Talking Stick Series

Fanfiction
Title:	"Talking Stick Series" (also, "Talking Stick-Circle Series")
Author(s):	Macedon, Peg Robinson
Date(s):	1990s
Length:	349,481 words
Genre(s):	Canon Divergence AU
Fandom(s):	Star Trek: Voyager
Relationship(s):
External Links:	series page at The J/C Index (defunct); archive link Macedon's homepage (defunct) series page at www.snerk.net (defunct); archive link series page at the AO3
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

The Talking Stick Series, is a "braided novel" of eight Star Trek: Voyager stories and novellas that Macedon (the last two stories Macedon used the name "Little Otter") wrote in tandem with Peg Robinson in the mid-1990s. In 1996, Macedon described each piece in this series as "not much as a story as a "chapter" in a braided novella... Yet we're not really collaborating, in the traditional sense, so much as carrying on a story dialogue."

The series takes its name from the first story in the series, Talking Stick.

It deals with themes of community, acceptance, justice and friendship. Although it did eventually become a Janeway/Chakotay love story, the romance is sidelined in favor of complex plots and cultural exploration.

The series was notable for introducing several memorable original characters to the cast and crew, as well as for portraying Chakotay's Native American heritage without over-romanticizing or shying away from it.

Many of the individual stories won a whole raft of ASC Awards in 1995, 1996 and 1997.

Written in the early days of Voyager fanfiction, the Talking Stick series was described by Diavolessa, who republished Macedon's stories to their site with permission in 1999, as:

Too sprawling (in the grand sense) in scale and reach to reduce to a mere synopsis; let us just say that this is Voyager unfettered and red in tooth and claw, such as Paramount with its nice tidy pander-to-the-demographics mentality could only dream of producing.

The stories have been preserved, with permission, as a collection at the Archive of Our Own.

The Series

• Talking Stick by Macedon
• Circle by Peg Robinson
• A Cherished Alienation by Macedon
• The Red Queen's Repose by Peg Robinson
• Walking Across Egypt by Macedon
• Raisins and Almonds by Peg Robinson
• Otterskin by Macedon and Peg Robinson
• The Rose and the Yew Tree by Peg Robinson and Macedon

Macedon's Comments: Origins

This story originally appeared in mid-1995. I wrote it in a fit of angry frustration. I'd just seen the episode "Initiations" [early second season] and it was the straw that broke the camel's back, if you will. I decided that a native character needed a native voice (not to mention a tribe). I wrote the original on-line, live, posting as I went. It's been revised since then, cleaned up, and also made to fit with the stories which came after.

It was never meant to generate a series; it was my attempt to get some of my anger out of my system, and was a stand-alone story. At the time, I got exactly 4 emails in response (I counted <g>). I figured I'd really done it and pissed off nearly the entire newsgroup. <G> Over the next few months, a couple more comments trickled in, maybe 3?

Anyway, several months later, I got an email from a lady who said her name was Peg Robinson and she wanted to collaborate on sequels. My initial response was, "No way! I don't do collaborations." Some email ensued. The result was a story which Peg asked permission to write, with no obligation from me, from Janeway's point of view. That was "Circle." I'll post it tomorrow or something, since it's also relatively short.

Once I'd read Peg's story, I simply had to respond...and the "Talking Stick-Circle" series was born, although we never *did* get a better name for the whole thing. We reposted everything not long before we posted "Otterskin"--but that was over 2 years ago now. So "Talking Stick" hasn't been seen on the group since the late summer/fall of 1996.

Macedon's Comments: Some Edits

CHANGES:

In preparation for reposting this, I've gone back through and edited my stories a bit for a smoother narrative. I also put a different quote at the beginning of "Talking Stick." And, more importantly, I have decided to put a different name on mine--my Indian name. The pseudonym "Macedon" is something of a jest on what I do for a living: ancient history, and specifically that of Alexander of Macedon (aka, the Great). But for the Talking Stick/Circle series, I thought it important to use my native name. -- Joe Little Otter, aka "Macedon"

Robinson's Comments: "Activating our 'Alternate Universe' Status

When this story was posted to alt.startrek.creative, Robinson had a lot to say. Most of her comments below are about the entire series, but also specific to Raisins and Almonds:

WARNING: MINOR RANT CONTAINED HEREIN. REPEAT WARNING. IF THIS WERE A *SERIOUS* MEGA-RANT YOU WOULD BE INSTRUCTED TO DON YOUR RADIATION-PROOF GARB. AS IT IS YOU NEED MERELY DUCK UNDER YOUR SCHOOL DESK, AND HIDE YOUR HEAD IN YOUR ARMS. YOU SHOULD BE SAFE IF YOU DO THAT. I THINK. PROBABLY. IT'S WORTH A TRY....

Hi, all. Sorry it took so long again. Hope that you enjoy it enough that the wait was justified. All I can say is I didn't *know* I was going to write a Novella when I started.

Macedon and I are officially activating our "Alternate Universe" status on this one. In "our" universe "Resolutions" never happened.. or if it did, it never got as far as the episode we all saw aired. There are a lot of reasons for this -- like not wanting to have to re-write five stories and a Novella to reflect an event that, at the time we started writing this chain, the Paramount PTB were swearing would never, never happen... that Kathryn Janeway would *never* so help them, look twice at one of her crew. <G> She'd sooner die, have bamboo shoved under her nails, and so on and so forth. Macedon and I felt pretty safe at that point postulating that at the two-year mark there wouldn't be much progress in that direction. Oooops.

As we neither of us liked the idea of trying to retro-fit, or kludge, it seemed best to fly with our "Alternate" status. And as I had some discomforts of my own about the episode, I was only too glad to see that go into effect.

(REMEMBER THAT RANT I TOLD YOU ABOUT? WELL.....)

Please understand. I'm writing for myself here, not for Macedon. Furthermore, though the following will sound a bit like "sour grapes", I actually liked a lot about "Resolutions". In some ways it's my favorite episode (that I've seen) this season. <G> I'm a romantic. Bet you didn't guess. But there was one element in particular that bugged me, and that I'm just as glad to be free to ignore. In the spring of 1972, if I read the copyright notice correctly in my copy of "The First Ms. Reader", an essay called "I Want a Wife" by Judy Syfers was published. It turned out to be one of those classic essays that freshmen lit students are forced to read at gunpoint. The gist of it is that *anyone* would want a wife... a perfect, subservient, loving, worshipful being who placed your wants and needs above their own, did everything in their power to smooth your way, set their own needs and pains aside, and achieved absolute fulfilment through their association with you-glorious-you. It's a tempting fantasy. What made the essay brilliant was its humor... and the clear, and gently demonstrated truth that such a role was dehumanizing. More than any person could fulfill without destroying their own ego. More than any human could really live up to. Anyone would love to have a wife... until they stopped to realize that all that selfless giving means just that... "selfless". You'd have to hollow yourself out like a Russian Easter egg to live up to the expectations of perfect "wifeness". I'm afraid that in spite of all the things I *did* love about "Resolutions" I think that, unless a lot of work is done on Chakotay's character next season, the PTB have just made Chakotay into that perfect, mythical, bloodless, fictional "wife". And before you grumble that maybe it's high time a *woman* got a "wife" for a change, I'd like to point out that it's no less destructive when the role is reversed than when it's served up in the standard arrangement. Please stop and think. For the character of Chakotay the year he has just lived through has brought the loss of his command, the loss of his ship, the loss of his cause, the loss of his "home culture" (both Alphan/Federation normal, and "Indian"), the betrayal by Tuvok, the betrayal by Seska, the loss of his best friend, the public announcement of his "rape", his public humiliation by Tom, his failure to beat Seska in "Maneuvers". Tuvok has been outstandingly bitchy. And through it all it's been clear that his "boss" doesn't quite trust him, doesn't quite understand him, isn't doing much to remedy that, and is willing to sacrifice his position in front of the whole crew.. in spite of the fact that his position is actually politically more complex and difficult than her own. Basically, by any reasonable standard, Chakotay has had a monumentally crappy year. One for the record books. I'm afraid I don't believe that a "real" adult human being, one dealing with a totally tenuous relationship, could chase all the bad stuff away with "I love you, and I found true peace serving under you." Sorry. Makes a nice Valentine's Day card, but unless the PTB later allow that that was just Chak's "entry line", something he could say in the Wonderland of a deserted planet, where reality fell away for a time, it reduces him to the kind of stupid, bloodless, brain-damaged "function character" that so many female leads were in the bad old days of the 1950's. Not a true character at all... just a flattering support to cast a rosy glow on the dominant lead. Realism not required. So I hope you'll understand that I prefer to write a more complex, though to my mind no less lovable Chakotay. Anyway, I'll get off my soapbox now. I normally try *not* to get up on one in the first place, in connection with my writing. But even after two weeks I'm still stinging for the character, and for all the characters who have been perverted into "romantic" stereotypes, to the detriment of our entire culture. I don't like fiction that tells us it's

• right* to want to see another person reduced to that kind

of pretty, convenient, flattering submission and dependance. It's true that anyone in their right minds would love to have a "wife". But no one with any ethics would choose to let a loved one make that kind of sacrifice of self to become that ego-less dream.

(OK, YOU CAN COME OUT NOW.. . THE STRAFING RUN IS OVER. PLEASE KNOW THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO AGREE WITH ME. I'M OPINIONATED... BUT NEVER VERY SURPRISED WHEN IT TURNS OUT OTHER PEOPLE ARE TOO. BAFFLED, ANGRY, AND SHAKEN SOMETIMES. NOT SURPRISED....)

On to cheerier things. The song "May the Circle be Unbroken" shows up again. If *anyone* out there has run into this version, or one close to it, I'd very much like to know. When I wrote "Circle" this was the version (more or less) that I had in mind... and it was so "known" to me that it really never occurred to me that the version I knew would turn out to be obscure. Well, it is. I've only found one other person in the world so far who learned a similar version. The version everyone else knows is far more depressing. There's a hearse, and an undertaker, and a dead mother, and basically it just isn't the song I'd have chosen if I'd done my homeowrk, instead of cheerfully assuming I knew the "standard version". Ooops. I hope, reading the lyrics I included here, you'll see why I originally wanted to use it in "Circle". A very "Voyager" song, in the version I know.

I haven't seen the season cliffhanger yet, so I don't know if any of that will turn out to be "canon" in our "Alternate Reality" or not. I was honestly afraid to look. This thing has gotten complex beyond the dreams of Chaos Theorists. Infinite twistiness.

The technobabble herein is just that... technobabble. You've got your basic physics technobabble, your biological technobable, and your military technobabble. I've done the best I can to make it Prime Grade Technobabble, but I'm under no illusions that it isn't the pure item, in spite of it all. Hope it's still a good read.

I hope you all enjoy the story. I hope you forgive me my minor outbreak of radical philosophy and such. Take care.

Reactions and Reviews

1996

As I do with all my favorites, I've got a stack of hard copies of his stuff--which includes the entire Talking Stick/Circle story chain. Fifty-five pages of 6.5 Palatino type in two-column format, margins .5 inches...

Definitely, definitely deserves an award. Peg and Joe made these characters into what they should be--which is something that the writers on the show never have achieved.

1998

A note someone made in the P/C C/P thread made me think. It's easy to talk about stories about characters you like. I like Q stories I wouldn't give the time of day to if they were about Chakotay. But what's really, really impressive is stories you like about characters you don't. That takes work!

So, what are the stories you most like about characters you normally don't like at all?

I'll start:

[...]

I find Chakotay to be the second most boring character alive. But aside from the Talking Stick/Circle tales of Macedon and Pegeel, which I must rave about every chance I get and which were totally awesome portrayals of both Chakotay and Janeway,

Echoes of multitudes of kudos to both of you for a story/series/novel that just might have influenced the way I think about some things today. I still hold this cycle up as the standard for everything J/C (and indeed VOY in general) should be...

1999

My first encounter with fan fiction came after I read Constance Penley's book NASA/Trek -- I was considering it for review for Amazon.com, as it got very good reviews in the British scientific press. In the event, I did not review Penley's book, but I was interested enough in the topic to do some web searches for more information. What I found was totally unexpected.

No-one had hinted to me that fan fiction might be good in a literary sense. I was expecting to find it interesting or subversive, but not of very high quality -- no better than the average of the professional Star Trek novels, and probably much worse.

Instead I found myself reading some of the best fiction produced in the 1990s in any genre. I was astounded. The best fan fiction -- works like Killashandra's "Bitter Glass" and Macedon & Peg's "Talking Stick and Circle" -- are true works of art, a distinct genre of literature with its own particular strengths.

Too sprawling (in the grand sense) in scale and reach to reduce to a mere synopsis; let us just say that this is Voyager unfettered and red in tooth and claw, such as Paramount with its nice tidy pander-to-the-demographics mentality could only dream of producing.

2001

Even if you've never read Voyager fic... even if you only know the premise of the series in the sketchiest terms... even if the idea of Janeway/Chakotay brings you out in scary blotches, you should read this "braided novel" of eight stories and novellas. (If you already read Voyager, I know it's four years old but I'm slow okay? <g>) Written firstly in turn and then jointly, Macedon and Peg create a convincing world where even the apparent comic relief develops depth and dignity. It begins with a bonding session for the crew which goes awry when Chakotay lets a little too much of his anger leak out and moves through a series of adventures until it reaches the climactic and genuinely wrenching final installment. It's not perfect but as fanfic goes, it's wonderful. A legendary ride that will eat your life for days. (But I can take or leave the cat.)

Perhaps Talking Stick/Circle is a classic because there is so little well-written fanfic that it stands out. Perhaps because Voyager fans find the series as aired wanting in characterization. Perhaps it's really a classic. Or, perhaps, there are people who really like it and keep recommending it to the rest of us, who are too busy to read the whole long braided novel written back in the nineties when the series was a couple of seasons old, and we fall in with the consensus rather than appear to have committed the mortal sin of not reading it.

Whatever the reason, in Star Trek fanfic circles, Talking Stick/Circle pops up on recommendations lists time after time. This Reviewer has spent quite a bit of time perusing the stories at Taberna Redux, the current online home of the series and other fics by Macedon, as well as his essay on the craft of writing. Macedon and Peg have long since left the realm of fanfiction. I believe Peg was published in the Strange New Worlds contest Paramount continues to run, and went pro writer. They leave behind them some good fiction.

The thing is, like 'good' food, 'good' writing is relative. It's not to everyone's liking to read fic that crawls along so slowly that progress can be measured in epochs. (I am exaggerating, but it does feel that way sometimes.) "Talking Stick" was meant to stand alone. No sequels were planned, and then along came Peg to throw in Janeway's point of view, and some time later there was this sprawling "braided" novel that dealt with the issues of Maquis vs. Starfleet and being lost in the DQ with much more character development and no reset button syndrome. Original characters abounded alongside the familiar crew members. All of the characters are painstakingly drawn with great care and love -- Macedon (Joseph Little Otter) wrote "Talking Stick" as a way of refuting the Hollywood Medicine Man they made Chakotay. He and Tuvok have a quiet clash of character that constitutes the storyline, which is resolved by Chakotay instituting the Talking Stick Circle, a story circle to which all crew are invited to come and tell the stories of themselves, their families, their heritage.

On Macedon and Peg's Voyager we find Jews and Bajorans, a French lady Maquis who gives Janeway a run for her credits, a pregnant Kes who carries her infant in a natal pouch over her shoulder and who gives birth to a lovely little half-Talaxian with a roached blond mane. I have no idea how many of the details liberally sprinkled throughout the story are canon and how much is not. I never kept up with the series enough. But, I do know that the people in this story are all strong and intelligent, that they all have roots, that they are aware of them and of the mistakes made by their ancestors, that the problems they face and the way they face them are believable. Naomi has a different name. The aliens are here, there and everywhere, and unlike most of the episodes I have seen, largely indifferent to Voyager and her plight, rather than trying to hunt her down or take her over or destroy her. The Borg are not the major issue. Seven is nowhere to be found. TS/C is more faithful to the Roddenberry vision of Star Trek than Voyager itself, in that not all the aliens are out to get the heroes and the characters show ethnic diversity.

This is not a series of stories that caters to the whims of demographics or merchandising. The inception was not planned; the authors did not go back and edit until everything was knit together and the plot solid from first page to last. It takes 441k of story to get the main plot (if you can call it that) started, and then the final two sections are 441 k apiece, but they're also the ones with the most action, and the J/C element, which has gotten off to such a slow start, finally kicks into high gear.

If this was a pro manuscript being submitted for publication, you can bet the first third of it would be either pruned entirely or heavily edited to a fraction of its length. Because it's fanfiction, the writers obviously didn't feel the motivation to go back and rewrite as heavily as needed.

As a result the other stories at Taberna Redux have a much more concise and put-together feel [than The Talking Stick Series]. Macedon writes understated, lyrical prose, relying heavily on showing and not on telling. As a result it takes him a long time to get the story told -- scenes developing the characters over time will always take up more space than "Chakotay loved her. Janeway wasn't sure. Then she thought about all they'd been through, and loved him back."

The first story on the page, "Wisdom and Beauty," gets a bit heavy-handed at points but is mostly a wonderful love story between two original characters, and won me over much more than Talking Stick/Circle.

Which is not to say TS/C isn't worth reading. For those with the time and a yen for intense and thorough character development, it's wonderful. All of Macedon's work in the fanfic realm make my recommendation list, in fact, for a variety of reasons, which do not include "a quick read" or "just like watching Star Trek."

For fanfic readers who really want to learn how to write fanfic well, reading Macedon's essay on writing is very worth it, especially since he slants it to fanfic authors.

His three-part series about Jake Sisko is quite good, and I've already mentioned "Wisdom and Beauty." His Vulcans are Vulcan, and all aliens receive similar treatment -- the differences are drawn plainly from the inside out.

It's obvious that Macedon likes to be meticulous about his characterizations. So much so, in fact, that I don't doubt there are some who read "Talking Stick" and get too bogged down. I found myself skipping paragraphs at times. Peg's contributions move along more briskly, and in the final co-written installment her influence is obvious.

The Talking Stick/Circle series is the cheesecake of Voyager fanfic. Dense, subtly-flavored with characters of all species and personality, executed with flair and attention to detail, and much too much to take in at one sitting. It would be a good Voyager fic for those not well acquainted with the series; remove the Star Trek characters and rewrite a little, chop off the 441k of wandering leading into it, and this could be a decent science fiction novel. But, if you prefer the fast food of adventure, full of punch and short sentences and heavy reliance on canon, you may wish to check the shorter works of Macedon and/or Peg before deciding to attempt the whole cheesecake.

This is one of the most amazing works of fiction I've ever read. It's long, very long, so if you're thinking of reading it be warned on that score; but quite frankly I'm just in awe of the whole thing!! This pretty much has everything I could ever want out of a J/C story and more - other than that I honestly don't know what to say <g>.

I have to thank my friend LizardChyck for pointing me in the direction of the Talking Stick/Circle braided novel by Macedon and Peg Robinson, which deprived me of many hours of sleep but made up for it by being just about the most brilliant, humongous, amazing thing I have read since Betrayal (rec'd previously). It's epic, folks, so set aside some time (set aside a LOT of time) -- but believe me, this is one of those stories that should be mandatory for aspiring ficwriters to read.

2005

A series of eight stories, extremely well written. The plot is epic, and the format particularly interesting: Macedon wrote "The Talking Stick" as a one-shot from Chakotay's POV because, being a Native American himself, he was dissatisfied with the clichéd way the character was portrayed on the show. Peg wrote 'Circle' quasi as a reply from Janeway's POV, and a 'dialog' ensued. This series does something that the PTB never accomplished: explore the full potential of ST:Voyager.

2008

A remarkable "braided novel" of 8 stories and novellas which Macedon wrote in tandem with the equally remarkable Peg Robinson. Too sprawling (in the grand sense) in scale and reach to reduce to a mere synopsis; let us just say that this is Voyager unfettered and red in tooth and claw, such as Paramount with its nice tidy pander-to-the-demographics mentality could only dream of producing.

This is what the show could have been if they had allowed the characters to be real, flawed, but still courageous people. This is what the show could have been if they had allowed it to actually deal seriously with issues instead of platitudes. The writing is awesome, the characters and plot will grip you, and if it doesn't make you think, you have no brain. There are not words to describe the awesomeness of this series. When I read it, I stayed up all night to read the whole thing despite having to work in the morning because it was just that incredible.

Among the many issues that the TV series ignored or glossed over that this series does not:

1) the fact that Chakotay is an Indian from a tribe that has somehow managed to keep its identity as a tribe despite the fact that the Federation has screwed it over almost as much as the US did back in the white settlement of the West.

2) the fact that Janeway and most of the Starfleet officers, enlightened and culturally sensitive as they may be, still carry the backpack of privilege, still look at the world through that lens.

3) the fact that the Maquis are not Starfleet, and have their own identity and pride, and that is very different from Starfleet identity and pride. 4) the fact that religion isn't just a nice bit of local color for the Indian character, but a true and deep faith.

2010

And, you know, Voyager is my least favorite Star Trek series, but I loved his other work, and so I decided to try the eight part "braided novel" he wrote with Peg Robinson, Talking Stick/Circle. And was in awe. The story is too sprawling (in the grand sense) in scale and reach to reduce to a mere synopsis; let us just say that this is Voyager unfettered and red in tooth and claw, such as Paramount with its nice tidy pander-to-the-demographics mentality could only dream of producing. This is what the show could have been if they had allowed the characters to be real, flawed, but still courageous people. This is what the show could have been if they had allowed it to actually deal seriously with issues instead of platitudes. The writing is awesome, the characters and plot will grip you, and if it doesn't make you think, you have no brain. There are not words to describe the awesomeness of this series. When I read it, I stayed up all night to read the whole thing despite having to work in the morning because it was just that incredible.

Among the many issues that the TV series ignored or glossed over that this series does not:
1) the fact that Chakotay is an Indian from a tribe that has somehow managed to keep its identity as a tribe despite the fact that the Federation has screwed it over almost as much as the US did back in the white settlement of the West.

2) the fact that Janeway and most of the Starfleet officers, enlightened and culturally sensitive as they may be, still carry the backpack of privilege, still look at the world through that lens.

3) the fact that the Maquis are not Starfleet, and have their own identity and pride, and that is very different from Starfleet identity and pride.

4) the fact that religion isn't just a nice bit of local color for the Indian character, but a true and deep faith.

... I did find the Voyager I'd hoped the show would be...in fanfic. This was back in the days of USENET, and I was a regular reader on alt.startrek.creative. One of the regulars, Macedon, wrote a lovely, thoughtful story from Chakotay's point of view, and another, Peg Robinson, responded with one in Janeway's. Macedon responded with more Chakotay, and before long they were collaborating on what became known as the Talking Stick/Circle series. It's my favorite of all the fanfic I've ever read, and has stayed with me all these years later. It's got friendship and enemies, building community under difficult circumstances, romance, love and death, and toward the end Big Epic Adventure. Highly recommended for fans of epic, arc-driven Trek.

2017

These three stories together open the door to what the series ultimately becomes – an epic saga that deals seriously with the Starfleet/Maquis conflict and what it takes to build a real community from that starting point. If you can dig in and take on the full nearly 350K-word-long series, all 8 stories/novellas, you will experience an early-seasons alternate-reality Voyager that will bring new life and depth to established characters and show you what Voyager might have been in different hands. And, I must add, you will eventually get some J/C shipping to die for.

2019

There are stories that shape who you are as a person, and this is one of them for me. The character building is exquisite and the authors deal complexly with heavy topics, without stinting on hope and joy.

2021

I first read these fics in around 2000 and was blown away, but revisiting them now, I have a lot of feelings about a Native American writer reclaiming Chakotay and decolonising Voyager. This is transformative work at its best.

Further Reading

• #OwnVoices Fan Fiction, ^{Archived version}, an episode of Antimatter Pod where they discuss the series

References

Related Links
People	Macedon • Peg Robinson
Places
Things	Race and Fandom

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