Welcome
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Captains Table Bringing You All The Latest From The Fan Film World
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A Review of Borg War By Gerri Donaldson and Eugenia Stopyra
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Trekkie Central Magazine Editor:
Computer Whizz An Interview with Geoffrey James
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Comic Marvel An Interview with Guy Davis
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Richard Miles
Head Writer:
Alex Matthews
Contributing Writers This Issue Gerri Donaldson Richard Miles Alex Matthews Eugenia Stopyra John Whiting Creative Consultant: Michael Hudson
A Review of USS Tamerlane By Richard Miles
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Background Designer and Picture Editor This Issue: Richard Miles
Lost Star Trek Fan Fiction By Alex Matthews
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A Man Of Many Words An Interview with Rigel Kent
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Fan Fiction This Issue: Rigel Kent Other Magazine Staff:
Extract from Star Trek Endeavour Vigrid
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Star Trek Endeavour A Review By Richard Miles
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Trekspace An Interview with Alec Peters
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Gustavo Leao; Mike SlagenweitCoffman; Christopher Lee Smith; James R.Terry Jr.; Alma Ames; CJ Sitter and Stephan; Michael Ford. Website Staff Creator: Richard Miles Website Admin: Thomas Reynolds
Captains Log By John Whiting
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Next Issue
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Forum Staff Administrators Richard Miles Thomas Reynolds Nick Cook
Special Thanks to; Interviewees: Rob Caves; Guy Davis; Geoffrey James; Rigel Kent and Alec Peters, Michael Struck. Front Cover Designed by: Richard Miles Pictures taken from: Star Trek Endeavour; Aurora Trek and Borg War Additional Pictures: Google Images Issue Five Featuring: Borg War; USS Tamerlane And Star Trek Endeavour.
TCM is produced by volunteers because of their love of Star Trek. No money is being made from this publication. This publication is free to download, if you find a publication on sale it is an illegal copy and please do not buy, and help fund pirates.
WELCOME
HAILING FREQUENCIES OPEN
Welcome to the fifth issue of TCM. In this issue you will notice that a lot of things have changed, this will be a continual process and we all hope that you will like the changes that we have instore for you for future issues. In this issue we have interview with Rigel Kent of Star Trek Endeavour, Geoffrey James of Borg War, Guy Davis of USS Tamerlane and Alec Peters creator of Trekspace is social networking site for Star Trek fans. Also we have got an exclusive extract from one of the Star Trek Endeavour books direct from www.startrekendeavour.com and the reviews of the series as normal. The Captains Log this month has been written by John Whiting of Hidde n Frontier and Odyssey fame. We have also extended the news section to keep you up to date with all thelatest news from the Trek fan film universe, with the announcement fro m Hidden Frontier productions of yet another series based in their Star Trek Universe it doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. Lastly you have probably noticed that the magazine now has an extended staff and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them all for joining the team and hope you will enjoy their efforts as much as I have working with them. Live Long and Prosper Richard Miles Editor
Darker Projects have released the first episode of the second season of their audio production Lost Frontier. The episode is entitled ‘A Legend Falls’. And features all the cast from season one with the exception of Linda Townsend aka Chief Henglaur whose character died in the battle with the Borg at the end of the first season. The episode is available to download from www.darkerprojects.com/lostfr onlost
Darker Projects have also announced the winner of the design the Enterprise F competition that they have been holding. The winner was Jim Pearson. The pictures above and to the right are of his design. Well done to Jim.
Pendant Audio is people behind Star Trek Defiant have released their 23rd episode. This one is entitled The Far and Wonderous Distance Part 1, and is available for download from their website at http://pendantaudio.com. Starship Excelsior have
Frontline Productions have released the first episode in their Star Trek Diplomatic Relations series. The episode which comes in two 40 minute parts is entitled Rapprochment and features the voice talents of; Barbara Puder, Karl Puder, Holly Bednar and Mike Skurr.
released their fourth episode entitled ‘Wildfire’. Download it now from www.starshipexcelsior.com
The episode is available to download now from www.startrekdiplomaticrelations.com.
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Star Trek Of Gods and Men have announced that they will be showing the first two parts and possibly the third at various conventions throughout 2008. The conventions that you will be able to see Of Gods and Men on the big screen at are as follows; Following the conception of Trekspace at www.trekspace.org it was inevitable that it would only be a matter of time before various trek based fan films and sites joined. The first of these was Starship Intrepid, whose page has up to date information about the series and video clips that you can watch detailing various parts of Starship Intrepid. Another Fan series but one that is not as well known as Intrepid is Dark Frontier their page under the name of Triple-Fiction Productions details a lot of the information about this fledgling show, that seems to be very interesting indeed. Diplomatic Relations have also recently added a page on Trekspace and this also gives details about the show and it’s characters. Last but I dare say not least Trekkie Central have launched a page and this will detail upcoming magazine releases and any other Trek news that we think that you might find interesting. So why not head along to Trekspace now and sign yourself up.
Star Trek Origins pilot episode ‘Aftermath’ is continuing to progress with filming nearing completion. Visit www.startrekorigins.com for more info.
STARFEST 18TH TO 20TH APRIL CONGLOMERATION 18TH TO 20TH APRIL UNI CON 28TH APRIL MOTOR CITY COMIC CON 16TH TO 18TH MAY THE WRATH OF CON 30TH MAY TO 1ST JUNE TREK EXPO 6TH TO 8TH JUNE FEDCON USA 13TH TO 15TH JUNE
AND SHORE LEAVE 11TH TO 13TH JULY.
So if you want to see Of Gods and Men on the big screen head along to one of these conventions. For more information please visit the Of Gods and Men website at www.startrekofgodsandmen.net
Aurora Trek have recently updated their website to give viewers more information about the production. The new and improved website now features an about page telling views some of the background to the story. To have a look and read visit www.auroratrek.com.
Part 2 of Disunity the follow on story from Star Trek Unity’s pilot episode has now begun production, for more info visit www.startrekunity.com.
Triple-Fiction Productions have recently launched a new website for their show Dark Frontier, visit it for more info at www.triplefictionproductions.com.
Star Trek Lexington are also moving forward with their pilot episode with just post production to do now, the episode entitled ‘Fools Paradise’ will probably be available soon. For more info visit www.starshiplexington.com.
Lastly Trinity another UK based Trek series have recently revamped their website to make it easier to read and navigate, visit it now at www.st-t.co.uk
Star Trek Phase 2 have recently released their fifth magazine. This issue features the latest news from Star Trek Phase 2. To download visit their site at www.startrekphase2.com
Hidden Frontier Productions have announced another new series. Following on from the events of Operation Beta Shield, Federation One stars some of the same characters. Federation One will be a four part mini-series and will focus on the Federation President and will also feature the presidential starship Federation One. Federation One will star Wayne Webb as Matt McCabe from Hidden Frontier. The series will also feature the following stars: David O'Neill as Admiral Selek - Commander in Chief of Starfleet Barbara Clifford as Maragaret Magowan - Secretary of the Exterior Jim Davis Jaques Freydont The guest stars will be: Risha Denney as Elizabeth Shelby Joni Bovill as Proconsul Yeshva Andrew Foster Karl Puder as General Korg The first episode of Federation One will be called Unity and was written by Brian S. Matthews, who also penned Operation Beta Shield. Federation One will run concurrently with Odyssey and Helena Chronicles and as such Hidden Frontier Productions have released a timeline that is available to view on the Hidden Frontier forums. Also announced recently was the fact that the fourth episode of Star Trek Odyssey will be released towards the end of April 2008. To download the episode when it is released just visit www.hiddenfrontier.com. The release will also be mentioned on Trekkie Central.
The Excelsior Ball III website has recently been launched, so if you want to go to EBIII visit the site at www.excelsiorball.com and register yourself a place.
Operation Beta Shield has recently begun filming and Trekkie Central will bring you more information as and when it arises.
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TC: What can you tell us about OBS and Federation One? RC: The four part mini-series was originally going to be a full series in its own right, but we just don't have enough time to do it justice so we decided to do it as a mini-series that will run concurrently producing one episode a season alongside Odyssey and The Helena Chronicles. This is possible because its story will tie in with Helena Chronicles and Odyssey freeing up time to focus on characters rather than back-story and plot. Much of the plot is either already established, or will be by the prelude to Federation One, "Operation Beta Shield".The mini-series focuses on the President of the United Federation of Planets, someone we've seen occasionally in Trek, but never explored in any detail. We'll see the day-to-day operation of the Federation and the inner workings of its government for the first time. In addition to the President, the show really stars the President's Secret Service Officer, Lt. Cmdr. Matt McCabe who was on Hidden Frontier for many years. Much of the relationship between these two will drive the show. But there will be a slew of new characters that will hopefully be compelling as well. With the USS Odyssey stranded in the Andromeda Galaxy (from Star Trek: Odyssey), and USS Helena a renegade starship (from The Helena Chronicles), much of the focus of Federation One will be McCabe's investigation into a conspiracy that threatens the peace with the Romulans. Federation One's first production episode, "Unity" will expand upon this plot.
TC: Why call the series Federation One? RC: Most of the show will be set aboard the Federation Diplomatic flagship, the ship the President travels around on, called Federation One. TC: You stated in the forum’s that all three series will finish in a big way, do you know how these stories will finish and if it will be another feature length project? RC: Most of the shows have been mapped out through their third season, and we have some rough outlines for how the final wrap up will go. But there is still a lot of different ways it can go at this point. TC: OBS is the feature length episode that kick starts Federation One, which is due to star Risha Denney and Nick Cook, are you excited about this upcoming project and working again with the Intrepid crew? RC: Absolutely. We had a blast last fall working with Intrepid on Orphans of War and I hope we have even more fun this time! TC: Lt Cmdr Matt McCabe is to be the main character in Federation One, was this a deliberate choice or something that just grew up over time as you developed the ideas for the series? RC: Back when the show was conceived McCabe was the obvious choice for the protagonist. He's a fantastic actor and will bring a lot to a lead role. TC: You are releasing more and more trek based shows, you also state that you are working on new original shows for the future, once Odyssey, Helena and Federation one are finished and the original show is underway will we see more trek from you and Hidden Frontier Productions?
Starship Farragut has added an extra page to their website. The page is called Musical Score and details information on the person behind the music for Farragut’s second episode Hetoreyn.
Neo f/x is CGI team behind Starship Farragut, have announced that they will be releasing two episodes of Farragut as cartoons in the same form as the TAS episodes that were released during the early 70’s by Filmation. These episodes will be the first animated Star Trek episodes since that time. The two episodes will chronicle the adventures of the USS Farragut, and take place during the fourth season of Star Trek. Episode one, penned by Michael Struck and Jack Trevino (co-writer of two Deep Space Nine episodes), is entitled “The Needs of the Many”. The second episode, “Power Sauce”, was written by Thomas J. Scott. The cast of Starship Farragut Animated will be as follows: John Broughton - Carter Michael Bednar - Tacket Holly Bednar - Smithfield Paul R. Sieber - Prescott Tonya Bacon - Moretti Bob McDonough - Galway Jason LeBlanc - Glenn Amy McDonough - Holley Hetoreyn - Taylor Ralph M. Miller - Computer / Gorn Chris Doohan - To be announced Chase Masterson - Renata Vic Mignogna - To be announced Tim Russ - Tumar
The cast features two familiar Star Trek names from Deep Space Nine and Voyager in the form of Chase Masterson and Tim Russ. Also to appear in the episodes are Chris Doohan (James Doohans son) and Vic Mignogna, also there are familiar names from Starship Farragut.
TC: How did Starship Farragut Animated come about? MS: Well, as everyone may know, we are the CGI house for the live-action Starhip Farragut. What most people don’t know is that we actually proposed an animated episode for New Voyages back in 2004/2005. This was before the original Star Trek animated series from the ‘70’s came out on DVD, so we created a demo for then producer Jack Marshall with nothing more than still images (ironically, from StarTrekAnimated.com). While they were thrilled to see animated versions of themselves, the demo really disappointed me personally. It was, ironically, too smooth; the whole thing was ‘keyframed’ in the computer and items like arm and eye movements simply looked wrong. And, with the limited amount of time we had to complete it, we didn’t have time to refine it as we normally do in other production. In addition, some of the participants in New Voyages wanted a more ‘Clone Wars look’ which we attempted as well. I never liked this approach as I felt TOS era Trek would have to be in ‘Filmation-style’ if fans were to accept it. The point was moot as we never heard from the New Voyages crew again on this subject, and since that time James Cawley has publicly stated there will be no more vignettes for Phase II. Fast forward to 2006/2007 and our work on Farragut. The DVD’s for TAS were released and we realized where our mistakes were in the original demo we created. It was NEVER about the animation but the stories. However, we began tinkering with different ways of recreating this animation style and refining a treatment I had personally created for the live-action episodes. Just like in TOS, my story would have been almost impossible to make in live-action without a serious budget, but could easily be done in a cartoon. Unfortunately, I am no screenwriter, so I shelved that story and approached Thomas J. Scott of Magique Production. He had previously submitted a screenplay for the live-action Farragut as well, and was happy to shorten it and turn it into an animated episode. Then, one day last year I was contacted by Jack Trevino asking if I would assist with the visual effects of OGAM. I could not turn down a possibility to work on ‘real’ Trek, so I jumped at the chance. In speaking with Jack one day, I asked him if he was still writing and if he was interested in looking at my treatment. We brainstormed and came up with something I think the fans will love. TC: How long have the episodes been in production? MS: NEO f/x has been working on this since about July 2007. We brought Kail Tescar of StarTrekAnimated.com on board toward the end of last year when we were positive we could pull this off...One of the biggest failing of the original demo I had given Jack Marshall was the fact that the characters didn’t have that ‘hand drawn’ look. Kail is able to replicate the TAS style exactly.
TC: I saw that you have Tim Russ and Chase Masterson in the cast, how did that come about? MS: Not only Tim and Chase, but Chris Doohan (son of the original Scotty, James Doohan), and Vic Mignogna from the anime world (Edward Elric on Fullmetal Alchemist). Since the beginning of this project, I had a ‘special’ character in mind for the crew of the Farragut. Very similar to M’Ress and Arex in TAS, I wanted an alien in the mix. The character I had in mind was originally voiced by James Doohan, and then one day it clicked…why not ask his son to participate?? One email chain later and he was hooked on the idea. He then became our biggest advocate. The story Jack Treviño and I came up with was very flexible, so the first person we asked to participate after Chris was Walter Koenig, since he was never in the original animated episodes. Unfortunately, with his recent participation in OGaM and the New Voyages episode, he felt he had done Chekov to death (pun) and was not interested in revisiting that character. Since the main character of the story could have been male or female, we decided to go female as Trek has not had enough strong female characters in its history. With that, both Chris and Jack suggested contacting Chase Masterson. When she found out Chris and Jack were involved, she assisted us in getting the project set up with the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and then joined the project. She then suggested we contact Vic. Vis is a HUGE Trek fan and jumped at the chance to participate. From there it was just a fluke to get Tim Russ. We were interested in showing a trailer at the Creation Convention in LA and I contacted him to see if he would be showing OGaM, and if so, could we attach the promo to it. He wasn’t showing anything this convention, but hinted that he has gotten into voice over (V.O) work recently. A few quick rearrangements and we were able to bring him in on a small role that is perfect for him. TC: Can you tell us a bit about the episodes? MS: Power Source, written by Thomas J. Scott, is a classic Star Trek tale: The Farragut is tasked with finding the USS Azrael which has not reported in. We come to find out that the crew of the Azrael is being affected by an alien influence, and soon after, so is the Farragut. The Need of the Many, admittedly, is a true ‘fan boy’ story written by Jack and I: The Farragut is dispatched to Cestus III to help a Vulcan scientist at the distant outpost. The same Gorn that fought Kirk years prior returns to exact revenge on the Federation. TC: You are also releasing a Comic Book at the same time as these episodes, can you tell us a bit about it. MS: Kail Tescar is actually handling that, but once again this will be a fansubmitted live-action script that is being converted to comic format. With all of the work Kail has done with drawing and refining the looks of the characters, it was only fitting he utilize them in a production of his own. Kail did this for Starship Exeter’s crew as well. TC: What is it like seeing the characters we all know as cartoon Characters? MS: Well, we are hoping the cartoon helps bring viewers to the live action episodes, and the live action episode fans embrace the animated episodes. To answer your question, however, it is great to see these characters come to life in cel-style animation. It is time consuming, as we are not letting the computers do all of the work in this one. We are taking the ‘Filmation’ stance by doing a lot of the animation by hand (in the computer), but I think it will be worth it in the end!~
Borg War is now available to buy from the website for the following prices: USA only; $4.00 International; $6.00. Please note that you are only paying for the price of the disc, and postage and packaging and not for the movie itself that is free. Just visit www.borgwarmovie.org
Borg War is an animated CGI movie, that was made up of clips from Starfleet Commander 3 and Star Trek Elite Force 2, both from Activision. Here Gerri Donaldson and Eugenia Stopyra review Borg War after watching it for the first time. “Watch Borg War” we were asked, “Tell us what you think of this movie?” Who are we? We are Gerri and Eugenia (G & E), two women who love Sci Fi and Star Trek in particular! We were pointed to www.borgwarmovie.org to download it and try we did! 3 million downloads it says, that is pretty impressive and wow, look at that, so many ways to get the movie, high, low resolution, Quicktime or watch it on YouTube! E says “In my mind I didn’t think that I would like this movie as it was computer generated animation and the fact that it took me three attempts to download it!” G says “Well I tried as well, only two attempts this time before giving up and heading to YouTube!” But, with the final attempt being successful, we sat down, coffee in hand and watched!
E says “When I began watching the movie I came with no prior knowledge about the two games it was based on. I wondered whether that would be a disadvantage to understanding the movie” So it began, and guess what, we started to enjoy it! Familiar races start to appear, Romulans, Klingons and Federation members, Terrans and so on. The story is thus. The Borg up to their general modus operandi, find a new species to assimilate, but, this species is a little different! How you ask? Well, they assimilate the Borg so to speak, infecting them with their own DNA! A new Borg is born, one with lotsa legs and a different colour and now an exomorph! Meanwhile, there is a blip in the alliance between the Federation and the Klingons with younger members wanting to return to those old Klingon ways. The Federation are working with the Romulans ala DS9, on cloaking technology with a holographic twist! We checked the FAQs and saw that it says that it had taken over 1620 hours to work on this project. “You can tell that a lot of thought and effort had been put into this production.” E says, “I think that for 10 months the man who developed this movie had no life LOL!!
The movie was developed from the material from two well know Star Trek games, Elite Force II and Star Trek Command. Material from the games animation and play was edited to make the movie with new action sequences added to formulate a completely original story line. Dialogue was also taken and with newly written material edited to make the words fit the play. With this player/producer ability the movie Borg War was born! “I have played EF, so I thought that would distract me as I would be looking for anything I recognised.” says G. So we watched and for the first hour the movie was fast paced and we really got into it! Deliberately not reading the storyline on the website and only knowing that the story was set 17 years after the return of Voyager we were a little confused on why the Klingon character Jureth Mi’Qoch was in a Starfleet uniform “I did find the Jureth character a little hard to work out, how he fitted into the scheme of things. Was he Starfleet? It looked that way as he had a Starfleet communications badge and what looked like part of a Starfleet uniform. But the way his story line progressed it wasn’t clear exactly what his role was in Starfleet.” says E. G says that “I think he was a member of a hazard team in one of the games and that is why he was used. After reading the web I found that he had a “courtesy” ensign rank but was called captain, commander and lieutenant at different times so it was hard to give the character
What did give the movie a lot of credence was the use of voices from real Star Trek actors and what we did like about the movie was the familiarity of its characters, the alien species on the ships and starbase, Klingons, Romulans, Ferengi (but what relevance did bugging the Klingon table have? asks G.) The characters of Tuvok and the wonderful Picard were voiced by the original actor’s sound bites. It was great that the voices of these last two characters were voiced by the actors. This does give the movie a real Star Trek feel. The last 30 mins or so of the movie got a little on the slow side and we found that we got a bit distracted by the size of certain characters physical attributes, causing us a lot of laughter! It seems that it takes the Romulan Admiral and Dr Sevenofnine longer to walk into a room because there is such a lot of them to get through! Check out the character bios on the website to see what we mean! Admiral Arai was a well fleshed out character and very believable throughout, Dr Sevenofnine, otherwise known as Kleeya, oh why was she there? Aged 19 and a PHD already, such a clever girl and that uniform, whilst I say a great piece of animation manipulation, she was just Trek candy!! The big baddy bug was hard to understand and trying to work out what it said was annoying and did not help us to understand the plot. We had to stop and replay the same bit over and over again! Most of the other characters were
adequate for their roles within the movie. In all, we enjoyed watching this movie. It felt like Trek and in general the movie plot could be straight from one of the shows. “Full credit must go to Geoffrey James for even embarking on something of this nature. It does give Star Trek fans another avenue for enjoying an episode of Star Trek while the franchise is in recession.” says E. “Live long and prosper!” says G “Anything that keeps the franchise alive and gives fans out there something to watch is great with me! I have seen many Sci Fi movies over the years and believe me when I say that there
are a lot worse ones than this to watch.” 12
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TC: Why did you choose this particular medium for your project? GJ: My friends and I were playing Starfleet Command pretty regularly on Friday nights. I made a sample movies using TOS voice from the Internet, and then mixed live action/animated feature starring my friends and myself. At that time, I had never even heard of machinima or fan films.
TC: Why did you choose this particular time-frame for your project? GJ: This was as fast as I could produce a feature length movie. I have a job and a family to support, so spending much more than 3-4 hours a day on a hobby simply wasn’t viable. Essentially I took the time I would have normally been spending playing computer games and applied it to this project.
TC: How much time does the project take up? GJ: It took about 18 months of regular work. TC: How do friends and family treat what you do? GJ: My friends loved it and helped me work out many of the plot features. It drove my wife crazy, though, because for the first 6 months or so, it was pretty much all I could talk about.
TC: What have you done to individualise your project? GJ: If you mean, how much does it vary from the two games used to produce it (Starfleet Command III and Elite Force 2), the answer is greatly. Creating the movie required building of two dozen sets, restructuring all the dialog, programming every move and every gesture and expression of every character, not to mention the compiling of special effects. And that was just to get the raw footage. Then that footage had to be edited down – often adding special effects – to make each scene. It’s not a project for the faint of heart. TC: How has the project changed from original idea to current status? GJ: The basic plot is the same live action/animation movie I made for my pals. (In fact, there are a couple of starship scenes recycled from that film.) The secondary plots evolved as I worked on the movie, forcing me to go back and re-film about five minutes of the first section. TC: How much has the project changed you? GJ: I suppose that the biggest impact is that it taught me about plotting a story. I’ve been writing for years, fiction and non-fiction, but I never really understood plot until I was able to work in a medium that’s completely plot driven. TC: What is your favourite pert of doing a project like this? GJ: The hours and hours of non-stop sex and drugs. No, serious, it would have to be video editing and the adding of sound effects and music. It’s fun to see all of the hard work come together into something that other people can enjoy. And then, of course, there was the screening of Borg War at the big Star Trek convention in Las Vegas last August. It was really a thrill to see my movie on the big screen – and see hundreds of fans enjoying it.
TC: What inspiration did you take from canon series and why? GJ: I tried to keep as close to the canon as possible. My friends – who are more cognizant of the tradition than I am – were particularly helpful. I note that most Star Trek fan films tend to focus on the TOS era and very few on the TNG era. I’m not sure why. Borg War is very TNG in flavour. TC: What amateur fan films and projects inspire you and why? GJ: None. I literally wasn’t aware of either fan films or machinima when I started. I’m pretty excited about what’s going on in that community today, but since Borg War is to New Voyages as the Star Trek cartoon show is to Star Trek TOS, I’m pretty much out of the loop. Frankly, I think it’s annoying to most people in the fan film community that Borg War – a one person project – is one of the most popular fan films ever made. TC: Was using machinima limiting, story-wise and scenewise in any way? GJ: I was limited to a certain extent in the plot lines because I was recycling and restructuring dialog from the computer games. However, the vocabulary of the typical Star Trek project doesn’t really vary all that much, so it wasn’t hard to come up with something more or less original from elements taken from other storylines. The animation was limiting in the sense that there’s only so much a game engine can do. However, I was able to compensate by adding special effects (like a better warp out/warp in) during video editing. Scene-wise, it was pretty much whatever I wanted to do. It was more a matter of how much time I wanted to spend on each scene. TC: Would you do any more machinima projects after this experience? GJ: Probably not unless somebody were willing to pay me. And that’s not likely, as the game companies making Star Trek games today don’t “get” the importance of machinima as a marketing tool. If somebody at Perpetual Entertainment (who are making the Star Trek MMO) gave me a call, I’d listen. But they are pretty screwed up right now with financial problems, so I don’t think they’ve got the mental or management bandwidth to think about this stuff. And that’s too bad, because the value of a machinima project in terms of free advertising is roughly comparable to sponsoring a TV show on the SciFi network – with your product featured in every scene. TC: What would you change? GJ: I wish I had used Bridge Commander rather than Starfleet Commander III for the exteriors. Even though BC sucks as a game (in my opinion), it has a better graphics engine. I’d probably do more editing on the voice files. It wasn’t until after I’d completed the project that I discovered how to use the sound editor to change clip speed. If I had, had that feature when making the film, the dialog would have been somewhat more smooth. ~
TC: Why did you choose this particular medium for your project? GD: I have been writing comic books (perhaps a better word would be “struggling with comic books”) for nearly 20 years now. Tamerlane marks the first time I have done any fan project of any sort. I was really inspired by the fan films that were coming out and was struggling with one of my newer projects. I decided to take a break from the project and work on something that would be fun and interesting, but wouldn’t have as much personal investment in it, the idea being that I wouldn’t stress out quite as much about it. Thus Tamerlane was born. Of course, the irony is that I am very much personally invested in Tamerlane. It gets into your soul, the characters and the stories. Even if they were initially started on a lark. TC: Why did you choose this particular time-frame for your project? GD: Well, I’m an old school Trekkie, I guess. I love the old era. But more than that, I like the restrictions put on working in the older Era. Can you modify the universe without disturbing Canon? Can you explore an era that has been so thoroughly explored and still find new pathways to follow? It’s a real challenge. Strangely enough, I am finding myself really enjoying the challenge. I remember someone saying on one of the Star Trek boards that “no captain in a miniskirt and gogo boots would ever be respected.” I sort of took that as a challenge in and of itself. While I was at it, I pondered if I could make a series that has, at it’s core blinking Christmas lights, record tapes, ticking and rattling computers and bright primary colored uniforms and sets and make it not laughable. I truly respect the “reboots” like Enterprise and JJ Abrams’ new movie, but I’m curious if one can work work within the almost Kindergarten-colored world of TOS and still make a solid piece of drama without having to darken the sets and dirty up the place. This was, of course, all pondered before James Cawley had released Phase II’s “In Harm’s Way”. After I started watching the Fanfilms I realized that it could, indeed, be done, and done well. Despite the wild colors and Christmas decorations. I sort of feel that the mainstream entertainment culture is putting way too much weight on the look of the shows and in turn, sacrificing the story and characters. I think if it’s a good enough story, you could tell a good story with everyone wearing jeans and t-shirts. TC: How much time does the project take up? GD: Of course I work only part time on Tamerlane, but I seem to average about two to three days per page, give or take. The first issue of The Champion took 100 days to complete, which ended up being about 40 pages. I’ve tightened up the process quite a bit on that last pass, however, and I’m hoping the next issue will take even less time. The Omakes (short stories) take anywhere from 10-40 days, depending on their style. I use the Omakes as a test bed for different styles and designs, so estimating the amount of time they consume is a rather difficult proposition. TC: How do friends and family treat what you do? GD: I’m in a rather unique situation living in Japan. Star Trek is about as popular as Doctor Who was in America in the 80’s; sure, some people know of it, but there are very few who are actually
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Trekkies or Trekkers. One warm day, I had sought refuge in an unused classroom to work on the comic for a while when a clutch of my students came in. One of my girls looked at a picture of the Tamerlane and said “Is that a UFO?”... Things that are so obviously Star Trek in the West are sometimes completely lost here. It is nice not to have to struggle with the stigma here but on the other hand there is a complete loss of understanding as well. I can’t really give my work to anyone over here to read... they just really don’t understand it at all. My family, however, is a different story; my father is a long-time Trekkie from the original series and he supports me often and strongly. My sister liked Enterprise because she was a long-time Leaper (Quantum Leap Fan), but she never really got into any other aspect of Star Trek, however, she supports the endeavor if not the project itself. I have a lot of support from them both. I think the best thing that has come from this is that my girlfriend hasn’t left me yet (wink). No seriously, she is only a passing fan of Star Trek but she has thrown herself rather fully into the project, editing and helping me with dialogue, all the while trying to puzzle out transporters and warp drive and MACO’s and the like (There are times when she is mulling over dialogue and I hear her mumble under her breath; “Sire Skipper... Technobabble, Technobabble, Technobabble... right.”) I’m truly grateful to have her working with me on the project. TC: What have you done to individualise your project? GD: Part of the challenge of Tamerlane is walking that fine line between making a good, dramatic presentation while going somewhere new with races and ships and violating the very well-established canon of Star Trek. Kirk has really tread these waters rather well, and continues to do so with James Cawley’s (Phase II) Kirk. Carter (of Starship Farragut) and Garrovic (Starship Exeter) are also following in that vein with equally wonderful style. I felt that writing a comic about another Constitution class would have been a lot like trying to drive a soapbox derby car on the freeway. I wanted to find a different path. That way I didn’t have to worry about being compared to the FanFilms (and be found wanting). A friend of mine from Junior High had once said, when he heard Next Generation was also going to be about the Enterprise, “What I’d like to see is Star Trek: The Rest of the Federation”. Originally, I thought I would try to make an “Anti-TOS” series, flipping all the switches the other direction; a female captain, male communications officer... but I ended up with mostly women, and that sounded a bit unbalanced (and isn’t that an interesting statement on our society?), so I settled for flipping the “Big three”. Then I thought I’d push it further, maybe I would see “The Rest of the Federation”, literally. What is happening in here? I decided to try to move away from “Seeking out new life and new civilizations” after all, I didn’t want to take the wind out of anyone’s sails (And Phase II, Farragut and Exeter are definitely working well with full sails). The biggest thing I wanted to do was to have an “Anti-captain”. A character whounlike Kirk, Garrovic and Carter-was smaller than life. She’s still very competent, and a fine captain, but fighting the monster of the week might be a little out of her league. She has to rely more on her brains than her brawns. TC: How has the project changed from the original idea to current status? GD: Everyone had bigger eyes back then... including me. No, seriously I don’t think a lot has changed since it’s original creation. Like my previous projects, the characters were built first, and they have very detailed pasts and elaborate backgrounds that haven’t really changed that much. I lost a few characters along the way as story arcs were added. Some of the technology that I had to write in to kind of paperclip Canon together has changed, but for the most part Tamerlane is the same creature that I came up with four years ago.
TC: How much has the project changed you? GD: This was the tough question. I am always changed by my projects. Sometimes in unexpected ways. Tamerlane is a large project, one that has and will span many years. I think the biggest thing that has changed in me is that I have been humbled. I rather flippantly thought that I could just whip up some characters and throw them on a ship with a warp nacelle and poof! Instant success. As I got deeper into this I started to realize just how far cannon goes. I learned a great deal of respect for the world of Star Trek, and a great deal about how I deal with those worlds. TC: What is your favourite part of doing a project like this? GD: Oh, I love researching stuff. I love tying things together. I spend hours on Memory Alpha and the Star Trek Expanded Wikis checking and double checking my facts. The thing that is so incredible about Star Trek is; I can check all day long and I will still make an error somewhere. The Star Trek universe is so massive! TC: What inspiration did you take from canon series and why? GD: I am a major fan of TOS but I am also a huge fan of DS9. I like to work in the darker areas of characters, like in DS9, but I also love the almost idyllic designs of TOS and TAS ( I just recently became reacquainted with TAS. What a wonderful show! I have more interest in TAS than just the stories, though, I have a degree in Animation, and that background makes watching the original series so much more fun) I have drawn from Enterprise as well (MACO’s among other things), but in general, I draw inspiration from all the series, I guess. TC: What amateur fanfilms and projects inspire you and why? GD: All of them. Honestly I was inspired by James Cawley’s Phase II simply because of the audacity of it! I mean, really, an episode of Star Trek? By yourself? I didn’t think it could happen. Then I saw “Come What May” and was impressed that he had managed to get that kind of project together at all. It was then that I sort of started thinking about moving over to a Star Trek comic. I have shamelessly stolen Farragut’s additions to Canon because I think they are way cool (the landing party jackets, and their phaser III rifles to name a few things). I firmly believe that canon shouldn’t stay static, it really has to evolve. I have downloaded every picture that those teams (Including Exeter) have taken of their sets so that I can match that level of detail in my drawings. I rely heavily on the Fanfilms to ensure that I stay as true to canon as I can. In my morgue (the folder where all my reference pictures are), you are just as likely to find pictures from one of the fanfilms as screen captures of various shows. I have a great respect for the work these men and women have done, their attention to detail is second to none.~
USS Tamerlane is the only fan made Manga comic book. When I first came across Tamerlane, via the Starship Farragut forums, I was admittedly a bit dubious, how can anyone make a comic with the feel of the Original Series, blinking Christmas lights and the bright colours that feature very heavily in the series. When I logged on the Tamerlanes website at www.usstamerlane.com and downloaded the first Omake, which is Japanese for short story, I was pleasantly surprised at how good it really was. The author and artist Guy Davis had not only managed to capture that exact feel but also make it his own as well, by introducing a whole host of characters that make Tamerlane very different from any acted Star Trek series both official and the fan made productions of New Voyages (Phase 2), Farragut and Exeter. The first Omake is entitled ‘By Her Reason Swayed’ and introduces us to the Captain of the USS Tamerlane, we also discover that she is only a commander, in a similar vein to Deep Space Nine. The comic starts with Commander Julienne Cochrane issuing orders to her crew. As the story progress’ the reader discovered that she is actually sitting her ‘Kobiyashi Maru test’ in an attempt to become the rank of Captain. The pace of the story is pretty quick, but doesn’t detract from the enjoyment of the Comic in anyway, and that is a credit to the writer of the plot. During the commanders test we see her use some very unorthodox manoeuvres in an attempt to beat the test. After the test has finished we discover that she had cheated after ordering someone to change the parameters of the test. The positives of this story were that the author and artist got the feel of the original series exactly right, whilst at the same time making his mark on the Star Trek universe in an extremely unique way. My one problem with it was not within the comic itself but with the viewing system. To view the pages you have to click on each page individually which is fine when you start reading, but after a while I started getting a bit confused as to which pages I had read and which I hadn’t, a full PDF version would be a nice addition in the future.
The next comic that was released is actually the first issue of the series and is called ‘The Champion-Part One’. The first thing that struck me once I had downloaded it, albeit as a zip file, was the fact that there were forty pages a significant increase from the Omake previously. This issue features a ‘guest’ appearance of Lt Commander Smithfield from Starship Farragut, toasting one of her subordinates promotion to chief engineer aboard the Tamerlane, these scenes are very important as it sets Tamerlane in the same universe as Farragut and Phase 2, which shows that the writer is very much prepared to keep within the canon laid out not only by official Trek but also that, that has been built up in recent years by the fan films. The story is another fast moving tale that immediately draws the reader into the world that surrounds the crew, and as a result makes the read that much easier and very much enjoyable. As the story progress’s, and the new chief engineer beams aboard, we are quickly thrust into a fist fight in a bar, the ends up with the Captain having a black eye, something that didn’t happen that very often to Captain Kirk, which I must admit was a refreshing change. After that event the ship receives a distress call from an Orion slaver spacecraft. The crew respond to the call and beam over to the ship to find it abandoned or so they think until they read a life sign, with their new chief engineers assistance they are able to access the room from which the life sign is coming from and are startled to discover a young girl chained up. They release her and are about to beam her to Tamerlane when they receive a call from the other half of the away team that they need the skipper right away, only for the girl to warn them of a monster still being one the ship. This leads to a wonderful cliffhanger, that has certainly made me want to download the next issue. Overall Tamerlane is a wonderful production and I am eagerly awaiting the next issue, the couple of things that I would say against it are that it would be nice to be able to download it all in one piece and therefore view it all at once, and also it would be nice to see some colour although the black and white finish doesn’t detract from the story. Would I recommend it, in short yes, so head along to www.usstamerlane.com and see it for yourself.~
Over the last few years, Trek fan-fictions authors have been increasingly encouraged by mainstream authors to send in their works to the “Strange New Worlds� contest, where winners stories, using the crew and settings of which ever Trek series they wish, are published for all other fans to read. But for those who want to put their own unique ideas forward, they instead turn to the Internet, which since its birth, has been the growing home for fandom, be it for Star Trek, Xena: Warrior Princess or My Little Pony. Type in Star Trek to any search engine, and you will be offered a multitude of sites, some informative on canon Trek, others taking you to a fan club website where the members go out on group activities, united by their love of Trek. Others, you will find the adventures of a new ship and crew, some set during the time frame of any one of the canon series, or others dealing with a whole new environment and its unique set of problems. In this issue, we have already featured some of those series, such as the UES Endeavour, under the command of Charles Tucker III, as the Coalition of Planets deals with the growing conflict between Earth and the Romulan Star Empire. Endeavour offers an idea of what just might have lead up to and followed the various incidents that fueled the war between the two worlds, as well as continuing the author's own interpretations of the relationship between two of Enterprise's major characters. But there are other writers out there that deserve a little of the limelight as well, and have been doing their own trailblazing in their own way. One of the reasons I discovered the on-line Trek community was my own attempt at writing my own crew in their own adventures, and I was inspired to do that because of 2 fanfiction series I found on my cyber-travels. One of those was Star Trek: Infinity, written by Charles Rando. His series was an expression of his own ideas, and his crew was generated from his own friends, but many of them given a twist. Even though all his friends are human, in the world of Infinity, a modified Excelsior-class starship, they became the basis for a variety of characters, including a Trill/human hybrid, the first to be joined to a symbiont, a Romulan who was raised as a Vulcan after his family defected while he was a teenager, and a exiled Prophet who took to inhabiting the ship's main computer. Set during the 3rd season of DS9, the first 'season' of stories dealt with the Infinity as it is propelled through time and space at the whim of the non-corporeal entity that now resides in it's mainframe, who desires to learn more about linear time and those that inhabit it. The stories then moved on to interact with the more general Trek environment, bringing in references to the various DS9 plot-lines that would be occurring at the same time. Over 3
Given the medium in which it was expressed, it had a lot more free rein with plot-lines and such that fan-films or even major studio productions would have trouble with. But it still kept the basic ideas behind the plots believable in the overall Trek mythos. It also allowed for unofficial crossovers with the official Trek series, which may not be canon, but took advantage of the fact that they did not require the booking of an actual actor to assume the role. A 'sister-series' to Infinity, in the same way that Odyssey and Helena Chronicles are related to Hidden Frontier, was Star Trek: Specter, by Bruce J Babcock. Specter differed in that Babcock's crew was entirely made up by the author, the only character based by a real person being the chief engineer, who was based on Babcock's own self. A running joke through the stories written about the Specter crew was the occasional quips made at the engineer's expense regarding his being slightly overweight. Set again around the 3rd season of DS9, Specter took full advantage of its medium, by reintroducing some of the races seen in the Animated Series, by having a Edoan navigator, and a Caitian assistant chief engineer. Babcock was also influenced by his love of the Original Series, by revisiting some of their own story-lines, such as the loss of the USS Defiant, and the troubles that can happen with transporters and unknown substances. He also examined issues that had been ignored by Trek, such as the concepts of Christmas and New Years in the 24th century, but most memorably, to me anyway, was his predilection for humourous stories, such as crossovers with various nonTrek environments, be it through the intervention of a Q, or falling through a temporal anomoly. The Specter crew visited North Korea, and a certain M.A.S.H., as well as dealt with the New York District Attorney's Office, even going to have a round of drinks in a Chicago pub called 'Cheers'. During their run, they not only dealth with this issues, but also a overrunning arc over the first 2 seasons that ultimately lead to the death of their CMO at the end of their first years, as well as the eventual destruction of their Ambassador-class starship at the end of their second season. Most of the crew was reunited aboard a new Intrepid-class vessel for their third season, and carried on for another year and a half. The reason I have mentioned these 2 series is because they are some of what I have coined, the 'Lost Fan-Fictions'. Just like the 'Lost Era' between the end of Generations and the beginning of TNG, we have a gap of time where many stories could be written about, we have various stories out there in the ether that have never been read of forgotten about, thanks to the passage of time and the changing of priorities. There are many more authors out their in the world, that gave their own ideas a shot and put it out there for the fans of Trek to see, and never got the recognition they deserved. It is safe to say that not all those out there are everyone's cup of tea, and for every good author, you will find a couple of bad ones, but that is all a matter of personal opinion, admittedly. Next time you are bored, or fancy something different, try typing in Star Trek fan fictions in a search engine, and see where it leads you. For every bad penny you find,
remember that a shiny one is waiting to be found just as badly... Remembering those who went before is something we should all do, because they are the ones that helped those who are more well known to get where they are today.~
TC: Why did you choose this particular medium for your project? RK: In medium, I take it you mean prose fanfic? If so, it's because writing in prose is my strength. I've written some fics in screenplay format, but those never allow the writer to really get into the mind of the POV character. I'm useless when it comes to digital stuff (like making music videos and the like), so sticking to my strengths was almost necessary. TC: Why did you choose this particular time-frame for your project? RK: Mostly because I desperately wanted to see the Earth/Romulan War on the screen. One of the things that I was so disappointed with in the canon series was how they seemed intent on not addressing it at all (although, admittedly, the fourth season finally started to show hints of the coming war with the Romulan presence throughout the season). A secondary reason for choosing this time-frame is due to my general disinterest in 24th Century Trek. I know that Picard's time is supposed to be some idyllic utopia, but, frankly, it came across to me as more of a dystopian outlook where the main characters are unaware of how sinister their government was. TC: How much time does the project take up? RK: This is a difficult question to answer as each fic varies according to how much time I'm able to devote to the fic and how inspired I am. Endeavour: Grendel took the least amount of time of all of the fics; I think I finished it in under a month, including rewrites and alterations. Usually, it takes me anywhere between two months and five months. My current fic has been on hiatus for several months now, due mostly to personal reasons including a heavy school workload now that I've returned to college. TC: How do friends and family treat what you do? RK: With either mild amusement or abject disinterest. Unfortunately, I'm the only one in my circle of friends and family who is an ENT fan, so most of them remain oblivious to it. A number of my non-online friends did watch ENT when it originally aired, but I'm the only one who came back to the series after our mass exodus during the abyssmal second season. One or two of those friends have read a couple of my fics and evidently enjoyed them, but since they don't really know the universe that well, a lot of the elements I stick into the fics completely elude their comprehension. TC: What have you done to individualise your project? RK: Heh. If I have to say anything, then I'd have to say "added a heavy dose of realism to the Trek universe." As an ex-infantryman and a combat veteran, I'm often appalled at what is perceived as "good tactics" in a Trek battle (whether it's a firefight between a couple of security guys or a large-scale ship battle), and I try to keep that it mind when I'm developing a fic. Look at the MACOs in ENT, for example; they're supposed to be Special Forces types, but a squad of modern infantry guys (regular infantry, not Rangers or SF, or SEALs) would eat them for lunch. I also try to keep in mind the things that happened in the past to characters and not inexplicably forget about it for future installments; take Tucker, for example, and the entire "Similitude" incident. How that wouldn't seriously affect his everyday thinking is beyond me, based on what we've seen of his character through the canon show. A person is defined by their experiences, and I just don't like how Trek (and a lot of television, in fact) have their characters develop selective amnesia and simply forget about major traumatic events that happened throughout the course of the show. Another thing that constantly frustrates me in the canon shows is how the Main Characters are the ONLY ones who can save the day. ENT was especially bad with this in regards to how Captain Archer was portrayed and how the writers consistently lessened the abilities and skills of the other characters in order to exalt him.
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TC: How has the project changed from original idea to current status? RK: Well, originally, there wasn't going to be a "project." I wrote Elysium in order to show people what I thought the final episode of ENT should have been instead of that abomination of a "finale" they foisted on everyone. Initially, I never intended to return to the universe, but the Muse had other ideas which lead me to write the first of the Endeavour fics. TC: How much has the project changed you? RK: I'm much more confident in my writing talents now and I have a greater respect for authors who are able to punch out really well written novels. Before I "published" Elysium, all of the writing I had done had been private or for school, and I constantly questioned whether it was actually any good. TC: What is your favourite part of doing a project like this? RK: Honestly, it's the plotting that I enjoy the most much more than the actual writing. I've seen how some people complain that plotting is their bane, but I absolutely love sitting down and figuring out what happens. Unfortunately, once that's complete, I have to actually write it. LOL Almost as much fun as plotting is feedback from my readers. Sometimes, the discussions about what happened and why are more fun than the fic itself, and I'm always fascinated by the thoughts of my fans which sometimes then spurs other ideas and concepts. As I'm not a writer who makes things up as I go, the comments made by the readers doesn't change the plot of the story (or rather, hasn't so far), but it's still interesting to see how people react to something I've written. TC: What inspiration did you take from canon series and why? RK: Well, I was obviously inspired by the characters of CDR Tucker & (S)CDR T'Pol, but unfortunately, a large portion of "inspiration" from the canon series is decidedly negative in that, too often, I found myself disapproving of how the series progressed and how characters evolved. The Archer character, for example, frustrated me to no end, because of how poorly he was written in far too many instances. As much as I liked T'Pol, I was disgusted at some of the series decisions made for her (like her criminally negligent actions during season 3 involving the trellium). And, of course, the lack of the actual war between the Romulans and Earth... That isn't to say all of the inspiration was negative though. I liked a lot of the concepts in the series; I just didn't always agree with the execution of those concepts (or, in too many instances, simply hated the execution). TC: What amateur fanfilms and projects inspire you and why? RK: Not many, actually. I know that may sound arrogant or something, but it's not intended to be so. Prior to my writing of Elysium, I really wasn't that involved in anything online and all of the fics I read seemed solely intended as "shipper" fics, designed to pair X up with Y. With Elysium and the Endeavour stuff, I wanted to focus more on the war elements without entirely eliminating the romance aspect. Instead of hearts and flowers, I wanted to write about guns and explosions. LOL TC: What drew you to the Trip/T'Pol relationship? RK: That's not an easy question to answer. Initially, I must admit that I was drawn to T'Pol because Ms. Blalock is fantastically gorgeous (even if I actively loath every single one of those stupid catsuits they put her in). With Tucker, though, he simply reminded me of a couple guys I grew up around (being from the American South and all), so his "Everyman" aspect appealed to me. Obviously, the "opposites attract" element was fun to watch, and I thought it was a neat idea to flip the male/female mindset for those characters by making the man the emotional one and the woman the logical one. An online friend of mine said it best once when he stated his enjoyment of them was based on the idea that they were the birth of the Federation on a micro scale, two distinctly different individuals learning to put aside their differences to work together. Unfortunately, the people in charge of the
canon series decided instead of focus on the inane and tired Ross/Rachel "will they? won't they?" formula that is all too prevalent in modern television, and that really annoyed me a great deal. In regards to writing the TnT relationship, though, I thought it would be far more interesting to write a relationship that isn't going through the usual angst cliches when there are so many other outside factors and elements that would be more interesting to focus on. The old saying 'that which does not kill me only makes me stronger' seemed like a really neat way to approach their relationship, in that they've gone through absolute hell to get to the place they're in during Elysium. I mean, they've watched their second child die in front of them! Statistically, couples who lose a child don't break up, but rather become even more close and neither of the characters were the type to back down from a challenge. Thus, I thought it'd be more interesting to avoid the usual cliches and focus on them working together to face the future, thus setting the example that a certain Vulcan ambassador would follow some years later... TC: Endeavour has quite a high body count and tranfer rate with its list of characters. What is the reason for this? RK: The high body count is intended to show that war is hell, and in war, people die. Too often in Trek, the battles don't really show the real ugliness of armed conflict, or the difficult choices that the commanders have to make while in the field, decisions that can (and sometimes will) come back to haunt them later. We might get a really nifty action sequence and Joe Redshirt dies in an explosion of sparks or something, but he (and the battle itself) is promptly forgotten by the next episode. Nobody gives a second thought to Joe Redshirt's death, nor do we ever really see what impact his death had apart from warning the captain away from the bog monster. Real life doesn't work like that. Sometimes, I wonder if perhaps my reputation for having a high body count is due to my actually personalizing the casualties. We never get to know Joe Redshirt before his tragic (and usually, avoidable) death, but with my fics, sometimes we do so there's
more of an emotional impact in his death. It's also always struck me as kind of silly that the Hero Crew of the ship is able to go through a series and survive intact, given the sheer number of conflicts they get involved in. Throw in an actual war and their chances for survival take a precipitious dive. It's only their Script Immunity that gets them through these wars, but, as we well know, Script Immunity doesn't work in real life (and evidently doesn't work in character assassinations called "finales" either). As to the high transfer rate, that's mostly intended to keep things tense and to inject a dose of realism into the series. In a war this brutal and devastating, there's always going to be a demand for well-trained officers and crewmen, so it frankly defies belief that the Main Characters wouldn't be transferred to other ships or assignments in order to best utilize their abilities. Changes in duty stations are a factor of life in the military, and my version of Starfleet is most assuredly a military. It's actually ironic, though, that I struggle with the realization that, if this were an actual military, my two main characters would not be on the front lines like they are, but would actually be buried in a bunker somewhere, making new toys for the guys and gals on the Front. Ah well. Cinematic license, I suppose. TC: What are your thoughts to the fan reaction, i.e, the credits sequence created by one fan. RK: They're awesome and I really get a kick out of them. It's amazingly humbling to realize that my work has affected people enough so that they want to emulate it or do something in honor of it.
WARNING: DURING THIS EXTRACT THERE ARE A COUPLE OF SWEAR WORDS.
Vigrid Station. September 2156. The spy was patient.
STAR TREK ENDEAVOURS CREW
He was still and silent as he observed the human's approach. The automated loading docks on the rundown station were hardly the safest location for a conversation, but they served the spy's purpose. Noise from the loading platforms made audio surveillance nearly impossible, while steam rising from the overstressed hydraulics made video capture equally difficult. Few would venture into such an inhospitable location. It was ideal for his needs. "Sovek," the portly human said by way of greeting. It was not his true name, but the spy who was not Sovek acknowledged it with the slightest of nods. "Ya got my creds?" A flicker of avarice flashed through the human's eyes but was hidden as quickly as it appeared, replaced by something else ‌ something disturbing.
CAPTAIN CHARLES TUCKER
In response, the spy frowned minutely and raised an eyebrow. The human gave him a grin. "I planted the device just like ya told me." He grinned again, displaying teeth in dire need of cleaning.
COMMANDER T’POL
Much like everything about this human. "Was it some sort o' listenin' device?" the human was asking and the spy who was not Sovek chastised himself for his momentary loss of focus. He did not speak, did not reply in any way beyond pinning the human with his coldest stare. Surely this fool did not expect him to reveal its purpose? "Right," the human said with a curious gesture. "State secret an' all." Again the human flashed his unpleasant grin. The spy experienced a sudden moment of concern. Why was the human trying to engage him in conversation? He had never done so before in their sixteen previous interactions; that he did so now was ... troubling. There were a limited number of reasons for the human to suddenly become so curious, so loquacious this late in their game of deception, and to the spy who was not Sovek, only one made sense.
LCDR HEINRICH EISLER
The human was compromised. Letting the disruptor slide into his left hand with a discreet motion, the spy gestured toward the partially concealed case that contained the credits, his eyes never leaving the human. The smile that appeared on the human's face held no trace of duplicity, and the spy who was not Sovek pushed away a moment of uncertainty.
LCDR ANNA HESS
There was no time for doubt.
DOCTOR PHLOX
"Good doin' business with ya," the human said, eyes gleaming with greed. "Ya know, for a Vulcan, you ain't half bad." As the human turned toward the case, the spy acted. He took a quick half step forward and reached out with his right hand, clamping down on the human's shoulder before the stocky man fully comprehended the action. In his haste, he applied more pressure than was entirely necessary, but the result was the same: without a sound, the human crumpled into a heap. For long moments, the spy remained perfectly still, his eyes searching the darkness around the loading facilities for movement, his ears straining to hear the sound of breathing or footsteps above the rhythmic hiss of the loading platforms. He could not be captured ‌ not now, not at this stage of the operation. Minutes crept by as he remained frozen in place, disruptor held tightly in hand. But no one came.
LT SELINA MAYWEATHER
LT MARIE DEVEREUX
LT JG NATE HAYES
The spy who was not Sovek released a tension-filled breath and dragged his unconscious victim deeper into the darkness. Another long moment passed as he considered his next action. The human did not know what was coming, but clearly suspected far too much. Stretching his fingers out, the spy touched the contact points on the human's face and mentally prepared himself. Altering this human's memories would not be terribly difficult; like so many that the spy had been forced to deal with since arriving on this station, this one’s intellect was substandard. Even for a human. As the spy began to stretch out with his mind, a stray thought occurred to him, one that caused him to immediately break contact and pull his fingers free. A dark frown on his face, he stared at the human with hooded and troubled eyes. If the information his employers had provided him was accurate - and it had been, so far - there would soon be two on this station that the spy knew to be melders. He did not know how skilled they were, did not know if they could repair the neurological changes, and he could not risk discovery. Options were weighed in the blink of an eye,
ACT ONE It had been a long flight. Nine hours had elapsed since their departure from Starbase-1 and, though he had concealed it behind a mask of bored indifference, Lieutenant Commander Heinrich Eisler was eager for the flight to be over. The seats in the small shuttlepod had clearly not been designed with extended trips in mind, but he was far too proud to shift or fidget. An Eisler, Rick told himself, was unaffected by trivial matters such as a comfort or, in this case, the lack thereof. Junior officers or enlisted men, like Ensign Hayes or the five E.M.s that were crowded in the shuttlepod with them, could move around, or verbally complain about their discomfort, or just change their posture to relax muscles held rigidly in place for nine hours. An Eisler could not. An Eisler would not. But he was tempted. Beyond the cockpit of the shuttle, he could see the Endeavour and, mostly as an exercise in distracting himself from the stiffness of his spine, reviewed what he knew of it. The newest of the NX-class ships, she had been in service less than two months and had already seen action at Pacifica. Her crew was quite possibly the best ever assembled, with all but five of the surviving Expanse veterans serving aboard her. Compared to her sister ships, she was also the most heavily armed, carrying twice the payload of either Atlantis or Challenger and nearly three times what Columbia or Discovery bore. She was also among the fastest of the NX-class ships, capable of maintaining a steady warp factor of 5.8 for several hours.
MCPO COLIN MACKENZIE
And she was the only NX-class that had nonhumans aboard. The murmur of conversation grew in the shuttle as the six replacements chatted with each other in voices that were louder than absolutely necessary. Even if he had not already known that they were Security detachment, it would have been easy to recognize them as soldiers. Five men and a single woman, they carried themselves with a casual aggression and their conversations were littered with slurs, insults, and acronyms whose meanings would escape most.
SCPO LEE LUCKABAUGH
But not an ex-MACO company commander. It was still a difficult transition for Eisler. He'd served in the Military Assault Command Operations for ten years now, rising to the rank of captain, but everything had changed with the Romulan attacks. Starfleet and the MACOs had merged almost overnight, with men like Eisler given an intensive crash course in starship operations and inserted into the command structure. He should be a major right now, not a lieutenant commander. Once more, he felt his jaw tightening as he considered his new duties; MACOs had a name for Starfleet personnel, and it burned him that he fell into that category. He was one of them now. A fucking deck ape.
SCPO MANUEL GRAY
"Shuttle Echo-Two, this is the Endeavour. Stand by to release control to ALS." The comm crackled to life suddenly, startling the soldiers into silence; Rick had little doubt that this had been the pilot's intention, and he had to mentally salute the man for shutting them up without making it an order. He hadn't seen much of the pilot when they’d boarded and, for all he knew, the man was little more than a crewman. Regardless of his rank, the pilot was efficient. Rick hardly felt the shuttle dock and knew that the automated landing system was only partially the reason. Without even glancing back to check on his passengers, the pilot began running through the post flight check and gave the all clear signal to disembark. Ensign Hayes shot Eisler a glance, his eyes seeking instructions, and Rick gave him a short nod, permission to assume command of the E.M.s. At his gesture, the ensign quickly organized the other five, speaking in short, clipped sentences. He was only a few years older than the other soldiers, but spoke with quiet authority. They moved from the shuttle in an orderly manner, the ensign in the rear.
LT JG ALLISON LI
Rick hefted his own gear - two duffel bags and a long case that contained his personalized pulse rifle - and followed. It was something of a struggle - the rifle case was more than a little awkward and both of the duffel bags topped thirty kilograms - but he persevered. Eislers always persevered. At the hatchway of the shuttlepod, he paused and took in the launch bay. This was the first time he had ever actually set foot on an NX-class ship and he was amazed to realize just how cramped the bay actually was. Two crewmen were hard at work on the other shuttlepod and he could not help but notice the battle damage it appeared to have recently suffered. The six soldiers that had preceded him from the pod were already moving through the hatchway, past the two senior officers that stood there. Each soldier saluted sharply as they passed the two, a crisp gesture that brought the right hand up to the right eyebrow; before the MACO integration, such a military sign of respect would probably have never been seen on a Starfleet vessel. As Eisler approached the two officers, he studied them with a critical eye. The female was junior, a commander according to her rank scheme, and wore the blue Science Starfleet uniform while the male, whom he recognized as the captain, wore the gold of Command. Exotically beautiful, the commander was clearly a veteran; several small scars, nearly invisible to the naked eye, decorated her exposed skin and there was a distance, a coldness in her eyes that came only from extended combat operations Eisler had seen it too often in the eyes of his MACO comrades to not recognize it. Somewhat shorter than he, the woman was slight without being thin, and her balance was absolutely perfect, lending her the appearance of someone about to spring into action. She seemed perfectly comfortable with the taller male's presence, indicating a close personal friendship or, if the rumors were true, something a lot more intimate.
LCDR DRAHN
She was also Vulcan. The captain accepted her presence without hesitation and, from the way he stood, seemed to expect she would always be at his side. He was of slight to moderate build and perhaps a
meter-eight in height, but he had a presence about him that was nearly tangible. Like the female, he bore a number of barely noticeable scars from what had clearly been a difficult life, and the distance in his eyes was even greater than hers. Though Eisler had never met him, he recognized him at once. "Lieutenant Commander Heinrich Eisler reporting for duty, sir," he said in greeting, dropping the duffel bag he carried in his right hand so he could give a proper salute. Captain Charles Tucker gave him a half-smile and returned the gesture in a way that indicated he was unpracticed with the motion. "Welcome aboard, Commander," Tucker said as he offered his hand. He spoke with an accent that Eisler had heard only once before. "Sorry we couldn't pick you up at the Starbase itself." Rick nodded as he shook Tucker's hand, gratified that the man actually had a grip. He understood why they hadn't made the trip; with the Romulan propensity for ambushes, having the Endeavour lurking at the edge of the system and ready to go to warp in order to respond to a distress signal was tactically sound. Even if it required nine hour flights in a cramped shuttlepod. "This is my first officer, Commander T'Pol." The commander gave Eisler a nod of greeting and did not offer her hand. Vulcans never did. "Ma'am," he replied with little more than a brief nod himself; he'd never cared much for Vulcans and doubted he'd have much in common with this one, even if she was his XO. His greeting came out a little sharper than he intended, though - a factor no doubt of the extended trip and his own bone-deep exhaustion - and internally, he winced. If even half of the rumors about these two were true, he'd just put himself on Tucker's shitlist, and that wasn't the smartest thing to do when reporting to a new CO. Shooting a glance at the captain, Rick was momentarily surprised to realize the man wasn't even looking at him. "Well I'll be a sonova..." Tucker muttered before brushing by Eisler, his attention focused entirely on the pilot emerging from the shuttlepod. Rick frowned and gave the pilot a onceover, noting almost immediately his suspiciously furtive actions: keeping his head down and features concealed under a billed cap, the pilot was giving poorly disguised glances at the three. Instantly, reflexes honed by five and a half years of black ops kicked in and Eisler moved into a flanking position beside his new commanding officer, dropping the second duffel bag and the shockproof rifle case to the deck as he moved. He sensed rather than saw Commander T'Pol do the same on Tucker's other side. At least she had good instincts. "Sure as hell wasn't expectin' you, sir," Tucker suddenly said as he stopped in front of the pilot, and Eisler gave him a look. Sir? The pilot sighed - loudly - and discarded his cap before turning to face them. Rick nearly gasped in surprise. "That was kind of the point, Trip," Commodore Jonathan Archer said with a wan smile. "I'm here on official - if undocumented Starfleet business." He accepted Tucker's outstretched hand and the two exchanged hearty grins. "Commodore," the Vulcan greeted, her voice cool, her features expressionless, yet Eisler couldn't help but notice that she seemed ... softer somehow. "Starfleet blue looks good on you, T'Pol," Archer said with a completely open smile that stripped years from his face. He gave Eisler a brief look and Rick realized he was still balanced on the balls of his feet, poised and prepared for violence. He forced to himself to relax under Archer's gaze. The Commodore gave him an approving nod and spoke, his words aimed at Tucker. "We need to talk, Trip. In private." "I shall escort Commander Eisler to the quartermaster to begin his in-processing," T'Pol offered almost immediately and Tucker gave her a look that Rick couldn't begin to decipher. "That sounds like a plan, Commander. And then, you're to go straight to sickbay for that check-up Phlox scheduled." She blinked and, had she been human, Eisler thought she would sigh. Tucker suddenly smiled and looked at Commodore Archer. "And that's an order," he said, his smile broadening into a grin as Archer shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Not going to let that go, are you, Trip?" "Not a chance, sir." It was clearly a private joke. "The quartermaster is this way," the Vulcan said, her voice brooking no dissent, and Rick followed her from the launch bay, mildly surprised at how easily she hefted one of his duffel bags. He wondered what other surprises were in store.
To read the rest of this story please visit www.startrekendeavour.com and click on Episodes then Vigrid
41
When Star Trek Enterprise was announced there was a fury of excitement that had never been seen before for a Star Trek show. When the show launched it achieved the highest ever ratings of a pilot episode for a Star Trek show, however as the series progressed and more and more fans began to drift away from the show through discontentment on how it was being produced and the way the storylines where going, Star Trek fans started to look elsewhere for their trek fix, and at that time it was mainly Hidden Frontier and New Voyages (now Phase 2). When the show was cancelled and it reached the end of its four year run, a lot of the fans that were still watching it were very disappointed with the final episode ‘These are the Voyages’, stating that it was more a Next Generation episode then a Star Trek Enterprise episode. Whilst many fans were content to moan about it one fan decided to re-write that last episode and develop his own series of books based around the Enterprise universe. Star Trek Endeavour is based around two of the more popular characters from Enterprise in the form of Charles Tucker the third (Trip) and T’Pol is Vulcan science officer. During the course of the series we see Trip get command of his own ship the USS Endeavour, and the coming together of a crew that also includes the familiar Doctor Phlox and a lot of new faces. The series is very good and is certainly well worth a read. So I would recommend logging onto www.startrekendeavour.com
Over the course of the next few pages we have include the teaser plots from some of the stories released on the site to give you a feel of what the series is like. Hope you enjoy them.
Starbase One, 18 December 2156. Charles Tucker was furious. It didn't show on his face or leak into his voice as he spoke, but Jonathan Archer had known his friend long enough to recognize the signs of an impending Tucker explosion. Deciphering Trip's body language had become remarkably difficult in recent years– Jon blamed T'Pol's influence for that – but the absolute stillness in Tucker's stance was all the evidence that Archer needed to brace for what was coming. “Can you explain this?” Trip asked, his voice deceptively calm as he offered Jon a PADD. It was unnecessary: Archer had written those orders himself. “Explain what?” Jon replied instinctively. Months of dealing with journalists intent on splashing top secret information across headlines throughout the sector had honed his conversational reflexes. A flicker of anger played across Tucker's face for the briefest of seconds before it was replaced by what Archer thought of as Trip's “Vulcan face.” “To: Commander, UES Endeavour,” Trip read from the data device, his features utterly devoid of expression despite the fire in his eyes. “From: Starfleet Command. Proceed immediately to Sol Alpha for reassignment and redeployment.” He pinned Jon with a dark look and, at once, Archer realized what his friend was thinking. It was, to coin a phrase, a perfectly logical conclusion. “They're not taking Endeavour from you, Trip,” he quickly reassured the younger man, and Tucker seemed to relax fractionally. “In the wake of recent events, however,” Jon continued, “Command has decided to revise your mission profile.” Trip frowned at that and raised an eyebrow in a distinctly Vulcan mannerism. At any other time it would have been an amusing sight to behold, and was definitely something to tease his old friend about later.
She didn't know what to do. The sharp smell of antiseptic filled the air around her, tainting the oxygen with a stench that she was slowly beginning to hate. A constant ping from the biobed's heart monitor sounded at regular intervals; under normal circumstances, the soft beep would be a welcome relief as an indication of his strong vitals, but after listening to it for twenty-nine hours straight, she had grown to loathe the repetitive chime. The room itself was exactly five meters by five meters; this she had determined by pacing the room and calculating the measurement based on her normal stride. Apart from the occupied biobed, there was only a single chair in the small room. Her personal computer was atop the unused chair, powered down and untouched since she had arrived. The decision to bring it had been a logical one – she still had a lot of work to do, after all – but each time she attempted to focus on the equations, her mind would wander in the direction of the occupied bed and the fraillooking man atop it. Attempts to focus on anything other than his well-being were wasted efforts, and she had long since given up even trying to think of anything but him. She frowned abruptly as she realized how terribly emotional that sounded. It was his fault, of course, but she couldn't find it in herself to be too angry at him for it. By nature, she wasn't a very emotional individual, preferring the cold logic of science and mathematics to the emotional pitfalls of interpersonal relationships. For more years than she cared to consider, she had been content to avoid such entanglements. Life had proceeded in a predictable and logical fashion.
The data had not changed. Leaning back from his console, Subcommander D'deridex exhaled slightly in relief as his console chirped. It had taken a great deal of effort on his part, but the power fluctuations in the transmitter array were no longer reading green. They were finally ready to progress to the next stage. When Admiral Valdore had tasked him with this duty, the subcommander had initially assumed that it was a punishment detail or perhaps a subtle reminder that, despite his pureblood heritage, D’deridex was unique among his fellow Rihannsu. The subcommander’s fascination with the Terrans was considered a thing for mocking, not for emulation, and many had been the casual insult directed toward him for his attraction to all things Terran. Even D'deridex himself acknowledged that it was an unhealthy obsession that led him to learn Terran Standard English, or to study intercepted historical documentaries as if they were the words of S'Task himself. D'deridex's defense was always the same: when one understood the Enemy, one could more easily defeat him. Even if one did not understand why the Terrans found it necessary to highlight the comedic exploits of a shipwrecked crew, or to focus on the clearly fictional adventures of a military organization utilizing a ring-based transmat device, or to observe sporting events that had no apparent purpose aside from leisure, one could still learn a great deal from such modes of entertainment. Evidently, Valdore agreed. Nearly two dierha had passed since the Terran ship had been destroyed as it attempted to sneak into the system that Rihannsu starcharts identified as LV-426. Even before the passive sensor net that the fleet had in place around the system had detected the ship's arrival, Valdore had predicted its presence. With absolute certainty, the admiral had pointed to the sector from which the Terran ship would appear, and the surprised looks from his command staff when his prediction came true had caused him to smile grimly.
Trekkie-Central has recently joined Trekspace. Here we have spoken to Trekspace Creator Alec Peters about why he created it.
TC: When did you first discover Star Trek? AP: The very first memory I have of Star Trek was in 1966 when I saw a quickie preview for Star Trek on TV that said “Coming this Fall... Star Trek”. Yeah, that was BEFORE the show aired. TC: If you could create your own ‘Official’ Star Trek series, what would it be? AP: Oh, it would be set before TOS and have to do with Garth of Izar. My all time favourite Trek character. Garth was Kirk BEFORE Kirk. He was the greatest hero of the Federation before Kirk’s time. I have been writing a few stories centred around Garth and his exploits leading up to the Battle of Axanar. TC: Why did you decide to create a Social Networking Site? AP: Because Star Trek fans need a place where they can hang out and tap into all the cool tools of a MySpace without having to deal with all that reality nonsense! TC: Are you surprised by it’s popularity? AP: Well, it has done well, but ask me that when we have 10,000 members! We are growing about 100 per week. TC: How did you decide on the name? AP: Well, it seemed logical! TC: Are you surprised that there are so many people from other countries other than the US joining? AP: That is fun. There was a young lady from Sweden that I was emailing with and it was funny to hear her perspective on Star Trek and the lack of conventions there. Something we take so much for granted. I know Trek is big in Germany, and I may go to Fedcon this year. I love the international aspect of it all.~
Many Star Trek fans have written of where Star Trek is today, or where they see it going in the future. They have commented on the paths that fandom and Paramount have taken, separately and together. Some have spoken about personal changes in their lives. I would like to speak of some of the context of Star Trek, and some of the changes it may have assisted in coming about. Star Trek first aired in 1966, "as everyone knows". At that time, you could buy toy soldiers in three colors: green for American soldiers, gray for German soldiers, and beige for Japanese soldiers. The Japanese soldiers almost always wore glasses and had buck teeth. You could also buy red Indians and blue cavalry-men. The Viet Nam conflict, an undeclared war, was still heating up, not having reached its peak yet. China, largest populace in the world, and the Soviet Union, the largest coalition of nations under one government entity, were both engaged in a Cold War with the United States, with periodic glints of hot war flaring up, threatening to turn into atomic-powered World War. In 1968, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists' famed "doomsday clock" indicated a mere seven minutes to humanity's metaphorical midnight. "Hate crimes" didn't exist on the books yet, race riots were not uncommon, "Women's Liberation" may not even have been a coined phrase yet. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had less than two years to live. Robert Kennedy had less than three. Homosexuality had been recently removed from the diagnostic manuals as a psychiatric disorder, but several states still had laws against consensual sodomy. Into that world of angry cynicism and violent despair, Gene Roddenberry introduced a positive vision of the future. In some ways it was hopelessly naive; in others, it didn't go far enough. (One 1969 episode featured a woman bitter over Starfleet's policy against giving women command of a starship.) The future portrayed there indicated that despite the turmoil of the times, we would not destroy ourselves, although we might edge a little closer still to destruction first. Former enemies, such as the Russians, would be our friends and allies. Nationalistic differences were more likely to result in barroom discussions or brawls than they were to end in wars. Racism, at least between humans, would largely be a thing of the past. The "war between the sexes", so hyped in the 50s and 60s, would settle down to friendly skirmishes, and in later versions, apparently die out entirely. It was an idealized future, but not an idyllic one: conflicts still happened, but humanity had continued to grow and mature in the intervening years, much as we have in the centuries before us. We had a long way to go, but we had also come a long way. It helped remind a bitter and cynical world there will always be more than just one road to choose, and our destruction at our own hands was NOT a foregone conclusion. And it showed a future in which we did not have to change radically to achieve this; smaller, more gradual changes that would still leave us human would do the same job. We didn't have to become perfect overnight to survive; we could take baby steps instead. Today, Star Trek is a commercial franchise, somewhat perverted from its original aim, somewhat distorted from its original vision, cynically manipulated by businessmen and businesswomen with little interest in its ideals, and that's a terrible shame. But it doesn't detract from how one show dared to discuss real issues for the very first time, even disguised as allegory, instead of pretending that was all right with the world. Neither did it claim, as some science fiction stories of the time did, that all was wrong with the world. One show, with pretty miserable ratings, made it possible to talk about social ills and sometimes propose treatment for them. One show that lasted for only three years, none the less helped us cope with nearly a decade of tumult and turmoil. It appealed to thinking people in all walks of life, something that was very rare at the time and remains rare to this day. It inspired people to become teachers, engineers, doctors, astronauts, actors, designers . . . in short, to make their dreams become real. And many of those people have contributed their own part to making the world a better place, as well. People want to discuss Star Trek's future. I think that it would help a little if they knew something of Star Trek's legacy, first. The best way to avoid going back over old ground is to understand where you've already been. And that, I think, is Star Trek's greatest gift of all: in letting us see ourselves in a fictional mirror, it also let us know where we've already been.