Category Archives: Star Trek Chronicles

Paging Doctor Bearrian: His Untold Story

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It’s not often I focus on members of the Chronicles crew that aren’t Hank Harrison or Bethany Reeves. I have a habit of zeroing in on those two because of how much I like their dynamic as well as how popular they are. Yes, I’ll admit it, Hank/Bethany is the most popular thing I have going for me.

As such, their popularity usually brings feedback and, as well all know, Feedback=Love. I like feedback so I write them often.

But for this month’s challenge, Hank/Bethany just couldn’t be done. I had written a ton for them in the weekly free writes, but I had already posted most of it to the archives so they couldn’t be used. I had to dig deep into the free write forums and I dug up an oddball post. One that featured a Chronicles character that wasn’t Hank or Bethany, and in a scenario that was never meant to ever be followed up on in any way.

Posted on July 13th, 2011, the story in WFW #35 was about ‘small universe syndrome’ which is basically Trek’s way of getting characters together that, in no way, should really ever be together. Notable examples are littered throughout TNG (Admiral McCoy, Scotty).

My doctor got together with Seven in this prompt. Probably not as ambitious as my first response to the prompt, which was to have McCoy deliver Hank and Bethany’s first child (which is pretty much canon because I love McCoy) but I quite liked the story with Paul.

Paul deserved it frankly because he predated Hank and Bethany. Yes, folks, Paul Bearrian was actually the first of the Chronicles characters to come about. Now, just for recap, the Chronicles characters (and some elements of the story) were derived from an RPG I was trying to get off the ground.

Paul’s origins are virtually the same, he comes from an RPG, but his RPG predates the one I was making myself. His RPG was on a now-defunct Star Trek Online fansite (that sadly went the way of the dodo bird pretty quickly). Paul also has the unfortunate distinction of being author-avatar way before Hank.

Paul was me in this RPG, I’m ashamed of saying. I was young. I was stupid. But he was so blatantly me. How blatant? Well, let’s take a look at the original file I submitted for the RPG (which was accepted for some reason). Be prepared to wince. A lot.

Name:Paul Bearrian
Species: Human
Gender: male
Place of Birth: Alabama(a state in the former US)
Date of Birth: October 13, 2354
Age: 28

(What a coincidence, he has my birthday! *gags*)

Position applying for: Chief Medical Officer

Physical Appearance
Weight:224
Height: 5’8
Eye color: hazel
Hair color: Dark brown
Skin Tone: A tan with a medium hue.
Distinguishing Marks: a 1/4 wide of an inch hole in his left ankle.

(At the time, those physical appearance traits were all me. This was in fall 2007/spring 2008 when this file was written. Those are probably the most accurate measurements of that time of myself, minus the hole in my left ankle. I stole that particular trait from a friend … cause, you know, I’m original like that)

Family
Mother: Silvia Harrison
Father: Theodore Bearrian
Brother: Steven Bearrian
Brother: Maxwell Bearrian
Sister: Victoria Bearrian

(Hmm. Three siblings, two brothers, one sister … just like me. The only one to actual make it into proper canon here for Chronicles is Victoria. But pay attention to the rest of this profile from this point as you’ll also see a number of Hank Harrison traits play out.)
Strengths/Talents/Limitations/Weaknesses: Paul is a guy who doesn’t easily get deterred, and makes sure he expends every possibility in any given situation. He also is a guy who is known to give good advice, although he can never follow his own. Despite the fact he doesn’t get deterred easily, he does think to much sometimes. He also is quite forgetful, and sometimes this leads to unfortunate situations. He’s never had any luck with women, but he does have his fair share of female friends. His biggest enemy is his mind, as it tends to analyze things too much.

(These traits for Paul are, more or less, still pretty close to what he is now. The profile makes him sound like a bit of a godsend to the medical field but he does give out good advice, he doesn’t really get deterred easily, and he has a tendency to get lost in his own thoughts. He’s not really forgetful and he hasn’t had much luck with women because he doesn’t try. But some of this has carried over.)
Hobbies/Interests: Paul is quite the bowler, as he took up the sport when he was young. He loves to read and write form time to time, but never publishes anything. He also likes to fix computers like his father(who works as a federation scientist who builds and programs computers). Paul is known for his vast wealth of knowledge on a variety of subjects.

(Look, classic trekfan typo there with ‘form’ instead of ‘from’. Aren’t you glad I’m still that consistent nearly six years later? XD Seriously, though, none of these things are Paul now. He doesn’t bowl or get out at all. Doesn’t write. Doesn’t fix computers. I did, and still do, but he’s not this. He loves to read but usually it’s medical papers. His father is not a Federation scientist — I have no idea what his dad does, actually — and Paul has a decent working knowledge of most subjects, but not a ‘vast wealth’ as is described here.)
Ambitions: Paul would like to someday marry. He has already fulfilled his career aspirations in becoming a doctor, but he is always looking for that one special girl(as his mother and sister say). It is a daunting subject for Paul, as he can never quite figure out what to do(in a romantic sense) with women.

(Not Paul. He’s pretty sure he’s a bachelor for life, though Seven may change that, and he’s not looking. At all. For any girl. At all. He’s probably in his office, working, and forgetting to eat. Or drink. Or sleep. Because that’s Paul. But these trails are so me at this time and, in some respects, still are me. Now, I’m going to go invent a time machine real quick to go punch my past self … jeez.)
Education – Before Starfleet Academy:
Attended Alabama central Academy 2358-2366
Attended Alabama Central High school 2366-2370, graduated 16th in his class

(More me.)
Promotion History:
Attended Starfleet academy 2370-2373 (graduated in 3 years due to placement in the advanced program)

(Not me. Or Paul, for that matter … I think. He had a standard four year program but he did graduate with honors. He worked hard.)
Ensign 2375
Lt. Junior grade 2377
Lieutenant 2378
Lt. commander 2381

(I’m actually fairly sure this is somewhat maybe close … promotion histories always give me headaches. My RPG buds are always telling me I promote people too quickly for a paramilitary organization like Starfleet. I tend to disagree, based on canon, but whatever the case maybe, this is probably close to Paul’s actual promotion history.)

Personal History and Origin

Paul Berrian was born in 2354, in AL. His father and mother were pleased to welcome in their oldest son, and Paul later came to feel that title carried far more responsibility than it implied. His little brother Steven was born only a few years after him in January of 2357. After that he was constantly battling for superiority in the family, but eventually the brother to brother rivalry settled down to a friendly competition. That all changed however when their mother gave birth to their youngest son, Maxwell or “Maxxie” in June of 2365. Again another brotherly rivalry erupted, but this time between Steven and young Maxxie. Paul was forced on many occasions to referee the fighting, but yet again another child was born in September of 2367, his only sister Victoria. When she came into the world, Paul was forced to learn a whole new set of rules.

(Um … me. This is getting awkward now.)
When Paul entered High school in 2366 his was looked upon as just another smart kid. His first year in High school was hell, to say the least as he was picked on and had hardly any friends. However he soon learned to adapt to the ways of high school, and by the end of his freshmen year he was considered a cool guy. However, Paul was never quite the ladies man. In fact, he was always the single guy and he could never make any strides with women.

(Not me. Freshmen year was hell but I was never considered a ‘cool guy’. I was projecting wishes here I think. And so couldn’t make any strides with women but that’s another story entirely, lol.)

This sad trend continued after he graduated High school, and for his senior trip he and his buddies went to Risa. Here Paul suffered his greatest defeat as he was tricked into drinking a glass of water, spiked with sleeping pills. When he woke up, he had been robbed, and was left with nothing. He spent the next few weeks getting back to earth, however he suffered an accident on the trip back. he was thrown onto a hot iron pole, and his left ankle fell directly on it, going through and leaving a 1/4 wide hole. The doctors were able to save his ankle, but could not remove the scarring.

(I made this up and it’s not applicable to either Paul or myself.)

Paul entered the academy 2 months later. His goal was to become a doctor, a goal which his father disapproved of, but one which his mother liked. he spent the next 3 years of his life studying, and working hard. He earned his medical degree, and left Starfleet academy for his first assignment.

(Fatherly disapproval of career choice was neither Paul or me. This was transferred over to Hank’s father, who didn’t want his son in Starfleet at all).

Paul was assigned onto a medical hospital in Starbase 134. There he cared for the sick and ill, but mostly those poor souls who fought in the dominion war. He was there when they brought them in, and he became friends with many of them, however few ever left. The depressing nature of the work was beginning to wear on Paul and he put in for a transfer to a starship after he gained his Ensign status.

(This is partly true. Paul did do some time on a medical base as I recall, during the Dominion War, but he was a med student. My canon is a bit murky for him here.)

He served on board the U.S.S Gettysburg, an old excelsior class vessel for her last years of service, and left in 2379, due to the ship’s retirement. He signed onto the U.S.S Blackhawk, nova class ship, as the assistant medical officer. The Blackhawk was called back to dock in late 2381 due to a malfunction in her warp core. Paul decided to leave the Blackhawk, and put in for a transfer onto the U.S.S Endeavor for Chief Medical Officer. He awaits the response to his request.

(Paul was never aboard the Gettysburg but he was aboard the Blackhawk.)

 

And that’s it. The RPG profile is pretty simple and, as you see, Paul as we know him doesn’t actually have much from here. His name, however, remains the same and is an homage to a very famous person who coached the University of Alabama’s football team, Paul Bear Bryant. I got a kick out of it then.

Now, it’s somewhat ironic as Paul Bearrian and Paul Bear Bryant are two vastly different people in terms of personality and approach.

Paul was very much author-avatar at the time, as you can also see. But he quickly developed into his own person in the writing of the Chronicles series. He doesn’t like social functions. He’s not big into places with a lot of people. He’s a small eater, a nervous person, and likes to bury himself in his work.

It takes a certain type of person to draw Paul out and, as ludicrous as it sounds, Seven is that type of person. Which is is why when the challenge came about, I was leaning towards the Paul/Seven date. And it won out, thankfully.

Now, Paul has a lot of potential, especially if this thing with Seven plays out well. I don’t know for sure if these two are a lifetime item but they date for a while at least. Paul is a good piece to play with and has a lot to contribute. There is a big plot I want to tackle with both Paul and Seven, but certain things have to play out with them on a personal level before I even consider it a realistic option (yes, I know, I’m a tease).

Paul was always a tough one to write romance for anyway. Every attempt I made ended up failing. A lot of people have told me they thought Paul and T’Kel would end up together, but I will confirm here that doesn’t happen. T’Kel gets her own happy ending but does not end up with Paul. Paul was slated to be a lifelong bachelor … he may end up that way. He may not. We’ll see.

While I’m here, I’ll also go ahead and talk about Paul and Vicky.

Because Vicky is based off someone I knew in high school, a girl who was very much like the one in the story, but one I had a bit of a crush on (and by a bit, I mean a lot). Vicky was short, blonde, very pretty, and quite bouncy. The real one. Which is just like Paul’s sister, which the real Vicky basically became to me after I struck out hard on her.

In the story, Vicky sets Paul up on a blind date, because Paul has no social life and is completely devoid of any motivation to develop one. He really would rather not. He feels super-nervous in social situations. But Vicky is determined to find her brother a suitable partner because, frankly, she’s really obsessed with the idea of ‘great romances’. Vicky is a sucker for romances. Reads them/plays them all the time.

She’s about 11 years younger than Paul, so during his time in high school he had a little sister that was that cute age that always wanted to play with him. He played with her, sometimes, but a lot of the times he missed out on playing with her because he was involved with something else. He carries some guilt over this and feels like he was an absent brother for much of her younger life, which he kinda was. The Academy and Starfleet took him away from Earth and he didn’t mind it much.

He missed her though. The two share a close relationship, though, and that’s due in no small part to how tiny Paul’s social circle is. He communicates with so very few people that aren’t colleagues that his ability to reach out and bend an ear is limited. Vicky uses this to get him out from time to time. She’s really the driving force behind any social function he goes on in a lot of cases.

Vicky is Paul’s only sibling and his parents jokingly refer to her as the ‘accidental child’ because they had only planned to have one. But they got two and Vicky was, from moment one, a bundle of energy that is hard to say no to. It’s damned near impossible. Which is why, in the story, Paul can’t really say no to his sister.

… and that’s it. I don’t think there’s anything else I have to add other than that Paul’s nickname, Saint Paul, has its own story … a bit unflattering of one but that’s a gem to be revealed in a story. Hopefully with Seven, if the two manage to get to the point where they start sharing personal details like that.

Thanks for reading folks.

The Origins Of Vick And Danny…Part 2

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Whew, been a busy few days and I’ve neglected to complete this little untold story. Now…where was I?

Oh yes, that’s right, Vick and Danny. Well, as we saw in my previous post, Vick and Danny’s origins were somewhat cobbled together, but quite a story. I had developed the characters, I had developed the general outline really, but the question was, now what? I had Danny and I had Vick; I stuck the two together in my head and what came about was really quite surprising.

Vick and Danny are not PB and J. They’re not Peanut Butter and Chocolate. They resemble an odd mix, a thing that really has no chance to survive  but somehow, someway, does. Vick and Danny are like Spam and Chocolate Milk.

Let that sink in for a second as I explain this; Spam and Chocolate Milk is a horrible, horrible thing. You take the Spam, you take the Chocolate Milk, you stick them in a blender and you make a concoction that will have the toughest person on Earth (Chuck Norris) crying tears. It. Is. Disgusting. How do I know this?

Uh…well, I had some. A lot of some, actually. It was a kinda “Fear Factor” food thing challenge between a few of the local church groups. It was me versus some poor kid from the Presbyterian church. The one who drank the most Spam/Chocolate Milk mixes in the allotted time won the contest and got bragging rights. It was church pride on the line, people, I had no choice…plus I was stupid and only 14. Factor that in please when you judge. Anyway, I chugged the most in the allotted time, won the contest, and was promptly ill for the rest of the night/next day. Being lactose intolerant did not help me in the contest, but I won anyway; I just paid mightily for it as one can imagine.

That’s why Danny and Vick are, to me, the Spam/Chocolate Milk mix. They shouldn’t exist. They shouldn’t work and it’s sickening, in some respects, to watch them work together. Danny, being the eternal hopeless romantic and optimist, is constantly trying to redeem Vick, no matter what his actions really. Vick, being as depressed and guilt ridden he is, is constantly diving deeper into the abyss. The problem is that, together, the two achieve some weird balance that keeps them from going TOO far in one direction or the other. They kind of tether one another to the middle and if you remove one from the equation, the other goes sliding into their chosen extreme with reckless abandon.

Screwed up? Sure. A total mess? Absolutely. Completely up my alley? Hell yeah.

There’s a reason I’m called “The King of Character Torture”. The tragedies and travesties of our lives play a role in helping shape us. It’s why my characters have them in spades, because we all do frankly, some more than others. These two were a weird, unsustainable, unholy mix of a partnership that strangely managed to survive despite the long odds that it would.

I was quite enamored with them and still am, to some extent. I had plans for them to have their own spin off book that would explore that seedy, unclean side of Starfleet and the Federation more in depth, but it never really developed. I only got down the one chapter before the idea, like many ideas, fizzled out for me. I did make a smashing book cover though, one I really quite liked…maybe it’ll get used in the future. Here’s that.

Vick is Clive Owen (huge fan of his) and Danny is Ryan Reynolds (Also a huge fan). I’ve always like the idea of the two actors together in a movie but it seems quite unlikely. But I can see both of them fulfilling the roles quite well.

And finally, here’s the only chapter I have for them, featuring the very familiar antics of one Danny Scott…and a few other things of course. 😉

Star Trek Lost Souls: Damnation

Ch. 1

“You know, I really do like what you’ve done with the place…it adds a great bit of flare to it.” He smiled at the wall in front of him, his eyes focused on it. “It reminds me of a bar on Archer III I used to go to…a very exotic bar. Not much décor but certainly more than enough…extracurricular activities.”

No one responded-still. By his clock he had been in here for over two hours now without a word from anyone or anything. The room itself was a standard interrogation room. One table, two chairs, a door, and a depressing paint scheme. He’d have thought after three years they’d have repainted it but sadly he was mistaken. 

“You know, in that bar I met a lady by the name of Brenda. Now Brenda…ah, she was a looker if there was one. I mean, you ever meet a girl who just seemed to glow when you saw her…a girl who just seemed to pop in a boring world of noise and confusion? That was Brenda. She had a lot of pop…and certainly spunk.” He smiled at the wall and leaned back in his chair. “She could talk your ear off though…but I didn’t mind. We complimented each other well and we never had a dull conversation.”

He glanced back at the wall, still receiving no indication from the other side that someone was watching. He didn’t see any obvious recording devices in the room but he knew there had to be one somewhere; they rarely stuck him anywhere where he was truly alone. They were always waiting and watching him for any hint of what he knew.

“So, Brenda and me seemed to work out…at first. But after a few weeks I realized she liked those extracurricular activities more than being a single lady, so we parted ways.” He smiled at himself. “Though anytime I’m in that system I do visit her to catch up on old times.”

The door to the room opened briskly and he smiled at the person who had just entered. She was rather good looking and he didn’t mind that at all. He leaned forward in his chair as she sat down and winked at her. “Well, they may not have changed the paint scheme but they did change my case worker; you’re far prettier than my old one was.”

She looked down at the PADD in her hands and then back at him. “You’re Daniel Scott?”

He nodded. “The one and only-though you can call me Danny.”

She put the PADD down on the table and eyed him suspiciously. “You’ve been read your rights?”

“I have…though if you’d like to read them to me again I will support that decision fully,” he said playfully.

“Your accused of treason, murder, espionage, and a myriad of other charges-you realize the situation you’re in?”

He smiled at her again. “The situation I’m in? Of course I realize it. I’m in a bland room with a beautiful woman…such a situation many men would dream of…well, maybe they’d wish for a less bland room.”

She slammed her hands on the table, getting his attention. “Don’t play games with me Scott! Where is he?!”

He wagged a finger at her. “Angry really doesn’t suit you at all…I think you need to relax more. I know a place on Gravak V that has a beautiful view of the ancient city there. In fact, if you look really hard you can see some of the ancient imagery built into the architecture—”

“Where is Johansson?” She interrupted.

He put on a look of innocence. “I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

She picked up the PADD and scrolled down to a picture of a man. “Him,” she said showing the picture to Danny, “where is he?”

Danny stared at the picture and shrugged. “Afraid I can’t say I know him-though I doubt he would like that picture. He looks like a filthy criminal.”

“He is a criminal, like you,” she said strongly. “If you don’t cooperate, I’ll be forced to recommend you be charged to the full extent of the law.”

Danny feigned consideration. He then grinned. “Okay…if I cooperate will you give me a date? Because that imagery on Gravak V is really something—”

She tapped her combadge and two security officers entered into the room. “Take him to his cell.”

Danny shook his head. “You’re going to miss out on a great time-I swear Gravak V is just as I promised.”

She stepped into his personal space, barely a few inches from his face. “I know Gravak V…the city you’re talking about isn’t allowed to be visited by tourists. Even if it was,” she said with venom, “the imagery you’re talking about built into the architecture is pornographic.”

Danny smiled shamelessly. “You looked like you needed to see how it was done…I doubt you’ve had much experience with fun lately with that kind of attitude; you must surely eat the weaker men.”

“Get him out,” she snarled.

Danny was roughly escorted out of the room and thrown into his cell down the corridor. After a moment of picking himself off the floor he mock saluted the leaving guards.

He sat down on the brigs sparse bench and looked around the room. The usual arrangements; nothing fancy. He figured he get at least a nice brig…after all this was the third time he was a guest here on Starbase 67. He figured he’d get some sort of repeat offender special.

“A side of eggs and a nice thick piece of bacon would be good right now,” he called out to the guard on duty. The guard ignored him, paying him no mind.

Danny sighed and leaned back against the wall. “This reminds me of the time I was a guest on board an Orion freighter…nasty place those freighters. They really have no sense of cleanliness and utterly disregard other species smell preferences. Have you ever smelled a sweaty Orion? It smells like someone died and was bathed in Klingon bath water.”

The guard looked up and raised an eyebrow.

Danny nodded in understanding. “You’re right; Klingons don’t take baths.”

He watched her exit the room in a huff and closed his eyes. She had lost her cool and allowed Scott all the room he needed to distract her.

“I want her off the case,” the admiral behind him demanded.

Nathan rubbed his eyes and turned to face the admiral. “Sir, please, give her—”

“No more pleading with me, Captain Brennan. I want her off-now.”

“Yes, Admiral,” Nathan said slowly. He had feared Noble would make this difficult and he was right. Admiral Francis Noble was a man many disliked and many feared; he wielded great power as head of Starfleet’s Department of Internal Affairs. Noble’s authority was backed up by Starfleet Intelligence and that didn’t help the man’s image.

But for whatever aspects Nathan disliked Noble for, he did respect the man; he had a winning record and closed out cases quickly back when he was an investigator. Nathan was promoted to captain due in no small part to Noble’s influence in the department. As an investigator himself, Nathan had a lot to learn from Noble; there were just some days he wished the admiral was a little more understanding.

A quick tap of his combadge summoned Commander Gala Fresnel into the room and Nathan made sure to look her directly in the eyes; it wasn’t easy for him to pull her off the case…they were involved at the moment and Admiral Noble wasn’t too pleased about that either. “Commander, I’m afraid you’re being removed from this case. It is the opinion of myself and the admiral that Scott doesn’t see you as a threat…he sees you as a plaything.”

Gala’s eyes burned with anger, but she remained calm-at least on the exterior. “Sir, respectfully, I’d like another crack at him; I think I can get to him.”

“You did get to him,” Noble replied abrasively, “and he got to you, Commander. I expect an unwavering amount of self control from my officers, especially when overseeing a case such as this; he’s a dangerous man, Commander, and his partner is ten times more lethal than he. He’s playing games with you and that means he doesn’t take you seriously; I’m pulling the plug,” he said as he narrowed his eyes at her, “and that’s final; understood?”

Gala gave a curt nod of acknowledgement, though Nathan could see in her eyes how angry she was.

“Good,” Noble said quickly, “dismissed.”

Gala about faced and walked out of the room briskly, her calm exterior beginning to crumble slowly. Nathan knew he’d find her in the holodeck later, probably killing some poor simulation. She didn’t take losing well and this would qualify as a loss in her book.

Noble turned to Nathan and scowled. “I hope you have a suggestion who to put on this case.”

“I recommend myself—”

“Absolutely not!” Noble insisted strongly. “You’ve worked this case for the last nine years, nearly ten now…as head of this station’s Internal Affairs division, you’re place is authoritative, not leading an investigation.”

Nathan’s face flushed red briefly, but he controlled himself. “Sir, I have more experience than my entire staff-overseeing this investigation to its conclusion is something I swore to myself I’d do.”

“Overseeing it is something you will do,” Noble responded harshly, “but that’s all; taking an active part in this investigation will draw unneeded attention to it. Request denied, Captain; try again.”

Nathan locked his jaw and contemplated the question at hand. Noble wouldn’t allow him to do it and Noble wouldn’t allow Gala to do it; that left few options. “Sir, you’ve seen my entire staff and you know that no one here is qualified to work this case as well as I or Commander Fresnel; you’ve eliminated all the options I have available.

Noble shook his head. “You have someone arriving later today that would suit the case fine; he’s just as much a man who likes to play as Mister Scott is.”

Nathan looked at Noble in surprise. “Sir…you vehemently dislike Harrison—”

“I dislike his brother; I like him a little more. He at least understands his job and does it well…his brother, as evidenced by his capture, did not. I want him on this case and in a room with Scott tomorrow morning. You’ll send Commander Fresnel to brief him upon arrival.”

“Sir, respectfully, I’m the best person to brief him,” Nathan argued quickly.

“Commander Fresnel was in that room with Scott…she’ll have insight you or I don’t. I want her to brief Harrison-you and I have another meeting tonight.” Noble glared into the glass. “It’s not one either of us should look forward to, but it will help speed this case along.”

“Who are we meeting, sir?”

Noble frowned. “Carry out my orders and meet me at my quarters at 1800 hours; don’t be late.” He walked out of the room briskly and Nathan let loose a deep sigh.

“Smug bastard,” he said under his breath, careful to vent his frustration slowly. He had to inform Gala and then he had to prepare himself for a night out on the town with Admiral Noble.

Fate was out to torment him today.

 

And that’s it. As you can see, Danny is himself there, very much as he is still himself now. Not much has changed with Danny in nearly two years. Vick is briefly referred to there a few times but he wasn’t supposed to play a big role until a a few chapters down the line as I had it planned out.

The set-up, at least how I had it planned anyway, was that Danny had purposefully gotten captured. Vick needed him on the inside of the station to help them steal a Defiant class there for repairs. It was going to be very Star Trek III-esqe that particular scene (probably with a few references to that movie in the scene as well). They were going to need the firepower of the ship to bring down a Section 31 ship that carried none other than everyone’s favorite agent, Sloan. It was Vick’s plan to capture Sloan, get him to clear him and Danny’s names (a lot of things had been blamed on the two that weren’t true) and get S31 to reveal the location of Vick’s wife-he strongly suspected they knew where she was.

As for the other characters, well, they’re roles were somewhat undefined. Commander Fresnel was going to be Danny’s love interest, Captain Brennan was going to be the guy who wanted to see Danny and Vick behind bars no matter what, and Admiral Noble was the guy who had the connections to S31 and the shady dealings. Anyone who’s read my Star Trek Chronicles series knows that Admiral Noble is not a nice man; he’s pretty much a dick.

And who is the Harrison that Admiral Noble was referencing in the chapter? That was Hank’s youngest brother, Jake Harrison, also a fellow Starfleet officer. This book was, more or less, going to debut Jake and would allow him to get out there on his own. Hank’s other siblings don’t get a lot of mention in the main books, or even in the prompts; they’re kind of glossed over, sadly, but each is distinctive in their own way and certainly worth writing about.

But none of it really came to pass sadly. That was the only chapter written and though I quite like it, the idea never got off the ground really. The story, like so many others before it, got red shirted, and now lies on the harddrive of my computer, waiting for me to get back to it.

Today though, it’s story has been told, and hopefully it has been somewhat enjoyable for you folks. As always, any and all comments are welcome. Thanks for reading.

The Origins Of Vick And Danny

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Well, it’s time for another untold story ladies and gentlemen and this one has to do with my dynamic duo, Vick Johansson and Danny Scott. To sum each up in a sentence, Vick is this uber depressed alcoholic with homicidal tendencies and lots of grudges. Danny is the talktive, eternal optimist, hopeless romantic, who tags along with Vick as they both are on the run from Section 31 (scary cats).

But exactly where did these two come from? Both were and still are rather unique characters in my rather large stable of characters. There hasn’t really been other characters like them; the two are largely codependent on one another. You take one away from the other and things generally don’t go well.

Well, Vick and Danny surprisingly share some of the same origins as Hank Harrison and some of the Pearl crew; they’re from an email based RPG that sadly never got off the ground. There was literally one post from just about everybody involved and then it died. At the time, Vick and Danny were named differently…in fact, they were pretty much different characters entirely; Vick was named Tommy while Danny was named Dan. Here’s the only post I ever wrote in that RPG, over two years ago:

 

“Oh hell!” The sparks from the console rained on Dan and he threw his arms up to protect himself. “Tommy, we’ve lost helm!”

His partner in crime punched his fist into the console and grimaced in pain. “Damn it!”

Tommy stood up and headed for the escape pod.

Dan stood as well, but got in way. “We’re not leaving!”

“Why not?! She’s gonna crash and burn.”

Dan shook his head. “Come on, we got to try and save her!”

“You try, I’ll run. I’m not wasting time on a broken ship!”

The ship lurched violently and both the men were thrown against the nearby bulkhead. The ship began to spin out of control as Dan watched the stars whirl around them.

He tried to move but the gravity was failing and he was pinned down.

“Damn you and you’re sentimentalism!” Tommy tried to reach for his gun but failed. The gravity was too strong.

“I like my ship!”

The console beeped. Dan smiled desperately. “The ship’s found another vessel!”

“Good, we can take out two for the price of one!” Tommy tried his hardest to pull away but couldn’t.

Dan didn’t even try. Whoever was nearby, it was up to them to save Dan and Tommy.

 

And that was it. I was the set up post for the entire thing; my dynamic duo of Tommy and Dan were going to get rescued by a Starfleet vessel, their past as former S31 agents would be brought up, they would get captured, and things would go from there. Unfortunately, it never got that far, but Tommy and Dan had been created.

As you can see through some of the interactions, Tommy and Dan had a weird, if not fun, dynamic which I found hard to forget about. I mean, they were just created for an RPG but since it was dead, they had no where to go. I felt bad for them, so I wanted to really use them for something; by this point we’re in late 2009, early 2010. I had just completed the second book of the Star Trek Chronicles series and was in need of a bit of a break…I wanted to write other characters; I wanted to explore other things.

I was a bit burned out on the Pearl crew. I mean, you can write the same characters so often it just kinda grates on you after awhile and this was where I was at. So, I decided to turn my attention to the question of Tommy and Dan but I really didn’t have a place to start.

And then a challenge on Ad Astra caught my attention. It was the Academy Hi-Jinks Challenge and I was looking to actually use Hank initially for the challenge, but it went no where. Luckily, it was extended and I got a chance to start development from scratch; so I decided to take my Tommy character and rename him Vick (because that seemed so much cooler) and explore exactly how he became a Section 31 agent.

That exploration turned into the story One Damned Prank which won that challenge in a close vote and seemed to really make an impression on people. That’s when the rest of the details began falling into place for Vick; I knew I had a character that seemed to be interesting to people (always a good thing) and I wanted to make his story a rather sad and tragic one (very much matching the vibe of the story he premiered in). So, all that being said, I was going to take Vick down a dark and twisty path that offered little hope of redemption; I was going to put this guy through hell and back.

You see, Vick would run a lot of ops for S31, but his first one was written about in Gusts and Gales. It was there were Vick would sell off the first piece of his soul and from that point on the slide began. Vick would engage in more depravity and feel even less about it. He was becoming a cold and ruthless weapon, exactly what S31 wanted; but they misjudged just how dead he was inside when they sent him on a two year undercover mission.

On that mission, Vick was supposed to get close to a very powerful Orion Syndicate family; he married into it and slowly worked his way up the food chain. The problem was, he was given orders to kill them, all of them…including his wife. Here’s an excerpt;

 

It was later that night when Vick was standing inside the house, his wife in his arms. He had married her two years ago to get into the Syndicate…to go deep undercover. He had never imagined…never guessed the feelings she would unlock in him. And now…those very same feelings he had treasured for these last two years were his greatest weakness. “You have to promise me, T’alyn-promise to keep your end of the bargain.”

She looked up to him, her eyes full of confusion. “I don’t understand any of this…not at all. You have to get me away from here, but I can’t be with you…you have to place me in the care of others, but you don’t who they are or where they’ll take me. Worst of all, you expect me to do this while my family is left behind…and while I leave you behind.” She pulled herself from her arms and stood angrily. “This isn’t right!”

Vick stood quickly, his hands reaching out for her arms, gripping them tightly. He pulled her in close, his face full of conviction and anger. “Don’t fight me on this! You will die if you stay here, do you understand?! You. Will. Die. Isn’t that clear to you? I…I have to get you away, and I can’t know where you’re going…I don’t know even if the people I have coming are trustworthy…but I have no choice. You have to go…and you have to leave me behind. You can’t attempt to find me…you wouldn’t anyway.”

“So what should I do?! Sit and wait for you?! Grow old looking to the sky, wondering when you’ll arrive?!” Tears streamed down her face and she ripped herself away. “I refuse! Do you hear me, I refuse!” She began to walk towards the door, her movement fast and angry.

Vick was left with no choice. He brought a small phaser out and fired it, stunning her to the ground. She collapsed into a pile.

He bent down, picking her up, cradling her form for a moment. He kissed her lightly on the lips and pulled away. “I’ll find you…I swear.” He placed a small holographic chip into her pocket, where she was sure to notice it. That would explain everything…his life, his job…why they were married. He hoped, as much as he ever hoped in his entire life, that she would understand some of it…any of it. He knew though, that the reality was she’d probably hate him for as long as she lived. Maybe he should just let her live the lie…maybe it would be better to keep her blissfully unaware.

But then, love…love had no boundaries, no secrets…if he really loved her, he would have to tell her the truth.

After considering these things, he carefully made sure the chip was secure in her pocket, and then stood. He tapped the combadge for the signal, and then attached it to her shirt. In a glimmer of blue light she vanished.

In those seconds, what was left of his heart went with her.

 

Vick would carry out his orders, killing the family, but instead of a painless death as S31 promised with the transporter scramblers he was given, the family instead died a very painful death and Vick would have those memories with him for the rest of his life. This is where he began to plan his escape from S31…to get away from them, to find his wife, to redeem himself for all the sins he had committed.

But before I could do any of that, I needed to figure out the other half of the dynamic duo. Dan was going to act as the anchor that kept Vick in this world, I knew that, but as to how Dan was going to do that…what Dan was like…I didn’t know. First thing that had to change was the name though…Dan did not enthuse me so I decided to give it a more friendly flare and changed it to Danny.

But as to why he got his last name Scott, well, that’s due to one person alone, SLWalker. You see, SLWalker had written a lot of great Scotty stories; she really fleshed out the life of that character in a way that will likely never be matched in my mind, it’s just that good. Those stories and more can be found here.

Anyways, Danny ended up with the last name Scott simply because of my adoration for the way SLWalker wrote Scotty. Now, it’s never stated in canon that Scotty ever had any kids or any flings that resulted in kids (I somehow doubt he ever did) and I never make that connection between Danny and Scotty. The extended Scott family carried on Scotty’s legacy and were always looking for the next Scotty. Fast forward a few generations later, and we arrive at Danny who was slated to be the next great engineer from the Scott family.

Except, Danny really didn’t want that. He’d been pushed into it as a kid and he was hugely resentful of it by the time he was approaching his pre-teen years. That resentment and the family discourse in general is covered in Traditions. It’s here that a few things about Danny are revealed; firstly, he doesn’t want to be the next Scotty and secondly, that his mother is physically abusive towards him. This would play a huge part in Danny’s development as a person as hope would be something he eternally held onto for his mother and his family in general; hope that his mother would change for the better, hope that his family wouldn’t force him to go into Starfleet, hope that things didn’t have to go down the path they were seemingly destined to.

Sadly, Danny’s hopes never came true. He ended up at the academy, flunked out after two years, and was recruited by Section 31 to work with them. Danny, who had no future as it was, joined up with them because he thought as least there he could make a difference. He was a disappointment to his family and he felt like he failed them…he wanted to lessen that feeling, hence why S31’s offer to work for them was so quickly accepted.

Danny, being the friendly, talktive, somewhat annoying, blabber mouth that he was was quite intelligent; he was charming, cocky, and not S31 material really…which is exactly why he was made an S31 agent. No one would ever suspect him. Vick and Danny would work a few ops together but when Vick made his escape attempt Danny joined up with him. It was completely unplanned, spur of the moment, but Danny liked Vick; he was his friend and Danny is fiercely loyal to friends. So, he helped Vick escape (much to Vick’s dislike) and the two from that point on were together. They would remain so for many years.

The dynamics between them, their own story, and how they were further explored I’ll get into next time. As always, any and all comments are welcome and thanks for reading.

Hank’s Near Death Experience

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It’s not often that I struggle with doing something to a character. I didn’t get the moniker “King of Character Torture” for nothing after all; characters-mine and others-share a particular dislike for me simply because I come up with new and horrible ways to torture them. Conflict breeds a good story (along with other things) and conflict often involves people getting hurt, in one or another, in real life. So, when I write conflict, somebody is usually going to get “tortured” in one way or another; physically, emotionally, mentally, ect. Characters get tortured in my stories and that’s the way it goes.

One in particular however, my very first fanfic character Captain Henry “Hank” Harrison, always gives me trouble when I try to torture him. Now, I could utterly spoil everything I’ve done to him but that’s literally a few stories in of itself. Basically, I’ve made this guy go through a lot of different kinds of hell. Romantically, he’s always pining for a girl he never quite seems to find the courage to go all the way with. In his career, he’s a bit of a black sheep and Starfleet doesn’t really like him, but doesn’t exactly hate him. When he manages to land his posting aboard the Pearl as her captain after serving a few years as captain of the science vessel Galloway, things seem to be looking up.

And then I throw him into a nasty storm of events that has a lot of political, social, and other ramifications at stake. A battle happens, people die, he gets captured, he gets tortured (in more ways than one), and generally his life is complete hell for a few months. All this I do to this guy and I find it hard to.

Which is why towards the end of Star Trek Chronicles: Old Foes and New Allies (the second book of the Chronicles series) I was going to finally do away with Hank Harrison. My valiant captain. My first fanfic character and easily the most likely character I had…he was going to die. His head was going to be on my mantle…he was going to be the first “major” character I had ever killed and it would be a moment that would echo throughout the cosmos.

Okay, maybe not the cosmos, but certainly the story itself. I was dead set on ending Hank Harrison. Why, do you ask, would I kill off my most likable and popular character? Well, the answer is in the question itself. Hank was (and still is) SO likable and SO popular. It frankly annoyed me when I was writing the second book how often people would read a chapter and focus solely on Hank-even when he wasn’t in the chapter.

Book II of the Chronicles series shifted focus on a number of fronts; lots of different perspectives and characters were seen. In retrospect, probably too many were seen, but at the time I thought it was a good play. Hank wasn’t in every chapter; in fact, he probably appeared in about a third of the book. Which is why when people left feedback on the story and the first sentence usually pointed out the obvious fact (to me anyway) that Hank wasn’t featured in that chapter, it got me angry.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I love feedback. I love reviews. You could completely trash my chapter and my story as a whole and I’d love the feedback anyway. But as a writer when you focus on other characters and plots in a story and people gloss over them to ask you about one character and plot…well, it gets tiresome. This was a situation where a character had grown to overshadow the story.

Which meant the character had to die, in my mind. Hank had to die in order for the rest of the story to live. So deadset (ha?) on this that I actually wrote the ending of Book II with Hank dead. I committed to it. He was a goner. Don’t believe me? “Oh, trekfan’s not really serious” you say. All right, fine; read about it. Be warned, it was written nearly three years ago, so it’s rough, but here it is:

The death of Hank Harrison-End of Book 2

The bridge was in shambles as the fire around him made his skin burn. Maxwell was still alive but that didn’t matter.

The massive vessel was ahead of them still, destroying Romulan ships without so much as a thought. The Pearl was barely holding her own against the onslaught. Her hull was blackened by burn and hull breeches, but she still fought on. She wouldn’t give up. No one on board would give up.

Hank reached over and rolled Maxwell over. Breathing and awake. “Still…going?”

Maxwell coughed blood. “I can keep going…just the same…as you.”

Hank smiled. “Any ideas?”

Maxwell struggled to his feet. “We’re weaponless with barely any propulsion.”

Hank gripped the arm of the captain’s chair and pulled himself up. “The battle is raging around us…” he winced as he put weight on his leg.

Maxwell noticed. “Maybe you should sit.”

He stared at him with determination. “If you can stand, so can I.”

“Have it your way.” The old man moved towards the helm and looked over it. “We have 1/16th impulse. Barely. Don’t know how the hell we do.”

Hank grinned. “I managed to save some power.”

“Smart boy.” Maxwell turned to him and stood tall. “Only one thing left to do. We can save them.”

Hank nodded. “Yes, we can. The warp core will cause a huge dent in their hull. They won’t survive.”

Maxwell bit his lip. “Those assholes are dead.”

The two men turned towards the viewscreen and watched it as they approached the hull of the ship.

“Do we have shields?”

Hank shook his head. “Nope.”

Maxwell shrugged. “Worth asking.”

Hank slid into the captain’s chair, his mind racing. He was going to die. All the friends he hadn’t seen in months, all the family he wished he could have said one last goodbye to, all of that was wishful thinking. He would never see them again.

He would never see Nick’s smiling face at one of his jokes, never hear Bethany sing again, and he would never see Nick’s child. Boy or girl. Hell, he would even miss Ashley’s sister, Brittany. She did nothing but insult him.

He would miss so much. So much.

He looked at Maxwell. “You said you had family?”

Maxwell barely nodded. “Adopted, yes. Haven’t seen them in three years, but when I did…there was a little boy. It was their son, barely six months old. He was a looker.”

“Was going to get all the ladies?”

Maxwell smiled weakly. “Guaranteed.” He sank down into the helm’s seat and stared wistfully at the screen. “Been one hell of a battle.”

“Sure has.”

“Harrison, you ever think about getting married?”

Hank took a sharp breath. “One day. I hoped.”

“Yeah, it’s good being married. You’ll never quite feel as close to a person as you will to your spouse. It’s why I could never remarry. Things would just get…too messy.”

“I had a girl all picked out, you know?”

Maxwell turned to look at him. “Really?”

“She was beautiful. Wish I could have seen her one last time.”

A hail was coming through. Hank recognized the tone of the computer. Maxwell did too and he quickly put it onscreen.

It was Nick. He was bruised and bloody, but he was still alive. The Pearl was barely in any better shape than they were. His face lit up at seeing him.

“Hank?! You’re alive!!!”

Hank grinned. “I can see you are too. Go figure.”

Nick smiled. “We can beam you onboard. Just activate a communicator and we can hone in on you.”

Hank looked over to Maxwell. “And him?”

Nick shook his head. “We have enough for one. Just one.”

The screen began to fade and then it just went. It returned back to the view of the battle and Hank looked at Maxwell sadly.

The old man just nodded. “I got nothing to live for. My life’s pretty much over anyway. It’s okay Harrison.”

“I won‘t leave you behind.”

“You don’t have a damned choice. You’re leg is bum, I can outrun you all around this bridge until they beam you off.”

“You don’t have to stay, come with me!”

“You heard them, they have enough for one. One Harrison. You introduce another body to that transporter beam and we both die. Or worse yet become fused,” he huffed angrily. “Suck it up and go. Activate the damned communicator. The more time you waste the more likely we both die.”

Hank looked at the combadge on his chest and felt a heavy burden. He couldn’t leave him. He had never left a person behind before, and even though he didn’t like Maxwell a lot, he wasn’t going to condemn a good man to death. Maxwell was a good man. Hank had found that much out in his short time with him.

He struggled to his feet. “You have to come with me. We can risk it, I have faith in my transporter chief. She can do it.”

Maxwell walked to him, still coughing blood. “Damn you, it doesn’t work like that. I’ll activate the damned thing for you if you don’t.”

Hank was left with few choices. He took off the pips on his collar and gave them to Maxwell. He then extended his hand, a sad smirk on his face. “Good luck Captain.”

Maxwell stared at the pips in his hand and grasped them tightly. He extended his other hand and shook Hank’s. “Thank you.”

 

Karrie watched as she received the signal she had waited for. It was time. There was a battle going on around them and she had to be precise and careful. She only got one shot at this.

Her hands flew over the controls and the transporter whined to life. The power was barely there, barely enough for one person. She had to be careful…

She saw a form began to take shape on the transporter pad and she quickly adjusted the confinement beam, bringing the transporter to its optimal condition just to make sure he got in.

She didn’t believe she’d ever see Captain Harrison again. She didn’t believe he would ever be back.

The transport was done and she looked up.

“Son of a bitch.” The old man sank to the floor his eyes hollow with horror.

 

“Transport is complete!” Bethany reported excitedly. Nick could understand. The entire bridge was brightened by the news.

“Shields are at 10%!” Mark called.

They had to leave. Nothing more they could do here. They had Worf and the rest of the Valiant survivors. It was time to pull out of this place and leave. He had Hank back. He had his best friend back.

“Sir, receiving a hail from the Hayes.”

 Nick took a sharp breath. “On screen.”

The view changed from the battle to the eyes of a saddened man.

Nick felt like someone had punched him in the gut. He wasn’t prepared for it.

The rest of the bridge went silent.

Hank Harrison just grinned. “I’m sorry. It’s not right for him to have to die. He doesn’t deserve it.”

Nick quickly regained his composure and turned to Chris. “I need more power for the transporter!”

Chris just stared at the screen. “No more. We’re out.”

The realization began to sink in and Nick turned towards his friend confused. “Why?! Why?!”

“I’m sorry Nick. I couldn’t watch him die. The captain goes down with his ship.”

“No…” Bethany stood from her seat, her eyes tear filled. “Please, don’t.”

Hank’s eyes locked on hers. “I wish…” he looked down. “No time for regrets. You have to move on.”

Hank’s eyes turned towards the Walker brothers. “Mark, you’re going to make a great captain one day. You’re going to be the best.” He grinned happily. “Chris, run engineering anyway you want. Keep the ship alive.”

Both of them just stared at him.

“You’re the best crew I’ve ever served with. You’re my family. Goodbye,” he saluted and the transmission cut out.

Nick and the entire bridge watched as the Hayes plowed right into the middle of the massive enemy vessel. The hull of the Hayes tore away and the warp core exploded in a bright flash, putting a huge hole in the enemy.

The ship itself began to crumble from the impact and soon it exploded in a bright orange flash.

The day was saved.

Hank Harrison was dead. 

 

See, there you go. He died. He was done there and he was never going to come back.

However, there was a problem with Hank’s death; though I had killed him off in the story and the rest of the series, leaving all kinds of things a mess and shifting the focus off him (finally) Hank Harrison WOULD NOT DIE. He kept going in my head. I killed him off in the writing but I could not kill him off in my head. He wouldn’t go away.

Days on end I tried and tried to kill him off in my mind. And for days on end Hank continued going on. It was like I was trying to kill a part of myself off and I couldn’t. I consulted with some fellow authors and they agreed; if the character was still talking to me, if the character refused to go away, it meant that there was still a story to be told there.

In other words, Hank couldn’t die then. He had too much to live for, so to speak. Unfinished business I guess you could call it. I don’t know what to officially name it but he was assuredly not done. So, I amended the ending and restored Hank back to life. I still ended Book II on a cliffhanger, simply because I thought it was cool-which in retrospect, again, may have been a bad call-but I generally felt better with Hank alive than dead.

And that was Hank’s near death experience. He was this close to dying for good. I was going to kill him for the wrong reasons really. I was tired of his popularity overshadowing the story. I was tired of him dominating the conversation when it came to characters in my story. But what it really all boiled down to was that I was jealous of one of my own characters; that’s messed up.

Today, Hank and I are cool. I write him often in various spots-challenges, weekly prompts, and even short stories here and there. But mind you, he was just a few clicks of the mouse away from being dead for good.Thankfully, he’s still alive and well.

But just because he’s alive doesn’t mean he misses out on a eulogy. 😉

 

Reporting for Duty

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Hello ladies and gentlemen! There’s a lot to get to but first let me spell out a few things.

Who Am I?

I am Tarzan, hear me…okay, I’m not Tarzan. My name is trekfan (that’s trekfan without a capital “T”) and I’ve been at this writing thing for many, many years. I could sit here and bore you with the entire account of my experiences that led me to fanfiction but it’s quite a long story; perhaps I’ll get into the nitty gritty of it in the future. Here’s the short version;

I started writing Star Trek RPGs back in late 2006 (my senior year of high school-very much needed a release) and that’s where I first chose my name, trekfan. It was simple, short, sweet, and to the point. It worked. It has stuck with me since (over five years now). The RPGs I participated in ended in the summer of 2007 and for me, I figured that was it. However, after my first year in college, I had come to find I missed writing Star Trek…in fact, I quite needed it. So, I wanted to start up another RPG but sadly my old RPGing friends were otherwise engaged.

That’s when I hit upon fanfiction. I was up late one night, watching some Star Trek episodes, and the thought crossed my mind if anyone had done any books about Riker and Troi kids (cause they do finally end up together in Nemesis). A quick google search revealed nothing official had been done but there was some unofficial stuff; fanfiction. Now, I had heard some things about fanfic before and generally I was wary of it. I didn’t think they could match quality of the official stuff then but it was late, so I gave it a shot.

I stumbled upon the Omega Sector and it’s fan trek forums, where a lovely lady by the name of Terilynn was writing up Riker kid stories by the ton. I spent about three nights reading through her threads as a guest before being convinced that her stuff was far superior than any of the official Trek stuff I’d read in years. I joined up, made my presence known, and from that point began my fanfic journey.

Inspired by Terilynn’s writings and itching to get in on the action, I took the idea for the RPG I was going to start and began writing the first book of the Star Trek Chronicles series. It was merely a spur of the moment thing; I didn’t think I’d be that good at it nor that I would get much love for it, but the folks at the OS were great (especially Terilynn, Mr. Picard, and Glenn) and there support was instrumental in cultivating my fanfic drive. While also posting this story one SLWalker (Yes, the founder of Ad Astra itself!) found her way into the topic, began posting in it, and also provided great help. As part of a few story for art trades there, she’s the one who did the wonderful artwork of the Star Trek Chronicles characters in the blog header

Fanfiction from that point on was a firm part of my life. I made many friends there on the OS and more when I joined SLWalker’s Ad Astra. I’ve written a lot of stuff since then and there are a lot of stories behind all that which brings us to…

What This Blog Is About

This blog is firstly about fanfiction and more importantly the stories behind the stories. Sure, there’s the actual stuff that is written and posted to the Ad Astra Archives (or other sites) but then there’s the behind the scenes stuff, the special features as it were, that never see the light of day. These are the stories about the stories, the “how it came to be” kind of stuff.

I’ll also be talking at length about the development of some of the characters in the stories I’ve written and the development of the stories themselves. I’ll use the blog to keep you good folks in the loop of what I’m currently doing writing wise as well. This place will also be for all those projects (and there are lots) that sadly, for one reason or another, never really got off the ground. I plan to debut some of that stuff on this blog from time to time just to give you a peak at the “what could have been’s” in my writings.

This blog will also serve as a place where I can talk about other things related to fiction in general; books I’ve recently read, Star Trek (or other show eps) that have sparked an idea in me, and more. In general, fiction-all fiction, all forms-will be covered here. I’ll also devote some time for art (all forms) and other things as they come to me.

Why the Blog is Called “Red Shirt Eulogies”

Well, as all Star Trek fans know, if you wore a red shirt in The Original Series (and your name wasn’t Scotty, Uhura, or Kyle) your likelihood of dying in that episode was very high. That’s kind of how it is with me and my writings; just because I’m currently writing a particular story doesn’t mean I’ll stick with it. If I get stuck on a story I tend to switch to another one and there’s no guarantee I’ll come back to it.

All my stories, at one time or another, have been “red shirted” (a college football AND Star Trek term, two of my favorite things). Some have died horrible red shirt deaths while others, like many red shirts on the original series, “die” in one episode but come back in a later episode.

The “eulogies” part of the blog name is based on what a eulogy is. From wikipedia; “A eulogy (from εὐλογία, eulogia, Classical Greek for “good words”) is a speech or writing in praise of a person or thing, especially one recently deceased or retired. Eulogies may be given as part of funeral services…Eulogies can also praise a living person or people who are still alive…”

So, there you go. “Red Shirt Eulogies” is primarily a blog with writings in praise of all the stories that have been “red shirted” in my time as a writer. It has many secondary objectives as well, as previously spelled out.

Other Things of Note…

I absolutely love, adore, and welcome feedback of all kinds. If you hate what I’m blogging about, tell me. If you’d like to hug me if you saw me in real life, tell me. If you want to launch profanity laden torpedoes at me, do so; if you’d like to set phasers to love, I’m all for it. Any kind of comments are welcome and loved.

As for a particular schedule with this, I’ll try to post as often as I can when I have time, at the very minimum once a week, likely more.

Otherwise, if you have any questions, comments, or more, please do feel free to leave a comment here, message me, or contact me in some other way. Hailing Frequencies are open, always. 🙂