Based on the effects of the devices, the members of the da Vinci team guess that they were designed to function as "scorched earth" weapons, decimating the population of their onetime allies to keep them (and their knowledge of Dominion secrets) out of the hands of the Federation. The use of twin devices on the planet of twins and its moon must have been the result of the Founders' dark sense of humor.
Eventually, however, the S.C.E. operatives discover that they were wrong about the instrumentation's true purpose. The devices were actually meant for a purpose seen by the Founders as benevolent: to unite the Miradorn in a new Great Link.
The Miradorn, it turns out, were the Founders' favorite Alpha Quadrant collaborators. In the links shared by Miradorn twins, the Founders saw the potential for the evolution of a Solid counterpart to the Great Link. For once, the Founders tried to do something purely beneficent in the Alpha Quadrant by installing devices on Mirada and its moon which would spur the development of a species-wide link among the Miradorn when the time was right. The booby traps on the moon were meant to keep intruders from interfering with the process. When a malfunction activated the system, the linking devices were triggered prematurely; since the Miradorn have not evolved to the point where they can sustain a stable linkage, the linking devices are overloading and burning out their minds. Even when the Founders try to do something positive for another species, bad things happen.
While one S.C.E. team works to deactivate the instrumentation on Zasharu, a second team beams down from the da Vinci to work on the device on the surface of Mirada. If the linking devices are not deactivated soon, the populations of Mirada and Zasharu will be wiped out.
Neither S.C.E. team, however, has any luck figuring out how to shut down the system without making the situation worse. The devices utilize morphic circuitry and computer code that continuously alter their configurations without interfering with operations, thwarting efforts to map and alter the devices.
Eventually, Em-Lin proposes a solution...but she must admit to a lie to do so. Though she has claimed not to have personally participated in the Miradorn's collaboration with the Dominion, Em-Lin admits that she worked in a Dominion munitions facility on Mirada after all. She did so not out of love for the Dominion, but as a matter of survival.
Em-Lin's admission raises some hackles among the S.C.E. team members, but everyone comes to see that her past experience is a good thing. Thanks to the work she once did on morphic technology during the Miradorn's collaboration with the Dominion, Em-Lin knows how to use her tools--and Soloman's computer skills--to defeat the linking devices.
To restore ancient artifacts, Em-Lin uses tools that alter molecular structure at a subatomic level; by changing the "flavors" and "colors" of quarks in atomic nuclei, the tools alter atomic and molecular composition. Working with the S.C.E. team, Em-Lin is able to use her tools to perform subatomic surgery on the morphic circuitry, changing its configuration so drastically and fast that its "muscle memory" is overcome, and its functionality is destroyed. She works closely with Soloman, who must speed-code faster than he ever has before to disrupt the device's morphic programming.
During the work, Em-Lin's confidence level is low because her twin is absent, but Soloman helps her endure, and the two of them succeed. They shut down the Zasharu device and deactivate the device on Mirada remotely, and the linking waves stop.
Later, as the S.C.E. team completes its cleanup of the Dominion facility, and the pilgrims begin to arrive for the hajj, Em-Lin thanks the team for its help and kindness. She says that she feels that she has helped in a small way to redeem herself and her people in the eyes of the Federation.
She is right, at least when it comes to the team from the da Vinci. After working with Em-Lin, the members of the S.C.E. team see her and the Miradorn people in a more positive light.
FAIL CALL: Star Trek: S.C.E.: The Cleanup – FAIL or UNFAIL?
UNFAIL! The editor bought The Cleanup, which appeared as volume 60 of the S.C.E. e-book series. It also made it into print as one of four S.C.E. adventures published in 2010 in the Corps of Engineers: Out of the Cocoon trade paperback. I'm glad to see it making the rounds, as this is one of my favorite Trek efforts. I wrote it in the spirit of Peter David, mixing in plenty of humor and surprises along with the nonstop action.
S.C.E.: Double Vision
Now that I'd had a taste of success with S.C.E., I decided to strike while the iron was hot. As The Cleanup worked its way into e-book form, I developed another S.C.E. proposal, titled Double Vision. This one featured a Medusan, one of the aliens from the original series episode "Is There In Truth No Beauty?" The cast also included an Ekosian, from the reformed Nazi planet in the episode "Patterns of Force." I had a great time mixing together the two species...and mixing together all the cast members, thanks to an out-of-control device that literally phases their bodies together.
Full of hope, I sent off the proposal to Pocket's editor and held my breath.
Star Trek: S.C.E.: Double Vision – FAIL or UNFAIL?
A new device is meant to allow Medusans to move freely aboard Starfleet ships without driving crewmates insane...but the field test leads to Tev being connected to a bullying rival and the da Vinci phased into a space station.
The Medusans (TOS: "Is There In Truth No Beauty?") are the best navigators around, but their flashing light physiognomy triggers madness in humanoids. As a result, Medusans serving on starships have had to remain in uncomfortable containment vessels that limit their navigation skills. A top scientist, Quo Belladon, has set out to change all that.
Belladon's device, the sidestepper, enables objects and beings to occupy the same space at the same time by phasing their atomic structures at different frequencies. The sidestepper was inspired by the Romulan cloaking technology that dematerialized Geordi and Ro in TNG: "The Next Phase" and the cloaking/phasing device tested by Admiral Pressman in TNG: "The Pegasus"...but was developed in a way that doesn't violate any laws or treaties like the Pegasus device did.
In theory, Medusans phased to a different atomic frequency will be able to serve alongside starship crews without being visible to them. Naturally, though, when the Starfleet Corps of Engineers field tests the sidestepper, things don't exactly work out for the best.
That extends to the S.C.E.'s interactions with Belladon and her assistant. As soon as she sets foot on the da Vinci, Belladon starts bullying Tev...and, to everyone's surprise, gets away with it. As a Zaldan, Belladon despises courtesy and expresses her emotions in an in-your-face way. She is even more obnoxious and brilliant than Tev, and she never misses an opportunity to try to intimidate him. For once, Tev is in the position of being put down by someone who has achieved far more than he has.
Meanwhile, Belladon's female assistant, Jedda, causes trouble for Makk Vinx. Jedda is a native of the Nazi planet, Ekos (TOS: "Patterns of Force"), which has rejected fascism and become a loyal member of the Federation. At first, Vinx is pleased when Jedda seems attracted to him, and they go on a date. The Iotian and the Ekosian develop a love-hate relationship filled with outrageous mobster/Nazi dialogue, but Jedda has an extreme bipolar disorder that makes Vinx miserable. When she isn't smothering him with adulation, she's driving him away...and, eventually, threatening him.
As things go downhill for Vinx, Belladon's sidestepper device malfunctions during testing. The sidestepper successfully sends a Medusan named Gossam to a secondary phase level. However, the device also phases Tev and Belladon together. The two are literally joined at the hip and cannot be safely separated by transporter or surgical means. As a result, Belladon's opportunities for bullying Tev increase a thousandfold.
The S.C.E. team members try to recalibrate the sidestepper without causing Tev and Belladon to fully materialize while phased together. Fortunately, the two aren't killed when the sidestepper hiccups again...but the da Vinci's crew is separated. Most of them are shifted to the secondary phase level, while only a handful are left behind to run the ship and seek a solution.<
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The crew on the secondary level can't even touch solid objects because of the sidestepper's malfunctions. They're left in a kind of limbo state, with nothing better to do than watch their shipmates on the primary level (who can't see them in return) and talk to each other.
The remaining handful of ship's crew and S.C.E. team members on the primary level (including Gomez, Soloman, Tev/Belladon, Vinx, and Jedda) fight to adjust the sidestepper and set everything right again...but it isn't easy. There just aren't enough people to run the ship properly and work on the device.
Plus, there are other complications. Tev and Belladon must struggle to do their work while attached to each other. The simple acts of walking and reaching for tools become a nightmare (though not without comic moments). Also, Tev and Belladon experience an unpredictable mind-meld effect, flowing in and out of each other's thoughts.
Meanwhile, Jedda completely loses it and attacks Vinx. He fights her off, but she escapes. Belladon reveals that Jedda suffered permanent damage after contracting a rare strain of the Psi 2000 virus (TOS: "The Naked Time," TNG: "The Naked Now") as a child. The virus left her prone to mood swings...and an occasional relapse, though never before as intense as the one she's going through now.
Unfortunately, her condition endangers everyone when she takes the helm and jumps the ship to warp speed. The warp flight, though brief, sets off the sidestepper again, which leads to good news and bad news. The good news is that the da Vinci, instead of crashing into a space station that Jedda was aiming at, phases through it. The bad news is, the da Vinci and the station stay phased together and will both be destroyed if either one fully solidifies inside the other.
Naturally, they begin to solidify inside each other. Running against a tight deadline, the da Vinci team must come up with a last ditch plan to save the day.
To that end, the team rethinks their approach. They've been working from the design documents for the sidestepper, but nothing they do to repair the device works. Gomez realizes that the real problem lies in the documents themselves, and the HAD (hologram aided design) system that Belladon used to map out the sidestepper in the first place. When the team goes back to Belladon's HAD program, they find that it's faulty. The HAD program incorporates an A.I...and this particular A.I. has literally come to believe that Belladon is always right, even when she's wrong. Instead of catching Belladon's mistakes like it's supposed to, the A.I. has been letting them through.
The team uses the da Vinci's resident HAD system to generate new blueprints and is able to trace the flaw in the sidestepper that led to the malfunction. They find that a component has partially dematerialized due to a defect in the sidestepper. The component is intangible in the primary phase level, where team members are solid enough to handle it...and is solid in the secondary phase level, where team members are intangible and unable to touch it.
The solution to this problem comes in the form of Gossam, the Medusan. Gossam and Pattie, who are able to watch and listen to events on the primary phase level, hear about the problem and come up with a plan to remedy it.
Though phased to the secondary level, energy-based Gossam is able to manipulate the phased component slightly. Directed by Pattie, Gossam will tweak the component just enough to shunt it back to the primary phase level, restoring the sidestepper to full functionality.
Of course, Pattie almost goes insane in the process, since Gossam must be free of her containment vessel to affect the component. Though she is nearly indestructible on the outside, Pattie is vulnerable on the inside to the madness-inducing effects that result from looking directly at a Medusan. Faced with intense and destructive stimuli, Pattie reverts to the "quiet" behavior of her youth, panicking and becoming unable to communicate.
With a titanic effort, however, Pattie digs deep and manages to overcome her "quiet" spell. She succeeds in holding herself together, but just barely, and is able to instruct Gossam in finishing the work.
As time runs out, Gomez, Tev, and Belladon put the restored sidestepper to work. Cautiously, they use the sidestepper to shunt the da Vinci fully into the secondary phase level. They wait just long enough for the space station's inertia to carry it to a new position, and then they phase the da Vinci back to the primary level. (They are able to use the repaired sidestepper to make themselves substantial enough to operate the ship's controls after phasing to the secondary level.)
Once the da Vinci is back home and free of the space station, the team uses the sidestepper to phase the rest of their shipmates back from the secondary level.
Finally, everyone returns to the primary level. Unfortunately, Gossam is still outside her containment vessel, and Jedda catches an eyeful. The sight of the Medusan, however, which would drive a sane person mad, cures Jedda's insanity. When things calm down, Doctor Sarjenka can find no trace of the damage from the Psi 2000 virus in her brain tissue.
The outcome for Tev is equally positive. When he and Belladon merged minds while joined together, Tev found that she is deeply insecure, paranoid, and unhappy...not at all the strong and self-assured juggernaut she pretends to be. Armed with this knowledge, Tev is ready to put her in her place, but he ends up feeling sorry for her instead. He lets her get in her last digs and walks away content that he is more well-adjusted and far happier than she'll ever be.
Meanwhile, Pattie says goodbye to Gossam. After their shared ordeal, the two have become friends. Pattie feels strong and confident after overcoming her "quiet" nature in a time of crisis.
As for Vinx, he's still jumpy around Jedda, but he accepts her apology for tormenting and attacking him. They say they'll keep in touch and maybe get together someday, but who knows?
FAIL CALL: Star Trek: S.C.E.: Double Vision – FAIL or UNFAIL?
FAIL! The editor held on to this one for a while but ultimately let it go.
Website Wonderland
Pocket Books wasn't the only avenue I explored when it came to Star Trek fiction. I looked for new opportunities wherever I could, and finally found a great one online. The official Trek website, Startrek.com, was running various features, including weekly comic strips. I thought it would be the perfect place for a heaping helping of Trek fiction.
When I got in touch with the website's producers, they responded enthusiastically to my query. They liked the idea of bringing fresh fiction to Startrek.com, available exclusively on the site. I proposed a daily fiction feature, with several Trek serials in rotation. The site producers said they'd like to see more, so I went to work on a set of eight proposals.
Two of them recycled material I'd developed for novel proposals that I just couldn't get out of my system: Federation Delta revisited some of the elements from Voyager: Madborg; and Redjac: Soul of the Ripper revisited the story from the unsold novel of the same name. The other proposed serials, though, were all new.
As I pulled together these proposals, I kept thinking about how much I'd love writing any of the serials on a weekly basis. Rogues and Timeship, especially, just seemed like wildly fun ideas for fiction series that I'd love to read, let alone write.
So when I sent them off to the producers at Startrek.com, I was more excited than usual. I really wanted to make this deal happen.
Startrek.com: 8 Fiction Serials – FAIL or UNFAIL?
ONLINE SERIAL 1: STAR TREK: ROGUES
THE CONCEPT: THE DIRTY DOZEN meets STAR TREK (with secrets and baffling mysteries galore a la LOST)
THE STORY: STAR TREK: ROGUES features a crew that does the dirty jobs that can only be done by a team with no visible connection to Starfleet. This team, ostensibly operating as smugglers and mercenaries, secretly does Starfleet's dirty work throughout the Federation and beyond. (The team is not connected to Section 31. The reason another "black ops" type of Starfleet-affiliated group exists will be revealed as the series continues…and this will actually bring the cast into conflict with Section 31.)
THE TEAM: The black sheep of ROGUES include disgraced former officers, ne'er-do-well misfits, criminals, con arti
sts, and a personification of evil, all heading up one side of the redemption curve or down the other. Everyone on the team is working for personal gain of one kind or another, whether it be reinstatement to Starfleet, forgiveness of criminal acts, or financial rewards.
THE SHIP: The team's ship, the DARKLIGHT, is not a Starfleet vessel, though it comes equipped with plenty of high tech gear that is no less effective for having been cobbled together. In some cases, the DARKLIGHT's systems exceed standard issue Starfleet equipment by including tech that has been declared illegal in the Federation for one reason or another.
OVERARCHING MISSION: To do the jobs that no one in Starfleet dares to do…including dealing with a huge approaching threat that is coming in under the radar. This threat is related to the events of TNG: "The Chase," in which it was revealed that the humanoid species of the Alpha Quadrant come from a common seed.
FIRST ASSIGNMENT: To retrieve all-powerful Charlie Evans (TOS: "Charlie X") from the Thasians. (Charlie's still alive and goes on to become a regular cast member.)
THE CREW (a sampling):
Captain Erik Pressman (Originally played by Terry O'Quinn) (Locke from LOST captains the ship!) - Formerly an admiral, Pressman was arrested during the TNG episode "The Pegasus" and drummed out of Starfleet. He's a lost soul, but he's on the road to redemption.
First Officer Mallory Kyle – Mallory is a shining exemplar of excellence, a descendant of Kyle from TOS. There has always been a Kyle on ENTERPRISE, from Archer's ship onward…but this Kyle made a costly mistake and became the first of her lineage to wash out of Starfleet. She is on the long road to self-destruction.
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