Review – Smash Your Dominion

Review – Smash Your Dominion

Smash your dominion? Why, don’t mind if I do!

Background

I wrote this story when I was pretty new to Ad Astra, and so I didn’t have much to draw upon. The prime universe version of this series was all about a widow, Gina Nolan, recovering from the traumatic death of her husband. However, this would be … different.

Plot

Barking up the muse tree | jespah | Janet Gershen-Siegel | Smash Your Dominion

Smash Your Dominion

So this is a Mirror Universe version of Hold Your Dominion as imagined if a network executive demanded that a Mirror Universe episode be written.

Hence in this version of events, the storyline actually begins with her saying, “Of course I wanted him dead.” It felt like the perfect opener. Gina tosses away a timid fragility from the Hold Your Dominion stories and instead becomes a force of nature.

Therefore, I reimagined Gina as a Captain’s Woman, to a Simpson Keller (that is the real-life name of Helen Keller’s half-brother, by the way. It has no other meaning and I just like the name). Gina leaves their bed and she wanders the halls of a starship, and is called away because her daughter, Gabrielle, has gotten into trouble. And the person complaining is the Klingon, Kittris. As a result, they cross paths in both universes.

Story Postings

Rating

The story is rated T.

Upshot

As a character, Gina was pretty meek and mild at the time. Here, she’s a force of nature, and I kind of like that. As to whether I will revisit this storyline, I have no plans to do so at this time. So this is it for Gina really being in control and powerful. Ah, well.

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Posted by jespah in Fan fiction, Review, 1 comment

Portrait of a Character – Rellie

Portrait of a Character – Rellie

Rellie is a kind of short order cook.

Origins

During Temper, the only intelligent way to get Lili onto the Defiant was for her to be disguised as a Calafan slave and work in a kitchen. This meant creating a kitchen manager (the position would not really be that of a head chef). Enter the Xindi humanoid Rellie.

Portrayal

Portrait of a Character – Rellie

Mia Sara as Rellie (image courtesy IMDB)

Rellie is played by actress Mia Sara. This lovely actress has a long history and has science fiction cred.

Personality

Efficient and smart, she will only go so far to look out for her charges. They are (Lili, Polloria, and Aliwev) adults and are not really her responsibility. She just wants to save her own skin, or at least make her job easier. When Lili arrives, and knows how to cook, it’s as if a dream has come true for the oppressed slave kitchen manager.

Relationships

Rellie has no known relationships.

Mirror Universe

Rellie has only been a part of the Mirror.

Portrait of a Character – Rellie

Mia Sara as the prime universe Rellie (image is courtesy of the DC Comics wiki)

Does she exist in the prime universe?

It’s an interesting question.

I sometimes confuse her a bit with Dayah, who is also a Xindi humanoid, and is of a similar vintage.

But their fates are rather different, even though they are both oppressed women. Rellie, like a lot of Mirror Universe women, has to be ruthless and self-serving. In our universe, those personality traits would be looked upon as flaws.

Quote

“We must always tell them that we can do anything they ask. No matter if it seems at all impossible or difficult. You have been doing this for years. Surely you know that by now. Never show any weakness.”

Upshot

I created this character for a specific purpose, and I think she fulfilled it fairly well. Since her placement was the result of the second alternate timeline in Temper, there are any number of other Mirror Universe niches she could fill. Maybe I’ll pick her up again.

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Posted by jespah in Fan fiction, Hall of Mirrors, In Between Days series, Portrait, Times of the HG Wells series, 0 comments

Review – Timeless

Review – Timeless

Timeless is where I just wanted to put right what I felt had gone wrong. But of course you can’t really do that. Hence it serves as almost (almost!) my own personal Quantum Leap episode, much like Theorizing.

Background

When actor Leonard Nimoy passed away, there was a special free write and the idea of ‘saving’ him was an irresistible one. Add in the crew from the Temporal Integrity Commission, and a little bit of silliness got to creep in as well.

Plot

Barking up the muse tree | jespah | Janet Gershen-Siegel | Clockworks - Deep Future | Timeless

Clockworks – Deep Future

Therefore, in 3115, the Human Unit at the Temporal Integrity Commission decides to save one special Vulcan.

I wanted Spock (a character I have always had something of a love/hate relationship with – I tend to see Dr. McCoy’s point of view more than Spock’s in the old TOS arguments) to have a kind of ethereal quality. Plus I wanted the TIC to occasionally bend their own rules. The action takes place after they have done just that, and saved Milena Chelenska on her deathbed. Hence there is a precedent for this behavior, and the precedent even winds back to First Born and saving Jun Daniels Sato.

Because Spock Prime is also a part of the Eriecho stories (and the Kelvin timeline in canon, of course), this act affects numerous timelines. Megaotric? Maybe not exactly, but it’s definitely a pariotric change.

Story Postings

Rating

The story is rated K.

Upshot

In some ways, I may have overdone things. Spock gets his resurrection and, in a way, so does Leonard Nimoy. Yet some of it feels like I was forcing a square peg into a round hole.

Yet in addition, it also feels almost unfair that this cannot really happen. Science, get on this, stat!

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Posted by jespah in Review, Times of the HG Wells series, 1 comment

Focus on the Terran Empire

Focus on the Terran Empire

The Terran Empire is a huge part of my fan fiction.

Focus

Barking up the Muse Tree | Janet Gershen-Siegel | jespah | Focus Magnifying Glass | Terran Empire

A focus (unlike a spotlight) is an in-depth look at a Star Trek fanfiction canon item and my twist(s) on it.

Of course, all of fan fiction is like that, but the idea here is to provide a window into how a single canon concept can be used in fan fiction.

Background

A lot of what happens in the Terran Empire absolutely defies logic (Vulcan pun only partly intended). Even in a multiverse with seemingly infinite (or thereabouts) universes with infinite variables, it makes no sense that our heroes’ counterparts would all be serving together.

Okay, so it’s really just a vehicle for tossing a bunch of evil twins onto the screen. Let’s run with that.

In order to make it all work, I decided on a few helper characteristics which would explain things better. Of course the real reason why there are a lot of men in the Mirror Universe is because of who was hired, particularly during the TOS era. For a show and a premise that were touting sex and violence, men would have to be hired in order to up the violence ante. For my fanfiction, I explain this away with the Y Chromosome Skew.

But what about the Terran Empire? First off, the TOS era would have undoubtedly showed a white man in power. Certainly, in canon, the person in charge is a man. But then ENT comes around, and Hoshi Sato declares herself Empress.  To my mind, she would have a need for a successor and she could succeed as Empress if she operated under Machiavellian principles.

Hall of Mirrors and the Succession

A review of the Mirror Universe stories I have written creates a semblance of a decent history of the place. The first story is The High Cost of Dissidence, where Lili‘s counterpart’s family dies. Under Emperor Phillip (tyrant Phillip Green in our universe),  Charlotte’s father is arrested as a dissident for daring to speak his mind.

Next is Paving Stones Made From Good Intentions, where Doug, a mere child, is sent away to a brutal school.

After ENT Canon

After the canon MU episodes comes Throwing Rocks at Looking Glass Houses, where Hoshi kills off all rivals (including T’Pol, Ian, and Phlox) and the Emperor, and consolidates her power ruthlessly.

In between, Hoshi and Rick Daniels hook up during The Stranger, and she becomes pregnant. His death is faked and she gives birth to Jun.

In Reversal, the Empress Hoshi is ensconced in power but is bested by Doug as Jennifer, Tripp, and Beth also escape.

Next up is Brown, where Hoshi is pregnant for a second time (by Aidan), and Chip holds back while José and Frank sniff around her.

In Ceremonial, Tripp and Beth have their own child, Charlie, as they become citizens of the MU Lafa System.

By the time of Coveted Commodity, she is pregnant by Travis.

Next is Gilded Cage, where Aidan is further disgraced and is planning to leave. The Conspiracy advances that subplot.

In Temper, when Travis is killed, Hoshi taps Andrew to take his place. When Andy meets Melissa for the first time, it’s shown in The Play at the Plate. He plans his escape when Melissa dies, in Escape, a deed that is seen from another angle in Shake Your Body.

Fortune shows more of the Mirror, including fast-forwarding ahead to not only Melissa’s death, but Norri‘s as well.

At about the same time as The Play at the Plate, Susan is looking to give up drinking, in The Pivot Point.

Much later, in Bread, a Mirror Leah Benson escapes to Andoria and is reunited with Diana Jones.

HG Wells and the Terran Empire

The royal family is reunited in He Stays a Stranger.

The Empress’s less than dignified death is shown in Who Shall Wear the Robe and Crown? She is succeeded by Jun and Kira.

During TOS, the Captain’s Woman, Janice Rand, is killed by Marlena Moreau in That’s Not My Name. The crime is investigated as Rand was allegedly the Emperor’s niece, in It Had to be You.

And finally, in Mirror Masquerade, Travis and Hikaru Sulu are switched, and it’s up to the Temporal Integrity Commission to put everyone back where they belong.

Upshot

With my fanfiction, Hoshi’s life reads a lot like Caligula’s or Nero’s, and that was by design. In bits and pieces, it ended up being a somewhat epic saga. It could use more development in later years. In the Barnstorming series, I add a Mirror connection, but the Empire is supposed to be gone by then. But I  like it and will find a way to bring it back.

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Posted by jespah in Barnstorming, Emergence series, Eriecho series, Fan fiction, Focus, Hall of Mirrors, In Between Days series, Interphases series, Mixing It Up Collection, Times of the HG Wells series, 0 comments

Portrait of a Character – Boestus

Portrait of a Character – Boestus

Boestus is a politician.

Origins

For Flight of the Bluebird, I wanted there to be Daranaean elections. Much like the United Nations does today, the USS Bluebird and its captain, Malcolm Reed, would be brought in, in order to observe and prevent violence at polling places. Vidam was already going to be the liberal candidate. He needed an opponent, so I created the conservative standard-bearer, Boestus (pronounced beast-us).

Portrayal

Portrait of a Character – Boestus

Irish wolfhound puppy

Like most Daranaeans, Boestus isn’t really ‘played’ by anyone. He is an older fellow so I see him as being gray. This image of an Irish wolfhound works well.

Personality

Traditional and somewhat unyielding, Boestus feels that the traditional Daranaean life and home are important. He wants them to continue. But he is directly confronted by its inherent injustices. Unlike a lot of present-day real life politicians, he is capable of seeing the error of his ways, and learns how to change.

Relationships

Nitha

Like all Prime Wives, Nitha was very expensive. But she is concerned when the end is coming for Shura. Unlike what happens in other traditionalist Daranaean households, she may be higher up in the food chain than Carya and Shura are, but she isn’t cruel to them.

Carya

The secondary wife of Boestus is also somewhat defiant and is protective of Shura, who cannot defend herself.

Shura

In a traditional Daranaean household, a third caste female is called ‘last caste’ and is euthanized at menopause and seen as being useless. But Shura stands up for herself, an act that helps Boestus to see the error of his ways and change his mind.

Mirror Universe

As with many other characters, there are no impediments to Boestus existing in the Mirror Universe.

Portrait of a Character – Boestus

Arkin’s, chiot Irish Wolfhound, propr. L. et S. Pruvot (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The MU is a tougher place, but the Y Chromosome Skew only affects human (Terran) males and not Daranaeans.

With a more balanced society, at least in terms of the gender of children being born, Boestus might end up with just one wife. For a conservative looking to better himself and social climb, he would likely only end up with Nitha.

Quote

“I am supposed to protect you. Acreon is taking on these humans’ ways far too much. You have seen what their women do, and how they act and how they dress. It is; it is not right.”

Upshot

I really loved working with this character, understanding him as a person and making him a rival but not a bad guy. Boestus is the very essence of people who can disagree without being disagreeable, who can admit when they are wrong, and who can change. I would like to write him again some time.

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Posted by jespah in Emergence series, Fan fiction, In Between Days series, Portrait, 0 comments

Review – The Stranger

Review – The Stranger

The Stranger is, of course any time traveler.

Background

No one is allowed to get too close. But it is also a reference back to an earlier story (I wrote it earlier, but it takes place later in the timeline), He Stays a Stranger.

The challenge was to write seven days of flash fiction. Hence I decided to provide sketches of seven women bedded by Richard Daniels.

Plot

Barking up the Muse Tree | jespah | Janet Gershen-Siegel | Clockworks | The Stranger

Clockworks

Rick Daniels spends the beginning of the 3100s bedding women in time, to try to ease his guilt at witnessing some of the worst moments of the prime timeline.

Irene of Castile had already been covered in Marvels. Empress Hoshi had been hinted at in Reversal. Lucretia Crossman and Betty Tyler had been mentioned a few times, including in A Long, Long Time Ago. Some of these women were also mentioned in Souvenirs.

I was in the middle of writing the Barnstorming series, so Dana MacKenzie was on my mind. I also needed a seventh woman (for right before Hoshi), so I created Octavia Caecilia of Pompeii. She went along well with a passing reference to Rick having witnessed the eruption of Vesuvius, plus it was an homage to Dr. Who and, more specifically, actor Peter Capaldi.

Music

Music runs throughout the piece. The main theme is, of course, Billy Joel’s The Stranger.

Story Postings

Rating

The story is rated T.

Upshot

I like Octavia, and I might write more about her at some point. The same is true of Betty; I finally really pictured her. The story, I feel, does its job well, which is to prepare the reader for what is really going on in A Long, Long Time Ago and later. The mood changes and this story turns it rather downbeat, which is what I was going for.

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Posted by jespah in Fan fiction, Review, Times of the HG Wells series, 1 comment

Portrait of a Character – Dayah

Portrait of a Character – Dayah

Dayah is a doctor – almost.

Origins

For Together, I wanted a wise woman who would have a bit of medical-type training.  Enter the Xindi humanoid, Dayah.

Portrayal

Portrait of a Character - Dayah

Kate Winslet as Dayah (image is for educational purposes only)

Dayah is played by actress Kate Winslet.

The actress is beautiful, yes, but also somewhat chameleon-like. She has played old-fashioned before (Titanic, anyone?) and so I think she could almost inhabit the role of a young grandmother type if she wanted to.

Personality

Intelligent and reserved, Dayah knows the score in the Witannen facility and teaches what she knows to Lili.  She is also a big part of Lili and Jennifer surviving the experience.

Relationships

Emmiz

In the Witannen holding facility, Dayah is paired up with every male, but it’s Emmiz who she really cares about. He loves her back, even though she is old enough to be his grandmother.

Mirror Universe

There are no impediments to Dayah existing in the Mirror Universe, although I doubt she would be anyone’s prisoner.

Portrait of a Character – Dayah

What If (Kate Winslet song) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I write Mirror Universe women as being overly beholden to men, but that might only apply to human (e. g. Terran) females. What if it didn’t apply to Xindi humanoids?

If that were the case, then Dayah might have the opportunity to have an independent kind of life, with self-determination. It’s an intriguing idea.

Quote

“Just, consider how today is going to be, and tomorrow, here. And think of the future later, when it has come and it matters. Be happy today. Tomorrow you could be in another unit, and things would not be so nice.”

Upshot

I don’t think I’ll be able to find a place for this character, but I do like her. About the last she’s heard of is a letter to Lili, so maybe they continue to correspond. I don’t know.

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Posted by jespah in Fan fiction, In Between Days series, Portrait, 0 comments
Review – Happy Stuff 3111

Review – Happy Stuff 3111

Review – Happy Stuff 3111

Happy Stuff 3111 is one of the first Times of the HG Wells sequels to He Stays a Stranger. Since there was still not a lot on the HD-Sheilagh romance, this was an opportunity to rectify that, at least a little bit. And I mean little.

Background

The writing prompt was just to write a drabble. I had fairly recently finished the Times of the HG Wells series, so I wanted something to show the aftermath. Hence this one would be about a few months later, where the gang would be more or less back in their old routines. However, too much has changed and so of course there are changes to the characters as well. They cannot go back to what they were.

Plot

Barking up the Muse Tree | jespah | Janet Gershen-Siegel | Clockworks | Happy Stuff 3111

Clockworks

Sheilagh and HD celebrate the end of the year holidays.

That was about it. My impulse was to show a bit of their relationship, as I had started it off but never really gotten it going within the books in the series. This drabble, in a way, remedies at least some of that. But it shows nearly nothing. This was supposed to be one of my more important couples but that simply did not happen. HD, I suppose, was too much like a kid. And Sheilagh, while kind of interesting, took a backseat to both Carmen and Eleanor. Even the DeirdreBruce romance gets more play.

Story Postings

Rating

The story is rated K.

Upshot

Like all drabbles, it is not too much more than a sketch, rather than an actual story. Will I pursue this further? Right now, that is looking rather doubtful, but I feel it is a decent drabble, as far as drabbles go.

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Posted by jespah in Fan fiction, Review, Times of the HG Wells series, 1 comment

Progress Report – July 2016

Progress Report – July 2016

July 2016 proved to be a quiet summer month as school work continued to dominate my time. Furthermore, I helped with G & T Show podcast get ready for STLV (Star Trek Las Vegas) as it is the fiftieth anniversary of The Original Series. I will not be attending STLV, but I will be blogging for us.

Posted Works

Barking up the Muse Tree | Janet Gershen-Siegel | jespah | QuillThis month, I concentrated on adding to older series.

I finished posting Faith and added Remembrance and November 13th and started posting Seven Women on Wattpad. This was all within the Later Days collection.

I continued adding to Spring Thaw on Fanfiction.net.

On the G & T Show forums, I continued adding to Together.

Milestones

See the Stats page for individual read and review counts.

WIP Corner

As before, I am ironing out the details for The Real Hub of the Universe. This involves researching nineteenth century Boston. It has proven to just be great fun.

Prep Work

I continued working with beta readers on The Enigman Cave. The story unquestionably needs work, but I simply do not have the time to do it right now.

This Month’s Productivity Killers

Aside from the podcast, schoolwork also kept me busy. The semester ends on August the twelfth! Furthermore, I participated in The Writer Games again. That proved to be a lot of fun last year and it was a spur to creativity. Plus the people are terrific.

I am working on getting together the website for Semantic Shenanigans. There are a lot of possible stories we can cover. This is, without a doubt, an underserved niche. Another idea is what to do with Lonely Writer once the semester is over. I have paid for the domain for a few months after August. Plus it appears there is at least some interest. I know I can do well for the independent writing community, but I would like to find a way to monetize my efforts, or at least get some more book reviews and/or sales.

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Posted by jespah in Fan fiction, Progress, 0 comments

Portrait of a Character – Colleen Romanov

Portrait of a Character – Colleen Romanov

Colleen Romanov is artistic.

Origins

I needed to fill the NX-01 with women for the E2 timelines. In order to distinguish this character from the others, I decided to give her some visual artistic talent. This comes in rather handy when, during The Three of Us, Maryam and Azar get married.

Portrayal

Portrait of a Character – Colleen Romanov

Mischa Barton as Colleen Romanov (image is for educational purposes only)

Colleen is played by actress Mischa Barton.

This lovely young actress seems to have had some weight issues lately. She seems to have gotten middling roles; not too highbrow, but also not too trashy.

She also has a DUI conviction on her record.

Personality

Friendly and knowledgeable, the skilled pilot is also a bit of a visual artist. For Maryam and Azar’s wedding during The Three of Us, she paints the bride’s hands (and the maid of honor, Tracey Carter) with food coloring as there is no henna. She draws a procul and a malostrea on Maryam’s hands.

Relationships

Ethan Novakovich

Colleen’s only known relationship is with Ethan. They marry during both kicks back in time. In Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, she reveals that he is rather shy, and she practically had to convince him she had found a new life form in a cargo bay before he would realize that they should be together.

Mirror Universe

Colleen doesn’t have any impediments to existing in the Mirror Universe.

Portrait of a Character – Colleen Romanov

Mischa Barton as Mirror Colleen (image is for educational purposes only)

However, because I created her after writing Fortune, she does not show up there during the In Between Days main storyline.

That does not mean that she does not exist and, given her weight issues (the actress suffers from depression), Empress Hoshi might want her around and not see her as too much of a sexual threat.  But given that women are so scarce in my version of the Mirror Universe, she probably has someone. But if her prospects are poor, then her mate and protector might not be someone who is so nice, perhaps Tristan Curtis or Gary Hodgkins.

Quote

“Yes, that’s supposed to be a procul, but I didn’t get in all fourteen legs. And here, is a malostrea.”

Upshot

Like a lot of characters in my overall storyline, Colleen exists for support and not much more. But she’s a decent utility infielder type of player, and may be back. To write her as a part of the Mirror Universe could prove to be a fruitful exercise.

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Posted by jespah in Fan fiction, In Between Days series, Interphases series, Portrait, 0 comments