Four* Stories for "One Day in a Very Long Dominion War"

( * Two were selected.)

First off, download the whole book from Tranquility Press right here for free. 

Rewind with me to August of '25.  I was unemployed and the job search was going ... swell.  Just swell.  OK, it was not going swell.  Whatever.  I was ruminating on an idea or three for my next creative endeavors when I happened across a post by Tranquility Press on BSky.  They were accepting submissions for a Dominion War writing project.  The deadline was just a few days away.

The writing prompt was simple but thought-provoking.  One day in the middle of the Dominion War.  Not focusing on the major characters or anything ... just a day in the life.  Of anyone.

I think I went for a walk in the neighborhood and pretty quickly had an idea for and worked out the basics of my first story, "Loading Torpedoes," by the time I got home.

(You can read "Loading Torpedoes" below.)

I banged it out quickly.  Just a few hours for the first pass and then another pass or three in the following days.  I think it turned out well. 

As I wrote "Torpedoes," I had an idea for another story.  An interrogation of a Vorta series of clones by a Romulan operative who was tired of the whole thing.  Obviously, that became "Jolan Tru All Over Again."  I incorporated some Romulan lore created for Picard and threw in references to several events in Deep Space Nine's history around that time ... it's a fun story of two professionals trying to get at truths the other doesn't want to reveal.  Time is too short, of course, for progress to be made.  Writing this one took a bit longer as I kept wanting to adjust the dialogue, make it funnier here, hint at something else there ... Reading it in its final form made me want another pass, but that's OK.

(I might have caught the mistake I made ... did you spot it?) 

Art by Radinka Daynara

At some point while writing "Jolan Tru," I had another idea.  Something with Klingons.  I looked at a map of the Galaxy used on the series and spotted a little spot inside the Empire but near Federation space, so I had the thought that a colony there could be blended ... humans and Klingons together.  Far from the war in the Beta Quadrant but the war wasn't far from their minds.  That, of course, became "naD tetlh."

Art by Mika Kurzmann-Abrams

Like "Torpedoes," writing this one went very quickly.  The characters were fully formed in my head for whatever reason.  It was almost like I only had to transcribe what happened and what they said.  When the first pass was done, it was just about done-done.  Subsequent passes only tidied things up, made new word choices, and the like.  When it was done, it was immediately my favorite.

While writing that, I had the thought that I should do something with the "bad guys."  And I had a germ of an idea: a disgraced Jem'Hadar unit trying to regain their status, trying to regain their lives as only victory could.  It took another day, but I wrote "To Be the First."  A slight story, to be sure, intended as mostly an action piece with the Jem'Hadar we follow trying to survive a harsh planet and win the favor of the Founders.

With four stories now complete, I sent them off to Tranquility ... only to then see that they had extended the deadline.  Oh well.  A few months later, I got the good news that two had been selected.  I think they made the right choices.

To this day, I don't know what creative alchemy was going on and how I was able to crank out four complete tales in so short a span of time.  I wish I could bottle it and partake of it now and then.

Thanks to the editorial people and judges at Tranquility Press who chose my stories.  Thanks also to the two artists who depicted my characters (as seen above).  It's been fun. 

So, what are we writing about next?

(To read "Loading Torpedoes" and "To Be the First," click the JUMP)

"One Day In A Very Long Dominion War": a fan project anthology has chosen two of my short stories!

 

Earlier this year, I saw that there was a short story anthology coming from the very cool fan outfit, Tranquility Press.  And they had been accepting fan submissions.  Oh, I wish I had known about it sooner, I thought.  Then I saw that the due date was in the future ... I had two weeks left!

I read the prompt: 

We are asking for pieces on events around the galaxy on the 11th of March 2375 – the same day as the baseball match between DS9's "Niners" and USS T'Kumbra's "Logicians." The rules are simple: you can talk about anyone, any group, anything in the galaxy that has been altered by the titanic struggle of liberty against the Dominion: except Primary cast members from any Trek show. We don't want to know what Jean-Luc Picard or Katherine Janeway were up to, we want you to tell us a story we haven't heard before. We want to know about Federation reservists on the ground on Chin'Toka, convoy duty near Minos Korva, or new Romulan fleets working up behind the neutral zone. 

We encourage you to consider stories beyond the front line, Starship crews, Marine Raiders, and Klingon Warriors. One Day in A Very Long Dominion War should be about the people's war too; the Federation factory worker, the Cardassian civilian, the Romulan intelligence attache.

Each story should be between 1500 and 3500 words.

With a burst of creative energy, I sat down and wrote four short stories, finishing them all just in time for the August deadline.  I didn't know if I could submit four ... but I did anyway.  In the end, they chose two.  (In my opinion, the best two.)  That is a huge honor ... there were so few slots, but they gave two to me?  Insane.  I'm very grateful.

Here are one of the judge's thoughts about my two stories, as posted by TP:

"naD tetlh" has an undeniable sense of 'trueness' about it that really left an imprint on me after reading. It's a remarkable, human story that presents as a slice-of-life, but it cleverly sneaks up on you with some great emotional moments. Short but by no means lacking, this story conjures up a great sense of place with economy of description and dialogue. Deft work here, a great 'war-at-home' tale.

"Jolan Tru All Over Again" speaks to my love of cold war spy thrillers, and there's something of a LeCarré feel to this locked-box narrative. It's like a one-act play, an echo of beloved DS9 episodes like "Duet" and "Waltz," with two characters sparking off one another as they fence and dig at the truth. There's no fat on this story at all, it's stripped back, lean and scalpel-sharp, and I enjoyed how it gets into the character of the Romulan and Vorta leads.

I'm not certain when the final anthology will be published, but I'll be sure to keep everyone apprised.  I will absolutely be posting links when it is.  And, when it drops, I will also post my two "leftover" stories: "Loading Torpedoes" and "To Be the First."

So.  Something to look forward to.

Thanks for reading. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How the Strikes Will Impact Your Favorite Shows (and Conventions)

Pic from TrekMovie.com

(For an article that speaks more generally, click here.  I'll be focusing on Star Trek because, let's face it, the strikes have nothing to do with why we haven't heard anything about the new Galactica show.)

Although, this pic feels appropriate, too.

The Writer's Guild of America went on strike in May.  The actors guild (SAG-AFTRA) began theirs on Thursday.  Among the demands from both camps are 1) an updated compensation structure that deals with streaming content more fairly and 2) restrictions on the usage of AI and other computer tools that perform the duties from either union.  (After all, ensigns should make more than this and extras shouldn't have to worry about being in their own version of "Joan Is Awful.")

(And outside of the writers and actors, one mustn't forget the contributions of the many scores of people behind-the-scenes who make these shows possible.  They, too, will be out of work.  Visual Effects Production Manager Shawn Ewashko has tweeted praises about the team he's assembled for Trek live action going forward, but he's also worried that prolonged strikes could decimate that team as its members have to find other work to feed their families.)

Both strikes have come at a time of desperation for Paramount and when its future is clouded.  Any discussion of post-strike Paramount and Trek would be pure speculation at this point, so  I will focus on the productions that are already greenlit and at various stages of completion.

DISCOVERY: As we all know, after filming on the fifth season was wrapped last November, Paramount canceled the show in March.  New scenes were written to wrap up the series and pickup shoots were planned shortly thereafter.  A tweet from showrunner Michelle Paradise indicates that filming for those pickups began in late April, so we can speculate that the filming is complete by now.  Post-production is still underway on DIS season five and that should continue unabated.

STRANGE NEW WORLDS: The show was renewed for season three and writing was completed before the WGA strike in May, however, the series delayed its production start in solidarity with the WGA.  Once the strikes are over, SNW will likely resume shortly afterward.

LOWER DECKS: Voice actors are also on strike, but the recording for season four was completed last year.  Assuming it's not already finished, the show is in the hands of the animators and should be released as planned.  A fifth season was ordered in March, but production on that will have to wait until after the strikes.  (Writing for animation is handled by a different guild than the WGA.)

PRODIGY: (sigh)  Despite its cancellation (more precisely, renewal reversal), the second season is nearing completion.  (The voice acting was complete.)  The Emmy-nominated series is being shopped to other streaming services and producers are confident it will find a home.  

SECTION 31: While a writers room for this show existed way back in 2020, it hasn't been said publicly if the conversion of that series into a single film was completed before the strike began in May (making S31 into a movie was announced in March, so I'm sure that some work was already underway).  Regardless, production has not yet begun and won't until after the strikes.

STARFLEET ACADEMY: Perhaps not as long as S31, but SA has had a writers room for a while and it was already active when the series was announced in March.  However, like S31, no production is expected for a while.

LEGACY: (Not greenlit, but the people want it.)  One of the powers that be says the "appetite for it is undeniable," but there won't be any discussion about it officially until the strike(s) are over.

Conventions:  You may not have seen this coming, but there's a long list of things striking actors can't do.  Sure, SAG-AFTRA members cannot film their roles, but they can't promote them, either.  That means no conventions.  (I'm not sure what's going to happen at Comic-Con then.)  It is unclear at the moment if an actor from a legacy show (like TNG, DS9, etc.) can appear at a convention.  Armin Shimerman is looking for more info while a tweet from Anson Mount suggests that they can make a "personal appearance," so long as they aren't promoting anything specific.

And now you're up to speed.  Let's hope the compensation for writers and actors both can enter the 21st century and end this thing before too long.

Star Trek Original Series Set Tour

I made a trip to Ticonderoga, NY and got to see the amazing work that went into recreating the sets from the original Star Trek series.  Check out my nearly 200 photos here or here:

Star Trek Tour

Why You Should Rethink Buying 'Star Trek Into Darkness'

Look.  I've been a Star Trek fan for all of my 38 years.  It pains me to even suggest this ... but I might not be buying Star Trek Into Darkness when it comes out.

It has nothing to do with "John Harrison," the action-over-substance argument or any of that biz.  It's all about Paramount, Bad Robot and how they decided to treat their customers.

See that?  That's a fancy set, complete with a QMx replica.  I really wanted that phaser.  The whole thing costs about $80.

I preordered that months ago.  Over the weekend, I cancelled the order.

Why?  Because the Blu-ray it comes with doesn't have all of the features that it should.  Sounds petty, perhaps, but to a videophile and completist, it's damn near a sin.

You see, they produced hours of bonus content for the video release including all the requisite behind-the-scenes stuff and an immersive commentary.

What you get on that phaser set's Blu-ray is the same thing you'd get if you just bought the plain movie straight out: about thirty minutes worth of features.  No commentary.  Still missing about an hour or more of other features.


See that?  It's a near-priceless set.  The "Meteor Edition" they're calling it.  You have to enter to win that piece of space rock shaped to look like an insignia because they only made one.  What special features come on its Blu-ray discs?  The same as on the plain-Jane release.

So where did the commentary and the other stuff go?  Retailer exclusives.


No, that's the Walmart edition.  It's a plain-Jane movie set with a Hot Wheels Vengeance model.  Nice, but we know the other stuff is out there.


Ah, Target.  Target, in the US, gets about 45 minutes of the missing bonus materials, in addition to the original plain-Jane's 30 minutes.  No commentary.  And still missing about forty-odd minutes of stuff.


Oh, great.  Best Buy has the other features.  Joy.  Even worse, the extra extras don't come on a bonus disc.  No, no.  Best Buy wants to force you to use their crappy streaming service, CinemaNow.

So where's the enhanced commentary?


Swell.  That's an iTunes exclusive.  Oh, and look.  It even shifts to IMAX ratios during the appropriate scenes ... UNLIKE the Blu-ray.

"But Blu-ray can't do that, right?" - Wrong.  Warner did it for The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises.

"But that enhanced commentary ... they stop the movie and zoom in and do all kinds of things they don't do on normal commentaries.  Surely they can't do that on a Blu-ray." - Wrong.  Warner (again) has done it before with something they call "Maximum Movie Mode."  It's like a branching DVD to the Nth degree.

...

Why are my panties in such a bunch over this?  Because I'm a loyal, paying customer.  That's why.

Instead of doling out these features to retailers to make them feel special, they should have accumulated them to make me, the guy with the money, feel special.  This is a major release with a built-in audience and we've come to expect discs full of content, especially after 1) the great 2009 Star Trek Blu-ray release and 2) hearing that JJ and crew were making hours more of bonuses for the Blu-ray.

Look, when it comes to Blu-ray releases, I'm an easy lay.  You put everything in one special edition set and I'll pay whatever I have to for it.  $30?  Done.  $40?  I'll hesitate for a moment and then buy it.  But you're, instead, spreading everything I want out so that I'd have to buy it three times, spending upwards of $70, being triple-dipped in the process?  Never mind the fact that the presentation we're getting on the medium for the best presentation (the Blu-ray disc) is lacking in that presentation (no IMAX shifting; no commentary; streaming extras).

It's ridiculous.

You might be saying to yourself that streaming is where it's at ... but it's not.  Certainly not right now.

The numbers tell us that the rental market (remember Blockbuster?) has moved to streaming.  The physical home video market, though, is still doing well.  Couple that with my desire to have the movie to watch when I want to watch it and in the best possible quality ...

Streaming, currently, can't give me 1080p all the time.  My cable company's speeds change depending on my neighbors' usage.  Netflix sometimes pulls titles out of rotation.  I can't rely on streaming to watch the movies I want and in the best way.  And when it comes to special features, I don't want to have to search YouTube for them and see them in less-than-perfect quality.

As a videophile and as a fan of the movie you want me to spend money on, it makes no sense whatsoever to hold back on features and to not present them in the best possible manner.  On this point, Paramount has failed utterly.

(Pics and some details from TrekCore and Digital Bits.)

Digital Bits' Bill Hunt participated in a podcast and it was discussed at length.  There's a download of the podcast and a text transcript available here.  In that podcast, he notes that he has spoken to folks at Paramount and they, A) were surprised by the backlash and, B) now know they have a problem.

Hopefully we can get a full, high-quality release sometime soon.

UPDATED: Spoilery Speculation on 'Star Trek Into Darkness'

Well, I guess it's spoilery if it turns out to be true.

Based on the myriad trailers, TV spots, etc., I have unwittingly assembled a rough cut of the movie in my head.  It's a damned curse.  Even though I've avoided spoilers, I still, somehow, have managed to spoil the film for myself.

Might as well share the misery.

Read on after the JUMP.

LEGO Kids Fest

Somehow, our home of Richmond, VA is one of seven cities in the US to get a visit by LEGO Kids Fest this year.  Basically, it's like a small LEGO convention with loads of activities for the kids, construction areas, showroom-type spaces, etc.  We spent nearly five hours there and left wiped.

Just to get an idea, here's the Big Brick Pile.  Possibly hundreds of thousands of bricks just piled up in an area for kids to play and build with.  Typically, all the kids just flopped into it as though it were made of leaves.

Some of the coolest things were the statues built entirely of LEGO.  Here you go:

 And check out the detail on Maul:

While I'm on Bilbo, check out Bag End, both the front and the interior:

Lightning McQueen here took more than 2,000 hours to build and weighs about one ton:

(Yes, that's my son.  Not some random kid I was following.  Promise.)

Again, check out the detail on Captain Jack Sparrow:

Huge fun.  If you're lucky enough to be near one, go.

My Dorkmas Tree and the Star Trek Museum

I had some fun last week posting pics of my #Dorkmas tree on the Twitter.  I thought I'd post the pics here, with additions, as well as some pictures of my Dad's "Star Trek Museum."  (Click any of the pics to enlarge.)

First up, here's the JJ Enterprise, Thomas the Tank Engine and one of many Scarletts O'Hara my wife has:

Next, here's Lord Vader mere inches away from Yoda:

Clu's Light Cycle from Tron: Legacy near the USS Defiant:

Harry Potter and Superman:

Batman and Speed Racer:

Scooter (ornament circa 1979) checks out Scarlett's bustle:

Pewter Potter and little Godzilla:

Big Godzilla, with lights and sound:

X-Wing:

The Battlestar Galactica (why not the Hallmark Cylon ornament?  Read this):

The One Ring:

And, finally, the whole tree:

I think you can guess which stocking is mine.

More after the JUMP: