Star Trek: mirror universe

Apr

2017

Progress Report – April 2017

April 2017 turned out as yet another quiet month for Star Trek fanfiction writing.

Posted Works

First of all, on the G & T Show forums, I posted nothing. Because at that site, the forums were removed a few months ago, due to the influx of spammers. And at this moment in time, the replacement blogs have not yet been created or started. Hence, still nada!

However, at this time, I still have no replacement, and neither do they. Therefore, I posted very few stories and, as a result, the read counts did not advance too much.

And on Fanfiction.net, during April 2017, I finished posting The Point is Probably Moot. And then I started Shake Your Body. Because I had finished a book, I decided to update Fictionpad. As a result, I added A Long, Long Time Ago; Ohio; You Mixed-Up Siciliano; Spring Thaw; Where the Wind Comes Sweepin’ Down the Plain; and The Point is Probably Moot to that site. While I receive nearly no read counts from that site, they still seem better than nothing.

Finally, on Wattpad, I finished You Mixed-Up Siciliano and added Souvenirs. Also, I started to post the next fanfiction piece from The Times of the HG Wells. And that turned out to be Spring Thaw.

Milestones

See the Stats page for individual read and review counts.

WIP Corner

Because I finished and won NaNoWriMo in 2016, I sent The Real Hub of the Universe our for beta reading. And that has proven more difficult as usual, as people are just plain busy. Furthermore, this wholly original science fiction work takes place in Victorian Boston. As a result, I have mainly outlined the first sequel and as I have tried to get it started (and I even wrote a few chapters, but now I’m stuck again). However, I would like to put off writing the second book until I get at least a modicum of feedback on the first one, and that has proven elusive.

Also, the editing for The Enigman Cave is finished and it is ready for querying. However, it has proven hard to get psyched up to do that. It can sometimes be difficult to be able to mentally handle what can often be a lot of rejection.

I also wrote a short story (which currently has no place for posting) called The Escape Violinist. And I have a pretty well-formed idea for another one which will probably end up the length of a novella.

Prep Work

I next created a Wattpad draft for the following fanfiction piece from The Times of the HG Wells. And that turned out to be Where the Wind Comes Sweepin’ Down the Plain.

This Month’s Productivity Killers

As always, sometimes the muse just takes a vacation. And that can be extremely frustrating! I ended up working for five separate companies and that, of course, made me rather busy indeed. Furthermore, I wanted to take something of a break. The Real Hub needs editing and beta reading. Hence that means I need to take any changes into consideration before I can really start the sequel. In addition, I must get psyched up to query The Enigman Cave as it is ready and all I just need to pull the trigger.

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Jun

2016

Review – Pat the Bunny

Pat the Bunny? What?

Background

Pat the Bunny came about as a strange left-turn style answer to a writing prompt. Hence, in order to write about natural or artificially created disasters, I chose a scenario for the Mirror Universe Borg where they would be defeated by the oddest of foes. And to make it even more interesting, this foe would be about as opposite to a warrior as you can get in the animal kingdom.

Furthermore, it would hearken back, just a little bit, to Hugh and the Borg, the canon episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, where a young Borg boy is returned to the collective and starts a sort of individualistic revolution. And it would also be a call back to the canon episode of Star Trek: Voyager, where Icheb is introduced (he was conceived and became Borg as a means of implanting a virus into the collective. Icheb’s own parents considered him expendable).

Plot

Clockworks

In 3104, Richard Daniels and Aramjul Sika find out just why the Borg never really got any traction in the Mirror Universe.

As an earlier mission for Rick (and one where he does not seduce anyone), I wanted a short mission where he and a historian would get in and get out, but there would be one, big, kind of crazy consequence of what they had just observed. Temporal shenanigans aside, history is often strange.

Story Postings

Rating

The story is Rated K.

Upshot

So I liked putting Rick into a new and exceptionally weird situation. And I also enjoyed the opportunity to shout out to the Sika family, a clan of Xindi sloth I had created in The Puzzle and then followed through with in Achieving Peace. After all, it isn’t only Lili‘s family that makes it to the deep future.

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Oct

2015

Portrait of a Character – Milton Walker

Milton Walker is complex.

Origins

Jeremy Irons as Milton Walker

I needed a ringleader for the Perfectionists, someone who would have murky motives for mucking about in time. He would also be an Eligian Order monk, allegedly devoted to St. Eligius. Enter Milton.

Portrayal

Milton is played by veteran actor Jeremy Irons. He’s smart and can play mysterious and creepy rather well.

Personality

Highly intelligent and initially motivated by somewhat pure motives, it all goes south rather quickly for Milton and his immoral, bratty daughter, Dr. Helen Walker. By the time he’s ordered the killing of agent Anthony Parker, Milton’s soul is lost.

Relationships

Enid Walker

Next to nothing is known about Helen’s mother. They are divorced when the series begins.

Empress Hoshi Sato

In order to escape the Temporal Integrity Commission, Milton hides out in the past, and in the Mirror, and begins an affair with the Empress. Much like with her other conquests, she doesn’t care about him one bit.

Mirror Universe

I haven’t written a Mirror Universe version of Milton yet.

Mirror Milton

There are a lot fewer Mirror counterparts in the deep future as the odds stack higher and higher against them. But if there was to be a Mirror Milton, I think he would be just as furtive, but his motives would be a lot worse.

I think he would have a lot fewer qualms about using his position to order the death of someone like Parker.

Quote

“You were a philanthropist, you donated all sorts of services and goods to the research into curing dreaded maladies like Piaris Syndrome and Irumodic Syndrome. People thought you were kind and great, a Santa Claus for hospitals! And then you got the idea that improving and perfecting time would lead to earlier medical breakthroughs. You idiot.”

Upshot

So Milton doesn’t have a lot to recommend him. He’s ruthless, he’s careless, and he’s also not above killing an incalcitrant agent or telling his own daughter to try to ensnare Richard Daniels.

I like him as a character, but definitely not as a person.

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Sep

2015

Portrait of a Character – Ingrid Nyqvist

Ingrid Nyqvist is a spitfire.

MyAnna Buring as Ingrid Nyqvist

I liked the idea of having another super light-colored woman on the NX-01, someone who would very superficially resemble Lili. Because Lili is selected by the Calafans in the Prime Timeline, there is some reason or another why Ingrid, who looks even more like I think Calafans should, is not selected.

The easiest explanations are either that she has left the ship after the return from the Delphic Expanse (which is what happens to Quartermaster Sekar Khan), or she has no psionic gifts and, therefore, is not suitable for the Calafans. I think I prefer the latter explanation although I haven’t had an occasion to test or explain either hypothesis in my Star Trek fan fiction.

Origins

Because Malcolm seems to prefer blondes, I hard-wire that as a preference for him, particularly for the stories based on the E² episode. As he and Lili circle each other (and she also circles Jay), Malcolm does consider Ingrid as a possible mate, except he really doesn’t know her at all.

Portrayal

I liked the idea of a Scandinavian actress, so I selected MyAnna Buring, who has been on Doctor Who. She’s also been on Downton Abbey, and that was a great way to visualize original character Ceilidh O’Malley (for my original work, The Real Hub of the Universe).

Personality

Mainly withdrawn and private, Ingrid isn’t well-known. I don’t cover her life too closely, like I do with tertiary characters like Meredith Porter. Instead, Ingrid’s main event happens during The Three of Us.

Going after Lucas Donnelly initially, Ingrid is a bit disappointed to learn that he’s gay. However, in order to help out his roommate, Mark Reilly, Luke tells a fib, and claims that Mark is unusually well-endowed. The hype gets Ingrid interested, but also Sandra and other women like them, like Kate Shelton and Colleen Romanov. With sexual tension running high in the ship, the women physically attack each other, thereby starting a small riot in the Observation Lounge. Beyond the obvious disciplinary issue, this also gives the single men an opportunity to intervene. Sometimes this is to try to break things up, but it’s also an excuse to grope the women a bit.

Relationships

Mark Reilly

In the first kick back in time, after the riot, they end up together. Despite the fact that Mark cannot live up to the hype, she still selects him.

Robert Slater

In the second kick back in time, Ingrid and Victoria Dietrich switch, and she instead marries Robert. This is somewhat to her advantage, as Mark dies young in the second temporal displacement.

Mirror Universe

Mirror Ingrid

There are no impediments to Ingrid existing in the Mirror.

I write Mirror Universe women as mainly being suppressed. So Ingrid probably would be, as well. A gentle discipline such as stellar cartography would only be useful in the context of preparations for conquest and war, but the Empress Hoshi Sato would likely not want such an attractive potential rival on board. But it’s unlikely that the ISS Defiant, the technologically advanced flagship of the Terran fleet, would be used for mapping missions. Hence perhaps Ingrid would be on a different ship. And she could be working the same job, but for the greater glory of the Empire.

Quote

“I saw him first!”

Upshot

The character is admittedly a bit of a cipher. The idea of a second Terran Empire ship, working as a means of clearing the way for the Empress, is a decent idea, and perhaps I will explore it in the future.

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Sep

2015

Review – Dishing it Out

Dishing it out is a crossover.

Background

Barking Up The Muse Tree | jespah | Janet Gershen-Siegel | Lili| Naomi Watts | pregnant | Dishing it Out

Lili (image of a pregnant Naomi Watts is for educational purposes only)

False Bill and I wanted to put together a funny crossover story where both of our universes could collide.

Complicating matters was the fact that his chef character, the Caitian Naurr, disappears during the Romulan War in his fan fiction.

Therefore, there were some temporal limitations. This required that Lili be pregnant with Joss, but it also gave us an idea about temporal shenanigans.

Plot

Three storylines occur at what, to the reader, is the same time and place. But the reality is that they cover three separate years and two universes. In one storyline, the Mirror Universe version of Erika Hernandez works as a chef for the Empress Hoshi Sato. Hoshi is mulling over her next conquests and angry about the food on the ISS Defiant. In 2158, a very pregnant Lili, along with Naurr, is cooking at Reversal. Doug tells her to take it easy, and some of the interplay between them foreshadows later issues in Together and Fortune. The third storyline is in the deeper future, in the HG Wells timeline, as Rick Daniels, Carmen Calavicci, Otra D’Angelo, HD Avery, Levi Cavendish, and Kevin O’Connor all celebrate at a year-end banquet with some of their mirror counterparts, which are characters created by False Bill.

A dispute and a small prank pushes one of False Bill’s characters to send unauthorized cookbooks to Empress Hoshi’s time period. But the temporal transporters are only working to send people forward in time but not back! What to do?

Send in the chefs!

Story Postings

Rating

The story is Rated K.

Upshot

I like how the threads came together. We also had a lot of comedic fun with the story, adding an invading mouse army and a bit of slapstick humor. Others agreed, and it won the crossover challenge during the 2014 Twelve Trials of Triskelion on Ad Astra.

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Jul

2015

Progress Report – July 2015

July 2015 saw me adding onto more preexisting Star Trek fan fiction works. In addition, I wrote parts of the Barnstorming series. However, two years later (welcome to the future!), that series does not yet have an end point.

Posted Works

First of all, on Wattpad, I added to the In Between Days Collection by posting Tumult, Achieving Peace, Shell Shock, The Conspiracy, and Gilded Cage. I started to post Temper.

Also, on Ad Astra, I finished posting Infinite Diversity.

Furthermore, on Fanfiction.net, I finished posting About Nine Months and then posted Education, The Decision, and Faith.

In addition, on Fictionpad, I added Education.

Finally, on the G & T Show, I finished Theorizing and then posted Gratitude; Gossip Gossip; Onions; Penicillin; Demotion; and started Conversations With Heroes.

Milestones

Please see the Stats page for individual read and review counts.

WIP Corner

I continued preparing The Enigman Cave for this years’ NaNoWriMo in November. In addition, I also kept perfecting the last two books in the Obolonk series, The Polymer Beat and The Badge of Humanity. Hence this was to prepare and clear the decks for this year’s NaNoWriMo project. Also, I finished the first draft of the Barnstorming book, Time Out, and began the final book in that series, Overtime.

Prep Work

Also, I spent time on Wattpad getting future postings together in draft form. Hence that was meant to save me time later.

This Month’s Productivity Killers

So I had plenty to do at school. Plus I became a Wattpad Ambassador, and that took up a lot of my time. Because time is a finite thing, it had to come from somewhere. Hence it mainly came from Star Trek fan fiction writing time, I am so sorry to report.

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Jul

2015

Spotlight on Nokarid

Nokarid had a rocky start, but they also foreshadow later works.

Background

When I was first starting to write Star Trek fan fiction, I wanted to get across the idea of a far more alien life form than was normally a part of canon.

Are there Nokarid in your dinner?

I also hit upon, for More, More, More! what I thought was perhaps the perfect humorous opening line, “It all began with a bad meatball.”

Because, you see, my idea was the aliens were microscopic, yet sentient. They would be smart enough to have a civilization and a culture, but too small to be visible with the naked eye.

Tiny Sentience

In retrospect, the Nokarid are precursors to the colony alien (or Var-gi-yeh, if you are in the Mirror Universe) species of which Branch Borodin is the sole member. They are a colony, to be sure, but there is really nothing known about them. Richard Daniels refers to them as being somewhat endangered although that might be more a function of their overall size.

By accident, Jonathan Archer swallows the entire colony. How they get into his meatball is never subject to explanation. But they are pretty hardy little things if they can survive the cooking process. Once inside, they attempt to colonize their new quarters – his brain. As Daniels works to remove the colonists and not kill them (or tell Phlox that they are there, for first contact should happen later), the effects on Archer’s brain become apparent as the man loosens up and starts to become a bit of a comedian.

Upshot

I only used them once, and so they are the epitome of a one-shot “Alien of the Week”. I think I would like to bring them back, although I am unsure as to how.

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Jul

2015

Portrait of a Character – Skrol

Origins

Slar, a canon Gorn

How do you make Gorn likable, or at least relatable? After all, they’re reptiles, and have always and only been shown in Star Trek canon as hissing, over the top villains.

Portrayal

Skrol is played by actor James Franco.

James Franco at the premiere of Spiderman 3 in Queens, New York. This is a cropped version of File:James Franco by David Shankbone.jpg. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I like the idea of getting a good-looking guy into a big rubber suit and having an actor (and the audience) rely on voice and physical presence, rather than looks or basic makeup.

Personality

Skrol is like about half or so of all teenaged boys I knew from High School. He’s a horndog.

But he’s also funny and kind when he wants to be. He and Bron are extremely good friends, and he does care about Tr’Dorna in his own way, although he also really, really wants her to flip her tail for him.

He also, sometimes, is a rat. In Losin’ It, he lies to Tr’Dorna and the others in order to try to get her to flip tail.

Relationships

Tr’Dorna

Will they stay together? It’s hard to say. It’s a High School romance and, as such, the odds are not great. Plus he has not always been straight with her. As for him being true, that might be due more to a lack of appropriate opportunities than any sense of loyalty. After all, Etrina and Tr’Dorna are the only Xindi Reptilian girls at Picard High School, and they’re roommates. Even a potential player like Skrol would be hard-pressed to justify going after both of them.

Mirror Universe

Actor James Franco attends “Shorts #1 – GSA Shorts” screening on October 9, 2010 at United Artists Theater in East Hampton, New York. (Photo © Nick Stepowyj) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I don’t suppose there’s any reason why Skrol can’t exist in the Mirror Universe.

A lot of people write the Mirror as being the complete opposite of our universe, and so they would write sneering villains as angels and vice versa. I’m not so sure what would happen although I see that entire universe as being tougher. Even as a teenager, Skrol would have to be. He’d probably be pushed into a military school, much like Doug is at that age.

Quote

“Listen, the warmies don’t have tails. At least, not the kinds I know about. And lemme tell ya, there is nothing like a scaly tail.”

Upshot

I like writing the fun, silly teenaged reptiles. They’ll be back at some point.

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Jul

2015

Portrait of a Character – Misty (Mack, Mystic) Dana MacKenzie

Dana MacKenzie has more than I first thought she would.

Origins

While writing about Richard Daniels‘s conquests, one name that came up a few times was Dana MacKenzie. I liked the idea of a descendant for Aidan and Susan, who get together fairly late in life. As I started to write her, I also decided that she would be actually named Misty, thereby cementing another pair of her ancestors as being Doug and Melissa. Continuing along with this idea, I hit upon the notion of having her be related to canon character Martin Madden. When I started to put together the Barnstorming series, I decided to include her, and make her the star.

Portrayal

Mack is played by actress Catherine Bell.

Portrait of a Character – Misty (Mack, Mystic) Dana MacKenzie

Catherine Bell as Misty Dana (Mack) MacKenzie

I picture Mack as being pretty toughened by her life, but also feminine, which Bell can certainly pull off convincingly.

There are a lot of bikini images of Bell online, but the truth is, I don’t see Mack that way at all. Rather, she is someone damaged by her earlier life.

Personality

Mack’s background is in sports; she played second base and shortstop professionally for the perpetual cellar dwelling team, the Titan Bluebirds. But a visit to Keto-Enol results in Etrotherium being placed into her bag while the team is visiting an open-air market. She’s arrested and thrown into Canamar Prison. Someone has framed her for drug-running.

Her appeal takes nearly two decades, with her parents dying during the interim. The only person who sticks by her is Martin Madden.

Steven Culp as Martin Madden

They have cared for each other since childhood, referring to themselves as ‘The MDM Twins‘. But the law says that they cannot marry.

Relationships

Emmett Kent (Hobie) Hoberman

Mack and Hobie meet at the end of The All-Stars, and are actually coaches on opposing teams in ice hockey. The long distance relationship isn’t really what Mack needs, but they part amicably after Play when Hobie decides to try to reconcile with his ex-wife for the sake of their two young daughters.

Richard Daniels

At the end of Play, time is altered, and Rick is sent to investigate. In Time Out, they get together. I have an idea of the circumstances but have not written them yet.

Martin Madden

The sketchy idea is to finally get them together during the fourth, as yet unnamed, book in the series. They will have a descendant who will connect them even more intimately with the Times of the HG Wells, but I haven’t decided on that yet. It’s possible that that person would be Tom Grant.

Mirror Universe

Mirror Misty (maybe) (Catherine Bell)

I have not yet decided whether Mack exists in the Mirror Universe.

If she does, then I doubt she would call herself Mack. She might go by her first name. She might not have a sports background. I don’t honestly know, but I probably won’t explore this until I finish the series.

Quote

“I’m going to tell you who I am. And what I’m thinking of doing. … then you can decide if you want to work with me. And if you do, then I’m happy to have our friend below decks spill his guts in front of you. But if not, it stays a mystery to you. I gotta protect myself. Fair enough?”

Upshot

Because this series is on hold as I work on wholly original fiction, Mystic (only Marty calls her that) has had to take a back seat. A pity, as I like this character and her journey. I will get to her at some point!

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Jun

2015

Portrait of a Character – Seppa

Seppa is one of my favorite Daranaeans.

Origins

As a part of showing the oppression of Daranaean women, during Take Back the Night, I added insult to injury and included a child who was being kept illiterate due to her caste.

Portrayal

As with most Daranaeans, no one is really cast to ‘play’ Seppa.

Barking up the Muse Tree | jespah | Janet Gershen-Siegel | Seppa

Seppa, one of the Daranaeans, a third caste female, as a child

This picture is a photoshopped image of a white German Shepherd dog with caramel-tipped ears.

Personality

Seppa as a young adult

Friendly and approachable, she is another homebody female Daranaean character.

This was not always the case. As a young child, Seppa is shown as being shy and scared, likely a function of being the absolute lowest on the totem pole while Arnis was still free. In Some Assembly Required, she is terrified that everyone will become angry with her, despite the fact that she has done absolutely nothing wrong. But after seeing Mistra falsely accused, that makes sense to a preschooler, that there would be guilt by proximity and association.

Afterwards, she sends a carefully printed thank you note to Jonathan Archer, and they become fervent pen pals. Until Rona Moran intervenes, the tabloid press even sees them as an item.

Relationships

Brantus

For most if not all third caste Daranaean women, there can be only one husband, even if he dies young. Fortunately for Seppa, Brantus is a good guy and he loves her dearly.

Mirror Universe

There are no real impediments to Seppa existing in the Mirror Universe.

Mirror Seppa (white wolf)

I see Mirror Daranaeans as being more vicious, somewhat more like wolves than dogs.

With power would come more confidence and assertiveness. I doubt she would just be what is essentially the equivalent of a stay at home mom.

Quote

“Vidam made sure I was sold to the man who would treat me the best. And you are, most assuredly, that man. But let us not speak of euthanasia. Instead, let us talk about our visit. Jonathan has never met you before! My own father is as good as gone. And I have known Jonathan Archer for a good fifteen years.”

Upshot

It was wonderful to be able to raise this character up from what would have been rather depressing depths. She has powerful friends, and deserves them.

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Progress Report – April 2017

Posted Works

Milestones

WIP Corner

Prep Work

This Month’s Productivity Killers

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Review – Pat the Bunny

Background

Plot

Story Postings

Rating

Upshot

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Portrait of a Character – Milton Walker

Origins

Portrayal

Personality

Relationships

Enid Walker

Empress Hoshi Sato

Mirror Universe

Quote

Upshot

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Portrait of a Character – Ingrid Nyqvist

Origins

Portrayal

Personality

Relationships

Mark Reilly

Robert Slater

Mirror Universe

Quote

Upshot

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Review – Dishing it Out

Background

Plot

Story Postings

Rating

Upshot

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Progress Report – July 2015

Posted Works

Milestones

WIP Corner

Prep Work

This Month’s Productivity Killers

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Spotlight on Nokarid

Background

Tiny Sentience

Upshot

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Portrait of a Character – Skrol

Origins

Portrayal

Personality

Relationships

Tr’Dorna

Mirror Universe

Quote

Upshot

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Portrait of a Character – Misty (Mack, Mystic) Dana MacKenzie

Origins

Portrayal

Personality

Relationships

Emmett Kent (Hobie) Hoberman

Richard Daniels