Treve

Dec

2016

Portrait of a Character – Treve I

Treve I is a hero alien.

Origins

Lili needed a way and a reason to stay in the Lafa System at the end of Reversal.

Portrayal

Portrait of a Character – Treve I

Treve I is played by actor Jude Law. I like this handsome actor, and I feel he would make an interesting, high class alien.

Personality

Pushed to succeed at a young age, Treve knows something horrible is happening to his mother, Yipran, but he is powerless to stop it. Because he cannot protect her, he instead concentrates on protecting his two younger siblings – his sister, Yimar; and his brother, Chelben.

Relationships

Pamela Hudson

Treve and Pamela get together at the end of Fortune. They date during Saturn Rise, and eventually marry. He is the anchor of her life.

Jennifer Crossman

In the Mirror Universe, Treve and Jennifer hook up during Reversal. By the time of Fortune and He Stays a Stranger, they are still together.

Mirror Universe

Just as posh in the Mirror, Treve is caught between a rock and a hard place and is pushed to kill Jennifer. He refuses and they become outlaws, eventually camping with Tripp, Beth, Chip, and Lucy, and their children. Even as a poacher dressed in rags, he still has the clipped accent of a failed diplomat.

Quote

“I – Polloria – I was a child when you, you came into our lives and Mother became ill. I have done my best to accept you. And I am, I am glad that Mother will not actually be killed, although if she were at all conscious it might be something she’d wish. But killing this alien? Cannot we put her back as we usually do?”

Upshot

Determined to do the right thing even when others around him are note, Treve is a good guy who, in our universe, dies fairly young, and is childless on both sides of the pond. But that doesn’t stop him from doing good for people.

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Jun

2015

Review – To Wish, To Want, To Desire

Wish for … what?

To Wish, To Want, To Desire Background

Wish. Want. Desire. On January 11, 2162, Treve and Pamela talk about their expectations for a relationship.

Barking Up the Muse Tree | jespah | Janet Gershen-Siegel | IBD Arrangement | To Wish, To Want, To Desire

In Between Days, the Arrangement

Plot

In response to a Star Trek fan fiction prompt about wanting, I went with a trio of synonyms, each pushing in what I felt was one rather particular direction. I wanted it to be a thwarted desire, the kind of thing that is temporarily put off in anticipation of a far greater payoff. That led me to the idea of Pamela Hudson and her relationship with Treve.

I had already established, in The Best Things Come in Pairs and Complications that this couple do not have sexual relations until they have been dating for a good year. However, given Pamela’s history, I knew that this character would want to move far more quickly than that. She would have to be put off somehow.

It is just after Fortune, and Treve is driving Pamela to her uncle, Cyril Morgan‘s, home on Lafa II. She begins to hint around – and not too coyly, I might add – that she wants their great first day to turn into an even greater first night. Treve, on his part, has to explain to her that he is a virgin, and that casual sex with a Calafan can sometimes turn into a profound bonding experience. To do so too quickly could be exceptionally awkward for both of them if they find out in the future that they are incompatible.

Story Postings

Rating

The story is rated K.

Upshot

I liked the idea of Pamela essentially being told to hold her horses. For the character who is possibly the most sex-obsessed of all of my creations, the idea of making her wait was irresistible.

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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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Jan

2015

Review – Bribery

Bribery fills in a storyline gap.

Background

After writing Reversal, I got to thinking about a missing piece of information.

Before Days

Just how – and why – did Yimar and Treve go along with everything? And how did Polloria insinuate herself into the family?

Plot

As a prelude story, the information given about the Calafans is pretty sketchy. Chawev, the First Minister, plays a guessing game with his three children, Treve, Yimar, and Chelben. He wants them to guess who’s coming to dinner, quite literally. Bits of background information flow in, that Yipran is comatose, and is being cared for by a Dr. Baden. Baden has helpers, but only one is female. And that’s who’s on her way to join them.

Adding to the background information, their home is filled with the smell of cooking prako. Treve explains that it’s an expensive dish, and Chawev counters that their guest has generously provided it. Further, he tells them that things are going to be different, and they’re going to eat better from then on. This rather neatly conforms to what Doug and Lili are eventually told during Local Flavor.

When Polloria, the guest of honor, arrives, she comes bearing gifts. There’s a pretty stylus for Treve, who is still, at that point in the timeline, destined for a diplomatic career. Yimar is given a small bracelet, prefiguring the Cuff of Lo gift in Friday Visit, Together, and Temper, and the bracelet for Melissa in Fortune. Chelben, who is still a rather small child, is given a stuffed linfep toy. Treve and Yimar, at least, see through Polloria, at least in her efforts to insinuate herself into the family. As for her ambition to become the new High Priestess, that part is mentioned but they don’t seem to realize just how far she will go, or how far she has already gone.

Story Postings

Rating

The story is Rated K.

Upshot

I like the little glimpse into Calafan life, including the use of a fork, which prefigures a small plot point in Reversal.

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Jul

2014

Best Genre Treatment 1

I write in all sorts of genres. Hence I have put together what I think are my best treatments of them. This is in conjunction with all of the story reviews I have been posting, and future reviews.

I have written a good 200 or so stories. Choosing what is ‘best’ is subjective and certainly my ideas change over time. These stories are not necessarily the ones with the greatest reads or review counts. Sometimes it’s just the best in my mind. I don’t always agree with my readership.

Comedy

One of my favorite genres to write, comedy speaks to me.

Where No Gerbil Has Gone Before

I love to make people laugh, but I also don’t want to create mindless slapstick. This is why I love Where No Gerbil Has Gone Before.

From the amusing title, to its start as Chip Masterson is busted by Deb Haddon for keeping Tripp‘s stuffed gerbil toy, Stella, to their romance, to Chip’s nascent to friendship with Aidan, the story celebrates a number of below decks themes.

Canon characters abound, as the story is also one big shout-out to the canon First Flight episode. Jonathan Archer, Liz Cutler, AG Robinson, Soval, and Admiral Forrest all show up. There are even very brief cameos by T’Pol and Jay Hayes.

The basic premise is a prank war. This all happens during the invention and perfection of inertial dampers. This canon piece of equipment is about the dullest bit of Star Trek technobabble, so it was the perfect backdrop for a ton of hijinks. After all, this would mainly bore the inventors (it’s a competition). They would be itching for something to do.

And then there’s the goat ….

Drama

Saturn Rise

I write a ton of drama and it can sometimes be difficult to sustain. Right now, today, as I write this blog post, I feel that one of my better, if not my best such stories, is Saturn Rise.

I had wanted to not only showcase more of Pamela and Treve’s relationship, but also to attempt to resolve some of the unfinished business in Intolerance, Temper, and Fortune.

Further, I wanted Malcolm to have to deal with introducing his parents to Lili, and possibly risk their disapproval. Done within the context of introducing them to Declan, I also wanted to present an alternate point of view regarding the acceptance – or not – of Lili and Doug‘s open marriage.

Just as Pamela has to have it out with her mother, Malcolm has to have it out with his parents.

Holidays

One of the first Star Trek fan fiction stories I ever completed, The Light covers Chanukah on the NX-01 and a lot more.

The Light

As Ethan Shapiro learns of his great-aunt’s death, young Jewish crew members are brought together. Part of this is to properly mourn the woman’s death, but another reason is a budding romance, as Andrew Miller is looking to ask out Karin Bernstein.

I introduced not only these original characters (plus Josh Rosen), but also covered the subject of the existence of a Starfleet Rabbi, Leah Benson. Because I love these characters so much, they all have fan fiction futures. And this includes Mirror Universe stories, as they meet dissimilar fates. Leah in particular is very different on the other side of the proverbial pond.

Horror

I have never been a fan of slamming doors, zombies, things going bump in the night, etc. Plus I don’t like them as stories or films. I just plain don’t like terror for my entertainment. Hence I hit upon an idea, and that was to show what I feel is far, far worse. And that’s the Holocaust.

Taking place over the course of Halloween weekend, Tucker, a classic horror film buff, has helped Chip line up several classic horror movies. October 31st gets the old John Carpenter film.

Canon characters such as Phlox and Amanda Cole sit through the picture, as do a number of my own original characters. And then Tucker disappears.

As a crossover story, he’s whisked to 1945 Upper Bavaria, and becomes a part of the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp, which includes freeing Milena Chelenska, her sister, and their neighbor. Furthermore, he witnesses a war crime. This is where the managers of the camp (by this time – true story – they were mainly just kids, as the real management had fled) are shot to death by firing squad, without trials.

It turns out that he’s been interphased rather deliberately, as Wesley Crusher and the Traveler work to get him back, thereby neatly tying into Crackerjack.

Upshot

Beyond the fact that I think these stories are some of my best work, my peers have agreed. Where No Gerbil Has Gone Before and Day of the Dead are both award winners.

May

2014

Review – The Best Things Come in Pairs

Pairs? Yes.

Background

They can refer to playing cards and couples, and this little story touches on both as a play on words and for a little bit of humor. In response to a Star Trek fan fiction prompt about losing, I wanted to write a story about a losing poker hand that, instead, ends up being a winner. Hence the plot.

Plot

It is maybe a year after the end of Fortune, and Treve takes Pamela home after a date. They have been going out for a good year. She has been a bit pushy about getting physical, but he has been pulling back. As of the time of Saturn Rise, they have exchanged ‘I love yous’.

This is the first time that Treve has actually gone into Pamela’s new apartment on Lafa II. She has immigrated there, partly to be near her elderly uncle, Doctor Cyril Morgan, and partly to be near Treve.

So they are a little drunk, and there are playing cards on the table. Hence Pamela suggests a game of strip poker. Since Treve has no real idea of how to play, she feigns losing and, as a result, gets her man. Treve certainly does not object to this!

Story Postings

Rating

The story has a K rating.

Upshot

So this little short story is meant to be a little silly, maybe, and a little amusing. Plus it segues rather neatly into Complications. A touch of happy ending mixed with some humor? Then sign me up.

May

2014

Review – Complications

Complications in … what?

Background

So as a follow up to The Best Things Come in Pairs, Treve and Pamela make love for the first time. But things are a little … odd.

Plot

There is no reason whatsoever to assume that human-alien sexual relations will go smoothly, particularly not the first time. Couple this with the fact that Treve is a virgin, and Calafan men can swell up after climax, and the scene naturally turned to the parties becoming a bit stuck.

Already, things are weird.

At the same time, Treve is the first boyfriend Pamela has ever had where she’s waited. He’s also the first man she has ever loved (she did not love Malcolm when they dated in Intolerance and met again in Together. She was mature enough to never say it back to Malcolm), and he ends up being the only man she ever loves. He is everything to her, and the feeling is mutual.

Her earlier experiences have been different. They’ve been brief and unfeeling, and often laced with some S & M and B & D. She’s got a wild side. But now things are changing, and wholly for the better.

But they’re still stuck.

Story Postings

Rating

The story has a T rating.

Upshot

So I wrote this short story in response to a sex scene prompt. And it was such great fun to imagine it and put it on paper. This is one piece of Pamela’s happy ending, and I was glad to write it. For this character with a difficult early life, alien-human sex and its aftermath are the least of her many worries. And Treve is her happy ending.

Apr

2012

Spotlight on Original Plant Species – Olowa

Olowa serves a lot of purposes. Aliens have to eat, and they don’t just eat meat. At least, not my aliens.

The Calafans needed something to chow down on. But what?

History and Use in Plots

I first put it – and it didn’t have a name yet – into a dining table scene of Calafans, in Reversal. The idea was not to showcase the food. I just called it a large purple vegetable. Rather, I wanted to show the Calafans were familiar with knives and forks. This is to counter an earlier scene, where Treve and Chawev are dinner guests on the NX-01. In that scene, Treve expresses an unfamiliarity with forks. So Lili shows him how to use one. Yet in the later scene, his younger sister, Yimar, uses a knife and fork to cut some up for her younger brother, Chelben. This alerts the reader to the aliens’ deception.

It isn’t until Together that humans actually taste it and refer to it by name. Olowa (pronounced: OH-luh-wah or OH-luh-wuh) grows in the Lafa System. Lili describes it as follows –

Spotlight on Original Plant Species – Olowa

This slightly underripe eggplant is how I envision a spicy-tasting olowa would look

“That is an olowa. Or, rather, it’s bits of a bunch of them. It’s a vegetable that grows on Lafa IV. Now, the interesting thing about olowa is, as it matures, it petrifies and turns to stone. It also lightens from deep purple to, eventually, kind of an ash grey. You can’t eat it then; you’ll break a tooth. So what you’ve got here is a salad made from olowa at different stages of maturity. If anything feels too hard, all I can say is, don’t eat it. I won’t be offended.”

Details

The fruit goes through various flavors as it changes in color, from a sweet pear-like flavor, to a spicy flavor, then eventually to a fatty texture and flavor somewhat like peanuts.

In Temper, perrazin will eat it and, while hunting, Melissa climbs such a tree in order to escape a herd of charging perrazin. To distract them from going after Doug, she plucks a fruit and throws it as far away from him as possible, and a few of the animals run that way.

It is even served in the Mirror Universe, to the Empress Hoshi Sato and her family.

In another scene, a very young child, beginning to get an introduction to solid foods, gets a little sweet immature olowa in a mix with other soft foods.

In Fortune, it appears in a lot of off-handed ways. The paste is sent aboard Malcolm‘s ship as a treat, to be used by the Chef in pies. Declan also paints and draws it. It’s a part of still life studies for his art classes. At Lili and Doug’s home, there is a spreading olowa tree. It’s comfortable to sit under there and nap during a warm afternoon.

It even crossed over to my first story taking place in the JJ Abrams universe. In Release, Eriecho and Saddik are tempted by the Commandant with pieces of it. But Saddik notices its artificial ripening. Still, it’s better than what they’ve been eating for years. So he practically swallows his portion whole. Their olowa is going spicy in flavor.

Upshot

Someday, when we have made friends with other species, we’ll find ourselves eating their local foods. Plants will probably be a lot easier for us to take than meats. A vegetable like it would be particularly pleasant. So long as it wasn’t petrified.

Portrait of a Character – Treve I

Origins

Portrayal

Personality

Relationships

Pamela Hudson

Jennifer Crossman

Mirror Universe

Quote

Upshot

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Review – To Wish, To Want, To Desire

To Wish, To Want, To Desire Background

Plot

Story Postings

Rating

Upshot

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Review – Remembrance

Background

Plot

Story Postings

Rating

Upshot

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Review – Bribery

Background

Plot

Story Postings

Rating

Upshot

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Best Genre Treatment 1

Comedy

Drama

Holidays

Horror

Upshot

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Review – The Best Things Come in Pairs

Background

Plot

Story Postings

Rating

Upshot

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Review – Complications

Background

Plot

Story Postings

Rating

Upshot

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Spotlight on Original Plant Species – Olowa

History and Use in Plots

Details

Upshot

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