test content
Logo
What is the Arc Client?
Install Arc
Options
Unofficial Literary Challenge 30 Discussion Thread
starswordc
Member Posts: 10,963 Arc User
in Ten Forward
This is the discussion thread for Unofficial Literary Challenge 30: "Redux, Reuse, Re-Gift?". Obviously I was going for a theme this month for the bonus prompts.
"Great War! / And I cannot take more! / Great tour! / I keep on marching on / I play the great score / There will be no encore / Great War! / The War to End All Wars"
— Sabaton, "Great War"
Check out https://unitedfederationofpla.net/s/
— Sabaton, "Great War"
Check out https://unitedfederationofpla.net/s/
0
Comments
Hopefully I can get some of my older challenges finished for the redux Prompt.
Member Access Denied Armada!
My forum single-issue of rage: Make the Proton Experimental Weapon go for subsystem targetting!
— Sabaton, "Great War"
Check out https://unitedfederationofpla.net/s/
— Sabaton, "Great War"
Check out https://unitedfederationofpla.net/s/
Member Access Denied Armada!
My forum single-issue of rage: Make the Proton Experimental Weapon go for subsystem targetting!
It doesn't help half the stories I based this off of were lost, not only when the Forum was transitioned, but when Inhad to replace my computers hardware... Most of this story is referencing older ULC's, or pulled from vague memories of unfinished prompts and stories, while some are pulled from the more recent stories I've published. Ex: 'Gregs Son'aire must die!' Is mentioned as happening.
This story takes place after the TCW has ended, and Noye is locked up, and obviously during the restoration work on K-13. Some events that are mentioned are to have taken place in the pre-Butterfly timeline, as well as events from the post-butterfly altered past/present.
Sorry - just catching up after the holidays - I'm really impressed how you manage to keep all this continuity woven together.
Member Access Denied Armada!
My forum single-issue of rage: Make the Proton Experimental Weapon go for subsystem targetting!
Honestly always had the base ideas in my head, I just thought this prompt was the perfect way to explain how Gregs and Berg were found, how Ace was 'made', and how Nali came to end up on Virinat after 'dying' on Hellguard
Track A timeline: Pre-LoR, original tutorial universe, removed missions are unchanged, timeline does not progress beyond Romulus. Conversely this timeline technically ends with the Butterfly Effect, which creates Track B. In-Canon Niaconis is confronted by Gregs in this timeline, as the event takes place before Iconians are revealed to be unable to time travel. Niaconis is mind wiped by Quarrens, sent across time by one version of the Iconians, as an agent to sow discord and strife with, Gregs only manages to avoid total death of his universe with Q's help. Early idea for the 'Dream' begins in this story, in represention of a Park filled with trees, an infesting black rot representing the blight the Iconians present, a Bee hive representing the Borg or Undine, and a Park caretaker representing Q, going from tree to tree to help out control.
Track B timeline: LoR timeline, Romulans become major players, and events continue up to Iconian War, until Butterfly event. Butterfly event removes Tuterians, erasing timeline A and causes ripples resulting in alteration to the timeline. Timeline B is born at point of inception, ergo it begins and cements itself as the current timeline only because of the Mission Butterfly. Includes updated tutorial, revamped missions replace old missions because the Butterfly Effect ripples both forward and back in time. James O'Brien still exists. In-Canon Trelane slips in between the cracks of time, as the creation of the Sphere Builders distracts the Q long enough for a shadow of Trelane to establish itself in reality. At this point Trelane begins machinations to restore himself to full power, introducing an OC group I call the Cult of Ophidian, made of Time displaced refugees and zealots, seeking vengeance against the instigators of the TCW. Ohir, another Delta Recruit, began here as an Assassian, before his personal timeline was altered to make him an amnesiac recruit for Starfleets fasttrack command program, and valuable temporal ally of Gregs.
Track C timeline: New Dawn/AoY going forward. Leeta replaces O'Brien, possibly due to interference by Pah'Wraith entities manipulating events away from Track B. TOS Faction is recruited, the TCW becomes hot as TLibFront is formed, then disbanded once Noye is caught and imprisoned. Truly cemented once Post Pryocyn/Sphere Builder incursions pass, and considered seperate timeline, as this reality only exists as long as Pryocyn event remains unchanged. In-Canon, Trelane is removed all together, as if he never existed, Drastorm returns changed slightly from his near-death experience, and all-in-all everything is all right.
Most of my early LC's can be filed away under track A, where I consider the original Gregs to have been truly an alien refugee from the Delta Quadrant, some escaped prisoner of a Nacene who was not necessarily the Caretaker or his Mate, along with Berg, originally his 'Mirror' counterpart. Gregs was a lanky, green skinned humanoid, fairly remeniscent, but different from a Deffri due to a purple(?) motlob or some such strange pattern on his skin. Had tree growths out of his head, story wise psionic amplifiers, had ever weak eyes, or was blind and needed a Visor to see due to the comparatively dim lighting. Berg was orange skinned with blue facial patterns, truly a bizarre duplicate. Very Superman-esque origin looking back on it, though it was what inspired a younger me to start writing.
Post LoR Gregs got a Facelift, along with an overhaul of his backstory, originally Gregs travelled back in time to alter something in his past, allowing a Romulan named Sal'vin to journeynwith him; in the process altering his own past when the Nacene that experimented on him imbued Sal'vin's own DNA into Gregs' ancestors, turning him into a humanoid of pale complexion. Eventually I refined this once again, when during Delta Rising I created Nali, originally just a Boff whose story I wanted to expand. Inspired by watching the ole Methuselah episode, I wondered if Earth was the only planet to ever breed an immortal. Putting RP on the back burner, and traveling just a few months ago into the past, I finally decided to play with this idea I had originally started with, changing it to the fact that an immortal Vulcan, Nali, whose own immortality was awoken by Vulcan's early wars, was somehow an adventure and explorer who left to see the stars, discovering the Badlands, and unfortunately becoming the test subject of a Nacene either very much like the Caretaker, or more likely the aforementioned being himself, who wished to fuse her longegevity into such a easily short lived species.
Eventually she is forgotten by the Caretaker, or leaves of her own violition, and manages to form a colony, which becomes a thriving civilization with her help, and becoming Gregs and Bergs own people's. I believe ULC 24, 25, and my later ULC's regarding Trelane explain more as to how this all happened.
Now in Timeline C, Noye, pre imprisonment, manages to realize just how altered the Timeline is, and decides to recruit Niaconis, in case Gregs is not removed. This is where it gets complicated in my prompt: Niaconis alter said time by removing either Sela from growing up, or keeping Tasha Yar from returning to the past. No Iconian vendetta occurs as a result, meaning Hobus nova does not happen, and also means that Romulus' power is still fractured in two due to aftershocks of Shinzon's coup, one between Romulus and the power play government of Rator III.
Klingons eventually go to cold(ish?) war with Federation, ala 'All Good Things' or 'Endgame', meaning they never form alliance with Klingons officially. 2800 event occurs, and most of the rest can be assumed from my story. With changes to the timeline Nali never had a need to become an ancestor of Gregs or Berg, erasing the future Ohir comes from, and keeping Ace from being born/altered by Gregs DNA to save his life. Again most other effects can be seen in my story.
I believe this covers most aspects that Inhave in my mind, but be aware most of this can equally be fluid as it can be rigid.
I was inspired by my newly created OC, I just had to incorporate her into my Mail Day prompt, which I wrote in under an hour and a half. Sorry for any misspellings!
Crew of USS Bajor:
— Sabaton, "Great War"
Check out https://unitedfederationofpla.net/s/
You have been warned.
Boy, I know that one. I ended up just anchoring a surge protector strip to my bedroom wall to plug things into because the outlets are too hard to reach in a hurry.
— Sabaton, "Great War"
Check out https://unitedfederationofpla.net/s/
— Sabaton, "Great War"
Check out https://unitedfederationofpla.net/s/
This was a nice little tale of the crew here, starsword.
Member Access Denied Armada!
My forum single-issue of rage: Make the Proton Experimental Weapon go for subsystem targetting!
It was originally in two parts, but then I had to split the first part in to two due to character limits.
Cast:
Commander Tiana Lanstar: Maryke Hendrikse
Kojami Sobaru, (Mirror) Cardassian Union Obsidian Order: Tabitha St. Germain
Elisa Flores, (Mirror) Terran Imperial Shuttle Pilot: (Insert whoever played Elisa Flores in the tutorial here [If anyone knows who this is, let me know and I’ll edit this appropriately])
The Cardinal: Patrick Stewart
I hope you enjoy!!
Ha ha ha, I enjoyed the end of part 2, but then again I loved the reference to Rome/Greece with the Erinyes! Totally can see that being Imperial S31/Assassin Guild/General Intelligence. It's a bit vague as to exactly what they are.
They're intended to be an Imperial S31 analog, though I guess a bit of an Assassin Guild feel came in, too. I was originally planning to call them Cerberus, after the Greek Guard Dog of Hell, as well as (more intentionally) the group with the same name from the Mass Effect series, but StarSword convinced me that it would be better to do something different - he was the one to come up with the Erinyes name, IIRC.
Yeah, I didn't want the reference to be too obvious, and anyway since, certain Disney films notwithstanding, Hades was actually one of the few pretty decent deities in Greek myth (most of the others were complete d*cks), I thought it would be a good move to rename them. The Erinyes, or Furies, are a group of revenge goddesses that torment evildoers and oathbreakers.
There's some notions out there in the EU that the Terrans claim descent from the Roman Empire (who were equally d*cks), which is something I referenced back in "Brother on Brother, Daughter on Mother" with Reshek Taryn's notion that the mirror universe was never part of the prime universe but rather comes from a timeline where the Western Empire survived longer (among other things). Hence all the various Rome references.
— Sabaton, "Great War"
Check out https://unitedfederationofpla.net/s/
Well assassination is part of an intelligence agency's job sometimes, not that they would really admit it.
I figured that was what you were going for as well. Enterprise 'Mirror Darkly' seemed to infer that they came from that sort of reality as well, heck even the moon landing has the Terran Empire Flag in the intro.
The furies, I actually got that reference with my own research on my 'Nibiru' prompt from awhile back. Maybe I was influenced a bit by CoX about the Furies being assassins, lol.
Working on posting a Redux story; Haven't I already Done a No Win Situation? And Why am I asking to make it harder?
Part 1 is posted here: https://www.arcgames.com/en/forums/startrekonline#/discussion/1232624/fanfic-retaking-the-test-post-yours-too
"Nope, just my away team" the trill replies before ordering a round for the bar.
There's a couple homophones that are off, but it's a really interesting setup - curious how the next part will go.
Member Access Denied Armada!
My forum single-issue of rage: Make the Proton Experimental Weapon go for subsystem targetting!
Doesn't surprise me I missed those. Second part is up, same thread. I will try and post the story into the Prompt 30 thread as well, when the board lets me.
Both parts up on the Prompt 30 thread: https://www.arcgames.com/en/forums/startrekonline#/discussion/1225625/unofficial-literary-challenge-30-redux-reuse-re-gift
"Nope, just my away team" the trill replies before ordering a round for the bar.
Okay, it was entertaining and I liked the character work, but...
The Kobayashi Maru is not won. It's a "personality inventory" of the commander, of how they react to impossible situations: do they avoid it? Go by the book? Improvise? Fake like they're doing one thing but then go a completely different way (my solution)? But if you break out of one trap, the computer adds a different one to keep the test unwinnable. You can pass the test set by the proctors, which is of your ability to keep control of yourself and your crew, and maybe "win" by getting into a position where the computer is forced to cheat unsubtly* by doing something that would be impossible in the real world, but your "player character" does not survive the actual scenario (excepting Kirk, who explicitly h*cked the computer to allow himself to win).
What you wrote, what the current and former NWS raids in STO are, and what the person at the top of the "Retaking the Test" thread wrote, isn't a Kobayashi Maru. It's just a difficult-but-winnable training simulation with the same fundamental starting position as the Maru. But that's honestly a common enough problem with even officially licensed Maru fics** that I'll let it slide if the story is entertaining enough, which yours was: having a second set of cadets crewing the Kobayashi Maru starship was a fun twist.
* For example, there's a licensed story where Scotty uses a theoretical physics trick that works on paper, and apparently in the simulation, but is impossible in the real world. In return, the computer basically goes Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies: it spawns more Klingon ships than existed in the entire Empire at the time. The proctors in turn ROFLMAO and reroute Scott to engineering track, which was the career he really wanted anyway.
** They let freaking Nog win in two mutually contradictory DS9 stories, one of those by bribing the Klingons. If the writer of that one hadn't been so bound and determined to turn Nog into a Marty Stu, the correct response by the computer would have been for the Klingon commander to be insulted by the attempted bribe and kill Nog in retribution.
— Sabaton, "Great War"
Check out https://unitedfederationofpla.net/s/
It's mail day on Solaris and it's business as usual ... or is it?
Drake as a foil may be old, but it works. I hope you enjoy
Cast for crew:
Kathryn Beringer - Rachel Nichols
Joleim – Richard Harmon
Kirat – Kylie Jenner
Franklin Drake – Victor Webster
Mentioned but not seen:
Daikar - Billy Zane
Chef Nadaka - TBD