Remains of Scotty headed for space

Quote:5332 tribute messages to James Doohan have been posted!

I've been reading the tributes to Jimmy from all over the world, he touched so many people in so many ways, I feel so sorry for those who will never have the chance to experience what a wonderful person he was. 

You're forever in my heart...

Remains of Star Trek's 'Scotty' Headed for Space

Jimmy, few people in my life who have meant as much to me as you did. I cherish every minute of our 30+ year friendship & words can never truely express what it meant to me, how, no matter how much time passed between visits, it seemed as if we had only just parted when we met again. I miss you...will always miss you and rarely a day passes that I don't find myself being reminded of something you did, said, or we shared. I love you Jimmy...you'll always hold a special place in my heart.
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500 words...that was what was allowed to say good-bye to someone who touched my life in more ways then I could begin to describe. Not a day goes by that I don't think about Jimmy, I cherish the memories most of out last visit together, knowing he trusted me enough to share his fears at his illness and that it was his wish that I spend that weekend at his side. My only regret is that I wasn't able to say my final good-byes...at least through the below website I can find some solace in knowing that at least some of my feelings will accompany him on his final journey.

I will love you forever...and miss you until I join you in death.

Updated: 06:32 PM EDT
Remains of Star Trek's 'Scotty' Headed for Space

James "Scotty" Doohan's remains are being launched into space, according to his wishes.

LOS ANGELES (Oct. 14) - Evidently "Star Trek" actor James "Scotty" Doohan took the catch phrase "beam me up" very seriously -- his cremated remains will be launched into space in accordance with his last wishes.

Commercial space flight operator Space Services Inc. will launch the late actor's remains into space aboard its Explorers Flight on Dec. 6, a company spokeswoman said Friday.

She said the remains of more than 120 others will be aboard the flight, including those of an unidentified astronaut and Mareta West, the astrogeologist who determined the site forthe first spacecraft landing on the moon.

Space Services spokeswoman Susan Schonfeld declined to identify the astronaut whose cremated remains will be launched into space. She said the name would be announced the day of the launch.

Doohan, who portrayed feisty chief engineer Montgomery "Scotty" Scott on the "Star Trek" television series, died in July at age 85.

One of Scotty's chief functions on the show was to operate the devise used to transport fellow crew members onto the starship Enterprise from other space vessels or planets, often in response to a request to "beam" them aboard. The phrase entered the pop cultre as "beam me up, Scotty," though it was never uttered exactly that way on the show.

To mark the flight into his final frontier, Doohan's family will hold a service for fans on a 60-acre site near Vandenberg Air Force Base north of Los Angeles the day of the launch to pay tribute to him. Some fans are expected to attend in the formal white suit of a Star Fleet commander.

"I can't think of a more fitting send-off than having some of his fans attend this, his final journey," his widow, Wende Doohan, said in an open invitation to the service.

"Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry also had his remains shot into space after his death in 1991. They returned to Earth in 2002, Schonfeld said.

Doohan's cremated remains will be packed into a special tube that is ejected from the rocket and expected to orbit Earth for about 50 to 200 years before plunging into the planet's atmosphere and burning up.

Fans can post tributes to Doohan at the Space Services Web site (http://www.spaceservicesinc.com). Those messages will be digitized, packed with "Scotty" and blasted into space.

Additional reporting by Arthur Spiegelman
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From Spaceservices.inc

Tribute to James Doohan

1920-2005

Space Services Inc. is honored have renowned actor James Doohan aboard the Explorers Flight-- our sixth MemorialSpaceflight.

We invite friends and fans around the world to compose a tribute to Mr. Doohan, to honor him on his journey to Earth orbit. Your name and message will be placed on board the spacecraft currently scheduled for launch in mid December, 2005. Please enter your message below.

You are also invited to attend a public memorial service, scheduled the day before the launch at the Space Endeavor Center, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Additional details will soon be available on this site or via our email newsletter.

Below is an invitation from Ms. Wende Doohan to all of James Doohan's friends and fans.

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Fans and Friends:

Jimmy absolutely adored playing the role of Scotty on Star Trek. He promoted space exploration and travel where ever he went. He would have given almost anything to be able to actually go into space. When asked if he would ever ride the Space Shuttle, with a twinkle in his eye he replied, “In a heartbeat!!”

He finally gets his wish, through the efforts of Space Services, Inc., as his remains will be launched on their Falcon I rocket. The actual launch date is yet to be posted.

Jimmy so thoroughly enjoyed his fans, from all walks of life, from around the world. He spent a lot of time listening to them, and how he, or the character of Scotty might have influenced their lives. He regretted not being able to spend enough time with them.

I can’t think of a more fitting send off than having some of his fans attend this, his final journey. If you wish to send a few words of tribute, they will be digitized and sent with Jimmy, as part of the payload on this launch.

For those who wish to attend the launch, you are more than welcome. And for those who can’t, just look to the heavens on launch date and know that you are sharing a WorldWide Memorial for James “Scotty” Doohan.

Most Sincerely,

Wende C. Doohan

High Stakes

A fanfic based on the movie The Deep End

By J.D.

Carlie Nagel liked to gamble, it didn't matter what the game was, it didn't matter the stakes, as long as there was a game he was happy.  He had his regular rounds, cities he would hit every few months as the mood struck him, then there were the excursions. 
Zhanna had been on one of those, a brothel, a whorehouse, it didn't matter what it was called, it's purpose was clear. But Zhanna's was different.  Unlike traditional houses Zhanna's catered to extreme tastes and Carlie Nagel had those as well.  Zhanna's had back rooms, rooms that only those whose trust had been earned would ever see, and these were the rooms that Carlie Nagle returned year after year to visit.  In one of these rooms there was held a card game that had yet to be matched anywhere in the world, it's stakes did not end with money alone and that too drew Nagel's interest.  The players were as varied as the stakes, millionaires, high rollers, or just players like Carlie, as long as they had the means they could be part of the game.

The current game had been ongoing for 48 hours, and there was no end in sight.  The stakes had surpassed what any had imagined and what made this game even more intriguing was that Zhanna herself had ante'd into the pot the balance of the cips she'd had before her.  The woman sat now studying her hand and the men before her,  her face a mixture of smug satisfaction.  "Gentlemen, the hour grows late and I think it's time we all are growing weary, perhaps we should make a final grand wager winner take all." The Madam looked between the assembled players again, confidence in her own cards overriding the caution that might normally dictate her play. 

"Just what kind of stakes are we looking at?" Nagel may have been the first to ask but his words were soon echoed by the others present.

"Ah...I'm sure you'll be pleased."  Zhanna laid her cards face down on the table before rising from her seat.  "I trust you will not limit the pot to chips exclusively as I have something I think will suit all of your tastes,  should you have a hand good enough to take the pot od course."  Moving to the door the woman whispered to one of the two men stationed there to assure the game and it's players remained undisturbed.  As she finished he simply nodded before leaving.  "Gentlemen, perhaps you'd care to refill your drinks while we await Ivan's return." 

Less then ten minutes had passed when there was a rap at the door and as it was opened Ivan again stepped into the room, though he was no longer alone. The young man who accompanied him could have been anywhere from 14 to 18 years of age.  Tall and thin, his shaggy black hair fell haphazardly across his forehead almost to the point of obscuring his eyes.  As he entered Zhanna moved to him, only to stretch her hand out so she could brush her fingers through his hair as one might a nervous pet.

"This is Alek...he's new gentlemen...and as you can see worth far more then what is now in the pot.  This boy will be my final ante into the pot, and when I say he goes to the winner, I mean that in every aspect."  The woman avoided looking at the young man as she spoke, she knew there would be fear in his eyes just as she knew he was aware that his feelings held no sway in the matter of his fate.  The men had no way of knowing that he had been sold to the Madam by his very own father to settle his own debts to the woman.  They could not know that his fate had been the same as his sisters only two years before.  His sister however had been allowed to work off the debt within Zhanna's house, or rather she was still doing so, it was not to be the same for him.  In Zhanna's eyes the boy was too old, she had accepted him as payment of the debt only because she had realized he held worth to some of her more discriminating clientele, and tonight he would, she hoped, prove that she'd been right.

Alek could only watch in fear as his fate was bartered between the men like he were no more then a lamb going to slaughter.  His eyes darted nervously between the six men present and he could only imagine what his future held were he to be taken by any of them.  When Zhanna ordered him to undress he knew better the to protest and soon he found himself standing naked before them as they each rose to get a closer look.  He bit his lip so that he wouldn't cry out as rough hands moved over his skin, touching and probing, fondling him as if he were less human then they were. He released a startled gasp as one of the more bolder gamblers slid his fingers between his cheeks and he could feel his skin redden as his body reacted in kind.

"I think that will do gentlemen...if you're satisfied perhaps we can finish the game?"  Zhanna had already moved back to reclaim her chair and the rest of the men followed close behind, the one delay coming from the man who had violated him.  Withdrawing his hand he delayed a moment more to grab Alex's penis before he could react and move away. 

"You'll be mine soon enough, and when you are we'll finish this."  He squeezed hard enough that Alek cried out in pain and then with a laugh the man patted his head as he might a dog. "Ah yes...we will definitely finish this."

And so it was he had come to be with Carlie Nagel...

Alek Spera finger the tattoo on his neck and wished for not the first time that the dice weren't there.  No one but he would ever know that they hadn't been placed there of his own choice, no one would know that they were in fact a brand, a mark to show that he belonged to Carlie in much the way that ranchers branded cattle.   There were other marks of course, scars left as the man had grown bored with simple sex and turned to more "creative" measures to find his release. 

How many times had he wished he had the courage to try and escape from it all?  How many times had he wished he could return to Carlie some of the pain the man had brought to him in the years since he had won him when his hand had bested Zhanna's.  He wouldn't of course because the simple truth was that Zhanna still held his sister's fate in her hands, one call from Carlie and she might suffer at the hands of one far worse then what Nagel was to him. As much as he hated Carlie Nagel and all that he was he knew he wouldn't leave and risk that happening, and that in itself would have caused him more pain then any the man might deliver himself.

Now though he had work to do, he checked the address on the slip of paper Carlie had given him then glanced at the addresses on the mailboxes he passed.  Today he was simply a messenger and that he could handle.