James T. Kirk

Feb

2017

Portrait of a Character – Kaitaama

Kaitaama Origins

Kaitaama (Padma Lakshmi)

Kaitaama. The character is, of course, canon.

It is a fairly classic trope, the Precious Cargo episode. Beautiful alien woman, crash landing, all alone on a planet? Not the best ever Enterprise episode. Not by a long shot.

Portrayal

As in canon, the character is played by actress Padma Lakshmi. While Lakshmi is certainly stunning, the portrayal was, let’s just say, less than stellar.

Personality

Imperious, spoiled, and kind of bratty, this character is more than a little bit difficult. In fact, I disliked her so much, I had Otra see an alternate universe vision of this character being beheaded as a kind of space Marie Antoinette. Maybe that’s what being the First Monarch of Krios Prime does to a gal. Who knows?

Yeah, I’m not a fan.

Relationships

Tripp Tucker

In canon, she and Tripp hook up briefly.

James T. Kirk

As I write her, Kaitaama and Jim might or might not hook up.

Mirror Universe

There are no impediments to Kaitaama existing in the Mirror Universe.

Mirror Kaitaama (Padma Lakshmi)

As with most Mirror Universe women, she would be on the make. As a very good-looking one, she could potentially have status.

She might even be kind, although I see her instead as being a lot more ruthless. She would need to be. Can’t blame her for that.

Quote

“Why should that matter? Your job is to cut ropes, not be flattered and cosseted.”

Upshot

This bratty and difficult character is, I suppose, easy to put into nasty situations. Maybe I will resurrect her if I need to write something harsh. An annoying character might be needed for, I don’t know, something or other.

I am so mean.

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Feb

2017

Portrait of a Character – James T. Kirk

James T. Kirk Origins

Kirk (Chris Pine version)

James T. Kirk. The character is, of course, canon.

Portrayal

As in canon, the character is played by Chris Pine when younger and William Shatner when more mature.

Kirk (William Shatner version)

Personality

Daring, impulsive, and intelligent, the TOS version is easier to take as a leader. The JJ Abrams version often seems bratty and out of control. While the TOS version is sometimes overly sure of himself, he never really seems to be cocky.

One thing to remember is that TOS was written for Kirk. Every episode revolves around him and it is always his POV, even when a storyline centers around Spock, McCoy, or even Scotty or Nurse Chapel.

Relationships

TOS Kirk has numerous relationships, too many to list here.

Carol Marcus

In canon, they fall in love and she has his child (prime timeline only).

Kaitaama

This is the only ‘relationship’ (it’s more like a hookup) I have written for him.

Mirror Universe

Mirror Universe Kirk (William Shatner)

Mirror Universe James T. Kirk is canon.

We do not really see the MU Jim. As I write him, much like other men with the Y Chromosome Skew, he’s always looking for sexual conquests.

About all we really see is him arguing, but we see all of the denizens of the Mirror Universe complaining and threatening. He does not seem like anyone special, a fact that is played up for Jonathan Archer in the Enterprise MU episodes.

Quote

“Starfleet is looking to us, to go exploring. Everybody wants peace, and I’m all for that, but you gotta understand something. That means actually doing something with our time. We are supposed to be getting all of the things done that we couldn’t, while we were dealing with the likes of Nero and Khan. We’re all glad that they’re gone, and I can understand the interest, but Starfleet can send one of their slower ships for that, right?”

Upshot

I was so sick of him at the end of TOS that I didn’t really want to write about him or watch him much. The truth is, I tend to watch TOS with an eye toward McCoy, Scotty, Uhura, or Chapel more than Kirk. The JJ Abrams version is often kind of whiny. At some point, I hope I can come to peace with this character, as he is, as Spock would say, fascinating.

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Feb

2017

Review – It’s a Small Universe After All

Small Universe Background

Small Universe Syndrome. It seems to be everyone in Star Trek, and more particularly in Star Trek fanfiction. This story was written in response to a challenge to put together two characters who really should not go together, or would not normally be seen together. Both of these are canon characters; it’s based on who one of the characters reminded me of when I first saw her.

Plot

It’s A Small Universe After All

The first time I saw Krios Prime’s Kaitaama in Star Trek: Enterprise, I couldn’t help but to realize she was actually a tired retread of Elaan of Troilus from the Original Series.

The whole episode is one big, fat trope. It was yet another beautiful, haughty princess who looked human enough that looking at her sexually would not make the audience feel too weird about things. A red-blooded spacefaring guy would not be able to help being attracted to her.

Of course, assuming she was still youthful, Kirk would hit on her. But how to get them together?

I decided to lift the plot of Two Days, Two Nights. Risa would still have a crime problem. But instead of Malcolm and Tripp being tied up in a basement, it would be Captain James T. Kirk and Kaitaama.

Story Postings

Rating

The story is Rated K.

Upshot

I am not so sure I would ever write a story like this again. I have enough problems keeping my own creations from suffering from coincidences and small universe syndrome. It would be far worse if I did that deliberately with more canon characters!

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Nov

2015

Review – It Had to Be You

It Had to Be You!

Background

This short story comes from a prompt of the same name. It all hinged on emphasizing the last word in the sentence.

Plot

For the Original Series Mirror, Mirror episode, I always wondered why Janice Rand wasn’t in it.

Marlena Moreau

Of course I know the real-life reason. It was that actress Grace Lee Whitney had lost her job with the show. But what about an in-universe reason?

Since it is canon that people in the Mirror often kill their superiors in order to get ahead, it makes sense that Marlena Moreau would do the same. This would be when it came to becoming the new Captain’s Woman. Because in a brutal society, that would work the best. It also worked as a retcon to make it so that Rand would have been the previous person to hold that position. Shatner and Whitney had great chemistry and that was another reason Whitney lost her job. Shatner (Kirk) was supposed to remain the bachelor captain. Hence I had another reason to make Rand the original Captain’s Woman.

However, the twist to the story was the addition of an investigator. I write Mirror Universe justice as being essentially nonexistent. So there had to be a compelling reason for an investigation into Rand’s death. I decided that she would have a connection to the Emperor. In my fan fiction, that man would be a descendant of the Mirror Tripp Tucker and Elizabeth Cutler.

Story Postings

It Had to be You on Wattpad
in addition, It Had to be You on Fanfiction.net
also, It Had to be You on G & T Show forums
It Had to be You in Hall of Mirrors context

Rating

The story is rated T.

Upshot

I loved putting together Moreau, Kirk, Rand, and the investigator. I should revisit this story line!

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Nov

2015

Review – That’s Not My Name

Background

This story comes from a prompt of the same name: That’s Not My Name.

Plot

I had already written the sequel to this short story, It Had to be You. Hence the idea of a story to precede it came to mind.

Barking up the Muse Tree | Jespah | Janet Gershen-Siegel | Barbara Luna as MU Marlena Moreau

The idea I had was that the Mirror Universe Jim Kirk would not necessarily have gotten together with Marlena Moreau in a conventional way. After all, it’s the Mirror.

I had also wondered why Janice Rand wasn’t shown in the Mirror (the real reason is that the actress, Grace Lee Whitney, had left the show). For an in-universe explanation, it made a lot of sense for Marlena to be Janice’s killer. This would also work out rather nicely with my own view of the Mirror Universe, that women receive rather poor treatment. The best thing a woman would be able to do would be to latch onto a man with ambition and power, who could protect her. Yet their circumstances would horribly beat down the women. And therefore they would never consider in a million years the concept of banding together.

Hence a petticoat revolution, such as in Take Back the Night, is unthinkable.

Music

The prompt (which I wrote) comes from a Ting Tings song.

Story Postings

Rating

The story is rated T.

Upshot

So there had always been chemistry between William Shatner and Grace Lee Whitney. If Whitney had been around when the Mirror, Mirror episode had originally aired, it would not surprise me if there would have been a similar explanation about Janice.

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Mar

2015

Inspiration – Childhood

Childhood can inspire.

The mechanics of creation

Star Trek canon and Star Trek fan fiction are of two minds, it seems, when it comes to childhood.

Star Trek film premiere at the Sydney Opera House. From left to right: Karl Urban (Leonard McCoy), Chris Pine (James T. Kirk), Bryan Burk (Executive Producer), Zachary Quinto (Spock), J.J. Abrams (Producer, Director), Eric Bana (Nero), and John Cho (Sulu). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Either it is Shakespearean-level difficult, like in the JJ Abrams films, where the alternate timeline version of James T. Kirk suffers mistreatment from his stepfather; or the child is some sort of super genius, like Wesley Crusher. There does not appear to be a place for anyone who is in between.

And that is a crying shame, as nearly everyone has a childhood that is somewhere in the middle.

My Experiences Inform My Writing

My own childhood was in the middle. I was not mistreated and, while I am an intelligent person and was as a child, I was not so incredibly off the charts that anyone would have called me a Mozart-style prodigy.

As the younger of two, I am more than familiar with sibling rivalry, and so I made Marie Patrice Beckett a big time proponent of it. Empy is not the youngest in the clan, but she is the only daughter and so she is a little spoiled. Hence her younger behaviors continue a bit into adulthood.

Teenaged behaviors such as getting into mild trouble and then getting out of it are reflected in Lili O’Day‘s teen years, mainly showcased in Flip. Lili gets a chance to turn her life around and she leaps at it. But, at the same time, she is overly annoyed at her hovering grandparents and their reminders, which feel like nagging to her.

Doug‘s childhood is somewhat different, but that is the essence of the Mirror Universe. In Paving Stones, Doug’s early life is rather Dickensian, but that is in keeping with my vision of the other side of the pond. Doug’s life also somewhat parallels what life was like for the young in ancient Sparta.

Upshot

Childhood is a part of everyone’s life. For those of us lucky enough to live far beyond its end, it can often serve as a prelude to our own personal futures. But Star Trek canon rarely seems to show anything other than extremes. It has been my mission to show what’s in the middle.

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Mar

2014

Review – Dear Captain

Dear Captain, I …

Background

In response to a prompt about letters from home, I decided to go full throttle in the direction of mail that, most decidedly, is unwelcome.

Namely, spam.

The idea was to create a small comedy piece that would, as I often do, zig rather than zag.

Plot

There is not too much of a plot; this is mainly a collection of obvious spammy messages which go our intrepid future heroes. Because no one is mentioned by name, the messages could have been sent at any time, to anyone. Hence the story doesn’t really fit into any time period or series, and could cover any or all of them. I am not even certain as to which captain it is referring. It could be any or all of them, I suppose.

And when I have absolutely needed to categorize it (a necessity at some fan fiction posting sites), I tend to come down on the side of it being a part of the In Between Days universe, which takes place during Star Trek: Enterprise. So this makes some sense, as those people are the closest to use chronologically. They can maybe still be using email, and I write them as doing just that. Hence it all fits together rather nicely.

In addition, this gives us a deeper connection to that era than usual. I like the idea of them battling similar issues. It’s a lot like Tripp Tucker dealing with the financing company, in Letters From Home.

Story Postings

Rating

The story is Rated K.

Upshot

As a bit of comedy, I think the piece works. And it’s no more than a bit of fluff, and fluff it is.

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Aug

2013

IDIC and Crossovers

Crossovers and IDIC mean what to you?

This was Templar Sora’s great blog prompt. He asked two questions.

What kind of crossing over do we do as writers?
What kind of crossing over do we want to see?

My Own Crossovers

I’ve done the crossover dance many times. A lot of it is in the context of interphases.

A Single Step

So for A Single Step, a story about first contact with the Caitians, I pulled together elements from TAS, the Star Trek: First Contact film and even a smidgen of ENT. An elderly Zefram Cochrane and his wife entertain the first Caitian that any humans ever meet.

Another Piece of the Action

For this collaboration with thebluesman, we crossed together a bit of ENT (the Daniels character) with TOS. Kirk and company meet the Iotians again, in Another Piece of the Action.

Concord

Concord pulled together ENT and the Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan film. Work on the Genesis Project sends Malcolm Reed back to 1775.

Day of the Dead

Day of the Dead cobbled together ENT with Wesley Crusher’s warp bubble experiment on TNG. Tripp Tucker ends up in 1945 Upper Bavaria.

Fortune

Lili and Q argue and eventually help each other in Fortune, a riff on VOY’s The Q and the Grey.

It’s a Small Universe After All

So for a weekly writing prompt about bringing together characters that would not normally be

Kaitaama

seen together, It’s a Small Universe After All.It is the story of ENT character Kaitaama being held hostage with TOS’s James T. Kirk.

More, More, More!

Daniels shows Jonathan Archer scenes from TOS’s The Cage, TOS’s The Corbomite Maneuver, and an unnamed TNG episode with Q in More, More, More!

Multiverse II

This enormous Round Robin story, Multiverse II, is a crossover by definition. Canon and original characters mix genres and eras.

These Are the Destinations

This work in progress will cross between ENT and a very specific TOS episode, and a little bit with the Kelvin timeline as well.

Crossovers I’d Like to See

So I’m not sure. I think one kind of crossover that I don’t want to see is anything relying too heavily on deus ex machina. That generally means anything with supernatural elements like vampires, or comic books. I don’t mind characters making contact with spiritual-type elements. Lili does a lot of this, particularly in Everybody Knows This is Nowhere. But it’s in the context of conversations. And nothing really out there happens, like characters rising from the dead, for example.

But flat-out characters being bitten by radioactive spiders and suddenly getting superpowers? I just don’t want to see it. I don’t want to have to cross stories that are pretty close to being realistic with those that are so far away from realism as all that. Maybe I’m just not adventurous enough.

Because I enjoy history very much, I think what I would really like to see is more of a stylistic crossover than an actual character and scene mashup. So has anyone ever written Star Trek in the style of Ernest Hemingway, or Miguel de Cervantes?

Now that’s what I’d like to see.

Dec

2012

Trek United Adult Trek Anthology – From Quadrant to Quadrant and Person to Person

It’s been a labor of love as well as a bit of lust. The Trek United Adult Trek Anthology is finally out! Travel with us, From Quadrant to Quadrant and Person to Person, and prepare to be seduced by Star Trek.

Trek United Adult Anthology – From Quadrant to Quadrant and Person to Person

With 315 pages of content, punctuated with beautiful sketches and gorgeous screen captures, not to mention a breathtaking photo manipulated cover, the Anthology is a feast for the eyes and can put you, the reader, right into the action. Let’s look at the individual contributions.

The Alabax 9 Affair

Madison Bruffy‘s newest contribution asks a question about the Prime Directive. Does it cover a, shall we say, delicate diplomatic situation? Or has Captain James T. Kirk really overstepped his bounds this time?

Last Full Measure

For Lil Black Dog, when does duty end? In the face of impossible adversity, what more can a First Officer do, but show the last full measure of his devotion to his captain?

You Make Me Want to Scream

Who’s got a secret powerhouse lover at home? jespah reminds us that sometimes our expectations are unfounded.

One Night on Terok Nor

Rush Limborg follows Garak as he and Ezri Dax work through some difficult memories and, along the way, a state of grace is achieved.

What Lies Within Lies Between

For Jonathan Archer and Trip Tucker, lost memory means that something else bubbles to the surface. How can T’Pol make sense of it all? Pauline Mac explores this fascinating dynamic.

D’Storlin

When a hybrid child is pushed to the limit, a careless mistake, made in a fit of rage, changes his and his tormentor’s lives forever. jespah brings the ugliness of bullying to the Trek universe.

A Drone’s New Life

When 7 of 9 and the rest of the crew of Voyager make it to Earth, life changes. And, for her, as writer Laura McBride shows, those changes are for the better.

Ripples

What if the events of Amok Time didn’t go the way we all know they did? Lil Black Dog returns with an exploration of how things would unfold if Dr. McCoy had not been there.

Milk

Scotty’s got a date. And, according to jespah, it’s going really, really well.

Anvil of the Gods

Jean-Luc Picard makes the Dominion War come alive as a Vorta learns what some true believers do – that sometimes heroes have feet of clay.

Sorrow, Shared

In the E² universe, a widowed T’Pol finds herself with a visitor who shares her grief. Honeybee gives readers something to think about.

Artwork

Fantastic artwork graces the Anthology. Bluetiger has captured the true essence of characters, from T’Pol to Scotty. Madison has added a number of promotional materials which have helped to round out this issue and create even more visual appeal. And then there’s the cover. ENTAllat‘s lovely photo manipulated cover brings together disparate elements and conveys the overall theme of the Anthology.

Feedback

We are writers and we are artists and we do it all for your feedback. Did we succeed in our mission? Is there something we missed? We would love to hear from you! Feel free to comment here, or on Issuu itself.

Looking to the Future

Will we do the Trek United Adult Anthology again? I don’t know. A lot of that will depend upon the reception that this, the first edition, garners. But if we do, would you like to write for us? Take a look at our selection criteria. If you’d like to try for a spot – and inclusion is not guaranteed – follow our submission guide. Plus I can be reached here if you have any questions. Onward, to the stars, and the stars in your eyes, from quadrant to quadrant, and person to person!

Portrait of a Character – Kaitaama

Kaitaama Origins

Portrayal

Personality

Relationships

Tripp Tucker

James T. Kirk

Mirror Universe

Quote

Upshot

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Portrait of a Character – James T. Kirk

James T. Kirk Origins

Portrayal

Personality

Relationships

Carol Marcus

Kaitaama

Mirror Universe

Quote

Upshot

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Review – It’s a Small Universe After All

Small Universe Background

Plot

Story Postings

Rating

Upshot

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Review – It Had to Be You

Background

Plot

Story Postings

Rating

Upshot

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Review – That’s Not My Name

Background

Plot

Music

Story Postings

Rating

Upshot

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Inspiration – Childhood

The mechanics of creation

My Experiences Inform My Writing

Upshot

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Review – Dear Captain

Background

Plot

Story Postings

Rating

Upshot

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Like this:

IDIC and Crossovers

My Own Crossovers

A Single Step

Another Piece of the Action

Concord

Day of the Dead

Fortune

It’s a Small Universe After All

More, More, More!

Multiverse II

These Are the Destinations

Crossovers I’d Like to See

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Trek United Adult Trek Anthology – From Quadrant to Quadrant and Person to Person

The Alabax 9 Affair

Last Full Measure