Star Trek - in the twenty sixth century!?

[Ford Prefect]

Boldly going where no one has ever gone before . . .

I decided, long ago, that I could write an interesting Star Trek story. I still believe that, of course. I wanted to try a new setting, so I picked 'teh future'. Not to far into the future, but two or three centuries into it.

Now, I want information. For example, the Breen. Whatever happened to them? Did they ever pop again, did they ever get wiped out? Because I want them as one of the antagonists (I'm a Half-Life fan, so what?). Also, was any mention ever made of the core of the galaxy, or space surrounding it? Because that's where I want my own creation, an obvious nod to Total Annihilation, the Core Arm to come from.

Also, Voyager never destroyed the Borg, did it? I have no idea because I didn't watch much of it (the episode I remember best was the one with The Rock in it). And another thing, whatever happened to the Dominion?

Yes, I never got into either Voyager or DS9.

And if anyone has any ideas for a name, it'd be much appreciated. I considered calling it Total War or To Infinity And Beyond, but I dunno.

[darthdavid]

Voyager sucked monkey balls and ignored it's own continuity. Just ignore it wherever convienant.

[Ford Prefect]

I can do that. Also, I've heard the word compression mentioned in relation to weapons in Star Trek. Or will I be lucky and hope that it isn't the case?

[Junghalli]

Also, was any mention ever made of the core of the galaxy, or space surrounding it? Because that's where I want my own creation, an obvious nod to Total Annihilation, the Core Arm to come from.

Shaka'ri is supposed to be in the center of the galaxy (ST:V). The Great Barrier that surrounds it may in fact be the turbulent cloud of gas and dust that surrounds the galaxy's central black hole (Shaka'ri is, presumably, close to it). Other than that the galactic nucleus is never explored in Trek canon. It is unreachable by conventional warp, except presumably along the warp highway Sybok used to get to Shaka'ri.
Personally I've always thought of the nucleus as a very interesting place, since it's a part of the galaxy where stars are much denser than in our spiral arms. Pity Trek never explored it.

[Bounty]

For example, the Breen. Whatever happened to them?

Canonically ? They surrender to the FKR alliance and presumably are forced to disarm. By the 26th C, they'll probably be back to their pre-war strength.

Also, was any mention ever made of the core of the galaxy, or space surrounding it?

Sha Ka Ree, as mentioned before, but there are those who believe it wasn't the actual center of the universe.

Because that's where I want my own creation, an obvious nod to Total Annihilation, the Core Arm to come from.

Shouldn't be a problem. Even the core of the galaxy is a big place.

Also, Voyager never destroyed the Borg, did it?

Janeway started a rebellion, spread a virus through the hive mind, and fucked the transwarp network.

You can really just ignore this - perhaps a throwaway line as to how the Borg quickly reorganised themselves, purged the virus, crushed the rebellion and came out of the clusterfuck even stronger then before.

And another thing, whatever happened to the Dominion?

Surrendered unconditionally to the FKR alliance. The Founders are probably recovering from the S31 virus, the Weyoun template was destroyed, the Jem'Hadar are a big question mark.

[Ford Prefect]

A question about MACOs. As I know little about Trek outside of TOS and earlier TNG, I only know of them vaguely. They appeared in Enterprise, as I believe. Were they effective at anything? Were they disbanded?

[Bounty]

Were they effective at anything? Were they disbanded?

In general, they were quite effective; they did get beaten a few times by more powerful or numerous foes - like the Augments - but completed several missions with minimal losses. It's assumed that they were incorporated into Starfleet after 2161.

[Ford Prefect]

The first draft of 26th century Borg, partially inspired by Jung's superior Borg in his Dracafic. Junghalli did the Borg the way they should have been done, ie, proper. Hopefully my own Borg of the future will be able to meet his lofty standards, combining single minded relentlessness with actual tactical prowess.


Admiral Janeway was once renowned for destroying the Borg. Through her efforts a virus spread throughout the Collective, the Transwarp network was almost utterly destroyed and a rebellion began within their ranks. They were said to never pose a threat to anyone ever again. Wrong is an understatement.

Through methods unknown, a central intelligence rose from the Collective and purged the virus, crushed the rebellion and remade the Borg into a far superior creature.

The Borg are no longer vastly superior, technologically speaking, to the Federation. However, they are vastly superior to the Borg last encountered in the Delta Quadrant. Once mindless walking targets that a MACO team or Marine squad would make very short work of, today’s Borg are determined, intelligent enemies. Fully armoured and heavily armed Tactical Drones are capable of rapid assaults utilising cover, small unit tactics and the obvious advantage of knowing everything that everyone else in your team knows.

The Tactical Drone seems to have been designed to counter anti-Borg tactics. Borg shielding is next to useless against kinetic impacts, so Tac Drones are designed to resist bullets to great effect having no flesh to penetrate, nor any particular weak spots to take advantage of and nothing short of a rail gun is going to penetrate their armour. As such, fighting against Tac Drones unfortunately devolves into close combat using monomolecular bladed weaponry.

Gun Drones, neither as tough nor as dangerous as Tac Drones feature heavy weapons grafted onto their bodies, along with the ammunition required. Gun Drones offer a significant threat to Federation troops – the shielding and armour the make use of may be effective against a Tac Drone’s disruptors, but it will not be effective against anything a Gun Drone may be carrying.

The Federation has very little information regarding the command structure of the new Borg. It is theorised that the central intelligence which ‘cleansed’ the Borg may still be in charge, but that is mere speculation.

[Bounty]

The Federation has very little information regarding the command structure of the new Borg. It is theorised that the central intelligence which ‘cleansed’ the Borg may still be in charge, but that is mere speculation.

Why not write the Borg like they were supposed to be written - a fully decentralised hive mind ?

My pet theory is that the Borg created their Queen as an avatar to lead missions far from the Unimatrix, where communication would be difficult, but the Queen gained sentience herself and started to draw power away from the hive mind and toward herself - maybe through Locutus' influence. The massive screwup with the rebellion and the virus finished her off permanently, allowing the Mind to take control again. The pussified VOY Borg would be a direct result of a power-hungry Queen who couldn't properly handle the full force of the Collective.

Or maybe I'm just Borg-wanking...

[Ford Prefect]

Personally, it works for me. I never liked the idea of a centalised intelligence anyway. I just couldn't think of anything to replace it with, till you came a long an inspired me.

I never liked the Queen. Let her be the fault of the Collective's weakness.

[NecronLord]

It is unreachable by conventional warp, except presumably along the warp highway Sybok used to get to Shaka'ri.

Sound the fanon alert. There's no mention of this in the canon.

[Ford Prefect]

Okay, second draft. A bit rambly, but never mind that. I want post it all because you've read much of it before:

<snip opening paragraph featuring Janeway>

The existence of a Queen within the Borg has often puzzled the minds’ of the Federation’s best and brightest. Most postulate that she existed to act as a semi-autonomous control for Borg missions far from the Unimatrix. She was not ‘in charge’ as such, but rather simply a link to the Collective.

The incident involving Admiral Picard and his assimilation into the Collective as a ‘companion’ for the Queen is the first example of vested interests. Though originally only a semi-autonomous unit, a ‘Smart Drone’ as such, it seems that she gained some form of sentience and began to draw power away from the Collective, making it serve her, as opposed to her serving the Collective.

Naturally, it is difficult to imagined a single entity controlling the whole Collective, and most believe that the direct control of the Borg that the Queen maintained weakened them considerably, slowing them as such. However, Borg very close to the Queen seem to have been considerably more dangerous, but this is not a very efficient way to operate.

Janeway’s interference resulted in a schism within the Collective, between those Borg under the control of the Queen and those Borg who were not. The virus involved was purged by the hive mind and it endeavoured to destroy the Queen utterly, thus ‘bringing order to the chaos’ that was involved with the weak control the Queen had.

The Borg do not seem to have constructed anymore semi-autonomous units such as the Queen, not even the advanced Tactical Drones appear to have anything close to a decision making ability. It seems as though they are once again a completely decentralised hive mind, with no units having any form of authority.

<snip bits about Tac and gun drones>

The process of assimilation appears to have been removed by the Borg. The Enterprise first reported that the Borg were only interested in technology. Things changed over time so that the Borg became interested in biological objects as opposed to technological ones. Many so-called Borg experts assert that this phase of assimilation can be attributed to the Queen, since Locutus of Borg was the first recorded instance of Borg assimilation and since the Queen admitted to having ordered it and since the Queen was the central hub of the Collective at the time, it may have extrapolated from there.

Further evidence points that ever since the Borg ended the Queen’s reign they have stopped assimilating during assaults. Tac Drones will kill anyone who resists the capture of a vessel or target. Those bodies still suited to work are then used to bolster the ranks of the Collective. Most Drone can be created using most any corpse, but Tactical Drones require whole bodies, while Dreadnaughts are only built from exceptionally large specimens of life. Therefore it is theorised that Borg can vat-grow the whole bodies and giants required for these combat Drones.

[Ford Prefect]

My first and unfortunately very vague draft of the Core Arm. Frankly I think it could be much better (perhaps with an actual goal!) and currently I have a distinct feeling they are to close to the Borg for comfort.

The most frighteningly powerful race in the galaxy is the Core Arm. Exactly what they are is difficult to determine, as a race they refer to themselves as the Core (probably to do with the fact that they live in the galactic core) and as an organisation they call themselves the Arm.

Technologically they are vastly superior to every race in the galaxy. Their ships can be quite massive in size, ranging from mile long battle cruisers up to the gargantuan command vessels they have. This is massively important – the largest vessels the Federation has in service are barely a mile in length.

There has been little communication between the Core Arm and the Federation, but it is theorised that the Core are a very old race, perhaps the oldest in the galaxy. Recon into their territory (a very dangerous proposition given that no cloaking device seems capable of hiding from Core sensors and no Federation ship stands much of a chance in combat with an Arm ship) has revealed that Core has a ridiculously large industrial base featuring tens of thousands ships and practically every resource deposit within the core.

The Core does not seem to inhabit any of the planets scouted by the Federation. Most everyone of them are either factories, or mines, or both. On more than five separate occasions planets converted to farms have been found, devoid of everything but machines and plant life. This rather eerie state of things within the core is difficult to explain and not many people have tried.

There are vague notions of the size of the Arm’s navy; two recon missions have sent back force numbers in the range of the tens of thousands sitting in dry docks in outer locations of Arm space. If reports are to believed (and there is no reason to believe that one should not), there are over sixty thousands ships within the Arm, at least.

That is a sufficient number to overwhelm most every power in galaxy, considering the size of Core ships and the power of their weapon systems. However, the Arm has never before showed any interest in this. In fact, they haven’t shown much of anything since their first appearance apart from raiding planets for resources. They rarely initiate any attacks, though they are known to use extreme force when presented with armed vessels.

This seems to typify the Core. They could undoubtedly destroy any one you could care to mention, but seem not to be bothered with any power in any quadrant. The Core have stipulated that they are only interested in harvesting the resources that they find useful at the time, and anything in their way will be promptly destroyed.

That’s the main problem the Core offer; they are not particularly committed to anything. They have not expressed any interest in any form of alliance and they offers made to them are casually discarded and usually followed up with the destruction of the Ambassador involved.

Suggestions?

[Bounty]

the largest vessels the Federation has in service are barely a mile in length.

Don't count on it. The largest 24th C vessel is less then half a mile long, and the future ships from Azati Prime - ignoring for the moment that they're recycled models - weren't very big. Of course, that timeline never actually happened...

There has been little communication between the Core Arm and the Federation, but it is theorised that the Core are a very old race, perhaps the oldest in the galaxy.

The oldest canon race are the Progenitors.

Janeway’s interference resulted in a schism within the Collective, between those Borg under the control of the Queen and those Borg who were not.

You might want to specifically mention the virus as the cause of the schism. Janeway's other involvement - the rebellion - made drones individuals again.

[Ford Prefect]

Cheers Bounty, I'll heed your words. However, in terms of the size of Federation vessels of the 26th (or 27th) century I do intend for larger classes. For example, ships barely a mile long. It seems possible, at least in my mind, after 200 to 300 years for them to do it.

However, they aren't exactly common. Lot's of the ships of the 24th century still exist and fill out the fleets. It isn't like every ship is going to be an Ultimate class.

[Ford Prefect]

Second draft of the Arm. Some of it is a bit iffy (for example, I mention the Vulcans as having been seeded by the Progenitors, and I have seen support of that, but I've also seen support that the Vulcan's were not seeded by the Progenitors).

A considerably powerful and ancient race. According to them, they waged war with the Progenitors (whom they name the Ibarin, and also their ‘masters’) some four billion years ago. Also according to them, they were the reason that much of humanoid life was seeded within the galaxy, as they were systematically destroying much of the Progenitor’s empire.

“Humanity,” they say (or Vulcanity, or Klingonity, or whomever) “Is the direct result of our war with your ‘Progenitors’. They were an old race who had ruled they galaxy for millennia. We decided that that needed to change.”

This might explain much of why the Core dislike many races throughout the galaxy; they are the remnants of their old foes the Progenitors. They especially dislike humanity as according to them: “Of all the Ibarin’s pets you are the closest in appearance to them. And you are the closest in mentality.”

Whether the Core destroyed the Progenitors is unknown, but it seems unlikely. No member of the Arm has ever spoken of the end results of their war, though they apparently regard them as being “Sentients of quality on the battlefield. They did not enjoy combat, and actively avoided it if possible, but few made a warship like the Ibarin.” They also admit to having tampered with certain creations of Progenitors, giving them traits that the Core themselves found favourable. This notably includes the Vulcans and the Orions (apparently these enhancements include the enhanced strength and senses of the Vulcans, the pheromones and fast burning metabolisms of the female Orions, as well as the disproportionable size of male Orions when compared to the females of the species. Interestingly enough, they take credit for the skin pigmentation, ie, green). They also take credit for certain aspects the Gorn and the Breen development.

Quite obviously, the Core live in the core. A location of highly dense stars and reality twisted by gravity, it was once impossible to enter the area with conventional Warp. With the advent of Hyperspatial Tunnelling it became possible to explore the core (and also traverse the galaxy in days, as opposed to decades). Expeditions into the core have revealed a powerful, and very large industrial base, including a multitude of planets covered in structure, similar in fashion to the Borg.

Technologically, the Arm’s tachyonic weaponry and shielding is superior in terms of power to that used by the Federation. Also, the Core is noted for building very large ships, often in excess of ten times the size of the ships of the Federation, even the Ultimate and Titan classes.

All in all, the Federation isn’t sure what to make of the Core Arm. Though they seem obviously powerful enough to destroy any enemy within the galaxy, then have chosen not to. What makes this slightly stranger is that they have reason to, many humanoid races seem to have been seeded by the Progenitors, and the Core vehemently dislikes the Progenitors and their offspring.

Theories abound that the Arm has been deeply involved in causing the state of the galaxy at large.

Comments and suggestions?

[Bounty]

Some of it is a bit iffy (for example, I mention the Vulcans as having been seeded by the Progenitors, and I have seen support of that, but I've also seen support that the Vulcan's were not seeded by the Progenitors).

The basic idea is that the Progenitors seeded the galaxy with life because they couldn't find life themselves. Their whole "impregnate the universe" project was started because they found out they were alone. Unless you want to completely rewrite the Progenitor's motives and actions, saying that the Core waged war with them seems a bit...silly. It's your story, though.

They also admit to having tampered with certain creations of Progenitors, giving them traits that the Core themselves found favourable. This notably includes the Vulcans and the Orions (apparently these enhancements include the enhanced strength and senses of the Vulcans, the pheromones and fast burning metabolisms of the female Orions, as well as the disproportionable size of male Orions when compared to the females of the species. Interestingly enough, they take credit for the skin pigmentation, ie, green).

The Progenitors messed with the seeded DNA enough to make sure it would lead to bipedal, sentient, humanoid species. Everything else was up to standard evolution (which explains the relative diversity, and the existence of non-humanoid sentient beings - not all current lifeforms were seeded by the Progenitors, and not all life followed their design). To say that they could influence detailed parts of a species physiology is beyond even their tech (remember, they didn't *create* life, they just gave it a kick in the arse)

Here's the full explanation from The Chase :

65 THE SCENE (OPTICAL)

Picard's computer SUDDENLY PROJECTS A HOLOGRAM directly
into the middle of the scene. It is a HUMANOID -- in
fact, one of the coolest humanoids we've ever seen,
with a face wise and tragic and light-hearted all at
once. It appears as if the flesh is life-like.
Everyone reacts, staring with amazement as it addresses
them.

STAR TREK: "The Chase" - REV. 02/05/93 - ACT FIVE 64A.

65 CONTINUED:

HUMANOID
You are wondering who we are; why
we have done this; how it has come
that I stand before you, the image
of a being from so long ago.
(MORE)

STAR TREK: "The Chase" - REV. 02/05/93 - ACT FIVE 65.

65 CONTINUED: (2)

HUMANOID (Cont'd)
(beat)
Life evolved on my planet before
all others in this part of the
galaxy. We left our world,
explored the stars, and found none
like ourselves. We were alone.
Our civilization thrived for ages.
But what is the life of one race,
compared to the vast stretches of
cosmic time? We knew that someday
we would be gone. And that
nothing of us would survive. So
we left you.

Everyone reacts.

HUMANOID
(continuing)
Our scientists seeded the
primordial oceans of many worlds,
where life was in its infancy.
These seed codes directed your
evolution toward a physical form
resembling ours -- this body you
see before you.

The Humanoid opens her arms as if to indicate herself.

HUMANOID
(continuing)
Which is, of course, shaped as
yours is shaped. For you are the
end result. The seed codes also
contained this message, which we
scattered in fragments on many
different worlds. It was our hope
that you would have to come
together in cooperation and
fellowship in order to activate
this message. And if you can see
and hear me, our hope has been
fulfilled.

After a few uneasy, guilty glances -- they know it
wasn't so peaceful and cooperative.

STAR TREK: "The Chase" - REV. 02/08/93 - ACT FIVE 66.

65 CONTINUED: (3)

HUMANOID
(continuing)
You are... a monument. Not to our
greatness, but to our existence.
That was our wish. That you too
would know life, and would keep
alive our memory. There is
something of us in each of you,
and so, something of you in each
other.

A long pause. The Humanoid has a look of both joy and
deep sadness.

HUMANOID
(continuing)
Remember us...

With the advent of Hyperspatial Tunnelling

Why not stick to transwarp ? It's canon, it can cross half the galaxy in hours, and it's been studied for centuries. Or slipstream drive - its' ridiculously easy to convert a standard warp ship to use it.

Also, the Core is noted for building very large ships, often in excess of ten times the size of the ships of the Federation, even the Ultimate and Titan classes.

The Titan's a 24th C design. Unless you set the story in the early-25th C, it's going to be obsolete, excluding major refits.

[Ford Prefect]

Alas, this becomes more difficult. Thanks for The Chase transcript, I was intending to get a hold of one, but you saved me time. Also, the Titan class is the third design of the type (I like the name alright).

Well, back to the drawing board, one supposes.

[Ford Prefect]

Oh yes, I forgot about about the whole FTL thing. One, I personally don't like Transwarp, two, I'd never heard of slipstream in Trek and three, can they penetrate the core of the galaxy and operate within extreme gravitational conditions?

[Bounty]

...

[Bounty]

Thanks for The Chase transcript, I was intending to get a hold of one, but you saved me time.

++http://www.st-minutiae.com/academy/lite ... 29/246.txt

Also, the Titan class is the third design of the type (I like the name alright).

Generally, class names aren't recycled like shipnames or registries. I'm not saying it can't happen, just that we've never seen it - to the best of my recollection.

Well, back to the drawing board, one supposes.

Switch "Progenitors" with "Preservers". They're equally mysterious, equally interested in "guiding" other species - by taking endangered cultures and relocating them to other worls - and they've been around for millions of years* before vanishing.

two, I'd never heard of slipstream in Trek

Drive-of-the-week in Voyager. It's fast enough to shorten an AQ-DQ rip from decades to months - probably too slow for your fic.

- - -

* Assuming it was the Preservers who relocated the Voth. It's very, very doubtful that the Voth could create an interstellar civilisation on Earth without anyone noticing; Chakotay should've been shot just for suggesting such a thing. It would fit the Preservers' MO if they noticed the potential of the Voth and brought them to a new world in the DQ before the extinction of the dinosaurs.

[DrkHelmet]

two, I'd never heard of slipstream in Trek

Drive-of-the-week in Voyager. It's fast enough to shorten an AQ-DQ rip from decades to months - probably too slow for your fic.

Quantum slipstream drive is what it was. If I recall correctly, they cut ten years off their journey in just under an hour. I would have to watch it again to be sure, but I think that's what it was. I'm trying to find the transcript for that episode now.

EDIT: Found it

Captain's log, supplemental. Our Slipstream flight may have been brief but it took nearly ten years off our journey. I've given the order to dismantle the Quantum Drive until the technology can be perfected. Despite the setback, we have a renewed sense of momentum. It no longer seems a question of if we get home, but when.

I was wrong, she didn't say an hour. She just said "brief," whatever that means.

[Ford Prefect]

Is there any actual info you lot can give me on the Preservers? All I've managed to find so far is this: The Preservers are a race known for transplanting civilizations in danger of extinction. This includes several Native American tribes..

Of course, if there is practically no information, that works well for me.

EDIT: And what type of ship is this Titan class anyway? The only ship with the word Titan involved I can find is Riker's USS Titan, which is a Luna class vessel.

[Bounty]

Is there any actual info you lot can give me on the Preservers?

Weeelll...no. Everything we know about them comes from The Paradise Syndrome. They were active in the 18th C, tried to protect native American culture, and were able to build an asteroid deflector that worked for over 500 years.

EDIT: And what type of ship is this Titan class anyway? The only ship with the word Titan involved I can find is Riker's USS Titan, which is a Luna class vessel.

I just assumed the Titan was the first of it's class. Guess it's not...

[Ford Prefect]

Excellent! I can play around with Preservers then.

Yeah, Riker's ship, and all it's class, are named for moons in the Sol system. Unfortunately, it's another little ship, just a bit bigger than an Intrepid. My Tian will be a veritable behemoth of thirteen hundred metres long! RAR!