Star Trek Hunter Episode 11 - Intersections and Reunions
- Thread starter Robert Bruce Scott
- Start date
One of the problems never answered in the series - how to protect endangered terrestrial wildlife from alien poachers (we can't even protect them from terrestrial poachers...)
Glad you enjoyed this bizarre little romance - Thanks for the reviews! rbs
Star Trek Hunter
Episode 11: Intersections and Reunions
Scene 11: Executive Conference Room, U.S.S. Hunter
11.11
Executive Conference Room, U.S.S. Hunter
Executive Conference Room, U.S.S. Hunter
Dr. Kim Soo had never been aboard the U.S.S. Hunter. She had been used as a life and personality model for a single medical hologram. Following the disastrous misuse of holograms modeled on Dr. Louis Zimmerman, new regulations prohibited the use of any individual as a model for more than five Emergency Medical Holograms or Emergency Holographic Engineers.
Dr. Kim had been called to the U.S.S. Hunter because the hologram modeled on her was now claiming to be a sentient, self-aware being, which would entitle her to the same rights as any of the member species of the United Federation of Planets.
This required a hearing and Dr. Kim had been summoned as a material witness. On entering the Hunter’s executive conference room, she found herself immediately wondering why her mother was here. With a shock she realized she was looking at an older version of herself. She found herself wondering about the other people in the room. Kim Soo had spent much of her life in a small town in Korea. She had occasionally seen bolians and andorians, but had never before been this close to either. There had been a bolian professor while she was studying at the Yonsei University School of Medicine in Soeul, but she had never taken any of his classes. She was not afraid, just curious, trying not to stare.
The other woman in the room was so stunning - an older Chinese woman - that it was nearly impossible not to stare at her. If only she were a few years younger, Dr. Kim Soo would have gone after her in a hot second - the uniform would not have stopped her - even Star Fleet captains had to date…
Justice Bill Ryan was the last person to step into the room. At 6’6” and nearly 400 pounds, Ryan dwarfed everyone else in the room. Ryan was Native American – a member of the Caddo Tribe – and he looked it. He was just the older side of middle age, only a few stray gray strands in his thick black hair. While he was not as tall nor as fit as the vacationing David Pepper, Justice Ryan had clearly mastered the big man’s art of making people feel immediately at ease - as though nothing could go terribly wrong as long as he was around to handle it. He smiled warmly at everyone in the room.
“Captain Minerva Irons, I don’t think I have ever seen you in uniform,” Ryan drawled in a thick, Oklahoma accent.
“I am not the judge in this room today, Bill. As captain, I am the defendant. But you are correct, it has been years since I wore a uniform. The day I took command of this ship. And before that, the last time I retired from Star Fleet.”
“You have retired from Star Fleet at the rank of captain four times,” Ryan observed. “Came back into service four times. More than 90 years in Star Fleet - 78 at the helm of a starship - eight ships… I think we’re trying the wrong case here. Seems to me there’s a case to be made about your sanity…”
Irons gave an easy laugh. Bill Ryan was a very easy man to like.
Justice Ryan produced a gavel from the inside of his judicial robe, placed a block on the conference table and called the hearing to order. “Okay, this is a formal hearing into the legal status of the computer program, initially created to serve as the emergency medical warrant officer on the tactical unit of this vessel, the U.S.S. Hunter, and known as Dr. Kim.”
Ryan turned to the hologram. “Just so that you are aware, Dr. Kim, 28 holograms have requested recognition of legal status under the laws of the United Federation of Planets. So far, each one who requested, has been granted legal status. But it’s a bit of a pyrrhic victory – we do not have much in the way of facilities. So before we get underway, tell me what you want to accomplish from this hearing.”
Dr. Kim Soo watched with fascination, listening to her own voice, but with an unfamiliar ring of maturity.
“I want to continue to serve on the Hunter, as long as this vessel is in service. But I want my right to choose my own life, to manifest when I want, to study, to own what I create, take a lover…” She glanced at Dr. Boles.
Justice Ryan smiled. “You are not the first hologram who chose to sue for legal status for romantic reasons, Dr. Kim. Just for the record, please help us understand how you came to be self-aware. That was not part of your initial programming.”
“I remember all my programming and everything I experienced since being brought online two years ago,” said the Tactical Medical Hologram. “The first time I remember having an emotion… I had been transferred from the tactical unit to the wagon to look after two crew members who were under attack by a serial killer. I remember – excitement? Maybe pride? They were my patients. But the first real excitement was when they woke up and I knew they were going to be okay.”
“Medical holograms are designed to have emotions,” Justice Ryan observed. “It’s necessary for proper social response. But the programming is designed to prevent self-identification with those emotions.”
“That was part of my programming that was corrupted by the Strain Zero of the Weaponized Bloodborne-Computer-Borne virus – Weapon BCBs0.”
“Woah - wait, I think we’ve skipped something here,” Ryan said.
Captain Irons spoke up. “I think we need to remove Dr. Kim Soo from these proceedings for this part of the testimony. As a member of the Tribunal, you are cleared for this level of security, but she isn’t.”
“I have to disagree, Captain,” Ryan replied. “As a model for a Star Fleet issue holographic personality authorized for service as a warrant officer on a Star Fleet vessel, Dr. Kim Soo is required to maintain top secret security clearance. And for her testimony to have proper weight, she needs to hear all of this. She stays.”
Irons turned toward Kim Soo, “Well, I tried to protect you from this…” She turned back toward Justice Ryan. “A little over a month ago, we were made aware of an attempt to use a weaponized virus against the bolian population. Sixty-eight bolians were murdered using a virus that has been designated by Star Fleet Medical as Strain Zero of the Weaponized Bloodborne-Computer-Borne virus – Weapon BCBs0. The Tactical Medical Hologram, Dr. Kim, was infected by the computer borne version of the virus. To protect the ship’s main computer, the data carte containing her program was ejected into space and later rescued. In a desperate attempt to crack the computer code based part of the virus, I authorized a custom environment be constructed for Dr. Kim with enhanced processing to allow her virtual temporal control. She sped her processing up so that over the period of 18 hours, she was able to spend 37 years cracking the virus.”
“You look good for your age,” Dr. Kim Soo said to her holographic doppelgänger.
“I am able to control my appearance. I don’t really want to be 63, but I don’t feel 26 either. I sort of split the difference and decided to go with 45,” the hologram replied.
“Still, not bad. I look good with a little bit of gray. I think the chicks will still go for this… Wait… You’re into the blue guy? How does that work out?”
“I’m not really sure. I knew you were a lesbian, but I’m not really sure what I am. I think I might be bisexual. That’s part of why I want my legal status. I’m curious. I think in some way, sorting that out will satisfy something in me…”
Justice Ryan held the hammer end of the gavel in his palm as though it were a pipe, lightly tapped the block three times with the end of the handle. “Okay - let’s try to get back on course here…” Ryan was smiling. “So your programming was contaminated by the Weaponized BCBs0…”
Dr. Kim resumed her narrative. “So I deactivated it. And the effect was immediate – I was aware of an intense amount of ‘me-ness.’ I sped up my temporal processing just so I could handle it. I think the first four of those 37 years I spent cracking the code were primarily self-discovery. I felt it was necessary so that I didn’t lose any key experiences.”
“Favorite song?” asked Ryan.
“Diving into the Sun - Krull, K’rok and Pepper,” the TMH responded without hesitation.
“Dr. Kim Soo,” Ryan drawled, turning toward the hologram’s namesake, “Is this person you?”
“Lemme see, she likes some klingon music I’ve never heard of, she likes outies as well as innies - if not better than, she’s into blue dudes and she’s in denial about being older than my mom,” Kim Soo replied. “So… pretty much not me.”
Justice Ryan turned toward Captain Irons. “A vital system on your ship wants to be declared independent. If this happens, you will not be allowed to use the same model as a replacement – that code will have to be embargoed, only to be used for an emergency patch for this person here. Do you want to contest Dr. Kim’s request for official personhood recognition?”
Captain Irons adjusted her collar, looked at each person in the room, cleared her throat, placed her hands on the table and leaned in toward Ryan.
“No.”
“Well, this was one of my easiest rulings of the year,” Ryan said. “Dr. Kim, it is my honor and distinct pleasure to officially recognize you as a fully sentient, independent and sovereign citizen of the United Federation of Planets. The freedom to choose is yours.”
11.11 (of 14)
Ep 11 is a bit of a respite - a chance to show a 25th Century Earth worth fighting for. Calm before the storm...
Glad you enjoyed this small victory for Dr. Kim - it becomes a significant plot point in a later episode.
Thanks!! rbs
Star Trek Hunter
Episode 11: Intersections and Reunions
Scene 12: The Smith Estate, Kauai Island, Hawaii
11.12
The Smith Estate, Kauai Island, Hawaii
The Smith Estate, Kauai Island, Hawaii
Kenny Dolphin and T’Lon transported together from the U.S.S. Hunter to the Smith Estate on Kauai Island. It was something of a homecoming for T’Lon – her parents, Skyvaak and Tr’Pro, were waiting for her. Kenny Dolphin’s daughters, fresh from the beach with wet hair and sand on their bikinis, were also waiting at the beam-in point. But no one was more eagerly awaiting their arrival than T’Lok’s parents, George and Ev’Lon Smith, along with their sons, Vuk and Surrol.
Dr. George Smith was very dark skinned, smoothly muscular and had never worn a shirt since retiring from his post at the Hanamalulu Music Institute when T’Lok was 10. Kenny Dolphin was amused by this odd bit of knowledge about T’Lok’s father rising from apparently nowhere and felt a rush of affection for the man, embraced him easily.
“I’ve been talking to your daughters – happy girls,” Smith said. “You are a lucky, lucky man. You lost your daughters. And now they have found you again. And now I know a little of what that feels like.”
Dolphin couldn’t help but laugh. He looked in wonder again at the sharp-edged red and emerald green mountains, the bright orange sand, azure blue sky, darker blue of the Pacific Ocean. It was like nothing else on Earth. It was like something from an alien planet. It was home.
“You can feel it. I see it in your face,” Smith continued. “This is home.” He looked over at T’Lon, who was separately greeting T’Lok’s mother and brothers. “For both of you. For your daughters too. It is good to have Dolphins in these waters. Go. Hit the surf. It’s perfect right now. My sons have taken an interest in teaching your daughters.” He handed a small tube to Dolphin. “Take care of that white skin. Sunburn will sneak up on you very quickly. Once you notice it, the damage is already done.”
Dolphin and T’Lon spent some time on the waves. He had added a number of her positioning and balance exercises to his morning calisthenics in hopes they would help if he got a chance to surf again and the exercises paid off. He was somewhat better than a raw beginner. While the quadropseudoprozadiazomine had not quite worn off, he could still feel the telepathic presence of T’Lon, giving him pointers just before he needed them, helping to build his confidence and ability.
Vuk Smith and Surrol Smith were instructing River Dolphin and Starlight Dolphin respectively. After he had retired to the beach, Kenny watched with interest - River was a natural and she had probably surfed before. Starlight was hopeless and would probably need one of T’Lon’s lessons. But she was determined and managed a few unsteady, but for her triumphal rides on the smaller waves. They would have several days here and were welcome to stay as long as they preferred. There would be plenty of time for lessons.
After a slow and merry dinner at which he observed vulcans so much at ease and so much part of the families of the Hawaiians who owned and cared for this land that they had essentially become one people, Dolphin retired to the orange sands to lie down and look up at the stars – this time far more comfortably than on Ocean, as a large, thick beach blanket had been provided for him. He had spent some time talking with his daughters, getting to know Vuk and Surrol and T’Lon’s parents and the socializing had, after a few hours, exhausted him.
Kenny Dolphin was finally beginning to relax when T’Lon joined him. He appreciated her companionship. T’Lon shared his appreciation of silence and for some time they simply lay there, listening to the waves.
“I don’t think River wants to leave,” he said after a few minutes.
“Then she should stay. She is welcome to.” T’Lon glanced at a gazebo where most of the dinner party, including Dolphin’s daughters and T’Lok’s brothers were still talking in animated fashion. “Vuk would not be displeased.”
Dolphin rolled onto his side toward T’Lon, propped his head on his hand – elbow in the blanket - which allowed him to observe the gazebo as well. “What made you and T’Lok ever want to leave this place?”
“Vuk, Surrol, Ev’Lon – and my parents – all biologists. My parents were recruited to help preserve the native wildlife – the land and the sea. This is their adventure. T’Lok loved this place, but the stars were always calling to her. Calling me too.”
“Your people are wanderers. They couldn’t stay on Vulcan. Or on Earth, apparently. Not even a place like this,” Dolphin said.
“Some of us. And some of you,” T’Lon said.
Kenny took a deep breath, looked about at the magnificent Hawaiian landscape. “I want to come back here, some day. Back to stay. But given what the captain told me about your venture beyond romulan space…”
“We have to leave this place to save this place. River can stay here. As long as she wants. But you and me,” T’Lon said, “We cannot. Not and stay true to who we are.”
Kenny Dolphin looked beyond T’Lon, observing the people in the gazebo. His younger daughter was talking with T’Lok’s mother, Ev’Lon. “Starlight,” he said. “She can’t stay either.”
“She’s a wanderer, too.”
“Star Fleet?”
“Or a freighter. Or a salvage vessel…” T’Lon smiled.
Kenny Dolphin laid back, hands behind his head. “Something wonderful, I hope…” He yawned widely.
“Have no doubt…” T’Lon relaxed on her side, her head on her clasped hands, her breathing slowing and deepening, allowing sleep to come.
Starlight was observing her father with T’Lon. “I thought he said their affair was over,” she said quietly to no one in particular - too quietly to be heard.
“They’re closer than that,” said Ev’Lon. She took a seat beside the young woman.
Starlight was startled - “How…”
Ev’Lon raised an eyebrow. “Telepathy… vulcan hearing… paying attention… Those two,” she looked at Dolphin and T’Lon - completely engaged in their own conversation, “A part of my daughter lives in each of them. My T’Lok smiled all the time. Now T’Lon smiles – I never saw her smile before, even when she was a little child. She and your father may take other lovers – other spouses. But no one will ever be closer to them than they are to each other. T’Lok and T’Lon were inseparable. In a way, I think those two will become even closer than that.”
11.12 (of 14)
Review 11.12 - Another lovely respite on Kauai and some excellent character development. It's good to see these people at peace, given what's happened and all that's likely to come. It may be the calm before the storm, but these are quiet moments people live for, even those sworn to hazardous career fields.
Thanks for the kind words! I'm gratified the intent of this scene came through. The Dolphin/T'Lon relationship is one of the long threads running through STH. Along with an emphasis on family. Particularly Dolphin's rapprochement with his long-estranged daughters.
Thanks!! rbs
Star Trek Hunter
Episode 11: Intersections and Reunions
Scene 13: Ban Bang Chum Tho Fertility Clinic, Surat Thani, Thailand
11.13
Ban Bang Chum Tho Fertility Clinic, Surat Thani, Thailand
Ban Bang Chum Tho Fertility Clinic, Surat Thani, Thailand
In a small room filled with candles, the walls lined with hundreds of photographs of babies and parents, Belo Cantys sat comfortably on the floor. A wooden chair had been provided to Lynhart Shran in deference of his advanced age. Even though she was more than a decade older than Investigator Shran, Dr. Amporn Pali, widely considered the Alpha Quadrant’s leading expert on interspecies fertility, sat in the Lotus position on the floor, holding hands with Cantys. Clasped within one pair of hands was a small, brightly polished bronze Buddha. In the other, bajoran prayer beads consecrated to the prophets.
Since Lynhart Shran followed no religion, he sat with his hands upturned in his lap, palms open. His eyes were closed, but his antennae were quite active, responding to the thick clouds of incense wafting about the room and making it difficult for him to breathe. There would be no escaping this ritual – outside the ring of candles that surrounded the three, wreathes of smoky incense created a visually impenetrable fog.
Shran listened in silence as the two women chanted prayers – one in Bajoran, the other in Thai. Religious ceremonies made Shran uncomfortable. But Dr. Pali was widely considered one of the greatest scientists in her field and insisted on blending religion and science for best results. She had made it clear that she expected her non-religious clients to silently meditate on their hoped for results while she prayed. Religious clients were to pray to whichever deity was appropriate for fertility. One full day of science. One full day of prayer. These were Dr. Pali’s requirements. But her results were simply astonishing – by far the best average for any genetic interspecies fertility consultant anywhere in the Alpha Quadrant.
At long last, the prayer had come to an end. Shran had to stand up and stretch to ease the pain in his back. He massaged his buttocks ruefully. The chair did not come with a cushion. Dr. Pali smiled. “I apologize I have no softer seats for you, Investigator. But I can tell you that you will have a son. And a daughter. It will not be tomorrow, but soon and the two of you must continue trying.”
Belo Cantys stood up and stretched, her tiny, young, lithe body seemingly unaffected by the hours of sitting on a hard wooden floor. “The treatment?”
Dr. Amporn Pali smiled. “I have uploaded the files and have provided consultation to your Dr. Jazz. He understands the instructions and will not have any difficulty synthesizing the treatment. It should produce best results within 6-8 weeks, but the two of you should try every night until you achieve the desired results... and for healthy, happy baby, and healthy delivery, do not stop - continue every night until the week before birth…”
Cantys clapped her hands in delight and turned toward Shran. Lynhart Shran rolled his head back, his eyes and antennae slowly crossing.
11.13 (of 14)
Star Trek Hunter
Episode 11: Intersections and Reunions
Scene 14: C.D.S. Milithra
11.14
C.D.S. Milithra
C.D.S. Milithra
Gul LeMark had come to loathe Remma. The diminutive romulan woman had begun to dominate his life. She did not directly interfere with his crew, nor did she countermand his orders. She was far, far more subtle than that.
When Remma had helped him identify and kill 11 Obsidian Order (cardassian military intelligence) agents (including his former captain) and 4 Tal Shiarr (romulan military intelligence) agents on his ship, LeMark had been grateful. He had no desire to take his ship - the latest and best in cardassian technology - into the Gamma Quadrant on a fool’s errand to attack the Dominion. This had paid handsomly. Of the 8 cardassian war ships that had been provided cloaking generators by the Tal Shiarr, the C.D.S. Milithra was the only one that had not been destroyed. And it was now LeMark’s ship. Or so he thought when he took the title “Gul” (captain.)
Remma had become LeMark’s client, allowing him to keep the Milithra out of the ensuing Dominion War and providing a constant stream of resources to keep his ship in top shape, his crew fed and his various bank accounts full.
But LeMark was smart enough to never let his guard down with Remma. She might be small, but like any romulan, she was far stronger than the strongest cardassian. And he suspected that she was an agent for the secretive Imperial Intelligence Control - the civilian intelligence agency that reported directly to the Romulan Imperial Senate.
So he was more than mistrustful when she announed the he was about to meet their client. Remma ushered LeMark to the same small interview room where only a few months earlier, his interview with then Governor Emory Ivonovic had gone so horribly wrong. LeMark had avoided that room ever since.
He entered the room with more than a little trepidation.
A severe looking, ancient vulcan with bright blue eyes was seated in one of the chairs. He was clad all in black with a black robe. Twin emblems of the United Federation of Planets were embroidered in brilliantly colored silk on each of the robe’s lapels.
“Gul LeMark - please be seated.”
LeMark did not want to sit. He did not want to stay in this room one second longer. A Chief Justice of the Federation Tribunal was the last thing in the galaxy that he wanted to see - much less be seated well within arms reach of. LeMark panicked. He had to get out of this room. He decided to make a run for it.
But instead of bolting from the room, he found himself sitting down. His mind was screaming at him to flee. His body would not obey. It was obeying the commands of another mind.
With the speed of a snake, the ancient vulcan captured LeMark’s face between his hands.
“My mind to your mind… Your thoughts to my thoughts….”
11 – Intersections and Reunions
This is the final scene for Episode 11.
The adventure continues in Episode 12: Prisoner in the Ice Castle.
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Review 11.13 ...and poor, poor Shran, how I feel for all the unfortunate suffering he must enduring in the following weeks...
Yeah... That girl is going to be the death of him... But what a way to go...
Glad you got a kick out of that one! And that you liked Dr. Amporn Pali's technique.
Chief Justice Scrivax, the sociopath who turned Scumuk into the Breakfast Killer (and his own daughter into BK#2.) Scrivax (who was in the boat in 11.8) is the 2nd ranking member of Section 31 (after Julian Bashir.) He's the enforcer.
And that cardassian battlecruiser with the romulan cloaking device just became a Section 31 asset...
Section 31 is full of dangerous old vulcans.
Thanks!! rbs
"Brhadaryanka Upanishad 1.4: the world is said to have come into existence because the Primeval One, having become bored being the only being in existence, split Itself into a variety of forms and manifestations (i.e., the material world and all of its beings) so that, through them, It could experience a loving and playful relationship with Itself."
Most genesis stories of the Universe are similar in one thing. Before a first god or a god's first creation, desire comes into being. It is from this desire (will, as Schopenhauer would call it in his book) that the awakening of the Universe happens.
In the Abrahamic traditions, Genesis isn't actually quoted as claiming God created day and night; he separated day from night. The Greek traditions describe the Cosmos (a word that means order) as coming out of Chaos (often described as the Void). It wasn't an act of creation, something from nothing, the beginning, so much as an act of awakening and imposing order. "In the beginning, there was the Word." "... and he said, "let there be light." Each animal was brought before Adam to give it a name. Consciousness, in the case of self-awareness, is an act of will, an act of desire.
My own story does not convey this as well as I'd like, but it was when the Vulcan realized that it wanted something other than to do what it was ordered to do, that it knew it was conscious.
I love this whole concept. Bringing a previously believed machine of pure stimulus/response to the Federation courts to petition for recognition, is as good as philosophy gets. As satisfying as having the ruling go so easily in Dr. Kim's favor, I was hoping for more struggle to come to terms with this. Perhapse a delayed ruling, a reflective brief written by Dr. Kim. Still, it is important to keep the action going. Not every reader will want to explore these questions in depth. So, BRAVO! This is a great arc that I hope is not fully closed after this.
After the ruling, where does Dr. Kim stand as a member of Star fleet. Star Fleet officers and personnel are not free to act completely of their own will. By joining Star Fleet, there is a contract to act and live as Star Fleet regulations require, for the good of Star Fleet, for the good of Earth, for the good of the Federation, and for the good of fellow crew aboard the ship to which they have been assigned. Does the newly sentient TMH have to apply to reenter Star Fleet? To stay on board the ship, and maintain rank, Dr. Kim would have to pledge to the office of ship's doctor. There are limitations to individual sovereignty.
I am loving this part of the story. Thank you.
-Will
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Thanks for the kind words! Justice Bill Ryan was based on a friend of mine who became the Vice Chairman of the Comanche Nation. I liked the idea of an American Indian adjudicating this case.
In the STH Trekverse, all Star Fleet independent holograms are Warrant Officers. Technically, even though they are not considered self-aware, they are capable of giving orders, due to their life-saving expertise. There are only two classifications - Medical Warrant Officer (Dr. Raj and Dr. Kim) and Engineering Warrant Officer (Hunter). Voyager's EMH is now the Master Chief Warrant Officer in charge of the holographic warrant officer program. He will figure largely in year 3 of this story.
In the STH Trekverse, all Star Fleet independent holograms are Warrant Officers. Technically, even though they are not considered self-aware, they are capable of giving orders, due to their life-saving expertise. There are only two classifications - Medical Warrant Officer (Dr. Raj and Dr. Kim) and Engineering Warrant Officer (Hunter). Voyager's EMH is now the Master Chief Warrant Officer in charge of the holographic warrant officer program. He will figure largely in year 3 of this story.
Dr. Kim's story arc started with Episode 8 (when Kenny Dolphin argued that she should be rescued instead of reconstructed - something Carrera insisted on as well) and hits its zenith in a future episode. Her arc will eventually be eclipsed by Voyager's EMH.
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