia, it’s harder for her to be there without her father, Geming, who is also gone.

Lili and Joss are going to engage in a ritual mother-son dance, even though the dance floor is the outside area under the carport. Lili offers to not bother, if it will upset Jia. But it’s Jia who insists on it.

Jia approaches Malcolm and asks if she can call him father. Bowled over, he looks to Lili and Mai for their approval. When their blessings are given, he consents, and he and Jia dance to the below tune.

Music

Story Postings

Rating

The story has a K rating.

Upshot

So I wanted a quick, sweet love story where what could have been a dark and difficult day turns into a triumph. But at the same time, I wanted to address Malcolm who, in the canon E² episode, dies without a family. Here, he gets one.

May

2014

Review – The Continuing Adventures of Porthos – The Future Cat

Future cat?

Background

Tarisian Dreams suggested that I somehow find a way for Spot and Porthos to meet. The only methods were, I felt, either time travel or a holodeck simulation. I chose the former.

Plot

It’s during the Xindi War, and Lili has only recently been hired. While starting dinner, she brings Porthos to the galley. He sits, hoping that’s she’ll drop something tasty. Will comes in and scolds Lili, as this is a Health Code violation.

Review – The Continuing Adventures of Porthos – The Future Cat

English: This is an orange/yellow tabby cat.

He insists that she return the beagle to Captain Archer‘s quarters. Lili does so, and departs as the ship is hit by a spatial anomaly. This creates a hull breach on B Deck. But this anomaly is temporal as well as spatial, and so it also results in Porthos being whisked away. And it’s over a century into the future, to the Enterprise-D, where Data, Spot, Geordi, Wesley Crusher, and Captain Picard all are.

On the NX-01, they fear Porthos is deAD. On the Enterprise-D, they try to get him home.

Plus I tell the whole thing from the perspective of Porthos, including his conversations with Spot.

Does Porthos get back to the right time period? Who helps him? And what happens to him and Spot, before he departs?

I guess you’ll have to read in order to find out.

Story Postings

Rating

The story has a K rating.

Upshot

I love writing animals’ points of view, and Porthos is always great fun. Spot was much more of a challenge, but readers have told me that I got cat POV correct. That was rather satisfying to read. Will they return? Absolutely, although I have no idea as to how to (if ever) get them back together again.

May

2014

Review – The Best Things Come in Pairs

Pairs? Yes.

Background

They can refer to playing cards and couples, and this little story touches on both as a play on words and for a little bit of humor. In response to a Star Trek fan fiction prompt about losing, I wanted to write a story about a losing poker hand that, instead, ends up being a winner. Hence the plot.

Plot

It is maybe a year after the end of Fortune, and Treve takes Pamela home after a date. They have been going out for a good year. She has been a bit pushy about getting physical, but he has been pulling back. As of the time of Saturn Rise, they have exchanged ‘I love yous’.

This is the first time that Treve has actually gone into Pamela’s new apartment on Lafa II. She has immigrated there, partly to be near her elderly uncle, Doctor Cyril Morgan, and partly to be near Treve.

So they are a little drunk, and there are playing cards on the table. Hence Pamela suggests a game of strip poker. Since Treve has no real idea of how to play, she feigns losing and, as a result, gets her man. Treve certainly does not object to this!

Story Postings

Rating

The story has a K rating.

Upshot

So this little short story is meant to be a little silly, maybe, and a little amusing. Plus it segues rather neatly into Complications. A touch of happy ending mixed with some humor? Then sign me up.

May

2014

Review – Voice of the Common Man

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Review – Saturn Rise

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Review – Finnan Haddie

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Review – The Continuing Adventures of Porthos – The Future Cat

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Review – The Best Things Come in Pairs

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