Alterniverses

[JALU3]

Or what if Earth never developed Warp . . . but a different form of travel, Say a form of the B5 Hyperspace . . . developing their own transwarp wormholes or such.

Or what if after a nuclear war started by an Iran/Russian/United States Conflict . . . lead to a birth of Jedism as the prevailing worldwide religion . . . thanks to a small group of Jedist in Perth being the predominate techonologically advanced surviving group.

Or what if the Bajorans went all militant with their early advanced technology and decided to lord over their area of space, and start expanding thereafter.

Or what if the Andorians had found a way of subjecting the Vulcans early on, prior to anyone getting involved with Earth . . . and a neighboring species decided to "enlighten" us, and bring us up to help them against the torenting Andorians?

Or what if the Voth had never left the System . . . and returned to Earth . . . and brought up evolving primates to be a subjegated species?

Or what if all those conspiricy theories with the Grey's and the Illuminate are true . . . and they are really in cohoots with each other . . . and are purposfully keeping Earth primative, yet protecting the system from external influences.

Or what if all the cetaceans were secretly an advanced technologically and right before the planet was cleared for demolition . . . and just as the first sleeper colony ship was about to launch . . . launched their own sleeper ship of their own . . . causing the human sleeper ship to halt . . . and then get demolited with the planet.

[Tricky]

Well, Gary Seven WAS the instrument of some alien power that had been on guideing Earth for centuries.

I think it's an unwritten rule for Trek that warp drive is the only propulsion system that really works (with Transwarp being it's eventual successor; all the others really don't seem to do much), but I tossed around similar ideas where new and better propulsion systems change the balance of power.

Another idea we've all tossed around is one where Earth is attacked/invaded/conqured and eventually throws off it's oppressors. They then adapt that tech and become a space fareing race. All we know is that that first race we met almost killed us all: When that Vulcan Scout ship shows up, will we let them land, tell them to buzz off or shoot them down.

Do we become an aggressor species?

[The Tatterdemalion King]

I think it's an unwritten rule for Trek that warp drive is the only propulsion system that really works (with Transwarp being it's eventual successor; all the others really don't seem to do much), but I tossed around similar ideas where new and better propulsion systems change the balance of power.

It could be that it's the only system that's really efficient, given what people want to do–independantly move stuff around across large distances. If everyone was living on one planet, like Aldea or Triskelion, their ground-based remote-manipulation technologies might be preferrable–just zap a freighter, or just a bunch of boxes, to another planet, have it pick stuff up, then zap it back.

Another idea we've all tossed around is one where Earth is attacked/invaded/conqured and eventually throws off it's oppressors. They then adapt that tech and become a space fareing race. All we know is that that first race we met almost killed us all: When that Vulcan Scout ship shows up, will we let them land, tell them to buzz off or shoot them down.

Do we become an aggressor species?

We'd become an emotionally conflicted aggressor species, probably with internal groups agitating for social change. Or we'd destroy ourselves in an orgiastic conflict that wouldn't end, just eat away at the species until there's only a few people left, with no drive but the hate and desire to survive.

It is Trek after all.

[First of Two]

I've fallen behind. More alterniverses soon.

The problem is I've had more time at work (where I am right now) than at home to log on lately, and all my write-ups are at home on paper, and need to be scanned in and edited.
Soon. Really.

Alterniverse: "What if Fo2 won the Powerball and had the spare time he wants?"

Oh, I know that one. Fo2 uses his vast winnings to buy himself the 2008 Presidency, NASA's budget is more than tripled, a vast Apollo-level program to build orbital power stations is initiated, and by 2030 the US fuels the free world with cheap solar energy. Everyone laughs as the economies of the Middle East collapse.

[Alex]

One alterniverse I've been thinking about since the beginning: Bab Trek. No, it's not that original, but it actually works! And at the same time combines my two favorite universes.

TOS Era setup of powers:
The same races from Star Trek are used, with their traditional Star Trek characteristics, but they may have slightly different influence and contact with other species in Bab Trek.
The Babylon 5 Council and League of Non-Aligned Worlds are represented by the Federation Council. Vulcans fill the same space as the Minbari as an older, quirky space-faring race which fills the spiritual and intellectual needs of the setting. Earth/Starfleet naturally takes the role of Earth/Earthforce in Babylon 5. The Romulans correspond to the Centauri, an old and proud race that feel they are due a turn as the masters of the galaxy. Some of the Roman-aspects tie the two races together between the shows. The Klingons correspond to the Narn, whose space is close to the Romulans/Centauri, and have a barbaric, militaristic tone when viewed by those outside their empire. Klingons also are building up their military and have an agressive expansionistic policy. The remaining League worlds are easily represented as the many members of the Federation, where details are unimportant. That covers the main races of both shows.
The major powers of Babylon 5 are the Vorlons and the Shadows. There are a number of ways to handle these two in TOS-era Trek, but I settled on the following. The Shadows are the race that created the Planet Killer ("Doomsday Machine"). They were never directly featured in Star Trek, so have fun with them however you want. That was the only hostile device of the appropriate power in TOS, as well as the only TOS weapon seen destroying planets. For the Vorlons you can take either of two tacks: Organians, or mix several races/episodes. I suggest the people of Omicron IV, the Medusans, and the Preservers. I'll explain why later. If you take the latter option, you can use the Organians as the First Ones of Babylon 5.

TOS Era setup of events:
(Note that events prior to Babylon 5 Season 1 are not necessarily the same. For example, the Vulcans/Minbari never waged jihad on Earth.
The Shadows (Doomsday Machine creators) manipulate events behind the scenes and nobody really knows they exist. They instigate war between the Romulan Empire and Klingon Empire. Meanwhile they manipulate politics within the Federation to foment fear and doubt among the member worlds, including the death of the President.
The new President's office seems content to allow the Romulan Empire, now growing in power and aggressiveness, to steamroll over the civilizations that are not Federation members. The Romulans struck a devastating blow to the Klingon Empire and the scales seem to be turned between them, with RE now in agressive expansion and KE a waning power desperate to sign on aid from anyone.
The Vulcans, the oldest spacefaring race involved, while vaguely aware of the past existence and events surrounding the Shadows, refuse to acknowledge their possible existence today. Clinging tightly to pacifism and logic, they distance themselves from other races to deal with their own internal conflict of leadership as the whole debate over logic and violence prior to the Great Awakening is renewed.
The Medusans (Vorlons) are actually the advanced species that has been guiding the galaxy for hundreds or thousands of years. Gary 7 was a Medusan-modified agent for this cause. They are also the race which helped seed regions of the galaxy after major conflicts so they could mold the growing cultures ("The Paradise Syndrome"). Like Vorlons, the Medusans are somewhat gaseous or incorporeal. The Vorlons used their advanced telepathy to make viewers see them as angels, saints, or gods. The Medusans use their advanced telepathy to drive anyone seeing them mad so that their true identity can be concealled.
In Babylon 5, a Shadow vessel is encountered and destroyed by luck and quick thinking by Captain Sheridan well before they reveal themselves. In Star Trek this corresponds to the destruction of the Doomsday Machine. Unlike in Star Trek, it was not a single weapon of a dead civilization as Spock surmises. It is actually a ship of a dormant, but waking power well beyond the Federation's level.

I don't know if that's complete. I know I've thought it all out in the past. I'm just trying to reproduce it from memory and not my notes since I'm at work. Just felt I could contribute to the Alternaverses, even if it's not 100% original.

[The Tatterdemalion King]

Alterniverse: "What if Fo2 won the Powerball and had the spare time he wants?"

Oh, I know that one. Fo2 uses his vast winnings to buy himself the 2008 Presidency, NASA's budget is more than tripled, a vast Apollo-level program to build orbital power stations is initiated, and by 2030 the US fuels the free world with cheap solar energy. Everyone laughs as the economies of the Middle East collapse.

...who won the what?

Why couldn't the economies of the Middle East adjust?

[First of Two]

They don't have much else to export, do they?

[The Tatterdemalion King]

They don't have much else to export, do they?

I suspect they'd just retool to deal with the influx of cheap energy.

...Isn't the whole point of the Medusans that they're beneficent but horrific, while the Vorlons shiny but corrupt?

[Alex]

IIsn't the whole point of the Medusans that they're beneficent but horrific, while the Vorlons shiny but corrupt?

You can interpret it that way. That was, I believe, the intent of the episode ("Is There in Truth No Beauty?"). However, the point of alternaverses is co-opting things presented one way and interpretting them in another viable but unexpected way.

We know the Medusans are telepathic and non-corporeal. We know humans seeing them go mad. The assumption suggested by their name is that they are so hideous that they drive men mad. My interpretation is that they use their powerful telepathic skills to drive men mad, allowing the humans to believe it was their appearance that did it. In this way they protect their identities just as the Vorlons protected theirs by wearing encounter suits.

If this does not suit you, then the Vorlons can become the Organians. Outside of this alternaverse I try to forget the Medusans ever existed. There are too many problems with their effect on humanoids for them to have ever begun interacting with other species.

[Alex]

The other of my two alternaverses. It takes the premise of the original Battlestar Galactica, but only because I discovered that after the fact. The original version had nothing to do with BSG.

Quote #1: "When they come, they will come in numbers." - Guinan, "Q Who"
Quote #2: "There are those who believe that life here began out there, far across the universe." - Introduction, Battlestar Galactica

TNG Era setup:
This universe is identical to Canon up to "Best of Both Worlds, Part II" (start of TNG Season 4). Many ships were lost at Wolf 359, but the Enterprise saved Earth by compromising the Borg central computer. When the Borg cube was destroyed, the Collective became aware of it's self destruct, examined its records, and evaluated the odds and returns of taking the Federation. They came to the conclusion that it was lower risk to invade now than to wait and that they could assimiliate the most advanced civilization in that part of the galaxy with minimal loses.
Three months after the events of "Best of Both Worlds", ten Borg cubes were spotted approaching the edge of Federation space. All Starfleet vessels were recalled and sent to intercept. In a matter of days they had assimilated a dozen Federation worlds. Nothing had yet slowed them. Two days after the arrival of the first wave, a second wave of ten more cubes arrived. The Romulan and Klingon Empires entered the war. After just 6 days, a score Federation worlds had been assimiliated. Instead of proceeding with the gradual advance, 12 cubes broke from the predicted pattern of conquest and headed for the heart of the Federation. Half these ships went to Earth, half to Vulcan. Every ship in Starfleet made a stand with the added support of Klingon and Romulan forces.
Surprisingly the Romulan and Klingon technology was different enough to grant the destruction of one Cube and the crippling of another near the Neutral Zone. One cube was also destroyed at Earth with the use of a top secret R&D project. However, this was not enough, and the core of the Federation was assimilated.

The USS Galaxy was on the distant frontier of the Federation and got the recall order. It was two weeks from Earth at maximum warp. It monitored subspace communications while en-route. When Earth fell the plan was to continue to Earth and do what little it can to halt the assimilation process. Two days from Earth the Galaxy encountered refugees fleeing Earth. The mission was clearly hopeless and it was decided the best they could do is escort and protect the fleeing refugees. With the Borg assimilation of the Federation (and soon Klingons and Romulans) in progress, the only hope seemed to be in finding an advanced civilization, or at the least advanced technology. The Galaxy began the journey back to the frontier with refugees in tow, now looking to either find a Preserver world which could be looted for advanced technology, or ideally to find a few surivors of the Preserver race. The search is on!

This campaign is very dark as the support of the Federation is gone and enemies are always near. The ship must evade the expanding Borg space while upholding the ideals of the Federation, protecting the growing fleet of refugees, and exploring dead worlds in hope of finding something or someone to help defend against the Borg. It does sound a lot like Battlestar Galactica, so I gave it that name, but really I wasn't thinking of copying that show when I wrote it (I don't even like BSG).

[Tobian]

well it does sound a lot like BSG, with the key difference that there is no Earth to head too! It could be quite intreaguing, as a premise.. Not only would there be Federation members, but races from both quadrants.. Romulans, Bajorans, Klingons, Cardassians, assorted client and member worlds. The entire region would have been decimated: Any vessels that proved to be a threat, would have likewise been assimilated. I very much suspect there'd be quite a few Romulans out there, since they a) have advanced cloaking technology and b) unlike the Klingons they would not fight till the last man!

Another intreaguing premise is this is before the Dominion.. What would happen if the Skreean found the Wormhole anyway.. they were fleeing the Dominion oppression of their world and in their thousands of ships might have stumbled on it (it was part of their mythology too, as well as the Bajorans, so they may well have been close neighbours and received orb visions and fragments?).. having passed through.. monitored by the Dominion, the Dominion could have investigated, finding.. the horror of Assimilated Federation! Depending on when in the timeline it was they may find an untouched, abandoned or even assimilated Bajoran Home-world (the Bajorans wouldn't be that interesting to the Borg, since they had no technology as such, but they may have attacked to get at the Cardassians who were only 10 light-years away)... the Dominion could either be a saviour or a menace, or something else...!

Also depending on their 'escape course' they would either head towards the galactic core and on to the Gamma Quadrant (the only uninfected one they knew of) which might have caused them to bump into them anyway, eventually haha But they would also bump into species seen in the later series of Voyager which was between the Delta and Beta quadrants, near the core (they got about half way home haha!)

Another possible option would be Tholian space.. they are alien enough and technologically advanced enough they might be able to repell the Borg, if they actually created their subspace interphaze pockets, they could mask themselves from the Borg, and maybe the ragtag fleet could ask to hide in there (better the devil you know!)

Another intreaguing idea might be the elusive Cytherians, who we encountered in 'the Nth degree' and never reappeared, but they also lived close to the galactic core.

The most likelly 'ally' would of course be Species 8472: Assuming that assimilating the Federation was a negligable blip on their path, the Borg would have likelly encountered and went to war with Species 8472, and would rapidly begin... loosing. Assuming someone could contact them, and side with them, this could effectivelly mean the Borg might get wiped out all together.. leaving a race to recolonise the Federation, and other worlds in that region, and lead on to a whole new series... Startrek Aftermath!

[Tricky]

Alex and Tobian, that was a pretty dark and dangerous verse you guys built.

I just had an idea, rooted in TOS: What if the Andromedans sent not a few scouts to our galaxy, but an armada!?! (yeah, i know they are supposed to invade sometime in the far future of Trek, but hey, it's my alterverse). This armada is mostly regular, non-humanoid Andromedans, with maybe some humanshape ones to interact with us lower beings.

Unable to counter such force, the FED seeks help from the Klingons and Romulans, who at first are more than happy to watch the 'puny terrans' get trampled, but when their losses prove to be greater than the FED's (brute force and duplicity don't really work on beings from a cosmic level society), they throw their lots in with the 'Earthers'. Now, the battle is on: can the combination of Courage (the FED), Strength (Klingons) and Guile (Romulans) work to stop the Andromedan advances into our galaxy?

Ideally, you could set this in TOS era, but a later era would work (but not as much dramatic tension).

[The Tatterdemalion King]

I see Borg, captured and reprogrammed into a terribly virulent form, used as berzerker weapons against the Kelvan colonies.

And Founders, presumably, could imitate a Kelvan just as easily...

[The Tatterdemalion King]

Alright, this thread has inspired me to write a couple timelines to use as BtFF articles. I invite y'all to do writups for consideration too...

Development Notes

This is the format I'm thinking the pieces would use. It's a slightly formalized version

POINT OF DIVERGENCE: A few sentances describing the initial situation in the Trek universe, and what went 'wrong' in the new alternate universe. Preferrably this will be a specific event that a PC Crew can influence.

UNHISTORY: About 500-1000 words describing what's happened since the divergence point, followed by a description of the 'present' situation.

This 'present' can be any of the common Trek eras, but the choice of which should reflect which series would find the changes in the alternate universe most dramatically important–So the differences between "Yesterday's Enterprise" means that the present is the TNG run; extrapolating into a future Dominion War conflict or alternate Timefleets would lose focus on the notable difference, which is the Klingon/Federation conflict. Alternatively (heh), a universe where the Orions invaded Earth in the Bronze age could use any of the Trek Eras as a 'present,' as the difference is so totally divorced from the regular timeline regardless of when.

NOTABLE PERSONS: A few important present figures–ones the Crew can encounter in an episode featuring this universe, either alternate versions of regular Trek characters, or new characters that exemplify the situations in the new timeline.

ENCOUNTERS: What problems will Crews from the original universe face that are unique to this universe? What situations would illustrate the new timeline to visiting Crews?

[First of Two]

Continuing... because I can't sleep...

The Alliance
This is the 'canon' Mirror Universe. The following description is based on the Television episode, and the "Dark Passions" book duology. It was originally written before "Through a Glass, Darkly" came out, and I haven't read the "new" MU books yet.


Divergence point: Assumed Prehistory

The Terran Empire was weakened by Spock's ill-timed peace initiative, and was conquered by an alliance of the Klingons, Cardassians, and Bajorans, who divided the former Empire amongst themselves and set up an equally repressive regime. Most star systems or sectors, including those of Sol (home to the decimated Earth), Betazed, and Bajor are ruled by an "Intendant" who reports directly to Regent Worf, the de facto leader of the Alliance. Various factions within the alliance constantly plot against one another, and the few remaining independent nations, as well.

The Alliance is made up of its two founding members, several latecomers, and a number of small systems and empires that were 'liberated' by the Alliance during the war against the Terran Empire. They include:

The Klingon Empire: The Empire, overseen by Regent Worf, is governed by Chancellor K'mpec, although the two frequently disagree. Worf is supported by Duras, his adoptive brother, while K'mpec is supported by Councillor Gowron.

The Cardassian Empire: The Empire is overseen by the Detapa Council, headed by Natima Lang, and its security is maintained by the Military, let by Gul Dukat, and The Obsidian Order, led by Enabran Tain.

The Ferengi Empire: This Empire, not so very different from the Ferengi in 'our' universe, is ruled by Grand Nagus Zek, Nagus for life.

The Breen Empire: The Breen remain the most mysterious race in the Alliance, appearing only in their environmental suits and speaking only in their bizarre dialect. Their Intendant is Thot Gor.

The Tholian Empire: Governed by Emperor Loskan, and still a largely xenophobic society, the Tholians assisted in the final drive into the Terran Empire, reclaiming lost territories and exacting vengeance for their lost homeworld.

Ktarian Empire: A smaller Empire and 'johnny-come-lately' to the galactic scene, the Ktarian Empire is overseen by Intendant Etana Jol.

Orion Empire: A vast Empire, controlled by the Orion Syndicate, a criminal organization, and overseen by Intendant Varinna.

Trill: A strategically important world, overseen by the Commission of the Joined, led by Intendant Verad Dax.

Bajor: An ancient world, Bajor is overseen by Intendant Kira Nerys, after a brief period of being overseen by Cardassian Intendant Gul Dukat, which followed the death of Intendant Opaka. Nerys is opposed by First Minister Winn Adami, who is secretly a member of the Circle, an organization which fights against the Alliance, and which is led by Li Nalas and Jaro Essa.

Betazed: A strategic world liberated by the Alliance after years of exploitation by the Empire, Betazed is just beginning to bloom again. Traumatized by the events of the occupation and war, Betazed is in a period of isolation from galactic society. It is governed by its ancestral Houses, and overseen by Intendant Deanna Troi.

Sol: Home to the former Terran Empire, Site of the ravaged Terra, but also location of many bustling trade colonies on Mars, Titan, and Europa, Sol and its remaining Free-Terran population is overseen by half-Klingon, half-Terran Intendant B'Elanna Torres.

Andor: "Liberated" by the Alliance, The Andorian system is governed by its intendant Kolax Ivari.

The Kzinti Empire: One of the few remaining "independent" Empires, The Kzinti wait on the outreaches of Alliance space, maintaining a quiet neutrality.

The Romulan Empire: Ruled by Empress Sabrel, the Romulan Empire is the only power currently at war with the Alliance. Although greatly outnumbered, the Rornulans' tactical skill and superior vessels have so far allowed them to successfully resist the Alliance.