Date: 28 Mar 2014 08:33 Title: 2338-2370: Beverly
Another wonderful story! I'm liking these series of fics! You put a lot of thought and emotion into this! Thanks for sharing!
On to read some more!
Author's Response: You're most kind. I've always had a certain emotion and it tends to come through when writing Crusher. Fleshing out Big Red has been ongoing for a while now.
Date: 20 Jul 2013 18:10 Title: 2338-2370: Beverly
As always you've done a great job with Beverly. The story feels right and flows well, McCoy speech seems right both for him and to the fresh-ensigns, plus the private one in the 602 bar afterwards.
Plus the quotes seem to be part of the story rather than added on afterwards.
Author's Response: thank you most kindly. Just a little effort to put the blocks in for her life. I've assumed McCoy had a big part to play or maybe even a continious series of small parts in cadets' lives and maybe he did with Beverly.
As for the quotes, I always try to match them to the story but it's something I've done for years after reading one too many book :)
Date: 27 Jan 2012 23:38 Title: 2338-2370: Beverly
Excellent piece Mac. The sights, smells, feelings of Beverly as she ran to the Howard home were quite visereal and it made for a really dark and strong opening. Very good depiction and good writing. (You also lended a mystery to how it all happened that one would love to see the backstory to but I digress) No wonder she was inspired to become a doctor after that.
Again, I marvel at how you so easily flesh out Beverly and show how it could have been done, how TNG really failed to capitalise on the character in any way. You do a terrific job of lending weight to her character and yet make no apologies for Crusher's ways onscreen but show them as part of her character and traits.
My only niggle would be the insert of I want to be a doctor so suddenly into proceedings. It is just after the giving of the herbel remedy and while it would have been the catalyst for her choosing to be a doctor I was not convinced that then would be the time she verbalised it. Nevertheless, it is a great story, shows clearly her pathway in life and the neat way of framing it at her grandmother's grave worked out really well. Super job.
Author's Response: Well I try my best concerning the good doctor. Looking at Memory Alpha it shows the one line that was her bio when she started the show in '87. She didn't seem to do well even when an episode featured her and as for the movies Gates McFadden might as well stay home. She has to have those character traits to be a doctor. CMO's tend to be strong minded people, Bashir took on Section 31 and McCoy was an ol' country doctor. Jack's death, her parents' death likely shaped her. Your niggle is a worthy one. I guess it was sudden. The story went through a few drafts and changes. I mean this was meant to be a story about one of my Star Trek Raven people. Maybe I thought Beverly might be carried away by what had happened. Still, I guess after Arvada III she could've wrestled with decisions before joining up. my thanks for reading :)
[Report This]Date: 26 Jan 2012 03:46 Title: 2338-2370: Beverly
An interesting look at a pivotal moment in Beverly Crusher's life. The Arvada Three disaster was clearly one of those even if little was known in canon. The details in your story seem far more consistent with what's likely to happen on largely self-sufficient Federation colonies. Using it as a tie-in to the present day events of "Death in Winter" seemed rather feeble. And the McCoy speech was rather amusing, especially the homage to "Spock's Brain". That had to have been his biggest achievement even if it was with the aid of alien technology.
Author's Response: thanks. I've not read Death in Winter so no idea. I'm not likely to either :) Memory Alpha says some fans believe that Crusher's parents died on the colony and with the main bio saying her parents died when young it seemed kind of natural to write it that way.
Date: 24 Jan 2012 13:35 Title: 2338-2370: Beverly
I like how it comes full circle. Beverly moves from scared and concerned (and bereft) child to competent professional to, eventually, mourning adult, appreciative of her family and the mentoring role held by her grandmother. Fits the challenge well! Thank you for a tale that is not that gentle (and medicine shouldn't be).
Author's Response: Well thank you most kindly. It wasn't going to be full circle, just her youth on Arvada III but it seemed natural to bring her through the Academy and onto TNG. In some respects it's a companion piece to "Deep Silence". Maybe if I ever have time I'll do this as a full length feature. It's not gentle no, it seems most Trek characters (Kirk, Crusher etc) seemed to have had a bumpy ride to where they are now.
[Report This]Date: 23 Jan 2012 02:42 Title: 2338-2370: Beverly
Excellent job, Mack. This started out as a solid story, but you have managed to transform it into a poignant and stirring piece that shows where Beverly's passion to be a healer began; the tentative steps that led to her future fire and commitment with regard to her chosen profession.
I like very much how it meandered between the past and the present, a slender thread deftly tying the distant past, her years at the Academy, and her position as CMO of the Enterprise neatly together. Very nice work, and a perfect fit for the challenge. Kudos!!
Author's Response: Thanks very much. I think she had great passion for what she did and in the few times an episode would let her 'breathe' she seemed...well, passionate. Every character in Trek seems to have their inspirations/starts somewhere. If I gave this the time I could make a 20-40pager out of this :)