Date: 29 May 2013 20:29 Title: Performance Review
'In addition, for every ten ships that comes into our territory, see to it that two of them never return home.'
So that explains the disappearing ships and the reason why signs of the Dominion were few and far between when Alpha Quadrant ships began exploring the Gamma Quadrant! Plus the Wadi were actually spies working for the Dominion, so now I hate them even more!
Date: 29 May 2013 20:26 Title: Music for the Moment
It's strange how some conquered peoples or nations welcome their conquerors, and it seems the Xindi fall in that bunch. Have these factory workers been brainwashed or propagandised? I'm not sure but if the Xindi welcomed the Dominion with such apparent welcome helps, it makes you wonder just how satisfied they were as members of the Federation.
Or maybe the Xindi are following the Dominion ever more tenaciously because they believe they will suffer greatly should the Federation retake the Xindi system, and so the Xindi are throwing in their weight with the Dominion in some desperate notion that the Dominion can provide for them? Or is it fear of a Dominion crackdown and conformity which has the Xindi so apparently devoted and loyal to the Dominion?
Date: 29 May 2013 20:19 Title: Legacies
Prime Councilor Elim Garak? Now that is a title worthy of a democratic Cardassia!
This was an interesting ficlet about the glorification of the presidents of the Federation, ones past and present. Will history remember Rosarev as the greatest Federation president? Who knows, who knows...
Date: 29 May 2013 20:16 Title: Milestones
So this was the last outpost, or last cluster of outposts, where the Andorians were resisting. Looks like Tarska's last valiant charge was the action which broke the last remnants of the Andorian's morale.
It's could that are you revealing the courage of the soldiers from both sides of this war, and that it is not as simple as the 'bad' Dominion and the good Federation duking it out for control of the Alpha Quadrant. There are some good people on both sides, and ones who are as courageous as any on both sides. Though with the Jem'Hadar they were born courageous, what with their genetic engineering, so I would not apply valiant to them!
Date: 29 May 2013 20:11 Title: 100
A small and seemingly random ficlet! Though I take it this is set during the first several months of the Dominion war when the Federation was on the retreat?
Date: 29 May 2013 20:10 Title: I thought I would die, but was afraid I might not.
Retreat, the one word that is a taboo amongst the Jem'Hadar. Having said that, the Jem'Hadar may have been a bit effective if they had fought to the death on Valtall II and perhaps they would have taken more Romulans with them? So there is some method to the Jem'Hadar's mad motto of 'victory is life'.
Date: 29 May 2013 20:07 Title: Under the Weather
Despite what a nasty piece of work these changelings are, I still feel a little sorry for Jaffe, and how with every morphology he dies a bit more. How Jaffe can keep a clear head and still focus on the war-effort is beyond me. I mean he is suffering from a disease that would -- if there were an equivalent -- incapacitate most humanoids, so I guess changelings are made of much sturdier stuff.
One final thing I would like to bring up is Jaffe maintaining two ideological standpoints. On one hand he is your classic changeling and his confrontation with Tolla showed just how determined the changelings were, and yet Jaffe -- in his private moment -- wished for Tolla to surive. So perhaps changelings do care a little bit for solids, or a bit more than they let on to outsiders?
Again great insights into the enemy mind and the desperation of the Dominion during the final months of the war.
Date: 29 May 2013 20:01 Title: Loss of Concentration
You do a great job giving a sense of the war effort and all the tactical positions which are vital in the frontline and beyond. That was a good read, but the best bit was the conversation between Jaffe and Liska. I think that is the closest there will ever be to a friendship between a changeling and a Vorta.
I mean the female changeling was nearly always dismissive and condescending towards Weyoun in DS9. Only until the very end did she admit how much she valued Weyoun, so I wonder if Jaffe is doing the same, or maybe he is just a nicer (and I say that word loosely given how the changelings are a bunch of racist murdering megalomaniacs) changeling?
Date: 29 May 2013 19:55 Title: Backpfeifengesicht
The tensions within Dominion ranks... Plus it is good to see that there are many ways for a Vorta to rise through the ranks; some through hard work and service (and the killing and subjugation of how many thousands and millions), and others through connections and hoop-jumping. But it would make sense and in any such organization, you get people like Cerrein; just skilled enough to perform their job but lacking any experience when things get tight.
Finally, does a Sadok'toran outrank a Chelek'atorn, or is it the other way around? If Cerrein outranks Liska, I can understand her resentment!
Date: 29 May 2013 19:51 Title: First Day
The Dominion war machine at work and as always ever attentive for any signs of opposition, whether that be insurgents, guerilla warfare, army units keeping a low profile waiting to strike, or any other hostile threat.
One thing did puzzle me though, if Liska is a bodyguard of Tarska, why did Tarska 'turned to his superior'? Does that mean Liska outranks Tarska? It was a little confusing but the only thing which slightly detracted from this ficlet.
Date: 29 May 2013 19:46 Title: Home for the Holidays
As much as the Romulans are portrayed as the bad guys, or even as an undemocratic tyrannical bunch. If that is what the majority of the people believe in; a form of nationalism (I wonder what the interplanetary equivalent is of this word!!!) then that is the people's wish. So no wonder the Federation and the Romulan Star Empire find so little common ground, they are polar opposites and both empire's ideologies and values are supported by the people.
So how do you reason with a foe like that? A thought-provoking story and one from the perspective of the common Romulan person.
Also I am really enjoying these weekly free writes, and I'm also realising that they are not so much about the story or the plot, these are stories purely written on the basis for food for thought and to engage the reader with various political and ideological (and possibly philosophical) matters.
So there is a lot more going on than meets the eye!
Date: 29 May 2013 19:39 Title: Nightmares
A suburb piece capturing the ruthlessness and bloody-mindedness of the Jem'Hadar. They are almost akin to the Borg in their methodical precision with extermination and ensuring every last man, woman and child is defeated, captured or killed. They are so ruthless they will even kill some of their own to achieve victory. I know you study military history, and I know a little to, but this story brings to mind the Russian front in World War II and how how the Russians, in an effort very much like the Jem'Hadar, would wage total war against the Germans even if they (the Russians) had ill-equipped soldiers, a lack of supplies or even if their own artillery killed their own men, the Russians would still advance.
It makes me wonder where the inspiration for the Jem'Hadar really originated from, and how much of that inspiration stemmed from Earth's history and in particular from the Russian front.
A great read, and thank God it was only a dream!
Date: 29 May 2013 19:33 Title: She never saw it coming
You bring up a valid point here about how the Borg Queen overlooked the possibility of Data betraying her. I think it stems from the fact that she underestimated the work Noolian Soong put into his positronic matrix, and the Borg Queen thought she could control something which has fractal complexity. But the fact is this, if the Borg Queen could not actually assimilate Data, then why did she trust him in the first place? It was never really revealed in First Contact, but I presume the Borg Queen must have injected nanoprobes into Data?
Oh well just another plot hole in Star Trek: First Contact! So nice one for bringing it up in this story!
Date: 09 Oct 2011 15:45 Title: Nightmares
Rather chilling. I started reading it, forgot the title (oops, my bad) and started to wonder just how Nazar could possibly be narrating the tale. And then, of course ....
[Report This]Date: 20 Jul 2011 19:44 Title: If I could do it over again
I got the impression from this (and I wish I knew the DS9 stories better than I do) that it's a little bit like the Treaty of Versailles that ended WWI. So it's potentially a disaster in the making, although it looks like a good idea on paper to the prevailing forces.
And from the surrendering party, the thought of, shoulda brought a strike force instead -- I suppose a lot of people who surrender feel that way. Perhaps Robert E. Lee did?
Characters are interesting -- my not knowing their background doesn't diminish from my enjoyment of your writing.
Author's Response: When writing this, I was inspired by reading about the Hampton Roads Conference, where Lincoln met with Confederate officials to end the war peacefully. No agreement was reached and the war went on for two more months. In the back of my mind, I was also inspired a bit by some Nazi generals who tried to unofficially negotiate peace with the Allies. Thanks for your feedback. I hope you'll read my other works on the exploits of Tarska Hesar and Liska. I also recommend watching the Dominion War arc; it's one of the best stories in Star Trek. :)
Date: 23 Jun 2011 20:31 Title: She never saw it coming
I liked this. Always wondered what she was thinking at about that time...perhaps what you can do, or maybe you do in later installments, but tell us what the rewrite challenge was...