The difficulty comes in thus: if he's a foundling in the MU, then just as on Earth he will at first be brought into a lab environment. In the STO universe he was blessed in that the scientists actually cared for him--including after the accidental death of one of their colleagues--and I think after a certain amount of time, he was able to enter a more family-like environment. I even think he may have been taken in by one of their families--perhaps a couple that could not or had chosen before that not to have children. They recognized his rights as a sentient being and eventually gave him a real home and the chance to find himself as a person.
In the MU we do seem to see a Starfleet of sorts--the Terrans seem to have defeated the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance and re-formed their Empire. So I see them finding him and weaponizing him once they see what he can do: literally raising him from infancy to be their tool, since they would have pretty much absolute power over his upbringing. That's why I feel that if found on Earth, such a fate woud be nearly inescapable.
Ahh, as I can't play the game, I wasn't aware of that transition in power and a restoration of an evil Starfleet... Oh well, I'm not re-writing, Darien will remain a war-profiteer with the 'up till now' life of an evil fusion of Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark That also makes more sense of your concerns of Alyosha being weaponized by an evil starfleet... Oh well, I'll just have to look forward to your contribution to the next LC
Considering the (IMO) improbability of the Terran Empire so completely reversing their fortunes since the DS9 era and going back to Business As Usual, I've toyed with the notion that the mirror universe we're dealing with now is actually not quite the same one we've seen before. It's well established ("Parallels" et al) that there's actually an infinity of possibilities out there; maybe what we're facing now is a timeline where the Empire never fell, but continued on from the TOS era, unbroken? They might have even been visited by a civilized Kirk, from some close echo of our own, and had a Spock who implemented his reforms more cautiously or not at all, strengthening the Empire up through the present day rather than causing/allowing it to collapse.
I don't expect any sort of official answer from Cryptic or CBS - this sort of lore geeking is way beyond what they usually like to deal with - nor do I intend to put it in my story (yes, you've convinced me). But it's the best explanation I can come up with for the apparent inconsistency that is most likely, on a meta level, simply due to the people in charge not caring and taking the easiest approach to giving us Mirror foes to shoot at.
Marcus--There's no need to rewrite. Mercenaries and privateers feel very "right" for the MU even with a reconstituted Starfleet.
I'll be interested to see what the next LC is.
And even if I don't write for the challenge, I do have an idea germinating for a direct follow-up to "Kenosis." Alyosha and those in his crew who are now in the know really have to come to terms with what happened.
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hfmudd--If your theory is true, maybe it's even the Diane Duane version of the Mirror Universe, as seen in her novel Dark Mirror?
That said, it's tough to explain the fact that Smiley O'Brien's son is one of the ones that shoots at you in the Cryptic MU...which makes your first theory the most likely--Cryptic just wanted to give us people to shoot at.
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Considering the (IMO) improbability of the Terran Empire so completely reversing their fortunes since the DS9 era and going back to Business As Usual, I've toyed with the notion that the mirror universe we're dealing with now is actually not quite the same one we've seen before. It's well established ("Parallels" et al) that there's actually an infinity of possibilities out there; maybe what we're facing now is a timeline where the Empire never fell, but continued on from the TOS era, unbroken? They might have even been visited by a civilized Kirk, from some close echo of our own, and had a Spock who implemented his reforms more cautiously or not at all, strengthening the Empire up through the present day rather than causing/allowing it to collapse.
I don't expect any sort of official answer from Cryptic or CBS - this sort of lore geeking is way beyond what they usually like to deal with - nor do I intend to put it in my story (yes, you've convinced me). But it's the best explanation I can come up with for the apparent inconsistency that is most likely, on a meta level, simply due to the people in charge not caring and taking the easiest approach to giving us Mirror foes to shoot at.
That theory would certainly make sense (both in-universe and in terms of game design ) because considering things in the DS-9 era, an MU Starfleet wouldn't be much beyond the Movie Era ships/technology, given the stagnation/regression under the Alliance...
(have to admit, I did love the MU inclusion of a Human Vic Fontaine )
And even if I don't write for the challenge, I do have an idea germinating for a direct follow-up to "Kenosis." Alyosha and those in his crew who are now in the know really have to come to terms with what happened.
Likewise, I love the way the LCs force me to adapt anything I might've had planned, or sometimes, just jump in both feet... Ironically, earlier I had the ideas of either having the nanoprobes in Marcus' system activating and assimilating him completely, or of S'rR's mounting a trip into the MU to kidnap Darien so the process can be reversed, but no, I must remain strong, and consider him a dead character... I'm just a bit attached, as I've been writing him for 15 years
I'm sure you'll be able to weave your magic and come up with something awesome :cool:
Dude, Kane was on Kathryn's ship?! If so, then that leaves room to fill in a hole for a future LC
Just hitching a lift to rendezvous with the Valkyrie But if you want to cover that period, feel free, or if you'd like to collaborate, that would also be cool
[Edit to add]
There were two other namedrops in the piece as well... One was a character, the other, was the inspiration for the description of the Renovatio
I don't expect any sort of official answer from Cryptic or CBS - this sort of lore geeking is way beyond what they usually like to deal with - nor do I intend to put it in my story (yes, you've convinced me).
Success! Peer pressure wins the day again. I'm looking forward to see what you come up with.
I also edited mine and have decided it is finished. The way it ended leads to the imagination the final conversation between the Captains and any ramifications may be dealt with in later LCs if the opportunity arrises.
I had a bad word filtered but I think that's ok - you all will get the word used and I doubt it will "break" the flow.
Now then, I need to spend today to catch up on all this discussion!
Just edited mine again. Added some more detail to the final battle scene. Lemme know what you guys think.
Nice work :cool: I'm still getting caught up on that 2nd to last paragraph though... I wouldn't be offended if you didn't want to re-edit to include this, and equally, certainly do not mean any offence by offering it, but this is more what I was meaning from my previous comment...
When he finally recovered, Bryan yelled out "Damage report!" but received no response. He was about to repeat the order, when he looked to the starboard side of the bridge, and realized why he had not been answered and his blood ran cold. Ibalei had been flung from her console by the plasma discharge, and lay still on the deck. Even with several limbs clearly broken, her long, dark red hair randomly pulled from its customary ponytail, and bleeding from multiple puncture wounds and lacerations, the young Trill had never looked more beautiful.
As above, no offence intended, just a suggestion of how I might have written the scene, or expected it to read
Equally, I re-edited mine yesterday just to clear up the action of the 2nd to last paragraph
I also edited mine and have decided it is finished. The way it ended leads to the imagination the final conversation between the Captains and any ramifications may be dealt with in later LCs if the opportunity arrises.
I had a bad word filtered but I think that's ok - you all will get the word used and I doubt it will "break" the flow.
Now then, I need to spend today to catch up on all this discussion!
Comments welcome.
Have to admit, I couldn't actually see/tell the edits, it all just ran smoothly, and I still think it's an excellent piece
@ marcus - Many thanks ... but no longer Marcus? After catching up on all the discussion posts (like *really* reading them), I had to reread some. I had to reread yours a couple of times to be sure that I caught the truth ... Marcus is dead?! I mean, I just started to know him, but you've had him for 15 years and poof?
Unless I read it alllllll wrong ... I am curious about your motivation to make the move, if you are willing to share.
@ironphoenix - I want to agree with Marcus' suggestion as it could clear up a little of the climax.
I had to reread yours a couple of times to be sure that I caught the truth ... Marcus is dead?! I mean, I just started to know him, but you've had him for 15 years and poof?
As the proverbial door nail... I might do some 'Benjamin Button' stories featuring earlier events in his life in future LCs if they would facilitate, but in terms of ongoing continuity, he's gone...
Unless I read it alllllll wrong ... I am curious about your motivation to make the move, if you are willing to share.
You read it right, and more than willing to share 'Making the move' is pretty much the key sentiment. When I wrote Marcus' character 15 years ago, he was intended as a guest character in a Series 4 Era DS-9 novel, which life got in the way of me writing, and he was very much a product of that era. I wouldn't say that he didn't fit into the STO era, but I felt that as his crew would have either shuffled off or retired, it was time that he did likewise. Could he be resurrected? As mentioned in an earlier post, yes, I can think of two very easy ways that he could be resurrected if I was to write it (I might post an Epilogue in a few days) but I think that to resurrect him, would not only diminish his sacrifice (or at least willing execution to save the Valkyrie getting blown up while trying to protect him), but also be shades of Search for Spock, which I wouldn't want to do... If you've read his bio I posted a while back, while I don't think Marcus 'wanted to die', I think that he was 'tired of living', much like Henry Hamilton in In Time and Connor MacLeod, in Highlander: Endgame, and I felt it was time to move him aside to allow new characters to get some use
And posted. As you'll see, I took inspiration from what others have said about the mirror Trill and applied that to my own Joined captain.
I hope this is clear enough from the text, but in case it's not: her pre-Joining name was Sanara Lucel, and per Trill custom (in our universe, at least) she now goes by Sanara Draz.
Wow, hfmudd, I LOVE what your mirror Sanara said about the Prime Directive! You really captured the difference between what it started as in TOS (protecting those who genuinely could not have fought the Federation back) and what it became in TNG--an excuse to play politics and to pick and choose which atrocities to accept and which ones to ignore. Like the Federation deciding to ignore what the Cardassians did to Bajor, AND to repeatedly ignore every awful thing the Klingons did because it happened to be under the guise of honor and the Klingons were politically-convenient allies.
What she did--not really taking the time to learn what Joining was like in the prime universe, and then trying to kill Draz--was wrong and ultimately it does show the corruption that seems to be almost ubiquitous in the MU. But, what she said before that point was right.
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I agree with gulberat: that part really grabbed me. You used a bad word too!
Admittedly, I realized that both were Trill about a third of the way down (iirc). So, the name switching was confusing at first, but that was less your writing and more my overall ignorance of the Trill ... thing.
Overall, I enjoyed it and look forward to more from you in future LCs
And posted. As you'll see, I took inspiration from what others have said about the mirror Trill and applied that to my own Joined captain.
I hope this is clear enough from the text, but in case it's not: her pre-Joining name was Sanara Lucel, and per Trill custom (in our universe, at least) she now goes by Sanara Draz.
Wow. That was an absolutely fantastic read, I couldn't be more pleased that you decided to contribute to the challenge
Wow, hfmudd, I LOVE what your mirror Sanara said about the Prime Directive! You really captured the difference between what it started as in TOS (protecting those who genuinely could not have fought the Federation back) and what it became in TNG--an excuse to play politics and to pick and choose which atrocities to accept and which ones to ignore.
Just so. Thank you.
(And, seeing as how Trek often references real-world politics, there's also a bit of a dig there at how often "civilized" democracies stand by while other countries act in barbaric ways, especially to their own people. Apparently, "never again" and "universal human rights" and similar rhetoric only counts when you're sitting on land or resources those democracies want, or are a potential or proven threat to one of them.)
I also wanted to address the improbability (in scientific, rather than narrative, terms) of why it's always these two universes (or is it? - see previous discussion), and present my personal theory on which way the Vulcan/Romulan split went in that universe - that it was the "weak" Surakites who were exiled to wander the stars, and the dangerous schemers who stayed home.
What she did--not really taking the time to learn what Joining was like in the prime universe, and then trying to kill Draz--was wrong and ultimately it does show the corruption that seems to be almost ubiquitous in the MU. But, what she said before that point was right.
Even then, I don't see her as 'corrupt'. Impatient and judgmental, yes (qualities shared by this Sanara, though somewhat tempered by Draz), but still doing her best to survive and learn despite the horrible things she's experienced, and in the end, willing to sacrifice herself to grant "mercy" to what she thought was a victim and end the life of a cruel tyrant. (Unfortunately, even if Draz shows her mercy in turn when she wakes up in Europa's brig, it's unlikely to change her opinion.)
It's a grim, dangerous and often desperate universe, and it breeds people who are the same.
I also edited mine and have decided it is finished. The way it ended leads to the imagination the final conversation between the Captains and any ramifications may be dealt with in later LCs if the opportunity arrises.
Well done. The beam burning into the Deltan's throat is a nice visual (as in written well, not something I want to happen to me). I expect that the 'payment' for Kathryn's services will be interesting whenever it is revealed.
It's a grim, dangerous and often desperate universe, and it breeds people who are the same.
That was what I was going for with my entry and the Mirror Marcus... He didn't necessarily want to become immortal, he just wanted to not die, and was willing to go to any expense/length to prevent that happening...
I really liked the references you made to the improbability of the crossovers, and indeed, the political references were very apt, but one part I especially liked, was the description of Mirror Sanara having cut her own hair, that was a really nice touch
On that note: Your Epilogue was awsome. Not much to say other than you nailed it.
Thanks, that's always nice to hear After the comments by yourself and CmdrScarlet, I felt I should just add something to cover S'rR's' Revenge, and completely close the book on Marcus before the next LC, and I wanted to start giving Mayer's character a bit more depth than simply being a name on the bridge
[Edit to add]
If Hamish is the Scottish form of James, I figured T'Natra would be the Vulcan form of Donatra :cool:
Edited mine again (last time, I promise :rolleyes:). Shout out to marcus for that awsome paragraph at the end of the battle scene. Also added an epilogue to mine. So, to that end:
Additional soundtrack:
Epilogue: Thomas Bergersen; Could've Been (Illumina)
Vice Admiral Bryan Mitchel Valot
Commanding officer: Odyssey class U.S.S. Athena
Admiral of the 1st Assault Fleet
Join date: Some time in Closed Beta
On that note: Your Epilogue was awsome. Not much to say other than you nailed it.
I agree; I think marcus' entry really benefitted from that epilogue. I really don't know his characters very well yet, but it made sense that after something so huge--especially after 15 years of writing a character--there should be some sort of look at the emotional fallout from that moment.
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I agree; I think marcus' entry really benefitted from that epilogue.
Thanks, I'm glad it didn't read as something which was simply 'tacked on ' for the sake of it I figured as future LCs might not give the opportunity to explore the exchange between Mayer and S'rR's, it would be worth doing, so people wouldn't think she had simply 'given up'
I really don't know his characters very well yet, but it made sense that after something so huge--especially after 15 years of writing a character--there should be some sort of look at the emotional fallout from that moment.
As mentioned in an above comment, I felt that Marcus was very much rooted in the TNG era, and it was time for him to retire, so I could start focussing on new characters, and equally possibly further explore Marcus' childhood via flashbacks. I don't know why, but while writing, I found the introduction of Selek the most emotionally charged scene.
Also, in case folks didn't catch the other namedrops I made, other than to the USS Solaris were:
Dr (Drake) Ramoray (as in Friends)
The description of the Renovatio, was of a Whitestar battleship
Comments
Ahh, as I can't play the game, I wasn't aware of that transition in power and a restoration of an evil Starfleet... Oh well, I'm not re-writing, Darien will remain a war-profiteer with the 'up till now' life of an evil fusion of Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark
I don't expect any sort of official answer from Cryptic or CBS - this sort of lore geeking is way beyond what they usually like to deal with - nor do I intend to put it in my story (yes, you've convinced me). But it's the best explanation I can come up with for the apparent inconsistency that is most likely, on a meta level, simply due to the people in charge not caring and taking the easiest approach to giving us Mirror foes to shoot at.
I'll be interested to see what the next LC is.
And even if I don't write for the challenge, I do have an idea germinating for a direct follow-up to "Kenosis." Alyosha and those in his crew who are now in the know really have to come to terms with what happened.
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That said, it's tough to explain the fact that Smiley O'Brien's son is one of the ones that shoots at you in the Cryptic MU...which makes your first theory the most likely--Cryptic just wanted to give us people to shoot at.
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(have to admit, I did love the MU inclusion of a Human Vic Fontaine
Likewise, I love the way the LCs force me to adapt anything I might've had planned, or sometimes, just jump in both feet... Ironically, earlier I had the ideas of either having the nanoprobes in Marcus' system activating and assimilating him completely, or of S'rR's mounting a trip into the MU to kidnap Darien so the process can be reversed, but no, I must remain strong, and consider him a dead character... I'm just a bit attached, as I've been writing him for 15 years
I'm sure you'll be able to weave your magic and come up with something awesome :cool:
Dude, Kane was on Kathryn's ship?! If so, then that leaves room to fill in a hole for a future LC
Just hitching a lift to rendezvous with the Valkyrie
[Edit to add]
There were two other namedrops in the piece as well... One was a character, the other, was the inspiration for the description of the Renovatio
Success! Peer pressure wins the day again. I'm looking forward to see what you come up with.
Commanding officer: Odyssey class U.S.S. Athena
Admiral of the 1st Assault Fleet
Join date: Some time in Closed Beta
I had a bad word filtered but I think that's ok - you all will get the word used and I doubt it will "break" the flow.
Now then, I need to spend today to catch up on all this discussion!
Comments welcome.
When he finally recovered, Bryan yelled out "Damage report!" but received no response. He was about to repeat the order, when he looked to the starboard side of the bridge, and realized why he had not been answered and his blood ran cold. Ibalei had been flung from her console by the plasma discharge, and lay still on the deck. Even with several limbs clearly broken, her long, dark red hair randomly pulled from its customary ponytail, and bleeding from multiple puncture wounds and lacerations, the young Trill had never looked more beautiful.
As above, no offence intended, just a suggestion of how I might have written the scene, or expected it to read
Equally, I re-edited mine yesterday just to clear up the action of the 2nd to last paragraph
Unless I read it alllllll wrong ... I am curious about your motivation to make the move, if you are willing to share.
@ironphoenix - I want to agree with Marcus' suggestion as it could clear up a little of the climax.
What's up with killing off crew in this round?
@ shevet - dagnabit, well done!
As the proverbial door nail... I might do some 'Benjamin Button' stories featuring earlier events in his life in future LCs if they would facilitate, but in terms of ongoing continuity, he's gone...
You read it right, and more than willing to share
MU allows such things...
I hope this is clear enough from the text, but in case it's not: her pre-Joining name was Sanara Lucel, and per Trill custom (in our universe, at least) she now goes by Sanara Draz.
What she did--not really taking the time to learn what Joining was like in the prime universe, and then trying to kill Draz--was wrong and ultimately it does show the corruption that seems to be almost ubiquitous in the MU. But, what she said before that point was right.
Christian Gaming Community Fleets--Faith, Fun, and Fellowship! See the website and PM for more. :-)
Proudly F2P. Signature image by gulberat. Avatar image by balsavor.deviantart.com.
Admittedly, I realized that both were Trill about a third of the way down (iirc). So, the name switching was confusing at first, but that was less your writing and more my overall ignorance of the Trill ... thing.
Overall, I enjoyed it and look forward to more from you in future LCs
(And, seeing as how Trek often references real-world politics, there's also a bit of a dig there at how often "civilized" democracies stand by while other countries act in barbaric ways, especially to their own people. Apparently, "never again" and "universal human rights" and similar rhetoric only counts when you're sitting on land or resources those democracies want, or are a potential or proven threat to one of them.)
I also wanted to address the improbability (in scientific, rather than narrative, terms) of why it's always these two universes (or is it? - see previous discussion), and present my personal theory on which way the Vulcan/Romulan split went in that universe - that it was the "weak" Surakites who were exiled to wander the stars, and the dangerous schemers who stayed home.
Even then, I don't see her as 'corrupt'. Impatient and judgmental, yes (qualities shared by this Sanara, though somewhat tempered by Draz), but still doing her best to survive and learn despite the horrible things she's experienced, and in the end, willing to sacrifice herself to grant "mercy" to what she thought was a victim and end the life of a cruel tyrant. (Unfortunately, even if Draz shows her mercy in turn when she wakes up in Europa's brig, it's unlikely to change her opinion.)
It's a grim, dangerous and often desperate universe, and it breeds people who are the same.
Well done. The beam burning into the Deltan's throat is a nice visual (as in written well, not something I want to happen to me). I expect that the 'payment' for Kathryn's services will be interesting whenever it is revealed.
I really liked the references you made to the improbability of the crossovers, and indeed, the political references were very apt, but one part I especially liked, was the description of Mirror Sanara having cut her own hair, that was a really nice touch
[Edit to add]
After discussion and reflection, I felt I should re-edit and add an epilogue...
Additional cast...
T'Natra - Gal Gadot
S'rR's Kane - Amy Smart
Selek - Oded Fehr
...I REALLY hope you don't mind if I steal that, because you said what I wanted to say much better than I did.
@cmdrscarlet:
Ibalei hasn't quite been killed off...yet:rolleyes:. It mostly depends on how a few plot lines in my fleet develop.
EDIT: Although, I could possibly have two separate...parallel? plots. One for in-fleet, and another for LC's.
Commanding officer: Odyssey class U.S.S. Athena
Admiral of the 1st Assault Fleet
Join date: Some time in Closed Beta
SPOILERS SPOILERS!!! :eek::D
On that note: Your Epilogue was awsome. Not much to say other than you nailed it.
Commanding officer: Odyssey class U.S.S. Athena
Admiral of the 1st Assault Fleet
Join date: Some time in Closed Beta
[Edit to add]
If Hamish is the Scottish form of James, I figured T'Natra would be the Vulcan form of Donatra :cool:
Additional soundtrack:
Epilogue: Thomas Bergersen; Could've Been (Illumina)
Commanding officer: Odyssey class U.S.S. Athena
Admiral of the 1st Assault Fleet
Join date: Some time in Closed Beta
I agree; I think marcus' entry really benefitted from that epilogue. I really don't know his characters very well yet, but it made sense that after something so huge--especially after 15 years of writing a character--there should be some sort of look at the emotional fallout from that moment.
Christian Gaming Community Fleets--Faith, Fun, and Fellowship! See the website and PM for more. :-)
Proudly F2P. Signature image by gulberat. Avatar image by balsavor.deviantart.com.
Happy to have been able to help you smooth things, and fantastic epilogue as well
As mentioned in an above comment, I felt that Marcus was very much rooted in the TNG era, and it was time for him to retire, so I could start focussing on new characters, and equally possibly further explore Marcus' childhood via flashbacks. I don't know why, but while writing, I found the introduction of Selek the most emotionally charged scene.
Also, in case folks didn't catch the other namedrops I made, other than to the USS Solaris were:
Dr (Drake) Ramoray (as in Friends)
The description of the Renovatio, was of a Whitestar battleship