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Old 10-08-2007, 07:58 AM
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Way long ago I had an idea for a fanfic that I never wrote much of. At this point, I doubt I ever will so I don't really care if I spill the beans on the whole thing now. I think it's a pretty nifty premise that could be extended for a series length show.

I called it "Star Trek Polonius", though Polonius was simply the planet where the miniseries (six-part story) took place. The ship I called the Muskogee, but if the name weren't already taken, I think the idea for the series would best be summed up by the title "Star Trek: First Contact(s)"

Anyway, the series takes place somewhere in the decade following Nemesis. The U.S.S. Muskogee is a tiny patrol ship -- one of four of the same class (each with a different tribal name -- I always liked ship classes where the names were consistant) deployed by the Federation at this time to patrol the neutral zone -- the Romulans have once again secluded themselves to within their own territory. I don't recall the ship's class name, but I thought of it as a logical next-step from the Defiant. That's not to say the ship was anywhere near as powerful, of course. The Defiant was meant to be a heavily armed attack craft, while the Muskogee is moderately armed and geared more toward policing duties.

(thumbs through notes a bit)

The commander I named Rene Jacobsen. Yeah, just a commander -- that'll come into play in a sec. Grew up on a rural Danish farm. Been in charge of the Muskogee on several extended patrol duties for years. Finds it boring, but hasn't found much opportunity for advancement.

The first officer was Lt. L'Marra Durrx, of a new species I made up. Krevyn. The quirk with her race (every Trek species needs one) was that its members have virtually limitless memory. Character-wise, think of someone with a snarky personality (McCoy) mixed with practically encyclopedic knowledge on any given subject (Data).

The tactical officer was a timid, shy young woman named Jess Manning prone to aggressive rages when and if battle should occur. I also had a young Andorian helm officer named Thalvin, as a character who hadn't been away from his homeworld very long and has difficulty understanding humans (yeah, the standard cliche). Other characters like the engineer, doctor, and transporter chief were mostly set dressing... but might be fleshed out a bit if the concept were extended.

Anyway, the set-up goes something like this. This story would have spanned six parts, but I had the idea it would work as a pilot as well.

Somewhere at a Federation listening post, a warp signature is detected in the neutral zone. Everyone assumes some sort of Romulan aggression, but the signature is weak and brief and fits the profile one might expect of a civilization's first flight. This is quite unexpected, as the Federation monitors worlds that are on the brink of making such a flight, and none of these worlds are anywhere near this particular sector. As one might expect, the neutral zone is one of the most thoroughly explored regions of the quadrant, and the nearest planet to the signature has long been assumed uninhabited. The planet is something like 95% covered in oceans.

In any case, the Federation can't risk letting this matter sit for long, so they send their nearest ship, the Muskogee. Cmdr. Jacobsen sets course immediately, and upon arrival heads down to the planet with Durrx aboard a shuttle, to scout around.

Anyway, they fly around and detect large quantities of plotdevicium in the planet's ore -- something (and I borrowed this from some episode I don't remember) that obscures the ships' scanners. They notice this, and then suddenly find themselves under attack by a trio of ships emerging from the water -- submersable, flying craft. The shuttle is destroyed and we cut back to the ship.

Lt. Manning is in charge when a Federation shuttle warps in and requests permission to board. On board is a Captain Larson and Lieutenant Weiss from starfleet intelligence. Larson takes command, but it's clear he's spent most of his career at a desk.

Oh, and the shuttle they bring is an aqua shuttle. Like in TAS, but 24th century style.

Anyway, I'll cut this short and explain things in broader strokes. Jacobsen wakes up and undergoes several interrogations from the Polonian authorities. He eventually discovers the underwater civilization is extremely advanced but fanatically religious as well. Among the core tenants of their faith are a Polonius-centric universe where they are the Gods' only creation, and the skies above are desolate and unreachable. Thus, the civilization has advanced quite far in many different directions without achieving warp travel -- as such a feat is believed heretical and impossible. They have advanced planet-bound vehicles and transporters (which, unlike the Federations', work just fine with all the plotdeviceium in the planet's crust) -- and of course, this is how they managed to capture Jacobsen.

Ultimately, a resistance movement manages to get a hold of him, and he learns that this rogue scientific/political faction with radical beliefs contrary to the planet's monarchy has organized a warp flight from under their noses. They had planned to use this achievement to rally the masses against the government, but propaganda has created a skeptical public. By capturing Jacobsen, they think they can use him as evidence to stir up the population.

I'm forgetting a lot of the details here, but a command struggle occurs between Larson and Jacobsen. Larson makes Weiss operations officer (I forgot to mention, Jacobsen's operations officer is his nephew, who is on shore leave during this story -- Larson uses this opportunity to turn this into a transfer and to replace him with his own man). Durrx develops amnesia and it's later discovered that Weiss is a member of Section 31 (of course!) sent to stiffle sensitive information about this planet (of which Durrx is privy), and to use this event to provoke a war with the Romulans, ("while they're weak and cowering"). Larson has been dealing with the Polonian monarchy, and he and Jacobsen find themselves on opposite sides of an erupting civil war.

Eventually things work out, somehow. Jacobsen defies Larson's orders, undergoes a court martial, and manages to prove Larson's incompetance and regain control of the Muskogee. Jacobsen and his crew, instead of returning to the Neutral Zone, are sent to another tricky first contact situation after having proven worthy on this mission.

Anywho, I'm sure I could have summed that up like this: "How about a show that follows a ship and crew that specializes in tricky First Contact situations?" But of course I felt the need to give more detail. Especially when I worked it all out so long ago and never had outlet for it. Apologies.

But seriously, I always thought it would be an easy direction for a show to take. Focus on the exploration aspect, and on new worlds and new civilizations. I always wanted to see more episodes like "First Contact" and "Who Watches the Watchers", anyway. And as such, the series could do multi-part arcs for particularly interesting contacts, or short stand-alone episodes, or best yet, a mixture of the two.
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Last edited by ijdgaf; 10-08-2007 at 08:02 AM.
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