Hailing Frequencies Open Vol.2 No.4

Vol2 No3, Dec. 2010

.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1

Hailing Frequencies Open

The Raven's Writing Desk

Hailing Frequencies Open Vol.2 No4

By The Editor

Sometimes I feel that the critics of fan production seek to punish we mere mortals for having the temerity to think that we could create something that they believe is the domain of professionals.

Its true that there are some media that were inaccessible to amateurs in the past because of the expense of the equipment involved (cinematography) the sheer magnitude of the task involved (animation) or the distribution network required (radio drama). There is one media that involves surmounting all three, but I will talk about publishing in another article. As the old saying goes though, that was then, this is now! Technology has become the liberator of creativity rather than its limiting factor.

High definition cameras are now available at a cost that brings them within the reach of the average wage-earner in western society, lighting and sound equipment as well. Computer technology has made it so that many of the computer generated special effects that before only Spielberg could afford can now be accessed by 'Everyman'.

Parallel advances have been made in the spread of expertise and knowledge that was once only acquired by working one's way up through the appropriate branch of the entertainment industry. Likewise the internet has become the defacto distribution network that connects and binds us together as a culture and a society.

So does this mean the socialist's ideal of the equality of society? Are we looking at the destruction of commerce and professionalism? Is this the end of the world as we know it? No, no and um, no.

Without getting too political about this, elites exist and always will because, as it says in the Desiderata, “always there will be greater and lesser people than you.” It is a fact of life that there are some people who are more talented than others and that those talents can lie in different directions. I, for example, am nowhere near as talented a soccer player as Beckham, but it is quite on the cards that I might be a better singer, motor mechanic or writer!

Stretching my analogy, whilst I have come to accept that I will never play on my country's national soccer team as Beckham has, that doesn't mean to say that I could not or should not play soccer for my own amusement or exercise. If I feel the drive to do so, I could join a local amateur team and play in one of the local leagues, maybe even improving to play for a regional or state team!

I will pay money to see Beckham play soccer. If I were a betting man I might back England in a wager, I might buy something he endorses or buy a biography about him. He is, in short, a professional at what he does and deserves whatever he can get for his services.

If amateurs and professionals can coexist in sport, why can't they do the same in art, entertainment and culture?

I am, I hasten to add, talking from a philosophical viewpoint. There are fundamental specific differences between the sports industry and the entertainment industry, most of which revolve around the output of the person involved rather than what he does. A world famous singer can draw a crowd to his performances in a similar manner to the way Beckham draws sport's fans to his games. However an important part of the singer's livelihood are his recordings and it is these that the industry are having trouble protecting.

The entertainment industry far too often treats their creators as mere producers of salable goods – cash cows rather than as artists. Their major focus is on the commodities that they produce, on the intellectual property that they can get from them, and it is because of this that they see amateur productions as a threat rather than an asset.

They see an amateur fan film as a threat to their monopoly on the entertainment of the masses, especially when it uses that intellectual property, costumes, props, names and the whole fictional background which their artists have produced.

What they don't realise is that whilst there is no discernible way that a fan film can be shown to have caused a loss of revenue to them, there are many ways that they can be shown to add value to it!!

2

February 22, 2011

In This Issue 2 3 6

The Masthead The Enterprise Era Directory by Kirok of L'Stok

The Light

Fiction by Janet R. Gershen-Siegel

7 Star Trek: Excelsior 12 Phoenix-X Comic by Hawku

14 Enterprise S5 : part 2 Photonovel by Lee, Mac & Moore

16 They Be More Like Guidelines Actually...

Comment by Kirok of L'Stok

16 Star Trek: Federation One 17 Winter's Rose Fiction by Kirok of L'Stok

18 Star Trek: Grissom 18 Dispatches From The Romulan War : part 2 Virtual Series by Ensign Edwards

19 Star Trek: Lost Frontier 19 The Last Word

Commentary by Kirok of L'Stok

21 Star Trek on deviantART

Fan art from the Enterprise era by various artists.

Hailing Frequencies Open is the official fanzine of TrekUnited Publisher: Bill Schieb Editor: Kirok of L’Stok Kirok@trekunited.com Contributors to this issue: Ensign Edwards; Hawku; Janet R. GershenSiegel; Alyson Lee; Pauline Mac; Richard Merk; Thomas Moore.

Special thanks to the Star Trek artists of deviantART, to the countless professionals who have created Star Trek canon and licensed material over the years and Gene Roddenberry, The Great Bird of The Galaxy, without whom this would never have happened.

All information is as correct as possible as at the date of writing. Corrections or additions can be sent to the editor.

Unless otherwise stated, all lists are alphabetically sorted. The opinions expressed in the articles in this publication represent those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of TrekUnited. Uncredited content is the responsibility of the editor.

This is a fan written work

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The copyrights & trademarks of Star Trek are owned by Paramount Pictures, CBS Corporation and their licensees. Any attempt to sell or rent this fanzine should be reported to the copyright owners for their action

Vol2 No3, Dec. 2010

Star Trek In The Enterprise Era 2151 – 2265 With the start of Star Trek: Enterprise, 'the powers that be' added to Star Trek canon with stories of the first Enterprise, the NX-01, between 2151 and 2155, ending with a single, contentious episode from 2161 that was meant to act as the finale, the closer to the series.

The first Star Trek series chronologically was the last to be made.

Aired between 2001 and 2005, Star Trek: Enterprise had a troubled lifespan. It tried, like previous series, to appeal to the young male, 15-25 year old demographic, the traditional Star Trek fanbase, but found that its main competition were those very same previous series of Star Trek which were being run as repeats.

Stylistically, and to a certain extent philosophically, it represented a significantly different production from earlier series. Many people found it hard to accept a “prequel”, a plotline that preceded even the first, Original Series and the writers were, time and again, taken to task by fans for what they saw as inconsistencies in the new “canon”.

Alyson has created a webcomic of the premier episode of Enterprise S5 especially for The Twelve Trek Days of Christmas

By the end of its third season, its was in danger of being axed by CBS but after a successful write-in campaign by fans, it was renewed for a fourth season with a new “showrunner”: Manny Cato. Manny courageously took the series in a new direction with shorter, bottle episodes rather than sweeping story arcs and plots that picked up memes from the Original Series rather than trying to be a “temporally transplanted” Deep Space Nine.

Alas the fourth season was only a reprieve and CBS announced in 2005 that it was canceled once again. Whilst they were resolved to get it off the small screen this time, the fan's reaction was equally strong. TrekUnited, spearheaded by the charismatic Tim Brazeal, launched an appeal that claimed donations and financial commitments of over $3 million, but the studio was adamant that no amount of cash could convince them that the series could be made viable and the money was returned.

The Save Enterprise movement survives, albeit reduced to a few vocal groups, mainly with the (quite reasonable) idea that an independent producer should be allowed to make one or more made-for-DVD movies based on the Enterprise franchise.

So far, the studio has only allowed Enterprise to continue in it's licensed books from Simon & Schuster, of which there have been thirteen published up to the

end of 2010 with the next due for release next September.

However its fans want to see Enterprise on the screen and it is in this that they are being frustrated. Manny Cato is on record as saying that “the future of Enterprise lies in the hands of the fans”, which on face value means that the studio, like any other commercial enterprise, follows the laws of supply and demand – the fans have to show that there is a demand for more Enterprise!

How can fans demonstrate a continued interest? Obviously, one way is by supporting licensed productions and goods such as the books, comics and games, but Trekies are renowned for making the most of their fan experience and this usually comes out in some form of fan production.

Was it the fact that fan films were showing a renewed interest in The Original Series era that convinced the studio that this was a viable option for their next movie? Could a similar interest in Enterprise convince them to site a future production in this era? I like to think so.

Most Enterprise fan productions revolve around two themes – a continuation of the series with a fan-made fifth season or the major conflict of the era that was never resolved on TV – The Romulan War!

Enterprise S5 http://www.enterpriseS5.com

Based on an original outline for a fan-produced Enterprise season 5

by Thomas Moore, Alyson Lee and Pauline Mac - two TrekUnited members - have created a growing number of videos using original scripts along with existing screencaps and music, to continue the adventures of the Enterprise NX-01. To date they have released twelve of twenty planned episodes. In the future, they plan to add a novelization and audio book (if someone gets off his duff and edits it)!

Star Trek: The Romulan Wars http://www.stromulanwars.com

There has only been one fan film covering the extended Enterprise period, a prolific, live action production, based at Fort Smith, Arkansas. Accessed from their website, two download mirrors and a Youtube webpage, their five episode first season deals with Captain Stiles, the ancestor of Lt Stiles of the TOS episode, Balance of Terror, and the crew of the Yorktown during the Romulan War. Star Trek: Unity, which started soon after the demise of the series, has not been so successful, after two outstanding audio dramas, the latest rumblings are that it will be an animated adventure.

Of all the completed Enterprise fan productions, perhaps the earliest is Star Trek: Alliance Born, a ten part Fan-edit of the last

.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3

Hailing Frequencies Open

few episodes to bring the ending in line with it's creator's idea of how it might have led into a movie. Certainly the latest completed project would have to be Star Trek: Crossroads (YouTube) the action figure, stop motion film, released in German by Jürgen Kaiser, and its English dubbed version from Peter Goundrill from earlier in the year.

twelve are still alive with most of the dead ones lost in the wreck of Geocities. Even they might not all be lost though - Jessica's Star Trek Fansite is still with us!

There have been four virtual seasons of Star Trek: Enterprise, created by fans,

Unfortunately many projects did not reach completion and now haunt the internet in differing degrees of abandonment. For example, whilst it has had a couple of additions by its maker last year, to all extents and purposes the Enterprise S5 Animated project is on an extended hiatus as is Enterprise: Flashed, the animations of Lil'Redhead.

Saddest of all is Enterprise: Temporal Cold War, a fan-made mod based on the Half Life 2 game engine that promised a totally unique experience built, from the ground up, by fans! There is little to show of its existence on the net today, with it's website gone and only some YouTube videos remaining for gamers to speak about in hushed tones around their campfires at night. There's even talk that there was a working demo made before the project was wrapped up and that the makers left the code buried somewhere on the World Wide Web. Urban myth? The truth is out there!

Enterprise is thriving in fan fiction circles though, especially with online comics. Alyson Lee, one of the team which has brought Tom Moore's Enterprise S5 series to life on YouTube, has created a photonovel (remember these?) of the premier episode of Enterprise S5 especially for The Twelve Trek Days of Christmas, the second part of which can be found on page 14 of this issue.

Online comics and graphic novels such as these are growing in popularity with their extension of the written word into expressive graphics. They range from the cute but defunct Enterprise Oddities to the two part Flashback issues of the R-rated Star Trek: Crusader and the deviantArt galleries of Damon1984 (top right on previous page) and Benjamin D Richards who has recently created a very imaginative perspective on the Temporal Cold War. Another fan fiction series that is being serialised in these issues of Hailing Frequencies Open is Dispatches From the Romulan War, a continuing series written

by TrekUnited members that has been going for the last four years.

Episode 1, Breaking News, was in the last issue and you will find episode 2, New Details Emerge About Salem One Attack, on page 18 of this issue. The eight episodes which are being released in the 'zine are the original fan fictions on which we based the audio book mini-series, “Dispatches From the Romulan War” that was created for the first Twelve Trek Days of Christmas back in 2007 Besides the large fan fiction archives that cover all eras of Trek, such as Ad Astra, FanFiction.net, Trekfanfiction.net, Trekiverse.org, Trekfiction.com and Trekbbs.com, most Enterprise fan fiction is found in the more specialised archives stemming from when Enterprise was on the air. Chief amongst these are The Warp 5 Complex and The House of Tucker. Considering the turbulent history of the TV show and its demise, I was surprised to note that of the nineteen links listed on the House Of Tucker's Links page,

4

that spring to mind. The oldest and by far the largest is that which is archived as the Virtual Season 5 on the Warp 5 Complex, which was started in October 2005 and ran for another two seasons with 46 episodes in all, finishing its seventh season in a blaze of glory in May 2008. Most of it was translated into French and all of them seem to have had covers made. It still stands as an impressive body of work, a testament to the dedication and talent of the admins, beta readers, artists and authors who created it. Standing in the shadow of the legendary Virtual Voyager Project, all it lacks is the high profile website and the multiple eBook formats.

Perhaps even more impressive are the work of 2Distracted on FanFiction.net and Ginamr on Triaxian Silk, both of whom have a fifth and sixth season with over eighty episodes between them.

The next entry into the field, Virtual Enterprise - Continuing the Voyages is a bit of an enigma since, although I can find references to it, I cannot find the episodes anywhere online today since the only URL given for it leads us to a domain for sale. One clue might be that it is described as being script-based: perhaps it is the same one that we find on the Warp Five Complex as the thirteen part Shadows Of War: Virtual Season 5 by STR? The latest virtual season breaks the mold in a number of ways. Star Trek: Endeavour by Rigel Kent is unashamedly military sci-fi (with a little bit of romance thrown in), which sets it apart from the other works which tend to focus on romance (with some action thrown in).

My trolling of the web for fan celebrations of this oft maligned series has made me realise that it has a much stronger following than I at first thought. Elements of Enterprise, locations and characters, have permeated into Trek lore, enriching it in the process. Whether you want a venue for a night's casual roleplaying on Second Life or some hard-core gaming on Star Trek

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Vol2 No3, Dec. 2010

Online, The monastery at P'Jem is now accepted as an icon of Vulcan spirituality. Enterprise even has a foothold in that last bastion of LUG RPG – Memory Icon! Paradoxically fan fiction's cousin, the Play by Email/Forum RPG, has very few examples of Enterprise other than Star Trek: Poseidon Birth Of The Federation which was started to bridge the gap between the end of Enterprise and the start of The Original Series.

The future looks good for Enterprise fan productions with production by fans in most media. Jürgen Kaiser, for example is expanding on his first stop motion animation with a sequel, “Star Trek Enterprise II – The Beginning of the End”, The Romulan Wars is still going strong, Rigel Kent is taking us in a whole new direction with his Divergent Paths and the dynamic duo of Lee and Mac at Enterprise S5 keep pushing the envelope all the time with new material in different media!

Card models...

Daedalus class USS Daedalus NCC-150 •Marc Robitaille at Star Trek en papier Daedalus class USS Essex •Diego Cortes Pardo at Paperstarships Delta-type Warp Vessel • By Jay at Jay's Box of Sci-Fi CardToys Klingon Raptor • By Jay at Jay's Box of Sci-Fi CardToys NX-01 Enterprise •By Gomidelfilho / Pericles at (1:1000) Péricles Stuff Mark II Blog, Zealots Forum Downloads, Paperstarships, Clever, Papermodels e Dioramas NX-01 Enterprise Shuttlepod 1 • By Jay at Jay's Box of Sci-Fi CardToys NX-02 Columbia

•By Clever at Clever, Papermodels e Dioramas Romulan Bird of Prey (ENT) •By OylPslyk The Zealots Forum •By Sidewinder at Sidewinders Lair Suliban Stealth Cruiser •By D-Whale at PaperModelers.com Vulcan Maymora/D´Kyr class (Pictured, left) •By D-Whale at PaperModelers.com •Vulcan Surak class •By Matthew Morning at Domatine.com You'll notice that I have made the date of the end of this “era” the start of The Original Series. This means that we include here The Cage, the pilot episode for The Original Series, which is said to have taken place in 2254. This single canon shot has caught the imagination of many with its tantalising glimpse of the career of Captain Christopher Pike, the second captain of the Enterprise NCC 1701, and is best remembered from the popular Marvel comic series, Star Trek: The Early Voyages.

How did starship design get from Enterprise to The Cage? Canon is quiet on the segue with few on-screen examples of earth-based ships later than the NX series and the Boomer's. The one exception to this is the Daedalus class and Star Trek: Origins, a Kentucky based fan film, has three episodes in production that star the Daedalus and it fanon successor, the legend class.

The next best thing to canon though is a design from a canon designer! Doug Drexler this year revealed a design, which he seems to have had at the back of his mind since he designed the NX-01, that has already been released as a conversion kit for the Polar Lights plastic model and drafted up as a paper model.

As we go into the tenth anniversary year of Star Trek: Enterprise it is abundantly clear that, with a presence in licensed books and games, it is firmly entrenched in Trek canon now. Perhaps its premature on-screen death is a blessing in disguise because it means that it represents an era of Star Trek that has dozens of major and minor plot-bunny warrens that can be explored by fans. It has a style and character all of its own, whether it is treknological, stylistic or plot-driven, and it has followers who are determined to maintain a resonance of it in their fandom. Because the future of Enterprise really does lie in the hands of its' fans.

.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5

Hailing Frequencies Open

The Light

By Janet R. Gershen-Siegel "Captain, there's a message coming in from Admiral Black," Hoshi Sato announced.

"On screen," Captain Jonathan Archer said.

"No, wait. Sir, the Admiral says it's private."

"Oh. Well, in that case, I'll take it in my Ready Room. Thanks." Jonathan walked into his nearby little office. "Okay. Sir, what's the trouble?" he asked, once Admiral Black's familiar face appeared on the screen.

"I'm afraid I've got some bad news, Jonathan."

"Oh?" "Yes. It's about one of your youngest crew members. Crewman Shapiro's had a death in the family."

"Oh, well, that's unfortunate, but I'm not following you."

Life Goes On...

On The Enterprise They Build On The Past To Create The Future

"You should tell him personally."

"Can't his family?" Jonathan would do it but he didn't love such chores.

"No, it has to be done as soon as possible, as this is a news story that's going to break, and soon. Better for Shapiro to hear about it from someone he trusts, than via the news wire," the Admiral said.

"Well, uh, I guess so. But still, why can't his family tell him?"

"It's Saturday afternoon on Earth. They won't use communications until sundown. Which is around six hours from now."

"Oh. Huh, interesting."

"The deceased's name was Rachel Orenstein. She was his great-aunt," the Admiral said.

"News story, huh?"

"Yes. She lived to one hundred and twenty-seven, breaking all previous records. Her death is a news story for sure."

"Ah, now I see," Jonathan said. "I'll take care of it. Archer out."

The line went dark. He punched in another communication. "Ensign Sato, get Crewman Shapiro in here, please."

"Yes, sir." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ethan Shapiro was nervous, and combed his thick black hair with his fingers a few times. "You, uh, wanted to see me, sir?"

"Sit down. And, uh, you're not in trouble, Crewman."

"Oh, whew. Thank you, sir."

"Shapiro, I, I'm sorry to inform you, but your great-aunt has passed away."

"Oh. Well, that wasn't exactly unexpected," Shapiro said. "I take it my folks didn't call because it's Shabbos?" “Uh, I suppose so," Jonathan said. "Are you... we can drop you at a Starbase, you can be back for the funeral."

"No, sir. I can't. We always have them in only a few days. So it'll most likely be tomorrow. But there's a... when the gravestone is carved, it's unveiled. And that's its own ceremony. It's in, uh, usually a few months after a death, maybe five or six months later. I'd like to be able to go to that ceremony, sir."

"Yes, yes, of course. And, uh, Crewman, if you feel the need, take the rest of the day off. I'll inform Lieutenant Reed."

"Thank you. Sir?"

6

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Vol2 No3, Dec. 2010

"Yes, Crewman?"

"I'd like to... I feel I should say Kaddish. It's our mourning prayer. Is it possible to get in touch with Rabbi Benson?"

"Yes, of course. I'll have Ensign Sato contact her."

"Thank you." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Back in his quarters, Ethan paced a little to pass the time. There was a chime. "Come in," he said.

"Crewman, I'm sorry to have heard the news." Lieutenant Reed said. "If there is anything that I can do, you'll tell me, won't you?"

"Yes, sir, of course. I,,, you know, I guess when someone is that old, it's so expected. I dunno. It's not that I don't care but I guess I'm not as deeply affected."

"I suppose that's understandable," Reed said. "You cannot say that she was too young. One hundred twenty-seven! It boggles the mind.

Think of the things she saw. Did she speak with you about them at all?"

"Sure, sometimes. Told me about the times before warp drive. Things weren't doing so well on Earth. But she and my Uncle Murray, they had a little farm and they just, you know, they did their best."

"Did your aunt have any children?"

"No. So my Mom and my Uncle Stewart were like her kids, and my sister Angela and me, we were kinda like she'd had grandchildren of her own."

There was another chime. "Come in," Ethan said.

It was Andrew Miller. "Hey, man, I heard. That's rough. Oh, hi, Lieutenant Reed."

"I'd better go," Reed said. "Remember, take whatever time you need."

"Thanks."

The door safely closed, Miller asked, "So, uh, did you get to talk to the Starfleet Rabbi yet?"

"Not yet. I'm trying to figure out how we're gonna get a minyan."

"Well, there's you and me, and Bernstein," Miller said. "And Rosen.

That's it, right?"

http://www.starshipexcelsior.com

"Right. No other Jews on board."

The third season of Excelsior, The Sword of Damocles, continues their exciting, plot-driven adventures with some great performances from cast, old and new. Acting Captain Dovan has to use diplomacy and guile in the race to find out the truth about the Anbar.

The computer chimed. It was Hoshi. "I have your Mom for you. And, Ethan, I'm sorry to hear about your, your grandmother, was it?"

301

Every Good Captain Has Admiral Issues, March 19, 2010

302

The Pursuit, May 9, 2010

Linda Shapiro smiled wanly at her son, across the light years. "It's been quite a day. I think I've talked to every news service in the solar system when I should have been resting. How are you holding up, sweetie?"

303

The Wreck in the Hesperus, October 20, 2010

"I'm doing all right, Ma. The question is: how are you?"

304

The Infestation, December 26, 2010

S3EA The Barrier, Part XII:Sunset, August 7, 2010 Tonight... the legend ends. A series finale... and a series premiere.

S3EB - The Sword of Damocles, Part II-and-a-half: Safeties Off, September 8, 2010. As the Excelsior stays on course for the Anbar coordinates, the crew takes a short breather for R&R. A vignette to celebrate the 44th birthday to the Star Trek franchise, recorded live!

"Great-aunt. And, thanks."

"Oh, you know me. I'm just doing what needs to be done. Your father's made all the arrangements, and Angie is going to be here.

Sorry you won't be able to make it."

"I'll get in for the unveiling, Ma, I swear."

"Good. Oy, I'd better go. It's this and then Chanukah. You'll remember to light candles, right?"

"Yes, Ma, of course."

"And talk to that nice girl Karin once in a while."

.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

7

Hailing Frequencies Open

Ethan smiled. "Ma!" "Uh, hi, Mrs. Shapiro," Andrew said, coming close to the screen.

"It's a shonda, so few Jews on board," she said. "Andrew, you'll call your mother for Chanukah, right?"

"Uh, yes, of course." Andrew reddened.

"Ma! Andrew's already got a Jewish mother. He doesn't need a second one."

"I worry," she said. "Look, all kidding aside, I'm very proud of you. And Aunt Rachel was, too. I love you."

"Love you too, Ma." Ethan closed the channel.

"What was that all about?" Andrew asked.

"Oh, now that I'm a sophisticated man of twenty-three, she's trying to set me up with Bernstein. Only Jewish girl on the ship," Ethan explained.

"Ha, my mother's trying to do the same. I bet Rosen's Mom is, too."

The computer chimed again. It was Hoshi again. "You up for talking to Rabbi Benson, Ethan?" “Sure. Bring it on," he said.

Rabbi Benson's image filled the screen. She was a woman of about forty. "I'm glad you reached out to me, Ethan. The news wire is full of stories. Your great-aunt was what we call a Woman of Valor. Do you know the hymn?"

"Yes, of course I do," Ethan said. "Her price is above rubies, right?"

"Some translations say pearls but, yes, same difference," the Rabbi said. "You are, you need to say Kaddish, you know."

"Yes, but there aren't enough of us here for a minyan," Andrew said.

"The Torah can count as one man," the Rabbi said. "But that's still not enough, yes?"

"That's correct," Ethan said. "There are only four of us. So that leaves us five shy."

"Well, this question has been debated by scholars already. There are two ways to go and they are both acceptable for every sect except for Orthodox. You're a Conservative Jew, right?"

"Right, Rabbi."

"Very well," she said. "When Starfleet was established, this question was decided, as Talmudic scholars determined that there could be occasions when Kaddish would have to be said but a Jew would be, perhaps alone, or with no means of communicating with other Jews. So, you can pray with a quorum, a minyan partly composed of Jews who are linked via communications -- such as we are linked right now. Or you can enlist the help of non-Jewish friends for this specific purpose. Either way will work."

"I'll, um, I'll think about it. Can you conduct a little service remotely?" Ethan asked.

"Sure," Rabbi Benson said. "Just tell me when."

The communications channel closed.

"You know we'll stand with you, man," Andrew said.

"Yeah, thanks, pal. And then there's Chanukah. Huh. I was never as frum as my folks but I do like to celebrate it. I just wonder if it's in bad taste, given what's happened."

"Hey, I heard your Mom. She said you were to go ahead and light candles. I bet your aunt would've wanted it that way. So light the damn candles in two nights."

"Yeah, you're right." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The four of them sat together at dinner. Josh Rosen looked at his tray. "Hmm. Chicken cacciatore. I think. It's not Mom's cooking, I'll tell ya that."

8

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Vol2 No3, Dec. 2010

"Your mother is probably not a four-star chef," Karin Bernstein pointed out. "I happen to like Chef's cooking. It's so much better than what we got at the Academy last year."

"At least this doesn't have to be fixed up in order to be kosher," Ethan said.

"Well, it's all the same to me," Andrew said, digging in.

"You don't keep kosher, eh?" asked Josh.

"No. I'm halfsies," Andrew explained between bites. "Mom's Reform Jewish; Dad's Presbyterian. No kosher laws and separate dishes in my house. Plus I get both Christmas and Chanukah."

"Spoiled brat!" Karin said.

"I'm just a chunk of diversity, all wrapped up in one neat little package," Andrew said.

"Did you guys get eight presents when you were kids?" Josh asked. "Er, pass the pepper."

"Sure. And, here you go. But my folks dropped that when I was six or so," Ethan said. "Probably getting to be too complicated."

It was Captain Archer.

"I brought a few friends..." He said, and let in Commander T'Pol, Dr. Phlox and Crewman Hamidi.

"Yeah, I think I was eight when that happened," Karin said.

"I was five," Andrew said. "Also found out there was no Santa. It was not a good December."

"Awwww," Karin said.

"Well, I haven't quite recovered yet," Andrew said, smiling at her.

"I think you'll be all right," she said.

"Guys, uh, can I be serious for a sec?" Ethan asked.

"Sure, bro," Josh said.

"I wanna do a service, you know, say Kaddish and all, tomorrow night. Okay?"

"Yeah, of course," Karin said. "Just tell us where to be."

"Uh, my quarters. Nineteen hundred hours, okay?"

"You got it," Andrew said. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The next morning, after breakfast, Ethan spotted Hoshi. "Can, um, can I ask you a favor?"

"Why, sure," she said. "Walk with me, I gotta get to the Bridge for shift."

"Oh, yeah. Uh, can you read Hebrew?"

"I'll muddle through," Hoshi smiled. "Is this about your, your aunt?"

"Yes. I'm going to, um, I'm gonna hold a little service for her tonight. In, in my quarters. With, uh, other people. This is not, like, a date I'm asking you out on or anything." Ethan visibly reddened.

Hoshi smiled. "Don't worry about it. I'll be there." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Seven PM rolled around. Nineteen hundred hours. Ethan was in his best dress uniform, with a yarmulke on his head. Karin and Andrew arrived first. "How you doin'?" she asked, kissing Ethan on the cheek.

"Better now. Good to be with friends. I, I got some people coming to help out."

The door chimed, and Karin busied herself letting people in.

"Do you like her?" Andrew asked.

.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

9

Hailing Frequencies Open

"Her? Huh, not the time or the place, bro."

"No, I guess not. Just, I, uh, tomorrow night, Chanukah? You better make your move if you're gonna. 'Cause if you don't, I will."

Ethan smiled. "Go for it. As if you needed my blessing."

Hoshi stood next to Malcolm. Then Karin, Andrew and Josh stood together in Ethan's tiny quarters. The door chimed and Ethan answered it. It was Captain Archer. "I brought a few friends. I understand you needed ten people," he said, and let in Commander T'Pol, Dr. Phlox and Crewman Hamidi.

"Oh, hi," Ethan said, a little taken aback. "Azar, do you know Josh? I think you know Karin and Andrew."

"Yes, of course. Engineering, right?" asked Azar Hamidi. "And, I'm sorry for your loss. I can't read Hebrew, but it can't be too different from Arabic, I figure."

"Not too different," Hoshi said. "Here, let me get the channel for you." She fiddled with the computer's controls. "There."

Rabbi Benson was on the little screen. "We are here to say Kaddish and to mourn Rachel Orenstein. Ethan, do you wish to say anything?"

"Yes, thank you. My Great-Aunt Rachel saw a lot in her long life. She went from an Earth where people could barely get it together to seeing us go out here into the unknown. She used to tell me it was a little like wandering in the desert for forty years. You know, you're not sure where you're going, but you trust that wherever you get is going to be good. And I think it's been good. And I'm glad she got a chance to see that. She was like a link to the past. And now it's time to, to say good-bye and look to the new. Rabbi, I'd like to say Kaddish now."

"Yes. Yis'gadal v'yis'kadash sh'may ra'bbo, amen ...," began Rabbi Benson.

"Thank you, Rabbi," Ethan said when the prayer concluded. "My aunt would have wanted me to celebrate Chanukah tomorrow. So I'd like to wish you and yours a Good Yontif."

"Good Yontif to you. Benson out."

"What happens next?" asked Jonathan.

"Well, usually we eat something. But I think we can forego that," Ethan said.

"Tomorrow, use the Observation Lounge for your celebration," Captain Archer suggested.

"And, um, feel free to come, everyone," Ethan said. "I, I'm not much of a host. But I do want to thank you all for caring enough to do this.

So if I can, um, if I can repay it with a few latkes tomorrow, well, I hope you'll come."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Azar said. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Do you have everything?" Karin asked Josh.

"Yeah. Chef made latkes and there's sour cream and applesauce. And somebody wanted ketchup. Ugh." "That would be me," Karin said.

"Ketchup?"

"I eat ketchup on matzoh brei, too. Wanna make something of it?"

"Uh, no, that's okay," Josh said. "Oh, and check this out." He produced a small pouch and emptied its contents onto a table.

"Holy cow!" Karin exclaimed. "You got dreidels!"

"Yep. My Dad sent them over from Mars. But I don't have any gelt to bet with."

"Oh, I think we'll think of something to use," she said.

Ethan arrived. "I got the menorah. And I got candles." he said, placing them on the table. "You'll do the honors, tonight, Miss Bernstein?"

"Yes, of course, Crewman Shapiro, if we're being oh so formal this evening," she smiled.

"We don't have gelt," Josh complained.

10

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..

Vol2 No3, Dec. 2010

"That's okay. Maybe we can bet on the dreidel game with latkes," Ethan suggested.

"If I lose, someone will eat my latke," Karin complained.

"Then don't lose," Josh said.

Andrew came in. "A moment, lady and gentlemen!" he announced, then went to the nearest computer. "Ensign Sato, if you please." Music began to play through the computer's speakers. "You want a party, you got a party. Andrew Miller won't let ya down."

"This is contemporary stuff," Karin said, her hand cocked on her hip.

"So? I got other stuff. Don't worry. You'll get to dance a hora, Missy."

Azar arrived. "I didn't realize this is a gift-giving holiday," he apologized.

"Oh, no problem," Ethan said. "We're all grown-ups here. No need."

"Well, I brought this," Azar said, producing a jar of Iranian olives. "Got 'em the last time I was on Earth."

"Oh, these will be great!" Karin gushed. "Here, um, can you open this?"

"Allow me," Andrew said, doing the deed.

Ethan turned away, smiling. "What does that mean?" Azar asked.

"He gets to be gallant. Oh, man, he's gonna be insufferable."

"She's a pretty girl," said Azar. "So why not be insufferable?"

Dr. Phlox looked out the observation window. "Look. There's your light, Crewman."

The Captain arrived with friends in tow. "I'm afraid I didn't get a chance to read about Chanukah at all," he said. "You light candles and ...? What else?"

"Well, oh good, everyone's here," Ethan said. "It's the Festival of Lights. It's because, uh, well, a few thousand years ago, after the Maccabees defeated the Syrians, the big Temple was desecrated. And the thing is, we have what's called an Eternal Light."

"Ner Tamid," Hoshi said. "That's it in Hebrew, right?"

"Right," Karin said. "And we have to keep the flame burning at all times."

"A lot of cultures have ongoing lights as a cornerstone of their faith," T'Pol explained. "It is a compelling image for many species."

"Yes," Josh said. "But the Temple, it was unclean. Non-kosher animals had been slaughtered in there, so it was all messed up. And it would take eight days to get it all cleaned up. But there was only one vial of pure oil for the eternal lamp, and it would only last for one day. Plus it would take eight days for more pure oil to be produced."

"So our, our ancestors," Andrew continued, "they took a chance and poured in the oil anyway, and they prayed that it would last. And it, it did. For the eight days needed to get the Temple cleaned up and more oil purified. Which is why we have Chanukah in the first place, and why it lasts for eight nights."

"And every year, this time of year, when it's cold and dark on Earth, we remember, and we celebrate Chanukah. We take a bigger candle called a Shammos, and we light it, and we use that one to light the other candles. One on the first night, two on the second, etc," Karin said.

"And then on the last night, all nine branches are ablaze," Ethan said. "Tonight's the first night, so it'll only be the Shammos and the one other candle."

"Is it time to light them?" Malcolm asked.

"Yes. Karin?" Ethan asked.

"Baruch atah adonai ‌," she began.

Once she was done, Ethan said, "People like my Great-Aunt Rachel, they considered all of the holidays to be important. Chanukah isn't even the big one. But it's big enough for tonight, and it's big enough for friends. Because it's like, it's like a star being ignited. It's all about the light."

"Anybody wanna dance?" Andrew asked.

"Sure thing," said Karin.

.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

11

Hailing Frequencies Open

A singer on the song system sang, "Ushavtem mayim b'sason, mimainei hayeshua ..." while Andrew and Karin joined hands and started to dance in a circle. "C'mon, it's easy. You just kinda skip and then every few steps you turn backwards, like this," Karin said, taking Hoshi's hand as Josh and Ethan joined.

"Oh, what the hell," Jonathan said. "Not a word of this to Starfleet Command," he said.

"I won't tell if you won't, sir," Malcolm said, getting between Hoshi and Karin.

"Mayim! Mayim!" They clapped together.

"Mayim, mayim b'sason!"

"Whew!" Hoshi said when the dance was finished. "I don't think I need to go to the gym tonight. That song's about water, right?" she asked Ethan.

"Yes, something about water in the desert, I think."

The ship moved a little more, and Dr. Phlox looked out the observation window. "Look. There's your light, Crewman." It was a small star that had winked into view.

Everyone stopped what they were doing to take a look. Andrew quietly put his arm around Karin's shoulder. He looked over at Ethan. "Great party, bro."

"Thanks. I think Great-Aunt Rachel would've had fun, too. Happy Chanukah."

Star Trek: Phoenix-X http://w w w .comics.startrekphoenix x .com

This web comic series is made up of strips, some black & white, others in colour but all hand-drawn, based on the characters and events of the Phoenix-X chatfic series that will be featured in our next issue.

Whilst the chatfic series relies heavily on its 'black humour', the comic series gives it free reign! The graphic style of Hawku, their author and artist, gives the reader's imagination an added dimension without intruding on their freedom to interpret characters and situations in their own way.

Follow Captain Cell and the crew of the NCC-75948 as they navigate the mundane pitfalls of the late 24th century, such as killer Nausicaans, cannibal Klingons and, of course, Section 31!

12

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..

Vol2 No3, Dec. 2010

They Be More Like Guidelines, Actually.

by Kirok of L'Stok My signature quote on TrekUnited at the moment comes from Douglas Adams:“I love deadlines. I love the whooshing sound they make as they pass by.”

I make light of the fact that I seem fated never to keep to a schedule but that is because when I do something is of less importance to me than how well I do it. The exception, oddly enough, is the event that I'm trying to complete right now, The Twelve Trek Days of Christmas. Joke as I may, I feel badly about what I see as a responsibility to my contributors to showcase their work in a meaningful fashion.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not on a crusade to stamp out punctuality!

Because its something I have an issue with myself, keeping to a schedule is something that I admire in a fan production. Its certainly a draw card for their fan following, to know that they can rely on a regular delivery of the production that they like.

For some people, though, sticking to schedules is a real issue. Is it because we are conditioned by the regularity of the schedules and timetables that order our world that the schedules in what amount to our hobby takes on a life of their own? Bus and train timetables, personal organisers and perhaps most telling of all, TV and cable listings make it possible for us to plan our work and play in advance and we have come to rely on this comfortable regularity.

In the professional world schedules have a particular significance, they are part of the compact between user and provider as to the delivery of a service. If you are paying for a TV service or a plane ticket, you would feel justifiably cheated if the channel did not meet their advertised programing or if the plane was late.

In the fan production world it is entirely different. By the very nature of the beast, we cannot charge for the work we air. The relationship between an video drama group and its audience is more one of sharing with friends than providing a service, so that the schedule that is set is, or should be, far more informal than a professional one. Audio drama groups however are a special case because, of all the fan production community, they are the most likely to have a diverse portfolio of works, including their own original productions, because of which they will want to develop and maintain a public perception of professionalism.

There are a number of fan productions that achieve their goals without throwing money at it: Pendant Productions and Giant Gnome Productions are just two audio drama groups of a number who keep admirably regular schedules. How do they do it? Does Jeffrey Bridges have a big red S on his chest under his shirt? Is there somewhere a pact with the Devil with the initials W.O. inscribed in blood on it?

The secret is much more mundane, they have simply done their homework and are organised. If you think of the triangle as an expression of resources, you just have to make sure that you have equal amounts of each resource to “close the triangle off”. That is to say that, if you want x amount of quality in x weeks then you will have to make sure you have x amount of resources. If one or more of the edges is too short then the other aspects will be affected.

There are some skills that no amount of DIY instruction can teach you, of course: brain surgery, household connection to the mains power grid and proving to your wife that she is wrong.

My main problem with schedules is that they can be a double edged sword if, in our desire to get something out on schedule, we sacrifice quality.

There is an old chestnut that goes the rounds of the fan production forums along the lines of a triangle of necessity which says that, although everyone wants things cheap, top quality and on time: you can never have all three – choose two and forget the other one! Surprisingly this is actually a bit of folk wisdom that has been born out by research and the Project Management Triangle is an established concept of Project Management.

Think it through and you'll see that to a certain extent it is true.

Money can buy more resources to get something done on time, but it can't guarantee quality. Taking more time will often give you the opportunity to improve quality but again, it is not a foregone conclusion.

There is no great secret to creating and maintaining a schedule for a fan production, it simply boils down to good project management. Although, like most people, I have been exposed to project management at work on a regular basis, its value was driven home to me about twenty years ago I built my own house. We were a young married family, the heir to the family curse was still a twinkle in his father's kneecaps, and I was (relatively) young, fit and had an inflated opinion of my own ability to handle any job.

I learned many lessons from the experience but perhaps the most important was how to handle large projects and the ability to teach myself new skills. Of course there are some skills that no amount of Do-It-Yourself instruction can teach you: brain surgery, household connection to the mains power grid and proving to your wife that she is wrong. This is because they take, respectively, years of experience, trade regulation and the last is just plain impossible!

Continued on third page following...

.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

13

Hailing Frequencies Open

14

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..

Vol2 No3, Dec. 2010

.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

15

“They Be More Like Guidelines Actually” Continued from p.13

Hailing Frequencies Open

Today there are an increasing number of jobs that, because of modern technology and methods, you can do a relatively workmanlike job with. Concreting, laying slate, tiling, roofing, carpentry, painting... I needed to do it, I looked for instructions and examples, gathered the tools and materials and took it slowly.

What I had found by accident were the principles of project management.

then they will probably follow the same principles, even if only subconsciously.

Baking a cake, building a house, producing a film or putting together a Trekzine – in fact, any project - it all boils down to those five steps: purpose, planning, organisation, execution and reflection.

There are certain tips that I've picked up from audio drama production that other media might find interesting.

▪Work out what you want to do ▪Work out how you are going to do it •Work on a season by season basis with a definite sense of closure ▪Gather your resources to your season breaks whilst leaving the audience ready for more if ▪Do it you decide to continue your series.

▪Work out what you did right or wrong and learn from the •Develop a 'production-line' with a definite work flow so that cast experience. and crew know what they should be doing and what comes next.

These principles apply to every project, whether you're building a •Assign jobs and job descriptions so that everyone knows what is billy cart or a space station and the sooner you accept that, the expected of them. Consider having a production secretary whose sooner you will succeed in whatever it is you want to do! To some job would be to make sure all cast have an up to date script, keep it might seem like I'm killing the spontaneity of the job by working track of who has sent in lines and creates and posts release notices to a set of rules but, to borrow from a favourite movie, “They be on all the interested media. more like guidelines actually!”

•Pitch the production to the audio drama community to get your Think of it like cooking. If you've never baked a cake before you'd production staff and cast, but until you have one third of the use a recipe wouldn't you? Once you're more experienced you'll episodes of your season completed, do not announce it to the probably do without them but you'll still base your method on them wider fan community. and even read through cook books looking for new recipes to try. It •This gives you a lead time that you can keep in front of releases. might only be after years of experience that you'll make your cakes Estimate your future production on the amount of time that it individual by adding personal touches or experiment with new takes you to create your head-start. If it takes you four months to methods and ingredients, making recipes of their own – but even make three episodes, you know you'll have an effort keeping to a monthly schedule.

•If you can't keep to a monthly schedule then consider getting a bigger lead before releasing that first episode, maybe half the first season or, as Star Trek: Valkyrie did, complete the whole season although I'm not sure about releasing all the episodes together.

http://www.hiddenfrontier.com/episodes/feds2.php

Hidden Frontier Productions

Another thing to remember when talking about resources is that the internet makes it easy to share resources and there's a lot of help available for free on the net. Just a few links that can help with audio dramas... [Some I can vouch for others not – take care!]

Federation One is unique amongst fan audio dramas in that it started life as a fan film series. Two episodes (which can still be seen on Vimeo) were released during the hot-bed of activity in 2008-2009 at Hidden Frontier Productions when they were also punching out Odyssey and The Helena Chronicles as well as the joint productions with ST Intrepid and their own Indie web series, Frontier Guard.

Advertise your casting calls: Audio Auditions Yahoo Group, Audio Drama Talk, Voice Acting Alliance, Voice Acting Club, Voice Acting UK

Something had to give and in October of '08 it was announced that Federation One would be continuing its run as an audio drama, originally with a video season ender. The production team at Federation One took the demise of video output from HFP as a challenge and an opportunity to provide closure and continuation for their storyline in a novel new way that also allowed them to utilise cast and crew all around the world and not just those who could make it to the HFP studio in California.

Free & Royalty free music & sound effects: Beatsuite, ccmixter, Freeplaymusic, Kevin MacLeod's Incompetech.com, PartnersInRhyme, Royalty Free Sound Effects, PJ Ross' Sonnyboo.com, Stonewashed.net,

Their first audio episode, Intel was released in 2009 and has been followed by...

Hope that helps! If not, drop onto one of the forums listed under advise and ask someone! Most fan productions are group projects, meaning that, perhaps more than any other media, audio drama survives on its community, the networking of peers.

202

Family, February, 2010

203

Obligations, April 22, 2010

204

Analepsis, October 18, 2010

16

For Advise and expertise: Audio Drama Talk, Audio Theater.com, BBC Writers Room, Independent Radio Drama Productions, National Audio Theatre, Radio Drama Revival , The Sonic Society, Tony Palermo's RuyaSonic, The Writing Show

Free Sound Editing software: Audacity, DJ Audio Editor, Power Sound Editor Free, Wavepad Sound Editor, Wavosaur Scriptwriting software: Celtx, Ruyasonic.com, Screenwright

If you are new, perhaps we can help you, but if you are an old hand ... I have this script that needs help, and I was wondering...

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..

Vol2 No3, Dec. 2010

Winter's Rose

By Kirok of L'Stok 23:59 - The time on the desk's computer monitor marched inexorably towards midnight as Fleet Captain Christopher Pike looked up from the cadet grading reports he was trying to focus on. He would be finished with this inspection tour tomorrow and be moving on to the next Academy training vessel. Another Starfleet standard berth on a ship that was not his own.

Brooding, he pushed his chair back and stretched. Who was he trying to fool anyway by pretending to ignore the growing sense of expectation that was building in the pit of his stomach? The desk monitor with its Starfleet standard wallpaper showed the stardate but he recognised it as February 13th in the old calender and he knew what would happen at midnight.

He shook his head resignedly and rose from his desk, walking around to the front where he stood, tense, knowing what was about to happen but not knowing whether to embrace it or abhor it. Torn between his heart and his mind, his breath started to come a little faster as the seconds ticked off in his head until...

24:00 - With a blinding flare, the room was bathed in an eerie blue glare coming from a single pinpoint of light in the centre of the room.

Instinctively Pike's hand shot up to cover his eyes even though his mind told him from previous experience that the light would shine straight through it. It was an illusion, and as his mind's eye adjusted to the brilliance that was not there, he started to make out the shape before him.

It was a rose, beautifully formed and suspended in mid air, just over a metre from the floor, turning slowly, shining brilliantly. The clarity of its light felt like it was burning his flesh away to leave only... what? His soul? His subconscious desires? On this same night of the year, for the past fifteen years, the same visitation had occurred. At first he had tried to share it with others, to measure it and identify it, only to be met with their confused and worried stares. Only he could see it. This rose was only for him.

He knew what it was. He knew who had sent it. As a telepathic illusion it was infused with the essence of one person. Vina, the innocent young girl trapped through circumstances beyond anyone's control in a perfect world of illusion made for her by the Talosians. Fifteen years had passed since he had left her, choosing the path of duty and reality, but every year she still sent him a rose.

A jumble of conflicting emotions fought for control within the captain. As always his first reaction was one of anger that ship's security should be so easily bypassed, that the masters of Talos IV could confront him even here in his cabin. The death sentence that the Federation had placed on landing on Talos IV was well justified, for if anyone were to harness the power of these benign hermits as a weapon then there could be no known defense.

They had the power to destroy empires, to control the destiny of millions and yet they only seemed interested in vicariously experiencing Vina's love for him. Humility was not something that starship captains were known for, but seeing the power that their love had over these potential masters of the universe was almost humbling.

Pike's hand reached out, almost of its own volition, as if to grasp the rose, knowing that it meant a choice for his future. There were no demands. This was not diplomacy, duplicity or duress. They were simply saying, here she is, there you are what are you going to do?

What was he going to do? His Starfleet career was drawing to a close. He had served with distinction, he had made a difference, he had helped defend and strengthen the great dream of the United Federation of Planets. Most men his age were retiring to enjoy a more conventional life. A home, a wife, there was still time for a family even.

But not for him.

He closed his hand and pulled it back, rejecting her offer of love as he had fifteen years ago. As he did every year. No matter how strong his feelings for her – and he had come to learn over the years that there was no one else for him other than Vina – he was held back by his love of exploration, his desire to take part in the great game of the galaxy.

24:01 - Just as quickly as it had appeared, the rose disappeared and his world became a darker, colder place. For probably thirty seconds he stood motionless, coming to terms with the emptiness, the void.

Somehow, he knew that would be the last time he saw the rose, that he would not be given the choice again. He squared his back and stood tall. The light was gone, the beauty was fast becoming a memory, but there could be no regrets. The strength that made him such a great captain started to reassert itself. You weighed the choices, made your decisions and set your course: regret did not even enter into it.

Turning his back on the room, so achingly empty now, he sat down before the scatter of PADDs on his desk. Was this to be his destiny, a desk job?

24:02 – Without warning, the emergency klaxon broke into the echoing silence, jerking him from his reverie.

“Red alert! All hands! Rupture in the port baffles! Delta radiation leak! Seal decks...” … but by this time the emergency instructions were bouncing off the walls of an empty room. Fleet Captain Christopher Pike was charging headlong to his destiny.

.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

17

Hailing Frequencies Open

New Details Emerge About Salem One Attack Juan Ramirez - Earth News Network 30 November, 2156 Earlier today, Starfleet Commander Admiral Garrett Black today held a press conference at Starfleet Headquarters in San Francisco to release some preliminary information about the investigation into the loss of Salem One Station.

"The Enterprise and Columbia arrived at Beta Virginis early this morning and discovered that as we had feared, Salem One Station has been destroyed. Our early surveys of the wreckage indicate that the destruction was caused by external forces consistent with powerful particle weapons." Black refused to comment on the majority of the media's questions, citing the ongoing investigation, but he was able to confirm that there were no survivors and that the Vulcan cruiser Sompek had also been lost with all hands.

When asked if the attack was related to the string of disappearances among Coalition ships, he said, "We are currently investigating all theories. I cannot confirm nor deny any such connection, but it does seem the most likely explanation at this time."

Admiral Black again issued a statement to reassure the public, "I wish to stress that Starfleet has learned its lessons well since the Xindi attack. We are putting all our available resources towards protecting the people of Earth, its colonies, and all other Coalition worlds. There is no cause for panic."

The admiral did not release the identity of the attackers saying, "We want to be sure we that we know all the available facts and know exactly whom we are dealing with before we make any theories public."

The Tellarite Information Service is reporting that early scans of the Salem One wreckage revealed weapons signatures consistent with those of an obscure race known as the Romulans.

Earth's first contact with the Romulans occured just under four years ago when the Enterprise NX-01 stumbled across a Romulan mine field. Though details about the incident are classified, at the time ENN did learn that the Romulans appear to possess a sophisticated cloaking technology that conceals their ships from Starfleet sensors. There have also been rumors about the Romulans' involvement in the Babel Incident, though we have been unable to confirm those www.startrekgrissom.com reports.

ST Grissom & Hidden Frontier Productions Admiral Black said that with the confirmation of Salem One's loss, Starfleet has begun to notify the families of the deceased. He expects the process to be complete by the end of the day and will release the names of those killed tomorrow. One hundred ninety eight served aboard Salem One Station, 71 of them were Humans.

This Dispatches from the Romulan War report was contributed by Ensign Edwards and Captain Hair.

18

Grissom started the year with the release of their second audio drama, “The Price of Virtue ”. Whilst its home base is in Ireland, it is a truly international project with close to thirty voice actors based in Scotland, England, Germany, Sweden, U.S.A. and Canada.

Their third audio episode, 'The Stars my Destination', scripted by the multi-talented Bodo Hartwig, who directed and scored the episode as well, has completed post production and is scheduled for release early in 2011 whilst the fourth, “One Moment of Humanity”, has nearly all its lines in.

The cast represents new roles for many regulars from the Hidden Frontier and ST Intrepid film cast as well as regulars from other Trek audio production groups. Jennifer Cole of Hidden Frontier Productions plays a leading part in the next episode as Commander Stephanie Ottair (where have I heard that name?) whilst Karl Puder plays Cdr Kruge with his wife Barbara as his spy and consort, Lady Valkris. In an interesting parallel, Nick Cook of ST Intrepid plays the infamous Cyrano Jones and his better half, Lucia will guest star as Romulan agent s'Veralis in that same episode. To round it off, Brad Hathaway (Cpt Jeffery Pierce in ST Hathaway) and Keith Harris (Adm Alexander McKnight from ST Lexington) make guest appearances.

2

The Price of Virtue, February 1, 2010

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..

Vol2 No3, Dec. 2010

For All Things There Is a Season Everything has a set lifespan.

Does that shock you? It should. Even love can die.

You think you're going to love that vivacious young nymph you met and fell madly in lust with when you were 18? Maybe you will, my friend, maybe you will. I certainly wish this for you. What is far more likely is that she will change, just as you will change. Not just physically, you'll find that those superficial changes are the least of your problems. No, the whole package will change: intellectually, morally, culturally – your experiences (or lack thereof) will colour your perceptions, your decisions, just as hers will.

In some ways it could be thought of as a weakness in one's commitment but no, it's really just an acknowledgment of reality. Is this why people fall out of love? Sadly, this is often the case. Some people can't get over the changes, they want time to stand still so that they can exist in an eternity of ecstasy. It won't, and even if it did would you want it? Read Phillipe Jose Farmer's underground classic "Venus On The Half Shell" then ask yourself that again.

Of course, a lot of what I've said applies to your Star Trek fan experience as well.

No one denies that The Original Series of Star Trek was groundbreaking in its time, that's why it has stood the test of time. The charisma and chemistry of the core cast gave us some priceless gems that are still capable of captivating new fans even today.

However it was a product of its time, which shows, not only in the limitations of its production – the primitive special effects and scenery – but also in the social values reflected in the plots. Star Trek: The Next Generation was far more politically correct, Deep Space Nine was more confronting and questioning, just as Voyager and Enterprise pushed the envelope in their own particular way.

www.startrekgrissom.com

ST Grissom & Hidden Frontier Productions Grissom started the year with the release of their second audio drama, “The Price of Virtue”. Whilst its home base is in Ireland, it is a truly international project with close to thirty voice actors based in Scotland, England, Germany, Sweden, U.S.A. and Canada.

Their third audio episode, 'The Stars my Destination', scripted by the multi-talented Bodo Hartwig, who directed and scored the episode as well, has completed post production and is scheduled for release early in 2011 whilst the fourth, “One Moment of Humanity”, has nearly all its lines in.

The cast represents new roles for many regulars from the Hidden Frontier and ST Intrepid film cast as well as regulars from other Trek audio production groups. Jennifer Cole of Hidden Frontier Productions plays a leading part in the next episode as Commander Stephanie Ottair (where have I heard that name?) whilst Karl Puder plays Cdr Kruge with his wife Barbara as his spy and consort, Lady Valkris. In an interesting parallel, Nick Cook of ST Intrepid plays the infamous Cyrano Jones and his better half, Lucia will guest star as Romulan agent s'Veralis in that same episode. To round it off, Brad Hathaway (Cpt Jeffery Pierce in ST Hathaway) and Keith Harris (Adm Alexander McKnight from ST Lexington) make guest appearances.

2

The Price of Virtue, February 1, 2010

They were all Star Trek, but each series had – still has – its own subset of fans who have a particular affection for it. They might all class themselves as Star Trek fans but discussions between them about the relative worth of each series can be just as heated as comparisons between Trek and Star Wars or Battlestar Gallactica. Broadly speaking the fanbase of each series is generational because most of us have a special place in our hearts for the series that we watched as children or young adults and to some extent, the affection we feel for that series is subconsciously linked with a nostalgia for that period of our lives. I know that this is true for me with respect to TOS and TNG, and my children were definitely Voyager kids.

Does this mean that we can't go back? Until they perfect time travel, we can't relive to the past. DeForrest Kelly and James Doohen are no longer with us to lend their special magic to the screen so, other than productions like Trials and Tribblations, the classic episodes of TOS will remain the sum total of the output of that cast. The same can be said for the casts of the other shows since the actors who played in them are not the same people who captivated us all those years ago.

Is there no hope for life-long love? The good news is, yes. The bad news is that there are no guarantees, in fact there is a significant chance of failure. Ask anyone who has been in a stable, long-term relationship and they will tell you that it takes effort, you have to consistently work on it. However if you've made the right choice at the start and work on it steadily there is no reason why you can't keep the fire burning.

This is the challenge for the owners of the Star Trek franchise today, to keep the love alive, to ensure the faithfulness of its lovers by keeping the spark in the relationship. There will be those who want to live in the past and for them Paramount has released renovated footage but this isn't a step forward, it isn't starting a new chapter in the relationship.

Some fans talk about new productions of Star Trek as if it is sacrelidge, as if casting new actors in the roles of Kirk, Spock and McCoy is like ditching your wife for a young mistress. The truth is, whilst we can never go back to create new magic with those shades of the past, they will always live on in our hearts. In the words of Bogart and Picard, “We'll always have Paris”.

So next time you look at you're partner and catch a glimpse of someone else, someone who has grown and moved with the times, don't be afraid and shy away! Embrace the challenge and court this stranger in your lovers shoes. Accept the inevitable and revel in change. Life and love are a constant battle!

Q'apla!

.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

19

Hailing Frequencies Open

Above: The Snow Queen by TaraLJC

Above Centre: Tpol study by Trev-Solo

Right: Salem One Cover by Aricosaur

For full credits and links to the artists and more of their work, see the Hailing Frequencies Open deviantART gallery at...

http://kirok-of-lstok.deviantart.com/art/ HFO-2-04-ENT-BackCover-196760058

Below: Doctor Phlox by Nightwing1975

Right: Hoshi by Yen

20

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..