#starships are space oddities

[jpitha]

Worldbuilding stuff: Design things however the heck you want, and then work backwards to a reason for doing it that way. Sometimes you can come up with neat ideas about what happened in the past with your story.

Also: There's nothing wrong with mentioning something and never explaining it. It's not like we all go around talking about the history of things as you walk around with your friends.

I mean, I do, but everyone tells me other people don't.

Mia and Cellini are aboard the human starship Priority Express traveling from one of the human colonies - the planet Parvati - to a K'laxi colony world known as Orenni. It's a trip of a few weeks by warp gate and they're in no hurry, so it was decided to not use the wormhole generators. Mia and Cellini are sitting in a common area on the Express drinking some chamomile tea.

"I don't get it" Cellini said, after a sip of tea. "The Express is so, so big on the outside, but the living space on the inside is relatively small. For how big it is outside, one would expect the inside to be equally cavernous."

Mia nods "Yeah, you'd think there would be more space." she glances up "Hey Express! How come you are so big, but your living space is only a small percentage of your overall mass?"

Without hesitating, the Express talks into Mia and Cellini's translator modules "Hello Mia, Cellini. I'm a Starjumper originally. I was meant to thrust between human colonies at around half the speed of light for years or decades. Most of me is engines."

Cellini's ears prick up, expressing surprise. "You did what? You traveled between stars without the warp gates of wormholes?"

"Yes Cellini. We never had warp gates until the K'laxi built some in human space and we developed wormhole travel long after we first went to the stars. I used to haul thousands of people at a time between colonies. My favorite was the Earth-Pavarti run actually. So many families would emigrate to Pavarti; I hear it's very nice."

Now it was Mia's turn "Wait, you said thousands at at time. The living quarters of the Express is large, but any more than one hundred people would feel awfully cramped, especially for years!"

"Oh, most everyone was down in Cold Storage, in long term hibernation. They weren't awake; it was a 25 year one way trip!" Express tittered. "Some folks requested to be awake for a year or two here and there, and we always kept someone from the crew on rotation just in case, but most of the time it was me and a few other people."

"Was it lonely?" Cellini asks, quietly. "Generally, K'laxi prefer to be in groups and travel together. Being alone for 25 years....it's hard to imagine"

Priority Express pauses, thinking about the question. "Yes. It was lonely sometimes. But, I was doing a job I liked, for a people I love. I still do, actually. While I was deep in interstellar space, engines off and coasting at half of C, it was a lonely existence." They sighed.

"I'm sorry Express" Mia said "I didn't mean to bring you down, I was just curious about you."

"Oh, don't worry about me Mia" the Express said, jovially "I'm just an old starship who is doing their best to move with the times."

"Express?" Cellini asks, even more quietly "How old are you?"

"Clock time, or Earth time?" they reply immediately. "Remember, there's significant time dilation even at half the speed of light."

"Earth time please." Cellini says

"I'm one thousand, seven hundred and eighty three years old this year, Earth time. By my own clock I'm only fifteen hundred and sixteen! Haven't even worn out the warranty yet" Priority Express chuckles at their own joke.

Cellini's ears lay flat on her head, a K'laxi expression that meant shock.

Mia was the first to recover. "Express....you've...you must have seen a lot." she said weakly.

"Yes." Priority Express said firmly "Yes, I have"

"THAT'S SO UNFAIR!" Cellini burst out, tears at the corners of her eyes. "You've seen so much, DONE so much for humanity, and now you're just..just...a shuttle between warp gates! You should be in a happy retirement, doing what you want, being who you want!"

"Oh Cellini" Express said, kindly. "I am doing what I want. When the wormhole generators were installed, they gave all the Starjumpers the option to retire and move to other ships or even be installed in bodies. I elected to stay - most Starjumpers did truth be told. You see, I like being a big old ship. I like hauling people - of all kinds - around the galaxy. It get a view of it nobody else sees. I can stare out and watch the stars change, watch the worlds change, watch the sapients change. I love my work. I wouldn't have it any other way."

Mia and Cellini sat in silence, absorbing the intimacy that the Express shared with them.

"But" They said "I would like to light my star drive at full power again. You would not believe how much fun it is to boost at 6 gees!"

[callmebliss]

Out Of This World (an incomplete playlist (updated to appear in standardized artist - song title format))

Beastie Boys - Intergalactic

Galactic - I Got It (What You Need)

Reverend Horton Heat - Galaxy 500

Rocket Man - Elton John (via @sagenemesis )

David Bowie - Space Oddity (via @sagenemesis )

Train - Drops of Jupiter (via @anais-ninja-bitch)

The Seatbelts - Cats On Mars (via @anais-ninja-bitch )

Katy Perry - ET (via @aeoliantectrix )

Jefferson Starship - We Built This City

Nikki Minaj - Starships (via @aeoliantectrix )

BTS - 134340 (via @aeoliantectrix )

BTS and Coldplay - My Universe(via @aeoliantectrix )

Two Steps From Hell - Star Sky(via @aeoliantectrix )

Celtic Woman - A Spaceman Came Travelling -(via @aeoliantectrix )

Duran Duran - New Moon On Monday (via @avishabilis )

IAM - Planète Mars (via @avishabilis )

Gustav Holst Planets Suite (via @avishabilis )

Def Leppard - Rocket (via @ejullz )

Frank Sinatra - Fly Me To The Moon (via @adamtheredbeard)

David Bowie - Starman (via @adamtheredbeard)

The Byrds - Mr. Spaceman (via @adamtheredbeard)

Black Sabbath - Planet Caravan (via @justanotherdharmabum )

REM - Man on the Moon (via @typhoidmeri )

Soundgarden - Black Hole Sun (via @typhoidmeri )

Florence and the Machine - Cosmic Love (via @typhoidmeri )

[product] - call to the moon (item this through item 45 via @sapphicshart )

808 state - europa

angels on acid - satellite

deine lakaien - dark star

helalyn flowers - sitting on the moon

in strict confidence - alpha centauri

the b-52s - planet claire

lead into gold - faster than light

mc 900ft jesus - ufos are real

meat beat manifesto - mars needs women

psy'aviah - black hole

red mecca - enter stellar

renegade soundwave - space gladiator

revolting cocks - attack ships on fire

S.P.O.C.K - queen of space

smp - earthlight

technoir - dying star

dead milkmen - rocket ship

mask of sanity - living black hole

omega core - eons away they looked to the stars (item 26 through item this via @sapphicshart )

Muse - Supermassive black hole (via @anonymoussmurf )

Amaranthe - 1,000,000 Lightyears (via @the0dd0ne )

Rise Against - Satellite (via @the0dd0ne )

Savage Garden - To the Moon and Back (via @the0dd0ne )

Lazerhawk - Visitors (via @otatma)

Dua Lipa - Levitating (via @furiosasgarden )

???

[trillscienceofficer]

for popular opinions.... star trek voyager :3c

[For the reverse unpopular opinion ask game, where I talk about an aspect I like of any topic]

Thanks for asking!! I feel like I always praise Star Trek: Voyager way more than it probably deserves lmao but yeah, I love this silly show despite every tired and/or bigoted trope it throws at the audience... I love the premise, I love the characters, I love how many different and complex relationships the characters have between them (so often bitchy and yet so caring at the same time! truly such an unrealistic workplace fantasy and yet I eat it all up every time), I love the rebel who is a genius and also immediately at home in a hierarchy as soon as her worth is recognized (love you B'Elanna Torres character of all time), I love Seven's addition no matter how controversial her presence became (I know), I absolutely do not understand Janeway but I still keep hope that one day I will (meanwhile I'll be rewatching Counterpoint). I love that the starship is pretty much its own character and how often it gets haunted by space oddities, I love that the holodecks are an essential feature that can't be turned off, I love the little hints to the idiosyncratic habits of a crew that's been living in isolation for years. I love all the wacky time travel plots, I love that Janeway not only tried to make a deal with the devil but also stole so much stuff (and people) from under the devil's nose. I love how by the end there's the camp of people who still very much want to get to the Alpha Quadrant and the other camp of people who are wondering if it wouldn't be better to stay lost a little bit longer, has life been that bad here after all, among this community born by necessity? I love we never see the ship actually reach Earth in the finale, and that Earth is just the newest, and possibly the most difficult, challenge for the crew of the USS Voyager... and I haven't really scratched the surface. I get all the criticism for it, I really do, and yet I'm still charmed by this show so thoroughly

[celestialmantdonna]

SPELL OUT YOUR URL WITH SONG TITLES - THEN TAG AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU’D LIKE

[ ft. the Guardian's Zune ]

Come And Get Your Love by Redbone

Everyday by Buddy Holly

Lucky Star by Madonna

Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic by The Police

Space Oddity by David Bowie

The Chain by Fleetwood Mac

Invincible by Pat Benatar

Always by Bon Jovi

Last Dance by Donna Summer

More Than A Feeling by Boston

Always on My Mind by Pet Shop Boys

November Rain by Guns N' Roses

The Show Must Go On by Queen

Dog Days Are Over by Florence + The Machine

Out of the Silent Planet by Iron Maiden

Now You're Gone by Whitesnake

Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now by Starship

Ain't No Mountain High Enough by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell

tagged by: @divinityrisen (thank you!)

tagging: @guardian-rocket @forevermuses @skurge @wakandcs @graytitaniumalloy and anyone who wants to do this!

[spacefinch]

Assigning a song to EVERY Magic School Bus episode

Gets Lost in Space-- "Space Oddity" by David Bowie

For Lunch-- "The Bloodmobile" by They Might Be Giants

Inside Ralphie-- "Girl at the Window" by Coast Office (my dad's band!)

Gets Eaten-- "Axolotl" by Cosmo Sheldrake

Hops Home-- "We're Going to Be Friends" by the White Stripes

Meets the Rot Squad-- "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" by Tears for Fears

All Dried Up-- "Solar Waltz" by Cosmo Sheldrake

In the Haunted House-- "The Edison Museum" by They Might Be Giants

Gets Ready, Set, Dough-- "American Pie" by Don McLean

Plays Ball-- "All Star" by Smash Mouth

Goes to Seed-- "Tree Among Shrubs" by Men I Trust

Gets Ants in its Pants-- "Tardigrade Song" by Cosmo Sheldrake

Kicks Ups a Storm-- "Mr. Blue Sky" by Electric Light Orchestra

Blows Its Top-- "Island in the Sun" by Weezer

Flexes Its Muscles-- "Bones" by Imagine Dragons

The Busasaurus-- "I Am a Paleontologist" by They Might Be Giants

Going Batty-- "This is Halloween" by Danny Elfman

Butterfly and the Bog Beast-- "Solar" by Cosmo Sheldrake

Wet All Over "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" by B.J. Thomas

In a Pickle-- "The Room Where It Happens" from Hamilton

Revving Up-- "Chemical Worker's Song" by Great Big Sea

Taking Flight-- "Never Let Me Down Again" by Depeche Mode

Getting Energized-- "Erie Canal" (Traditional folk song)

Out of This World-- "Love Don't Roam" by Neil Hannon

Cold Feet-- "Muted Land" by Faith and The Muse

Ups and Downs-- "All That Glitters" by Earl

In a Beehive-- "Buildings In Flower" by The Innocence Mission

In the Arctic-- "California Dreamin'" by The Mamas and the Papas

Spins a Web-- "Metropolis of Eden" by Sparkbird

Under Construction-- "We Built This City" by Starship

Gets a Bright Idea-- "Kill the Lights" by Set it Off

Shows and Tells-- "Time in a Bottle" by Jim Croce

Makes a Rainbow-- "Sunny" by Marvin Gaye

Goes Upstream-- "500 Miles" by The Proclaimers

Works Out-- "Good to Go" by LONIS and Daphne Willis

Gets Planted-- "The Moss" by Cosmo Sheldrake

In the Rainforest-- "Shadow of the Pines" by The Innocence Mission

Rocks and Rolls-- "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" by Marvin Gaye

Holiday Special-- "I Search For Tomorrow" by Leonard Nimoy

Meets Molly Cule-- "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" by ABBA

Cracks a Yolk-- "Daily" by The Innocence Mission

Goes to Mussel Beach-- "Pelicans We" by Cosmo Sheldrake

Goes on Air-- "Toxic" by Britney Spears

Gets Swamped-- "Spock Thoughts" by Leonard Nimoy

Goes Cellular-- "Cells" by They Might Be Giants

Sees Stars-- "Space Song" by Beach House

Gains Weight-- "Planet Earth" by Duran Duran

Makes a Stink

Gets Charged-- "Make a Circuit With Me" by the Polecats

Gets Programmed-- "Rule #4: Fish in a Birdcage" by Fish in a Birdcage

In the City-- "November" by Sparkbird

Takes a Dive-- "Taroko" by August Greenwood

This list took me almost 2 consecutive hours to write, so please feel free to send me asks so I can talk about why I chose the songs I did.

[kotana-x]

"Star Pier"

"Star Pier" ("Звёздная Пристань") - space-colonial AU. Drama, open bad ending. Thomas RedBilberry is a starship pilot who brought a team of specialists to a colony on a distant planet. Harmless farmers live here, they maintain huge greenhouses and do not complain about anything. The bright and active guy Constantine ("Call me Bones") becomes the guide for the team. He leads the team through greenhouses and the amazing nature of the planet. But people are noticing more and more oddities around them, mainly associated with the colonists.

Thomas looks at the stone forest

Bones took Thomas very far, into some kind of abyss. Thomas doesn't understand, is this a trap or a date? Bones is not saying something.

This is a waterfall made of a mixture of poisonous heavy gases. Microorganisms live in it.

Bones

Farmer and system administrator. The orange vest is the symbol of a guide. Bones is angry because he has been replaced by a more silent and reserved competitor.

What the hell is this? What is Constantine?

Block is the commander of the arriving team. Punch is his main assistant, an exterminator and just a sociopath.

Two halves of the team's brain

"I told you to dress more decently. We are at the residence of the governor of the asteroid belt." "Oh, I don't give a damn..." "Punch." "I'm decently dressed! I'm not naked."

[flox1080]

Flox Bio

Basics:

Flox is a Skrull. She is relatively young at sixty-eight years old, as her people can live beyond two hundred. Like the majority of her race, Flox possesses shapeshifting abilities and can transform into both living beings and inanimate objects. While she can replicate the physical properties and voice of nearly anything, she is limited by not being able to do so with other characteristics (personality and powers, namely). She does a decent job of making up for that oversight through keen observation and mimicry.

Beyond her shapeshifting ability, she has measurable skill with blasters and hand-to-hand combat, including the Skrull style of fashioning her limbs and body into weapons during battle. Flox possesses a Universal Translator, enabling her to communicate in any language and her own (small) starship called the Kitsune.

History:

Born during the near-endless Kree-Skrull war, Flox was raised by a family of warriors on the now-destroyed Skrull homeworld Tarnax IV. She had no interest in being a cog in the Skrull Empire’s war machine, whether it was for their war with the Kree or continued expansion efforts, and made up her mind at a very young age to strike out on her own instead. Given that all Skrulls are expected to join the military when they are of age and desertion is punishable by death, it was not a reversible decision.

Opportunity presented itself in the form of the space-pirates known as the Ravagers, led by Yondu Udonta. Flox encountered the Ravagers as they “liberated” a shipment of trade goods bound for the Pheragot people. When their job went awry, she saved them from being caught and inevitably fighting a battle they would lose so close to the seat of the empire. Flox convinced Yondu to let her join up with the Ravagers. Given the potential usefulness of having a shapeshifter among them and Flox’s help on Tarnax IV, he agreed.

Flox remained with the Ravagers for a while, though there came a time when she realized she could maximize her profit and operate her own way if she cut ties and took on solo work instead. By that point, she had learned several tricks of the trade, built contacts, and taught herself to use her shapeshifting abilities as a prop in thievery and bounty hunting.

After her split from the Ravagers, Flox landed her first job for Taneleer Tivan, the being known as the Collector, whom she would go on to work for several times over many years. With the units she’d saved during her time with the Ravagers and that first sizeable payment from Tivan, Flox obtained her own ship. This enabled her to take on intergalactic jobs and no longer be beholden to anyone but herself. The Collector’s endless quest for rarity took Flox to all manner of places, from far-flung outposts and barely inhabited planets to the glittering towers of Asgard and closely guarded Attilan.

Between jobs for Tivan and the others who sought her “services,” Flox began keeping an inventory of commonly sought-after items (mostly magical in nature) to sell on her journey. Although she was willing to traffick in living things early in her career, she no longer does so, and her stock typically includes spell and potion ingredients, talismans and tomes from all manner of races and religions, and the odd charmed item or oddity. She has a smaller collection of curiosities and baubles that serve no real purpose, but often find buyers anyway. Earth has been a particularly reliable source of those goods, and pop culture merchandise, snacks, and other such things fetch a decent price.

Fashioning herself into somewhat of an intergalactic merchant has ensured a steady flow of units even when her search for more valuable items falls through.

Currently:

Flox has returned to Terra/Earth with a list, though she is temporarily stalled in Gotham. An old friendship with Zatanna Zatara earned her admission to the magical Undercity, where she is currently taking advantage of the chance to see a few familiar faces and, ideally, pick up a lucrative job or two in the meantime.

[mark-matos]

🎥🎇🤖 "The AI Strikes Back": A Space Oddity in Screenplay Competitions! 🚀🎆🌌

In the far, far away galaxy of Hollywood, screenplay competitions were the Jedi writer's ticket to the Death Star of stardom. But alas, one contest found itself sucked into the black hole of the AI argument! 🌠💫⚔️

🌐🚁 Scriptapalooza's AI-venture: A Warp Speed Journey into Oblivion! 🌪️💻📉

Let me introduce you to Scriptapalooza, a screenplay competition enterprise that had a close encounter of the third kind—an unexpected rendezvous with AI! They ignited their Artificial Intelligence Screenplay Competition but hit the emergency brakes faster than the Millennium Falcon on hyperdrive, following a supernova explosion of dissent from the writer Ewoks. 🦉🔥🚀

Amidst this interstellar drama, it's important to remember that our writing Jedi are on strike, with AI protections being a pivotal part of their manifesto against the Sith lords of the studios. Also, SAG-AFTRA is locked in a lightsaber clash with the AMPTP, with AI making yet another cameo. 🎭⚔️⏳

🖋️📖 The AI Starship: A Star-crossed Voyage to the Future of Storytelling! ⭐🔭🛸

Scriptapalooza set sail with a futuristic vision: to merge the uncharted territories of AI with the magic of human creativity. Like Stark tech in Iron Man's lab, they motivated writers to pioneer the future of storytelling. "AI will be the game-changer, pushing creative boundaries to new horizons," they broadcasted. 🗺️🚀👨‍🚀

The blueprint was pretty simple: our Jedi writers were to submit the first 25 pages of their script and then receive feedback from the AI oracle. "Once the AI chooses a winner, the writer will be invited to share the entire script. The winning script will then get a once-over by a human—a real-life Earthling!" they pledged, with a buzz that could light up a lightsaber. 📝💡🏆

😱🔙 When AI Turns from Hero to Villain! 🦸‍♂️➡️🦹‍♂️

Unfortunately, their Starship Enterprise hit an asteroid field. It seems they underestimated the power of the writer's force, who expressed their concerns louder than a Wookiee roar. Swiftly changing course, they backpedaled and issued a public apology via the intergalactic network of social media. "We stand with writers and the WGA," they broadcasted, echoing through the galaxy like a signal from a distant star. 🌟📡🔄

So here you have it, space cadets—the tale of Scriptapalooza's AI rollercoaster ride that ended quicker than a quantum leap. Let this be a guiding star: in our quest for innovation, let's always remember the heart and soul of storytelling—the human touch. Now, let's look forward to a universe where man and machine collaborate, creating a galaxy of stories without losing our essence. 🌌💖🤝

[jpitha]

Humans are Space Oddities/Deathworlders/Space Orcs/Whatever worldbuilding: Remember it's a living world! Think about how everything fits together.

Even if you don't put it into your story, think about how things would actually work on your space station/starship/planet/whatever. It can be a fun exercise to imagine things like:

How does everyone get fed?

Where do they sleep? In barracks? In houses? in dormitories?

Who takes care of the utilities?

What happens if there's a fire?

When the humans came aboard the starbase they brought with them their own ideas about how to do things. After all, they've been in space for a long time, most of that time alone. Just about any scenario that could happen, did happen to them at least once...sometimes twice if they weren't paying attention.

With their propensity for solving problems with explosions (they will always exclaim that it was a "minor" explosion) and their seemingly genetic tolerance for risk, it is inevitable that the humans have robust systems in place to help with disasters. One of their most respected first responders on the joint Human/K'laxi starbase is the Fire Brigade. Made up of two-thirds human and one-third K'laxi, their highly polished red pressure suits with gold accents and the large Maltese Cross - a human symbol for a fire brigade - is a welcome sight anytime a conflagration gets out of hand.

One may point out that in space, all the starbase AI has to do is remove the air from a room with a fire and it will be extinguished. This is true, but should only be considered a last resort. If a fire can be extinguished in a more traditional way, with foam, water and carbon dioxide, it's a much less traumatic experience for all involved. Additionally, there are many internal rooms where there is no direct access to hard vacuum. Multiple rooms would have to be evacuated to extinguish the fire. There is always work for the Fire Brigade.

It is a volunteer service, which meets 3 times a week for training; usually in the evening. All members are required to be available to drop what they are doing as respond to an emergency at least 4 times a month.

They keep their pressure suits in whatever suit locker is closest to their homes and it is their own responsibility to maintain and keep it clean. Polished brightwork and gleaming suits are a hallmark of the fire brigade, and every member takes it seriously.

Nearly every weekend, children of all stripes will congregate at the main "firehouse" and watch the members train and polish and maintain their equipment. The fire brigade vehicles - while small and meant more for hauling gear and hoses rather than people - are just about the only vehicles on the starbase, so they're always a big hit with the kids.

Many children request a visit from the fire brigade at birthday parties. So long as they're not currently occupied, they're always willing to have a few members show up lights and sirens blaring in full turn-out gear to teach fire safety and let the kids sit in the truck and wear the pressure helmets.

The fire brigade is a respected institution on the starbase and their word on fire safety is final. Even the starbase AI will ask for their opinion about things related to fire safety.

They may never be the main focus of life aboard the starbase, but everyone is glad they are there, ready to help.

[lemaistrechat]

Original She-Ra Oddities

She-Ra: Princess of Power being a spinoff of the He-Man cartoon produced some oddities in the show’s worldbuilding. Here are a few:

1. Castle Grayskull. In the episode “Reunions” (part of “The Secret of the Sword”), Hordak in rocket form follows Adora through a space portal. It’s the one Adam took from Castle Grayskull to Etheria earlier, so Hordak rockets right into the most sensitive, magically guarded power center in the setting and out the door, crashing nearby. He recognizes that he’s back on Eternia, then proceeds to never covet or even mention Grayskull again.

2. The Horde doesn’t know about Trolla. In “A Talent for Trouble”, Hordak captures Orko and has no idea what he is. Shadow Weaver and he try to analyze him with magic and a scientific brain scan and are completely baffled.

3. The Sorceress seems oblivious to Horde Prime. The He-Man episode “Origin of the Sorceress” revealed that 15-year-old Teela-Na became Sorceress of Grayskull to stop a being named Morgoth who had teamed up with the crew of a Horde scout starship. It’s implied in “The Secret of the Sword” that the knowledge she gained was key to Eternia being prepared to repel the later Horde invasion. But she only ever mentions Hordak, not Prime.

4. No Zodac.Though appearing in just three He-Man episodes, Zodac was implied to be a big, cosmic deal. He travels the universe as Cosmic Enforcer, serving “the Overlords of the Eternal Dimension”. He has to protect artifacts like the Golden Discs of Knowledge because “there are too many Skeletors in the universe.” How he, other Cosmic Enforcers like Zanthor, and their masters balance “not interfering in the affairs of mortal men” with the existence of an evil immortal who rules a thousand planets was never addressed.

[spaceschooner-a-spaceshooter]

Starlost gameplay. Do you enjoy this type of steering controls? If so please hit the like button, Happy Wednesday 👨‍🚀👩‍🚀

[claudiakastellanos]

"If you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

[impalalord]

You know, it's the littlest things that can change the course of life. The smallest action could topple a building, or start the construction of one instead. For us, and for the galaxy at large, humans were that change.

After they made first contact with another species, humans did what they do best and immediately got themselves wrapped up in a war with a species that had far more firepower than they did. Of course, being a fledgling species who could barely grasp warfare in the void of deep space, much less the use of common technology that would have taken them centuries to develop themselves, it ended poorly for them.

The Humans turned out to be Idealists, with individuals and small ships volunteering themselves to help in a war effort to defend their outermost colonies because their own governments would not. That was another oddity about these Humans, they did not enter the galactic fray as a single unified group. Instead, they were a loosely collected group of governments and nation states held together with treaties and deals.

At first they lost volunteer soldiers and emissaries, then they began to lose ships and outposts. Instead of demoralizing them, this seemed to fill them with rage and cause them to lash out in anger. This too ended poorly, as they fought an overwhelming force with nothing but kinetic weapons and solid-fuel engines, the galactic equivalent of sticks and pebbles.

Their losses were staggering, as the Dryzal swept into Human territory and pillaged whatever they deemed fit. Worlds were lost and razed, endless voices were silenced as the horde marched forward. But this destruction did not satisfy the Dryzal, so they took more from the young species.

The eventual destruction of their homeworld, the razing of the very cradle from which their species was raised, caused Humanity to become a drifting species among the stars. They became intergalactic wanderers with no start or end of their journey to speak of. Their birthplace was nothing more than radioactive dust, and the fire of rage seemed to have died from their eyes. Anyone who went through a spaceport most likely saw a few solo humans wandering throughout the interior, with their gaunt, sunken faces and disillusioned cold eyes. Any sane being gave them a wide berth, afraid that they would be sucked into their cold, soulless depression, unable to escape.

Humans travelled from world to world, working on any ship that was willing to take them without too many questions. They weren't strong, and they weren't fast, but they could learn quickly and had no problem doing any job as long as they got paid. They spread across the galaxy and learned the inner workings of every species

In truth, humanity had not lost their rage, or their hope. The destruction of their homeworld cooled that fiery, liquid rage in their eyes and hearts into a icey hard steel that was sharpened further with every passing day. They bided their time, licking their wounds and learning their lesson. Lashing out would get them nowhere without a solid plan.

So they spread themselves across the dominion, unseen by the populace due to their reputations as wraiths. Barely living beings that lived in the shadows and dregs of society. Learning everything they could about each species, quietly recruiting others who had earned similar fates. Humanity no longer had an army of soldiers and starships, instead, they had an army of workers. Castaways, the dregs and refuse of intergalactic society, banded together, working behind the scenes as janitors, mechanics, cooks and repairmen. Quietly building and growing until the time finally came.

Their uprising came on a seemingly normal day; transportation stopped, communications jammed, power lines cut and food stores emptied. Militaries scrambled to try and find the source of the unrest, but everywhere they went the answer seemed to be ‘everyone.’ A random janitor was just as likely to be part of the chaos as a militant roaming the streets.

After several hours of the chaos, a single signal passed through all of the VidNet. A single live video of a young male human sitting at a desk. His dark hair disheveled, his clothes dirty and tattered, his average face covered in bruises and cuts. His voice was calm and collected, but also cold and firm as he began to speak to the universe.

“My name,” he began, “is Tim. I was nine years old when the war with the Dryzal began. My parents were not soldiers. They were farmers and pacifists. They believed in the good of the universe and taught me to look for the good in all people, of all species. It is your fault I have broken that pacifism. My parents were killed in front of me on my tenth birthday. Our colony was razed and I was dragged, screaming and crying, onto a ship by a neighbor who was lucky enough to survive the purge. We set out for Earth, the homeworld of our species, hoping that someone would respond to our distress calls.”

The human paused for a moment, and sighed. “We didn’t just send distress calls to our own kind. We sent them out across the entirety of the Dominion, using every language we could find in our database. Only a single species came to help us in our time of need, the Ruvol. Much like us, the Ruvol had lost everything without any assistance from the Dominion. All they had left were a ragtag fleet of merchant ships, barely able to fly, much less fight. Yet they were the ones who came to us when we needed it the most.”

“The Ruvol did not care that they might die, or that the last remnants of their culture would be lost forever. They saw us struggling, and they gave us their hand. In the end they saved about two dozen colonies from destruction before they were all killed above Trelnax V. By then I was eleven, and I had volunteered to help the Ruvol in their evacuation plans. Once again, I watched everything I put my life towards destroyed in front of me, before being dragged back to Earth. The Dominion refused to respond to our communications.”

“I was twelve when the Dryzal finally reached Earth, their slow warpath finally reaching its destination. I was on an outbound shuttle to help with relief efforts on another destroyed colony when they came into the system. They didn’t even bother to try and conquer the planet. They just unloaded a barrage of nuclear warheads and turned everything we held dear to radioactive dust. Yet the Dominion stood by and did nothing but watch.”

“Now, exactly eight years after you stood by and watched, you beg us to help you. Our friends and allies fill your streets with fire and chaos, your communications cut and transportation is gone. Why should we, the same beings that you threw to the street, help you? There are many among our cause who have similar stories, species we pulled from the fire ourselves because you would not.”

“The Kenek at Oaphus, twelve thousand nine hundred and sixty three humans died protecting their world, zero Dominion forces present. The Grocon at Laphus, eight thousand six hundred and seventy one humans dead, zero Dominion forces present. The Swaans at Bleu, seventeen thousand, four hundred and thirteen humans dead, zero Dominion soldiers present. A pattern began to emerge in our favor, each time we gave our lives to save these species, they vowed to fight with us in our cause. Each time their worlds were attacked, they cried out for help. You never answered, so we did.”

“Entire species filled with rage and hate for your inability to lift a finger are finally coming out, their feelings boiling over the edge of the pot. You have committed the grave sin of sloth, and now you are paying the price. This universe is no longer yours to control. You all had your chance to rule over everyone, and you ruined it. You were happy to sit peacefully in your ivory towers as worlds burned below your feet.”

“Now your Ivory Towers become your prisons instead, as control slips out of your grasp and falls firmly into ours. We vow to never make the same mistakes you have. Goodbye and good luck.”

After that transmission everything changed. The Humans lifted us out of an era of stagnation and into an era of expansion and growth. Though it was not a peaceful era, it was a better one, and for that we can never truly repay them. That is why on this day every year, we remember. We remember the worlds and species wiped away by the Dominions inability to give others aid, in hopes that we may never repeat their failures.

-Transcription of Dr. Cassien Agnaits’ Remembrance day lecture at the University of Tylon IV, Standard Galactic Date 110864

[end-simultation-with-heyashasta]

The Above is from the 24 October 2021 edition of Deadline.

ViaCBamount+++ it's time to stop rubbing yourselves in over-ripe memberberries and stinging nettles. You're not legacy Trek. You're not. Instead of hitching your wagon to a straw and chicken wire effigy labeled Legacy Trek take your AU and RUN WITH IT! Let this new stuff be new, let it be its own thing, and RUN WITH IT!

Prequels are inherently letdowns/tragedies because the audience knows where the story goes. . . Unless you RUN WITH IT! I don't want to watch a show about Captain Future Mr. Frump in his Iron Lung who has relinquished his agency because an albino with two cocks and a glowing rock said to suck it up. Massive Reboot = Chris Pike and a curious new path forward. Fuck the polio ward and find a new way to save those students because he's got a trump card where he's seen the future and can do an end-run.

A starship powered by jock itch, okay. Severed heads and eyeball beer pong, yeah, not okay. Estranged adopted foster cousin clone whose parents were murdered by (who knows, it depends on the day), okay. Ice cream, yes please! Practicing medicine without a license to the tune of Space Oddity, okay. Cats, so long as the ship isn't allergic. Who needs proper credentials or experience, or the chain of command when the desire to be/do is all it takes to catapult to the top, sure, let's do it. Replicators were introduced in the--Who cares, let them have it. Why is there a lost civilization of carnies running the turbolifts and how come we've not heard of them before? Iron Man suit and USS Candida both have autopilot and the AI that's an AI that still wants to be an AI is dead but. . . MASSIVE REBOOT!

ViaCBamount, your Trek is to Star Trek what Ronald D. Moore's Battlestar Galactica was to Battlestar Galactica. Why did you have to fuck it all up and squander your audience's goodwill with paywalls and nonsense? All you had to do was make something new that wasn't also poisoning the well and look what you came up with.

Massive fucking reboot and you didn't run with it. Sigh.

[groovy-groop]

A trip to space!

Here is the tracklist for those who dont have spotify:

Space Oddity - David Bowie

Starship Trooper - Yes

Strangers In Space - Procol Harum

Mr Spaceman - The Byrds

Master Builder - Gong

Around The Universe In Eighty Days - Klaatu

Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft - Klaatu

Cosmic Dancer - T. Rex

Samarkhand The Golden - Morgan

Space Song - Beach House

Starlight - Electric Light Orchestra

'39 - Queen

Explorers - Muse

Space Ace - Brett Smiley

Space Clown - Jobriath

Under The Milky Way - Church

Moonlight Drive - The Doors

Rocket Man (I Think It's Going To Be A Long Long Time) - Elton John

[floxsmagicalgoods]

Flox’s Bio

Click the cut to read about my darling Skrull, Flox! 

Basics:

Flox is a Skrull. She is relatively young at sixty-eight years old, as her people can live beyond two hundred. Like the majority of her race, Flox possesses shapeshifting abilities and can transform into both living beings and inanimate objects. While she can replicate the physical properties and voice of nearly anything, she is limited by not being able to do so with other characteristics (personality and powers, namely). She does a decent job of making up for that oversight through keen observation and mimicry.

Beyond her shapeshifting ability, she has measureable skill with blasters and hand to hand combat, including the Skrull style of fashioning her limbs and body into weapons during battle. Flox possesses a Universal Translator, enabling her to communicate in any language, and her own (small) starship, which she calls The Kitsune.

History:

Born during the near endless Kree-Skrull war, Flox was raised by a family of warriors on the now-destroyed Skrull homeworld Tarnax IV. She had no interest in being a cog in the Skrull Empire’s war machine, whether it was for their war with the Kree or continued expansion efforts, and made up her mind at a very young age to strike out on her own instead. Given that all Skrulls are expected to join the military when they are of age and desertion is punishable by death, it was not a reversible decision.

Opportunity presented itself in the form of the space-pirates known as the Ravagers, led by Yondu Udonta. Flox encountered the Ravagers as they “liberated” a shipment of trade goods bound for the Pheragot people. When their job went awry, she saved them from being caught and inevitably fighting a battle they would lose so close to the seat of the empire. Flox convinced Yondu to let her join up with the Ravagers. Given the potential usefulness of having a shapeshifter among them and Flox’s help on Tarnax IV, he agreed.

Flox remained with the Ravagers for awhile, though there came a time when she realized she could maximize her profit and operate her own way if she cut ties and took on solo work instead. By that point, she had learned several tricks of the trade, built contacts, and taught herself to use her shapeshifting abilities as a prop in thievery and bounty hunting.

After her split from the Ravagers, Flox landed her first job for Taneleer Tivan, the being known as the Collector, who she would go on to work for several times over the course of many years. With the units she’d saved during her time with the Ravagers and that first sizeable payment from Tivan, Flox was able to obtain her own starship. This enabled her to begin taking on intergalactic jobs and no longer be beholden to anyone but herself. The Collector’s endless quest for rarity took Flox all manner of places, from far-flung outposts and barely inhabited planets to the glittering towers of Asgard and closely guarded Attilan.

Between jobs for Tivan and the others who sought her “services,” Flox began keeping an inventory of commonly sought after items (mostly magical in nature) to sell on her journey. Her stock typically includes spell and potion ingredients, talismans and tomes from all manner of races and religions, and the occasional charmed item or oddity. She has a smaller collection of curiosities and baubles, even some edible items, that serve no cosmic purpose but often find buyers anyway. Earth has been a particularly lucrative source of those goods. The only thing she will not move is living beings.

Fashioning herself into somewhat of an intergalactic merchant has ensured a steady flow of units even when her search for more valuable items falls through. Flox is careful not to align herself one way or another when it comes to heroics or villainy, as she has no interest in drawing hard lines. She’s a free agent in every sense other than what she charges for her services.