Category Archives: VOY

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 Endgame of All Good Things…Part 3

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And so, we finally find ourselves here. The big finale. Sadly, this is where the untold story of “The Last Generation” comes to a close. I had the timeline, the characters, the plot, the theme, but not really the motivation I guess. I really, really liked the idea but I had issues getting off the ground. I tried a lot of different ways to get the first chapter moving, to get things going, but nothing really worked. So, I opted for a rather bland and straightforward beginning which I was unsatisfied with and that likely played a big reason in why I never wrote a second chapter. So, here it is; the one and only chapter for “The Last Generation”.

Star Trek: The Last Generation

 

Ch.1

 

He stood silently, staring at the old holo pictures that hung on his wall. The faces of friends and comrades from the distant past stared back at him. He was never one for nostalgia…he had never been one for that particular emotion. He appreciated history and what it taught, but never understood why people looked back at the past so glowingly. The past was never as pretty as one remembered it.

However, in this case…the past was prettier than the present. He knew that. The glory days were gone and the golden years had been withered away by time. All that was left of his service in Starfleet were awards, holo pictures, and memories. The awards were meaningless…the memories were the most valuable. He had thousands of logs stored on his computer here and he could listen to them all; the logs let him glance back on his life through younger eyes.

A life devoted to the Federation…to his career…to Starfleet. A life devoted to peace. Was it a meaningful life? He frowned at the pictures and scoffed at them. He began to slowly walk away, leaning on his cane heavily as he shook his head in frustration. All of it was a waste of time.

He headed back to his chair and cup of tea, but the door rang. He paused in the middle of his living room and scowled again. He didn’t have any guests scheduled to come by today. The door rang again and he sighed. “Come,” he called to the doorway. The computer responded by opening the door and he froze at the sight of the person standing there. Just as old, just as withered as he…except, the person shouldn’t be.

“Q,” he uttered quietly.

The old man nodded with a smirk. “Jean Luc…still just as stubborn as I left you.”

Jean Luc Picard turned angrily on his cane and walked towards Q as fast as he could in his advanced age. “What kind of game is this Q? Why are you here, now?”

Q stepped into the house under his own power, walking slowly. His face was wrinkled, his hair gray, and his eyes old. Whatever trick this was, Q had gone all out for it. “Not a trick, not a game Jean Luc. I’m here…because I need your help.”

He stopped in his tracks, his eyes questioning Q. He scowled. “I don’t have time for this.” He took his cane and swung at Q’s side, betting the immortal, omnipotent being would merely disappear out of the way-except Q didn’t. Jean Luc’s cane connected hard to Q’s ribs and the omnipotent being winced in clear pain.

“Well, your hospitality is still the same,” Q shot back weakly as he grimaced. He was clearly injured.

Jean Luc was clearly confused. “You’re…not—”

“Omnipotent? Immortal? My old self…no. None of the Q are…not anymore.” He shook his head as he proceeded past Jean Luc and sat down. “Sit down, take a load off…I know I will.”

Jean Luc scowled but allowed Q to sit. None of this made sense and at the very least he was owed an explanation. “All right Q…I’ll sit,” he said as he lowered himself down slowly. He finished sitting and picked up his tea. “You have five minutes.”

Q shot him an annoyed look. “If I get hit again by your cane does that grant me five more minutes?”

He ignored Q’s jab and continued. “What do you mean…that the Q are not omnipotent anymore?”

“It means exactly what it sounds like…the entire species of Q has been rendered…mortal…and…Human,” Q said with disgust. “It has been this way for years now.”

Jean Luc narrowed his eyes at this. “The Continuum?”

“Gone,” Q responded sadly. “And it’s all Janeway’s fault.”

Jean Luc put his cup of tea down and leaned forward. “Janeway? She’s been missing for years now…ever since 2404. How could this be her doing?”

Q sighed in disgust. “All these years and you have learned nothing.”

“I’ve learned not to take you at your word,” Jean Luc responded harshly. “I won’t be making that mistake anymore.”

Q leaned forward. “Do you know what happened to Janeway?”

“No one does,” Jean Luc answered with finality. Her fate had never been discovered after her disappearance…it was truly one of Starfleet’s enduring mysteries. “Plenty like to speculate though.”

“Then let me cease that speculation with the truth; Janeway took it upon herself to fix the timeline for her and her crew…she went back in time and brought her precious Voyager home early.”

Jean Luc shook his head in disbelief. “I won’t be a part of this charade Q…whatever game—”

Q’s hand shot out and grabbed Jean Luc’s arm; the grip was weak, Q’s hand shaking. “It’s not a game…it’s far more real than you realize.”

Jean Luc stared down at Q’s hand in surprise. If this was one of Q’s tricks… “Let go,” Jean Luc said calmly. “I’ll listen.”

Q released the weakened grip he had on Jean Luc’s arm and leaned back. “Janeway saved her people and in the process created an entirely different timeline…she knew this going in. Time is not as linear or easy to understand as you Humans wish it to be.”

“And this has to do with you, how?”

Q’s eyes locked on to his. “Her interference in the natural course of time caused a problem the Continuum had not foreseen…it caused one of our oldest enemies to reappear in the timeline.”

A sense of fear was evident in Q’s voice…fear that Jean Luc had only heard before from desperate people. “The Continuum had enemies?”

“Had is the operative word,” Q responded quickly. “Centuries before we had eliminated them as a species…it was a solution that was necessary, if not prudent.”

“You killed an entire species?” Jean Luc stared. He had never thought the Continuum would do that.

“It had to be done. They were just as powerful as us…but far more ruthless, far more demanding. They wanted to dominate everything Jean Luc…they weren’t content being omnipotent; they wanted to be Gods in the worst ways possible.”

“Were you no different?”

Q angrily slammed his fist into the arm of the chair. “We were protectors…we stayed away from species natural development until they proved to us their worthiness of knowing the Q. Our enemies…the U…they had no such bounds. Conquer, rule, and dominate…that’s all they knew. They were just as powerful as us…just not as well intentioned.”

“And the Continuum dealt with them…and they appeared when Janeway created the new timeline?”

Q smirked. “Now you’re beginning to understand. Janeway’s selfish desires brought back the U…but only in small numbers. However, their fate was not so easy to decide; their powers were still on par with ours…the Continuum was in a deadlock over what to do. Then…we were betrayed.”

Jean Luc leaned forward. “By who? I thought the Continuum was a whole once more with the birth of Junior.”

Q scoffed. “We were…except for a minority. This minority was lead by someone we both know, Jean Luc…someone we both helped make; Amanda Rogers.”

Jean Luc’s eyes widened with the memory of the young woman he encountered so many years ago. Her parents had been Q and she had developed Q powers…she had struggled to decide if she was Human or Q, but decided eventually to join the Continuum. She hadn’t been seen since.

“You remember…I see it in your eyes,” Q said glibly. “Good…then remember how Human she was, how conflicted she was.”

“You took her in…that was not my decision. It was her decision and she made it…you accepted it,” he responded defensively.

“It was a mistake I will never be able to rectify, Jean Luc…she was too Human. She led the Q who were dissatisfied with the current state of the Continuum in a defection…they joined with the U. She had a child with one of them in 2404…and that child grew quickly as our children do. In a few years, he was the leader of the U…a blend of Q, U, and Human…he was our end.” Q leaned his head back. “We were slaughtered in the war versus these new U…the Continuum reduced to a few dozen members and the U banishing us to Human form; no powers…no omnipotence.”

Jean Luc’s eyes flashed in understanding. “The U…are they the same as the Unar’s?”

Q brought his head up and nodded. “Once we were gone, what was the point of being omnipotent anymore? The U had dominated and destroyed us…so they made themselves mortal, with very long lifespans and very advanced technology. They gave themselves every advantage…and then began to conquer.”

Jean Luc stood slowly, grabbing his cane angrily. “You knew this? All these years and you knew this? Why wait till now, Q! Why wait till it’s too late to save the Federation!”

Q stood slowly, a smirk on his face forming. “The Delta quadrant, the Gamma quadrant, and the Beta quadrant have all fallen under the Unar’s rule, Jean Luc. They’ve only been at it 24 years…and that’s how long it’s taken me to formulate a plan to stop them. But I have one…and I need your help. The Federation is dead now, Jean Luc…every member world, minus Earth, has surrendered to the Unar’s rule. You know that the negotiations will fail with the Unar…you know that war in inevitable. Starfleet can’t stop them…Earth’s influence is minimal.”

“Yes, yes, yes, damn it, you’re right!” He yelled angrily. “The Federation is gone…of course you don’t care! But what can you do now? Why now?”

Q’s smirk grew wider. “I had to wait…trust me on that.”

Jean Luc heaved angrily. He took a moment to regain control of his emotions and scowled. “I don’t like evasive answers, Q. You want my help? What can an old man, well past his prime, do for you?”

Q’s eyes sparkled. “You have access to things no other retired officer in the fleet has the privilege of knowing about. I need these things…I need a ship, I need weapons, I need a crew…with these things, we can stop the Unar from taking Earth…from ruling over you.”

Jean Luc narrowed his eyes. “What do you need all that for, Q? What can you do in your old age?”

Q shrugged coyly. “I can’t do anything…my grandson can, however.”

Jean Luc’s eyes widened in surprise. “Grandson?”

“Junior was far more…influential with Human females than I was. All that time with Janeway had a use apparently,” Q said annoyed. “He married, had a son…and since then we’ve been preparing to take the Unar down.”

“How?”

Q crossed his arms. “It’s better you don’t know.”

“Q,” Jean Luc warned, “I won’t do anything unless I know everything.”

The former omnipotent being considered the words for a long moment and then nodded. “Fine. We do what did to them all those centuries ago. We kill them…all of them.”

“Genocide!?” Jean Luc’s eyes lit up in fury. “That violates the very core of Starfleet and Federation values; I will have no part of it!”

Q shook his head. “I told you it was better you didn’t know.”

“Get out!” Jean Luc demanded furiously. “I won’t have you preaching genocide in my house!”

“Jean Luc, don’t be so emotional…it’s the way it has to be. Their deaths makes them go away…they rule harshly, ruthlessly Jean Luc…they won’t be kind masters to you.”

Jean Luc ignored him and walked towards the doorway angrily, his cane loudly slamming into the floor with every step. He stopped at the door and opened it. “Out! I demand you leave my house and never return. I’ve put up with enough of your antics…I’ve had enough. Out!”

Q stood where he was and sighed. “So much for the great Jean Luc Picard…reduced to a pathetic, scared old man,” Q said sharply. He walked towards the door slowly and arrived in front of Jean Luc with a frown. “You’re making a mistake.”

“I won’t be a part of genocide,” he responded firmly. “I won’t be a part of a direct violation of everything I believe in.”

“Your beliefs are outdated, Jean Luc. It’s 2430, not 2360…the years have made necessary a change in the way we act.” Jean Luc’s hand reached for the door controls but Q stepped in front of him. “Think about the dead, Jean Luc; Riker, Troi, Laforge, Worf, Data…Beverly,” Q said the last name with emphasis.

Jean Luc hesitated. He tried not to think about them anymore. He didn’t want to a lot of days. “What about them?” He asked angrily.

“They all died for your vaunted Federation values and ideals…and what have they to show for it? The Federation is gone…the Unar are going to obliterate Earth in any war. What good is their legacy if no one is around to remember it?”

Jean Luc’s eyes wavered and his hand went to his side. “I won’t be a part of genocide. We have to find another way.”

Q nodded. “Fine then…we’ll go with the backup plan.”

“And that is?” Jean Luc asked warily.

Q smiled. “We give Earth the advantage over the Unar. To do that…we need some very powerful pieces of technology; I know where that is.”

“And I need to provide the ship, right?”

Q nodded once more. “How is the Enterprise holding up anyway?”

Jean Luc frowned. He had to take the chance Q was actually telling the truth here. If there was any way of beating the Unar short of genocide…it was worth the risk. The Federation was already gone and Starfleet was next. He couldn’t let Earth fall too, could he?

Q smiled and extended his hand. “Deal?”

It was the chance to save Earth.

It was chance to preserve the legacies of his friends…of people who were his family.

It was also a deal with a former devil.

Jean Luc took Q’s hand and shook it weakly. This was a deal he couldn’t pass up. “Deal.”

 

And that’s the one and only chapter for “The Last Generation.” I quite liked the dynamic of old Q and old JLP, but frankly it never really seemed that good to me, even now. It was missing something, I’m not sure what, but it was. At any rate, I grew frustrated with it and banished it to red shit status, moving on to another project as I inevitably do. This story had potential and it still does…perhaps one day I’ll finish it.

Today however it has been given it’s eulogy and it’s untold story, finally brought to light.

The Endgame of All Good Things…Part 2

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So, yesterday I dove right into the untold story of how the early 25th century story “The Last Generation” began. Today, I’ll be revealing the plot and showing off the never before seen timeline (it’s an interesting read if I do say so myself).

The Plot

Well, at this point in the development of the story I had devoted a lot of time to research on Memory Alpha, rewatching Q related episodes, and pretty digging around for anything I thought useful. Time consuming, yes, but like all stories it takes time. However, I had finally hit upon the plot idea; it involved Q, Q Junior, Amanda Rogers, Picard, Janeway, and a host of others, combining all the things I wanted together.

And the way this was justified, at least in my mind, was with the episode “The Q and the Grey”. For those of you that don’t remember, this is the episode where the Q were in the midst of a civil war, Q wanted to get his groove on with Janeway (YIKES!), have a half human/half Q child, and reunite the continuum. This is one of my favorite Q episodes because it makes a lot of really good references back to previous Q episodes (notably “Death Wish” another great Q episode and one of my favorites from VOY overall) and introduces the notion that the Q can be just as savage as humans can. I mean, a Q civil war sure doesn’t establish the company line that their “superior” in every way to the mortal species of the galaxy.

So, with the “Q and the Grey” as my example, I figured that with the Continuum debating heatedly over the fate of their former foes-to kill the U once again or allow to live, potentially inviting war-that things would eventually break down into war. Now, the Q, by virtue of them being omnipotent, war pretty hard core. To better explain myself, let’s go through the timeline (as written nearly a year ago) and get an indepth look at how this thing evolved.

Star Trek The Last Generation Timeline

 

June 15th, 2404: Admiral Janeway goes back in time to save her crew from 16 more years of traveling through the Delta Quadrant but presumably fails-Janeway is never seen or heard from again.

The Voyager family manages to keep the truth from their superiors and from the world at large; claims by Korath are ignored by both the Empire and Federation; his house remained dishonored. The effects of Janeway’s disappearance had far greater consequences outside of normal space time.

Janeway’s travel through time opened a breach in the space time continuum, momentarily allowing an extra dimensional species to reemerge in the timeline. This species was called the U-an early rival to the Q that was eliminated millions of years ago. The reemergence of the U cause the Q to consider what to do about them again-this leads to a very extended and heated debate in the Continuum.

(This was the first domino to fall. Janeway goes back in time, doesn’t seem to effect the timeline at all, and her transgressions are hidden by the Voyager family, as they would no doubt do. Korath-what a friendly fellow-claims Janeway did a lot of bad things, but he gets ignored; the VOY family has a lot of pull in both the Federation and the Klingon Empire, so he gets blacklisted essentially. The big bit here is Janeway’s time travel reintroducing the U back into the timeline which is really going to mess things up for everyone in the future.)

July 7th, 2404: Tuvok, former chief of security for Voyager, dies in his sleep. Distraught at the loss of his captain and weakened from his illness, Tuvok loses his grip on life. He is buried with full Starfleet honors and lies with his fellow Voyager crewmate, Chakotay, on Earth-this was his last wish, to be buried with the family he had in the Delta Quadrant, the Voyager crew. His family on Vulcan understands and honors his request.

Starfleet’s investigation into Admiral Janeway’s disappearance yields no results, and further investigation is recommended-however, it never comes to pass. Chief of Starfleet Intelligence, Admiral William T. Riker, quietly buries the investigation after the situation is explained to him by Reginald Barclay.

(This was tough for me to do, as I like Tuvok a lot-and in fact I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like him-but it had to be done. He loses his best friend, his captain, and a trusted companion in Janeway when she goes back in time; that kind of loss combined with his illness was bound to send him to the grave. Now, I did think hard about whether to bury him on Vulcan or Earth, but as seeing he spent so long in this timeline with the Voyager crew and the fact that in the episode he was being treated on Earth as opposed to Vulcan, I figured his family had moved on without him in the 23 years he was missing in the Delta Quadrant. As much as this saddened me too-Tuvok’s family was often overlooked in Voyager-it made sense that he’d grown closer to the people on board the ship than his own flesh and blood. Burying him by Chakotay was a natural choice; the relationship between those two was often as professional as it was subtle, but the respect the men had for one another was profound after 7 years. Imagine how large it was after 23.

Of course Starfleet was going to investigate this further but the investigation was shut down by Admiral William T. Riker of Starfleet Intelligence. In a move very much like what happened with the Pegasus investigation, Riker uses his considerable influence to make sure Janeway’s disappearance is never fully looked into. Reg Barclay, being another TNG/VOY connection, play an big part in that too. Reg, in some respects, was more a member of the VOY family than the TNG one, but he still has pull with both. This was the first of the TNG/VOY connections that would be referenced in the timeline.)

July 20th, 2404: The Q Continuum continues to struggle over the U situation, with the Continuum split down the middle on the issue. Amanda Rogers leads the Q who wish to accept the U into the Continuum while the being known only as Q to Starfleet leads the Q who believe the U should be exterminated once again. The debate rages.

(Pretty much how it always happens, even today; two sides with differing views on an issue draw the battle lines and begin to dig in for the long haul. The leader of the Q who want to accept the U into the Continuum, Amanda Rogers, is naturally sympathetic to the U’s previous fate. Her parents were killed by the Continuum and she grew up as a human; she has human sensibilities. Of course, Q himself would rather be rid of the U once again, but he can’t convince everyone. The wounds of the Q Civil War are still very much raw, even now, and there are still those that would rather see Q gone than the U.)

August 11th, 2404: Ensign Miral Paris is severely wounded in an attempt on her life by the House of Korath. She is transported back to Earth by the USS Rhode Island and Captain Harry Kim, where the Doctor, now known as Joe, treats her. Miral recovers from the attack but loses the use of her legs.

In a landmark procedure, Miral undergoes spinal replacement with the Genitronic Replicator, which only years earlier had been approved for live testing. The Genitronic Replicator was previously used decades earlier in a similar procedure on Worf. The surgery is an astounding success and Miral recovers fully; the Genitronic Replicator becomes standard medical equipment onboard all Federation ships, outposts, stations, and colonies within the next five years.

(This was a nod back to “Endgame” and an even further nod back to the TNG episode “Ethics” which featured the really cool, never seen again, med tech; the genitronic replicator. It was probably never seen again due to the fact that it would end up taking a lot of drama out of moments where big characters were going to die due to failing organs. It was a plot device, really, and probably would not ever appear in proper Trek again; but I’m anything but proper in my Trek, so I wanted it back. I naturally chose Miral Paris as the subject and things worked wonderfully for her. The genitronic replicator would become standard tech on all Federation ships a few yeas later and ultimately, far down the line in the story, would be used to save someone. This was more a note to myself than an actual plot specific point in the timeline.)

August 13th, 2404: Amanda Rogers and her contingent of Q join with the U after failed talks again with the opposition. The U, possessing similar powers to the Q, now outnumber the Q who wish to eliminate them with Amanda Rogers’ followers; a war begins.

(And so the other shoe drops. Amanda Rogers and her Q defect to join the U. Now the combined forces wage war with Q’s forces and all hell breaks loose. This seemed liked the natural progression of things with Amanda in charge of the opposition here; as someone with human sensibilities, I doubted debating for years on end what to do about the U really suited her. As we saw in her episode, when this girl wants something, she often goes and gets it; I figured in this case if she wanted the U to be accepted into the Continuum she would force the issue.)

September 1st, 2404: Federation Outpost Gamma Hydra 269 records a massive space time disturbance near the remnants of Praxis. This marks the first of dozens of space time disturbances all across the galaxy recorded in the month of September.

The USS Rhode Island is dispatched to gather data and analyze the disturbances, but contact is lost with it mid mission. Starfleet dispatches a search and rescue but finds only debris; Harry Kim and his crew are declared lost by Starfleet.

(The outpost’s name is not chosen arbitrarily; it actually was in another story of mine, the AU series Star Trek Paths Not Taken: From The Ashes and it was chosen simply as a nice reference to a past work. The spacial time disturbances were, you guessed, manifestations of the battles the Q were having in their little war. Harry Kim’s ship gets sent into the mix and is sadly lost; I never determined whether he was alive or dead, but I figure with my propensity to plant story ideas everywhere in my stuff, he was alive somewhere, sometime. Still, he’s thought of as dead in his timeline and yet another Voyager family member bites the dust.)

October 8th, 2404: The opposition Q lose to the combined Rogers and U forces and are banished from the Continuum, powerless, reduced to human form. Most of the powerless Q are slaughtered, leaving only a 100 alive, among these the Q known to Starfleet and Junior. Q is left with his Q knowledge intact, unlike the others. This is a gift from Amanda to him, in order to help provide the Q colony with a chance to survive.

(The U and Amanda Rogers Q forces win against our favorite Q; his forces are mostly killed, 100 of them are left alive at the behest of Amanda Rogers, they are made human, and stuck on some planet to rot. Amanda Rogers didn’t want it to end like this so she gave our favorite Q all his Q knowledge as a gift, to help the now mortal, confused, and human Q colony survive. Talk about a serious downgrade; once omnipotent beings now a nearly extinct species.)

October 22nd, 2404: The space time disturbances have not reoccurred for weeks and the Federation declares the threat over, but the cause is unknown.

Back in the Continuum, the U betray their Q followers and eliminate them all-except Amanda Rogers. Rogers is taken by the U leader and is offered a choice; breed with him to create a Q/U hybrid child or watch as the last of the Q-those reduced to human form-are killed.

Rogers, realizing her mistake, agrees to the terms. A hybrid child is produced for the first time in history between the U and Q. Rogers then asks to be made human and placed with her fellow Q, wanting nothing to do with the child or the U-her request is granted.

(Things get pretty nasty from this point on. Amanda Rogers gets her Q followers killed as the U, very much like our favorite Q has been saying, are heartless, ruthless, SOBs. They betray her, force her to breed with their leader, and then make her bear the burden of being the mother of a Q/U hybrid child which, by the way, is likely going to one hell of a superpowerful being. I was setting up the playing board for big things here. All this betrayal, breeding, death, ect had a lot of Roman flavor to it; I believe I was reading a book about them around this time which influenced some of this. At any rate, she asks to become human, her request is granted since she’s the mother of the new “God” child and she joins up with the last of the Q. Can someone say awkward?)

November 7th, 2404: The U, having taken time to survey the Milky Way Galaxy, find that being all powerful is boring. They agree to make themselves mortal, with lifespans going no longer than 1000 years. They give themselves advanced technology and vow to conquer the galaxy, as they did millions of years before in other galaxies.

They start deep in Romulan territory and begin their domination.

(This is where the big differences in the U and Q begin to show. Whereas the Q were quite content to be omnipotent and be unchallenged, the U were not. They got bored and frankly, can you blame them? They eliminated their enemies, left a few alive just to suffer a mortal existence, and pretty much dominated. They had their hybrid child which would undoubtedly cement their place in the universe as all powerful…but where was the thrill? Where was the competition?

So, they decided to make themselves mortal with very generous advantages. Long, long lifespans, great tech, and finally someone to kick around again. Picking on the Romulans was easy as they were virtual the weakest of the major powers in the Alpha/Beta Quadrants thanks to the Romulus exploding. Poor Romulans.)

December 23rd, 2404: The Federation is asked for aid by the Romulans against the U, whom now call themselves the Unar. The Federation council enters into heated debate on the subject, a potential deadlock looming.

Meanwhile, at the Q colony, Amanda Rogers and the being known to Starfleet as Q, begin to formulate a plan to regain their powers and take back the Continuum. Junior begins to court Amanda Rogers, despite the elder Q’s dislike for the budding relationship.

(The U become the Unar-again, not exactly original but I liked it well enough-and they start owning the Romulans. The Fed Council debates what to do about it and as usual with politics, things get deadlocked. The big development here is the plan between the elder Q and Amanda Rogers to get their powers back; also Junior courting Amanda Rogers is huge. These two things go hand and hand.)

January 12th, 2405: The Federation Council agrees to help the Romulans and in response the Klingon Empire ceases all diplomatic ties with the Federation, being strictly against the Romulans in all forms.

Starfleet sends a fleet of ships deep into Romulan territory to stop the Unar.

(The Federation steps up and predictably the Klingons don’t like it. As seen in “Endgame” and “All Good Things” the Klingons and Feds don’t get along very well in the early 25th century and though things aren’t bad enough for war, things are certainly cold. The Federation’s act of mercy towards the Romulans isn’t a wholly selfless one; afterall, if the Romulans fall, the Unar will come for them next likely.)

February 5th, 2405: Amanda Rogers and Junior marry, both realizing that their time is now quite possible short as humans. Junior’s father, Q, disapproves of the marriage but realizes the benefits far outweigh the risks. Q has a plan.

(Junior and Amanda Rogers get married and though it’s hard to imagine that cocksure Junior settling down, I figured that since Voyager was trapped in the Delta Quadrant for so long Junior spent a lot of time with Aunt Kathy, otherwise known as Janeway, and he learned some life lessons. Though not nearly as human as Amanda Rogers in terms of sensibilities he certainly had some human sensibilities by this time; he wasn’t such a bad guy actually. The Elder Q though…he’s kinda a bad guy here. The marriage he wasn’t a huge fan of but he wanted what naturally comes with the marriage, a child; Amanda Rogers also played a part in this little plan but the feelings she developed for Junior she did not plan for. The two of them actually loved one another, surprisingly.)

March 20th, 2405: Starfleet reports to the Federation Council that the war does not go well; over the first month Ally losses outnumber enemy losses 2 to 1. Starfleet Command recommends deployment of all available vessels to Federation borders and withdrawal of Starfleet vessels from Romulan space-they believe the war is lost there.

The stunned council agrees and the Romulans are advised to retreat as well. The Romulans flatly refuse.

Impressed with the Romulans refusal to retreat and fight a losing battle, the Klingon Empire sends their forces against the Unar. In a move motivated by mutual survival, the Klingons hope the combination of their forces and the Romulans can stave off the Unar.

The Federation refuses to join; instead it fortifies its own borders. The March of the Unar continue.

(The Federation withdraws from the Romulan front, citing concerns about itself. The Federation at this point in time is pretty much conceding defeat in the battle for the Romulan worlds. Shocking? Not really. It’s war, it’s made up of tough decisions, and the Federation will not sacrifice it’s own position to aid another. The Klingons however relish losing battles; they love to fight against all odds and seeing the Federation withdraw and the Romulans fight on, well I bet it warmed their hearts. I think they have multiple ones if I remember correctly.)

March 23rd, 2405: Amanda discovers she is pregnant. Q, though disgusted with the act of human mating, is pleased-all going according to plan.

(Elder Q, not a huge fan of human anything, is liking the thought of a grandson. Not for the fact he’ll have one but because it’s “all part of the plan.” He’s a devious being, isn’t he?)

July 27th, 2405: The combined Romulan and Klingon fleets are defeated and the Unar gain control of their territories.

The Federation resigns itself that the Unar are coming and prepare for the oncoming war.

(Things are about to get bad for the Fed. Not only are the Unar coming but they’re best fighting buddies, the Klingons, are down for the count. Without the Klingons in the Dominion War things would have ended up much differently; here it’s just the Federation against the Unar and the odds are not looking good.)

August 7th, 2405: The Unar enter into Federation space for the first time, destroying a fleet of over 100 ships in the process.

(Are the Unar really that deadly? Uh…yes.)

September 19th, 2405: Admiral William T. Riker is killed in action, along with his wife Deanna and former Ambassador to the Klingon Empire, Worf, aboard the USS Worthington.

Former Captain Jean Luc Picard suffers a massive heart attack upon hearing the news and is immediately transported to Starfleet Medical. Picard enters into a coma.

(And here we have our first mention of Jean Luc Picard; when he hears that Riker, Troi, and Worf are all dead the poor guy just can’t take it; at this point in his advanced years I figured his health would be rather sensitive and distressing news like this would not sit well with him.)

October 13th, 2405: Captain Geordi Laforge and the USS Challenger are lost at the Battle of Andor. Earth, Vulcan, and Tellar Prime remain as the last Federation worlds.

(This is a reference to “Timeless” which showed Geordi being captain of a the Galaxy class starship, the USS Challenger. The Andorians and he both go down fighting; true, this doesn’t exactly fit in with what we saw in “All Good Things” as Geordi was a writer in that one, but I figured he reactivated his commission for the war; Starfleet was going to need all the help it could get.)

December 10th, 2405: Vulcan falls to the Unar; half the Vulcan population is wiped out and over 1/3 of the plant’s surface is rendered uninhabitable.

At the Q colony, Amanda goes into labor early; the baby is delivered at 9:12 PM successfully. Amanda, however, suffers from internal bleeding. Despite medical intervention, she dies.

Junior is devastated and refuses to hold the child. He leaves the colony and doesn’t return for days.

In the meantime, Junior’s father Q cares for the baby; the child is a boy.

(Vulcan goes down pretty hard and Amanda Rogers dies during child birth; both sad events but both are actually references to Star Trek 2009, as in the JJverse Vulcan gets destroyed and an Amanda dies. Here Vulcan gets really hurt, not destroyed as that would be overkill, and someone named Amanda does in fact die.

This kinda hurt for me killing Amanda Rogers as I’d kinda grown to like her by this point. Her and Q Junior just seemed like a natural fit for one another in my mind. Her death sends Junior into a tailspin, one he won’t recover from for many years. Meanwhile, Elder Q takes over as the caretaker of the child. I wasn’t sure whether he had any role in the death of Amanda Rogers just to propagate his plan and frankly I wouldn’t put it past him; my feeling is that he didn’t kill her.)

January 23rd, 2406: Tellar Prime falls to the Unar and Earth is now the last Federation world standing.

(The Tellarites go down and now Earth is all that’s left. It’s a bloody mess on Tellar Prime though; the folks there made the Unar go through hell to get that planet.)

January 25th, 2406: Weeks of debate have resulted in a compromise; the new child will be named Quincy, honoring his human and Q heritage, despite Q’s insistence to simply name the child Q. Junior is somewhat recovered from Amanda’s death, but is depressed almost constantly, lying in bed for days at a time.

The care of the child falls to Q in Junior’s absence.

(And so the new child is named Quincy and Q pretty much becomes the de facto father in place of Junior who is the most depressed individual in the galaxy at his point. He really, really loved Amanda, so much so that I think it was his only love; to lose that, especially during what is supposed to be a happy occasion-the birth of a child-must have been crushing in ways I’ll never guess. Amanda’s death has long term implications for Junior, Q, and Quincy.)

February 2nd, 2406: Earth is taken over by the Unar; Jean Luc Picard recovers from his coma and is moved back to his home in France, under the care of Beverly Crusher. He is saddened and angered by the news of what happened in his absence.

The Unar demand complete and utter obedience to them; many on Earth refuse. In a show of strength, the Unar level the moon, killing all life on it. If complete obedience is not given, they will kill more innocents; Earth agrees to the terms.

The Aftermath: Jean Luc and Beverly are largely left alone by the Unar, and visits by old friends are uncommon. They become isolationists and live together for the remainder of Beverly’s life until her passing in June of 2413. Jean Luc grows cold and distrustful of others after Beverly’s death. He uses the significant time he has to start a vineyard at his home. His life has now come full circle.

The Unar impose significant rules and laws on all they rule, banning interstellar travel faster than warp three. All vessels are stripped of advanced armaments and the Unar rule with an iron fist. Rebellions and revolutions are attempted, but ultimately are futile.

The Q colony remains largely unnoticed by the galaxy and Amanda’s child, Quincy, is raised with the knowledge of the Q at his finger tips. Junior is an absent father for child’s early years, still reeling from the loss of Amanda. He does not hug his son until 2015; the moment is emotional for both of them.

Q teaches the boy all he can, as the knowledge of the Continuum still remains with him. Junior and Q both realize that the best chance to defeat the Unar is with the child.

WHEW. And that’s the timeline, with all the explanation and plot details abound in it.

Tomorrow, the conclusion of the untold story of “The Last Generation” and the reveal of the only chapter I wrote for it before the idea sadly got red shirted.

The Endgame of All Good Things…Part 1

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How It All Began…

Ah, “Star Trek: The Next Generation” has a special place in my heart. Primarily because unlike TOS, I got to watch most of TNG when it first aired. I wasn’t born till 88, so I really didn’t catch on to the show till like 90 probably, but I was a TNG era kid. True, my love for TOS is far more than TNG, but I was still a TNG era kid. I had (and still have) quite a lot of TNG era toys, memorabilia, ect, and it’s quite valuable to the sentimentalist in me. I doubt it has any real monetary value and frankly I’ve never checked; it’d just ruin the magic. One cannot put a price on such memories in my mind.

TNG, while a great TV series, was also a fantastic era to write stories in. My expanded universe is based off the TNG era and all the things that went on in it (yes, even Nemesis) but there has always been a particular part of the TNG era that I’ve never really been able to write; that would be the end of the TNG era that appeared in “All Good Things” the series finale of TNG (and much better movie than Generations ever was). That particular part of the TNG era has always eluded me writing wise, simply because it’s hard to grasp for me. I’ve never quite been able to wrap my brain around all the stuff that was (supposedly) happening. The fact that Q could have easily all made it up is also there, but that was minimized by other series, namely DS9 with “The Visitor” and VOY with “Endgame”. Both featured the uniforms and politics of the future in “All Good Things” so I believe that is indeed the future Trek was heading towards.

Nonetheless, I still found it hard to write that future, especially adding in “Endgame” into the mix. “Endgame” theoretically wiped out that future (again, if one believes it was wiped out in “All Good Things” which it seems likely). But, as with all things Star Trek, nothing is ever gone “for good”. Everyone comes back, in some form or another. So, that future, that timeline is still out there, somewhere, going on. I just needed to figure out what was going on in it.

And that’s when I returned to “Endgame” and where today’s untold story comes to light, that of never seen project, “The Last Generation”. You see, “Endgame” actually provided, for me anyway, the basis of which I could finally write an interesting, if not engaging story in the early 25th century era. Before “Endgame” I wouldn’t have known where to start in that era; if the events of “All Good Things” did in fact happen then they did not in fact stick-if everyone in the present time of the episode but JLP forgot the events of the episode, than if figured so did everyone in past/future as well. (As a complete aside, time travel episodes are SUCH a headache sometimes).

At any rate, prior to “Endgame” there was no real definable, interesting, new viewpoint to start a story in. After “Endgame” there was indeed a VERY interesting viewpoint to start the story from. The question that would come to launch the story and define the era itself…”whatever happened to Admiral Janeway?”

If the timeline went on, as I imagined it did, then obviously that would be the question. One of Starfleet’s most lauded heroes disappears with no trace of what happened to her and no one’s talking. I doubt any of the Voyager crew would have spilled the beans, even if threatened with a court martial, legal action, ect. That crew, more so than any other (even TOS) was a family; they were closer than blood in my mind. Stuck in the DQ (Delta Quadrant, not Dairy Queen; if they were stuck in Dairy Queen for seven years they would all have diabetes) for seven long years, going through hell and back a lot, the Borg, and more, well…if tends to bring people pretty close. This family dynamic-something started a bit in TOS, then really expanded upon in TNG, and somewhat there in DS9-was on full display from day one with VOY. They were family, through pretty much everything.

That was a big reason in why the idea for “The Last Generation” was so potent to me. Whereas if there had been a weak link in the VOY family I could see Starfleet (or someone else) breaking that link and knowing the answer of what happened to Janeway, there was no such weak link here. Yes, one can make the case for Reg Barclay but in his defense he was trying to lie to another family member (and it’s not as easy as one would think). If Reg had to lie to someone outside the family (which I imagined he did a few times offscreen in “Endgame”) I think he would have been fine.

All that added up to the mystery being alive and well. “Whatever happened to Admiral Janeway?” probably would have been a huge deal for many years following “Endgame” and doubtlessly plenty of theories would have arisen. By this point into the development of “The Last Generation” I had the mystery and the family dynamic firmly down as themes or points to hit on often at least. The next part was the hard one; what exactly was the plot?

It’s here that I struggled a bit. Sure, I could go ahead and write a story about the search for Janeway (and part of me wanted to do that as an obvious homage to “The Search for Spock”) but I felt that was really a moot point. Any Star Trek fan worth their salt or with access to the internet would be able to tell you what happened to Admiral Janeway; she died and took the Borg Queen with her (epic moment of win by the way). Great moment in the ep but there’s little that can be done with it from that point writing-wise. Sadly, her final fate has already been determined.

So, I needed a new take. I wanted to tie in “All Good Things” with “Endgame” more directly than just “well, they happened in the same era.” Usually, I’d banter this out with one of my many fellow writer friends, but for this particular case, I really, really wanted to figure it out on my own. So, I spent hours digging through memory alpha and beta, looking for any sort of connections, perceived or otherwise, about the two episodes.

And then it hit me; TNG and VOY did share one thing in common throughout the majority of both runs and that was Q. Yes, the omnipotent being Q that always had a penchant for sticking his nose in things he didn’t have any say in.  Q would be the key to getting things on track but Q was in a lot of Star Trek episodes and his references to the continuum, time travel, and everything else…well, they were numerous. MA was good but I was going to need to do some reviewings of some of those eps in order to get my mind wrapped around things.

One episode in particular drew my attention and that was the episode featuring Amanda Rogers; “True Q”. This episode always kind of annoyed me, simply because it seemed to be the odd Q episode of the bunch. It didn’t focus on the usual Q/JLP dynamic nearly as much as it focused on the Q Continuum aspect. It was in this episode that the plot began to first take shape; I knew now that I wanted Amanda Rogers to play a part in this, somehow and it didn’t take long for me to add Q Junior into the cast as well.

Things were beginning to take shape for “The Last Generation.” I knew some of the themes, I knew some of the plot points, and I knew some of the characters. All this I knew, but I was still missing the cohesiveness I needed to fully make this a story. There was a missing piece.

That missing piece would end up being the time travel itself by Admiral Janeway in “Endgame”. If the timeline had continued on, then there would have had to be some sort of effect to it from the act of the time travel; perhaps not a major one, but one that didn’t alter the timeline dramatically initially. Thinking back on all the time travel episodes I’d seen, I decided to reintroduce a species back into the timeline which had previously died off, somewhat like what happened in VOY “Year of Hell” episodes. Someone changes something in the timeline, the timeline shifts, either dramatically, or slightly, but it shifts.

In the case of “The Last Generation” post “Endgame” timeline, I decided that a previously dead rival species of omnipotent beings would be brought back into the fold; the Q’s age old rivals the U (sure, not very original but hey, it’s a letter too). The Q had previously eliminated the U many eons ago and since that time had been the only game in town. Thanks to Janeway’s actions, a few of the U were brought back-not enough to wage a war against the Q but enough to make some Q question whether killing them off to begin with was even right.

From there, things began to turn in my head…and I knew I had something. That’s where I’ll leave this story for today. Tune in tomorrow for part 2, where I’ll explain the details of the plot of this untold story, show you the timeline and how exactly everything went, and further expand upon my thoughts regarding “Endgame” and “All Good Things”.