United Federation of Planets

Jul

2014

Recurrent Themes – Politicians

Politicians seem to be everywhere.

Background

So Star Trek canon has loads of politicians and political leaders. Here are the ones that I’ve gone to the most in my fan fiction.

I decided to not include monarchs in this group. Instead, these people attained office via elections.

Currently, they are all male, although that was not my intention, to only have elected male rulers. A lot of this skew is due to the fact that most of the politicians showcased herein are Daranaeans.

Appearances

Acreon

The war hero of Daranaea is in power at the start of Flight of the Bluebird.

Jonathan Archer

In canon, Jonathan eventually wins an election to the presidency of the United Federation of Planets. I have not shown that. But he is as a representative in Flight of the Bluebird, and as a retired former president in both Bread and A Hazy Shade.

Arnis

Arnis, the Alpha of Daranaea, suffers disgrace. So he goes to prison for murder at the end of Take Back the Night, proving that even he is not above the law.

Boestus

One of the pieces of the plot of Flight of the Bluebird is the elections for Alpha, as Acreon is retiring. Boestus is the conservatives’ standard bearer.

Chawev

So at the end of Reversal, Chawev is hauled off to jail (I seem to incarcerate my leaders a lot). And this is for the crime of poisoning Yipran with potassium.

Elemis

This Beta Council representative is elected in a special election after Arnis is disgraced at the end of Take Back the Night.

Todd Stratton

Boris Yarin‘s brother-in-law is an official, high up in the deep future government. He is the only politician I have written, so far, for the HG Wells series.

Ubvelwev

So in Voice of the Common Man, on Election Day, Lili votes for him to become the First Minister of the Lafa System, whereas Doug remains undecided by the end of the day.

Vidam

In the elections for Alpha in Flight of the Bluebird, Vidam represents the liberals on Daranaea, and is known to the electorate as the man who, during Debate, first brought to a vote the issue of granting the vote to Prime Wives (he lost, by an overwhelming amount).

Upshot

So I need to write some female (and nongendered) politicians and political leaders, I think!

You can find me on Google+.

Mar

2013

Focus on Tellarites in Star Trek Fan Fiction

Focus

Tellarites are canon.
A focus (unlike a spotlight) is an in-depth look at a canon item and my twist(s) on it.

Of course, all of Star Trek fan fiction is like that, but the idea here is to provide a window into how a single canon concept can be used in fanfiction.

Background – Tellarites

The species is canon, and they are normally shown as being obese, bearded men who enjoy hurling insults.

I don’t tamper with that.

However, my first questions were – what do their women look like? And, as importantly, they are (in canon) a founding member of the United Federation of Planets. So how the heck do they get along with everyone else?

Occurrences

In the two (so far) Mary Reed stories, Tellarites get a bit more of a look than they did in canon.

In Gainful, Mary gets her first-ever job outside of the home – answering fan mail for pop sensation Kurt Fong. But it’s not all glitz and glamour, as the Romulan War is going on. Kurt wants to be informed of any requests to entertain the troops, or provide visits or autographed pictures for the wounded. It’s up to Mary to get all of that to him in a timely manner.

One of her coworkers, Cympia Triff, is a Tellarite, and Mary initially isn’t sure whether that person is male or female. Furthermore, their boss, Ehigha Ejiogu, tells Mary that Cympia really wants to hear an insult, a fact that mortifies Mary a bit. They trade these unconventional pleasantries and Mary learns that Cympia (the computer programmer) is female. A small friendship, perhaps, is forming by the time the story ends.

In The Tribe, it’s the end of Mary’s first day, so she takes a commuter mag-lev train home. While riding through Southeast Asia, the train becomes stuck. A fellow commuter is in labor, and all of the men in the car flee for other cars save one – a young male Tellarite.

Upshot

While they are difficult people, the truth is, plenty of humans are, too. The way I see Tellarites is a lot like a curmudgeonly relative. They may be hard-nosed and harsh on the outside, but inside, they really do care. I hope I’ll have occasion to showcase them some more, and I will in the upcoming Barnstorming series.

United Federation of Planets

Recurrent Themes – Politicians

Recurrent Themes – Politicians

Background