And now onto our final victim, the last remaining security officer from the Crazy Horse.

(She currently doesn’t have an actress picked out, so feel free to suggest someone.)

Who Is She?

Kyne Tolera is a Bajoran security officer, formerly of the Crazy Horse. Tolera is tough, hard-nosed, not afraid to make difficult decisions and someone you’d rather not fight with. 36-years-old in Earth years, her prime as a physical specimen is growing short. She’s had a rough time finding satisfaction in personal relationships as she tends to end up with assholes.

But that particular streak is broken when she meets up with Ronnie, who has crushed on her from the moment he came aboard. The two of them become close as they navigate the Borg filled hallways of the Crazy Horse and eventually, with survival unlikely, Tolera admits to Ronnie that his feelings have been blatantly obvious to her since day one.

The two enjoy each other sexually in what they believed were their last moments and since that point they’ve been an unofficial item. She sees him as young, naive, but someone she should protect and stand by.

What She’s Done So Far

1. Rescued and protected Ronnie Jellico on their previous ship, the Crazy Horse.

2. Made it to the battle bridge aboard the Crazy Horse and successfully transmitted a distress call for help. While there, made love to Ronnie Jellico.

3. Was beamed to the sickbay aboard the Challenger while making love to Ronnie.

4. Protected Ronnie as the two of them traversed the Borg infested corridors of the Challenger.

5. Killed a number of soon-to-be Borg drones who were previously Starfleet officers.

6. Transported critical supplies to sickbay.

7. Stood guard in sickbay as the weapon was being made.

If She Lives …

Tolera will become part of the crew of the Challenger, likely slotting in as second-in-command behind chief of security G’Rayne (a Klingon and a Bajoran working security together has all the makings of a mini-series). She’ll continue to pursue her relationship with Ronnie (if he lives) or be in a very hardened, hateful state (if he dies).

Tolera will likely become friends with Felicia (that Betazoid becomes friends with everyone) and perhaps foster a mutual respect with Trisha (the two came into conflict about the Borgified Cardassian). Tolera’s a tough nosed security officer and that’s a type of officer Captain Phillips likes (since he himself once worked security).

From a story standpoint, Tolera is fun to write. She’s always game for a good reaction and has quite a mouth on her, which makes watching her interact with the other characters entertaining as hell. She’s the only one out of this bunch that has yet to have a chapter with her POV in it, which makes her unique in that she’s become so crucial even without that advantage.

If She Dies …

Ronnie Jellico will be hurt. This would count probably as one of his first loves (and one he was really wanting to work out) and she is also the only other person from his first assignment left. Ronnie would become the last survivor of the Crazy Horse and would feel like the only reason he lived was because of her (not entirely untrue). Feeling as if his place among those around him wasn’t earned, Ronnie would double his efforts in proving himself, taking great risks in doing so which could have a number of unfortunate consequences.

Tolera’s death otherwise doesn’t make many waves as she is just a security officer, after all.

From a story standpoint killing off Tolera only really affects Ronnie, but that’s not to be undervalued. Ronnie’s views on the Borg are largely that they used to be people and sympathy should be had for them, but if Tolera dies those views will likely become less forgiving. Ronnie’s views will play an important part further on in the overall story as they’ll be key as it relates to his father’s views.

Tolera is a security officer and has no POV chapters to her name, which makes it almost too easy to kill her off, but out of everyone she would be the most likely to take the plunge in a desperate situation for the good of the ship. At the same time, that’s quite a cliche that can be avoided.

Who Should I Kill?

We now take a look at our third victim, Ronnie Jellico, former helmsman of the Crazy Horse and son of Admiral Edward Jellico.

(Currently doesn’t have an actor, but I’ll likely try to use the real son of Ronnie Cox, but if you have suggestions do let me know.)

Who Is He?

Ronnie Jellico is the son of Admiral Edward Jellico, formerly of TNG’s “Chain of Command” when he was captain of the Cairo. Ronnie’s name is a deliberate reference to actor Ronny Cox, who plays Jellico, and Ronnie himself is semi-canon: Jellico had at least one child (who was four at the time of “Chain of Command” and that is who Ronnie is).

By the time 2385 rolls around, Ronnie has graduated from the Academy and is assigned as a helmsman to the Crazy Horse. The ship was commanded by one of his father’s former proteges, which only made it worse for Ronnie when he arrived. He was branded as an “admiral’s brat” when he entered the Academy, but he wanted to prove himself.

Sadly, he has had difficultly doing that. Ronnie is a bit of a bumbling sort, not exactly brave. He’s easily swayed by his fears and isn’t known for taking stands. He has a huge crush on the only other survivor from his ship, Tolera, and has had one on her from first day he was assigned there. He’s a bit of a hopeless romantic and is awkward at expressing himself.

But there is potential there. Tolera enlisted his services as a wannabe engineer (he wanted to be one before he got the Academy) and he’s succeeded in his small acts of engineering when his back was against the wall. Under pressure, Ronnie tends to perform at his best, though his mind occasionally wanders.

What He’s Done So Far

1. Survive a takeover from the Borg aboard the Crazy Horse.

2. Successfully navigated the Crazy Horse to the battle bridge, where he engineered a way to get into it.

3. Admitted his feelings to Tolera, who then made love with him in the middle of the battle bridge as the Borg were trying to break down their door. (In their defense, they thought they were going to die.)

4. Was beamed to the sickbay of the Challenger while in the middle of making love to Tolera.

5. Upon the Borg invading the Challenger, navigated the ship with Tolera and delivered critical supplies to sickbay to help engineer the weapon.

6. Aided in guarding sickbay from the Borg as the weapon was being made.

7. Was the first to volunteer to go on the mission to deliver the weapon.

If He Lives …

Ronnie will have accomplished something his father never did: survive the Borg. He’s been trying to get out of his old man’s shadow for his brief Starfleet career and this will mark a major accomplishment for him. The survival of not one but two ships infested by Borg will give the young man a much needed boost in confidence and propel him onward.

If Taurik or Trisha dies, Ronnie will end up getting the ops position either way. His career advancement isn’t exactly at the forefront of his mind but added responsibility would help him grow as a person.

Ronnie’s relationship with Tolera would also progress, though in what direction is yet to be determined. The two came together under desperate circumstances and may not last once the adrenaline wears off.

From a story standpoint, Ronnie is one of my favorite characters to write. He reminds me of a younger, more awkward, lacking in confidence Hank Harrison. He’s a hopeless romantic and a young guy, someone I feel who can really grow if given the chance in story to do so.

If He Dies …

Captain Max Phillips will have failed to protect the son of one of his friends and mentors. Admiral Jellico called him out of retirement and trusted him with this assignment because the two were close. Losing Ronnie after all this will hurt Max and cause him to question his decision process.

The effect on the greater workings of the Federation will also be profound upon Admiral Jellico’s being informed of his only son’s death. This will make Jellico an enemy of the Borg and anyone who dares to propose they should be treated as anything else but a horror that must be destroyed.

Jenna Phillips will have to deal directly with Max’s feelings and the fallout of Ronnie’s death.

Tolera will be the one most immediately effected as Ronnie’s death will mark the second lover she lost during the mission (the first being the chief of security aboard the Crazy Horse.) Tolera will become hardened by the events and have an undying hatred of the Borg, which will impact her future dealings with the crew of the Challenger.

From a story standpoint, Ronnie’s death will have wider long-term ramifications than anyone of the crew will immediately realize. His father being Edward Jellico is a major key to future plot points of the story.

Who Should I Kill?

Our next possible victim is Trisha Reynolds, the Challenger ops officer and best friend to Doctor Felicia Sarzan.

Who Is She?

Trisha is a character that I feel channels a lot of ops officers. She’s a jack of all trades, master of none (much like many ops officers) and sees ops as a dead-end to her career. Ops is where officers go to get stuck for years on end as their peers pass them by in rank.

Trisha is a single child, hyper-competitive and focused on her goal of getting to admiral. She has career aspirations and tends to put those far ahead of any personal life. She wants more out of her career, wants more responsibility and more duties, but is assigned to ops as she is.

She’s best friends with Felicia, whom she has known since the Academy, and is one of the only people she can have fun with. Felicia and Trisha have a complicated relationship (more than friends/sometimes lovers/like sisters) that goes all the way back to the Academy.

Trisha is career minded but not without a conscience: she feels guilty about decisions and tends to carry that guilt for a long period of time; it has been known to influence her decisions.

What She’s Done So Far

1. She questioned a Cardassian prisoner and found out why he, and his crew, were attempting to close the Bajoran wormhole.

2. She helped Taurik in implementing the methodology in order to allow the ship to travel through a transwarp conduit.

3. She had a fun movie night with Felicia (including a girl-to-girl talk and a shower with her).

3. She took over for Taurik after he reported to sickbay to have his injuries treated.

4. She allowed the Cardassian crew to help out in engineering after the ship traversed the transwarp conduit.

5. She left engineering as it was being overrun by Borg and escaped the onslaught.

6. She aided an injured Cardassian (whom was infected with Borg nanoprobes) and got him to sickbay.

7. She helped Taurik engineer the biological weapon to help save the ship (despite objections).

If She Lives …

Trisha will have a lot of guilt over her actions in engineering. She feels as if she abandoned those people, whom were her responsibility, and left them to die. Jorac (the Cardassian in question in the above part) and she have formed an unlikely trust/friendship, but one that she feels he does out of some form of owing her more than anything.

Her relationship with Felicia has a good shot of growing stronger as she deals with all the loss and the guilt and the fact that her performance during the crisis will likely harm her career goals. She may even try to rekindle the brief romance she and Felica had at the Academy, but if that happens expect both parties to regret it at some point shortly after.

She will likely remain at ops or, if Taurik dies, take over for him in engineering.

From a story standpoint, she’s a bit of a difficult character to get a hold of. She has her playful side with shows itself a lot with Felicia but very little elsewhere and her thoughts are often slanted towards how she feels about what’s going on around her and her part in it. She likes to concentrate on work but doesn’t have a great dynamic with the rest of the senior staff (minus Felicia and Rajik). Her continuing life will allow her a chance to grow her relationships with others and possibly find a bobby that’s not career planning.

If She Dies …

Expect Felicia to be heartbroken and borderline wrecked. The two are very close and have been for years. Trisha’s death will leave Felicia feeling as though she can’t have close friends in life and will likely have her withdraw.

Rajik, for his part, will feel guilty he didn’t treat Trisha’s friendship (and by extension Felicia’s) as the valuable thing it was. He will likely try to reach out to Felicia and will be rebuffed. Felicia’s withdrawing will have effects on Jenna Phillips as well, who’ll want to comfort the Betazoid and nurture their developing friendship, but will also likely be rebuffed.

Trisha’s death will leave a hole at ops, likely filled by Ronnie Jellico (Admiral Edward Jellico’s son and our next potential victim).

From a story standpoint it’s pretty tantalizing to off Trisha and see the wreckage that comes from that decision. Felicia will be dramatically effected and Rajik will suffer to an extent as well. Trisha’s death, out of all the potential ones, will have the largest ramification from a personal relation standpoint between characters. It really alters the character dynamics for the whole ship.

Who Should I Kill?

First up is our resident Vulcan, senior officer, and chief of engineering, Taurik.

Who Is He?

Taurik is a canon character who premiered in TNG’s “Lower Decks” in season seven of the show. He was instantly a character I took to and wanted to use in some form or fashion in a story. It took a few years, but I finally managed to get him into one.

In my story, Taurik has been working in starship repair/engineering from space stations after the destruction of the 1701-D in 2371. Background information from Memory Alpha said that Vorik (of VOY fame) was Taurik’s twin brother (which makes sense because they’re both played by the same actor). So, in my story, after Vorik was lost aboard Voyager that same year, Taurik promised his mother (who isn’t well by Vulcan standards) to stay off starships, which he did for the better part of 14 years till 2385.

Taurik is written like a lot of Vulcans in that he is cool, calm, collected and possesses a bit of a dry wit. Where Taurik differs and where he has really endeared himself to me is in his inner turmoil: Taurik is not so calm on the inside as he is on the outside, which is refreshing to see a Vulcan admit that (even if he doesn’t directly do it). Further, Taurik is an absolute idea generator — if there’s a problem, he comes up with a way to get past it. He’s been instrumental in coming through so far in the story.

Speaking of …

What He’s Done So Far

1. Taurik accepted the post of chief engineer aboard the Challenger and managed to get the ship running smoothly out of dock (despite it being rushed out).

2. He was able to successfully adapt a methodology used by the Enterprise and Voyager to enter transwarp conduits and not die.

3. He succeeded in restoring impulse drive during a battle with a Dominion cruiser by crawling into a Jeffries tube and doing the job himself, suffering severe injuries and risking his life.

4. He succeeded (temporarily) in restoring visual communications throughout the ship, while being greatly injured and working with a decimated engineering staff.

5. He struck up an unlikely friendship with Doctor Felicia Sarzan.

6. He helped keep sickbay going when emergency power failed, playing a role in keeping three patients alive.

7. He helped engineer the biological weapon (despite objections) that would need to be dispersed through the ship in order to save all their lives.

If He Lives …

Taurik will have a massive challenge ahead of him. His engineering staff has been decimated, as well as at least half the Challenger crew, and he’ll have to effect short-term and long-term repairs in order to give the ship a fighting chance in enemy territory. Doing this while understaffed will be incredibly difficult.

Further, Taurik will continue to explore the unlikely friendship he’s struck up with Felicia, and the dynamics between them could get interesting …

From a story standpoint, Taurik living makes my life easier as an author. He’s a go-to idea guy who comes up with some really good sounding stuff (that actually doesn’t seem as looney as some of Trek’s technobabble). He has a lot of potential in terms of revealing his backstory (which is heartwrenching) but it’s gonna take a while to get to that point. Vulcan’s aren’t exactly forthcoming when it comes to their personal history/feelings.

Taurik living would also introduce a new dynamic into the Felicia/Trisha/Rajik relationship (which Rajik sadly doesn’t get a lot of play with here, but he’s the XO and his mind is on work first) as he’s someone Felicia and Trisha like. Rajik respects him but I feel like the two are closer together than either would like to admit, at least in personalities, and that would lead to some conflict.

If He Dies …

Captain Max Phillips will have to find a replacement chief engineer on the fly, which will be very difficult considering most of the engineering staff is injured or dead. Taurik’s death would be a huge blow to deal with during a crisis situation and would have negative long-term implications for the ship/crew itself.

As far as the actual story stuff goes, Taurik’s key to an idea I have about how to make the ship survive longer but if he dies that becomes more difficult to pull off. He can still be a part of it (thanks to meticulous file keeping, he documents all his ideas) but without him physically there it’ll be harder to do.

Trisha Reynolds (our next possible victim) would likely slot in as the next chief engineer, which presents its own problems for her, the crew, and her friendship with Felicia/Rajik.

Ah, the joys of writing. I’ve recently found my stride again for my story Star Trek Challenger: Fool’s Errand and I’m glad for it, no doubt. The week has been fun so far and we’re only at Tuesday, but a problem has arisen: whom do I kill?

I’m at the point in the latest chapter (30 to be exact) that four characters are about to embark on a suicide mission that has to succeed to save the ship from certain destruction (or worse). The four characters are split into teams of two, both with equal chances of success or failure. One of them will die.

I’ve known for months this was going to happen (it was in the outline for the story) and have been dreading the point where I get here while also kinda looking forward to it. The arrival at this point marks the last leg of the story, where we begin to finally get a resolution to some things after what’s felt like months (and it has been) of dragging. On this draft, anyway. The original draft waited YEARS to get advanced before I ultimately scrapped it, but that’s another story. Literally.

Back on point, this chapter marks the beginning of the end for one of my four characters and I’ve fallen in love with each of them more than I expected. I wasn’t sure whom I was going to kill before and now I’m even less sure. But, that’s why we write, isn’t it? The thrill of getting to the point in a story where you can kill someone and agonize over it.

Each character has flaws, each has positive attributes, and each has an equal chance of going. Mostly. I have my own internal odds going on, but I’m still very much undecided. Over the next few days I’ll profile the four characters (who they are, what they’ve done in the story, and possible futures if they live/die) in question and then we’ll have an open, honest debate about whom I should kill. I may even open it up to voting for the final decision (let the people’s voices be heard!).

Stay tuned for updates and topics. As always, feel free to comment here or on the forums and thanks for reading. 🙂