T’Pol

Mar

2017

Portrait of a Character – T’Pring

T’Pring is a cypher and a blank slate. Everybody seems to want to put their own spin on her. I have seen her portrayed as a Federation traitor and as a lesbian. I like the idea of a different take on her.

T’Pring Origins

Arlene Martel as T’Pring (image is provided for educational purposes only).

Portrayal

As in canon, T’Pring is played by actress Arlene Martel. I have no idea who would play her as a young girl; it would have to be someone with similar exotic looks and ice queen appeal.

Personality

Emotionless and perhaps cold, T’Pring is a classic Vulcan woman. She knows what she wants and she is not afraid to go out and get it. This is her plan, no matter the cost.

Relationships

Spock

As in canon, T’Pring and Spock are promised to each other. They barely know each other. For a half-human, that should be intolerable, but it is not Spock who initially objects to their union; it’s T’Pring. And so she carries on what is essentially an affair until she can be freed from her obligation.

Stonn

In These Are the Destinations, T’Pring and Stonn know each other earlier. As a part of that story line, they are to get together (except I have not yet finished that story!).

One question I have about canon is – just how complicit was Stonn in the Amok Time scheme to either kill Spock or Kirk? Is she just evil, or was he her willing co-conspirator?

Mirror Universe

T’Pring could, I feel, exist in the Mirror Universe.

Arlene Martel as Mirror Universe T’Pring (image is provided for educational purposes only).

I write Mirror Universe women as being as ruthless as she seems to be in the prime universe. She would be in need of someone like Stonn. Or maybe she really does become Spock’s bride in the MU. That is an intriguing idea, and I just might write it.

Quote

“This is going to be so dull.”

Upshot

T’Pring would be an especially interesting character to explore in the Eriecho/JJ Abrams universe. I have tried to stay away from ‘small universe’ syndrome there, where everyone is related or close or there are far too many coincidences to be believable. Hence it might be a little much for T’Pring to exist there. Then again, if I pair her up with Sybok, that could really get things rollicking.

Now that is one hell of a plot bunny.

Like this page? Tweet it!

You can find me on Google+.

Jan

2017

Portrait of a Character – Soval

Soval gives me mixed feelings.

Origins

Soval

The character is, of course, canon.

A lot of fans are not too impressed with the portrayal of Vulcans in Enterprise. For me, I loved it. I always found them to be far too perfect, and when the Original Series was running, I was a lot more likely to side with McCoy or Kirk than Spock. This may have carried over a bit, but either way, it was a refreshing change, to me, to see Vulcans with feet of clay and less than stellar motives.

Hallelujah!

Portrayal

As in canon, the character is played by actor Gary Graham. The actor embodies the character well and it is difficult to think of another inhabiting him so well.

Personality

Standoffish like most Vulcans, he seems to be genuinely moved when Admiral Forrest sacrifices his own life to save a, perhaps, friend.

Relationships

His relationships are not really on screen. In Biases, I bring a human woman into his household. But Bridie Kelly is not a love interest at all. So I really hope nobody ‘ships them.

Mirror Universe

Mirror Universe Soval is also canon. Intelligent and resourceful, he is one of many Mirror Universe characters who is just plain in a bad place. As I write the Mirror, it boasts a violent military dictatorship. Not an easy place for an unemotional person.

There isn’t a lot on him in canon except that Archer became xenophobic hence he’d be in some peril. So this would make life even more difficult even if Jonathan Archer had lived. The way I write the Mirror Universe, Hoshi Sato is successful in murdering Archer.

Mirror Universe Soval

Quote

“I am one hundred and forty-two years old. That is almost a logical observation.”

Upshot

I have never written Mirror Universe Soval, so maybe it’s time I should.

Like this page? Tweet it!

You can find me on Google+.

Nov

2015

Focus – Vulcans in Star Trek Fan Fiction

Focus on Vulcans

Vulcans are the backbone aliens of Star Trek.

Focus

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.

Vulcans – Background

Because the series that speaks to me the most is Enterprise, I have had to deal with Vulcans all along. The truth is that I always found T’Pol to be wooden. As for Spock in the Original Series, I have read far too much of him in fan fiction. I never got into Voyager, so my experience with writing Vulcans was limited and difficult. That is, until Eriecho and the Alternate Original Series. Thank you, JJ Abrams.

Occurrences

Aviri

Joanna Cassidy as Aviri (actually an image of the actress as T’Pol’s mother, T’Les, courtesy of Memory Alpha)

Lili is admitted to the Mars Culinary Institute based upon the strength of a meal prepared for Admissions Director Aviri.

Charles Tucker IV

Charles Tucker IV (actually an image of an infant Spock, from a deleted scene in Star Trek 2009)

In the E² timeline, during the first kick back in time, Tripp and T’Pol have twins. Charlie becomes captain after Jonathan Archer’s death.

Eriecho

Mariel Hemingway as Eriecho

My favorite Vulcan, Eriecho never learned true emotional suppression while at Canamar Prison, and only tries it in a mistaken effort to please Sollastek.

Kefris

Kefris (this image is from the Star Trek Online wiki)

This character is named but rarely seen, and is often paired with T’Pau when I write Mirror Universe Vulcans. In the prime universe, he is T’Pol’s eventual husband.

Lorian

Canon character Lorian is seen during the second E² kick back in time.

Lorian

Saddik

Eriecho’s foster/adoptive father cares for her as if she were his own.

Sarek

Spock’s father is overwhelmed by the changes wrought by Nero in the JJ Abrams timeline, but he rises to the occasion and accepts his new child.

Ben Cross as Sarek

Sollastek

Sollastek (this image is from the Star Trek Online wiki)

Eriecho’s mate is a lot younger than she is and was not a good student. Leaving class early saved his life during Nero’s attack on Vulcan. He witnessed the death of Amanda Grayson.

Soval

Gary Graham as Soval

When Soval is a lot older, he experiences difficulty in maintaining emotional control, as I show him in Biases.

Spock

Iconic and sometimes hard to pin down, I do better with this classic character in the JJ Abrams universe than in the prime timeline.

Spock

Sybok

Spock’s canon half-brother is redeemed in the Eriecho universe.

T’Les Elizabeth

T’Les Elizabeth (this is actually an image of Elizabeth Tucker from Star Trek: Enterprise)

In the E² timeline, during the first kick back in time, Tripp and T’Pol have twins. T’Les is Charlie’s twin.

T’Pau

Often paired with Kefris in the Mirror Universe, T’Pau is brought aboard Empress Hoshi‘s ship when she proves she is a genius in mathematics and physics.

Kara Zedicker as T’Pau

T’Pol

This canon character is easiest for me to write when I remove her emotional control.

Valeris

Saddik’s love interest also catches Sybok’s eye. In the JJ Abrams timeline, Valeris acts as a Pon Farr comforter, a kind of Vulcan sex worker.

Valeris

Others

E2 timeline

Jolene Tucker Hodgkins
T’Mir Ryan
Daphne Tucker

All of these characters are on the older version of the NX-01.

Freak School

Stellak – Rayna Montgomery’s love interest.
T’Bek – one of Rayna’s teachers (I’ve used this name in a few other places).
T’Mia – one of Rayna’s classmates.

Eriecho universe (JJ Abrams timeline)

T’Moona – in canon, Spock is the child of Sarek and a Vulcan princess. Her name is the Hebrew word for picture.

Upshot

For a species that I often have difficulty writing, I’ve sure got a lot of instances. Maybe I’ll get this species right someday, without having to strip them of their emotional control.

Like this page? Tweet it!

You can find me on Google+.

Oct

2015

Review – Worry

Worry is, well, worrisome, I suppose.

For a prompt with the same name as the title, I wanted to do a little drabble about T’Pol and her sometimes uneven relationship with a certain crew member.

Background

Worried T’Pol

In canon, T’Pol’s relationship with Porthos is a bit rocky. In the beginning, she is bothered by his smell and cannot adjust to the idea of a pet being an appropriate presence on a starship. Because Jonathan Archer is so wrapped up in the dog’s well being, and T’Pol and Jonathan do not get off on the best footing in the beginning of the series, there might be some carry over. That is, maybe T’Pol has issues with Porthos because she has issues with Archer. Fortunately, she warms up to both of them.

A part of T’Pol’s journey as a character is to understand and accept both of them. Love or hate These are the Voyages (hate it!), the scene where he stiffly hugs her has some merit.

So now she has cause to have concern over Porthos. And I feel this would ring true as well.

Plot

It’s just a little thing, but Porthos is sick. T’Pol has already rushed him to Sick Bay. The little drabble just covers her fretting and asking Phlox about his condition.

Story Postings

Rating

The story has a K rating.

Upshot

Porthos has a value to the crew that T’Pol only begins to understand later in the series. To my mind, it made sense for that understanding to happen during the E² alternate timeline as well. For her, he has become more than just the captain’s pet. And he’s more than the odd addition to the crew she initially didn’t much care for. Now, she cares for him a great deal. I was glad to be able to showcase that.

Like this page? Tweet it!

You can find me on Google+.

May

2015

Review – The Black Widow

A black widow spider represents Pon Farr gone wrong, wrong, wrong.

Background

For a Star Trek fan fiction challenge about “what if”, I decided to take a canon episode into a far different extreme direction.

Plot

In the canon episode, Bounty, T’Pol prematurely goes into Pon Farr because of a medical issue (she and Phlox are affected by a microbe).

Barking Up the Muse Tree | jespah | Janet Gershen-Siegel | The Black Widow

The Black Widow, a horror story from an alternate timeline.

As a part of the episode, she comes onto Phlox, who rebuffs her, and then tries for Malcolm, who is in a pressure suit, and he rejects her as well, eventually shooting her in the back with a phase pistol and stunning her. Archer comes back (he escapes Tellarite captivity) and all is more or less well.

I decided there would be two major differences. Phlox would succumb to her charms, and Malcolm would miss.

As a result, this changes the dynamic dramatically.

The New Plot

In the new plot, once both of these events occur, T’Pol goes after the first man who can (she hopes) satisfy her urges. And that turns out to be Travis.

When the story opens, Jonathan has just returned. Malcolm greets him at the transporter and tells him that there will be a staff meeting immediately. He informs him of Travis‘s death, and also Brian Delacroix‘s, and that Deb Haddon has been gravely injured. Archer, a bit disoriented and very confused, goes along with this. He sees Malcolm, Hoshi, and Tripp at the meeting. Phlox speaks from Sick Bay.

Archer learns that, after seducing Phlox, T’Pol escaped from decon (the escape is canon, but the seduction failed in canon). Malcolm was there with his team – Brian and Deb. T’Pol came onto Malcolm who rejects her and then, in a rage, she snapped Brian’s neck and shattered Deb’s helmet. A fragment lodges in Deb’s eye, and she is permanently blinded.

And then there’s the matter of Travis. After escaping from that scene, and Malcolm shooting after her but missing, T’Pol confronts Travis in his quarters. She essentially sexually assaults him, and her appetite kills him.

The story continues with Archer confronting her in the Brig, but she is barely competent, and relations with Travis have not satisfied Pon Farr. Hence she will die in a few days if they don’t get her to Vulcan on time.

Story Postings

Rating

The story is rated T.

Upshot

I really liked the way this one worked out, as I moved from a bewildered Archer to Hoshi with a measure of PTSD, to Malcolm’s disgust and emotional detachment, to T’Pol’s frenzied mania, to Phlox’s shamed confession, to Deb’s acceptance of her fate, to finally communicating with Admiral Forrest and informing him of this big, bad Vulcan secret. I don’t write horror too often, but I think this story turned out well.

Like this page? Tweet it!

You can find me on Google+.

Feb

2015

Recurrent Themes – The Art of War

War books have a place in my work. The Sun-Tzu work seems to be everywhere.

Background

As a bit of background for Jay Hayes and Empress Hoshi, Sun-Tzu’s classic text proved to be the perfect manual for Star Trek fan fiction (not to be confused with Keith R. A. DeCandido‘s great book, The Klingon Art of War).

Appearances

This book has been everywhere, or at least it sure seems that way. I particularly like it as warrior shorthand, that the people who are reading it are looking to go into battle. But the battle might just be The Battle of the Sexes.

Throwing Rocks at Looking Glass Houses

This story is loaded with quotations from two separate books, this one and The Prince by Machiavelli. Empress Hoshi’s moves are calculated, everything from killing off Ian and Phlox, to overpowering T’Pol while at her weakest, to turning the loyalties of Emperor Phillip‘s men, including Andrew, José, and Brian. The book is presented as more or less a user’s manual for overthrowing a regime and installing one’s own brand of tyranny.

Advice from My Universes to Yours

In Advice, the book is mentioned briefly in passing when trying to convince a socially awkward person that perhaps they could read romantic fiction in order to understand people better. The book is mentioned and, of course, rejected immediately.

The Three of Us

In The Three of Us, Jay is shown reading and rereading this book, and he’s even reading it when Lili visits him in his quarters for the first time.

Everybody Knows This is Nowhere

In Everybody Knows This is Nowhere, Jay provides two bequests. The lucky nickel goes to Lili, while this book goes to Malcolm.

In Memory of Kelsey Haber

During In Memory of Kelsey Haber, Malcolm refers to this book, and tells Hoshi that it was a bequest from Jay. Malcolm further notes that he had vowed, at that time, to get to know the people under his command, but he fell down on the job with Kelsey and never did.

Upshot

This little book gets around as much as Jane Eyre! It’ll be back.

Like this page? Tweet it!

You can find me on Google+.

Jan

2015

Review – Entanglements

A Look at Entanglements

Entanglements was not originally a work I had planned.

Background

Entanglements

The idea was to go straight from Reflections Down a Corridor to The Three of Us. But Reflections ended up being way too long. I like where and how it was split, though, as it serves the title themes moving from individuals to couples to a threesome. Hence this book achieves a kind of bridging effect.

Entanglements is mainly about coupling, both romantic and erotic, and the tangling of fighting and also getting involved – for better or for worse. Just as Reflections is about individual exploration, Entanglements begins to show people colliding with each other. Naturally, there is a great deal of collateral damage from these collisions.

Plot

The story opens with Captain Archer announcing the wedding of Tripp Tucker to T’Pol. As he makes the announcement, the single men in particular are beginning to notice that it affects them. Part of it may be some desire specifically for T’Pol. But it is also because this is the second wedding on the Enterprise. This generational ship is starting to slowly, inexorably, convert itself into the equivalent of a flying small town.

But the real crisis arises from a different relationship. When Josh Rosen proposes to and, eventually, marries Karin Bernstein, it puts fellow Jewish crew member Ethan Shapiro onto a steep downward spiral. That sequence was one of the first parts of the story that I knew I wanted to write and, once I got to it in the plot, it flowed quickly and smoothly.

Music

Dusty says it all

Story Postings

Rating

The story has an M rating.

Upshot

This story is more transitional and so the beginning and the end are a tad more abrupt than for the other three in the E2 series. But I like the bookending of the Tucker/T’Pol announcement with the Jenny/Aidan wedding, and was particularly pleased to be able to use Jenny’s wedding song again – and to denote that Aidan isn’t quite the right partner (in the prime timeline, she marries Francisco).

Like this page? Tweet it!

Nov

2014

Portrait of a Character – Major Strong Bear Dawson

Origins

When I first wrote There’s Something About Hoshi, I needed to have a replacement for Major Jay Hayes, as he had died in canon. Enter Dawson, who was originally a WASP. But then I learned that there is a canon Star Trek TAS character, Dawson Running Bear. Hence Dawson got his name and a bit of his origins.

Portrayal

Strong Bear (Bud) is played by actor David Midthunder.

Portrait of a Character – Major Strong Bear Dawson

David Midthunder as Strong Bear Dawson

As is often the case with ethnic characters, it was very important for me to ‘cast’ an actor who is of that ethnicity.

Dawson is proud and powerful, and Midthunder seems to be both of those things and also supremely confident. This makes for, I feel, a dynamite combination.

Personality

The strong and silent type, Bud is devoted to duty. However, in There’s Something About Hoshi, he is nearly as affected as the other straight men are. In Shell Shock, he is initially one of the accused, and he and Malcolm meet during the experience. By the time of On the Radio, he is a valued member of the crew and even T’Pol can figuratively let her hair down a bit in front of him. But he’s still pretty far removed. That would be the case for nearly anyone, though, who comes into a work situation much later than the initial stage of building the team.

Mirror Universe

David Midthunder as Mirror Universe Strong Bear Dawson

There is no reason for Major Strong Bear Dawson to not exist in the Mirror Universe. However, I imagine him as a person living off the grid and more or less thoroughly embracing his roots.

Also, I do not believe he would be anyone would call him Bud.

Quote

“HQ wanted more experience after the war. They would’ve assigned me earlier but I was getting off assignment with freighter defense and then the Rommie War broke out and they didn’t want to change horses in the middle of the stream. Helluva way for me to meet my new troops, eh?”

Upshot

I like this character well enough, and he is a kind of utility player. And I suspect I could place him into other scenarios and he would do fine. I will have to find places for him to shine.

Like this page? Tweet it!

You can find me on Google+.

Nov

2013

Review – Equinox

Equinox is where I had to kill one of my darlings, an event from Fortune.

Background

Equinox

For a monthly prompt about sacrifice, I wanted (as I often do) to turn it on its head. This was not to be a story about noble sacrifices for idealistic causes, with Starfleet cheering all the way. Instead, it was to be a story about personal human sacrifices, and how Starfleet can, I suspect, chew people up and spit them out.

Plot

The story begins with Malcolm telling Travis and Hoshi that he’s going to miss them. Hoshi is looking forward to spending more time with her family. Travis is trying to salvage his marriage. They are both retiring. It’s 2181, and they are the last three left of the original seven senior officers on the NX-01. T’Pol has returned to Vulcan and Phlox is back on Denobula. Tucker is dead, and Archer is pursuing a political career, which dovetails with Star Trek: Enterprise canon. With Hoshi and Travis’s retirements, Malcolm will be the last one standing.

Lafa II Southern Continent

And then he gets a call from Leonora Digiorno, and learns that Doug Beckett has died in the forests of the southern continent of Lafa II, a scene from Fortune.

Hence Malcolm knows that, no matter what, he’s got to get home and be with Lili. And he will have to set aside everything and, potentially, jeopardize his standing and his command, things he has worked very, very hard for.

But there is no question.

He will go to Lili.

Story Postings

Rating

The story is Rated K.

Upshot

So I like how it turned out, as it wove the themes of sacrifice and familial duty, crossing them with duties to Starfleet. It was a chance to fill in a few gaps left in Fortune, and to bring in the bench characters and give them great roles, people like Aidan, Chip, Deb, José, and Jennifer. The story acts as a bridge to the deeper future and continues the process of tying In Between Days to the Times of the HG Wells. Finally, I think it fulfilled its purpose well.

Nov

2013

Review – On the Radio

Radio. It can bring back a memory in a snap.

On the Radio Background

On the Radio

A friend passed away earlier in 2013, and I was having some trouble processing it. I decided to attempt to process it through art.

As a result, I worked in my own feelings by trying to tease out Hoshi and T’Pol‘s feelings about Tripp‘s passing.

And, the reason why I call this canon character Tripp instead of Trip is because of this very man who, in real life, is no more.

Plot

As Tucker has died, the two women who knew him best mourn him in different ways. T’Pol’s canon relationship is well-known. She ends up breaking down in front of Jay Hayes‘s replacement, Major Strong Bear Dawson, who everybody calls Bud. Bud is the sole eyewitness to her breakdown, and he tells her he won’t say anything to anyone. She asks how she can repay his kindness and he tells her to just go and have a good life.

Hoshi’s relationship with Tripp is outlined in Together. But the song that is the title of the piece, and is woven throughout this songfic, was played during the party outlined in More, More, More! Hoshi reveals that she and Tripp danced to it. She comes to the realization that it served as a prelude to their time together, and that Tucker may have liked her before then. For her, the music, and a dance with Travis, are how she feels she can cope.

When she and T’Pol are alone together, she passes the music from the party to the Vulcan, urging her to listen so that she can, in a way, understand another facet of Tripp’s personality, something she may not have already known. It is a final act of generosity between women who were not exactly romantic rivals, but rather were romantic steps or links in the chain that was Tripp’s life.

Music

Apart from the Donna Summer song, the entire playlist from More, More, More! is as follows –

Alicia Bridges – I Love the Night Life
The Trammps – Disco Inferno
The Bee Gees – More Than a Woman
Andrea True Connection – More, More, More!
Silver Convention – Fly, Robin, Fly
Patrick Hernandez – Born To Be Alive
Thelma Houston – Don’t Leave Me This Way
Lipps Inc. – Funky Town
Van McCoy – The Hustle
The Bee Gees – Night Fever
Kool & the Gang – Celebration
Gloria Gaynor – I Will Survive
The Weather Girls – It’s Raining Men
Michael Jackson – Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough
Lobo – Me and You and a Dog named Boo
Melanie – Brand New Key
The Captain and Tennille – Love Will Keep Us Together
Commodores – Brick House
Tavares – It Only Takes a Minute
Donna Summer – On the Radio
La Flavour – Mandolay
Earth Wind & Fire – Let’s Groove
K.C. & the Sunshine Band – That’s the Way I Like It
Village People – YMCA
The Bee Gees – Stayin’ Alive
Chic – Le Freak
Rick James – Super Freak
Tavares – Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel
Vicki Sue Robinson – Turn the Beat Around
Barry White – Can’t Get Enough of Your Love
Hues Corporation – Rock the Boat
Sister Sledge – We Are Family
Diana Ross – Love Hangover
Kool & the Gang – Ladies Night
A Taste of Honey – Boogie Oogie Oogie
Donna Summer – Last Dance

Story Postings

Rating

The story is rated K.

Upshot

As a story, I think it works pretty well. Reactions have been mixed; some critics have said they thought T’Pol would not act as forcefully as she does, but Star Trek: Enterprise canon dictates that this is a former trellium addict and so her emotions are still not fully under control, even years later.

In this story, I am probably more like the Hoshi character. Removed but mournful, and saddened by the wasted potential more than anything else. I have no problem with Tucker being killed off in canon. People die and they should die in space. Space is far from safe, particularly during that era. But I wanted to see a lot more of the aftermath. I hope this aftermath/afterimage type of story can work for readers.

Portrait of a Character – T’Pring

T’Pring Origins

Portrayal

Personality

Relationships

Spock

Stonn

Mirror Universe

Quote

Upshot

Share this:

Like this:

Portrait of a Character – Soval

Origins

Portrayal

Personality

Relationships

Mirror Universe

Quote

Upshot

Share this:

Like this:

Focus on Vulcans

Focus

Vulcans – Background

Occurrences

Aviri

Charles Tucker IV

Eriecho

Kefris

Lorian

Saddik

Sarek

Sollastek

Soval

Spock

Sybok

T’Les Elizabeth

T’Pau

T’Pol

Valeris

Others

E2 timeline

Freak School

Eriecho universe (JJ Abrams timeline)

Upshot

Share this:

Like this:

Review – Worry

Background

Plot

Story Postings

Rating

Upshot

Share this:

Like this:

Review – The Black Widow

Background

Plot

The New Plot

Story Postings

Rating

Upshot

Share this:

Like this:

Recurrent Themes – The Art of War

Background

Appearances

Advice from My Universes to Yours

The Three of Us

Everybody Knows This is Nowhere

In Memory of Kelsey Haber

Upshot

Share this:

Like this:

A Look at Entanglements

Background

Plot

Music

Story Postings