WI: The Enterprise completes its five year mission (Star Trek survives for 5 seasons)

[dsp19]

Today will be the start of a six-part series--Star Trek Exiles. This is in my opinion what actually happened when the Enterprise crew was exiled on Vulcan after committing mutiny in Star Trek III, They spent three months on Vulcan before Star Trek IV began.

PART I

Pain. Unrelenting pain.

Spock found it incredibly difficult to reconcile what happened. Logically, he was not supposed to exist. He made the selfless sacrifice to save the Enterprise crew from Khan and the Genesis device. He remembered the physical trauma from being irradiated in the Enterprise's warp core. He was told that Admiral Kirk and the rest of his human friends returned to the Genesis planet, created from the Mutara Nebula, to save him somehow from death. It was incomprehensible how the Genesis planet restored him back to life, but Admiral Kirk found out, and ordered his crew to mutiny solely to save him. Spock could not wrap his head around their complete illogic. He knew that his friends threw their careers away just for him. Just for him. Specifically, they placed the needs of the one (himself) above the needs of the many (Starfleet). As Spock was pondering the unthinkable, the impossible return from death, he heard a knock on the door.

"Mr. Spock, permission to enter your quarters." It was a young female voice he remembered, although his memory was still fragmented.

"Enter."

"I have something very important to tell you," Saavik said, in an urgent voice.

"I am curious as to your query," Spock replied.

"I am not sure if you remember the events on the Genesis planet."

"I do not," Spock said in a monotone. "My katra was not restored to my body until I returned to Vulcan in the fal-tor-pan."

Saavik looked more intently into her mentor's eyes. "When we were on Genesis, you aged rapidly, from a young boy into a man. The Genesis Planet had that effect on the life forms that were on it. The rest of the crew is also being checked for aging, but it was discovered that they arrived very late in the process of the planet's destruction, so they experienced only minor effects."

"That is not what you came here to tell me," Spock inquired.

"When we were on Genesis, you had to undergo pon farr, or you would have died. I was the only individual on the planet who could enter pon farr with you. So in the process of saving your life as a teenaged Vulcan, I am carrying your child, a Vulcan girl." Saavik let her secret slip.

Spock was not bonded to Saavik as a child, so he was of two minds as to her pregnancy. Spock was supposed to reproduce with T'Pring, but they were divided since the kal-i-fee when T'Pring desired Stonn instead. However, Spock assumed responsibility for the events that occurred, even though he was not in control of himself. "I believe you will put the needs of the child over the needs of Starfleet. In this case, the needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many."

"But will you also place the needs of our child above the needs of Starfleet?" Saavik asked a question of which she knew the answer but would not be pleased with it. She walked out of Spock's quarters, knowing that Spock would place the needs of the many, in this case his human friends who brought him back to life, over her needs and the needs of the child. Saavik knew Spock would not always rely on logic when his Enterprise crew was involved. "That's the human side of him," she muttered as she walked away, seemingly more alone than ever.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Admiral Kirk saw his entire life flash in front of him. His career was certainly over. He committed mutiny against Starfleet, and Admiral Morrow demanded a ten-year prison sentence for directly disobeying him. Kirk negotiated with Morrow for a lighter sentence, and Morrow was amenable to a five-year term in prison if Kirk pleaded guilty along with the rest of his crew. Kirk managed to get McCoy off the hook. Bones was deemed to be legally insane due to the effects of the Vulcan mindmeld, so he was not legally held liable for agreeing to take part in the mutiny. However, Morrow demanded that McCoy be medically retired from Starfleet, as he was no longer considered dependable after his bout of Vulcan-induced madness. Kirk had no choice but to agree.

Kirk presented Morrow's terms to the rest of the crew. Bones would be cashiered out of Starfleet. This was easy to accept for the old country doctor, who was pressed back into service after retiring once already. Captain Scott would face three years of imprisonment and a demotion to commander for sabotaging the USS Excelsior with a guilty plea. Commander Uhura, previously awarded a Starfleet Medal of Honor for her actions at Delta IV and in Starfleet Intelligence, would face the same prison sentence as her best friend Scott and a demotion to lieutenant commander for attempted assault on a Starfleet officer and damaging Spacedock's computer systems. Sulu got a better deal; he received a suspended sentence, a demotion to lieutenant commander, and an other than honorable discharge. Commander Chekov got the best deal of all; he was simply discharged from Starfleet just like Bones. Kirk was surprised when each member of the crew agreed to his negotiations with Morrow. Captain Scott believed that they would all face life imprisonment for mutiny. Three years was a light punishment. Eating the gagh stored in the Bird of Prey's food banks was worse.

Additionally, Kirk was able to acquire partial diplomatic immunity from Sarek which allowed him to negotiate the prison sentences and punishments with Morrow. The Federation Council ordered Kirk and the rest of the mutineers returned to Earth, but Sarek used his considerable clout with the President and Council to allow a stay in the sentencing. Kirk was incredibly grateful to Sarek for that.

Kirk returned to his quarters and checked his coded messages. Two months ago, upon landing on Vulcan, he sent a message to Carol Marcus regarding David's death. It went unanswered all that time, and Kirk believed she would never reply. However, he found a two-sentence message from his old flame:

"You killed him. I will never forgive you."

Kirk set the transporter to David's grave on Vulcan. The beam flashed, and he was at his son's final resting place, ready to mourn more. His career, his ship, his son and his favorite woman were all gone. All Kirk had remaining in life was himself and his Enterprise crew, and he would be separated from them for five years once Starfleet imposed the punishment deemed appropriate for a mutineer.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Klingon Ambassador Kamarag was in President Roth's office. He demanded answers as to why the Federation developed a superweapon that could destroy planets, and a reason why the weapon was stolen from Federation hands.

"That genocidal weapon in the wrong hands could have been used on a Klingon planet! How dare you develop planet-destroying weapons. You have violated the Altair VI peace treaty negotiated at the end of the Sherman's Planet war."

President Roth immediately fired back a response. "Your government sent a ship to acquire the blueprints for the Genesis device. It is your Empire, not our Federation, that planned on using the Genesis device as a doomsday weapon."

Kamarag was furious. "While Chancellor K'Pac was negotiating a general peace treaty with your Federation of Planets, you surreptitiously let your researchers create this 'doomsday weapon' and allowed it to enter the hands of a man named Khan, according to our intelligence intercepts. How did this Khan acquire the device?"

President Roth shrugged his shoulders. "He stole it from the Regula One research base."

"How did you allow the Genesis device to remain in an unarmed facility?" Kamarag was bemused. "You allowed your most powerful weapon to simply be stolen by a renegade, a terrorist. Who knows what he could have done with it!"

"We did not consider the Genesis device a weapon of war," Roth retorted.

"I also want Admiral Kirk apprehended and brought to justice," Kamarag yelled over Roth. "He must pay the ultimate price for his transgressions."

"We will punish Admiral Kirk with a long prison sentence," President Roth said. "Talk to Starfleet Commander Morrow; he is setting the terms."

Kamarag walked out of President Roth's office with a measure of disgust. He still could not force the UFP President to admit that Genesis was created to destroy his beloved Empire. At least he'd get Admiral Kirk to be locked up for the rest of his days, or so he thought.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Scotty was fixing the Klingon Bird of Prey for its eventual return to Earth. He believed it would be the final ship he'd repair for a very long time. The old engineer was also facing prison for removing the transwarp drive dynamos from the Excelsior. Scotty also knew that his old flame Uhura was facing the same amount of time in the slammer. As it happened, Commander Uhura walked into the cramped engineering room.

"You always have time for your ships, but no time for me," Uhura mused. "You know that once we are thrown in prison, we will not see each other for three years, and you'll never get to fix another ship."

Scotty scowled. "At least let me enjoy doing what I love for the final time, lassie."

"When you're done with that, let's have some personal time together." Uhura unzipped her uniform top ever so slowly, to tempt her lover, going back to their days on the old, unrefitted Enterprise. Despite Scott's love for ships, Uhura knew that she could still get him into the bedroom. All Scotty needed was time to repair what he needed. Scotty, without telling the rest of the crew, loved his women just like he loved his ships.

"I'll see you later," Scotty told Uhura. "We'll share some Scotch first."

"Anytime." Uhura winked, zipped her uniform top back on, and walked away in a sassy huff.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sulu and Chekov were playing three-dimensional chess together. Sulu moved his knight and forced Chekov to resign.

"I always get the best of you at this game, Pavel," Sulu said.

"Mother Russia has the best chess players in the world," Chekov growled. "I guess I'm not one of them."

"But you're the best navigator in Starfleet," Sulu replied.

"Not anymore. According to the Admiral, we're both out of Starfleet. Hikaru, you and I are both getting demoted, and we'll be forced into retirement. Just like Dr. McCoy." Chekov still wondered how he lost to that move countless times on the chess board.

"I'm surprised that Starfleet Commander Morrow is allowing us to keep our freedom. Especially you." Chekov legitimately wondered how Sulu got only a demotion for throwing a security guard to the ground and phasering a Starfleet communications console.

"I told Admiral Kirk that the security guard I judo-flipped called me Tiny. I guess Morrow thought my response was reasonable. Logical, as a matter of fact. At the worst, Morrow understands that a non-commissioned officer cannot disrespect a commander in Starfleet." Sulu gestured to reset the chess board, and Chekov agreed.

"What about Scotty and Uhura," Sulu said. "They're getting the book thrown at them."

"Captain Scott caused the Excelsior to malfunction by damaging their transwarp drive. Starfleet is furious with him," Chekov said. "Commander Uhura implanted a computer virus in Spacedock's computers. She fouled up ship to ship communication for Earth-bound ships for a week."

"Starfleet has its reasons," Sulu sighed. "Your move, Pavel."
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

After Kirk returned from David's grave, he met with Bones, his best friend for over twenty years. Bones was still recovering from the Vulcan mind meld, and suffered continual nightmares virtually every day since his katra was removed from Spock in the fal-tor-pan. Kirk was very concerned. Even with the advances of 23rd century psychiatry, Bones still struggled to return to his old, snarky self.

"How are you feeling, Bones?" Kirk inquired. "Still having nightmares?"

"Last night was the first time I slept normally in two months," Bones said in a relieved way. "I'm finally getting over this mindmeld. I'll never let that green-blooded Vulcan hear the end of it."

"Care to have a drink?" Kirk replied. "It's on me."

"A stiff whiskey would do us both well," the country doctor immediately said.

"Here you go, your favorite whiskey and bourbon." Kirk poured two shots of whiskey; one for him and one for Bones. "Let's drink up."

"I know it doesn't mix with the medicines, but damn it, I can't pass up a whiskey from the Admiral." Kirk and Bones downed the liquor. Soon after, the doorbell rang.

"Enter," Kirk said. It was Spock.

"So my tormentor makes his appearance," Bones said. "I'll never forgive you for turning my brain into scrambled eggs."

"I do not understand the metaphor, but that is highly illogical," Spock said. "I simply wanted my essence of self, or soul, as you humans call it, to be preserved for eternity. Dr. McCoy, the plan was for you to return to Vulcan immediately for my katra to be removed and stored in the Vulcan Hall of Souls."

"Very mystical. Strange for such a logical species," Bones retorted. "I'll never understand Vulcan mysticism. As for the metaphor, you scrambled your memories with mine. That's what I meant by scrambled eggs."

"Or anything else Vulcan," Kirk interjected."

"Jim, it appears you and the rest of the Enterprise crew gave up your careers to return me to Vulcan. It was a noble gesture, but highly illogical. I was perfectly fine with the idea of sacrificing myself for the rest of the crew in the Mutara Nebula." Spock quipped.

"Spock, that's what humans do," Kirk said. "We don't always take the most logical course of action. If there was even a 0.1 percent chance of you not being dead, we were returning to the Genesis planet to ensure that you were alive. Even if we knew you were dead, it was your father's wishes that you be returned to Vulcan and your katra restored."

Spock raised an eyebrow. "My mother Amanda told me this exact same thing, and it is still highly illogical. I was supposed to be dead."

"It's a miracle," Bones said. "Be glad you're the recipient of the miracle."

The doorbell rang again. This time, it was Sarek. "What brings you here, Ambassador?"

"I cannot hold you any longer on Vulcan. The Federation Council demands you, Admiral Kirk, and the rest of your crew, remanded to custody in three weeks. There is a galactic controversy over your involvement in Project Genesis."

"Understood," Kirk said. "I've negotiated the deal for my crew with Morrow."

"The Klingons want you to serve a life sentence in prison," Sarek said. "Morrow cannot hold up his end of the bargain on your punishment."

"Nuts," Kirk thought. "Of course the Klingons want me locked up forever," Kirk growled. "I swear, that isn't going to happen."

"You and your crew will return to Earth in three weeks to stand trial," Sarek said coldly. The Vulcan ambassador slowly walked out of the room, robes flowing. Kirk believed for the first time, there was no escape.

 

[dsp19]

STAR TREK EXILES--PART II

The Federation Council convened an emergency meeting with President Roth and Starfleet Commander Morrow. Project Genesis dramatically escalated into a galactic controversy when Klingon and Romulan intelligence no longer detected the Mutara sector. They immediately determined that a star system and planet formed, which were destroyed due to the protomatter contained within the Genesis device. The Klingons were especially displeased; Chancellor K'Pac's son, Gorkon, who was previously amenable to peace with the Federation, threatened war if the perpetrators were not brought to justice. To the Klingons, the only surviving parties to the Genesis controversy were Admiral Kirk and his crew. To quell the Klingons' concerns and avoid war, the Federation Council and Roth had to determine how severely Kirk needed to be punished.

Andorian Ambassor Thras: The Council is in session. Starfleet Commander Morrow, present your evidence.

Starfleet Commander Morrow: Admiral Kirk, in an effort to save who he viewed as his friend, directly violated the quarantine imposed by this Council on the Mutara Sector. Specifically, he and his crew sabotaged Spacedock communications, the USS Excelsior, and stole the USS Enterprise, which was due to be decommissioned. He is responsible for the destruction of the Enterprise and the reveal of Project Genesis, which was intended for peaceful purposes. Due to these factors, Admiral Kirk is to return to Earth and stand trial for a ten year sentence for disobeying orders and mutiny against the Federation.

Thras: Do you believe that this is sufficient discipline? Admiral Kirk blatantly violated your authority as if you did not exist. Should he not receive a more stringent sentence than ten years in prison, which was your original proposal?

Morrow: I am willing to accede to the Council regarding the length of a prison sentence for Admiral Kirk and his crew.

Thras: I believe that each of Admiral Kirk's co-conspirators should receive a minimum of ten years confinement, with Kirk receiving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

Admiral Lance Cartwright, the Deputy Starfleet Commander, immediately stood up to protest.

Cartwright: Admiral Kirk behaved heroically in this instance. He foiled a Klingon plot to steal Project Genesis! Kirk ensured that the Klingons would not receive the data from Genesis. The Klingons would have used Genesis as a doomsday weapon to destroy the Federation. Kirk should be given a hero's welcome, not a life sentence in a Federation prison! Have you lost your minds? Why are we trying to please the Klingons, who cannot be trusted? Why are we kow-towing to that lowlife Ambassador Kamarag of all people?

Thras: Your concerns are noted.

Cartwright: This Council is completely naive when it comes to the Klingon threat. Admiral Kirk knows how evil the Klingons can be, and conducted the appropriate action by scuttling the Enterprise, knowing that the Klingons could access Project Genesis from its databanks.

President Roth cuts in.

President Roth: Admiral Cartwright, did Admiral Kirk abscond with the USS Enterprise to travel to a quarantined sector and planet without Starfleet Commander Morrow's approval?

Cartwright: Yes.

President Roth: Did Admiral Kirk defy Starfleet Commander Morrow by ordering his crew to sabotage Spacedock and the USS Excelsior?

Cartwright: Yes.

President Roth: Did Admiral Kirk provide access to Project Genesis by entering the Mutara Sector and engaging with the Klingons?

Cartwright: That is the Klingons' fault, not ours. The Mutara Sector is in Federation space. The Klingons violated the Neutral Zone by entering the Mutara Sector.

President Roth: You understand the importance of a chain of command, Admiral. If we allow Admiral Kirk to go unpunished, any and all officers in the Federation will do whatever the hell they please and Starfleet will fall apart.

Cartwright: I believe Admiral Kirk was acting in the best interests of the Federation.

Ambassador Sarek: Admiral Kirk was acting on my wishes. His punishment should logically be mitigated. I provided Admiral Kirk the impetus to retrieve my son's body and bring him back to Vulcan.

Thras: How could you, the Vulcan ambassador to Earth, be so illogical? Your son was dead and buried on the Genesis planet.

Sarek: Sometimes, logic gives way when my son is concerned. If anyone should receive punishment, it is me. I precipitated the sequence of events.

Thras: This Council regards you as the most valuable ambassador in the Federation. You are faultless in this manner, Sarek. Admiral Kirk acted against all Starfleet protocol and will receive a life imprisonment. The rest of his crew, barring the doctor, will receive sentences ranging from ten to fifteen years in Federation penal facilities.

Sarek: I believe the actions of this Council are illogical in this matter.

President Roth: The crimes Admiral Kirk and his crew committed are extreme and will allow other Federation officers to commit mutiny if they are not punished severely. You understand the logic of maintaining a chain of command?

Sarek: Although I disagree with your assessment, the logic in that line of argument is clear.

President Roth: So it is decided. Admiral Kirk will be imprisoned for life without the possibility of parole, and his crew outside of his doctor, who was legally insane at the time, will receive between ten to fifteen years imprisonment for mutiny.

Cartwright: I officially file a protest with the Council in this matter.

President Roth: Duly noted, Admiral. The Council is dismissed.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

After sharing the whiskey with Bones, Kirk retired to his quarters. Before going to bed for the evening, he received a coded message. It was Starfleet Commander Morrow. Kirk smelled a rat immediately and knew what was coming.

Kirk: Admiral Morrow. I knew you would return my message. My crew and I are willing to return to Earth to stand trial.

Morrow: The Federation Council changed the terms of your plea, Jim. They cannot accept any discipline other than life imprisonment for you and ten years of imprisonment for Captain Scott, Commander Uhura, Commander Sulu, and Commander Chekov. Mutiny has its price.

Kirk: You backed out of the deal we made, Harold. How dare you fail to keep your word. My crew will never return to Earth under these circumstances.

Morrow: You don't have a choice, Jim. In eighteen Earth days, your asylum on Vulcan expires. You and your crew will be apprehended and remanded to Starfleet Headquarters to stand trial.

Kirk: Harold, I will defect. You cannot back out of a deal.

Morrow: Where exactly can you go, Jim? The Klingons will have you killed; the Romulans will have you tortured, and the Orions will have you working in dilithium mines for the rest of your life.

Kirk: The Federation Council is destroying Starfleet by allowing a Klingon ambassador to dictate terms. I pull back my guilty plea. My crew and I will fight these charges and embarrass you in front of the entire Federation. I'm not the only officer risking my career over this.

Morrow: Your plea of not guilty is noted. You will return to Earth in eighteen days.

Kirk: Kirk out.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The next morning, Kirk calls his crew to discuss his conversation with Morrow.

Kirk: So I have bad news, my friends. Morrow was pressured by the Federation Council to punish us further for our actions. I will never be a free man again the moment we return to Earth. Scotty, Uhura, Sulu, Chekov, all of you are facing ten years in confinement. Bones, you're the lucky one. You are not guilty by reason of insanity.

Bones: This is absolute hogwash. If you are all serving prison sentences, I'll turn myself in too.

Uhura: Ten years? There is no way in Antares I'm serving ten years in a Federation penal facility.

Chekov: It's not like you or I have a choice.

Uhura: I have my methods. You and I are not serving ten years of hard time.

Sulu: Starfleet bureaucracy, Admiral. You really should have never taken that promotion. Getting yourself into that position placed us all in the line of fire.

Kirk: I'm sorry, Hikaru. I know you're right on this. I cost you a command. You would have made a terrific captain.

Scotty: I figured. Starfleet has to bring the hammer down on us. They would be setting a poor example by letting us off easy, you know.

Kirk: Morrow told me we have eighteen Earth days before we are forcibly returned to San Francisco to face our fates. I notified him that I would enter a not guilty plea. What are your thoughts on this?

Chekov: We're standing with you. Not guilty it is. They will not run show trials like Mother Russia.

Scotty: Aye, Pavel. We stand and fight.

Uhura: I guess we go down with the ship.

Sulu: Lead the way, sir.

Bones: I'll serve the time for you. I still think it's unfair that I get off scot free.

Kirk: Bones, they're not throwing you in prison. My best advice for you is to become best friends with Spock again. (Bones groans).

Bones: Like I said, I'd rather be in prison.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

After meeting with his crew, Kirk retired to his quarters. He received another coded message, this time from Carol Marcus, his old flame. "I'm right outside your door," it read.

Kirk: Carol, you can come in. I'm so sorry. I know you'll never forgive me, but you have to understand...

Carol: Understand what? That my son was roped into one of your games where he gets killed like members of your crew every time you faced a hostile situation? He died for nothing!

Kirk: He saved the Federation. He gave his life for Saavik and Spock.

Carol: He never should have been in the position to sacrifice himself!

Kirk: David stepped in the way of the Klingon with the dagger. They were going to kill Saavik instead, due to the fact that she was the only one of the three they could identify as a Starfleet officer. David ensured that Saavik and Spock survived. He loved Saavik and did not want her to die. He gave Saavik a chance to live.

Carol (crying): David was always noble when it came to women. That does not surprise me. However, you put him in that situation.

Kirk: Project Genesis was yours and David's lives' work. I never wanted to be involved. I always thought it was a terrible idea, going back to the Sherman's Planet war. David was a grown man and could make decisions on his own accord. You must understand that. David was our baby but he placed himself at risk and knew the consequences.

Carol: I'll never agree with you on that, as his mother. Once again, as for Project Genesis, we only intended the project to be used for peaceful purposes.

Kirk: I'm actually breaking the law here, but I must tell you that there were high-ranking civilians within the Federation that wanted to use Project Genesis as a weapon against the Klingons.

Carol: Maybe they were right, since a Klingon killed our son.

Kirk: Let's go to David's grave. I recovered his body. His final resting place is in the Vulcan Hall of Souls.

Carol: I understand now. (Kirk and Carol walk out of Kirk's quarters).
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Uhura and Chekov entered the Bird of Prey bridge. They were in awe of Scotty's engineering abilities. He completely remodeled the bridge, including the command and communication consoles, for human use. Scotty realized that Sulu and Chekov struggled with identifying the thrusters when they were forced to escape from the exploding Genesis Planet. So Scotty devised the work around. Since the Klingon ship was only returning to Earth, Scotty worked around the language problem by using the Universal Translator to ensure easy use of the consoles.

Uhura: Scotty really is a miracle worker. You know, that's why I love him. When he first taught me the fastest way to fix my communication console on the old Enterprise, that's when I knew he was my man.

Chekov: I know you were enamored with Scotty since that wedding party with Decker and Ilia.

Uhura: That was such a painful memory. I wish Decker was still alive. (A console whirs).

Chekov: What is that?

Uhura: A coded message. I was expecting it.

Chekov: You know that Starfleet is monitoring all of our communications.

Uhura: I know Klingon codes, and so does my source. Commander Battles.

Lieutenant Commander Maria Battles (played by S. Epatha Merkerson) appears on one of the console screens.

Battles: So I heard both of you are in a very rough situation. Rumors are you are going to be locked up for a long time.

Chekov: Unless a miracle happens, ten years.

Uhura: So what new information do you have for me, Battles?

Battles: Nothing new about your prison terms, but I did receive a strange energy source from deep in Klingon space.

Uhura: A weapon we don't know about?

Battles: Doesn't seem like it. Karlax checked out the energy signature and told me it does not match up with any known Klingon technology. As a matter of fact, it is a completely unknown energy source.

Chekov: Where did it originate from?

Battles: I'm not certain, but probably from outside the galaxy. It is traveling towards Federation space and will arrive at Earth on its present course in seventeen days.

Uhura (raises an eyebrow): Do we know whether this energy source is causing disruptions? (Karlax appears).

Karlax: Hi Nyota! Hi Pavel!

Uhura: You're in a cheery mood, my old Klingon friend.

Karlax: Now you know how I've lived for many years. Both of you, my human acquaintances, are now on the run from your government. There is an old Klingon proverb: If you are not at the dinner table, you are on the dinner menu. If you'd like to join the Klingon secret services, I know a guy.

Chekov: That is a proverb from Mother Russia. I protest. (Karlax laughs).

Uhura: So what's the deal? What's going on with this energy source in the Klingon Empire?

Karlax: It knocked out power to two Klingon colonies. Kamarag asked Chancellor Gorkon about it as I was intercepting their comms. Gorkon sent two Birds of Prey to neutralize the energy source, but their power was completely drained upon approaching it.

Uhura: Do we know what it looks like?

Karlax: One of the Bird of Prey commanders upon regaining power believed the ship with the energy source was cylindrical in shape and very dark. That's all we know. But the Federation planets better watch out, because it looks like the Klingon Empire is not the energy source's final destination.

Uhura: I'll tell Admiral Kirk. Thank you very much Commander Battles. And Karlax, send my regards to the rest of the team.

Battles: Let's hope you get a light sentence.

Karlax: At least you're going to a Federation prison, not a Klingon prison. Small comfort, I know.

Uhura: Uhura out.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Spock was in his quarters meditating. He began to reconcile why he was rescued. However, he still did not understand Saavik or Amanda's illogic. Saavik wanted Spock to stay on Vulcan and raise their daughter, expected in six months. Amanda told Spock that his memories were still returning, and he would not be his old self, pre-death, for several months. Spock thought: "I am the only creature in the universe who ever returned to life from death and experienced both sides of it, while returning as the same individual." Spock continued to ponder his existence when a knock on the door interrupted him.

Spock: Enter.

Bones: Good evening, my green-blooded friend.

Spock: Hi, Doctor. I understand that you were still suffering from the mindmeld. I deeply apologize. Human brains were not engineered to process Vulcan neurochemical stimuli.

Bones: I'm starting to sleep a little better. My brain is returning to normal. Your excellent doctors on Vulcan confirm that I'm returning to my old self to continually pester you.

Spock: There are two pieces of strange logic that I cannot understand. Why is Lieutenant Saavik so insistent on me staying on Vulcan?

Bones: Maybe she wants her baby to receive personal attention from its father.

Spock: Vulcan brains can transmit messages across great distances. The child will always know I am present as long as I remain alive.

Bones: Don't you realize that you were just dead? Saavik is afraid you'll die again in service to the Federation. Remember how you wanted to remain on Vulcan to achieve Kolinahr? I wonder why you're so reluctant to accept responsibility for the child.

Spock: I can transmit the neurochemicals that you humans call "love" to Saavik and the unborn child through our thoughts.

Bones: She wants you there. In person. Are you concerned that Jim and the rest of the crew are being thrown in prison in a few weeks?

Spock: Unfortunately for the Admiral, the Federation is logically proceeding through legal means. The Admiral and the crew committed illegal acts to rescue me.

Bones: You're the same green-blooded emotionless soul from before death.

Spock: I guess you're right. My mother believes that I am "trying too hard" to recover from my traumatic experience.

Bones: Your mother Amanda is right. You will recover at your own pace. Didn't I tell you that when I had to surgically reimplant your brain?

Spock: You needed my assistance with the surgery, if I recall correctly.

Bones: Your mother has nothing to worry about then. Your memories are almost all there.

Spock: Thank you, Doctor. The Vulcan Science Institute will test my memory in two Earth weeks.

Bones: I'm sure you'll pass with flying colors. It's getting late, and I need some sleep. Until we meet again, Mr. Spock. (Bones leaves).

Spock resumed meditating and heard a female voice. "Your mind to my mind. Your thoughts to my thoughts." It was Saavik. Spock was surprised; he did not think that she mastered the mindmeld because she was half-Romulan. However, the voice persisted...

 

[dsp19]

Short update for today: Soviet Union, Middle East, Star Trek IV, 1986 midterm polling.

COUP IN MOSCOW: GROMYKO DEPOSES GORBACHEV

By September 1986, the Soviet Union was on the brink. Although Gorbachev quelled most of the unrest, one more spark could light the cauldron again. Rumors lit up Moscow that the hardliner faction in the Politburo, led by aging Andrei Gromyko, poisoned the popular Moscow liberal Boris Yeltsin. The Soviet public demanded that Gorbachev remove Gromyko and the rest of the hardliners. However, Gromyko moved first. On September 17, while Gorbachev was attempting to mend fences with the Ukrainian SSR leaders in Kiev, Gromyko declared that he was the new premier. Gorbachev was arrested upon his return to Moscow and placed in confinement.

Reaction was swift and angry. Riots once again broke out in Moscow, Leningrad, the Baltic SSRs, the Ukrainian SSR, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan. Gromyko deployed the Red Army once again to quell the riots. Hundreds of Soviet citizens died on September 20, 1986, when the riots reached a fever pitch. This was to be known as Black Saturday in all of the SSRs. Despite the significant unrest, Gromyko's crackdown worked, but at a cost. Gromyko was forced to redeploy 250,000 troops from Eastern Europe.

The Warsaw Pact satellites, formerly ruled by an iron fist from Moscow, saw this opportunity to stage their own revolts. Hundreds of thousands of East Germans marched near the Brandenburg Gate, demanding access to West Berlin. On September 21, known in Germany as Black Sunday, East German soldiers shot into the crowd, and 125 were killed, with more than 500 wounded. Erich Honecker cracked down even more fiercely than Gromyko. At this point, there was no chance for freedom in East Germany, but Honecker was worried about another revolt. He set up a shadow government in Leipzig, to be led by Egon Krenz, in the event that Berliners deposed him. In Poland, hundreds of thousands, led by Lech Walesa, protested in Warsaw. The Polish government's response was similar to those in Moscow and East Berlin, but unlike their Soviet and East German counterparts, the Polish crowd refused to dissipate. They overthrew the Communist leader, Wojciech Jaruzelski, and installed Walesa.

Gromyko saw the events in Poland as a threat to the entire Warsaw Pact. If Poland defected to the West, East Germany would be isolated. Czechoslovakia already left the Iron Curtain in 1983, and Gromyko could not afford the loss of Poland, a pivotal member of the Soviet alliance. Gromyko had no choice but to send reinforcements into Poland, if only to prevent East Germany from being geographically cut off. The new Soviet leader redeployed his 250,000 troops from East Germany, Hungary, and Bulgaria, to Poland, where a brutal occupation was renewed. Walesa was deposed and sent to Moscow for a show trial, to occur in October...


ISRAEL ON THE VERGE OF VICTORY: CLAIMS WEST BANK

On the last day of August, Saddam Hussein entered the war against Israel, which reached its third week. Although the IDF was stretched, it could still confront the threat it faced from its east. The Israeli air force bombed Iraqi tanks with impunity once they established superiority over Jordanian airspace. Only a third of the Iraqi force deployed westward towards Israel made it to the West Bank. The IDF then sealed off the Jordan River, trapping the Jordanian troops in the West Bank. IED bombings and guerrilla attacks led by Yasser Arafat's PLO in the West Bank could only do so much. By the end of September, the IDF largely quelled the Palestinian resistance by cutting off its weapons supplies. They then started working on reducing the Jordanians in the West Bank pocket.

Iraqi efforts to relieve the besieged Jordanian troops were too little, too late. Once the IDF degraded the Syrian forces enough to remove them as a serious threat, the Golan Heights were safely under control. The IDF withdrew from Syrian territory south of Damascus and sent troops into the West Bank. The Jordanians desperately pleaded to the United Nations. Israel was in violation of UN Resolution 242, and they demanded an international response. The United States duly vetoed the Jordanian resolution. The Soviet Union agreed with Jordan but was in no position to deploy their own troops due to the unrest at home and throughout the Warsaw Pact. China also approved, but did not consider the matter of full importance, as their focus was on their near abroad, specifically Taiwan, their sworn enemy, and the allied North Korean government in Pyongyang. The Americans threatened to back their Israeli ally if any other country entered the conflict.

The remaining challenge for the Israeli government was what to do with the Palestinians who remained in the West Bank. Yasser Arafat needed to be deposed as the head of the PLO. Yitzhak Shamir tasked the Mossad with the task of finding Arafat and at a minimum, placing him under arrest. Shamir also declared that Israel extended from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River, in clear violation of UN Resolution 242. Although most of the world opposed the Israeli claim, Israel had enough. They now had to fight five wars in the first 38 years of their existence to ensure their survival. The Israeli public wanted a buffer zone against further invasion from the north and east, and they would establish it regardless of what the international coterie of diplomats in New York thought...


PARAMOUNT HYPES STAR TREK IV WITH MINISERIES, STAR TREK EXILES

Earlier in the year, Paramount executive John Pike brought William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and DeForest Kelley into a meeting in his office. Star Trek IV was close to finished and in post-production, but Pike had an idea to rope in a greater audience. What if Paramount created a miniseries that detailed the Enterprise crew's exile on Vulcan? The audience that loved Star Trek understood that the events of Star Trek III led to the Enterprise crew, outside of Spock, being fugitives from justice. Kirk and company committed mutiny against the Federation, and the next movie had to wrap up that problem. However, Pike thought there was space for a series depicting the three months the crew spent on Vulcan.

Nimoy and Kelley were open to the idea. Nimoy especially liked portraying a Spock that just returned from the dead because it provided him a chance to expand his character and create new facets to the Vulcan's personality. Kelley proposed that his McCoy character deal with the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder due to Bones' brain being combined with the trauma Spock faced, knowing that the Vulcan would die. Shatner was less keen on the idea, because he was agreed to several television spots on Starfleet Intelligence and wanted a producer credit for every new Star Trek created with Kirk present. That being said, Shatner realized that Kirk had a really juicy part to play. The Admiral lost his ship, his son, his woman and his career. How would Kirk respond to being so empty and disempowered?

Pike also proposed a side-story with Uhura and Chekov communicating surreptitiously with Starfleet Intelligence and a potential love affair between Scotty and Uhura to integrate the still-popular spy series with the A-plot starring the original Big Three. Shatner once again was reticent, but Nimoy and Kelley approved. There was a lot of ground that needed to be covered. How was Uhura's spy team operating without Uhura and Chekov there? Pike realized that Karlax was a breakout character and somehow wanted to integrate Ron Perlman into the miniseries. When Shatner agreed on the number of lines each character would receive, Star Trek: Exiles was a go, and Paramount would promote the Exiles miniseries as the lead-in to Star Trek IV...

REPUBLICANS LEAD MIDTERMS ON LABOR DAY, BUT NOT EXPECTED TO WIN HOUSE, SENATE

Despite President Glenn's successes in passing most of his "Real Deal" legislation, foreign policy failures in the Middle East and his awkward tiptoeing the tightrope with the Soviet Union cost him in the polls. A Gallup survey in September 1986 had Glenn underwater, with 43 percent approving of his job performance and 50 percent disapproving. Republicans believed that Glenn and the progressive coalition in the House overreached on domestic policy. The stock market, although not in recession, was largely flat in the past year, and fears of a recession abounded due to the spending passed by Congress for industrial and urban renewal, education, healthcare, and an expansion of the bureaucracy. Republicans led 48 percent to 44 percent on the generic ballot. In a meeting with the President after Labor Day, Speaker of the House Morris Udall feared a loss of 25 to 30 seats, mostly moderates and conservatives in the South and Midwest.

The picture was just as bleak in the Senate; several Democrats trailed their Republican challengers. Arkansas senator Dale Bumpers trailed his Republican opponent Asa Hutchinson by five points in private polling. Despite the charismatic governor, Bill Clinton, rallying support for Bumpers, the President feared that one of his closest friends from their days on Capitol Hill was doomed for defeat. Democrats already wrote off Alan Cranston in California. The Field Poll, the most accurate survey in the country, showed Cranston trailing by ten points to Ed Zschau, a Republican member of the House. Ken Kramer led Democratic House representative Tim Wirth by seven points in conservative Colorado. Wendell Ford was in a dead heat with Mitch McConnell, who took another shot at the Senate after he barely lost in 1984 to Walter Huddleston. Russell Long, the Democrat from the famous Long family in Louisiana, retired, and his replacement, John Breaux, ran an ineffective campaign. Kit Bond, the Republican governor of Missouri, had the Senate seat held by Democrat Thomas Eagleton locked up; he led by fifteen points. There were five or six other races that could tip Republican. President Glenn was looking at a bloodbath in the Senate and needed to get out on the campaign trail to limit the damage. Democrats were lucky that they had the 63 seats, so there was little threat to their majority. However, they could see that majority reduced significantly...

 

[dsp19]

MIKAELA MARX OF BETAZED

Hi everyone, it's Mikaela. I'm probably the least likely intelligence operative in history, but here I am in Starfleet Intelligence, taking on the most dangerous missions. In childhood, I never dreamed of leaving home. I was born and spent my childhood on Betazed, which is a paradise compared to most other planets in the galaxy, Earth included. Betazoids had no interest in joining the Federation during my formative years. We were living in ignorant bliss, admiring our beautiful world. My father knew a bit about the Federation and was one of the few Betazoids aware of the potential alliance we eventually joined. Most Betazoids were opposed to joining the Federation. We wanted to be neutral and were proud of it. As a matter of fact, Betazoids in my generation and previous generations were taught that neutrality and pacifism were the most important traits in a civilization. If we applied to the Federation, we could be drawn into a future war with either the Klingons or Romulans, who we knew as brutal, totalitarian species.

As you already know, Betazoids are a telepathic and empathic species. We develop mental bonds from childhood. My Imzadi in childhood was a teenager by the name of Mark Rixx, from the aristocratic Rixx family, holders of the Sacred Chalice. Once you choose your Imzadi, you are bonded to that person for life. So I guess Betazoids are similar to Vulcans, another peace-loving species, in that respect. I was destined to marry Mark Rixx and have a family, just like all Betazoid females were expected to.

But I wanted more. I wanted adventure. Few Betazoids really wanted to venture off-planet because of the dangers we heard about in open space. I was what you humans call an adrenaline junkie, so I desired leaving Betazed for one of the Federation planets. A human explorer, Allen Troi, was vacationing on Betazed when on a chance encounter, I met him at the Janaran Falls, one of the Seven Natural Wonders of my planet. Troi talked a good game about Betazed being a model future member of the Federation, but he wasn't getting anywhere with the crowd near the falls. I guess he'd be what you humans call a missionary; a Federation missionary. I guess he got a convert in me; I wanted to leave my homeworld and join Starfleet. Troi said I'd be a history-maker; the first Betazoid in Starfleet. So I signed up.

Starfleet Academy was a wonderful place. My favorite class was piloting; I really wanted to be a helmsman on one of the flagships, like the Enterprise. However, I failed my pilot classes. My academic adviser, Matthew Boothby, discovered that I had one of the highest intelligence quotients in Starfleet Academy. In addition to my ability to read minds, he suggested the Intelligence division. I was leery. Starfleet Intelligence was mysterious and dangerous. Half of all cadets who entered Starfleet Intelligence never came back home, which meant it was the most dangerous division in the Federation. My "adrenaline junkie" side took over, and I threw in with Boothby. When I graduated the Academy, I was placed in an SI unit.

The most difficult part of working in Starfleet Intelligence isn't the danger, handling the weapons, or reading minds. It was running into different species with completely different values. Karlax was a war criminal from the Klingon Empire who killed thousands before his brain was rewired to work for Starfleet. Sometimes, I wonder if he ever shed his barbaric past. Despite my unease with Karlax, he always works diligently to protect me, and treats me like a younger sister, even though I outrank him. The Romulan Nerva was another barbarian, and I remember all the heated arguments he had with Karlax. Commander Uhura is the best leader I'll ever work for. I know she served under the legendary Admiral Kirk, but I wonder if she was the real brains behind the operation on the Enterprise. She knew exactly what her agents needed at all times and made my transition into Intelligence smooth. The most important part about Uhura's leadership: She'll never leave an agent behind.

I know my parents disapproved of me entering Starfleet, but opinions started to change on Betazed. In fact, it was my father who led the campaign to join the Federation. The dispute almost led to a civil war, but Betazed eventually joined the Federation, and my planet is experiencing benefits they never had before. Betazed's wealth increased five-fold from membership; more Betazoids wanted to travel the stars. I like to think of myself as a pioneer for my species; a pioneer for my home workd becoming a full-fledged member of the galactic community.

 

[dsp19]

Surprise update tonight.

STAR TREK EXILES--PART 3

Admiral Cartwright clicked on his telescreen. He expected one of his most loyal officers, his aide-de-camp Captain Renshaw, to report back the news that the Federation Council would convene again to reconsider. But Cartwright had another motive. He tasked Renshaw to leak the news of Admiral Morrow's broken promise to Admiral Kirk to venerable reporter Leland Cronkite. The descendant of famed 20th century reporter Walter Cronkite, Leland lived up to the family legacy and became to the Federation's public what his ancestor Walter was to the United States in a period of major tension in Earth's history. Cartwright called up Renshaw.

"Captain Renshaw, have you contacted our source?" the admiral demanded.

Renshaw replied in his British accent. "Aye, sir. We told her everything yesterday and we expect the entire Alpha Quadrant to know about the betrayal sometime today. 1700 hours, most likely, San Francisco time."

Cartwright raised his voice. "The Federation public needs to know everything. One of its greatest heroes is being railroaded by the effete diplomats on the Council. This will not stand. We are appeasing the Klingons only a few years after they declared war on us. How dare the Council act in this way."

"Appeasement. Neville Chamberlain, 1938." Renshaw remembered the history of his old kingdom. "The lowest point in British history, at least until World War III."

"Don't remind me, Renshaw. If Admiral Kirk is punished, there will be another war. The Klingons pounce on our weakness." Cartwright lowered his voice sternly.

"Cronkite knows everything," Renshaw assured the admiral.

"Cartwright out." Almost immediately after Cartwright dismissed Renshaw, the Federation News Network interrupted the Andorian opera playing on television. Cartwright was not a fan of Andorian opera, to say the least.

"This is a Federation News Network special report. Now reporting, Leland Cronkite." An older gentleman resembling Walter Cronkite appeared on the telescreen.

"This is Leland Cronkite bringing you this special bulletin. We have details on the negotiations between Starfleet Commander Harold Morrow and Admiral James T. Kirk, who stole the USS Enterprise and scuttled it almost two and a half Earth months ago. Admiral Morrow initially recommended ten years of confinement in a Federation penal facility for Admiral Kirk for committing nine breaches of Starfleet regulations. Sources close to Morrow told Federation News Network that Morrow's old friendship with Kirk allowed the Starfleet Commander some leeway on determining the disciplinary measures. Other sources within Starfleet determined that Admiral Kirk agreed to a five-year prison sentence, which Morrow also agreed to. However, the Federation Council recommended a life sentence for Admiral Kirk. Morrow, instead of advocating for Admiral Kirk as he promised, agreed with the Council. We are hearing reports that several Starfleet captains, including the captains of the Yorktown, Ticonderoga, Resolute, Hood, and T'Plana-hath, will turn in their resignations if Kirk stands trial. Sympathy towards Admiral Kirk runs deep in Starfleet due to his heroism in the Sherman's Planet war, and the potential resignations of some of Starfleet's leading officers is of incredible concern to Morrow at his headquarters in San Francisco. Federation News Network has also heard that a special meeting of the Federation Council will convene tomorrow, with Klingon Ambassador Kamarag in attendance, to deal with the controversy. Kamarag is expected to ask for the crew of the former USS Enterprise to be extradited to Klingon authorities. This is Leland Cronkite for Federation News Network."

Morrow was also watching the news, and whispered a simple command to one of his aides. "Get Cartwright in my office, right now."
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Scotty, Uhura, Chekov and Sulu heard the report.

"Someone threw the cat among the pigeons high up in Starfleet," Sulu said. "I bet Starfleet Commander Morrow is fuming."

"Not as much as the Federation Council diplomats," Uhura replied. "They promised the Klingon ambassador that Admiral Kirk would never be a free man again. Now there's a controversy because Morrow was not a man of his word."

"At least a dozen starship captains are going to turn in their badges," Chekov said.

"Pavel, If we weren't fugitives, I'd be a captain in no time with all of them deciding to call it quits," Sulu chuckled.

"Aye," Scotty laughed. "They have a big kerfluffle back on Earth and nobody is going to win."

Sulu laid out the scenarios. "Either the Federation Council wins out and Starfleet has a mutiny on its hands, or Morrow keeps his word and is sacked from Starfleet Command by the politicians."

"Perfectly logical," Scotty quipped. "Have you been talking to Spock lately?"

"Spock only wants the Admiral and the doctor around. He's still suffering from the trauma of being resurrected from death." Sulu was a little disappointed that the Vulcan was closing off his counsel to everybody but Kirk and Bones.

"Any of us would." Chekov agreed with Sulu's assessment.

"Pavel, I'm going to get a communique from Commander Battles soon. I want you present. I'm expecting a very important message." Uhura then turned to Scotty. "After I'm done with my business with Pavel, you and I are going to have some personal time."

Scotty smiled. "I am the luckiest man in the galaxy."

Chekov turned back to Uhura. "I think we have a Matryoshka doll of a situation here."

"We do indeed," Uhura whispered.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Kirk, Spock and McCoy met in Spock's quarters. The admiral wanted to comfort his two closest friends, who were still suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Spock would never admit it, but his human side, long suppressed by his Vulcan upbringing, was causing him more pain than ever; emotional pain that he was not used to. Bones' sleep was improving but still fitful; he also struggled with some elements of recall, as his brain was still rewiring itself from the Vulcan mind meld.

"I heard you were hitting it off nicely," Kirk said. "How are both of you dealing?"

"A human colloquialism, 'dealing,'" Spock said.

"He is asking you how you are faring emotionally and spiritually," Bones quipped sarcastically.

"Spiritually, I have my katra returned to my body. I am a Vulcan, so emotion is not relevant in this instance." Kirk and Bones shot less than believing looks at their science officer.

"Spock, you're still suffering," Kirk said.

"I disagree with your assessment, Jim."

"As a doctor and a psychologist, I am in agreement with the admiral." Bones continued to prod at his Vulcan foil. "You're still in pain. At the very minimum, your logical Vulcan mind is wondering how you were resurrected. Logic does not apply in that situation."

"My mother Amanda believed I was very 'unnerved' by my experience." Spock turned to Bones. "I told her it is impossible for a Vulcan to be 'unnerved.' She did not agree. She told me to look at the logic. No other individual in recorded history has ever been resurrected from the dead. Therefore, I am technically unique, and am processing information that is impossible to comprehend."

"Spock, I remember when we were stranded on the Galileo." Bones put his hand on Spock's shoulder. "You were quite unnerved. It was your first time in command facing the no-win scenario. You applied cold logic and we lost two of our seven crew. Don't tell me that Vulcans don't feel emotion. You just suppress it to an unhealthy extreme."

"That is what my mother told me." Spock turned to Kirk. "I heard that there is a controversy back on Earth in reference to your actions."

"I know a few people within Starfleet Command, back when I was leading Operations," Kirk said. "Harold didn't keep his end of the bargain, so I went through backchannels."

"Jim, I guess you don't believe in the no-win scenario," Bones laughed.

"If Spock faced the no-win scenario and saved us all, the least I could do is reveal a man's cowardice." Kirk turned to Spock. "In two weeks, we return to Earth. Are you well enough to travel in space?"

"I am, Admiral. My body has recovered faster than my mind. I am still finding difficulty in successfully navigating the Vulcan Science Institute exams."

"You'll pass with flying colors," Kirk told his Vulcan science officer. "I have a meeting to attend. I'll be back in a few. In the meantime, continue to rest up. You'll both need it." Kirk walked out of Spock's quarters with a smile on his face.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Uhura and Chekov opened the coded communique Commander Battles sent them.

"Battles here. I got in contact with Captain Renshaw, Admiral Cartwright's aide. He received Admiral Kirk's message and relayed it to Cartwright. The Admiral is on your side in this dispute. The Federation Council does not know what to do in respect to your disposition. Their plans have been foiled, as of this moment. Morrow could be forced to resign due to the plea bargain details leaking. I will keep on monitoring the situation. Battles out."

Admiral Kirk walked in. "So what good news do you have for me, Commander Uhura?"

"Your plan worked," Uhura smiled. "You suspected that Morrow would be in serious trouble for backing out of his deal with you, and my source in Intelligence told me that Morrow might have to turn his badge in."

"Now everything is out in the open." Chekov turned to Kirk. "They cannot run a show trial like in Mother Russia."

"Both of you realize that the public's sympathy is on my side," Kirk said. "The whole idea was to convince the Federation public that I was being given a raw deal. They would have accepted my plea deal with Morrow."

"So the Federation Council overreached," Chekov said.

"They did, and they will cost Morrow his job, even though Harold was in an impossible situation." Kirk frowned. "I honestly don't believe this is Morrow's fault. The diplomats want to make peace with the Klingons, and I'm the sacrificial lamb. As both of you know, I will never play the role of a sacrificial lamb..."

 

[dsp19]

This will be a much longer chapter. There's a lot more ground to cover.

STAR TREK EXILES--PART 4

"The Council is now in emergency session." President Roth's face displayed anger at the current events, specifically about how the Morrow-Kirk plea bargain details were leaked to the press. Roth wanted somebody to take the fall. The diplomats on the Council were untouchable, due to the fact that they could call for a vote of no-confidence on the President. So there was only one choice for Roth. Harold Morrow.

"Starfleet Commander Morrow, your presence is necessary to establish the facts in this manner. Do you deny any of the information presented on the Federation News Network regarding your plea deal with Admiral James T. Kirk." President Roth's face glowed a shade of red and his anger was palpable.

"Unfortunately, the information is accurate." Morrow groaned, knowing what would come next.'

"Why did you negotiate this deal with a fugitive from justice?" The President spoke sternly, although with slightly less anger.

"Admiral Kirk is a hero to billions in the Federation." Morrow began to logically measure his response. "I calculated that if I sentenced him to life imprisonment under the Starfleet Code of Justice, that I would risk a larger mutiny within the Federation. I'm already hearing it from at least a dozen starship captains. They want Admiral Kirk to at minimum receive a lighter sentence, if not complete exoneration. To put it figuratively, I was stuck between a rock and a hard place."

"Admiral Morrow, you must understand that any deal you make with a criminal of Admiral Kirk's stature must be agreed to by the Council. You understood from the beginning that the Council would never approve the light punishment you and Kirk agreed to." President Roth then dropped the hammer on Morrow. "As of this moment, you are relieved from your duties as Starfleet Commander. Admiral Bill Rossum will assume your duties."

"I am deeply sorry for my conduct in this instance, but I firmly believed that I had to tread a middle line in this situation." Morrow tried to defend himself one last time but was cut off at the pass.

Andorian ambassador Thras interrupted. "So you recommended one system of justice for Admiral Kirk and another for any other officer in Starfleet that commits mutiny? You are unfit for your post. We agree with the President; Admiral Rossum will prosecute Admiral Kirk when he and his crew return to Earth in twelve Earth days."

Admiral Cartwright then intervened. "Harold and I disagreed on this in some faces, but Harold's logic is sound in this instance, if it is necessary for Admiral Kirk to face justice." Ambassador Sarek was the only member of the Council who nodded in agreement. "The effete diplomats on the Council want to offer Admiral Kirk up as a sacrifice to the Klingons. How dare the Council fail to recognize that the Klingons were the aggressors in this matter!" Cartwright shouted. "In an act of barbarity, the Klingons destroyed the USS Grissom, with all hands lost aboard the ship. What about the mourning families, especially Captain Esteban's wife? Do they get any justice?"

"They will receive compensation for their losses," President Roth replied.

"There is no compensation that relieves the pain of losing their loved ones!" Cartwright yelled again. "How dare this Council act in concert with that pig Kamarag in appeasing his race of savages."

Kamarag then left his seat and walked up to Cartwright. Almost nose to nose with the tall admiral, Kamarag growled. "It is you humans, the notorious homo sapiens, who are the savages in this matter! You developed a weapon of galactic destruction in secret! You planned to destroy Kronos and the rest of the Empire. Klingon intelligence believes that more devices are in the planning stage!"

"You are lying through your teeth," Cartwright growled. "The Genesis device was defective. The protomatter was unstable and the scientists in charge of the project were decommissioned from their duties."

"SILENCE!" President Roth brought the entire Council to attention. "Admiral Cartwright, you are out of line. I have already addressed the Grissom matter. Whether it is to your satisfaction or not is immaterial. Starfleet Intelligence believes that the Klingons will build up forces for another war if we do not punish Admiral Kirk sufficiently."

"Like Admiral Morrow said, we really are stuck between a rock and a hard place, according to you Earthlings," Thras nodded in agreement with the President. "Admiral Kirk will face a life imprisonment. His crew will face ten to fifteen years in confinement for mutiny. The Council's stance is final and will not change."

"I firmly disagree with the logic the Council is using in this matter." Ambassador Sarek walked to the center of the Council floor, his robes flowing regally.

"You rise to speak, Ambassador Sarek?" President Roth impatiently responded to the venerable Vulcan.

"Starfleet Commander Morrow tried to walk what you humans call a fine line between what is necessary and what the Starfleet Code of Justice requires. He implemented a flexible, logical solution to the dilemma, and he is being punished with the loss of his position."

"Once again, Ambassador, the Starfleet Code of Justice cannot be contravened just because a perceived hero committed high crimes." President Roth frowned. "Why did you offer tacit support to the fugitives?"

"They acted in the way any group of humans would have in that instance." Sarek calculated. "Humans behave illogically, and Admiral Kirk's theft of the USS Enterprise I believe was unnecessary. However, in the matter of saving my son, there is no scenario where they would not have made the attempt. Starfleet Commander Morrow's behavior in this instance was appropriate. I yield the floor."

"Duly noted, Ambassador Sarek. Ambassador Thras' motion is agreed to by this Council, aye or nay?

Twelve of the fifteen council members raised their hands to approve. Two abstained. Sarek was the only member of the council who voted nay.

"So the matter is settled. The Council adjourns." President Roth walked sternly out of the room.

"I fear that Starfleet and the Federation is severely weakened by the Council's actions," Sarek told Morrow and Cartwright as they were leaving the chamber...
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ambassador Kamarag retired to his anteroom. He was satisfied with the Council's debate, and could send a good report back to Chancellor Gorkon, who presented a dual front. Gorkon wanted to make peace with the Federation in an idealistic scenario but believed that he did not have a willing partner in President Roth due to the development of Project Genesis. Kamarag clicked his telescreen on and hailed Gorkon.

"Chancellor Gorkon, I have good and bad news." Kamarag cracked a smile for the first time all day.

"The Federation Council agreed with our position?" Gorkon questioned.

"They were unwilling to remand Admiral Kirk to us due to our incursion into Federation space but guaranteed a life sentence for Kirk and significant prison time for the rest of his fugitive crew."

"I am pleased with the result," Gorkon replied. "With Admiral Kirk no longer in the strategic picture, the Klingon Empire is in a more flexible position in relation to the Federation. We can demand the return of our colonies in exchange for a truce with the Federation, knowing that they have no strategic commander who can outwit us. If they do not return the colonies, we arm for war and take them by force. We are developing technology that will evade Federation ships. Once we develop the second-generation cloaking device, the Federation will have no choice but to accede to our demands."

"Why are you so hellbent on a peace treaty with the Federation?" Kamarag's smile suddenly turned to a frown. "Humans cannot be trusted with peace. They will continue to expand and expand until the Klingon Empire is reduced to a fraction of its size."

"Remember the old Klingon proverb: The greatest leaders prepare for both peace and war."

"Aye, Chancellor. Kamarag out."
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Saavik was unsatisfied with her telepathic conversation with Spock. She knew, just like Admiral Kirk and Doctor McCoy, that Spock was traumatized by his resurrection. Despite Spock's Vulcan version of PTSD, Saavik still could not understand why he refused to remain on Vulcan to raise her child. She wanted to resolve the situation, one way or another. Spock's door rang again.

"I am meditating," Spock said. "Please return to my quarters another time."

"Captain Spock, it's Lieutenant Saavik."

"Enter."

Saavik walked in, still slightly intimidated by her mentor's presence. She tried to draw up the courage to challenge the Vulcan who in her mind was a legend. T'Pring, Spock's bonded mate from seven Vulcan years of age, did not want to be the consort of a legend, but Saavik, another member of Starfleet, desired Spock. Her problem was that Spock did not desire her.

"Your stance on our child is illogical," Saavik said, her voice trembling. "I believe that your trauma will resolve more efficiently if you remain on Vulcan, become a father, and raise our child together."

"Lieutenant Saavik, I disagree. I believe your logic is faulty in this instance. We will always communicate via telepathy. As a matter of fact, you proved that you could communicate with me through an extremely long distance. My physical presence is not required. I will return to Vulcan at times to greet my child and remind him of the Vulcan traditions. However, our daughter is your child to raise." Spock coldly looked at his protege. "I believe it is best that we largely remain separate at this moment in time."

"Dammit! You do not understand! Doesn't your human side believe that you need to love your child in person?" Saavik started crying and started to pound his chest. "You are just going to leave me with a baby daughter and cavort with your friends from the Enterprise?"

"I do not 'cavort' with them. It is my duty as a Starfleet officer to serve the Federation. You understood that when you were a cadet, and that fact remains. Once again, my stance on this issue is unchanged. I will return to Vulcan as necessary when you need assistance with raising our child. However, my job with Starfleet is first and foremost."

"Your friends are more important than I am. I guess you'll never change." Saavik stormed out of the room.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Admiral Kirk did not need a backchannel to hear about the news on Earth. The Federation Council's decision regarding his status as a fugitive was final and broadcast to the entire Federation by Leland Cronkite. Damn the Federation public for them believing that he was a hero. Before his final resting place in a Federation penal colony, Kirk recalled his friendship with Lance Cartwright. When Kirk was a green ensign on the Farragut, then Lieutenant Commander Cartwright was his mentor as chief of security. Kirk pulled double duty as a helmsman and security officer. Cartwright was indelible to his growth as an officer. He was the first person to teach him how to fire a phaser properly. Kirk believed he was a master with the weapon, but he realized that his superior officer on the Farragut was a much better shot. That phaser training would serve him well when he beamed down to dangerous situations as a lieutenant under Captain Garrovick, and later as captain of his own ship.

Their friendship continued as Kirk rose up the ranks to command the Enterprise. By the time Kirk sat in the captain's chair on the flagship, Admiral Cartwright commanded Earth Spacedock. Kirk always wondered why Cartwright left his captaincy on the Constitution behind for a desk job on a starbase. Cartwright told him that he had his fill of danger, and wanted to eventually become Starfleet Commander, and that required him turning over his starship command. When Kirk eventually rose to admiral, he became Chief of Starfleet Operations, but he confided in Cartwright that he never really enjoyed the job. Unlike Lance, Jim always wanted to command a starship. The Sherman's Planet war was Kirk's triumphant return to the Enterprise, this time commanding a fleet to victory against superior Klingon forces. Kirk was a hero forever in the Federation for saving Delta IV from destruction. Or so he thought. As Kirk continued pondering his career arc, his door rang.

"Come in," Kirk said. "Ah, Commander Uhura and Commander Chekov. Do you have any more good news for me?"

"Unfortunately no," Uhura said. "I don't think we can subvert the entire Federation Council. Battles is keeping an eye on that mysterious signal deep in Klingon space. It is still headed for Earth and will arrive there in eleven days."

"They don't believe this signal is a threat?" Kirk appeared quizzical.

"The probe transmitting the signal stopped two Klingon ships from attacking it and damaged two Klingon colonies but has largely refrained from causing further damage to Klingon planets." Chekov raised more questions in Kirk's mind.

"So this creature that is transmitting the signal is sentient, is what you're telling me," Kirk said.

"We believe so," Chekov said. "We have unconfirmed reports from our unit back on Earth that Chancellor Gorkon is declining to attack the source of the signal after two of his wessels were disabled."

"I think this source of energy, or whatever it is, is extremely powerful and has a few surprises in store for us," Uhura said. "It isn't traveling on a beeline to Earth without a good reason."

"I agree," Kirk said. "Get me Admiral Cartwright on a coded channel. I think Earth is in danger."

"Aye, sir. We'll also contact Battles." Uhura and Chekov left. Kirk pondered whether he had a chance to escape the hangman's noose again...
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Battles, what more do you have for me on this signal from Klingon space?" Uhura needed to contact her second-in-command at Intelligence.

"We believe that the energy source is headed for Earth and has the power to disable all communications here if not stopped, based on what happened to those Klingon colonies." Battles' face appeared stern."

"Hi Nyota," Karlax interrupted.

"So this energy source decided to spare your people," Uhura interjected.

"Whatever this is knows not to pick a fight with us Klingons," Karlax laughed.

"I think whatever this is isn't interested in anything Klingon and was just defending itself. However, whatever this is could cause serious damage to Earth once it arrives." Uhura glared sternly at her favorite Klingon.

"Nyota, I also believe you fugitives are scheduled to arrive on Earth one Earth day after whatever this signal is arrives."

"Yes. We return to Earth in twelve days and the energy source is eleven days away. Any reports on the size of this source?"

"Not yet. It is too far away," Battles replied. "We'll continue to monitor.

"Thank you. Uhura and Chekov out."
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Admiral Kirk convened a meeting with his crew again. He needed to know their opinions regarding what the Federation Council did. He expected that they would react negatively, and they did.

"So I'm in the slammer for life, and all the rest of you are locked up for at least a decade," Kirk said. "Should we return to Earth?"

"Only if they force us," Sulu said. "Morrow is disgraceful for backing out of his deal with you, Admiral."

"I agree," Chekov said. "We should take the Klingon Bird of Prey and abscond to some planet outside of Federation space."

"I also agree with a caveat," Uhura said. "My sources report that there is an energy source expected to arrive at Earth in eleven days."

"What energy source," Sulu said.

"We don't know for sure, but it was powerful enough to knock out two Birds of Prey and two Klingon colonies. The Klingons are fortunate that this probe of some sort is not engaging with them further." Uhura's face turned serious.

"Then we obviously have no means of stopping it," Kirk said. "This gives us the chance to stay on Vulcan a little longer. We might have more time to negotiate a settlement with the diplomats that is more favorable for us."

"Fat chance of that," Scotty laughed. "They want our heads on a platter."

"Not if we save the Earth again." Kirk put on his determined face. "I bet Earth will be in trouble soon and someone will have to intervene."

"Well if two Birds of Prey had no chance against this foreign object, we won't either," Scotty said. "Leaves us out of options."

"Scotty, we're dead already. We might as well go out as heroes instead of in Federation prison. Let's bide our time a little more.

"Aye, Admiral."
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Uhura and Scotty met in the engineer's quarters. Scotty was surprisingly open to Uhura of late, possibly with the understanding that their lives were effectively over once they returned to Earth.

"Now you decide to be romantic with me," Uhura said. "After all these years, with our prison fates decided, we're having a fling."

"I think we're going to find a way out of this. The Admiral always figures these problems out." Scotty placed his arm around Uhura's shoulder.

"I'm working as hard as I can to get Kirk in communication with Admiral Cartwright, but the Admiral on Earth hasn't replied yet." Uhura was thinking business, but Scotty was thinking pleasure."

"Take your mind off of it for now. You're under a lot of stress. Admiral Kirk got us out of so many difficult spots in the past, and I trust him." Scotty leaned in to kiss Uhura, and she obliged.

"I want to marry you, Nyota."

"After all these years."

"If we get out of this spot, we'll tie the knot." Scotty smiled. Uhura kissed him back.

"I'm going to pick out the best wedding dress," Uhura's broad smile lit up the room.

"Aye, my love..."
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Jim, what are you thinking," Bones said over a shot of whiskey. "You're undecided."

"I'm trying to get Admiral Cartwright on a coded channel. I think Earth is under threat." Kirk frowned.

"That mysterious signal from space?" Bones shot back. "You always think mysterious signals from space are threatening. It's in your nature as a captain. This is what I would do if I were you. I'd kick back, down a few shots of my favorite poison, and let the fates decide what will be for us."

"I always need control," Kirk said. "Nothing is in my control. I used to have control over my ship, command over my career, and for a brief time, my son. It's all gone now. I hatched a hare-brained plan to plea bargain with Morrow and he turned his back. Nothing seems to be working."

"Everything will work out as it does. It might not work in our favor this time, but nature has a plan for all of us. Now down your whiskey."

"I guess you're right, Bones." The admiral and his trusted doctor took a shot of their favorite Tennessee whiskey.

"If that mysterious signal threatens Earth, we're going to leave Vulcan and combat it," Kirk said.

"Your drink is talking," Bones replied.

"I'd rather die as a hero than live in jail, Bones..."

 

[dsp19]

Here's the penultimate chapter.

STAR TREK EXILES--PART 5

Kirk waited impatiently for new developments. He sent a message to his old mentor, Admiral Cartwright, two Earth days ago. It remained unanswered. Kirk suspected that Cartwright needed to refrain from chatting with him, to avoid potential discipline from the Federation Council. Uhura's Starfleet Intelligence cell kept on reporting on the mysterious signal, expected to arrive at Earth in eight days. Kirk needed Cartwright urgently to inform him of the potentially disastrous situation that could befall them in a week. Kirk's telescreen beeped.

"Good afternoon Jim, it's Lance." Kirk's message finally got through. "I've been a little busy back on Earth and I couldn't answer your subspace message. I know you want to talk about your punishment, but unfortunately there's very little chance I can change that. I'm advocating for you, and a bunch of my captains are too. However, the Federation Council looks dead set in their decision. They're going to sacrifice you on the altar of a false peace."

"Admiral Cartwright, thank you so much for the reply." Kirk went deep into thought for a second. "Lance, what if I trade in a Klingon prisoner. He wanted us to kill him but we don't kill prisoners according to Starfleet regulations. Would the Council change their stance if I send him on his merry way back to the Empire?"

Cartwright nodded. "That is an interesting thought. Chancellor Gorkon is a more moderate Klingon, but I still distrust him like I do any other Klingon. Usually, Klingons kill their prisoners of war who return home because they behaved in a dishonorable manner. However, it's worth a shot."

"At the very worst, I hope the Council suspends the sentences for the rest of my crew for my magnanimous gesture. They were all following my orders." Kirk then changed subjects. "Do you know that there is an extremely powerful energy source, a mysterious signal, heading towards Earth? It is expected to arrive in the solar system in eight days. Ironically, my crew and I will return to Earth a day after this probe arrives."

"Starfleet Intelligence knows that the energy source disabled power to a couple of Klingon ships and colonies," Cartwright said. "We are concerned, but we are monitoring it. Apparently, the mysterious probe hasn't disabled any other Klingon Birds of Prey or planets. We also know that the planets affected in Klingon space suffered disruptions to their atmospheres. Unusual storm activity occurred on both planets."

"That is very troubling indeed." Kirk went into though again. "What if the probe wants to send a message to Earth?"

"We are completely unsure of whatever it wants." Cartwright shook his head nervously. "Anyway, we'll keep on scanning into deep space. USS Saratoga is heading to the edge of the Neutral Zone, where the energy source is expected to be in a few days. The Klingons have sortied most of their military assets to keep them away from the probe."

"That's probably the first time the Klingons have ever backed away from a potential enemy." Kirk acted surprised.

"Maybe the Klingons don't consider the probe an adversary, but a welcome surprise that could destroy us. We'll keep in touch. Cartwright out."

Kirk wondered whether he stepped into a moment of good fortune again. He might not have to stand trial on Earth after all. However, it could come at a cost for everything he fought for in his twenty-eight years in Starfleet...
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

After his conversation with Kirk, Cartwright requested a meeting with new Starfleet Commander Bill Rossum and President Roth. Cartwright wanted to present Kirk's new terms. He was not at all confident that they would be swayed by Kirk's gesture, but there was no other option to mitigate the discipline Kirk faced. Cartwright stepped into the President's office.

"I have more news," Cartwright said.

"Is it about the mysterious probe," Rossum quipped.

"We have no news on the probe other than it is avoiding Klingon ships and is still headed here, for Earth. I wanted to broach a different subject."

"Admiral Kirk, the fugitive." Rossum shook his head disapprovingly.

"Kirk captured a Klingon during his escape from the Mutara sector and the Genesis planet. He wants to trade the prisoner for potential mitigation for his sentence."

"I actually approve of that idea." The President surprised Rossum.

"There's not a chance I will approve of that," Rossum replied. "I agree with the Council."

"If Admiral Kirk is willing to make a peace offering to the Klingons, it could persuade Chancellor Gorkon to take a more favorable diplomatic position from our perspective," the President said. "There could be an opening towards peace. I believe Admiral Kirk could unintentionally thaw relations between the Federation and the Klingon Empire."

"I never thought about it from that perspective." Rossum nodded his approval very slowly. "We could revert back to Morrow's old negotiation with Kirk. Morrow said ten years was an appropriate punishment. If Kirk brings us closer to peace, we should consider mitigation in Kirk's case."

Cartwright smiled. "We'll propose it to the Federation Council."

"I think Ambassador Sarek is our best chance to pass the motion. He'll make the case. However, Admiral Kirk is still in violation of multiple Starfleet regulations."

"I'm glad that you found the wisdom we needed in this matter," Cartwright said. "I'll meet both of you tomorrow at the Council meeting.

"Kamarag is going to hate this," Rossum said after Cartwright left the room.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

President Roth then traveled the short distance to Sarek's diplomatic quarters. The palatial apartment was over 5,000 square meters in size, and contained a spa, a Vulcan meditation mat, a shrine, and four smaller rooms. President Roth wondered why diplomats needed so much space in their quarters, but the Federation Council loved to enrich themselves, and Sarek, perhaps the most venerable ambassador on the Council, reaped the benefits.

"I am meditating with concern for my son," Sarek said. "This is not a good time to disturb me, Mr. President."

"Ambassador Sarek, I am willing to propose a change in the disposition of the USS Enterprise crew." The President was stern but steadfast.

"Mr. President, you have seen the logic of the situation." Sarek actually showed some surprise in his face, a rare Vulcan reaction. "How do you plan to enact this change with the Council in strong opposition?"

"Admiral Kirk is willing to exchange a Klingon prisoner, Maltz, for a lighter sentence."

"Hmmm." Sarek understood the logic. "A desperate move, but a move that will attract Chancellor Gorkon's attention."

"That is exactly what we are thinking," the President said.

"Explain the details of your proposal." Sarek replied.

"We will revert to the original terms Admiral Morrow proposed to Admiral Kirk, with the additional caveat that the rest of the USS Enterprise crew, save for Mr. Spock, receive suspended prison sentences and retirement from Starfleet under other than honorable conditions."

"A logical idea." Sarek said. "I will present it to the Council. I cannot guarantee success."

"I trust nobody more than you, Ambassador. I'll let you bide your time while I call another Council meeting." President Roth bid his exit. "You can return to your meditation."

"Thank you, Mr. President." Sarek engaged in the deepest thought."
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Kirk called another meeting of his crew. This time, his entire crew except for Spock attended. Bones was feeling well enough to attend these meetings for the first time.

"Admiral Kirk, we heard you were chatting with Admiral Cartwright," Sulu said. "What were you talking about, if I'm allowed to ask."

"We're going to exchange Maltz for a lighter sentence," Kirk said. "I'm still going to face justice, but the rest of you will slide, if the Federation Council approves of Cartwright's motion. Supposedly, the President and Ambassador Sarek are on board."

"I don't know if the rest of the Council will agree," Bones said. "They're a stubborn group of diplomats and it'll be a miracle if they are pushed off their position."

"Trading in a prisoner could cause diplomatic relations between the Federation and the Klingon Empire to improve. There could be a slim chance at peace. I'm willing to take my medicine as long as the rest of you are free. I ordered you to mutiny." Kirk became the convincing commander once again.

"We're going to avoid prison?" Scotty said. Uhura then smiled from ear to ear and held Scotty's hand.

"We'll finally be retired and we'll get to spend our quality time together," Uhura said with glee. "I'll get to see Scotland and you'll get to see Nairobi."

"Two of the most beautiful cities in the world. I think the Kenyan coast is a better place for our honeymoon than Scotland."

"Why not Mother Russia?" Chekov laughed. "I know a few places on the Black Sea coast."

"Fat chance, Pavel." Uhura couldn't stop smiling.

"OK, lovebirds, I've got to talk to Maltz. Hopefully he does not commit ritual suicide. You're all dismissed." The meeting concluded and the crew went their separate ways.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"The Council is gaveled into session." President Roth addressed the displeased diplomats. "Ambassador Sarek will take the floor.

"Good evening, my esteemed ambassadors, President Roth, Starfleet Commander Rossum, and the rest of the audience in attendance. The matter concerning Admiral Kirk has been very contentious. Some members of the Council, led by Ambassador Thras, desires an excessive punishment for Admiral Kirk. I believe we all agree that Kirk requires disciplinary action to be taken against him for absconding with the USS Enterprise illegally and ordering his crew to follow his illegal orders. However, the Admiral is making a kind gesture towards us. The Enterprise crew captured a Klingon prisoner and are willing to return him to Klingon custody. If Admiral Kirk follows through on his promise, I propose that Admiral Morrow's terms of discipline against Admiral Kirk be placed back on the table. In addition, I propose suspended sentences and removal from Starfleet with a discharge of other than honorable conditions for Captain Scott, Commander Uhura, Commander Sulu, and Commander Chekov. The proposal is entered into the record."

"I protest," Admiral Thras shouted. "We are dithering while a fugitive, criminal crew. Klingon ambassador Kamarag is certainly in agreement."

"How dare you back out of an agreement," Kamarag said. "Admiral Kirk needs to be brought to justice."

"I agree with Ambassador Sarek." The Caitian ambassador, Shilo S'ress, rose in front of the Council. "We must also take into account that Chancellor Gorkon might have a different view than Ambassador Kamarag. Gorkon sent us overtures of peace, or at least some thaw in relations." The inquisitive S'ress was one of the two Council members who abstained when Kirk was sentenced to life. "I suggest we approve this proposal and send Kamarag back to Gorkon to discuss. Lastly, we must also take into account that the Klingons illegally crossed the Neutral Zone to destroy the USS Grissom, a science vessel with no means of defending itself from a Bird of Prey.

"Gorkon will surely disapprove," Kamarag replied. "One prisoner returned to the Empire is practically of no use to us. It is more likely that Gorkon will send the prisoner to Rura Penthe and forget about any form of peace agreement.

"We do not fully know Gorkon's intentions," Sarek said. "The Chancellor has made motions towards improving the diplomatic situation between your Empire and the Federation. Do not be closed-minded about this; your behavior is illogical."

President Roth intervened. "We will take the yeas and nays." All those voting aye, declare your votes." Eight of the fifteen Council members voted in favor of Sarek's proposal. "All those voting nay, declare your votes." The remaining seven Council members opposed Sarek. "The yeas and nays are counted, the Council approves the motion."

"This will mean war," Kamarag threatened. He stormed out of the Council chamber.

"The Council is adjourned." President Roth and Ambassador Sarek, robes regally flowing, walked out of the chamber like two monarchs of the Federation.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A fuming Kamarag walked back to his antechamber to immediately contact his chancellor. "Kamarag to Chancellor Gorkon," he hailed. The screen flickered on, with the stern Chancellor opposing him.

"What news do you have for me, Ambassador." The Chancellor appeared impatient.

"The Federation Council backed out of the deal. They approved of the criminal Admiral Kirk exchanging one Klingon prisoner for a lighter sentence."

"A peace offering," Gorkon said. "You and I both want peace."

"We look incredibly weak. The Federation will certainly take advantage of us and keep our colonies." Kamarag said in disgust.

"We still have a measure of flexibility in this matter. Admiral Kirk is still removed from the equation, and we are still completing the second-generation Klingon Birds of Prey. We just need to move up the timetable for their completion. We will acquire what we want, either by peace or by war." Gorkon then delivered his order. "Ambassador Kamarag, you are to keep negotiating on Earth to ensure that our viewpoint is represented to the best of your ability.

"Yes, Chancellor." Kamarag said. "However, I must protest. This is extremely distasteful."

"You will negotiate," Gorkon repeated. "Gorkon out." Kamarag turned off the telescreen and continued to fume.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

After adjourning his meeting with the crew, Kirk and Bones went to meet Spock. This time, their Vulcan friend was more willing to engage in conversation.

"Spock, I see that you are returning to your normal self," Kirk chuckled. "I must say, you are completing a remarkable recovery."

"I have integrated all the information I require for the Vulcan Science Institute exam in five Earth days," Spock said. "My mental capacity is ninety percent of normal and improving every day."

"Cold and calculating as usual," Bones laughed. "I am also faring better. I'm sleeping normally again."

"That is definitely welcome news," Spock said. "I believe we will both be recovered by the time you are expected to return to Earth. Admiral, I hear that you still face discipline, but the remainder of the crew will be forcibly retired from Starfleet for various reasons."

"Spock, the only member of the crew who will remain in Starfleet is you," Kirk said. "Bones is being medically retired, while the rest of the crew is being cashiered."

"Commander Sulu's circumstances are most unfortunate," Spock noted. "He was long overdue a command of his own. As I recall, he really desired the Excelsior command."

"Sulu held it against me for a time, but he's getting over it," Kirk said.

"I don't think he'll get over it for a while, Jim," Bones said. "He always wanted to follow your footsteps as a starship captain."

"Commander Uhura and Captain Scott are pleased with the news," Kirk said.

"They're getting married, or at least they plan to. I can't believe they didn't tie the knot when we were much younger," Bones quizzically commented.

"Perhaps their duty to Starfleet intervened," Spock said.

"I believe you're right, for once," Bones laughed.

"Spock, I need you to carry out a simple mission for me." Kirk implied something more challenging than Spock believed.

"Admiral, I am as you humans say, all ears."

"I need you to facilitate Maltz' transfer to Vulcan authorities. They will return him to Klingon space."

"Aye sir," Spock said.

"Once you complete that mission, you, Bones, Uhura and I need to gather more information on that mysterious signal heading towards Earth. Will we have access to the Vulcan Science Institute computers." Kirk was hatching another plan.

"Yes, Admiral."

"Great." Kirk left Spock's quarters, leaving Bones and Spock to chat.

"Spock, I heard that your rendezvous with Lieutenant Saavik went poorly," Bones said.

"Dr. McCoy, Saavik was being unreasonable. I was not in control of my emotions at the time, as I had no katra. Saavik was behaving illogically in this instance."

"She wants you to be there. Regardless of what happened, you assume responsibility."

"I will enter semi-retirement to fulfill Lieutenant Saavik's need."

"That sounds better," Bones quipped. "Your Vulcan brain is working better now. Go ahead and tell Saavik that."
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The probe whirred, making its noises deep in Klingon space. It had not received a signal from its childhood species, the humpback whale, in at least two centuries. As it slowly moved towards its destination, it wondered where its whales were. Logically, it concluded that somehow, the whales were no longer present on Earth. The probe considered whether the signal would appear on some other planet, but no signal was received. The probe continued its lonely journey of thousands of light-years towards Earth...

 

[dsp19]

And now, the conclusion...

STAR TREK EXILES--PART 6

Maltz pondered his future. He was a man without a crew. All of his fellow warriors were killed by the human p'takhs who held him prisoner. What life was left for him either in the Federation or the Empire? In the Federation, he would be living on his knees, bowing in obedience to alien morals and that sky-blue flag that his commander Kruge hated with a passion. In the Empire, he would be viewed as committing a dishonorable act, being taken captive without at least resisting the humans. He was deceived by the human's commander, who spoke Klingon in Kruge's communicator; believing it was his lord, he beamed up Admiral Kirk, Spock, and the corpse of David Marcus, murdered (or in Maltz's view, ritually killed) by his comrades on the dying Genesis planet. Maltz was kept under guard by the Vulcan authorities until his fate was decided. He heard a beep on his prison cell door. It was a Vulcan female, T'Para. She ensured that Maltz remained in sedation for most of his time in confinement.

"Prisoner Maltz. You are to be released to Klingon authorities at 0700 Vulcan hours tomorrow morning. You now have access to your possessions and personal items."

"Thank you, Vulcan." Maltz casually gave the stone-faced Vulcan a wave. He found what he was looking for desperately, his d'k tahg, which was confiscated by the deceitful humans who captured him. He asked for the human's commander to kill him once he was alone with them but was refused his wish. Now, Maltz had his chance.

He glared at the dagger with a bloodlust. Knowing that he had no future, he picked up the d'k tahg and cut his forearm with the sharp end of the top of the blade. Dark purple blood slowly emerged from the wound. Maltz felt an adrenaline rush. The feeling of pain, which humans so desperately sought to avoid, was hardwired into the Klingon psyche as something to be welcomed. Pain was a part of Klingon training; warriors-in-wait were ritually slashed to prove their toughness. Even Klingon sexual intercourse involved pain more than what humans perceived to be pleasure; to the Klingon mind, pain was pleasure.

Maltz then aimed the dagger at his stomach, similar to the Japanese humans he read about who committed a form of ritual suicide called seppuku. The Klingons had an even simpler word for their ritual suicide: Soch. Klingon warriors who were captured and dishonored were expected to commit Soch; anything less would lead to a death far more painful from the feared mind-sifter. Maltz knew a couple of friends who perished via the torture device and Soch was preferable; it was at least at his own hand, and pleasure from the pain would result before his journey to Stovo'kor.

Maltz pointed his d'k tahg straight at his stomach. "Heghlu'meH QaQ jajvam," he said. Maltz knew today was a good day to die. However, he did not see the Vulcan male who moved just behind him. As Maltz was about to drive the dagger straight into his abdomen, he felt a violent pulse of pain jolting through his neck. The last thing the Klingon warrior saw before he lost consciousness was the same human commander who deceived him grabbing the d'k tahg out of his hand before it entered his stomach.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Back on Earth, Kamarag was still fuming. He felt like he did not receive a straight answer from Chancellor Gorkon. "Flexibility" was not a word most Klingons were comfortable with. Roughly translated into loSwI', Klingon chancellors were not supposed to be wishy-washy. Kamarag was pleased with Gorkon's willingness to prepare the next-generation Birds of Prey but did not believe that one lowly foot-soldier returned to the Empire was a fair trade for a significant reduction in Admiral Kirk's punishment. Kor and Kang were still sitting in a Federation penal colony for a lesser crime than what he believed Kirk committed by concealing Project Genesis. Kamarag marched to the Federation Council chamber, which was about to enter special session due to the mysterious signal emanating from his empire, moving towards Earth.

Immediately after President Roth gaveled the Council into session, Kamarag interrupted the proceedings. "You are honestly going to mitigate Admiral Kirk's crimes in exchange for one Klingon prisoner? That is completely unfair and you know it."

President Roth was having none of Kamarag's nonsense. "The Klingon Empire entering Federation space and destroying a peaceful science vessel is a violation of the treaty of Altair VI. Additionally, the prisoner chose to be killed by Admiral Kirk, who declined. Kirk spared the prisoner's life."

"If you know Klingon custom, the prisoner Maltz has no future. He would commit suicide either under the Federation's control or under our authorities. The pain Maltz is experiencing at the moment is a pain worse than death."

"Ritual suicide is forbidden in the Federation," Ambassador Sarek said. "It is one of the most illogical acts one could ever commit."

"Of course, the Vulcan puppet speaks," Kamarag growled. "I am filing a formal complaint with the Council. We will prepare for war if Kirk is not sentenced to life."

"I'm not certain your chancellor even wants a war," President Roth sternly shot back. "He is the first Klingon chancellor who is even considering peace with the Federation. I believe it is your job to negotiate that peace. Instead, you are threatening a war you know you will lose."

"The Federation will pay dearly for letting Kirk live as a free man," Kamarag growled again before storming out of the room.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Chancellor Gorkon felt significant pressure from the hardliners on the Klingon High Council. They demanded he take action against the Federation for the disaster of being humiliated. The Federation successfully tested Project Genesis, which presented an unacceptable risk to the Empire's survival. Genesis could destroy all the Klingon planets, including Qo'nos, if the Federation developed enough devices. In conversations with President Roth, Gorkon was informed that Project Genesis was suspended, but Gorkon did not believe him. In response, Gorkon asked his engineers to develop a permanent cloaking device on the Birds of Prey. Current Klingon technology did not allow their vessels to fire weapons when cloaked, which was a disadvantage to their ships in combat with the Federation. If Klingon vessels could fire when cloaked, it would present an untenable situation for Starfleet and would give the Empire the upper hand in negotiations. Gorkon contacted Kerla, the brigadier general in charge of the cloaking device upgrade.

"We need to increase the speed of research and development," Gorkon said. "We only have a few months at the most before the Federation develops another Genesis device. We cannot allow the humans to unleash another doomsday weapon."

"Understood, Chancellor," Kerla replied. "It will take at least fifty percent of the scientists at the Klingon Science Institute to ramp up production."

"Get it done," Gorkon said.

"Qa'pla!" Kerla shouted.

Gorkon then contacted Kamarag back on Earth. "Ambassador, you filed the formal complaint with the Federation Council?"

"Yes, my lord." Kamarag felt a little sense of relief.

"We will complete the cloaking devices in two months. We are both suspicious of the earthlings' motives when it comes to Project Genesis. We will gain the upper hand on the Federation and force them into a peace unfavorable to them, a true peace that permanently protects the Empire from human expansion."

"Agreed, my lord. You sound like a Klingon chancellor." Kamarag intentionally tried to prod Gorkon, but the chancellor did not take the bait.

"My father taught me to prepare for all eventualities. We either make peace on our terms or we make war on our terms. Never let your enemy set the terms. Keep negotiating on Earth, Ambassador." Gorkon cracked a smile.

"I will press the Federation Council into accepting my demands. Kamarag out."
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Kirk and Spock returned to the Bird of Prey, satisfied with their handiwork. They, along with T'Para, planned out the prevention of Maltz's suicide. Now, with no dagger, Maltz could not kill himself in the method he desired, a method amenable to the Klingon honor code. This time, the entire crew of the late USS Enterprise met for the first time since Spock and Bones awoke from the fal-tor-pan.

"So we return to Earth in five days, and I am glad to report that our Vulcan friend, Mr. Spock, is almost back to his best." Kirk said.

"I would not categorize myself in that manner, but my physical and mental state have improved every day since the fal-tor-pan." Spock looked at Bones.

"Yeah, I remember when your soul was taken out of my brain. You only remembered me and Jim," Bones said with a chuckle. "You barely remembered the rest of these poor souls." The entire crew laughed."

"I fully recall each member of the crew," Spock replied.

Kirk took control of the conversation again. "So I hear when we return to Earth, Captain Scott and Commander Uhura are getting married. Is that so?"

"I cannot think of an odder couple, but I hope their marriage works out better than mine did," Bones said.

"We know Bones, it ended in disaster." Kirk turned to his doctor. "In fact, that is probably the reason you joined Starfleet."

"And to torture Mr. Spock," Chekov said.

"But anyway, back to Scotty and Uhura. I wonder when the love affair began?" Kirk chuckled.

"You'll never believe it, but back on the original Enterprise, before it was refitted," Uhura said. "I fell in love when Scotty showed me a faster way to fix my communications console than Spock."

"Uhura, I knew you had a thing for Spock," Kirk said. "In our early days on the Enterprise, I remember you serenading Mr. Spock on the recreation deck."

"Mr. Spock eventually got tired of my singing," Uhura said. "Scotty always loved my singing."

"Is that an insult directed at Spock?" Bones said.

"As a Vulcan, I have no ego to bruise," Spock could barely repress a smile, even as a Vulcan. The entire crew burst out laughing.

"So we're returning to Earth in five days," Sulu said.

"That is the plan. However, that mysterious signal is headed closer to Federation space. In a day, it is expected to cross the Klingon Neutral Zone." Kirk then turned to Uhura and Chekov. "We know that USS Saratoga is arriving in the signal's path and will intercept upon its arrival in Federation space."

"We still return to Earth, Chekov said."

"Does the entire crew agree," Admiral Kirk cracked a smile.

"Just give us the word, Admiral" Sulu said.

"And we'll send wedding pictures to your prison cell, I promise." Uhura's comment had the entire crew rolling around in laughter. Even the Vulcan science officer couldn't resist cracking a smile.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Kirk still had one bit of unfinished business before his eventual trial and imprisonment. He contacted Carol Marcus, his old flame, and wanted one last conversation before she returned to Earth.

"Carol, you know I'll be locked up for ten years." Kirk placed his hand on Carol's shoulder.

"I won't have to deal with you for ten years. At least that's one positive that comes out of this situation," Carol joked.

"Will you contact me when I'm in confinement?" Kirk questioned.

"Probably not," Carol said. I want to stay on Vulcan.

"I understand. You want to remain close to David." Kirk said.

"I want to fix Project Genesis and develop it correctly, without the protomatter. David tried to speed up the process within the Genesis matrix and caused this disaster. The Vulcan Science Institute probably has the brain power to improve Genesis."

"Project Genesis is being shelved," Kirk said.

"What!"

"There is an intergalactic controversy," Kirk said in a matter of fact. "The Klingons and Romulans are threatening war because Project Genesis was developed in secret. They consider it a violation of the Altair VI treaty banning planet-destroying weapons."

"Project Genesis was meant for peaceful purposes," Carol said. "The Klingons want to use it as a doomsday weapon."

"The Klingons, as much as I hate them, have a point." Kirk frowned. "We both know there were elements within Starfleet that wanted to use Genesis as a weapon."

"It was my life's work. I cannot let it go," Carol said.

"You're letting me go when I go to prison," Kirk said. "You can let Project Genesis go too." Displeased, Carol Marcus stormed off.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

In between his studies, Spock wanted to know about the power source soon to enter Federation space. He called Uhura, Chekov, and Saavik into a meeting in his quarters.

"Admiral Kirk is tasking me with the responsibility of determining the origin of this energy source," Spock said. "Unfortunately, he has other matters to attend." Spock turned to Uhura. "Commander Uhura, what more do we know about this power source heading towards Earth?"

"The source knocked out power to a Klingon substation near the Neutral Zone. USS Saratoga will intercept in ten hours." Uhura said.

"We do not expect Saratoga to successfully make first contact with the probe, but it doesn't hurt to try," Chekov added.

"I was considering joining you on this mission to Earth, even though I am currently carrying Spock's and my daughter," Saavik said. "I believe that placing the survival of Earth supersedes my duties as a mother in this instance."

Spock raised an eyebrow. "That is highly illogical, Lieutenant. I suggest you remain on Vulcan, where we believe that you and our child will remain safe."

"But..." Spock cut Saavik off.

"You are presuming that both of us will survive our encounter with the energy source. I believe the risk mitigation requires you to avoid undertaking this mission."

"You should also stay on Vulcan," Saavik retorted.

"That's never going to happen," Chekov muttered under his breath.

"It is illogical for me to order you to engage in a mission that will likely result in both of our deaths. It is also illogical for me to not undertake this mission because the crew needs a Vulcan science officer to provide them information that will solve the mystery of this energy source." Spock continued his train of thought. "Therefore, logic dictates that you remain on Vulcan and I travel with my crew to Earth in an effort to communicate with the probe."

"Understood," Saavik said, softly. "But I don't like it."

"Trust me, we'll all make it through this crisis," Uhura said. "Admiral Kirk and Captain Spock always find a way."
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The probe continued its journey towards where it lost contact with the humpback whales. In the distance, it saw a ship shaped differently than the two ships it previously encountered. The probe correctly deduced that this ship was from Earth, the source of its child species. The probe changed course briefly to encounter this human ship, and wanted to communicate to it reasons as to why the whales were not responding to its hails...

 

[dsp19]

Saw this picture on Pinterest and this is pretty close to what I imagine Karlax would look like, but in the 24th century. So just get rid of the gray hair and that's Karlax in the 23rd century

Mikaela Marx (played by Cindy Morgan)

Nerva (the Romulan agent)

 

[dsp19]

October 1986. Mega-update today...it'll be a long read.

LEADUP TO STAR TREK IV HEATS UP AFTER HUGE "EXILES" RATINGS

Star Trek IV's premiere before Thanksgiving received a huge boost from the popularity of the prequel miniseries "Star Trek: Exiles." Instead of kicking off the September television season with a fifth season of Starfleet Intelligence, Paramount was able to bring back the entire original Star Trek cast for six-weeks, and it paid off dramatically. This was the first time the full original cast appeared on television since the Starfleet Intelligence premiere back in 1982, and the ratings were tremendous. Between thirty-five and forty million Americans viewed all six episodes of Exiles, and it announced itself as an early leader in the 1987 Emmy Award miniseries race. Paramount estimated that Star Trek IV would earn $300 million domestically off the back of the Exiles ratings and approved the fifth Trek film even before the fourth film hit the theaters. The Exiles series even made back its huge production costs, most of which were based off the exploding pay demands from the original cast. William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley received in excess of half a million dollars, while Nichelle Nichols received close to that amount. Exiles even got a nod of approval from the now cantankerous Gene Roddenberry, who praised the lack of violence in the series. Roddenberry said that "the ability for Star Trek to tell a compelling story without firing a phaser or using a weapon in anger" makes it the "best television franchise of all time." Roddenberry was obviously not referring to Intelligence, which he still criticized with a passion due to its grittiness.

William Shatner, previously reticent about appearing on television again for six episodes due to his self-perceived status as a movie star, was happy with the results. He commented that "Admiral Kirk received a very compelling part," and was proud to play it. Shatner liked the fact that his Kirk was now a fugitive from justice who lost virtually everything and was about to lose his freedom, or so it seemed. Leonard Nimoy said that his Spock character was examined "as deeply in six episodes" as it had been in five seasons of the original series and three movies. DeForest Kelley enjoyed the Bones interactions with Spock, approving of the storyline he received, as he and Spock healed together from their personal traumas. Nichelle Nichols and James Doohan liked the Uhura-Scotty romance. George Takei didn't get a whole lot to do, because he was still mayor of Los Angeles and his duties to America's second largest city had to come first. He had already been away for several weeks for Star Trek IV's filming while his deputy mayors ran the city. Walter Koenig thought the "mysterious signal" was a bit of a giveaway for the Star Trek IV plot, but the fact that they did not reveal too much kept the audiences on the edge of their seats for the impending movie. Overall, Paramount was pleased because the Exiles miniseries put them in front of their competitors in the ratings battles and virtually ensured that the movie studio would easily finish first in total revenue in 1986.

However, Paramount was worried. The original Star Trek cast was starting to show their age. DeForest Kelley and James Doohan were sixty-six. William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and Nichelle Nichols were all in their fifties. The Star Trek cash cow which Paramount turned into a separate division of the company needed fresh blood; a next generation. Starfleet Intelligence as currently constituted was running its course. Would they introduce a new Intelligence team to continue Nichelle Nichols' series or would they completely reboot the franchise...

STARFLEET INTELLIGENCE TO END AFTER FIVE SEASONS; TO SHIFT TO MINISERIES FORMAT

Nichelle Nichols defied Paramount's dictum that Starfleet Intelligence become more mainstream after its ratings plummeted from the top five in its first two seasons to 20th in season four. Nichols was given an order from the suits that she believed was "whitebread;" she would not go along with it. She hired S. Epatha Merkerson, at that point a largely unknown Black actress, to play her second in command, Lieutenant Commander Maria Battles. Battles premiered to mixed reviews in Star Trek: Exiles. Critics believed she could be a star, but her tough natured character could turn off potential viewers. Nichols tried to convince the Paramount executives that Merkerson had the ability to be a leading lady once she exited the show, but Paramount TV chief John Pike was unconvinced. Nichols and Pike struck a deal. This season of Intelligence would be its last, but the series would switch to a miniseries format after the tremendous popularity of Exiles. After the 1986-1987 television season, Nichols would produce three television movies per year to fill in the times when the new series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, was off the air.

Nichols was proud of her achievements. Intelligence was considered one of the best television shows of the 1980s by American television audiences and the Emmys bestowed it multiple awards. She was happiest for her friend Walter Koenig, who won a screenplay Emmy for his second season epic Genocide on Beta Polaris. Nichols launched the careers of several actors, including Alfre Woodard, the extremely popular Lieutenant Commander Garvin in seasons one and two, and a young Don Cheadle, who played Ensign James in seasons three and four. Nichols would continue to provide African-American performers the opportunity to become stars, even if it meant that her series was scaled back. Gene Roddenberry gave her the chance to be a star back in the 1960s and she took it. Nichols remembered the words of Dr. King back in 1967 when she threatened to walk off the original Star Trek due to lack of opportunity. Providing younger Black actors and actresses chances to shine was to be her legacy, even beyond the end of Starfleet Intelligence...

GROMYKO QUELLS RIOTS IN THE USSR: UNREST CONTINUES IN POLAND

Andrei Gromyko, the new but aging Soviet premier, ruthlessly cracked down on dissent in the USSR. Perceiving the newly found freedoms of speech given to the Soviet public by deposed General Secretary Gorbachev as an act of weakness, Gromyko activated the Red Army to patrol the streets of major Soviet cities along with the notorious KGB. He succeeded, at least for a short time, in reimposing a steel grip on the rest of the SSRs, including the Baltic states, where tens of thousands of soldiers marched down the streets of Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius with menace in their eyes. A return to the oppression of the Brezhnev era was at hand, and the return of the deceased Brezhnev's doctrine meant that Moscow had to quell dissent in its satellites. Gromyko's anti-democratic actions were denounced in the United States. President Glenn declared that the "Cold War has returned due to the violent behavior of the USSR's illegitimate premier, Andrei Gromyko." The Gorbachev thaw, which Glenn welcomed with some reservations, appeared gone forever.

To consolidate his power, Gromyko also needed to remove Gorbachev's allies in the Politburo. He ousted Nikolai Ryzhkov, Gorbachev's economic minister; Eduard Shevardnadze, Gorbachev's minister of foreign affairs; and Yegor Ligachyov, Gorbachev's secretary of ideology, who helped craft perestroika and glasnost. Gromyko replaced them with three hardliners: Valentin Pavlov as economic minister, Vladimir Kryuchkov as secretary of ideology, and Grigory Romanov, a Gorbachev rival, as foreign minister. With those three lackeys in places, Gromyko turned the Politburo from a pro-reformer body to a pro-Brezhnev apparatus. Shevardnadze's removal provoked more riots in Tbilisi but they were once again quelled with violence by the authorities. In a speech on October 15, 1986, Gromyko declared the era of detente and reconciliation with the United States over. "We shall build a great Soviet Union once again," Gromyko said. "Our improved relations with the United States of America have revealed our soft underbelly, which they have used to provoke weakness in the USSR and the Warsaw Pact. The United States of America will no longer take advantage of us."

The speech was welcomed by the hardliners in the Warsaw Pact capitals, now occupied by hundreds of thousands of Red Army and local troops on alert. Erich Honecker felt secure enough to return to East Berlin from his hideout in Leipzig, as protests dissipated in East Berlin out of fear. Budapest, which also saw protests, calmed down significantly, but the undercurrents of rebellion from Communist rule remained. Romania remained in virtual lockdown under the cult of Nicolae Ceausescu. However, Gromyko remained displeased with Poland. He viewed its leader, Wojciech Jaruzelski, as weak in the face of Solidarnosc. Despite Lech Walesa's deportation to Moscow, the streets of Warsaw were still teeming with protesters, and Jaruzelski's leadership was at risk. In the face of losing Poland, Gromyko demanded Jaruzelski declare martial law again. Jaruzelski refused, believing that he caused the protests in 1981. Gromyko deposed Jaruzelski and placed Polish general Florian Siwicki in charge in Warsaw. Polish Red Army and Soviet troops fired on the Warsaw protesters, and for a time, Poland locked back into place as a member of the Warsaw Pact...but only for a time...


ISRAEL DEFEATS ARAB ADVERSARIES; PALESTINIAN FATE GRIM

By October 1986, the situation was deteriorating dramatically for the Jordanian and Iraqi forces trapped in the West Bank. Israel sealed off the Jordan River border and prevented any attempt to rescue the Arab troops in the West Bank pocket. Having secured the Golan Heights from Syria, the IDF forces moving south from the Golan and Israeli Air Force went to work. Slowly but surely, the combined Jordanian-Iraqi force were compelled to surrender. On October 20, 1986, Jordan sued for peace. Israel granted them a truce if they waved a white flag of surrender. The few Iraqi forces that made it across the Jordan all the way from Baghdad also surrendered a few days later. In response to the surrender, Saddam Hussein executed his minister of defense in a show trial. Israel had won the fifth war it fought against its Arab adversaries in 38 years of existence. Their mood towards their neighbors was dark. They could never trust Jordan again due to King Hussein's overthrow. However, to Yitzhak Shamir's surprise, Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger successfully engineered King Hussein's return to Amman. Shamir saw Hussein back in power as an opportunity to mend fences with the Jordanians. Hussein was not responsible for the war and tried (although failed) to make peace. For that, Shamir eyed the recently empowered Jordanian monarch with suspicion, because he failed to hold up his end of the bargain.

More pressing for Shamir was what to do with the Palestinians in the West Bank. The Israelis executed one major deportation of Palestinians in 1948 during the creation of the Jewish state. The Palestinians called this the Nakba, or the catastrophe. Yasser Arafat, who commanded the PLO forces from Lebanon, feared another nakba, and his fears proved correct. In the last week of October, the Knesset approved the deportation of 300,000 Palestinians to Lebanon and Syria. Over the next three months, Palestinians, many completely innocent and a few not, were evicted from their homes and forcibly sent north under armed guard by the IDF. Syria and Lebanon protested, but there was little they could do about it, or they would provoke another war which they were in no condition to fight. Sabra and Shatila, the two infamous Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, swelled in size, and three new refugee camps were established. One was established in Dekwaneh, just outside of Beirut, and two were established in the Al Sabinah area south of Damascus. The Palestinian plight, already bad, became a whole lot worse...

LIVERPOOL DEFEATS EVERTON IN EUROPEAN CUP

A unique situation unfolded in the 1986-1987 European Cup. For the first time since 1978, two English teams would participate. Everton, the 1986 European Cup champions, would gain entry by way of being the holders, while Liverpool, who won the 1986 First Division title, gained entry by being English champions. Everton received a bye to the second round, but Liverpool had to play a match against Anderlecht in the opening round. The Reds dispatched the Belgian side 4-1 on aggregate; two goals from Ian Rush and two goals from Jan Molby gave them their margin of victory. The Merseyside clash was set.

Back in 1978, Liverpool met Nottingham Forest over two legs in the European Cup's early stages. Liverpool gained entry as the holders while Forest earned their invite by winning the First Division title. Peter Taylor's men from Nottingham won 2-0 on aggregate that time; Kenny Dalglish was determined to avoid that fate again. He was on the pitch for both legs of that defeat to Forest; this time he was player-manager, although mostly a manager by this stage of his career. The first leg was held on October 22 at Goodison Park. Rush, the destroyer of Everton dreams, scored in the first half to make it 1-0. However, the Blues held firm and got an equalizer from captain Graeme Sharp. Although Liverpool had more chances to find a winner, the Merseyside rivals could not be separated. They would go to Anfield on November 5 all square. At Anfield, Gary Lineker was controversially denied a penalty in the first half when Liverpool defender Alan Hansen brought him down. The second leg remained scoreless until the 82nd minute, when it was Rush once again who slotted home after the Blues failed to clear a corner. The Reds once again got the best of their Blue neighbors, and Liverpool advanced to the third round 2-1 on aggregate, avoiding their fate from the autumn of 1978...


DESPITE FIERCE CAMPAIGN, DEMOCRATS FEAR DEFEAT IN MIDTERMS

President Glenn switched into nonstop campaign mode after Labor Day with determination. He undoubtedly improved the lives of everyday Americans with his Real Deal legislation, even though they were only starting to feel the stimulative effects of the spending injected into the economy. He traveled to several states where his old friends in the Senate were struggling to win reelection. Despite all of the President's huffing and puffing on the campaign trail, Glenn's Chief of Staff, William White, gave him the bad news that he didn't want to hear: His party would lose at least 25 seats in the House and 8 seats in the Senate. The president figured, "I'd still have my majorities, but I'll be told I have to triangulate to the center." The only time President Glenn liked to triangulate was when he was orbiting the Earth in the Friendship 7. His surprisingly liberal agenda was being blamed by many of his old Senate friends for the imminent loss of their seats. They laid everything on the line for their former colleague, now President, and the voters were rejecting them in favor of a Republican agenda centered around rugged individualism. President Glenn feared for 1988; if all of his efforts failed now, how could he win in 1988, even if the economy began to improve? He thought the urban renewal bill, the most controversial part of the Real Deal, caused the backlash. Glenn knew that President Johnson was right about racism in the South and Midwest, and he dared to challenge it with the urban renewal legislation. White, his trusted chief of staff, suggested that Glenn tack to the center ahead of what would be a difficult reelection. Glenn believed that the images of Eastern Europe and the Middle East on fire on American televisions played just as great a role, and he disagreed with White. Glenn would take on the domestic ills in 1987 just like he did when he took office, and if it meant defeat in 1988, so be it. He'd rather be morally in the right and lose than be a coward and win reelection...

 

[dsp19]

Very short late night update:

GLENN ADMINISTRATION FORCES RETRACTION OF ISRAELI WEST BANK PLAN

Upon hearing the news of the potential expulsion of Palestinians from the West Bank, President Glenn immediately got Prime Minister Shamir on the phone. He told Shamir that American support of Israel was not unqualified and could be withdrawn. Glenn praised Israel for winning the war but warned that it would lose the peace. Shamir confessed to Glenn that the hardliners in his party could force him out of power if he acceded to Glenn's request. Glenn held firm--Israel was morally within its bounds to fight the war but maintained responsibility for the territories under its jurisdiction. He told Shamir that the US government would only agree to defend Israel in the United Nations on UN Resolution 242 if the Israelis gave Palestinians within its boundaries full citizenship. Shamir understood Glenn's logic but feared that he would lose his position as prime minister. Before ending the call, Glenn told Shamir, "You know that it is right. Israel is supposed to be a land where everyone breathes free. You founded Israel to be free from fear; do your best to not inflict it on others." Shamir slept on Glenn's conversation for a night, then proposed a fig leaf to the Palestinians. The Knesset, instead of forcing deportations, would give Palestinians within its borders full and equal rights. The Palestinians pressed for a full right of return, but Shamir believed he would give up too much. Eventually, some more moderate Palestinians took up Shamir's offer.

Israel was still a majority Jewish state, but one-quarter of its population was Arab, and the Palestinians who suffered as second-class citizens for decades in Israel could finally build better lives. Even though they were still a minority, they were no longer confined to the West Bank and received greater opportunities to improve their lives within Israel than before. Through an incredibly unlikely source, Yitzhak Shamir, the Palestinians could finally believe they had a voice in the Knesset. At the next Israeli elections, Arab parties controlled 20 percent of the seats and had true negotiating power for the first time in their history.

Peace in the Middle East, seemingly an impossible dream, was slowly coming closer to fruition. Israel won the West Bank but was forced to concede that its Arab population was mistreated since its inception. Slowly but surely, the Israelis made amends and were on their way to winning the peace.

 

[dsp19]

Now for something a lot more mundane; a midterm election.

President Glenn knew his Democrats were in trouble heading into the 1986 midterms. The economy, although improving, was not humming to the point where it needed to be to avoid losing seats. The urban renewal bill stoked a lot of anger in the South. Conservative Democrats joined with the Republicans to block the rest of the President's domestic agenda in 1986. His approval rating the last Sunday before Election Day dipped to 38 percent, and Republicans held an eight-point lead on the generic ballot. The House of Representatives, believed to be solidly in Democratic hands, was at risk of going Republican for the first time since 1952. The pictures of the world on fire in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, and Glenn's fumbling of the peace process in the Middle East significantly damaged the President. Although Glenn was able to work out a last-minute deal with Yitzhak Shamir which would pay dividends in the future, the present looked bleak, and Republicans played the "world on fire" ads to make the President look weak. They worked to great effect. Democrats lost the House of Representatives by losing 40 seats in the chamber. Republicans would go into the next Congress with 225 seats to the Democrats' 210. Bob Michel, long the minority leader, would hold the Speaker's gavel. Democrats saved the Senate, but that was only due to their commanding majority of 63 seats entering the midterm, and they needed almost every one of those senators to survive what was a Republican wave. The following Senate results were as follows:

Alabama: Jeremiah Denton (R-inc) def. Richard Shelby (D) (Republican hold)
Alaska: Frank Murkowski (R-inc) def. Glenn Olds (D) (Republican hold)
Arizona: John McCain (R) def. Richard Kimball (D) (Republican hold)
Arkansas: Asa Hutchinson (R) def. Dale Bumpers (D-inc) (Republican gain)
California: Ed Zschau (R) def. Alan Cranston (D-inc) (Republican gain)
Colorado: Ken Kramer (R) def. Tim Wirth (D) (Republican gain)
Florida: Paula Hawkins (R) def. Bill Gunter (D) (Republican gain)
Georgia: Mack Mattingly (R) def. Herman Talmadge (D-inc) (Republican gain)
Hawaii: Daniel Inouye (D-inc) def. Frank Hutchinson (R) (Democratic hold)
Idaho: Steve Symms (R) def. Frank Church (D-inc) (Republican gain)
Illinois: Alan Dixon (D-inc) def. Judy Koehler (R) (Democratic hold)
Indiana: Dan Quayle (R-inc) def. Jill Long (D) (Republican hold)
Iowa: Chuck Grassley (R-inc) def. John Roehrick (D) (Republican hold)
Kansas: Bob Dole (R-inc) def. Guy MacDonald (D) (Republican hold)
Kentucky: Mitch McConnell (R) def. Wendell Ford (D-inc) (Republican gain)
Louisiana: John Breaux (D) def. Henson Moore (R) (Democratic hold)
Maryland: Barbara Mikulsi (D) def. Linda Chavez (R) (Democratic gain)
Missouri: Kit Bond (R) def. Harriett Woods (D) (Republican gain)
Nevada: Harry Reid (D) def. James David Santini (R) (Democratic gain)
New Hampshire: Warren Rudman (R) def. John Durkin (D-inc) (Republican gain)
New York: Elizabeth Holtzman (D) def. Al D'Amato (R) (Democratic hold)
North Carolina: Terry Sanford (D) def. Jim Broyhill (Democratic hold)
North Dakota: Mark Andrews (R-inc). def. Kent Conrad (D) (Republican hold)
Ohio: Bill Voinovich (R) def. Richard Celeste (D) (Republican gain)
Oregon: Bob Packwood (R-inc) def. Rick Bauman (D) (Republican hold)
Pennsylvania: Arlen Specter (R) def. Peter F. Flaherty (D-inc) (Republican gain)
South Carolina: Ernest Hollings (D-inc) def. Henry McMaster (R) (Democratic hold)
South Dakota: James Abdnor (R-inc) def. Todd Daschle (D) (Republican hold)
Utah: Jake Garn (R-inc) def. Craig Oliver (D) (Republican hold)
Vermont: Patrick Leahy (D-inc) def. Richard Snelling (R) (Democratic hold)
Washington: Slade Gorton (R) def. Warren Magnuson (D-inc) (Republican gain)
Wisconsin: Bob Kasten (R) def. Gaylord Nelson (D-inc) (Republican gain)

Republicans almost took control of the Senate but were two seats short. The Democratic majority was down to 52 seats; Republicans were still in the minority but empowered with 48 seats and effective conservative control of the chamber. President Glenn faced moderate-conservative majorities in both houses of Congress as 1986 as the 100th Congress was seated...

 

[dsp19]

STAR TREK IV

Leonard Nimoy knew he had a hit in Star Trek IV. He and Harve Bennett, in Bennett's last act as a Paramount executive, developed a plot with no villain and lots of humor. They almost went over the top with Eddie Murphy playing a cetacean scientist who believed that whales were communicating to an alien species, but Murphy was proven correct in the film when the crew revealed that the futuristic probe sounds were actually whale song. Unfortunately for Murphy, he had to go to the 23rd century with the rest of the Enterprise crew. Leaving him in 1986 would have caused a time paradox which resulted in the Federation not being formed. Murphy's role was criticized in some quarters as similar to Richard Pryor in Superman III. He was accused of playing Eddie Murphy the comic instead of a serious character. Unlike Pryor, who completely blew up Superman III, Murphy's demeanor was a bit more tempered; he managed to fit his humor inside the overall story fluidly without overdoing it. Some critics suggested that Star Trek IV would have been better off if Kirk had a female love interest as the cetacean scientist instead of Murphy, but the writers extended the Star Trek Exiles plot by adding a scene near the end where Kirk and Carol Marcus reconcile after the Enterprise crew saved the world.

Paramount went four for four in Star Trek films. The $325 million overall gross in the United States paid off the $52 million budget rather well. Paramount was so confident in the franchise's direction that they tapped Gene Roddenberry, who they wanted to keep at arm's length for their new Star Trek series, The Next Generation, for the fifth film, to be produced and ready for theaters in 1988. However, Paramount's concern about the cast's age crept up again. James Doohan and DeForest Kelley were noncommittal about a fifth film, let alone a sixth, because they were getting on in age. The two oldest actors in the cast wanted to enjoy retirement. Kelley decided to retire from acting completely in order to participate solely in future Trek films, while Doohan decided to do voice acting only, which meant he could set up a studio in his residence and work exclusively from home. Due to these uncertainties, Paramount planned for Star Trek V to be the final Trek film, and Roddenberry had to set up a plot which tied up all the loose ends for the characters. Roddenberry planned a double wedding to start the new movie; Kirk would enter retirement and marry Carol, while Scotty would also marry Uhura, a relationship Roddenberry approved of to stick it to racists who believed that interracial marriage should be illegal.

Star Trek IV differed from the previous three films. There were no space battles, only one phaser fired in anger, and the comedy fit the times extremely well in times of international crisis. The film contributed to a more restrictive whaling ban that was signed in 1987, just a year after the temporary ban in 1986. Despite the deteriorating world situation, Star Trek IV was permitted to be shown in theaters in the Eastern Bloc, despite their forswearing of everything American after Mikhail Gorbachev's dismissal in the USSR. As a matter of fact, Andrei Gromyko was pleasantly surprised that the film represented themes that were amenable to Soviet morals. Laughter occurred in Moscow as a result of Bones' comment about bureaucracy. There was even a temporary thaw in relations that occurred as a result, but the USA and USSR couldn't maintain it and the Cold War came back with a vengeance in 1987 as repressive rule continued in the Eastern Bloc.

Lastly, Star Trek IV created some incredible moments while filming. George Takei wanted to film a scene where he was talking to one of his ancestors, who was merely an elementary school child at the time. Although the 9-year-old playing Sulu's nine-times great-grandfather was a little terrified of the cameras, Takei spoke to him in Japanese and warmly convinced him to film the scene, and a touching moment occurred when Sulu told the boy that he would eventually become patriarch of a famous family. Paramount obtained permission to film the nuclear reactor scene on the real CVN-65 USS Enterprise, but they were told that the reactor itself was off-limits, so Nimoy had the set designers create a mock-up of the reactor. Pavel Chekov's failed escape was actually filmed on the naval carrier; but Walter Koenig did not want to perform the stunt of falling 25 feet off a hangar, so a stuntman took his place. Nichelle Nichols' Uhura got to meet her Starfleet Intelligence crew at the end of the film; they were stuck on Earth while the whale probe threatened to destroy the planet. Nichols and James Doohan wanted Uhura to wear a diamond engagement ring towards the end of the film, and when Uhura placed her hand on Scotty's shoulder, the audience saw the ring and knew that they were going to be married at some point in the future. On the new Enterprise-A, Uhura and Scotty were standing arm-in-arm to the left of the captain's chair just before the credits rolled.

 

[dsp19]

One more update for the weekend. We'll finally finish 1986 sometime this week and go to 1987, a very important year in Trek history. The timeline will probably cover more Trek than outside events as we move through 1987.

PRESIDENT GLENN ASSAILS SOVIETS IN TELEVISED SPEECH

President John Glenn took to the airwaves on November 18, 1986, to rail against the crackdowns in the Warsaw Pact. He said the following to a nationwide audience:

"Good evening my fellow Americans. In these momentous times, the people of Eastern Europe and the USSR yearn to breathe free, but are being ruthlessly suppressed by an ancient relic, Soviet premier Andrei Gromyko. Mr. Gromyko revels in his Stalinist depravity and seeks to reinvigorate Mr. Stalin's failed policies of repression. The Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact saw hope in General Secretary Gorbachev to create a new path towards liberalization, but that hope has been extinguished as Mr. Gorbachev remains imprisoned by the notorious KGB. The American people demand Mr. Gorbachev's release and return to power in the USSR. Mr. Gromyko is an illegitimate leader; we will not negotiate with a power-mad authoritarian. He has given new life to Mr. Honecker, the old crony in East Germany, Nicolai Ceausescu, the ruthless Romanian dictator with a sick cult of personality, and Florian Siwicki, a tinpot general who fired machine guns on his own people to suppress dissent on the streets of Warsaw. The American people and free peoples around the world will not stand for this despicable behavior. We will fight for freedom wherever people demand their freedom. God bless these United States."

The President's speech was well-received on both sides of the aisle, but leading members of Congress had their doubts. Democrats hailed the President's stance on returning Gorbachev to power, but questioned exactly how that would be accomplished. House Democratic Minority Leader Morris Udall said, "I agree with the President's sentiment, but if the United States government attempts to facilitate regime change in Moscow, it could lead to disastrous consequences, including a potential nuclear conflict, which we will not survive." Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole, a potential rival to Glenn in the upcoming 1988 Presidential election, also praised the President, but questioned why President Glenn was so passive prior to Gromyko's coup. "The President should have known that the Soviets are not to be trusted, and that Mikhail Gorbachev was always on thin ice. If President Reagan was in power, this coup would have never happened." Dole added, "The President should institute a grain embargo on the Soviet Union to back up his stance with teeth, otherwise his speech is an empty gesture to the people of Eastern Europe."

The Kremlin responded with an official statement: "The actions taken in defense of Communism are not the business of the President of the United States of America. Mr. Glenn makes illegitimate claims about the desires of people living in the USSR and its brotherly nations in the Warsaw Pact. The protests that took place in our nation and in the allied countries of Poland, East Germany and Hungary are specifically a minority view. The vast majority of the citizens of the USSR and its brotherly Communist allies agree with the reforms instituted by General Secretary Gromyko."

STARFLEET INTELLIGENCE SEASON PREMIERE 2ND IN RATINGS

Starfleet Intelligence's final season got off to a hot start as it closely portrayed events in the real world. On November 25, 1986, the season premiere, "The Gordian Knot," got a 28.5 rating, the series' highest single-episode rating since season 2, when Intelligence was top-five in the Nielsens. In the episode, the Intelligence team attempts to mediate a dispute on the planet Levanti between two warring peoples, the Carabbi and Raeli. The Carabbi and Raeli want to join the Federation, but Uhura denies them because the Federation will not accept membership for a planet in civil war. The Carabbi have staked a claim to Raeli territory for the past 40 years after the Raeli fought a war against them to take the land. When the Intelligence team arrives, another war has broken out, and both sides have developed warp-capable ships to extend the fighting to space. Neither side concedes any ground, and two Intelligence agents are captured. Newly minted agent Commander Maria Battles is captured by the Carabbi, while Mikaela Marx is taken hostage by the Raeli.

Uhura demands their release, but neither side wants to budge. Karlax discovers that the Carabbi and Raeli are sibling species that were friendly for hundreds of years, but became enemies when a third species, the warp-capable Zati, tried to exterminate the Raeli. The Raeli survived when the Zati were expelled to another planet by an independent Andorian task force. The Carabbi stood by while the Zati killed millions of Raeli before the Andorians arrived. In response, the Raeli returned to their ancient homeland, but it was claimed by the Carabbi, which resulted in the last 40 years of hostilities. Karlax and Uhura break out their captured Intelligence crew and give both sides an ultimatum; stop fighting or we leave. Neither side wants to stop fighting. Uhura makes one last plea; Earth had similar conflict in the past but moved beyond sectarian conflict to become united. The two sides eventually stop fighting, but Uhura demands that they remain at peace for another five years before they resubmit their application.

The episode attracted criticism from both Jewish and Arab organizations as propaganda against their respective peoples. However, the "Boycott Intelligence" movement failed, and the series chugged along through its final season.

CARTER RETURNS TO GLENN ADMINISTRATION AS SPECIAL MIDDLE EAST ENVOY

President Glenn reappointed former Secretary of State Jimmy Carter to his administration as a special Middle East envoy. Carter will assume his role in the Tel Aviv embassy but will spend more of his time in Jerusalem negotiating a balance between the Israelis, who just claimed the West Bank after the Arab-Israeli War of 1986, and the Palestinians, who lost their sovereignty but were given full rights by the Israeli government as a fig leaf. Carter commended Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir for what he knew was a difficult stance to take. "Mr. Shamir demonstrated that he was an honest broker, and the Palestinians should reciprocate. I call for Yasser Arafat and King Hussein to continue negotiations with Israel and reinstitute the multi-party talks previously undertaken in Geneva last year." King Hussein was receptive to the talks, but only if Israel renounced its claim to most of the West Bank and guaranteed that the Palestinians could establish a capital in East Jerusalem. Arafat demanded the Palestinian right of return to Israel, but Carter rejected that idea after consulting with President Glenn, as it would lead to the loss of Israel as a Jewish state. "We still must figure out an equitable solution," Carter said in a press conference. I believe that Israel will eventually come to an agreement on a small Palestinian state in the West Bank due to the fact that the demographics of the Jewish state must be maintained at all costs from their perspective."

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCED
POTENTIAL CHARACTERS REVEALED

Leaks out of Paramount indicate that the new Star Trek series, entitled Star Trek: The Next Generation, will portray a vastly different universe to the original series. Potential characters include a female doctor with a personality similar to Doctor McCoy, an android science officer, a Klingon marine, a female security chief, an African-American first officer, and a captain of French descent. We can also report that LeVar Burton, the Emmy winner from the Roots miniseries, is the leading candidate for the first officer role on the new starship Enterprise. The captain's chair is down to four potential candidates: Patrick Stewart, a Shakespearean actor from England who had a role in Dune and was first officer in the Andromeda series; Patrick Bauchau, an accomplished Belgian actor who speaks fluent French, Yaphet Kotto, a 1970s movie star who surprisingly expressed interest in the role, and Rutger Hauer, who played Roy Batty in Blade Runner. The female doctor's role is rumored to be down to two actresses: Diana Muldaur, who appeared in the original Star Trek series in two different roles, and the relatively unknown Gates McFadden. The android role is down to two actors, both of whom appeared on Night Court: Brent Spiner and John Larroquette. Lastly, it appears that River Phoenix is close to an agreement to play a Starfleet cadet, meaning that The Next Generation will have a teenage/young adult character. We will continue to report on Star Trek: The Next Generation's casting call as actors sign onto the series.

 

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Hauer is pretty versatile though , he probably would be good in another role too. As chief-engineer, or in a few years - as captain of voyager.
and with him being more intense/serious would create a good tension with a more mellow captain.

I've created a poll--who should be captain of the Enterprise-D ITTL's TNG

 

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Finally made it to the end of 1986.

BURTON, MULDAUR, PHOENIX SIGN ON FOR STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION
PATRICK STEWART AND RUTGER HAUER TWO LEADING CANDIDATES FOR CAPTAIN

David Gerrold and the newly reinstated Robert Justman, back as a Star Trek executive producer for the first time since 1970, finally got down to casting the new Star Trek series, Star Trek: The Next Generation. By December 1986, three of the main crew for the new USS Enterprise were in place. LeVar Burton, known for Reading Rainbow and Roots, will play the first officer for the fledgling series, set almost a century after Kirk and Spock. It remains unknown whether Burton will play a character similar to Spock or a completely new type of first officer. Diana Muldaur, who appeared in two episodes of the original Trek, will play the starship's doctor, and sources tell us that she will remind audiences of "a female version of Bones McCoy." Perhaps the most important acquisition for Gerrold and Justman was rising teenage star River Phoenix. The Stand By Me star was willing to join the cast if he played a recurring role instead of a full-time role in order for him to simultaneously appear in television and films. Justman pushed for a teenage character, which he could not pull off in the original Star Trek. Phoenix will play the role of a cadet about to enter Starfleet Academy, meaning that he may only be a short-term addition. "Two seasons at most for RIver," his agent said.

The plum job on Star Trek is always the captain, and the search has been narrowed down to two. Patrick Stewart, the first officer in the recently cancelled Andromeda, is currently the leading candidate, but Rutger Hauer read very well for the part, and is Stewart's main competition for the role. Yaphet Kotto, also considered for the captain's chair, decided to focus more on film, and pulled his name out of consideration. Patrick Bauchau also did not make the cut but wants a recurring role in the series as a foil for the new Enterprise captain. Gerrold and Justman were impressed by Bauchau's range as an actor, despite losing out to Stewart and Hauer, and are amenable to meeting Bauchau's request.

As for the other roles, the chief engineer is down to North and South actor Jonathan Frakes and Dwight Schultz, a.k.a. Captain Murdock on the A-Team. Frakes is in the lead because it is uncertain whether Schultz wants to leave the A-Team. Brent Spiner has taken the lead over his good friend and Night Court colleague John Larroquette in the race to play the android science officer, but Larroquette is willing to play a recurring role. Gerrold is extremely interested in creating an evil android brother which is a possible fit for Larroquette. Casting has not yet started for the proposed Klingon marine character, who is expected to be the Enterprise's chief security officer. Lastly, Gerrold wants to create a role for a psychologist or counselor on the Enterprise, but few actors or actresses are showing interest in what is considered a side character. The only two actresses to answer a casting call for the counselor's role are a relatively obscure English actress, Marina Sirtis, and Denise Crosby, granddaughter of the famous Bing Crosby.


NICHOLS, MERKERSON REVITALIZING STARFLEET INTELLIGENCE
SERIES CONTINUES ITS REVIVAL AND REMAINS IN TOP 5 OF RATINGS

Nichelle Nichols was extremely satisfied with her casting ability. She was proving the Paramount suits wrong. They wanted her to make the series more mainstream, which Nichols viewed as coded language--make the series whiter. Instead, Nichols used her contrarian instincts very wisely and knew she had a winner in S. Epatha Merkerson. Season five of Starfleet Intelligence was designed for Nichols' Uhura character to pass the baton to Merkerson, despite the fact that the series was winding down and transitioning to a miniseries when Star Trek: The Next Generation was scheduled to premiere. Nichols decided to do it her way and actually kicked herself for not identifying the talented Merkerson several years earlier. She cast Alfre Woodard as her first sidekick, but Woodard wanted to move on from Star Trek to pursue other opportunities after season two. Although Ron Perlman's Karlax drew a lot of viewers, Nichols felt the most important interplay between characters was between Uhura and her second-in-command. She finally had someone completely on her wavelength, and the ratings proved it: Starfleet Intelligence was a top-five show again. Paramount was even considering going back on its declaration that the series was finished as a weekly drama and began entertaining discussions on a sixth season. However, Nichols wanted to go behind the scenes and develop Merkerson's character; Paramount did not want to take the chance on another character leading the show because Nichols was its centerpiece. As for Merkerson, she had accepted a role in Pee-Wee's Playhouse before Star Trek came calling. Merkerson considered herself a serious actress and looked at Star Trek as a potential breakout role for bigger things. She calculated correctly that she only needed one good season on Star Trek to land leading roles; three years later, Merkerson eventually became the lead on China Beach. In the 1990s, she became a lead on the vastly popular Law and Order.

Paramount still had a different view of the case. Starfleet Intelligence was temporarily revitalized due to the Exiles miniseries and the popularity of Star Trek IV. They credited the main cast's appearance for propping up Intelligence; a rising tide lifted all boats, in their estimation. Nichols knew that was a bunch of hooey and laughed at the press release giving William Shatner credit for Star Trek's resurgence. She did most of the heavy lifting, and everybody working on the Intelligence set knew it...

DISNEY RELEASES NEW CARTOON, DUCKTALES, TO GREAT ACCLAIM
KATZENBERG ALREADY TASKING ANIMATORS TO DEVELOP DUCKTALES FEATURE FILM

Jeffrey Katzenberg, chief executive at Disney, realized that he had a huge hit in Ducktales, the brand-new cartoon featuring the wealthy Scrooge McDuck and a bunch of elementary school aged ducks. Katzenberg expected Ducktales to be another run of the mill cartoon, but kids flocked to it. As a result, merchandise contracts were ordered for Scrooge, Dewey, Huey and Louie. Such was the immediate popularity of the cartoon that Katzenberg tasked his animators to prepare a feature film for the summer of 1987. The voice actors were already in place, but the animators feared that they did not have enough time to meet the task. Don Bluth, the lead animator, pleaded with Katzenberg to push the Ducktales film into the 1987 holiday season, but Katzenberg wanted a summer blockbuster, so the animators had to work overtime to get it done. Additionally, Bluth didn't think the Ducktales movie would do as well at the box office as the television show; he preferred a movie idea where a mermaid princess fought against both her father and an evil witch. He proposed it to Katzenberg, who liked it, but the Ducktales film had to come first.

INTERNATIONAL OUTCRY OVER WALESA'S IMPRISONMENT LEADS TO POLISH REVOLUTION
PRESIDENT GLENN, PRIME MINISTER THATCHER, POPE JOHN PAUL II DEMAND HIS RELEASE

A leaked picture of Lech Walesa in Soviet custody was sent to the Western press by an undercover Soviet agent working for the CIA. The picture was worth at least a thousand words. Walesa appeared gaunt, with blood on his face, and appeared as if he had not slept in at least a week. President Glenn was outraged by Walesa's treatment, calling it "torture against a political enemy who dared to stand up to the evil regime of Andrei Gromyko." Glenn demanded Walesa's release. British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, facing a very tricky election campaign in the coming months against rising Labour leader Neil Kinnock, declared the Soviet treatment of Walesa "barbaric" and threatened to pull the UK ambassador from Moscow if Walesa was not released. Pope John Paul II, a native Pole who developed a friendship with the imprisoned Walesa, pleaded for mercy and Walesa's release "for the good of humanity."

The reaction in Poland to the picture was violent. Hundreds of thousands of Poles took to the streets in all of the major cities, and this time, the Red Army on the ground could not stop the protesters. Florian Siwicki, who the Soviets installed as the leader of Communist Poland, was forced to flee, and the Polish Revolution of 1986 was in full swing. Elements of the Communist Polish Army rebelled against their Red leadership and joined the protests, adding to the chaos. In response, Andrei Gromyko and the Politburo took the unusual step of making nuclear threats against Poland if the protests did not cease. Gromyko's blackmail failed; Poland was about to fall to the West. Gromyko's good friend in East Berlin, Erich Honecker, was geographically isolated, and feared an overthrow of his repressive government. The world was on the brink; Glenn and Thatcher believed that if East Germany was lost, the Soviets would start a war to forcibly hold both Poland and East Germany. A general war in Eastern Europe, with the future of Communism at stake, could lead to a nuclear exchange. President Glenn remembered that World War II began with an attack on Poland, and feared that history was repeating itself. Glenn made a call on the Hotline to Gromyko, but did not recelve a reply...


STARFLEET INTELLIGENCE EPISODES

EPISODE 98: THE KLINGON REVOLUTION (Airdate: December 2, 1986). Klingon colonies begin to rebel against Gorkon's rule due to their harsh treatment. Despite Gorkon's willingness to thaw relations with the Federation, he still believed that brute force was necessary to control the Empire, and only after peace was established could a thaw occur with the Klingon member worlds. Uhura, Battles, Karlax and Marx travel back to Beta Polaris, the epicenter of the Klingon revolution, to facilitate assistance to the rebels against the Empire. They face off against a group of Klingon intelligence agents from the Haqta' ThInganpu' who are attempting to retain control of the planet. Unfortunately for Uhura and company, they are trapped without backup on Beta Polaris, and the Klingon agents threaten another genocide against the Polaris citizens.

EPISODE 99: THE KLINGON REVOLUTION, PART II (Airdate, December 9, 1986). Using a secret channel, Karlax calls in two K'Tinga battlecruisers with captains who previously served in the Haqta' ThInganpu' and were friendly to him while he was a Klingon secret agent. The two battlecruisers even up the odds and relieve the beleaguered citizens of Beta Polaris. One of the K'tinga captains, Koth, declares his loyalty to the rebellion, and Beta Polaris breaks free from the Empire permanently. Gorkon sends a Klingon fleet to Beta Polaris, but Battles secretly contacted Admiral Cartwright to send Federation reinforcements. The outnumbered Klingons back down. Ambassador Kamarag appeals to the Intergalactic Council of Peace to argue that Beta Polaris is a Klingon world, but the Council overrules him because they declare that all worlds have the right to self-determination. Gorkon then sends his fleet to other Klingon worlds in revolt, and the revolutionaries are brutally crushed. Uhura begs Admiral Fitzpatrick to have the Federation fleet pursue the Klingons, but Fitzpatrick refuses because a war would break out. Koth defects to the Federation once he finds out thousands were killed on the ten colony worlds in rebellion.

EPISODE 100: THE SORALITE ADDICTION (Airdate, December 16, 1986). Uhura and her team are assigned to Alaris, a world that just became warp-capable and wants to join the Federation. The Alarians appear to be an ideal candidate for Federation admission, but Battles discovers that most of the Alarians are addicted to soralite, a chemical that limits violent outbursts. Uhura asks the Alarian leader Larna about the rampant soralite addiction, and Larna tells her that without the drug, the Alarian violent outbursts would be uncontrollable; the drug prevented constant war among its citizens and curbed ninety percent of the violence. Uhura tells Larna that her planet cannot join the Federation. Battles and Karlax devise a solution; they discover that ten percent of Alarians who are not addicted to soralite do not have emotional outbursts due to a mutation in their genetic code. Uhura and Battles ask Larna whether they want to reduce their dependency on soralite over time; Larna is receptive to the request. Five years later, most of the Alarians are recovered from the addiction and Alaris is admitted to the Federation.

 

[dsp19]

Starting off 1987 with a bang: Some more roles are filled on Star Trek: The Next Generation; the Polish Revolution goes into 1987, and East Germany begins to revolt; NATO calls snap naval exercises in the Atlantic, and more Starfleet Intelligence episodes.

PATRICK STEWART GETS THE CAPTAIN'S CHAIR; DENISE CROSBY PLAYS A PSYCHOLOGIST
PATRICK BAUCHAU RUMORED TO PLAY ROMULAN ADVERSARY

Patrick Stewart, formerly Andromeda's second lead, will sit in the captain's chair in the new Star Trek: The Next Generation series, scheduled to premiere this autumn on the Paramount Television Network. Stewart was thrilled to win the role over a series of strong actors, including Rutger Hauer and Patrick Bauchau. "Following Captain Kirk as the captain of the new Enterprise is a tremendous opportunity," Stewart said. "However, the situation is a little frightening because I fear we might not be considered 'real Star Trek' due to the different setting, further in the future. The writers have to provide us excellent stories or the audience will not accept us, and we could be cancelled after one season." Despite Stewart's British background, the Enterprise captain is expected to be French, and Stewart promised to brush up on a few French phrases to sell his character as at least a little French. "I actually look forward to playing a French character," Stewart said. "I'm more concerned about my male-pattern baldness. I thought Rutger was in the lead for the captain's chair because American audiences would view him as a more classic series lead, especially with his resemblance to a young William Shatner. I guess the audience will have to accept that I've lost most of my hair."

Patrick Bauchau, the Belgian actor who ironically speaks fluent French, will play a Romulan adversary to Stewart's captain for several episodes during the first season. "Initially I objected to wearing the makeup and the ears, but when they gave me the information about the part, it was quintessential Bauchau," the Belgian said. "I think the audiences will love how my character interacts with Stewart, based on what I know about his role and what I role about mine." Denise Crosby, the granddaughter of the famous Bing Crosby, is expected to play a psychologist and be a full-time cast member. The original Star Trek experimented with a psychologist, Dr. Helen Noel, in the first season episode "Dagger of the Mind," but this Enterprise will always have a counselor. "I think my role is very important, considering the increased importance of mental health care in the past ten years or so," Crosby said. "I'm going to be the most empathetic character in the cast, and I believe that fits my acting range very well."

POLISH REVOLUTION RAGES ON; POPE JOHN PAUL II MAKES SURPRISE VISIT
RED ARMY INVADES POLAND FROM TWO DIRECTIONS; EAST GERMANY PROTESTS REACH FEVER PITCH

Despite the fact that Soviet tanks rolled into Poland from East Germany and the USSR, the Polish people kept on resisting, and a majority of the Polish Army, previously propping up the Communist regime, began fighting the Soviets. In the largest tank battle since World War II, the Soviets came out victorious east of Krakow. Soviet tanks and armored personnel carriers quickly sped towards Warsaw. Guerrilla warfare proved much more difficult for the Soviets. Just like in Afghanistan and Czechoslovakia, the Soviets were degraded significantly by Polish forces hiding in buildings and on street corners. The Red Army took over 5,000 casualties in the first month alone. In a boost to Polish morale, Pope John Paul II secretly traveled to Warsaw under cover of darkness and held mass for hundreds of thousands of protesting Poles. He encouraged his people to remain strong against the face of oppression and the jackboot. "The Polish people are a beacon for the world," the Pope announced at Castle Square, long a place of pride for the Polish nation.

The Soviets were forced to send tanks across the Oder from East Germany to Poland, but without the Red Army in the DDR, protests once again ramped up. Erich Honecker, the defiant leader of the DDR, was forced to flee to Leipzig amid cries of "Honecker aus" from the protesters. Hundreds of protesters were able to break through Checkpoint Charlie at the Berlin Wall and meet a crowd of West Berliners who were waiting for them. However, most of the protests near the Berliner Mauer were violently suppressed. Eighty-five East Berliners were killed and over 700 were wounded in the chaos. The DDR was hanging on by a thread, and a civil war was about to break out west of Poland.

In the White House, President Glenn and his Secretary of State, Lawrence Eagleburger, watched the situation closely, but remained out of the conflict. Instead, they ordered snap military drills in both the Atlantic and Pacific to send a message to the Soviet Union that the fighting in Eastern Europe could not escalate past the East German and Polish borders. In coordination with Thatcher, Mitterrand and Kohl, Glenn also raised the alert levels for American troops in Europe. In the Pacific, the South Korean navy and Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, along with the United States, traveled to the edge of Soviet waters to send a direct message to Moscow. Soviet premier Andrei Gromyko almost collapsed from the stress of the situation unfolding in Eastern Europe and was admitted to a Moscow hospital. Unbeknownst to Gromyko, a sympathetic prison guard released the last Soviet general secretary, Mikhail Gorbachev, who quietly went for tea with his wife Raisa at a local Moscow cafe. When a random Muscovite recognized Mr. and Mrs. Gorbachev, he shouted out "Gorbi svoboden!" (Gorby is free). The streets of Moscow, previously cowed into submission by Soviet secret police and military police, came to life...

STARFLEET INTELLIGENCE EPISODES

EPISODE 101: THE PSYCHOTIC BREAK (Airdate: January 6, 1987). Marx proposes that the Starfleet Intelligence team visits Betazed, and Uhura agrees. They enjoy the paradise that is Betazed, but Karlax is tormented by nightmares. He believes that the Betazoid telepathic abilities are infiltrating his brain, and requests to leave the planet. Marx determines that the Betazoids view him as a threat and contacts the Holder of the Sacred Chalice to explain the situation. However, the Holder will not simply tell the Betazoids to simply shut off their brains, and Karlax goes mad. He threatens to kill a Betazoid couple but is remanded into custody. Uhura asks the Holder why they are not accommodating Karlax, and is told that Karlax, as a Klingon, is an enemy of the Betazoid people. Uhura attempts to fight for Karlax's rights, but instead it is Marx who places a mental block into the Betazoid telepathic network, protecting Karlax and bringing him back to sanity. However, this occurs at great cost to Marx; she is knocked unconscious and fights for her life. The Betazoid leaders realize the error of their ways when Karlax uses a device to repair Marx's brain. Karlax is no longer considered an enemy and is invited back to Betazed for shore leave.

EPISODE 102: A SACRED SHRINE (Airdate: January 13, 1987). In a more light-hearted entry in the series, Uhura's team encounters the Ferengi, who are making a pilgrimage to New York City. Wall Street is a sacred shrine to the Ferengi, who worship there despite the fact that New York (and the Federation) no longer use money. The Ferengi wistfully wish for the return of capitalism to New York, which provided a model for their Rules of Acquisition. To their delight, the Ferengi find a black market in the New York underworld that still follows the old capitalistic ways. Uhura and team are tasked to remove the Ferengi from the planet peacefully. Instead of fighting, the Ferengi agree to take some of the proprietors in the New York capitalist underworld to Ferenginar, where they can continue in the old ways of making profit.

EPISODE 103: BATTLES' BATTLES (Airdate: January 20, 1987). In this episode, we find out more about Lt. Commander Maria Battles' background. She grew up on Tarsus IV and was a descendant of the half of the population that survived the genocide precipitated by Kodos the Executioner. Battles suffered emotional trauma for most of her childhood, not being fully accepted as a Federation citizen. She joined Starfleet in order to never face the same disrespect again. Uhura decides that Battles must return to Tarsus IV to face her past. Karlax counsels Battles on how to deal with trauma, based on his experiences. When an emergency arises regarding food supplies on Tarsus IV, Battles confronts Tolos, one of Kodos' lieutenants. The Intelligence team are able to prevent another genocide on Tarsus IV by defeating Kodos' sympathizers and call for immediate food shipments to Tarsus. Uhura also asks Starfleet Intelligence whether the citizens on Tarsus IV could be relocated to another planet so they do not face another famine, but Starfleet declines.

EPISODE 104: THE DILITHIUM SNARE (Airdate, January 27, 1987). Marx and Neras are sent to Deneb V to determine why Orion pirates are disrupting trade routes there. They find that the Denebians have found a new source of dilithium and believe that this will lead to great wealth. Marx and Neras are held captive by the Denebians who are acting in concert with the Orion pirates. Uhura, Battles and Karlax must lead a task force to break up the illicit dilithium trading ring, since Deneb V is in Federation space.

 

[dsp19]

I thank everyone for the suggestions. I might use them at a later date. Three stories in this update.

GORBACHEV RETURNS TO POWER FUELED BY WAVES OF MOSCOW DEMONSTRATORS
THOUSANDS OF EAST GERMANS DEMONSTRATE AT BERLIN WALL, DEFYING HONECKER

When Mikhail Gorbachev was seen in a Russian cafe with his wife Raisa on the evening of February 10, news quickly spread around Moscow. "Gorbi svoboden" was the message to hundreds of thousands of Muscovites. Word of mouth rapidly spread to Leningrad and other major cities in the USSR, and a national protest began two days later, on February 12. The hardliners in the Kremlin instructed the Red Army to shoot at protesters, but they refused, and many of them joined the protests. The USSR was in revolt, similar to their Warsaw Pact satellites, East Germany and Poland. Gorbachev climbed on a tank and gave an inspiring speech. The most memorable line of the speech, in Russian, read: "У меня незаконно отобрали власть, и я забираю ее обратно" ("Power was illegally taken from me and I am taking it back.") Gorbachev and his army of protesters, including some of the Red Army, marched on the Kremlin. The hardliners in the Politburo surprisingly abdicated peacefully, and Mr. Gorbachev returned to the Kremlin. His first directive once regaining power was to tell the protesters to disperse and return to their homes. They listened and acted accordingly. Gorbachev then sent a message to Erich Honecker in East Germany and the revolutionaries in Poland. He told Honecker not to order DDR troops to shoot at protesters, which Honecker ignored. He then told the Polish people that Lech Walesa would be freed, and the Poles should stop their revolution as a response. The Poles refused. Andrei Gromyko, after hearing the news, succumbed to his illness in his hospital bed, declaring that the Soviet Union was dead.

One week later on February 19, East Berliners overwhelmed the DDR security guards and started to cross der Berliner Mauer. The Wall, a symbol of oppression for 26 years, was falling, and jubilant West Germans were waiting on the other side. The crowd refused to disperse even as many DDR guards shot into the air, and then into the crowd. The protesters dragged the guards through the Brandenburg Gate and disarmed them. Watching the chaos unfold in Berlin, Honecker told his deputy, Egon Krenz, "Die Nation ist verloren" (the nation is lost). Honecker and Krenz secretly fled to Moscow. East Germany was leaderless. Once they were received by Gorbachev, he decided to pull the Red Army out of Germany. Despite the power vacuum in East Berlin, Chancellor Helmut Kohl played his cards cautiously. He chose not to send the Bundeswehr over the Inner German border, instead calling on East Berlin to set up a provisional government. One week later, Communist official Gunter Schabowski agreed to lead East Germany for three months, which was the time required for an election to be set up in East Germany. Kohl knew that the democratic parties in East Germany would win in a landslide, and plans for reunification were laid upon the table.

Despite Gorbachev's pleas for the Polish Revolution to stop, the Poles kept on fighting the Red Army and the half of the Communist Polish army that remained loyal to the old leadership. At least seven thousand Polish soldiers died in the two-month revolution, and up to ten thousand civilians perished. Poland's deaths caused by Communist oppression became a blight on the world, but Gorbachev could not give the country up just yet. He negotiated with Walesa; if you stop the revolution and declare yourself to be non-aligned, the Red Army would leave Poland. Walesa agreed to both parts with a condition; Poland could decide its own foreign policy within five years of throwing off the Communist yoke. Gorbachev, with next to zero leverage after seeing Polish defiance, had no choice to agree. On February 25, a gaunt, battered, but defiant Walesa returned to Warsaw to Polish joy. He called on the Communist army to stand down as the Red Army also retreated from Poland. Three months later, the Red Army was gone and Walesa was elected President. By May 1987, the Warsaw Pact was virtually history.

CAST VIRTUALLY COMPLETE FOR STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION
FRAKES, DORN, SIRTIS, SPINER, SCHULTZ ADDED TO CAST

David Gerrold, the Star Trek showrunner, got right down to work and finished casting the new Trek series, The Next Generation, by the end of February. Upon hearing that the A-Team would not be renewed for another year, Dwight Schultz read for the chief engineer part and won out over North and South actor Jonathan Frakes. The handsome Frakes, who also auditioned for the first officer's role but lost out to LeVar Burton, will join the cast as the Enterprise's security chief. Marina Sirtis, an obscure actress from England, signed on for what would be described as Nurse Chapel's role on the original Star Trek; many of her appearances would likely revolve around Diana Muldaur's role as the ship's doctor. Michael Dorn, famous for his role as Jebediah Turner in CHIPS, won out over retired baseball star Reggie Jackson for the Klingon marine role. Dorn will likely play a non-commissioned officer who joins Frakes' Riker on security missions, so expect both of them to fire a lot of phasers and get in on the action scenes. Lastly, Brent Spiner will play the android, on the condition that his good friend John Larroquette receive at least two opportunities to play an evil android that acts as his foil. Rutger Hauer, who lost out on the captaincy to the noticeably bald Patrick Stewart, will appear as a guest star for one episode in the first season.

So the cast for Star Trek: The Next Generation Season One is complete:

Patrick Stewart: Captain Jean Luc Picard
LeVar Burton: Commander Geordi LaForge (first officer)
Brent Spiner: Lieutenant Data (science officer)
Dwight Schultz: Lieutenant Commander Reginald Barclay (chief engineer)
Jonathan Frakes: Lieutenant Will Riker (security chief)
Diana Muldaur: Commander Katherine Pulaski (doctor)
Denise Crosby: Counselor Tasha Yar (ship's counselor)
Marina Sirtis: Nurse Deanna Troi (ship's chief nurse)
Michael Dorn: Sargeant First Class Worf (ship security)
River Phoenix: Benjamin Pulaski (Doctor Pulaski's nephew)

Recurring roles (so far):

John de Lancie: Q
Patrick Bauchau: Commander Severus (Romulan villain)
Rutger Hauer: Captain Edward Steinhauer (a friend of Captain Picard)
John Larroquette: Lore (Data's evil android brother)

BRIAN BLESSED TO BECOME NEXT DOCTOR, REPLACING COLIN BAKER

Colin Baker, the Sixth Doctor, declared that the 1986 series of Doctor Who would be his last. Showrunner Philip Hinchliffe, who was caught off guard by Baker's announcement, searched for a successor as the Seventh Doctor. He narrowed the choices down to two: Sylvester McCoy, a relatively obscure Scottish actor who was best known for his roles on the Eureka series, and Brian Blessed, who appeared in the last Who series as King Yrcanos. Despite Blessed's guest role as a different character, Hinchcliffe decided to go with Blessed, and fans were pleased with the decision. "He'll play the goofiest, most charming Doctor in the history of the show. He's really big-hearted," read one of the pieces of mail in Hinchcliffe's mailbag. "I want to bring my regular personality to the Doctor, and I am extremely honored to be selected for this role," Blessed said to the press. "The advice I received from Tom Baker, Peter Davison and Colin Baker was to play yourself. Don't act as the Doctor based on the scripts they give you; play the Doctor as your own personality in real life." Blessed will first appear in the 1987 series when it premieres in September. With the announcement of Blessed as the Seventh Doctor, the BBC finally felt that it could save the flagging show, and moved the series to Thursday nights at 7:30 PM, away from the popular Coronation Street. Baker's Doctor was popular with the hardcore Whovians but not extremely popular with the casual BBC audience, Hinchliffe reasoned, and Blessed figured to revitalize the series...


STARFLEET INTELLIGENCE EPISODES

EPISODE 105: HINTS (Airdate: February 3, 1987). Uhura visits Saavik on Vulcan and meets the newborn baby, T'Lal. Saavik tells Uhura that she overheard a rumor about a potential Romulan contact with Vulcan. She believes that these are Romulans defecting to the Federation and wishing to return to the old ways. Uhura and her team start digging for hints and find that the Romulans were Tal Shiar agents pressed into service by the Romulan government. Battles argues that they should be ferried to safe harbor right away, but Karlax believes that the Romulans are setting a trap in order to capture Saavik and return her to Romulan space. Uhura decides to investigate against Karlax's advice, and they explore the series of signals, in Federation space. They find the escaped spies, who initially fire on them, but they tell Uhura that there is a freedom movement on Romulus that is attempting to overthrow the totalitarian Praetor. Uhura takes them into Federation space where they apply for asylum. However, one of the asylees is a plant and kills the other ex-Tal Shiar agents. The Intelligence team subdues the plant, seeking information, and they find out that the Romulans seek to once again reunify Vulcan by force.

EPISODE 106: STARSHIP TITAN, PART I (Airdate, February 10, 1987). A new Okuda class luxury starliner is commissioned, the Titan. The ship is the largest Federation ship ever built, easily twice the size of a Constitution refit. The Titan is going to be employed on the long-range cruise/spacelanes ferrying people around the UFP. Her captain, Captain Melinda Graves is an old friend of Uhura, an Ex-Starfleet first officer who is very reliable. Disaster strikes on the Titan's maiden voyage and she vanishes from all sensors. Uhura and team smell a rat when it emerges some of the Titan's crew are ex-POWs, plus there are some Federation Klingons in there, and even some ex-Romulan passengers. The Titan encounters an anomaly that threatens to destroy the ship.

EPISODE 107: STARSHIP TITAN, PART II (Airdate, February 17, 1987). SI follows the ship's course; only thanks to their advanced sensors, they are able to detect the Titan through the nebula's interference. Karlax speculates they took a detour to sightsee. SI follows up and avoids getting sucked into the anomaly. They discover a whole solar system with two M class planets, and an apparently 22nd century level civilization in place. From their cloaked position they discover the remains of the Titan in orbit. The people are a mash up of known species, who have bred into something different and new. Their first warp test is going to be in a few local days. Do they make first contact early, or wait? Uhura decides to make first contact, against the Prime Directive, since the species is warp-capable. They unfortunately find that the species is far more advanced than the Federation and killed all the passengers except for Captain Graves. The advanced alien species, the Markonians, will only free Graves if Uhura and team defeat soldiers in gladiatorial combat. Without their phasers, they succeed against doppelgangers of the deceased crew, including Klingons and Romulans, and Graves is freed.

EPISODE 108: VOICES FROM THE DISTANT PAST (Airdate, February 24, 1987). Uhura is taking an advanced Klingon course when she starts suffering seizures. The doctor on duty discovers that her seizures are due to cortical lobe damage suffered when her memory was erased by Nomad. Uhura relives a series of traumas, including the deception from Captain Westcross, the Man Trap salt monsters, and torture at the hands of the Tal Shiar. Marx determines that Nomad released a chemical into Uhura's brain that triggers seizures. The Starfleet Intelligence crew must find an answer before it is too late.

Note: Voices from the Distant Past was regarded as one of the worst episodes in the series; at this point, the fanbase was wondering whether Starfleet Intelligence was running out of ideas and simply going through the motions. They would be mistaken as the next group of episodes in March would be back up to standard.

 

[dsp19]

March 1987 is here...this one took a really long time to put together!

LECH WALESA BECOMES PRESIDENT OF POLAND
USA, USSR ENTER DIPLOMATIC TALKS WITH GORBACHEV RETURN

Soviet general secretary Mikhail Gorbachev declared an end to the war in Poland by ordering the Red Army to stand down. In response, the Polish army coalesced around Solidarity leader Lech Walesa, who became Poland's provisional president. Walesa declared free elections to occur in June, knowing that his Solidarnosc movement would defeat the Communists at the ballot box. Gorbachev promised Walesa that if he won the election, the Red Army would remove its troops from Poland by 1990. Additionally, Gorbachev began removing troops from East Germany after the fall of the DDR, which would take about a year to complete. Gorbachev knew that East Germany and Poland were gone, and that Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania would be next. The Red Army would reposition itself in those countries and the restive Baltic SSRs, which yearned for their independence after Stalin ruthlessly rolled the troops in 47 years ago. As for the Poles, they mourned their losses but celebrated Walesa's return and their newfound freedom. Poland suffered for a little over five years at the hands of the Nazis and another 42 years under Communist rule. For the first time since 1939, Poland was no longer under control of a foreign power. Walesa emphasized in his speech in Warsaw that Poland needed to seek its own independent direction.

The shift in the balance of power between the United States and the Soviet Union was evident. The Warsaw Pact was falling apart and Gorbachev needed to salvage some face from the wreckage largely caused by Gromyko, whom he considered illegitimate. So Gorbachev contacted President Glenn and quickly hammered out a deal. As part of the Red Army withdrawing troops from Poland, the United States and its NATO allies would not send their own forces into the newly independent state. Gorbachev also tried to dissuade Glenn from deploying NATO forces to East Germany, but Glenn deferred the question to Helmut Kohl, which displeased the Soviet premier. He knew that a reunited Germany would join NATO and expand its borders eastward. Gorbachev at this point successfully prevented an independent Czechoslovakia from joining NATO; now his task was to ensure Poland's non-alignment to prevent another potential uprising from the Kremlin hardliners...

RED STORM RISING CAST ANNOUNCED

Paramount announced the cast for its summer blockbuster, Red Storm Rising, expected to premiere in theaters Memorial Day weekend. Major roles are as follows:

William Shatner: CPT Edward Morris
Scott Glenn: CPT Daniel X. McCafferty
Ed Harris: NSA Analyst Robert Toland
Tom Cruise: 1LT Michael D. Edwards, Jr.
Sam Shepard: LT COM Jerry O'Malley
Rosalind Chao: 1LT Amelia "Buns" Nakamura
Philip Michael Thomas: COL Douglas "Duke" Ellington
James Earl Jones: GEN Eugene Robinson
Stellan Skarsgard: Soviet General Pavel Leonidovich Alekseyev
Joss Ackland: Soviet Energy Minister and Acting General Secretary Mikhail Eduardovich Sergetov
Peter Firth: Ivan Mikhailovich Sergetov (Mikhail Sergetov's son)
Christopher Lee: KGB Chairman Boris Georgiyevich Kosov
Jeroen Krabbe: Marshal Andrei Shavyrin
Rutger Hauer: Soviet Major Arkady Semyonovich Sorokin (Spetsnaz officer)
Sam Neill: Andrei Illich Chernyavin (Spetsnaz officer)
David McCallum: Marshal Yuri Rozhkov (Marshal of the Soviet Union)

Due to the starpower on show, Red Storm Rising would cost an estimated $75 million, so Paramount expected the movie to make $225 million at the minimum. It was the most ambitious chance ever taken by the famous studio; a box office bomb would weaken their position dramatically as the top studio in Hollywood. Paramount aggressively began its ad campaign in March, well before the premiere...

FAIRNESS DOCTRINE REINSTATED BY FCC
RUSH LIMBAUGH SUES U.S. GOVERNMENT, CLAIMING CENSORSHIP

On March 21, the Federal Communications Commission by a 3-2 vote reinstated the Fairness Doctrine, a goal of President Glenn upon taking the Oval Office. The Fairness Doctrine declares that broadcast networks on television and radio present differing political viewpoints in a balanced fashion. Glenn leaned hard on James Quello, a conservative Democrat, for the third vote, which he provided, along with Reed Hundt and Charles Ferris, the more liberal-minded members of the commission. President Reagan rescinded the Fairness Doctrine in his second term, allowing for the rise of conservative commentators to dominate the discourse on radio. Roger Ailes, a former Nixon aide, was planning on launching a news channel to rival CNN and the major networks, but that plan has been put on hold. "President Glenn put a muzzle on us," Ailes was reported to have said in a meeting with Republican fundraisers. "We have no chance to influence the American people to adopt the conservative position on a host of issues, because the liberal media on the major news networks will have a monopoly on the airwaves. That is why President Nixon lost in 1972 and why President Reagan was not able to usher in a conservative revolution despite his promise."

The leading conservative voice on talk radio, Missouri's Rush Limbaugh, immediately filed suit in district court to reverse the FCC ruling. In the motion, Limbaugh's lawyers asserted that the Fairness Doctrine violated free speech by limiting the amount of time given to conservative commentators. "The Fairness Doctrine is unfair in the respect that the time requirements censor conservative voices on the radio and television," the lawsuit read. The district court is expected to hear the appeal in two weeks; if Limbaugh loses the case in district court, he and his lawyers are expected to appeal an adverse ruling all the way to the Supreme Court. "We will not stop until the Supreme Court strikes down the Unfairness Doctrine," Limbaugh proclaimed on his talk show. Most of the callers to his program agreed with him. "We will protest at the White House if the Fairness Doctrine remains law," a caller said. "The Fairness Doctrine protects the liberal Democrats from criticism, and the liberal media from congressional investigation into their practices."

STAR TREK IV WINS TWO OSCARS AT THE 59th ACADEMY AWARDS FOR CINEMATOGRAPHY AND SOUND EFFECTS

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home became the third film in the franchise to take home at least one Oscar. At the 51st Academy Awards in 1979, Star Trek: The Motion Picture famously won five Oscars, leading all movies that year. Three years later, at the 54th Academy Awards in 1982, Ricardo Montalban won for Best Supporting Actor in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Star Trek III missed out when William Shatner, the only nominee, fell short for Best Actor. The Voyage Home was not nominated in any of the big six categories, but it did receive four nominations: Leonard Rosenman for Best Score, Mark Mangini for Sound Editing, Best Sound, and Best Cinematography, for Donald Peterman. Jennifer Jones announced Peterman as the winner for Best Cinematography, a category previously won by The Motion Picture. Peterman was initially nominated for Flashdance but fell short; this was the pinnacle of his career. "I am blessed to be a part of the Star Trek franchise and a part of history tonight," Peterman said to the crowd at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Mangini took home the award for Sound Editing, beating two formidable competitors: Top Gun and Aliens. "I didn't think I would win, so I didn't prepare a speech," Mangini said. "I'm on top of the world right now." The two wins for The Voyage Home bring the total number of Academy Awards for the venerable franchise to eight. Star Trek founder Gene Roddenberry expects more in the future. "I don't think we'll stop at eight," Roddenberry said. "We'll win at least a couple of more with this cast before they retire."


STARFLEET INTELLIGENCE EPISODES

EPISODE 109: THE BORELLIANS (Airdate: March 3, 1987). Uhura's team is facilitating first contact with the Borellians, a species in the Hinterlands territory disputed by the major galactic powers. Admiral Fitzpatrick wants the Borellians to join the Federation because they have telepathic abilities which will allow them further access into what the Klingons and Romulans are doing. Unfortunately, both the Klingons and Romulans show up on Borellia, and all three intelligence teams present their cases to the Borellian leader, Michaelus, as to why their planet should be a part of their empires. The Klingons promise protection to the Borellians and an opportunity to join the Klingon fleet as brothers in arms. The Romulans use Admiral Fitzpatrick's plan; the Borellians would be the only species under Romulan rule to join the Tal Shiar. Michaelus is about to accept the Romulan offer when Battles makes the save: the Borellians would not only be offered protection, but an opportunity to install a member of their leadership on the Federation Council, therefore skipping the line on membership. Uhura wonders whether that is possible and contacts Admiral Fitzpatrick, who negotiates with the President for a sixteenth Federation Council member. President Roth would only agree if Coridan receives a Council vote. The matter is resolved and the Federation gains a key ally and a foothold in the Hinterlands.

EPISODE 110: THE TELLARITE TRAVAILS (Airdate: March 10, 1987). The Tellarites threaten to secede from the Federation because the Borellians received preferential treatment from the Federation President. The Starfleet Intelligence team is tasked to restore Tellarite participation in the Federation Council because they believe that there is a separatist faction that does not support Tellar's continued presence in the Federation. The team is successfully able to keep Tellar in the Federation, but at a cost; the Tellarites reduce the number of Starfleet personnel they provide by half, requiring the other major Federation worlds to supply more manpower to keep the fleet intact.

EPISODE 111: THE TRELLUM TRAP (Airdate: March 17, 1987). Battles and Marx are captured on an away mission by the Trellum, a rival species to the Borellians, The Trellum are upset that the Borellians received preferential treatment from the Federation and asked for admission previously. They were denied because there were elements of Trellum society that voted for admission to the Romulan Empire, and the Federation could not take a risk with a planet seeking to secede immediately upon membership. Uhura and Karlax are tasked to rescue them, but they are also captured, this time by the Tal Shiar, who turn them over to the Trellum. Marx finds a weakness in the Trellum; they can be overwhelmed by their most base emotions. Marx telepathically enters several Trellum security guards and disables them, leading to Battles' and her escape. They rescue Uhura and Karlax; Karlax gains a greater respect for Marx, who he always considered a weak link on the team.

EPISODE 112: A STITCH IN TIME SAVES MORE THAN NINE (Airdate: March 24, 1987). Uhura mysteriously disappears. The rest of the SI team receives a signal from the Guardian of Forever; a renegade SI agent, Jonathan Forbes, entered the Guardian of Forever at the exact moment Khan's Reliant attacked the Enterprise. Forbes appears on the Reliant and gives Khan the prefix code. When Kirk and Spock attempt to use the code, it fails and Khan destroys the Enterprise. Battles must lead the team through the Guardian and find Forbes before Uhura disappears forever. They apprehend Forbes, but when they return through the Guardian portal, Karlax vanishes. The jump through the portal changed time again: Khan used the Genesis Device to destroy Kronos. With Uhura back, the SI team minus Karlax goes back through the portal and finds that Khan built a base in the Kronos sector to reengineer the Genesis device to use on Earth. Uhura's team stops Khan, using Marx's telepathy, and the timeline is restored.

EPISODE 113: PRIME IMPORTANCE (Airdate: March 31, 1987). The Klingons make an incursion into Federation space beyond the Neutral Zone territory in the Martellus system, but the Federation cannot defend the area due to it being so far from Earth. The Federation debates what to do; the Martellus natives are a 21st century society working on a warp engine but contact with them violates the Prime Directive. The Federation bans Uhura and team from going, but Karlax determines that the Prime Directive does not apply to him as a Klingon and goes alone to Martellus. He arrives but is captured by Klingons loyal to the deceased Kruge after a fierce firefight. When Battles finds out that Karlax is in custody, Uhura prepares a secret mission to rescue Karlax, despite Starfleet's reluctance. The Federation bans travel to Martellus so Uhura and team travel to Klingon space and rescue Karlax on his home planet, Morska, which was threatened by Kruge's forces.


SEVEN episodes left in Starfleet Intelligence...we have to send this series out with a bang

 

[dsp19]

A long time between updates but life got in the way. We'll close in on the end of Starfleet Intelligence; filming of Star Trek: The Next Generation's pilot episode begins, set for a September release; Eastern Europe calms down a little bit, and a big NFL update, specifically focused on the Chicago Bears.

NICHOLS, PERLMAN, MORGAN REFLECT ON THE END OF STARFLEET INTELLIGENCE

Nichelle Nichols: It was the best of times, it was the best of times. No Charles Dickens tale here. The five years of Starfleet Intelligence changed my life completely and reshaped American television as much as any series in the 1980s. Carrying the Star Trek banner on television as Uhura, a black woman, fulfilled my life. Even though Gene Roddenberry wasn't a fan of various aspects of the show, I disagree with him; it fulfilled the Star Trek ideal. Starfleet Intelligence was the first time we brought together humans, Klingons and even Romulans together to fight for a common cause. The series-long plot advanced a potential peace between the Federation and the Klingon Empire, which I believe will occur before the rest of the original Star Trek cast and I walk into the sunset.

We also introduced some incredible new characters. Ron Perlman is the most popular actor at Star Trek conventions, even surpassing Leonard Nimoy, which I thought was impossible, considering how popular Spock was in the 1960s. In my opinion, Ron will win an Academy Award someday. He is that talented an actor. Cindy Morgan proved that she's more than just a pretty face. She has acting chops, and I hope she continues to find more film and television roles. Cindy's Mikaela Marx character was an inspiration for the Next Generation honchos, who wanted a Betazoid character on their series. Morgan's role advanced the Star Trek ethos because she figured out non-violent solutions to potentially violent problems.

I know that Andy Robinson, who played Nerva the Romulan for a couple of seasons, wants to appear in more Star Trek. I've heard that the producers on The Next Generation are interested in giving Andy a recurring role, but they had to cater to Rutger Hauer and Patrick Bauchau first, because they are bigger names. But I believe Robinson is just as good an actor. He'll definitely play a huge part in Trek going forward because he lives for it. I'm proud of Alfre Woodard. She became a star on this show and an even bigger star when she was nominated for an Academy Award in Cross Creek. I regretted it when she left the show, but she has a big movie career in front of her, and she'll get more recognition from the Academy in the future. We helped launch Don Cheadle's career; he got his first major role here playing Cadet and Ensign James, and he's destined for stardom. If I had one regret, it was not finding S. Epatha Merkerson sooner. She hardly got a look in Hollywood before we gave her a call. She made the right choice picking us over Pee Wee Herman, no offense to him. ABC is thinking about bringing her on for a new Vietnam War series they plan to produce called China Beach.

Our series proved that diversity wins the day, every single day. We showed the networks that black women are powerful and popular. We had two black women as second leads for three of our five years, and our ratings were actually highest in those seasons. We also won our Emmy Awards in the first two seasons. We created a new model for how television shows should work. We launched the careers of several actors and actresses, including black performers. That is our greatest legacy.

Ron Perlman: I'll never have more fun in my life in Hollywood. Playing Karlax, the Klingon secret agent, was a joy every single day. I was completely obscure, looking for work, eating Ramen noodles before the call came from Paramount about a casting call for a new series with a Klingon actor. I always wanted to play a Klingon and thought that I'd make a great villain. My character was even better than that. Karlax was one of the most complex characters in the history of the Star Trek franchise, and is universally popular for his wit, emotional depth, and his willingness to set things right after committing heinous acts in his previous life. I never worked a single day on the Starfleet Intelligence set because Nichelle made it fun every single day. Our opinions were always valued and respected. I think that was due to Nichelle's experience on the original Star Trek where she was marginalized at times in her first two seasons playing Uhura. She made certain that nobody was marginalized on set. She told us that her primary goal as the show's leader was to do everything differently from William Shatner. I don't know Shatner that well, so I can't speak about his attitude towards others. But I couldn't imagine working for a better leader than Nichelle.

As for the conventions, I LOVE THEM! I make sure I stick around to sign autographs for every single fan, no matter how long it takes. A couple of times, Nichelle and I were in New York for conventions, and Nichelle wondered why the autograph line for me was twice as long as for her. "I thought I was the lead on Intelligence," Nichelle joked. I guess playing a super popular alien attracts fans more than playing a super popular human. One time during my first year of doing conventions I was approached by a crying teenager who told me that he didn't fit in the in crowd at high school because he wasn't a popular athlete and wasn't popular with the smart kids, despite being smart himself. He thought about harming himself with a knife. I told him that my character never fit in with the in crowd either and I was kind of a social outcast at my high school. I told him that I became a Hollywood star by being unique and different. Four years later, that young man is in his junior year at Columbia University, getting A's and is on track to graduate as a pre-med. His story made me happier than anything I did on set, and I loved working on set.

Cindy Morgan: I starred in Tron before receiving the call for Starfleet Intelligence back in 1982. I was almost typecast as a dumb blonde who could never take on a serious role in Hollywood. Starfleet Intelligence still allowed me to be sexy, but in a complex way, instead of like Phoebe Cates in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Mikaela Marx will always be my favorite role, even if I move onto greater things. Nichelle told me at the start of the series that if I wanted to wear a bikini, it would be my choice, not anybody else's in the studio. There were suits at Paramount who really wanted me to show a lot of skin because they thought that it would improve ratings, but the ratings were pretty good anyway. The only two times I was in a bikini, it was my choice, not anybody else's. I had my love affairs on the show, and they deepened my character. Ron Perlman got more teenage girls signing autographs, but we both got the same number of teenage boys. I did sign a few bikini posters along the way, but I was surprised at how most of the conversation at conventions revolved around my character. The fact that Mikaela Marx was appreciated just as much for her personality as she was for her looks, and that is difficult to accomplish with a Hollywood blonde.

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION BEGINS FILMING
GERROLD HINTS AT HIV EPISODE AND GAY CHARACTER

Paramount wasted no time refitting Soundstage Nine, their full-time Star Trek stage, for Star Trek: The Next Generation. Three days after Starfleet Intelligence concluded filming their series finale, stage designers Michael Okuda and Rick Sternbach built the bridge of the USS Enterprise-D (four starship Enterprises after the original NCC-1701 and three starship Enterprises after the newly unveiled 1701-A). "I can't believe how modern and bright it is," series lead Patrick Stewart said. "It looks like a lounge on a cruise ship. My chair is the most comfortable chair that I've ever sat in." LeVar Burton, playing first officer Geordi LaForge, toured both the bridge and the engineering set. "I love the bridge but the engineering set is even more amazing," Burton said. "If I knew engineering would be so perfect, I would have taken the chief engineer's role instead of the first officers'. I envy Dwight Schultz, with all that room in engineering as opposed to the bridge." Jonathan Frakes and Michael Dorn immediately walked over to the weapons consoles behind the captain's chair. "We are going to be firing these a lot, I hope," Frakes said.

Insiders on set saw Days of Our Lives star John de Lancie on set. It is unknown what character de Lancie will play, but he appeared in a very weird costume with an incredibly strange hat which was twice as large as his head. Interestingly, Gene Roddenberry, who was largely marginalized from the production of Star Trek: The Next Generation, was on set. In exchange for taking a backseat to showrunner David Gerrold, he got to direct and produce the pilot episode. When we tried to talk to Roddenberry, he gave a curt "no comment" and shooed us aside. Gerrold was slightly more talkative. "The pilot episode is intended for the widest audience possible," Gerrold said. "But we will hit every single hot-button issue that affects the 1980s world in a Star Trek way. Starfleet Intelligence was highly successful discussing social issues, and one of the most important episodes of the first season will discuss the HIV pandemic, an issue near and dear to me." Gerrold also provided a very interesting spoiler that could cause significant controversy. "There will be a gay character on Star Trek: The Next Generation in the first season," Gerrold said.

EASTERN BLOC CALMS DOWN WITH GORBACHEV RETURN
GLENN PROMISES GORBACHEV NOT TO EXPAND NATO

Mikhail Gorbachev's return to the Kremlin immediately thawed relations between East and West, which almost turned nuclear during the ill-fated Gromyko government. Riots in Moscow, Leningrad and Kiev calmed down, though unrest remained in the Baltic capitals, yearning for independence from the USSR. Gorbachev promised new Polish president Lech Walesa a drawdown in Red Army troops, which would occur by the end of 1990. Gorbachev also wrangled out of Walesa the right to transport troops to East Germany, which ensured for the time being that Germany would not reunify before 1988. Poland and East Germany would remain in the Warsaw Pact for another year; both countries would decide their fate then. It was a fait-accompli in Moscow that East Berlin, now influenced by the Bonn government, and Warsaw would leave the Communist alliance like Czechoslovakia did in 1983. The hardliners in the Supreme Soviet balked, but they were in no position to launch another coup against Gorbachev after Gromyko's disastrous failure. They had next to zero credibility among the Soviet people, especially in Moscow and Leningrad, where the coup was least popular.

In response to the Warsaw Pact's imminent dissolution, Gorbachev met President Glenn in Helsinki to discuss the future of Eastern Europe. Gorbachev and Glenn signed a pact that allowed a future East Germany into NATO, but ensured that Czechoslovakia, Poland, and the other former members of the Warsaw Pact remain officially non-aligned. Glenn was loathe to accept this arrangement, but he agreed to it after Gorbachev promised to remove intermediate range nuclear missiles from the Warsaw Pact nations. The Helsinki accords were signed on April 26, 1987, and a relieved world finally saw the two superpowers cooperating again. Glenn got the missiles removed from Eastern Europe, a huge victory for him, while Gorbachev earned a lesser win by ensuring that most of Eastern Europe did not join NATO. However, there were voices in the Soviet Union warning that a future American government would balk on its promise, and there were even comparisons between Gorbachev and Neville Chamberlain among the hardliners, who feared another invasion like 1941 if America reneged and allowed Poland specifically into NATO...

WILBON: IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE BEARS' DECADE, BUT THE GIANTS CRASHED THE PARTY

Note: This update specifically attempts to simulate what an alternate TL Michael Wilbon would have thought about the state of the NFL in 1987.

The Bears haven't won an NFL championship since 1963, and it doesn't look like they'll win another one anytime soon. That cold winter day, December 29, 1963, the Bears defeated the New York Giants 14-10 after injuring the great Giants quarterback Y.A. Tittle. The Bears have not been to the championship game or Super Bowl since. Although Mike Ditka offered us promise, he hasn't delivered the Lombardi Trophy. On his first playoff run, the Bears made an NFC Championship game in 1984 and lost to an all-time great 49ers team in a shutout. The Bears' surprising run in 1984 raised expectations for 1985.

We were supposed to win it all in 1985. We were on track to do so for almost the entire season, with the Monsters of the Midway destroying almost every team in their path. A 15-1 regular season, only marred by an unlucky loss to Dan Marino's Dolphins, proved we were the best team in the NFL by a significant margin. The playoffs should have been a walkover, a coronation for an all-time great defense. 1985 was supposed to be our year, and the rest of the decade should have led to a Bears dynasty. But Lawrence Taylor knocked out Jim McMahon, our injury-prone quarterback, and the Giants, a nine-point underdog, shocked the world and the Bears at a Soldier Field expecting an easy victory. The Bears haven't recovered since.

The Giants, the last team we defeated for a world championship, way back in 1963, would go on to win Super Bowl XX, which rightfully should have been ours. The Bears then missed the playoffs in a woeful, injury-riddled 1986, allowing the lowly Minnesota Vikings to win the NFC Central. The Giants, a surprise in 1985, swept aside everybody in 1986 to the tune of a 14-2 season and a dominant playoff run where they outscored their opponents 105-23 on the way to Super Bowl XXI. Bill Parcells' Giants are headed for a three-peat, and it doesn't look like anybody will stop them. The Giants own the Redskins. They crushed the 49ers 49-3 the last time they saw them. The Cowboys, once a superpower, are now a losing team. The Eagles have Buddy Ryan but are breaking in a new quarterback in Randall Cunningham. The Rams don't have Eric Dickerson anymore. Where is the competition?

The Giants just acquired Irving Fryar, the great Patriots wide receiver, to strengthen the only weakness on their team. We signed Doug Williams from the Redskins, adding a fourth quarterback to a crowded quarterback room. Mike Ditka might shuffle the deck even more at quarterback than he has the past two seasons. I like Doug Williams and think he got a raw deal in Tampa but I'm not sure he'll even replace Jim McMahon, let alone win us a Super Bowl. Maybe the rest of the NFL's only hope is that Bill Belichick, the former Giants' genius defensive coordinator, is now the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. So maybe the Giants will drop off a little bit on defense. (fat chance to that with LT!)

To compound the Bears' woes, the legendary Walter Payton is thinking about retirement. Walter is on the Bears' Mount Rushmore and is a certain first-ballot Hall of Famer. He deserves a Super Bowl ring more than anyone in the NFL. Mismanagement and the lack of a competent starting quarterback (yes, I'm looking at you, Jim McMahon and all the mediocrity at quarterback before you), prevented Payton from making the playoffs for most of his dozen years in Chicago. The legendary Walter Payton will likely end his career the same way Dick Butkus and Gale Sayers did: A Monster of the Midway without a championship to his name. The Bears look hopeless in 1987. Somebody prove me wrong.


STARFLEET INTELLIGENCE EPISODES

Hat tip to @Ogrebear

EPISODE 114: THE PARASITIC WORM. (Airdate: April 7, 1987). At Starbase 78, a strange parasite is causing humans to behave like zombies. A Starfleet Intelligence operative, Lieutenant Willis, warns the rest of SI not to intervene and orders a quarantine. He also orders the destruction of the starbase within 48 hours. However, Starfleet Medical determines that the worm is vulnerable to polaronic radiation and have developed a cure. The problem with polaronic radiation is that it is also fatal to humans in high quantities and cause a permanent reduction in brain function even if given in low quantities. Despite this, Uhura and her SI team warp to Starbase 78 quickly to save the afflicted crew. Unfortunately, they are forced to kill several members of the crew to save the rest. Once the danger has passed, Commander Chapel evaluates the surviving crew for brain function and determines that it is indeed possible to restore them to nearly functional Starfleet officers, but they need a two-year rehabilitation. Karlax discovers that the parasitic worm was smuggled from a planet in Orion space. President Roth demands that the Orions cease all activities along their border with Federation space and threatens war. After a quick battle, the Orions retreat and are forced to accept the loss of the planet with the worm from the Intergalactic Council of Peace.

EPISODE 115: MUDD'S LAST HURRAH (Airdate: April 14, 1987). In his final on screen role, Roger C. Carmel appears as an aged Harry Mudd. Mudd was stealing Maravel dragon eggs from Orion smugglers, but he is in over his head when they hatch before he expects them to. The newly hatched dragons cause chaos on Starbase 15 and Uhura's team is called in to stop them. Marx is able to telepathically communicate with the alpha dragon, and they stop rampaging the station. However, Mudd is bitten and lays dying. Marx tries to save Mudd but is unsuccessful. Mudd's last comment to Marx before he dies: "Mikaela, I'm fortunate to die seeing the most beautiful woman in the galaxy." Uhura and team capture the lizards and bring them back to the preserve.

EPISODE 116: BLUE AND GRAY. (Airdate: April 21, 1987). Uhura and team are on the USS Grant headed to Archanis to deliver supplies to the Neutral Zone border world. However, on their way, they encounter an anomaly that bends time. Uhura and her team are transported back to 1862. Battles disappears. Unlike in our timeline, the Confederates won the Battle of Antietam and are marching on Washington. Uhura infers that somehow the bend in time caused the Confederates to keep their battle plans secret from Union forces, leading to their victory. Karlax theorizes that Battles disappeared because her family perished due to the fact that she was a descendant of African-American slaves. The rest of the SI team dresses up in 19th century costumes as they avoid Union and Confederate soldiers shooting at each other near Washington. Fortunately, the USS Grant was also transported to the 19th century, but they cannot communicate with Uhura's team due to the anomaly. Uhura theorizes that radio waves could reach the Grant, so she and Karlax construct a primitive radio from their communicators. They beam a radio message to the Grant and escape just before the Confederates find them. The Grant then slingshots around the Sun to the day before the battle of Antietam. Uhura then takes a shuttle to Earth unnoticed and tells a Union soldier where the Confederate battle plans are. The timeline is restored and Battles reappears; the Grant makes it back to the 23rd century.

EPISODE 117: PLANET OF SECRETS, PART I. (Airdate: April 28, 1987). The SI team are called to Starfleet designated planet Alpha 332, home to a humanoid like species who have built a civilization much faster than the anthropologists think they should have. Tellarite commander Gorm explains that the world is built on the ruins of a previous civilization and the local Turracas people have been rediscovering many relics at a speed that makes them think they are being guided by someone or something. International relations on this world are also occurring in ways that seem artificial. It is up to the SI team to unwrap the mystery. Going undercover requires the team altered to look local, even Karlax. With the help of the POV character from the opening, an Alpha 332 resident named Kut, (played by Jeffrey Combs) they infiltrate a base where they find a military team investigating what is clearly a partly uncovered, unexploded 20th century nuclear missile, The markings on it look similar to an American missile but are not American. The team spread out to find out more and discover the scientists are getting information from a console which speaks with a computer voice. Uhura and Marx charm a scientist who reveals VOX is the one guiding this dig, and it is VOX who is in charge. Immediately after VOX is mentioned, Uhura's team is held in a forcefield, captured by the mysterious VOX.