The Hansen Diaries

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Captain Seafort
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Post by Captain Seafort »

Tiberius wrote:And the El Aurian refugees picked up on the Enterprise B.
Right ho, I wasn't sure whether you were including the attack in the story as one of four or a fifth.
Only two things are infinite - the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the universe: Albert Einstein.
Tiberius
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Post by Tiberius »

No one's mentioned that scene in the limo! That's one of my favorites, I'd like to know how you guys think it worked.

Anyway, here's the next chapter.

Mountains

It was early in the morning, and the sun was beginning to peek over the eucalypts. Irene opened the curtains in the guest room and sunlight flooded in. She went over to the bed and gently shook the shoulder of the young girl under the sheets.

"Annika," she said. "Wake up Annika."

Annika moaned, rolled over, and continued to snore.

"Wake up, Annika," Irene said. "It's a bright morning."

Annika grumbled tiredly. "Don' wanna gerrup," she slurred.

Irene sighed. Annika had been staying with her for the last six weeks, and every morning had been the same. Annika had slept in until late in the morning. At first, Irene had thought it was jetlag (an old term for the disruptions in sleeping patterns that accompanied a change in time zones which had survived even though the jets from which the name had derived hadn't been used on Earth in centuries), but a week after Annika's arrival in Sydney, Irene had begun to think that maybe the little girl just wasn't a morning person. "We're going out today," said Irene. "Remember I told you we'd be going out today?"

Annika opened an eye and looked at Irene for a moment. "Yeah "

"So, hurry up and we can leave soon," Irene said, pulling the sheets down to the foot of the bed. Annika swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. "I'll help you get dressed," said Irene, unbuttoning Annika's pyjama top.

"Where are we going?" asked Annika as Irene pulled a clean shirt over her head.

"We're going to see the Three Sisters," said Irene. She had been there many times before, studying the history of the Blue Mountains. Irene had been in Australia for more than a decade working on her research, but no part of the country had captured her heart like the rugged bush of the Blue Mountains.

Annika looked a little confused. "Who are they?" Annika asked.

Irene smiled. "They aren't people, they're rocks."

Annika's expression of confusion became more pronounced.

"They're three big outcrops of rock up in Katoomba," explained Irene. "They're very special to the Aboriginal people that used to live here."

"Why are they special?" Annika asked.

"Well, the Aboriginal people had lots of stories about why things are the way they are. And they had a story that tells how the Three Sisters were formed. A long time ago, there were three girls who lived with their father, a powerful magic man. They had a happy life, but there was a Bunyip who lived nearby."

"What's a Bunyip?" asked Annika.

"It's a kind of monster and was supposed to be very scary," explained Irene. "The magic man used to go out hunting everyday, and while he was away, he would put his daughters on a high cliff to make sure they were safe from the Bunyip. But one day, while the girls were on the cliff, a big centipede came. The girls got frightened and threw rocks at the centipede to scare it away. But the rock fell over the edge, and when it hit the ground, the impact made the cliff start to split away. The sisters were trapped! The noise of all this woke up the Bunyip, and all the creatures began to run away. But the sisters couldn't go anywhere."

"'Coz they were trapped," said Annika as she pulled on a pair of jeans.

"Yes, because they were trapped," said Irene. "The Bunyip woke up, and when he saw the three girls, he was very angry. He lurched towards them. The girls' father heard all this, and he looked up at the cliff and saw what was happening. He had to protect his daughters, so he took out his magic bone and turned the girls into stone so the Bunyip couldn't hurt them. But the Bunyip turned on him! Quickly, he turned into a lyrebird to escape the Bunyip, but he lost his magic bone. After the Bunyip had gone away, the magic man went to look for the bone so he could turn his daughters back into people, and he's still looking for it today."

Annika looked at her disbelievingly. "Did that really happen?" she asked sceptically.

"Not really," said Irene as Annika pulled her shoes on. "Come on, let's get some breakfast before we go."

*

It was a pleasant autumn day in the Blue Mountains, and Irene and Annika decided to walk down the hill to Glenbrook station. There was a slight chill in the air, but it wasn't much, just enough to be noticeable. They had both packed jackets, as they were expecting even cooler temperatures in Katoomba. The hovertrain station was near the national park , and as the two of them approached the steps that led to the platform, they could see trees along the ridge of rock opposite them, black from fire.

"Why are those trees burnt?" asked Annika.

"We had some bushfires here in summer," said Irene.

"Were they bad?"

"Yes they were," said Irene. "Some people lost their houses, they were burnt down."

"Did anyone die?"

"Not this year."

"They die other years?"

"Sometimes," said Irene.

"What's it like?" asked Annika.

Irene thought for a moment. Ever since the introduction of the weather modification net twenty years previously, the summer bushfires had not been as bad, and as the Australian forest needed fire, bushfires were generally allowed to burn unless they threatened homes. However, sometimes, due to the unpredictable nature of the Australian weather, houses were sometimes lost. "It can be scary sometimes," said Irene. "The sky turns orange from all the smoke, and it can get hard to breathe. And sometimes, ash comes out of the sky like rain and covers the ground."

Annika looked at Irene wide eyed.

*

"Annika, wait!"

Annika ran down the hallway to the guest room and slammed the door behind her. She had been in a bad mood for the last hour. They had arrived at the Three Sisters mid morning after walking down the hill from Katoomba. However, as soon as Annika learnt that there were steps cut into the rocks heading down to the base of the Three Sisters, she wanted to climb down them. Irene, who knew how steep the stairs were and how exhausting it was to climb back up, wouldn't let Annika go down. Annika, however, was insistent, and became very grumpy.

"Come on, Annika," said Irene, going to the closed door of the guest room. "Won't you come out?"

"No!"

"Please, Annika, don't be like this."

"I wanted to go down the steps!" said Annika from the other side of the door.

"It was too steep," said Irene. "And I'm getting too old for that sort of exercise."

"But I really wanted to go down." Annika was mumbling now instead of shouting.

"It's very hard to climb back up," said Irene.

Inside the guest room, Annika was silent.

"Are you going to come out?"

"No." There was the sound of creaking springs. Annika had gotten onto the bed.

Irene sighed, and for a moment, she was glad that Magnus had chosen to carry on the family name instead of her. Sure enough, she was only a few years older than Magnus, in her mid thirties, and she could still have children if she wanted to, but after spending the last few weeks with Annika (who Irene had decided was too intelligent for her own good), she had become even more certain that she did not want to have kids.

She went to the kitchen. If Annika didn't want to come out by herself, then Irene would just have to bribe her to come out. She wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do, but she didn't want Annika staying in the guest room for hours and then coming out late at night asking for dinner.

*

"Annika?"

It had taken Irene a while to make the tart; she was not a very good cook, and was thinking about getting a replicator. The smell of strawberries had filled the house, wafting down the hallways.

"Annika?" Irene said again.

"What?"

"I've got something for you."

There was a moment's silence from inside the guest room. "Is it strawberries?" Annika asked, and Irene grinned.

"Yes it is," said Irene. "Can you smell them?"

There was another moment of silence. "Yes "

"It's a strawberry tart," said Irene. "Your mummy said you liked strawberry tarts. I've got a slice and it's all for you."

"Really?"

"Yes. But you have to come out if you want it."

"Do I hafta?"

"Yes, Annika."

"Can't I eat it in here?"

"No, Annika."

From inside the guest room, Irene could hear Annika sigh heavily. "Oh, okay." There was the sound of bare feet on carpet, and the door opened a crack, creaking softly. Annika looked out, a grumpy expression on her face. "It looks yummy," she said, still grumbling.

Irene smiled. "It's very yummy."

"Is it replicated?"

"No, all fresh."

Annika opened the door all the way and stepped out slowly. She reached up and picked a strawberry slice from the top of the tart, and she popped it quickly into her mouth. She chewed for a moment, then she looked up at Irene. "They're not fresh strawberries," she said.

"But it's still yummy," said Irene. "But if you don't want it, I'll just throw it away."

"No!" said Annika. "It's still yummy."

And as Annika took the plate and ran down the hall to the dining room, Irene shook her head and turned to follow her.
Go and read my fan fic "The Hansen Diaries"! And leave comments!
Tiberius
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Post by Tiberius »

Keep the feedback coming guys....
Go and read my fan fic "The Hansen Diaries"! And leave comments!
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Post by Tiberius »

I mean it. I won't post any more unless I know you guys are reading it, and I want feedback.
Go and read my fan fic "The Hansen Diaries"! And leave comments!
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Post by Tiberius »

BUMP.

Come on, if you guys want more, you gotta leave feedback, okay?
Go and read my fan fic "The Hansen Diaries"! And leave comments!
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Post by Tiberius »

If no one is reading this, I'm not going to post any more of the story. If you want to read it, you must comment, okay?
Go and read my fan fic "The Hansen Diaries"! And leave comments!
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Post by Tiberius »

Okay, I'm going to put up another chapter, hoping that this will get some response from you guys. If it doesn't, I'll be deleting this.

Raven

Magnus and Erin had returned to San Francisco the day after meeting with President Valenski, and over the next week they spoke to Admiral Jameson quite a few times, revising their proposal after each communication. Each time, however, Mister Sloan was nowhere to be seen. Jameson had explained his absence by saying that there was work he was doing in Spacedock. He would not elaborate further.

The Hansens had just come from a meeting with Admiral Jameson, as well as Valenski, who had spoken to them over a comline from Paris. While the Hansens had initially planned to perform the research themselves, they had put together a team after they realised that the scope of the investigation was too great for just the two of them. Still, they had kept the team small, the two of them as well as the team they had worked with at Starfleet Headquarters. They had developed a sound working relationship during their time together, and they anticipated that they would be able to work together better than they would if they had put together a new team from scratch.

The Hansens had explained that they felt that keeping their team together was the best way to reduce the risk to the team. Another advantage of the small team was that they would only need a type seven shuttle that could be refitted with the necessary equipment-computers, sensors and so on-and they could travel by booking passage on freighters or other ships. It was not actually the first time shuttles had been used in this way; Richard Galen, an eminent archaeologist, was known to have taken ownership of an older shuttlepod from Starfleet, and he had used it on many occasions during his career. The only disadvantage was that the shuttles were slow and somewhat uncomfortable, but staying in quarters on freighters would minimize the time on the shuttle. It had been then that Jameson surprised the Hansens by telling them that a vessel had already been prepared for them. Erin and Magnus had shared a look. Neither of them had expected Starfleet to have a vessel ready for them so soon.

The rest of the meeting had gone quite smoothly. Admiral Jameson had suggested a few minor changes, and they had been incorporated into the proposal without much difficulty. At the end of the meeting, Valenski had given her approval, as had Jameson, although Jameson still didn't look quite convinced. However, the Hansens' proposal was sound, and there was nothing over which he could object.

From that meeting, Admiral Jameson had taken them up to Spacedock and they now sat in a travel pod, being ferried among the great berthed ships.

"There's still a bit of work to be done on the vehicle we have prepared," said Jameson as the travel pod ducked beneath the engineering hull of an Excelsior class ship, "but we expect to be finished by the end of the week. That should give you time to move your equipment onto the vessel. I apologize for not informing you, Doctors, but the retrofitting we have been doing has been classified top secret."

"We appreciate your effort," said Erin.

"Ah," said Jameson, "there she is."

Erin and Magnus looked out ahead. "Where?" Erin asked.

"Just out ahead," he said. "The Armstrong class ship."

Magnus stared for a moment, not comprehending. "That's a starship," he said. "Why have we got a starship?"

"We had expected you to have a team of at least a dozen," said Jameson. "We felt that you would need at least Armstrong class ship."

"Can it be run by a crew of five?" asked Erin.

Jameson thought for a moment. "There should be no problems," he said. "It was designed to be run with a minimum crew, just a pilot, two engineers, an operations officer as well as eight mission specialists. Mister Sloan is on board now. He feels that you should be shown the modifications made to the ship."

The travel pod circled around the Armstrong class ship, and Magnus looked at the registry on the side: USS Raven, NAR-32450. He admired the sleekness of her shape and the cleanness of her lines. The hull was a shape that had been passed down from the earliest Earth spacecraft; a rectangular main hull with a sleekly pointed nose and two nacelles mounted on pylons that came off the side. The shape wasn't as streamlined as the disk-like primary hulls and cylindrical stardrive hulls found on larger starships, but the simple lines of the ship before him had a grace all their own. The pod turned its back on the Raven, and slowly began to move backwards towards the ship. There was a soft clunk as the docking port on the back of the pod mated with the airlock on the starship.

"How much has been modified?" asked Magnus. Admiral Jameson led them out into the starship's corridors.

"Most of the major systems have been modified to varying degrees," said Jameson. "The computer systems, sensors and propulsion systems have received the most attention. We'll start on the bridge. Mister Sloan is waiting for us."

"Then this is what he has been working on?" asked Erin.

Jameson turned to her. "Yes," he said.

They walked along the corridor towards the bridge. The walls were painted in soft beige. It had been a recent trend in starship design, and it was more comfortable on the eyes than the stark aluminiums and steels of preceding classes of ships.

The door to the bridge hissed open. Sloan was standing in front of the helm console, looking at the viewscreen. He turned as they entered. "Hello, Admiral," he said. "It's good to see you, Doctors. I hope you like your new ship."

"She's beautiful, Mister Sloan," said Magnus. "I look forward to seeing the rest of her."

"I'm sure you do," said Sloan, "but we'll start on the bridge. It is very much a normal bridge module for this class of vessel, but the computer tie-ins have been upgraded and are capable of a data transmission rate of twenty three hundred kiloquads per second, and the bridge sub-processor banks have been expanded by nearly fifteen percent. The banks are located in two bays, one behind each pair of the aft stations." Sloan indicated the screen at the front of the bridge. "Also, the main viewscreen has a holographic display, replacing the standard two dimensional screen for this bridge module." He led them to the aft of the bridge. There were four stations, two on either side of the main entrance. Sloan indicated the two port stations. "The environmental and life sciences stations have been replaced with the engineering and tactical stations. The other two stations," he said, indicating the consoles on the other side of the bridge, "are the two science stations, in their original configuration. In essence, the entire ship can be run from the bridge. Also, while we're here, I should mention that the Armstrong class ship is capable of landing on a planetary surface, the only class of starship able to do so and return to orbit. The bridge is located on deck two. Deck one has very little, just the primary deuterium tanks, the matter injector of the warp core, and the aft sensor cluster. Now, if you'll follow me to engineering."

Sloan led them down the portside corridor that led back from the bridge. "There is a small briefing room behind the bridge," he said. "Aft of that, there is an equipment room which contains the majority of the tools needed, such as tricorders and phasers."

Magnus looked inside the room. Inside he could see the cabinets for storing tools, as well as racks on which hung field jackets and medkits.

"Beside the equipment room is the transporter room and the pattern buffer," said Sloan. "The transporter can accommodate up to three people."

The corridor turned to the right. To their left they could see the airlock they had entered through. "We've just left the forward hull and passed into the primary hull of the ship," explained Sloan as they walked down the long straight hallway. "On the right, along the centerline of the ship, are the twin computer cores. They have been upgraded from the standard cores designed for this class of vessel, and they are now capable of storing eight hundred isoquads of data. There are one hundred and fifty isolinear banks and forty seven command pre-processors and data analysis units throughout the ship which function in concert with the twin cores. On the left are the crew quarters, not very spacious, but they have a living area and a bathroom. The quarters are along the outer edge of the primary hull on both sides. At the front of the primary hull are the mess hall and sickbay; the mess hall on port and sickbay on the starboard."

Magnus nodded. "What's next?" he asked. He and Erin climbed back to the upper level where Jameson and Sloan were standing.

"Deck three," said Sloan, leading them towards the aft turbolift. "We'll start at the aft of the ship and work our way forwards."

They emerged from the lift near a set of heavy doors. "Is that a shuttlebay?" asked Magnus.

"Holodeck," said Jameson.

"We have a holodeck on board?" said Erin. "On a ship this small?"

"We felt it would be needed," said Jameson. "Not only to run simulations, but for recreation. You could be operating away from starbases for extended periods. You'll need some recreational time."

Sloan indicated a pair of hatches that ran along the corridor. "These lead to the lifeboats," he said. "They are mounted along the stern of the ship. They are capable of supporting the standard crew complement of a dozen."

Sloan and Admiral Jameson continued towards the front of the ship, approaching a door in the corridor. "This is main engineering," said Sloan as the group went through the doorway. Ahead of them was the Master Situation Monitor. Beyond was a ring of consoles displaying various aspects of the ship's current status, and to their right was the warp core. The reaction chamber was mounted in the floor of a slightly raised platform, and a safety handrail ran around it. The power transfer conduits ran out to the sides of the room along the floor, and they glowed under removable protective grates. Above, they could see a balcony of metal grating that gave access to more consoles. A lift gave access, going up to the top level.

"The layout is standard for this size of starship, but the warp core has been upgraded," said Sloan. "It is a miniaturized version of the new core being developed for the Galaxy class ships. It is more fuel efficient than the core it replaced, and should increase the range up to about a thousand light-years when fully fuelled."

"What is the Raven's maximum speed?" asked Erin, walking up to the warp core for a closer look.

"During preflight tests, she was taken to warp seven point nine," said Jameson. "She handled very well. Design specifications call for a maximum speed of warp eight."

"The impulse reactors were replaced with modules designed to be repaired more easily without starbase facilities," said Sloan. "As a result, there is a slight drop in impulse performance, but we felt that it would be worth it."

"Agreed," said Erin thoughtfully, and she opened the dilithium crystal hatch. "The alignment's been adjusted," she said, looking at the crystal.

"Yes," said Sloan. "That's one of the ways we have increased the fuel efficiency."

"The impulse engines and the warp nacelles are accessible through Jefferies tube in the corridor outside," said Jameson.

"On the right," said Sloan, "is the lower level of main engineering, as well as access to the lower portion of the warp core. There are five of the ten labs along the port edge of deck three," he continued, indicating the doors to the left, "and the other five are located on the starboard side."

"What labs do we have?" asked Magnus. He looked into the nearest one. Inside he could see a bioscanner console and several computer terminals around the walls.

"That's the medical lab," said Jameson. "There are also exobiology, cybernetics, biophysics and subspace systems labs on this side, and on the starboard side are the defence strategies, technology assessment, planetary sciences, cultural anthropology and astrometrics labs."

They continued down the hall and passed the lower section of the twin computer cores. As they entered the forward hull, Jameson pointed out a set of doors on the right. "The life support systems are located here, as well as other crew support systems," he said. "Ahead of us are the torpedo systems, the magazine and the launcher. At the moment, the Raven is fully stocked with fifty torpedoes and fifteen probes of varying classes. All of them are standard, so you will be able to restock your supply at any Federation facility. Also at the bow of the ship are the twin deflector dishes, one on each side of the nose. Deflector control is located here, but it is also accessible from the bridge and main engineering."

"That leaves just deck four," said Sloan.

They emerged from the turbolift in front of another set of heavy doors. "Entry and egress from the ship while on a planetary surface can be made through here," said Jameson. "It leads to the forward landing leg. When the landing leg is extended, there is a ladder that can be used to get to ground level. The main airlock is located in there as well."

"Can we use the airlock if the leg is retracted?" asked Erin.

"Yes," said Jameson. "The other two landing legs are located at the base of the warp nacelle pylons, and the mechanisms can be accessed for repairs from deck three. The majority of deck four is taken up with the cargo bays, and in the aft section are the antimatter storage pods and the tractor beam emitter."

"The complete specifications for the Raven will be sent to you and your team," said Sloan. "Do you have any questions?"

"All the information we have had access to during our research is in the computer core?" asked Magnus.

"Yes," said Jameson. "The data your team got from the wreckage, as well as all the reports from the Kyushu are in the Raven's computer core."

"Admiral," said Erin, "you mentioned that the Federation has found evidence that the Borg exist four times before. What can you tell us about that?"

Jameson sighed. "The first instance was in 2063," he said.

"During first contact?" said Erin. "Dr Cochrane was telling the truth?"

Jameson nodded. "When he made his statements about cybernetic beings from the future, he was generally met with scepticism, and he retracted those statements some years later. However, in light of later evidence, his account of the actual events of first contact gained credibility."

"Later evidence?" asked Magnus.

"The second instance," said Sloan. "Almost a century later. A research team working above the Arctic Circle in Canada discovered the remains of a crashed vessel buried in a glacier. Their logs indicated that they found the bodies of two cybernetically enhanced humanoids. After this discovery, Starfleet re-examined Dr Cochrane's original account of what happened in Montana. The wreckage found had been there for at least ninety years and we determined that his account may be accurate, that the wreckage may have been the vessel Dr Cochrane made reference to."

"Has it already happened?" asked Erin. "Have the Borg already gone back to that time?"

"One of the reasons Starfleet created the Department of Temporal Investigations was to find out precisely that," said Jameson. "Dr Cochrane indicated that a starship was sent back in time. From his description of it, we've been able to determine that it is no class of starship that has ever existed in Starfleet. We've kept a close watch on any Federation or allied ship that has experienced any temporal phenomena since the 2170s, but so far, there hasn't been any indication that the events have occurred, except in our past."

Magnus sighed. "And the third instance?" he asked.

"The third instance was in the year 2271," Jameson said. "The Enterprise was responsible for defending the Earth from a space probe known as V'Ger."

"I know about that," said Erin. "The Enterprise was able to destroy the alien probe before it could remove the life from Earth's biosphere."

Admiral Jameson sighed. "That's not quite true," he said.

Erin gave him an irritated look. "Right," she said angrily. "Once again, Starfleet has kept the truth from the general public."

"V'Ger was from Earth, Doctor," said Jameson.

Erin looked at him blankly. "What?" she said.

"Voyager Six," Jameson said. "It was launched from Earth in the late 1990s, just after the end of the Eugenics Wars. It was lost soon after leaving Earth's solar system. At the time, it was thought that the probe had fallen into a black hole. We now know that Voyager was caught in the gravity well of a wormhole, and was drawn to the Delta Quadrant. It was found by what the Enterprise science officer called a race of living machines. The Borg. They saw Voyager to be one of their own, and they gave the probe the ability to carry out what they believed to be its primary mission: to learn all that is learnable and return that information to its creator. It made its way across the galaxy, amassing tremendous amounts of data. Admiral Kirk's logs indicate that when it arrived at Earth, it transmitted all of the data it had accumulated. Starfleet intercepted the transmission, and after the data had been reviewed, it was decided to keep the contents classified."

"How do you know that the transmission wasn't intercepted by anyone else?" asked Magnus.

"The data was transmitted on radio waves," said Sloan. "At the time, the only active radio receiver was in Starfleet Command. The Enterprise communications officer took the wise precaution of alerting us, so we were ready for it. Afterwards, investigations by Internal Affairs revealed that no other radio receivers in reception range were active at the time. It is possible that the Borg had some way of intercepting the transmission as well, though we have no way of verifying this."

Erin sighed and turned away.

"What was the other instance?" asked Magnus quietly.

"The last instance occurred during the launch of the Enterprise-B," said Jameson. "It occurred in 2293, twenty two years after the V'Ger incident. After launch, the Enterprise picked up a distress call from two El Aurian transport vessels. Forty seven El-Aurians were rescued, and they reported to Starfleet personnel that their home world had been attacked by a cybernetic race they called the Borg."

"Is this information in the computer?" asked Magnus, barely above a whisper.

"The full report is in the computer, yes," said Sloan.

"Why weren't we told about this?" asked Erin.

"The first event hasn't fully occurred yet," said Jameson. "The Borg involved in the second event were destroyed. The third event occurred on the other side of the galaxy. The attack on the El Aurians happened over seven thousand light years away."

Erin turned away and shook her head in disgust.

"When did you say the ship will be ready to leave?" asked Magnus, changing the subject before Erin could say anything.

"By the end of the week," said Jameson. "We have you scheduled to leave on Monday at oh five hundred hours. We only have the upgrades to the sensor systems to complete."
"I'd like to spend that time preparing to leave," said Erin. "There are a lot of items I'd like to have aboard the ship when we leave."

"You'll be granted access to the ship," said Jameson. "The command codes you have now will work on the Raven as well."

"Thank you," said Erin. "We'll be ready to go by Monday."
Go and read my fan fic "The Hansen Diaries"! And leave comments!
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Post by DarkOmen »

Ahhhhhhhhhhh... I can visualize it all in my head... I guess that's what working on those designs for a month will do :P


It's good as always Tiberius. Sorry I'm no writing critic, but to my amatuer eyes it is excellent :)
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Re: The Hansen Diaries

Post by Sonic Glitch »

Did you ever do any more work on this? I'm not critic either but to my amateur eyes, it is quite good and I look forward to seeing more. If you have more, where can I get it?
"All this has happened before --"
"But it doesn't have to happen again. Not if we make up our minds to change. Take a different path. Right here, right now."
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Re: The Hansen Diaries

Post by Tiberius »

yeah, I've got most of the story done, but I haven't posted any more because, frankly, nobody seems interested.
Go and read my fan fic "The Hansen Diaries"! And leave comments!
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Re: The Hansen Diaries

Post by Sonic Glitch »

Hey, just because they're not critiqueing (sp?) doesn't mean they're not interested. It's like my Physics teacher says, "If I'm not yelling at you, your doing good." I'm interested in reading more, is their a place I can find them or do you intend to publish?
"All this has happened before --"
"But it doesn't have to happen again. Not if we make up our minds to change. Take a different path. Right here, right now."
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Re: The Hansen Diaries

Post by Tiberius »

However, I've also got no way of knowing if they are interested or not. I also want constructive criticism, to know what parts work, what parts don't work etc. And I'm not getting any of that. I've also kept track of how many views the thread has, and it doesn't get very many at all.

I'm hoping to publish it at some point. If I can't get it actually published, I'll be posting the whole thing online somewhere.
Go and read my fan fic "The Hansen Diaries"! And leave comments!
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Re: The Hansen Diaries

Post by Sonic Glitch »

Fair enough, fair enough.
"All this has happened before --"
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Re: The Hansen Diaries

Post by Tiberius »

I'm posting another chapter of this, giving it another go. But as before, if I see that people aren't reading this, I won't post any more of it. Hopefully people will leave critque. Doesn't have to be anything special. Just tell me if there's a part you liked, or didn't like.

Spacedock

It had been raining the last few days, and Annika had been stuck inside. After a childhood growing up on at least three different planets, she was an outdoors person, and the indoor life was making her miserable. She spent her time looking sadly out through the window. Irene had taken her to the nearby township of Leura a few days previously, despite the rain, just to get her out of the house. It had been a pleasant day; they had spent their time in malls out of the rain, and she had bought Annika a new dress; white, with a pattern of blue rectangles. Annika's bad mood had been lifted, but after a few more days stuck inside, it had started to creep back.

One evening a few days after the Leura excursion, while sitting around the dinner table, there came from the study the soft beep of an incoming transmission. Annika looked up from her plate of vegetables (she had finished her slice of shepherd's pie) as Irene rose and headed down the hallway. When Irene had disappeared, Annika leaned back in her chair, wondering if she could tip her vegetables into the potted plant beside her before her aunt came back. But all too soon, Irene returned. Annika quickly looked away from the plant and back down at her plate.

"Guess who that was," Irene said, sitting back in her place at the dining table.

Annika was slowly pushing her carrots around the plate, wondering how she could get her vegies to the plant without Irene noticing. She looked up. "Who?"

Irene smiled. "Your mummy and daddy."

Annika's face lit up. "Really?"

"Yep," said Irene. "They're going to be picking you up tomorrow morning."

"Yay!" said Annika, grinning widely.

"You sound like you're happy to be leaving," said Irene. "Aren't you enjoying it here?"

Annika looked at Irene for a moment. "It's nice here," she said, "but I miss my mama and papa."

Irene smiled. "Hurry up and finish your dinner, then you can have an early night."

Annika gave her a disbelieving look. "Early night?"

"The sooner you get to sleep, the sooner it will be morning."

Annika looked at Irene for a moment, then she scooped up a fork full of carrots. With a last despairing look at the plant, she popped the fork into her mouth.

***

Overnight, the rain was chased away by a breeze that came out of the east, and the day dawned bright and clear. The bush smelled of newly washed leaves. Steam rose from the forest in the sunlight, and the last remnants of the week's showers dripped from the ends of eucalypt leaves.

Annika, thrilled to be going home, decided to dress in the dress and sandals that Irene had bought her at Leura.

From out in the yard came the shimmering song of a transporter cycle. Annika jumped up from the sofa, running out the door and over the lawn towards her parents. Irene stood and walked out after her.

"Papa!" cried Annika. She ran into his outstretched arms.

"Annika!" He lifted her up and spun her around in the air for a moment before putting her back down on the grass.

Annika turned to Erin and hugged her. "I love you, mama," she said.

"It's good to see you, Annika," said Erin, holding her daughter tight and kissing her hair. "I love you too."

Irene walked over the grass towards them. "Magnus, Erin, it's wonderful to see you both again," she said, hugging them. "How has your work been?"

Magnus sighed and turned to her. "Lately, not all that good," he said. "We haven't been able to do any work for the last two weeks."

Irene looked confused. "Why not?" she asked.

"No source material," said Erin.

"Then what's been keeping you two so busy?"

"We've been trying to convince Starfleet to let us go out on an expedition," said Erin.

Irene gave her a look of surprise. "An expedition? Where are you going? When are you leaving?"

Magnus sighed. "Sorry, sis," he said. "That's classified."

Irene nodded. "Fair enough," she said. "When do you leave?"

"Early Monday morning," said Erin. "But we'll try to keep in touch as much as possible."

"How long will you be gone?"

"Not sure, to be honest," said Magnus. "A few months, at least."

"Well, you just make sure you come and visit me when you get back," said Irene. "When you were on Vulcan, I didn't see you for almost a year. Don't leave it that long this time, alright?"

"I promise, we'll be back for Christmas," Magnus said.

"That's good to hear," said Irene. "Come inside for tea?"

***

After leaving Irene's home, Magnus, Erin, and Annika beamed to San Francisco, and they caught the air tram back to their home in the Mission District. When they walked through the front door, Magnus headed to the end of the hall and picked up one of the duffel bags on the floor. He tossed it to Erin and picked up another one for himself. The third he gave to Annika.
"Where did everything go?" asked Annika quietly, taking the bag and looking around. Most of their belongings had been packed and transported to the Raven. Only a few items still remained in their home. Most of them were in packed storage containers that were ready to be taken to their ship.

"It's all on our ship," said Erin.

Annika looked up at her. "We're going on a ship?"

"Yep," smiled Magnus. "We're going to be going on a long trip, and we might not see Earth for a long time."

They picked the bags up, and Erin called for transport. They materialized in the Raven's transporter room. Annika looked around in awe.

"Is this our ship?" she asked quietly. She stepped off the pad, but didn't walk very far.

"Uh huh," said Magnus. "Let's get the bags to our quarters." He hoisted his bag onto his shoulder, and they left the transporter room and walked down the corridor to the living quarters.

The door hissed open, and Magnus, Erin, and Annika entered their quarters. Annika sighed with something between frustration and disappointment, and then let the bag fall off her shoulder onto the floor. The room was only a few meters square and very spartan. On the wall opposite the door was a tiny bunk, on the left was a small computer terminal, and on the right was a replicator and the door to a very cramped bathroom. She crossed her arms grumpily. "It's tiny," she complained.

Magnus nodded his agreement. "It is going to be very cramped with the three of us in here."

"But there's only one bunk," said Annika, stepping forward.

Erin looked at Magnus for a moment, then turned to her daughter. "You can live in the quarters next door if you want to, Annika," she said.

Annika turned around, her eyes wide and a look of joy on her face. "Really?"

Magnus nodded. Annika ran off with a cheer, dragging her bag behind her.

Erin looked at Magnus, then shook her head. "That settles that," she said. "And we should be able to bring in a bunk from one of the empty quarters."

"It's still going to be cramped in here for us though," said Magnus. He looked at Erin, a mischievous gleam in his eye. "What if the mood strikes us?"

Erin laughed. "I guess we'll just have to use the floor," she said. "Perhaps, considering we don't have a full crew, we might be able to join some of the rooms together, create some larger quarters."

"That's a good idea," agreed Magnus. "We can do that on the way to Tentak."

They left their bags in their quarters, then headed down the corridor to the airlock near the bridge.

"Erin! Magnus!"

They turned. Sue was coming up along the corridor behind them.

"You've checked out engineering?" asked Magnus.

Sue nodded. "Yes. Jason got here last night, he was having a bit of trouble running the level three diagnostics," said Sue.

Magnus looked up at her. "What sort of trouble?"

Sue sighed. "The diagnostic subroutines crashed twice, and we had to reinitialise the diagnostic subprocessor."

"Damn it," muttered Erin.

"Can we repair it ourselves?" asked Magnus. "I'd hate to have to delay our departure because of this. The next available departure window won't be for almost a week."

Sue nodded. "Jason's pretty sure it's something we can fix ourselves. He said he'll start going through the coding after we leave."

Magnus nodded. "Okay. In the meantime, we'll be on Spacedock."

***

Magnus, Erin, and Annika went to a replimat on Spacedock, where they sat and watched workbees flocking around the starships in the dock.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us to the finals?" Magnus asked.

Erin looked at him. "Parrises Squares really isn't my thing, Magnus," she said. "But you and Annika have fun."

"What are you going to be doing?"

"I'll probably go and see a lecture," Erin said, holding up a padd. "Doctor Foreman's speaking today on time and relative dimension in space."

Magnus looked up from his I'danian spice pudding. "Doctor who?"

"Doctor Foreman," repeated Erin. "I'm surprised you haven't heard of him. He's the Federation's leading authority on time phenomena, based at the Daystrom Institute's temporal mechanics annex on Gallifrey."

"So you're going to go and listen to him speak?"

Erin was about to answer the affirmative when another name on the list caught her eye, just a little further down than Foreman's. "Doctor Graves is here!" she exclaimed.

"You studied with him a few years back, didn't you?" asked Magnus.

"More than a few years, Magnus," she said. "Almost a decade ago, developing prosthetic implants."

"Wow, that long?" asked Magnus.

"Yeah," said Erin. "I was working with Ira when I met you. I'm definitely going to see his lecture."

***

The doors to the auditorium opened to admit Erin, and she stepped through into the dim room. The doors closed behind her and she was plunged into darkness. Slowly her eyes began to adjust, and the room grew substance around her. On the stage below her, Ira Graves was little more than a small figure standing behind the podium. Behind him, the large screen on the wall displayed only the symbol for the Daystrom Institute of Technology.

Erin slowly made her way down the aisle, looking for a seat that she could get to easily. There was already a sizeable audience, and she didn't want to have to sit in a seat that would require her to step over too many toes. She found one, about halfway down and only a few seats away from the aisle. With a few mumbled apologies, she slid across and sat down. Graves looked up as Erin took her seat and flashed her a smile that told her he had recognised her before continuing with his talk.

***

People began to file out of the auditorium as soon as the lights came back up. There was some chatter of people discussing Graves' speech; he had trodden on quite a few toes with the ideas he had presented. However, Erin knew him better, and knew that he loved to cause a ruckus. The ideas, however he had presented them, were quite exciting. She edged past the people filing out and walked up to the podium.

"Ira?"

Graves looked up at her from the podium where he was stacking his padds into an orderly pile. "Erin!" he exclaimed happily in his gravelly voice. "How long has it been?"

"Oh, almost a decade," Erin said.

"Do you have time to catch up?" said Graves.

"Yes, I do," Erin said.

"Come, you must have lunch with me," said Graves. "There's a replimat on level 105 that makes a great fungilli."

"That sounds wonderful," said Erin.

Graves picked up the padds and they headed out into the corridor. "It will be a relief to spend some time with someone who isn't as high and mighty as Bruce," said Graves. "All the time, he's acting as though he knows better than me about cybernetic systems, just because he's been studying Soong's work. And he even considers himself to be an expert on that android, Ensign Data. Dear God, he's only met the thing once."

"Has he?" asked Erin.

"And a right bugger he was about it, too," said Graves as they stepped into a turbolift. Erin gave their destination and the lift started moving. "Rude as you like about the poor ensign," continued Graves, "just because he's mechanical. Gotta be a real person to please Bruce. So pity poor Pinocchio."

"I heard about that," said Erin. "Only member of the board who voted to refuse him admission to Starfleet."

Graves leaned towards her and lowered his voice. "Oh, he was horrible when he heard Data was in the Academy. Bad mood for a month." The turbolift opened and they stepped out near the replimat. "Just wanted to take the poor android apart, see what made him tick and make more androids. Last thing Noonien would have wanted. Good thing Bruce didn't get his way, because that ensign has a promising career ahead of him. Just last year he saved his crew."

"Really?" said Erin as she and Graves ordered from the bank of replicators along the wall. They took their food to a table that looked out into the docking bay.

"Yup," said Graves. "His ship, the Trieste , it was pulled through a wormhole." He led Erin to a table and they sat down.

"Oh my God," said Erin. "What happened?"

"Entire crew except for him was knocked out by the wormhole, and when they emerge, they're headed into asteroid field. Calm as you like, Data gets up from the ops station, sits at the helm, and gets them through. Then, when the crew wakes up, he's gotta explain why the ship's chronometer is out by three hours."

Erin smiled. She was quiet for a moment, looking at Graves. "How are you, Ira?" she asked.

Graves looked at her, and then let his fork fall to the plate. "Oh, Erin, this isn't about my health, is it?" He leaned back in his chair and gave her an irritated look.

"Just concerned, that's all," said Erin. "I've heard you've been seeing the doctors every two weeks now."

"Well there's no need to worry, my dear," Graves said. "I'm as healthy as a Rigellian ox. The doctors are simply trying to find an excuse to spend time with a wonderfully intelligent person. Now, tell me what brings you here. What are you and Magnus doing these days?"

"Working for Starfleet," Erin said.

"Oh?"

"I can't tell you much, Ira," said Erin. "It's classified top secret."

"Ah," said Graves, nodding. "So you can tell me something then?" He had a mischievous smile, and Erin couldn't help smiling as well. Being so gruff, his charm was quite disarming, and he usually got his way.

"Alright, Ira," she said. "It has quite a bit to do with cybernetics. Computers functioning as brains and so on."

Graves smiled. "When we've finished lunch," he said, "I'll take you to my quarters. I've got all that information about the isolinear networks I'm working on; I'll transmit it to your home. Still in the Mission District?"

"Actually, Magnus and I have a ship here in dock," said Erin.

"When did you get a ship?" asked Graves, looking at her with a surprised look on his face.

"Just a few days ago," said Erin. "We're leaving on Monday morning."

"Really? Whereabouts are you headed?"

"Tentak first," said Erin. "After that, no idea."

"Tentak?" said Graves. "The mining base? Why are you going there if you're studying cybernetic systems?"

"Sorry, Ira," Erin said. "Top secret, can't talk about it."

"Ah well," sighed Graves. "Just make sure you call me when you and Magnus get back, okay? It's been too long since we've caught up. I hear you even have a child now."

Erin smiled. "Yes, a daughter," she said.

"Well, when you get back, I want to meet her. And don't be gone for too long, God knows it's been long enough as it is. And take care out there, okay?"

Erin laughed. "Ira," she said, leaning forwards and putting her hand on his, "don't you worry. It's going to take more than a field trip to get rid of me."

***

Magnus and Annika made their way down the steps of the seating levels surrounding the Parrises Squares arena. Most of the seats had been filled, but the players were yet to step onto the field.

"There's some seats over there, papa," said Annika, standing on her toes to see over the heads of the other spectators.

"I see it, Annika," Magnus said. He shifted the tray of food in his arms and moved towards the row of seating. They both slid along and sat in the empty seats. Not as close to the field as he would have liked, but they were the only seats available.

"Can you see, Annika?" asked Magnus, handing her the cup of ginger beer from the tray.

"Yep," said Annika, eagerly peering forward over the head of a Penzatti.

"Magnus?"

Magnus turned to the voice. It was Tahli. She waved her hand in the air above the people filing to their seats to get their attention. Magnus waved her over.

"I didn't know you were a Parrises Squares follower," said Magnus as the Lanan sat down beside them.

"Have been for the last eleven seasons," said Tahli. "Ever since M'Kota R'Cho throttled the ref."

"And you came today to see him play for yourself, huh?" asked Magnus. "Pretzel?" He held the paper bag out for her.

"Thanks," said Tahli, taking one. "I've seen him play before, but this is the first time he's played the Denobulans since the Klingon Crusher was almost banned."

"Second time, actually," said Magnus. "The Sherman's Planet team played the Denobulans four years ago, but the Denobulans were eliminated before the quarter finals."

Tahli looked at him. "Really?" she said. "I never knew that."

"I know, it's not widely known," said Magnus. "They were hoping both team would make it to the semis, they were anticipating a media field day. But when Pelox was injured, the Denobulans didn't stand a chance against the Tellerites, and they were beaten. R'Cho was furious, he'd wanted to play them in the finals and regain his honour, or so he said. Personally, I think he was just hoping to play them again because he was pissed off at losing."

"Well, he's got his chance today," said Tahli. "You got anything riding on this game?"

Magnus shook his head.

"I do," said Tahli. "A bottle of Klingon bloodwine."

Magnus gave her a surprised look. "You drink bloodwine?"

Tahli laughed. "Good heavens no," she said. "But I know a Klingon, a friend of a friend, and he's convinced that Sherman's Planet is going to walk away with the Cup this year."

"And you bet against it?" asked Magnus. "Why? R'Cho has the motivation as well as the strength, and he's been playing in the major league for twelve years. He's an expert level player."

"Yes, but he's getting on in years," said Tahli. "He's in his forties, and that's old in Parrises Squares."

"But he is a Klingon," said Magnus. He sipped his synthale.

"An old Klingon," said Tahli. "Forty may be fine in the battle field, but on the playing field, it's a disability. And the Denobulans have a young team, I saw them play in the elimination rounds against the Vulcans and they put on a very strong performance."

Magnus sighed and shook his head. "Playing Vulcans is different to playing Klingons," he said. "Klingons have the passion for victory. I don't think the Vulcans care if they win or lose."

"Maybe," said Tahli. "And there's R'Cho's ankle as well."

Magnus looked at her in surprise. "You can't think that's going to make a difference," he said. "They replaced the bone with a duranium joint. It's stronger than it was before, and with a Klingon, that's saying something."

"But have you noticed the way he favours his ankle though?" asked Tahli. "He tends to keep his weight off his right foot."

Magnus shook his head and was about to say something when Annika cried out. "It's starting!"

The game was played hard, and R'Cho was obviously out to win. At the end of the first quarter, Sherman's Planet was up by three points, and the majority of the chatter that filled the arena was concentrated on whether the Denobulans would be able to catch up.

***

That evening, Magnus, Erin and Annika went back to their home in San Francisco. There were still a few last things from their house that they were going to take with them that needed to be packed into the cargo container that had been allowed for them. While Erin went to the bedroom to gather the last few items, Magnus took Annika into the living room and sat down on the sofa. He called her over to sit next to him. "Annika, I've got something to tell you," he said.

She turned to him. "What is it, papa?" she asked.

"Well," said Magnus, "you know that mummy and I were busy doing work for Starfleet."

"Yeah "

"We were learning about a new species called the Borg. And we'll be going out on a long trip to learn about them."

"Where are we going?" asked Annika, looking up at him.

Magnus shrugged. "We aren't sure. We'll be following them and going wherever they went. But we do know that it's going to be a long trip."
Go and read my fan fic "The Hansen Diaries"! And leave comments!
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Re: The Hansen Diaries

Post by Teaos »

I havent read the old stuff but from this section here you have a good writting format. Which is something a lot of people lack.
What does defeat mean to you?

Nothing it will never come. Death before defeat. I don’t bend or break. I end, if I meet a foe capable of it. Victory is in forcing the opponent to back down. I do not. There is no defeat.
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