[Report This]Date: 25 Jan 2021 18:45 Title: Part II - The Never-Ending War: 5
And the grimy side of human nature - and, apparently, andorian nature. Of course there are plenty such stories about the behavior of U.S. troops in foreign lands for those who can stomach hearing them. I know a fair number of veterans. Not all of their stories paint us in a good light.
Actually a common development in human psychology - the prison guard effect. I'm sure you're aware of the famous experiment that had to be shut down because of the behavior of the students/test subjects.
Thanks!! rbs
Author's Response: Yes, the Stanford Prison Experiment. Not sure if this consciously fed into this when I wrote it, but bad behavior by those you trust to do the right thing, definitely did. And there are far more examples of that then there should be in real life. I like to think this is far less common in Starfleet, but as we can see here, not entirely unheard of either.
Date: 02 Dec 2014 05:35 Title: Part II - The Never-Ending War: 5
Ouch, this is a really poor showing for the good guys. I'm interested to see just what has transpired that has made tempers flare so much. Is this Marine just a jerk, or does he have legitimate reason to act so disrespectfully.
I love the descriptions of the city, and I'm looking forward to learn more about what's going on.
Author's Response: Thanks. We'll be learning plenty more about Valeria, its people and why the Marines may have such a poor disposition about it all as the story goes on.
Date: 09 Nov 2014 06:23 Title: Part II - The Never-Ending War: 5
I realize that Owens and his team are lacking context in this encounter, but it's still damned troubling that the Marines are abusing the locals without (apparent) provocation.
Things here have obviously got very ugly, and I fear Owens has barely scratched the surface.
Author's Response: Yeah there's very little context here for Owens but this is not a man who cannot stand idly by when he witnesses a perceived injustice, committed by fellow Starfleet personnel no less.
Date: 08 Nov 2014 22:50 Title: Part II - The Never-Ending War: 5
This chapter truly knocked me over. I am not an expert at Valerians but as far as I know, they are neutral and have good commercial relations with the Cardassians. Could this be the case? The Marines probably suspect the locals of being Cardassian supporters and that is why they treat them bad. Still, the power shortages and the exchange between the local peacekeeper and the Andorian suggest that their presence aggravates the situation instead of improving it. Marines are supposed to be rougher than the normal troops but this time they have overdone. Owens’ act of chivalry sends a clear message but I don’t know if the Marines grasp it. There is a small step between controlling a territory and terrorizing a territory.
I am impressed by the sincerity and dark implications; the allusion about the exaggerated, pompous architecture of the Embassy was great.
Author's Response: Glad to hear that this chapter resonated so well. You are correct about the Valerians. I believe they were only mentioned a couple of times in canon and it was made clear that they were allies of the Cardassians at one point but also trading partners of the Federation. They've tried to keep themselves neutral since the Dominion War. Tried being the operative word.