posted
Say, whatever happened to that series you were writing? I forget what it was called, now... I just remember it had a USS Peleliu as the main ship...
-------------------- I haul cardboard and cardboard accessories
Registered: Mar 1999
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Star Trek: Gamma Quadrant. Yeah, I wrote nine episodes and then lost interest - borrowed Gosvar and Macy from it, though. Re-read some it just a few weeks ago, actually: it was pretty bad.
posted
Yeah it's about time we crossed into the Neutral Zone. I mean hell we know more about the Borg than we do about Romulans.
Registered: Feb 2005
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posted
Here gos: A new tough baddie race is on the other side of the Neutral zone and the Romulans fought them off once before in a years-long conflict (explaining their long absence), but the baddies have since returned, are kicking the Romulan's asses and, as the empire crumbles on one side, the Klingons (under a relativly unknown new High Chancellor- Martok's fate a mystery) begin taking long "disputed" systems on the other.
The Federation, having recently signed a peace and mutual defense treaty with both the Klingons and Romulans (thus solidifying the Allied powers of the Dominion War into a solid chance for peace) is torn between it's old Klingon ally and it's new Romulan one and decides to send a starship into the areas of conflict to both assess the new threat and stem the tide of Klingon/Romulan war.
The ship would be something fairly large, combat capable and independant of immeadeate resupply issues. The ship would have, in addition to it's nifty combat abilities and Starfleet crew, a secondary hirearchy of diplomats and cultural experts from across the Federation- including a representive from both Klingon and Romulan Empires (to assure Starfleet is not secretly adiding the other side). A point of conflict would be that the (civillian) diplomats are expected to adhere to Starfleet codes of conduct and are subject to orders from the ship's senior staff (led by the ship's captain, of course).
Once inside the disputed space all long-range communications are blocked by an unknown force via means not understood and communication with the Federation is lost, this lack of commuication affects both the Romulans and Klingons as well (greatly adding to the confusion and keeping engagments to small skirmishes). Battle ensues between Klingon and Romulan forces, cutting off easy return to te federation, or a return at the cost of the mission's success. All debris from battle disappear within hours of combat's end with no explanatin.
All the details are up in the air as to cast, characters and shp design/specs, but that's the plot outline: and we all now that should come before all else, riiight?
Anyone want to fll in these blanks with me? No "Fanboy" ships though- no frikking Prommie or Dreadnaghts!
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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Although it might be a bit on the small side. Of course, you could take an idea like this one and expand it a bit. Make the twin lower hulls have more deck space.
Registered: Feb 2004
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posted
Ideas that I think should be incorporated (and, apparently, so do some of you):
Ship based.
Exploration based (although the new Romulan war angle is very intriguing). One of the big lacking points in the previous Treks has been the lack of going where no one had gone before.
Can we stay away from mysterious disease affecting the crew or something breaks and the ship is in danger stories? These seem to be done to death.
Post-Traumatic stress stories may be interesting. Hopefully by the time this show hits the airwaves the troops will be home from Iraq and Afghanistan. Stories dealing with the aftermath of war and of soldiers surviving such situations would reverberate among the audience. The idea of the Captain from ST:REN fits nicely with this.
Registered: Feb 2004
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posted
Interestingly, the first several thoughts for "radical departure" series that popped into my head end up sounding like Battlestar Galactica or Andromeda clones. But here goes.
....
25th Century. Federation and her allies are recovering after a devastating war. None of this namby pamby Dominion War or Xindi tomfoolery, and the Borg were a relatively non-threatening joke in comparison.
Earth was oblitterated - billions dead. Humanity is represented only by the many colonies, none of which was "just like Earth".
Vulcan had gone further even further isolationist before the war, and survived by being neutral. Needless to say, Terrans aren't big fans of Vulcans any more.
On the other hand, Romulan society was straining at the seams before the war and afterwards are the Federation's strongest allies. In some ways, they have become more idealist than the Terrans.
The show would ostensibly be ship-based, with the ship travelling around the devastated worlds of the Federation and beyond, trying to help with recovery but primarily trying to wave the flag of unity. At this point, most formerly Federation worlds would rather go it alone, with the Earth colonies feeling extremely isolated and vulnerable.
The pilot would include flashback scenes to the war, with some tantalizing hints dropped. Later episodes would continue this trend with longer flashbacks and more revealed, eventually developing into entire episodes set in the past during the war. Many of the crew have history they are not particularly proud of - from avoiding combat and letting their friends and family die, to giving orders which resulted in massive casualties.
The initial plot arc (lasting 1-2 seasons) will simply involve telling the story of the war against the backdrop of the ostensible recovery. Further arcs will emerge, focusing on the emerging politics of the restored Federation and her allies. And dissuading the various powers that will be swooping in like vultures to try to pick over the carcass of the Federation. The overall tone of the series is a look at the costs of war, and the fragility of life in a hostile universe.
Cast/Crew:
* Captain is a Terran Male. 30-something like Kirk, but extremely tired. He is a "war hero", meaning he didn't die. He's not sure that's a good thing - he bears heavy guilt, entirely justified, for the destruction of Earth. He is extremely cautious in all decisions, knowing that anything order he gives could lead to disaster.
* First Officer is a 30-something Romulan Male. Low level Imperial paper-pusher turned adventurer. He is ostensibly the Spock analogue, but decided not Vulcan. He is headstrong, a risk taker, but wickedly smart and capable of feats of logic. He will never save the day with technobabble, but will lead a combat team to victory with superior strategy and tactics.
Not sure on the others.
Ship:
The Enterprise, of course. But which one?
* One possibility is that it's the latest & greatest, hauled out of the construction dock to fight in the war and now a shattered hulk that looks pretty but is tactically weak.
* Another (fanwank) possibility is that the Romulans gave the Enterprise-C back to the Federation and it's actually the best thing that can be fielded by either power. Or perhaps, it's the only thing that's expendable for a flag-waving mission.
Elements to draw on from other series: * Diplomacy as a primary activity, from TNG * Earth-as-underdogs, from Enterprise * Vulcans as mistrusted, from Enterprise * Dark gritty future, from DS9 * "Alternate" timelines
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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posted
I wasn't going to do this, but I started typing and I couldn't stop!
I'd suggest an archeology plotline. Set some time immediately after the Dominion war. A ship is given the task of finding out more about the history of the region: the Progenitors, the Preservers, the T'kon, the Iconians, and especially the first humanoid race. This allows lots of new plotlines, along with revisiting several older ones as desired. Major mysteries are discovered and resolved as the series progresses, leading towards large revelations of various kinds. Given the plot line of the first humanoid race, it's easy to see how themes of unity among differences grow out of this.
The ship is a small one, perhaps Nova class. It was typically relegated to scout or rear lines duty during the war, so it didn't see much combat action. It's not terribly well armed or equipped, and it's not that fast. But it's sensors kick ass, especially after an extended refit. The entire crew is new, due to the major redistribution of personnel after the war. Due to the thawed relationship between the Federation and Romulans, and given the ship's important mission and lack of armament, the ship may be equipped with a cloaking device.
The captain is an older human male, with moderate diplomatic experience, but he's not much into archeology. Not much into games or reading, either. Basically, he prefers reality to his imagination in all ways. His preferred entertainment is to walk his new ship, and get to know her and his crew. He can frequently be seen in the ship's bar, chatting. He hates the ship's only holodeck, and refuses to use it for immersive recreational purposes. He also puts strict limits on how the holodeck is used by the crew: no using other peoples' images without permission, no accidentally creating AIs, no holodiction. He finds a connection with both the Klingon and Romulan representatives, forming a balance between them, and keeping their general competition in check.
This is an inter-species operation, with Klingon and Romulan officers aboard. The representatives are experts in the cartography and history of their respective regions. In addition, the Klingon is a tactical genius, since studying Klingon history lends itself to that. The Klingon rep is also female, lending itself to a study of how exactly women are treated differently in Klingon culture. The Romulan is a male, and a general scientist. They're very competitive, and don't seek each other's company, but they're capable of working together so long as the captain acts as a buffer between them, forming your K-S-Mc triangle.
Each has a young aide/protoge. The Klingon aide considers the job a waste of his time, and as a male finds it demeaning to work for a woman. The Romulan aide (female) is thrilled to be there, very eager. She may be the daughter of her boss. The aides absolutely HATE each other because of their species, and would probably kill each other given half a chance.
The first officer is a young Bajoran male. The Bajoran militia has been assimilated into Starfleet by this point. He's never even been outside the Bajoran system before this assignment. And since Bajor was neutral during the Dominion war, he doesn't have much combat experience, or really space experience at all. He grew up in the resistance, having no idea who or where his parents were. Spending much of his time in caves, he was always fascinated by the artifacts other resistance members would ignore. Other Bajorans in the crew see him as something of a hero. The destruction of Bajor's cultural treasures by the Cardassians almost made him more angry than their treatment of the people. After the Cardassian withdrawal, he was assigned to help catalog and protect the important sites and artifacts left behind. His religious beliefs are shaky, as he was in his late teens when the wormhole was first discovered. He doesn't know how much of Bajoran religion was actually desired by the Prophets. He tried to ask them in an orb vision, shortly before leaving Bajor on this mission, but their answer was cryptic, possibly implying something about his destiny. If the Captain is away, he has a hard time getting respect from the Romulan and Klingon representatives due to his inexperience. If all three are away, it's even worse, because now he has to keep their aides at bay. He does establish friendships with both aides eventually, but finds it difficult for either to accept his friendship with the other.
The crew needs fleshing out, including an engineer and a doctor. I'm still working on who the bad guy should be. I'm thinking someone old and awakened, but that's reminiscent of the Vaadwaur, and they sucked. Perhaps just the general forces of the status quo, ala Chang. The Romulan and Klingon representatives continually have a hard time convincing their respective peoples of the importance and impact of what they find (whatever that is), but eventually this ship's discoveries will change the Alpha Quadrant.
-------------------- "This is why you people think I'm so unknowable. You don't listen!" - God, "God, the Devil and Bob"
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
Omega, that's one of the very few fan outlines I actually like! The aides are kinda reminiscent of B5, but not in a bad way.
Registered: Jul 2002
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