Line #19 Fanfic/RedFireRedPlanet


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/350px-raid_on_utopia_planitia_357.png]]
2	''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10212864/1/Red-Fire-Red-Planet Red Fire, Red Planet]]'' is a ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'' fanfic by Tropers/StarSword, adapting part of the Klingon Defense Force mission [[http://sto.gamepedia.com/Mission:_Second_Star_to_the_Right,_Straight_on_%27til_Morning "Second Star to the Right, Straight on 'til Morning"]] into a MilitaryScienceFiction novella. It takes place in the same slightly altered {{verse}} as his other STO fic ''Fanfic/{{Bait and Switch\|STO}}''. The fic has multiple third-person limited narrators, with subtle changes in tone and word choice for each.
3
4	On March 2, 2409, Lieutenant Commander Brokosh of the Klingon Defense Force and the RagtagBunchOfMisfits on his command crew lead several Birds-of-Brey on a raid deep into the Sol System. Their target: Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards.
5	----
6	!!Tropes:
7	* ActionGirl: Meromi Riyal, first officer of the IKS ''mupwI[='=]''.
8	* AdaptationExpansion: The section of the mission that is adapted lasts for a few chapters and adds in multiple Starfleet points-of-view.
9	* AmazonChaser: Norigom has been hopelessly pursuing Meromi Riyal ever since she beat the living daylights out of him for propositioning her, [[MuggingTheMonster having mistaken her for the ship's "entertainment"]].
10	* ArtificialLimbs: Lieutenant Tiyerissel ch'Kreem has an artificial leg after losing his real one when his old ship, the USS ''Hamburg'', came under attack by the IKS ''[=QarchetvI’=]''. He was assigned to the listening post because the prosthetic didn't knit properly, leaving him in frequent pain.
11	* AscendedExtra: Ensign Kaitlyn [=McMillan=] already went from a randomly generated duty officer to a MauveShirt in ''Fanfic/{{Bait and Switch\|STO}}'', and now becomes a viewpoint character.
12	* BattleCouple: Brokosh and Ba'woV. However, Brokosh is actually quite uncomfortable with this, because they have a son back home on Qo'noS to think about.
13	* BlueBlood: Ba'woV is the grand-niece of the head of the House of Chel'toK, and second in line for the leadership behind her cousin Kidu. Brokosh likewise became a minor nobleman when he married her. Meanwhile General K'Bor is the uncle of Chancellor J'mpok.
14	* CallBack: Kybok is the son of Chu'lak, the Vulcan SerialKiller from Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine: "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS07E13FieldOfFire Field of Fire]]". He specifically tried to avoid frontline service because he didn't want the same fate.
15	* CharacterOverlap: With ''Fanfic/{{Bait and Switch\|STO}}'', and with some {{canon}} characters.
16	** Ba'woV is stated to have been an engineer on a freighter called the SS ''Shargrash'' when she and Brokosh first met. The ''Shargrash'' was the freighter that the USS ''Bajor'' rescued in chapter five of ''B&S''.
17	** Ensign Kaitlyn [=McMillan=], a [[TargetSpotter sniper's spotter]] on the USS ''Bajor'' in ''B&S'', is a security officer at Utopia Planitia and one of the viewpoint characters.
18	** Will Riker from ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' makes an appearance and is now a fleet admiral. Deanna Troi also appears and is said to be the head of the Diplomatic Corps now, but she has no lines because she's still asleep in her only scene.
19	* ChekhovsGun: A mention in the second part of chapter one that the IKS ''[=Hegh'QeDp=]'' is having engine trouble and has to drop out of the formation of Birds-of-Prey. [[spoiler:It is later discovered by the listening post after blowing up ch'Kreem and Bikog, allowing them to alert Earth that the Klingons are coming.]]
20	* ColonyDrop: [[ANaziByAnyOtherName The Optimum]] apparently dropped an asteroid on [[MonumentalDamage Mecca]] in 2060 (to make an example of them for resisting Optimum takeover according to the author's notes).
21	* ContinuityNod:
22	** [=OS1.=] Bikog Bu-Tal-Rek is a Choblik, the same species as Torvig Bu-Kar-Nguv from the ''Literature/StarTrekTitan'' novels.
23	** There's a mention of the Optimum movement and [[NoodleIncident "the Thorsen incident in '66"]], both in reference to ''Literature/StarTrekFederation''.
24	** Brokosh apparently opened a community center in a Qo'noS slum with a Romulan named Makus. Makus appeared in episode "Allies", mission "Memory Lane" as a Romulan Republic captain allied with the opposite side from the PlayerCharacter, with whom the Tal Shiar tried to set up a LetsYouAndHimFight.
25	* FamousFamousFictional: Inverted when Meromi lists off the martial arts she's studied.
26	--> "Klingon ''mok’bara''. Andorian ''shan-dru-shaan''. Human jujutsu."
27	* ForeignCussWord:
28	** Jacques Pierre, Kate's French Canadian fiance, drops a "Merde" when his superior interrupts their video call to demand he get back to work.
29	** When the listening post [[spoiler:spots the Bird-of-Prey IKS ''[=Hegh’QeDp=]'' after it destroys the shuttle]], Crewman Sherazi's remark is "Kiopek oghlu", Azerbaijani for "son of a bitch".
30	* GratuitousForeignLanguage: A lot of ''thlIngan Hol'' gets randomly thrown around.
31	* GratuitousFrench: Jacques ending his video call with Kate.
32	--> '''Kate:''' All right, stay safe, hon. I love you.\
33	'''Jacques:''' ''Je t’aime. Au revoir, ma chérie.''[[labelnote:*]]I love you. Goodbye, my darling.[[/labelnote]]
34	* HellBentForLeather: Meromi wears red and black leather clothes, and see the entry for PintSizedPowerhouse.
35	* HeroAntagonist: ''Everybody''. The fic jumps between points-of-view on both sides of the battle and each one is treated as a protagonist when it's their turn.
36	* HeroDoesPublicService: One {{infodump}} mentions that Brokosh started a sort of community center in one of the slums on the fringes of First City on Qo'noS with two other KDF-aligned Lethean mercenaries and a Romulan Republic officer named Makus. Unfortunately he also doesn't think it'll do a whole lot of good without some help from the Klingon High Council.
37	* HiredGuns: Brokosh is a combat engineer who freely describes himself as a merc, and used to work for a {{PMC}} called Hanson's Harriers.
38	* HopelessSuitor: Norigom to Meromi. He's been hopelessly in love with her after she ever-so-gracefully beat the living daylights out of him for propositioning her.
39	* HumansAreWhite: Averted. One MauveShirt in the first chapter (Crewman Yasmin Sherazi) is explicitly stated to be Iranian, while another (Chief Ops Specialist Sally Blackhawk) is Shoshoni Indian according to the author's notes. The C.O. of Starfleet Command is an Admiral Avaninder Singh, a Sikh apparently from Liverpool.
40	* ImpoverishedPatrician: The House of Chel'toK's only holding of note is a nearly depleted segment of asteroid belt, and the house fleet consists of two Birds-of-Prey and an ancient D7 battle cruiser they can't even fully crew.
41	* InertialDampening: Brokosh mentions keeping it set a little low on the bridge, "just enough to let some g-forces through so Meromi could feel the ship, not enough to turn everyone into blood pie."
42	* InterspeciesRomance: Brokosh, a Lethean, is HappilyMarried to Ba'woV, a Klingon, and has a son with her. Well, happily for them, anyway. Her great-uncle, the head of the House of Chel'toK, tried to kill Brokosh twice.
43	* ItsProbablyNothing: Played with. In the first two chapters the crew of Starfleet Listening Post 204RT pick up subspace anomalies, and Yasmin Sherazi is insistent that there's something going on despite the fact the others think there's just a problem with the warp drive on the USS ''[=DeWitt=]'', a ship which was not on the schedule.[[note]]The joke being that the ''[=DeWitt=]'' is really Brokosh's Bird-of-Prey generating an oversize warp field to mimic a ''Typhoon''-class.[[/note]] [=OS1=]. Bikog gets really hyper when he insists there's nothing there. But then Kybok spots a tachyon burst in the logs and Lt. ch'Kreem decides to take the listening post's shuttle out for a look-see.
44	* KilledMidSentence: [[spoiler:ch'Kreem when the IKS ''[=Hegh’QeDp=]'' blows up his and Bikog's shuttle.]]
45	--> "Take evasive action! Shields--"
46	* KineticWeaponsAreJustBetter: The "strike package" that Norigom came up with to attack the shipyard, a ten ton block of uranium-238 with a crude chemical thruster and radar guidance, dropped from the cargo bay of the ''mupwI[='=]'' at 25,000 km/s. It apparently obliterates the shipyard control center and part of it keeps going to hit the planet. Norigom apparently did the same thing to the IKS ''[=HoSbegh=]'' during the Klingon-Gorn War, and sums it up quite well:
47	--> "Basic physics. High mass plus high velocity equals ouch."
48	* MindProbe: Brokosh acquired the entry codes for the Sol system by using his telepathic powers on Captain Hollingsworth of the USS ''[=DeWitt=]''.
49	* MuggingTheMonster: Meromi and Norigom's backstory. Norigom, a Nausicaan just conscripted onto the IKS ''mupwI's'' command crew from [[TheAlcatraz Rura Penthe]], apparently decided his first order of business should be getting laid for probably the first time since the Klingon-Gorn War. And what better target for his affections than the 147 cm, 43 kilo Orion he thought was probably ship's "entertainment"?
50	--> "Norigom came to half an hour later with four cracked ribs, two broken metatarsals and a nose that was somewhat flatter than it had been when he’d entered the room."
51	* NarrativeProfanityFilter: Crossed with an inversion of PardonMyKlingon in the first chapter.
52	--> "Kybok heard Blackhawk say a word he had been told humans considered very rude."
53	* NominalHero: Brokosh has an ethical code of his own making[[labelnote:*]]At least part of it reads, "Don’t kill anyone you don’t have to, don’t risk your underlings without cause, and treat your prisoners with decency."[[/labelnote]], but he's a mercenary who signed with the KDF for the money (so he can support his family in the face of the House of Chel'toK's ImpoverishedPatrician status) and has no patience with Klingon "honor".
54	* NonHumanHumanoidHybrid: Brokosh and Ba'woV's unseen half-Lethean, half-Klingon baby son [=K’orTuH=].
55	* OhCrap:
56	** The reaction of ch'Kreem and Bikog to [[spoiler:a Bird-of-Prey decloaking in front of their shuttle]]:
57	--->'''Bikog:''' Eltee, look!\
58	'''ch'Kreem:''' Take evasive action! Shields--
59	** Shortly thereafter, a double one from Crewman Yasmin Sherazi and Chief Sally Blackhawk upon observing the above.
60	--->'''Sherazi:''' ''[[ForeignCussWord Kiopek oghlu]].'' That's a [[spoiler:Klingon Bird-of-Prey]].\
61	'''Blackhawk:''' ''(into radio)'' Starfleet Command, this is COS. Sally Blackhawk of Listening Post Two-Zero-Four-Romeo-Tango, authorization Charlie-Papa-Oscar-3255-Alpha-Whiskey-24827! Case Zulu! Repeat, Zulu, Zulu, Zulu! Details to follow!
62	* OneHitKill: The USS ''Abraham Lincoln'' one-shots the IKS ''Qap'gargh'' with a phaser shot that punches right through the Bird-of-Prey's shields and actually overpenetrates the ship itself. A split-second later the reactors blow.
63	* OnlyInItForTheMoney: Brokosh fights for the Klingon Defense Force because he has a particular set of skills for which they are willing to pay very well.
64	* OrwellianRetcon: Lieutenant ch'Kreem used to be named sh'Kreem, but the author changed it due to making a mistake with [[http://memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/Andorian_genders Andorian genders]].
65	* PardonMyKlingon:
66	** A fair amount of ''tlhIngan Hol'' profanity gets bandied about, and as early as the first chapter.
67	---> '''Norigom:''' And a very good morning to you, Meromi.\
68	'''Meromi:''' ''yI’ meQ, petaQ.''[[labelnote:translation]]"Go to hell, ''petaQ''." 'petaQ' is kind of an all-purpose insult that has never actually been translated.[[/labelnote]]
69	** ch'Kreem tells Bikog to "calm the frak down or I’ll have Kybok pinch you."
70	* ParentalMarriageVeto: Chel'toK tried to prevent his grand-niece Ba'woV from marrying Brokosh, a Lethean mercenary. Fortunately for the happy couple, according to Klingon tradition, right to marriage approval belongs to the ''lady'' of the House, and K'Ronu didn't have a problem with it.
71	* PintSizedPowerhouse: Meromi is barely 147 centimeters tall (a bit less than 4'10") and weighs 43 kilos (95 pounds). When Norigom propositioned her, he came to half an hour later "with four cracked ribs, two broken metatarsals and a nose that was somewhat flatter than it had been when he’d entered the room."
72	* RacistGrandma: Ba'woV's great-uncle Chel'toK didn't want her marrying a member of the servitor races and tried to kill Brokosh twice.
73	* ReassignedToAntarctica: The Sol system listening posts are viewed as dead-end assignments since Sol rarely sees any action. Although that's exactly why Kybok likes it there.
74	* RedAlert: Twice in chapter three.
75	** First, when the KDF's deception is discovered and the IKS ''[=Hegh’QeDp=]'' destroys the shuttle carrying two of the crew of the listening post.
76	--> "And for that brief moment, Kybok’s Vulcan composure slipped. Case Zulu was a code phrase that had not been heard in Sol since the Breen attack thirty-four years ago. It was never, ever given during exercises to avoid {{crying wolf}}, and had only one definition: 'Enemy invasion imminent.'"
77	** Two segments later, Brokosh orders his Bird-of-Prey to come to general quarters
78	%%* SavedByCanon: Kate [=McMillan=], due to being alive and well in the chronologically later ''Fanfic/{{Bait and Switch\|STO}}''.
79	* SexSlave: Meromi Riyal was one of the 1,500 Orion slave girls that Orion Syndicate head Melani D'ian gave as gifts to the Great Houses of the Empire. She had enough and ran off to join a smuggling ring, where she learned to fight and handle ships.
80	* ShoutOut:
81	** There's a mention of a freighter called the SS ''[[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Ayanami]]'', skippered by a Captain [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Ikari]].
82	** "Case Zulu" as an "enemies inbound, ThisIsNotADrill" message is a reference to the ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' books.
83	** When Norigom mouths off to General K'Bor, Brokosh borrows a line from the pilot of ''Series/{{Firefly}}'':
84	---> '''Brokosh:''' Norigom, you will keep a civil tongue in that mouth when speaking to a superior officer or I will sew it shut. Do we have an understanding between us?\
85	'''Norigom:''' You don’t pay me to talk pretty. Just because--\
86	'''Brokosh:''' NORIGOM!\
87	'''Norigom:''' ''(meekly)'' Yes, Captain.
88	** There's a MACO petty officer in chapter four named [[VideoGame/HalfLife Gordon Freeman]]. The liner notes say that it was either that or "[[Film/DjangoUnchained Django Freeman]]" and the author thought "Gordon" was funnier.
89	* SoldiersAtTheRear: [=OS2.=] Kybok specifically tried to avoid getting posted anywhere near the front lines because his father was driven insane by the Dominion War.
90	* StealthInSpace: The first three chapters combine ''Franchise/StarTrek'' cloaking devices and their known flaws from the shows with misdirection. Brokosh gets a fleet of Birds-of-Prey into the Sol system to attack Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards by having his own [=BoP=] the ''mupwI[='=]'' generate an oversize warp field to pretend to be a Starfleet battleship. This mostly hides the minor fluctuations produced by the other [=BoPs=] using cloaks at warp (Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine: "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS03E01TheSearchPartI The Search, Part I]]") in the interference. One [=BoP=] has to fall out of the formation due to reactor trouble and is spotted because of a gravitic anomaly it's giving off (implied to be the ArtificialGravity). Its captain chooses to [[spoiler:blow away the shuttle that picked it up]], blowing the KDF's cover (but not soon enough to do any good).
91	* SurprisePregnancy: A one-shot MACO named Master Chief Special Warfare Operator Haellh mentions to Admiral Riker that she's six weeks pregnant. Another MACO, Petty Officer Freeman, complains about her not saying anything, but Haellh says she herself only found out a few hours earlier.
92	* TradingBarsForStripes:
93	** Norigom was conscripted from Rura Penthe.
94	** Meromi is likewise a conscripted criminal, a former member of an arms dealing ring that was broken up by Imperial Security. When she was caught and subdued by Ba'woV while hiding out in the basement of the Chel'toK estate, Ba'woV convinced Chel'toK to offer Meromi a deal: She gives them five years' service, she gets a full pardon and citizenship and they don't hand her over to Imperial Security, who [[OffWithHisHead quite literally want her head]].
95	* WeWillWearArmorInTheFuture: {{Lampshaded}}. Norigom is described as clanking his way onto the ''[=mupwI'=]s'' bridge, and Brokosh has no idea why he goes everywhere in corroded durasteel armor.
96	* WrenchWench: Ba'woV serves aboard the ''[=mupwI'=]'' as chief engineer, and part of the reason Brokosh started dating her is that she was fun to talk shop with.
97	* YouAreTheTranslatedForeignWord: Brokosh expositing on Chel'toK's feelings on him marrying Ba'woV.
98	--> "Not right, having a member of the ''kuve'', the servitor races, getting into a position where he might someday get to be head of the House."

Context Fanfic / RedFireRedPlanet