Deviations is an IDW Publishing One-Shot.
Synopsis[]
- Blurb
- In a world where the Romulans discovered Earth before the Vulcans, Earth is now a brutal penal colony. Resistance fighter William Riker has uncovered a vast conspiracy, and together with his band of prisoner outlaws (you just might recognize a few), must fight to rescue a mysterious prisoner in the darkest level of the Romulan dungeons. The only man on Earth that still holds the key to humanity’s return to the stars![1]
Note: The story reveals that the idea of Romulans discovering Earth first is Romulan propaganda. In reality, the Vulcans made first contact, just as they did in the main timeline and the Federation was founded only to later be conquered by the Romulans.
Summary[]
- What Really Happened...
- In April 2063, the Vulcans made first contact with the people of the planet Earth in the small town of Bozeman, Montana. It was scientist Zefram Cochrane and his first warp-powered ship, the Phoenix, that drew the Vulcans' attention to Earth.
Cochrane and his allies were aided by Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise-E who had traveled back in time from the 24th century to defeat the Borg. The Borg and their queen intended to destroy the Phoenix and thereby prevent first contact and assimilate Earth, but the ywere thwarted by Captain Picard and his crew.
First contact between humans and Vulcans was made, and this eventually led to the formation of the United Federation of Planets and Starfleet, and centuries of peace, fellowship, and exploration...
This is NOT that story...
A horse and a buggy race across a barren desert, desperately trying to outrun three Scorpion-class vessels. Narrating, William Riker introduces his crew, Geordi La Forge, a blind man born, like all of them, in a Romulan prison camp, but with a remarkable aptitude for engineering which led him to repair the android known as Data (well his head). Accompanying the duo in the buggy is Worf, once a prison guard in the Romulans' employ only to defect when he was forced to brutalize his own people. Suddenly a larger vessel, destroy one Scorpion, scaring the other two off. The vessel is piloted by the last of the rebels, Deanna Troi, also once in the Romulans' employ but defected when she was forced to use her powers for torture. From the ground, LaForge, Worf and Data are impressed. They didn't think Troi could fly a vessel of such size or indeed any size. As it turns out she still can't, her ship crashing violently into the prison but conveniently clearing a way in.
Running through the prison, the rebels violently fight their way through any opposition eventually reaching their target: Jean-Luc Picard. After being presented with a Starfleet badge, Picard smiles and informs Riker that the legendary Federation base...is real. Walking out of the cell, they are confronted by Picard's doctor, Beverly Crusher. It soon transpires however that Crusher only serves the Romulans because she fears their retribution on her son, Wesley Crusher. A name Riker knows all too well. Wesley is dead. After processing this, Crusher offers to use her transporter clearance to lead the group to something they need to see.
Transported to an orbiting station, Riker takes a moment to admire the beauty of Earth before he collapses from his wound. Handing his writings to Deanna, he is content to die...seconds before one of the Romulan trophies gives him the will to go on.
The USS Enterprise.
Saving the world for their generation is too late, but if the Federation is truly out there, maybe the next generation can fly again.
References[]
Characters[]
- Beverly Crusher • Data • Geordi La Forge • Jean-Luc Picard • William T. Riker • Deanna Troi • Worf • unnamed Romulans
- Referenced only
- Wesley Crusher • William Shakespeare
Starships and vehicles[]
Locations[]
Races and cultures[]
Appendices[]
External link[]
- Deviations article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.