StarTrek

May

2015

Portrait of a Character – Gregory Shaw

Origins

When I began to develop the Times of the HG Wells series, I created a number of characters which could be called upon at various times. One was an animals whisperer, a holdover from when I had created a wholly original time travel series. Enter Greg Shaw.

Portrayal

Gregory is played by actor Blair Underwood.

Blair Underwood as Gregory Shaw

I like this smart, attractive actor. I just wish I had used the character more. As things currently stand, he is barely shown, and I should rectify that.

Personality

Gentle with animals and understanding of them, Greg is essentially just a really good guy. However, when time is altered, he becomes Pope Gregory XXXII in The Point is Probably Moot.

Relationships

Gregory has no known relationships in either universe.

Mirror Universe

Blair Underwood as Mirror Gregory Shaw

There are really no impediments to Gregory existing in the Mirror Universe.

Because there would be no need whatsoever for an animals whisperer there, even in the very deep future (after all, that is a universe with multiple extinctions, including giraffes, as is noted in Temper), I can see him as being more sophisticated. It is also unlikely that he would be Pope or a religious man as religion would generally be seen as being a kind of devotion in direct conflict with the required devotion to be given to the Emperor or other leaders (as Empress Hoshi had required, in Bread).

So, what does Gregory do? He might be an artist and, therefore, an elite. Or maybe he would be yet another soldier or security officer. I don’t see him as being a misplaced idealist like Anthony Parker.

Quote (not a direct quote)

Pope Gregory XXXII today announced that meatless Fridays are back in effect. All believers are advised to shop for fish or vegetarian specialties on Thursdays, so as to be prepared.

Upshot

This descendant of Colonel Jack Shaw and Juliet Parker has had almost no screen time. I should rectify that.

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May

2015

Review – Remembrance

Remembrance serves as a look ahead to a younger character’s eventual fate.

Pamela Hudson’s eulogy, in 2232.

Background

For a Star Trek fan fiction prompt about memory, I decided to write about a memorial service.

Later Days

At the time, I had written very little of anyone’s later years. Pamela in particular was young and vibrant in my stories.

Plot

The story begins with a young man going to a podium. But the speech he is giving is a eulogy. And he isn’t even human. He’s Treve, but he’s not Pamela’s husband. Instead, he is her nephew, named after the first Treve, who is long dead.

Pamela as drawn by Declan (actual image is by Deviant Artist zindy)

As the eulogy is delivered, the action pans around to the younger generation. Joss and Jia are there with Jay (who is there with his own wife and children) and Shaoqing.

Neil is with both Ines and Yinora, and it is established that Treve is Yinora’s son. Tommy is there, in uniform. As always, Tommy is by himself. Marie Patrice is there, too, as is Declan with Rebecca and their two boys.

As the panning continues, the reader is shown a large image of Pamela in younger years, as drawn by Declan. I really love this drawing of Kaley Cuoco and think is captures the essence of both the character and the actress.

As the younger Treve speaks, he reveals a bit about Pamela’s later life. He reveals to the family that she had been abused as a child by her father, but that the elder Treve had accepted and loved her and helped her to heal. As a middle-aged widow, Pamela essentially half-adopted the younger Treve, as she had no children of her own. She would take him skiing on Charon or to her old stomping grounds in New Hampshire. I saw her as being a bit like Auntie Mame. Treve even reveals her last word, which was his name. He believes she was referring to the elder, but it’s possible she was talking about him. The matter has never been resolved, and I like it that way.

Story Postings

Rating

The story is rated K.

Upshot

For a character who was originally a one-shot bad girl, Pamela the character has had a full life in my Star Trek fan fiction and, I feel, her eulogy in particular makes her seem real.

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May

2015

Portrait of a Character – Mara Brodsky

Mara Brodsky makes a point.

Origins

I wanted a character who would not fall into line, who would epitomize a lot of the less than savory activities going on during the E² timeline. Enter Mara.

Portrayal

Mara is played by actress Maura Tierney.

Maura Tierney as Mara Brodsky

This actress has been in a number of different productions on television and seems to be rather versatile.

Personality

A bit of a cypher, Mara seems to be the kind of person who acts first and thinks later. Her husband’s own description of her is that she is in denial. She is an engineering crewman and is never promoted during the E² timeline. I haven’t decided if she does any better during the prime timeline.

Relationships

Robert Slater

During Entanglements, they marry, but she strays. In The Three of Us, when she has what they both believe to be their child, the baby’s skin is darker than expected and so it is obvious that the child is not Robert’s.

Walter Woods

The man who Mara has been sleeping with is Walter. Because of the cuckolding, their child, Jeffrey Woods, has his blood tested in order to assure paternity with 100% accuracy. This leads Shelby to suggest that all of the children be tested, so that paternity can be perfectly known. Phlox agrees with her, as the gene pool is so small that the only way it can all work out genetically is if the parties who have children together are as distantly related as possible.

In Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, the relationship with and marriage to Robert are sidestepped, and Mara and Walter end up together from the beginning.

Mirror Universe

Mirror Mara

Mara exists in the Mirror Universe and, in fact, in Throwing Rocks at Looking Glass Houses, is credited with being one of the developers of the first agony booth.

Empress Hoshi would only keep women around if they were both very competent and not a sexual threat. Mara fits the first requirement and is likely old enough to fit the second as well.

Quote

“Walter, this is your son.”

Upshot

This is a character I don’t know too well (and I created her!). I might have occasion to expand on her some more if I return to the Mirror Universe, particularly earlier in Hoshi’s despotic reign.

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May

2015

Review – Movie Night

Movie Night, of course, is canon. In November of 2159, Malcolm takes Melissa to Movie Night.

Barking Up the Muse Tree | jespah | Janet Gershen-Siegel | IBD Arrangement | Movie Night

In Between Days, the Arrangement

Background

In response to a Star Trek fan fiction prompt about fraternizing, I decided to go with a date that would not really be a date at all. Instead, it is a bit of a cover. Melissa is pregnant with Tommy, but has not yet been ordered off the Enterprise. But that time is drawing nearer. Melissa’s plan is to go home to Ceres and Norri and await Tommy’s birth there.

Plot

Robert Strauss (Animal/Stanislaus Kuzawa) in Stalag 17

The story opens with Malcolm carefully getting ready for the evening. But he then smacks his own forehead – he’s forgotten the flowers.

So he visits Shelby Pike in Botany and she makes him a colorful bouquet with the understanding that the flowers and the ribbon can be any color except for blue. Hence it should be obvious to sharp-eyed readers that this is a reference to Lili. I also spell out that the date is not with his true beloved.

While in the lift with Tripp, Tucker asks if he and Melissa are getting serious. Therefore, Malcolm confides that it is all for show, and he is taking care of her as a friend (and as a part of the Doug/Lili open marriage arrangement), but he does not have romantic feelings for Melissa.

However, he arrives to find the door to her quarters locked, but he can hear Melissa retching. He uses (rather, he oversteps, really) his authority and bypasses the lock. He holds back the flowers, unsure if they will set her off again. Then he also scolds her, and then realizes that that is not his place. Not his child, not his girl. A bit tentative, she insists on going out, and the story ends with them going to see Stalag 17 together.

Story Postings

Rating

The story is rated K.

Upshot

I liked the little touches in this one, as Malcolm seems like he is suiting up for a date, to Melissa’s complaining about being sick all the time, to the colors in the bouquet and then the film, which is also referenced in Day of the Dead.

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Apr

2015

Progress Report – April 2015

April 2015 was good although not so much for Star Trek fan fiction writing. Because I simply did not have enough hours in a day. Yet then again, who does?

Posted Works

First of all, I kept the postings down as I was busy with school.

In addition, on Wattpad, I continued to post Together.

Furthermore, on the G & T Show Forums, I posted Education. I then followed the same format I had followed on Wattpad, and began to spin out Before Days with Detroit Rock City, A Single Step, The High Cost of Dissidence, Flip, Atlas, And the Livin’ is Easy and Party on Risa.

Because I’d been neglecting it for a while, I updated The All-Stars on Ad Astra. Hence Mack and Marty got some more live.

And finally, on Fanfiction.net, I continued to post Everybody Knows This is Nowhere. Hence that site saw a lot more of the epic story.

Milestones

See the Stats page for individual read and review counts.

WIP Corner

So I continued to edit and polish the wholly original story, The Badge of Humanity.

Prep Work

In addition, I worked some more on the Barnstorming series as I had been out of writing long fan fiction for quite a while. I was able to get a lot of the mystery resolved, which will make writing the remainder of that series much easier.

This Month’s Productivity Killers

I spent a lot of time on schoolwork, as the semester was winding down. Hence this meant my focus had to be on something far from Star Trek fan fiction, alas. Therefore, as my grades always come first, that meant some neglect of the universe. So to my characters, I say – I’m so sorry!

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Apr

2015

Portrait of a Character – Sollastek

Sollastek is more than just a love interest in the Kelvin timeline.

Origins

I wanted Eriecho to eventually have a love interest, so that she could have a silver lining from the horrible tragedy that is the destruction of Vulcan in the new timeline. This man would be markedly younger than her, and not too terribly well-educated. Enter Sollastek.

Portrayal

Sollastek is a purely romantic character so I have him played by Justin Timberlake.

Justin Timberlake as Sollastek

I think Timberlake (who is a better actor than a lot of people seem to give him credit for) would make a pretty interesting Vulcan.

I like the idea of him being a bit guilt-ridden, partly with survivor guilt, but also because he is a witness to a canon event, when Amanda Grayson, Spock’s mother, is killed.

Personality

A bit troubled but trying very hard, Sollastek is attempting to make the best of a bad situation. But the truth is, if Eriecho and Saddik had not arrived at the Martian Sanctuary, it’s likely that he would have been the subject of the matrons’ none too subtle shunning. He is working class and barely on their side of logical and meditative. After all, even on Vulcan, someone has to be a day laborer.

Relationships

Eriecho

Sollastek’s sole known relationship is with Eriecho. In Across the Universe, she learns that he made a deal with Colonel Shaw to change his space in the community garden so that he could be closer to her. He is a calming influence on Eriecho, and grounds her. He’s patient with her when she runs off to Earth with Sybok, too.

Mirror Universe

Justin Timberlake as Mirror Sollastek

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

I do not feel that he would be any brighter, but he would probably have more confidence. As for survivor guilt, much like a lot of denizens of the Mirror, he just wouldn’t care all that much.

Quote

“Many of us have seen truly horrible things. I was there when our home world was destroyed, as was Valeris. It was a day I will never forget. Many of the others, I am certain, have suffered their own personal traumas.”

Upshot

As Eriecho goes, so goes Sollastek. He will return.

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Apr

2015

Review – Gremlins

Gremlins is another dual meaning title and piece.

Background

The prompt was about breaking down.

Later Days

I decided to go a bit silly but also capture a moment in the later lives of Lili, Doug, and Malcolm. I had already established, in Fortune, that Lili suffers from some mild hearing loss near the end of her life. Hence the idea was to explore the origins of that issue, but to do so in a more or less humorous fashion.

Plot

On August 28, 2164, Malcolm and Doug investigate a mysterious pinging sound. The story opens with the two of them underneath Lili’s car, working on it. In canon, Malcolm is established as not being an engineer, of course, but he is still able to take some minor things apart and perform some repairs. I wanted Doug, who in some ways is the consummate ‘man’s man’ to have a bit of an ability to tinker with things.

Eventually, the guys figure out that there is absolutely nothing wrong with Lili’s car. At dinner that evening, she is the only one to hear a pinging sound. Unspoken, this is not Lili hearing things as if she were insane. Rather, she is beginning to suffer from tinnitus.

Story Postings

Rating

The story is rated K.

Upshot

I like the little domestic drama (I tend to write a lot of small domestic dramas for this family), but because I never really spell out what is going on with Lili, the story is somewhat unclear. It would be better to, in some fashion, clarify that the sound is not a sign of mental illness, but instead is a sign of a creeping auditory problem.

But the family is still, on the whole, happy. It’s a problem, yes, but not a major one.

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Apr

2015

Recurrent Themes – Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre figures in a lot of my work.

Background

When I first began writing again, I had recently read Jane Eyre for the first time. This triggered the addition of that story into my Star Trek fan fiction. Lili O’Day and Reversal, in particular, are in some ways a space version of at least parts of that story.

So the idea was to bring together two people from rather different walks of life or at least professions. Then giving them a future (but not an immediate happy ending) was a challenge. For the heroine to not be a great beauty, but to still be independent and insist upon a relationship on her own terms was irresistible. These threads can be seen in any number of places in my work.

Appearances

Paving Stones Made From Good Intentions

In Paving Stones, a young Doug is taken away from his parents and sent to a rough, unpleasant boarding school by a Mr. Brocklehurst.

Reversal

Jane Eyre (2006 miniseries) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When Lili and Doug first get together, her situation is quite a bit like Jane’s. So she’s a low-level crew member and suffers from isolation. She is not very attractive.

As the quietly serving one who cleans up, Lili is the sort of below decks person who fades into the background. And she often does. For the ship to send a search party out for her, and to nearly have an interstellar incident with the Calafans when she is abducted, is a big, big deal. This is a person who most of them underestimated, who turns out to be rather important indeed.

Fortune

At Norri‘s deathbed, she gives away her paper books, including Jane Eyre, to Marie Patrice. This is because Empy is the “strong, independent heroine of her own life.”

Everybody Knows This is Nowhere

When clearing out Malcolm‘s quarters, Lili comes across the book and takes it, vowing to read it.

Flight of the Bluebird

Seppa reveals that Lili and Malcolm sent books to the young Daranaean girls, including this one.

Wider Than the Sargasso Sea

Barking up the Muse Tree | jespah | Janet Gershen-Siegel | Toby Stephens in Jane Eyre

Several years after the Breen attack, Gabrielle Nolan stars in this play. And Desh, a Breen, plays opposite her as Mr. Rochester.

But can Gabby act opposite a boy whose father fought in a devastating war, as her enemy? And what about the townspeople? But the Breen are kept in a separate section. Gabby’s mother, Gina, dismisses it as a ghetto. Is this any way to normalize relations?

Advice From My Universes to Yours

So when giving advice to Aurellan Markalis, Lili suggests reading a classic love story like Jane Eyre. Jay comments that he doesn’t read such things.

Upshot

I really loved weaving this story line into my own fiction, with little shout outs that are almost like literary Easter Eggs. Jane Eyre will return.

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Apr

2015

Portrait of a Character – Bernardine (Bernie) Keating-Fong

Bernardine started off with very little to do.

Origins

During Intolerance, I needed someone who would be a kind of chaperone to Pamela, Blair, Will, Mark, and An. Her name had to be gender-neutral. Her surname, like a lot of the other names in that story, evokes Dominic Keating’s earlier career. The Fong portion is a nod to another original character of mine, pop star Kurt Fong. I like to think that she is his sister-in-law.

Portrayal

Bernie is played by actress Michelle Yeoh. Interestingly enough, I chose her long before Discovery was cast.

English: Michelle Yeoh at the Toronto International Film Festival 2011. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I wanted an older yet attractive Asian actress. She would also be the kind of person who, during the shenanigans at the beginning of Intolerance, Malcolm might consider as a romantic prospect.

Personality

Extremely intelligent and knowledgeable, Phlox refers to her as a specialist in ancient diseases, a statement that she does not dispute. Until it was time to write others’ universes, I did not really have a role for her beyond Intolerance. However, I had occasion to write a crossover work called Bomb(e) and made her the physician on the NX-04 Ariane. In that story, which is played a lot more for laughs, Dr. Keating-Fong ends up treating a patient who may or may not have planted a bomb on board in order to scare off Romulans who have boarded that ship.

Relationships

Bernie has no known relationships in either universe.

Mirror Universe

Mirror Bernie

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

Because medical care is so devalued over there, as are women, I like to think that she would be tougher. She would have to be, particularly as she aged.

Quote

“Naurr, listen to me very carefully. You’re the chef on the Ariane. We’re at war with the Romulans. And I hardly think you were making bombs.”

Upshot

Now that I’ve put her on the Ariane, I suppose she can have some other adventures. Who knows? Maybe I’ll even show her with Kurt.

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Apr

2015

Review – Imprecision

Imprecision addresses an imperfectly formed memory.

Background

So for a Star Trek fan fiction challenge about nightmares, I went with a dream that evoked a memory that was imperfectly realized.

Plot

Wesley Crusher has been, at the start of the story, spending time in the company of the The Traveler.

Barking Up the Muse Tree | jespah | Janet Gershen-Siegel | Imprecision

Wesley Crusher with the Traveler

And this is a canon situation. However, also in canon, Wesley eventually leaves The Traveler. Hence in order to dovetail with Crackerjack, this event precipitates Wesley taking his leave.

At the start of the story, Wes wakes up from a nightmare. He remembers his parents fighting, and his mother throwing something. It’s awful; he recalls being a small child at the time, making it even more heart-wrenching. Speaking with The Traveler afterwards, together they decide that Wes actually wants to return to a regular life. This is a marker, an indicator that there is unfinished business out there for him. Furthermore, he wants to find out about that memory, which he realizes is something that he suppressed.

Returning to Regular Life

Wesley essentially gets a beam out to his mother’s quarters. And he has been gone longer than the regular passage of time would indicate. I had this idea because his time with The Traveler has to be odd and unique and special. So for Beverly Crusher, it feels like sort of a dream, and sort of not. She tells him that it’s a few hours before Will Riker and Deanna Troi’s wedding (another canon event).

Also, Wesley is hurriedly given a uniform, and it does not necessarily show his correct rank (that is canon, in the film, Nemesis). A little bored with the proceedings, his eyes alight on a young girl playing the French horn for the Starfleet Academy band, which is providing the music for the event. With some confidence mustered up, he talks to her, and realizes that this is why he left The Traveler. It is to meet Lakeisha Warren and begin a new phase of his life.

Story Postings

- Imprecision on Trek BBS
- In addition, Imprecision on Fanfiction.net
- Imprecision on Wattpad
- In addition, Imprecision on G and T Show forums

Rating

The story is rated K+.

Upshot

It was great fun to bring Wesley’s character in line and bring the canon of the Nemesis film together with fan fiction in the form of Crackerjack and the Barnstorming series.

Horn (instrument) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Being able to write the first-ever meeting of Wes and Lakeisha was a treat, too.

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Portrait of a Character – Gregory Shaw

Origins

Portrayal

Personality

Relationships

Mirror Universe

Quote (not a direct quote)

Upshot

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Review – Remembrance

Background

Plot

Story Postings

Rating

Upshot

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Portrait of a Character – Mara Brodsky

Origins

Portrayal

Personality

Relationships

Robert Slater

Walter Woods

Mirror Universe

Quote

Upshot

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Review – Movie Night

Background

Plot

Story Postings

Rating

Upshot

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Progress Report – April 2015

Posted Works

Milestones

WIP Corner

Prep Work

This Month’s Productivity Killers

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Portrait of a Character – Sollastek

Origins

Portrayal

Personality

Relationships

Eriecho

Quote

Upshot

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Review – Gremlins

Background

Plot

Story Postings

Rating

Upshot

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Recurrent Themes – Jane Eyre

Background

Appearances

Wider Than the Sargasso Sea

Upshot

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Portrait of a Character – Bernardine (Bernie) Keating-Fong

Origins

Portrayal

Personality

Relationships

Mirror Universe

Quote

Upshot

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