Date: 27 Sep 2013 19:44 Title: Chapter 1
whew...Wow Hoshi.
Part of me thinks they had Hoshi go all crazy and become Empress because they had done so very little with the character in the rest of the series...kinda like a little joke there at the end of ENT. I dunno if that's true or not, but dang. She is insane here.
But, she's also very good at it. Very manipulative, very good at playing to the weaknesses of everyone around her. I wasn't sure about Mayweather in this; he seemed like a pretty squared away, strong MACO in the episodes, and here he comes across kinda like a teenager who got his first look at boobies. Granted, he was so silent and didn't do much in the episode, you kinda had a lot of wiggle room to play with him. It definitely works; he's just one more little pawn she can exploit easily to get what she wants when she wants it. And that's the very key important thing that you constantly repeat here; she gets what SHE wants WHEN she wants it.
I think I recall reading another story with Ian in it. It was interesting to see where he came from; it certainly seemed odd for a man like Reed, one of the fathers of the Agony Booth, to suddenly find his conscience, but then he did just get mauled by a Gorn. And good on him calling Hoshi out for being lazy in her new-found glory. But damn...you made her insane. Did I say that yet? Killing him and Phlox like that...then the Emperor...then T'Pol...I really was waiting for her to kill Cutler, too. She's just on a roll with the body count today, for sure.
Very nice continuation of the ENT episodes, and a great addition to the MU lore. Man that chick is nuts.
Author's Response:
Aw, thank you (and yeah, she's insane). But the ruthlessness is meant to = Machiavellian. Plus killing off the Emperor's family, in particular his children. The reference to Anastasia is to signify the real-life Princess Anastasia who was killed by the Bolsheviks when Czar Nicholas was assassinated.
Travis, well, I wanted him to be a human shield for her. It's an easy way for her to keep power until she has kids, e. g. don't kill me, because look what you'll get instead. And power is consolidated as T'Pol, etc. are offed.
Cutler is kept around (and is underestimated, as is Hayes in particular) because she's semi-needed. With a human doctor now, the guy will have to sleep at night (whereas Phlox could have gone for a good month or so without rest, per canon). Cutler's no doctor, but she can stabilize people and can handle all the crap jobs in Sick Bay, e. g. feeding the animals and cleaning up messes.
Ian is in the E2 stories, mainly in Everybody Knows This is Nowhere. And he's seen in Equinox. I'll bring him up again at some point as of course he's got an earlier life.
Many thanks for reading and reviewing!
Date: 31 Jul 2013 03:42 Title: Chapter 1
T'Pol was awesome to the end. The pace of this was delightfully breathless, and of course I loved all of the canon nods. And Sun Tzu really does suit the Mirror verse so much better than anyone in the Federation. This was a terrific, fast little jaunt across the pond. Well done.
Author's Response:
Thank you so much!
The story also leads up to Paving Stones Made From Good Intentions and Reversal, as Hayes in particular is underestimated (she calls him Old Man and declares that he'll be dead soon, and is way past his prime), but so are Masterson and MacKenzie (they get their due in later stories).
Empress Hoshi is great fun to write, not only because of the sex and violence and humor, but also because she can be raised really, really high up so that she can have a spectacular fall.
Date: 12 May 2013 05:51 Title: Chapter 1
Wow. Okay, first immediate take: Hoshi is a bitch.
I mean, seriously, she's twisted evil nasty in all the wrong ways. I like how she goes about and systematically wipes out any and all possible threats. I felt bad for Reed (poor guy, wanted a new life) and Cutler (who had to off him ... they may have been a pair) and Phlox (Phlox dying is sad no matter what universe).
Hoshi then has the gall to off the Emperor, of all people, and take his title. Then kill his family. Even a baby. I was kinda disturbed by how easily she was so brutal ... I knew she was a bad girl but she was approaching some super serious levels of evilness unseen before.
She traded her body for favors and keeped people in line with sex. A great short term strategy but I think she's go a rude awakening once she starts aging and the men start looking for their jollies elsewhere.
I'm curious to see how she falls ... cause you know she does. Nicely done.
Author's Response:
Thank you. And, let's just say that the years will not be kind.
The infant's death, Anastasia, is a reference to the killing of the Tsar's family after the Communists took over Russia. It's an extremely Machiavellian move, that you wipe out all enemies and potential enemies. If Anastasia had been allowed to live, she'd have eventually been able to, possibly, rally troops around her. And Hoshi can't have that.
I have seen fan fic about this particular era, and a lot of people have her keeping T'Pol or Reed, but I don't see it. They would pose too big a threat. She also underestimates people, and doesn't pay attention to some details, when she should (e. g. Masterson and MacKenzie, and also Hayes).
Date: 03 Oct 2012 01:04 Title: Chapter 1
Nice look at some of the classic Mirror Universe drama. Hoshi sure has a lot of house cleaning to do now that she's the self-anointed new Empress, but glad she's up to the task.
Author's Response:
It's like Machiavelli says - you get rid of your enemies and even your potential enemies. Thank you.
Date: 02 Oct 2012 03:59 Title: Chapter 1
Wow! Hoshi didn't mess around, did she? Well, she did mess around, but that's not what I meant. ;-) A fascinating look at how she maneuvered herself to become Empress of the Mirror Universe.
Author's Response:
Thank you - hope you caught the Anastasia reference.
Date: 28 Sep 2012 01:12 Title: Chapter 1
Classic MU stuff; also you do a good job of the transition period. From Hoshi's grandiose claim to be Empress as she threatens Earth to finally becoming Empress. I love how Hoshi is so overtly sexual and promiscuous. A threesome in the turbolift? Now there's something I haven't seen in a while!
I'm surprised the Terran Empire even exists given how people constantly bump others off... Mind you Hoshi will probably have no problems controlling her crew, in particular the males giving how easily swayed they are by power and sex.
Author's Response:
Thank you!
It's how she keeps her power - favors to all and sundry and (for the inner circle only) conception to really seal the deal. I write her with 6 kids, 5 different fathers.
She also keeps her power by keeping Travis as First Officer, for no one wants to see him get any real influence.
Date: 26 Sep 2012 19:05 Title: Chapter 1
How fun? Anything set in the Mirror Universe has got to be cool and this fits the bill. Nice to see hot Empress Hoshi, not hat shes bad in the regular universe but she is deliciously evil and sexy in the Mirror Universe. Well done!
Author's Response:
Thank you!
It's good to be the Empress! ;)