Rules: Stories must be between 100-500 words. You may write them in advance, but you must post one a day, for a maximum of seven stories and seven days. If only one person does it, we will allow two extra days to complete the challenge. No co-authoring for this challenge.  They can be standalone or in a series.

Ficlets must be posted to the archive, not the forums.

Under this topic, please comment with your links each day.  Again, you must post one a day.  Every day.  For the whole week.

Voting will be one day only, on Sunday the 25th of May, or two days later if there needs to be an extension. If there's only one entry, then there will only be one winner.

Ready?  Set?  Go!

Our winner jespah has handed us this fitting challenge:

This time of year, family becomes a very, very big deal. Those who are gone, those who are invited wherever, those who are annoying, etc. And for those who don't have genetic family, there's also the substitute family of friends, many of whom are loved no less (and perhaps are loved even more). Hence let's make the challenge stories about families, in all their messy, dysfunctional, loving, inside-jokey glory.

So there you. Have at it and remember that we have given this challenge an extended deadline so that it will cover the holiday period - allowing people to have time with their families! So we'll end the challenge at the end of December and open polling thereafter for the submitted stories.

Any comments, questions, suggestions, cross pollination of ideas and if you even want to brainstorm your submission you can do it all here in this thread. Good luck to one and all and bless your families and your character's families.

Challenge closed - VOTING THREAD WAS HERE

The winner was ... Jean-Luc Picard.

Our winner Mackenzie Calhoun has thrown down the following challenge sure to get a few brain cells in a flurry of activity. The challenge is a sort of 'what if?' scenario, almost an alternate universe type deal.

Where we would see our characters if they had not become a captain, a CMO etc. i.e I unexpectedly saw Kirk ranching cattle in Iowa or Beverly as a major playwright/actress.

So there's the deal, write your characters canon or original and put them on a path not taken, maybe diverged from an important turning point in their lives, perhaps things take a better turn or perhaps a turn for the worse with the new path they do take. It's an interesting challenge for sure but also a difficult one but one with lots of possibilities.

Discussion thread HERE.

CHALLENGE CLOSED

VOTING HERE!

Lil black dog won our last challenge and offered this challenge as a choice:

Something in honor of April Fool’s Day.  Show one of your characters (or several) with mischief on their minds.  Perhaps they pull practical jokes on friends, family, shipmates, roommates, etc.  Just a moment of levity when the demands and pressures of (starship) life are forgotten for a moment.

So raise a smile, give us a chuckle, bring a little levity to the situation. Have at it, and have fun. Challenge will run until April 30th.

DISCUSSION THREAD

Challenge closed - voting open.

VOTING THREAD

The challenge handed to us from the bluesman for this month is: Burdens of Command

Command has its rewards and recognition, but it also has challenges, stress and sacrifice. Remember Pike speaking to Boyce with a martini? Thats what this challenge is about. Oh now for the fun part...stories must have leaders below the rank of Captain. So first Officers, departments heads, instructors, crew chiefs, tech sgts, Lieutenants, ensisgns, administrators are all game. No Captains, Commodores, Admirals or Fleet Captains.

Discussion Thread.

Challenge Closed