Date: 21 Nov 2009 00:20 Title: Interlude IV
Great to see this from Beth's perspective. Again, adrenaline pumping scene with a touch of emotion at the end with the act of taking a piece of the Enterprise home. Deftly done but very effective.
Date: 18 Nov 2009 23:47 Title: Chapter Three - Part Six
This might indeed be amusing. Not often we see Q wrong-footed. So I look forward to seeing how this plays out. And the mystery of our enemy is ratched up a gear with the possibility Q is mixed up with things. Good ask by Dryden by the way! That would be a faceplam moment if one only thought to ask beforehand.
Author's Response: This will respond to your last 2 reviews (and all of the others for which I am so grateful). Beth literally grew up with Picard and Riker and Troi and Janeway and Worf and others - all of whom had first hand experience with Q. It was important for me to show a character that would have had a completely different type of relationship with him than merely getting angry for being present on their vessels. Beth's much more manipulative and conniving than that and if she felt that Q could give her any advantage? You bet your ass she'd use it! She sees Q as a funnel of information and more of a benefactor - it's just that he prefers to dole it out in puzzles. Something that Picard didn't seem to learn until later in the TNG series and that Janeway had a much better grasp on. Beth would have been guided by advice from those two people and...you'll see...one literally life-changing experience with the entity himself while she's in the Academy.
Date: 18 Nov 2009 23:41 Title: Chapter Three - Part Five
Well Beth certainly cultivated teachers and mentors of the very highest calibre in her life and it seems she turned any appearance from Q into a learning opportunity too. I guess we too shouldn't be surprised by such a turn of events but I do wonder what to make of whatever plans Q has.
Date: 18 Nov 2009 23:32 Title: Chapter Three - Part Four
Aw, the little puppy moment was just so... Mind you it must have stabbed Deanna's heart to overhear what she did. And then poor Beth herself. The ordeal of the command tests and in particular that one with killing her family. That was incredibly cruel - I cna't believe Starfleet made her do that. Shocking.
Author's Response: Bill's real first love. *giggle* Deanna is the most unfortunate victim of Cassidy's duplicity. Really, she is. So hearing what happened to Beth was indeed a true stab in the heart. And you'll hear more about the reasons (and the who) behind Starfleet's cruelty on that one...
Date: 18 Nov 2009 22:54 Title: Chapter Three - Part Three
Beth's trust in Dryden is a great step forward in their command team relationship and a bold move by Beth. I guess another trait from her father and informed by her mother but a move that is all Beth.
With such a big con-flab gathering I predict trouble. Now as to what, Im not entirely sure. I'm still shaky on the politics of theis era so Romulus' relationship to the Federation though more favourable is not steadfast or written in concrete yet I think. So perhaps this will be the forging of an alliance or membership to the Federation. That's my guess here. But I may have already things wrong. But I don't think things are going to remain smooth going for too long.
Also with so many big names in your story they don't swamp it. Obviously Riker and Troi are central in a tale of their family but they don;t dominate and so far the character of Beth is very much informed by their charcteristics and certainly the child of her mold would be the one that took to Starfleet like a duck to water.
Oh and a certain Captain McGregor gets a mention. I dare say very different to my own but it seems Shaughessy has umbrege only a friend can have about him getting command. Hee hee. Eagerly await meeting your McGregor. And knowing what I do already about certain things, he must end up being an impressive person to win Beth over.
Oh and poker another little trait passed down the genetic line.
Author's Response: You know what? I kind of always wanted to tweak that scene to reflect how terrified Beth was to tell Dryden about her condition. I'm not sure it comes off as well as I had hoped. This is the one thing that can give her detractors some real teeth to bring her down if they wanted. Handing this info to Dryden was a huge risk for her, but I really wanted the reader to understand that Beth's first duty - to the Enterprise - was more important to her than the possibility that Dryden might diss her. She ended up only cementing Dryden's loyalty for it. :) While Riker and Deanna play a role in this book - it's really all about Beth and yes, McGregor makes an appearance shortly...at the poker game. Shaughnessy is a love - there's no other way of saying it.
Date: 18 Nov 2009 22:39 Title: Chapter Three - Part Two
Shaughnessy is a terror! I like him from this early stage. Something a little roguish about him I think. But Beth's last line to him at the ned is something of an understatement. Nice to see Admiral Riker giving a little affirmation to Beth about her crew - that's always good. Also his showing the appreciation about the motto and of course the link back to Picard is nice. It was probably a given but the more I see Riker through your eyes the more I understand that even though it might be a given that he appreciates you or something you've done he'll make a point of thanking you and letting you feel good about yourself. Very much an admirable trait and more in the world should be like that. All too often little things like that go unsiad and felt to be a given, an unnecessary thing to say. Riker is not quite of that mold and it seems Beth is very much following in his footsteps.
We get a mention here of Beth's troubled career in regards the familial ties getting her a leg up in her career. I think in fairness it has helped - but only in so much that she was molded by stellar officers and given invaluable experience and insight. But it seems that her sister has played a role in casting a shadow over it too. I wonder how much it impacted on Troi and Riker's careers. That said, we are only learning of the traitor and little is known [though I have a little foreknowledge but not enough to ruin things for me luckily - squee!] about what she did exactly and what were the ramifications. So I'm very intrigued to follow this thread of the story, which I assume will be a great big story arc. Yay!
Author's Response: Again - one thing I think is consistent about the Riker character, even in the Titan books. He's very approachable and his command style is MUCH less rote than Picard's. He's gracious and giving and gets a lot in return from his crew because of it. Beth was bound to pick that up - not just from Riker, but from Deanna as well. Beth's familial ties are both a blessing and a curse. She learns from the best yes - but it always in the sites of those who weren't as lucky as she...and there's a LOT of people who resent her...especially after Cassidy defected. As yes...Cassidy is revealed little by little in this tale. A little more in Bill's book - but she'll have 2 books of her own after that. :)
Date: 18 Nov 2009 22:05 Title: Chapter Three - Part One
I've got to hand it to Beth. She sure does know how to win the hearts of her crew - including Vulcans. And that is an interesting facet to Vulcans for Beth for us tot learn. Mind you Elieth strikes me as particularly playful as a Vulcan in his use of deft humour. I guess plenty of experience dealing with emotional beings like humans and Betazoids. the mystery keeps racking up here. Liking it. Though I do think Beth's empathic abilities are likely to cause significant problems before this is all over.
Author's Response: Beth is merely being the person she was raised to be. I used a lot of the same "tone" that the authorized authors use when they write Riker and Troi in the Titan books. Because I like that so much and figured that Beth was raised with just that sort of thing (as well as the fact that she can secretly read her father's mind) she wouldn't be able to help herself from being so very much like her parents. Elieth does indeed get a certain satisfaction from "playing" the Vulcan he is and Beth really does love Vulcans. You'll see him again in another scene from his perspective deeper into the book. As far as Beth and her "problem"?...You're right on the nose. Her extreme self-confidence and her inability to quite control her empathic abilities do indeed collide at key moment in the tale. I appreciate you keeping with it MF - admittedly it's a long book - but I wanted to take my time in building this new universe - one that will be the setting for three more books. :) Also - thank you so very much for commenting!! It means the world to me!
Date: 17 Nov 2009 00:03 Title: Interlude III
Quite an intense scene - the battle was a horrific tale of what the war must have cost - and the loss of the Enterprise !!!!! No wonder beth has gotten so maddened getting in four kills. Again her determination is clear as is her temper. Damn fine action there Teri.
Date: 16 Nov 2009 23:55 Title: Chapter Two - Part Four
That was a touching moment indeed for Admiral Riker. A lot of easy banter though for all of his concerns about the formality on the bridge.
Date: 16 Nov 2009 23:51 Title: Chapter Two - Part Three
More mystery. Keeping us in the dark so far and it works to keep me wondering and reading. And we get to learn a little more of the doctor. His marriage does sound like it was a little ill-conceived and marks him as being more than what we have expected so far. Shall be interesting to see more of him.
Date: 16 Nov 2009 21:10 Title: Chapter Two - Part Two
Well Deanna was masterful as always. I liked how you linked up with Riker wanting to cook - even if it reminds me of a certain epsiode. loved the Home Rules thing. I imagine Beth probably looved to read any sort of command files left lying around. And the build up to the mysterious enemy and their movements is quietly working away in the background of the story so far. Very good and effective.
Date: 16 Nov 2009 20:49 Title: Chapter Two - Part One
Well kudos to Beth on so many levels here. Number one calling on her mother at a time like that - trusting her and using her by now renowned talents. Number two - hauling the counsellor's ass over the coals like that. No PC shit on Beth's books but definitely not any invasion of privacy and to pick up on what her former CO's must have been using her for. But mostly, I'm impressed that Beth allows her professionalism to rule her head despite her anger as she asks Troi to help and to speak to the counsellor. Obviously, it will also help her own command team to win Enya back on side but it is also a basic common decency in Beth too. And much to her chargin as we might find out so far concerning Betazoids and the invasion of privacy, Beth is so far reacting well to things and far more reasonably than one could argue would be an initial reaction. So she has learned her father's trick to school her self.
Date: 16 Nov 2009 20:36 Title: Interlude II
Hmm. A long time indeed. A lifetime's ambition on the first step of the journey towards achieving it. A wonderful picture here of Beth's journey and also the imagery of the planet and the ships caught in the sunlight above it. All very evocative and painting pictures in my mind. Very well done. And again, I see the legacy Will and Deanna had in the Romulan Empire strike through here clearly. Quite inspiring really.
Author's Response: In a future interlude of Book Two Bill reflects on his sisters and the line goes: "For a long time, he had a hard time understanding where his strengths lay. His sisters always seemed to have an easier time. Beth had an intensity of focus and determination that he thought were on the edge of being insane. His mother had once joked that Beth had obsessive-compulsive tendencies." So as you can see - Beth is an over-acheiver, workaholic, and driven...almost to the point of being unhealthy but not quite. I don't think Beth would have had such a difficult time in her career if her sister hadn't defected. It just gave Beth a higher hurdle to jump and after growing up with a legion of steeplechasers, she just saw it as another challenge. As far as Will & Deanna are concerned - they never pushed Beth but never stood in her way either. Beth used Riker as a milestone and she wasn't about to rest until she passed it. Nothing much different about Beth from a few real-life people I know and love. :)
Date: 16 Nov 2009 20:28 Title: Interlude I
Aw what a really nice thing for Jean-Luc to say. A powerful and affirming message if ever I heard one. Mind you, with the confidence Beth has she hardly seems a candidate in need of affirmation. Gotta admire her self-belief and conviction and her determination to reach her goal. I wonder does she ever suffer a bout of worry, self-doubt?
Author's Response: *Grins* I can't thank you enough for the feedback. Beth's self-confidence is a detriment that's for sure. It actually becomes a problem for her in this tale. When she has a moment (and there's a few - but a big one in Interlude Seven) of self-doubt, it almost annihilates her. She learns to deal with her own self-absorption too - which you will see when it kicks her in the teeth at the climax of this tale. ;)
Date: 16 Nov 2009 20:23 Title: Chapter One - Part Four
A powerful and emotive revelation on Beth's part - especially to her Mom and if keeping command of the Enterprise secret was shocking keeping this secret since adolescence is even more so. Deanna appears to be vcery understanding of this initially, but I wonder how does she feel upon reflection. Angry that Beth has lied to her about this, even if it explains why she has pushed her culture away. I'd imagine Beth's admission has to be very hurtful to Deanna and maybe especially so in light of Cassidy's status.
Nice to see the parental reflections at the start and terrific to see how finely tuned the Troi/Rikers are to each other. They argue and resolve their issues within one broef conversation. I guess years of marriage helps to make that workable and being each other's Imzadi.
Again, the family tone comes through very strongly. And for the supportive family she has, Beth has also quite a few issues to contend with. I guess I should admire her all the more for reaching her rank - it also makes me slightly wary that she culd be a potential danger at times depending upon circumstances. I guess she'll have to find a way to remove the counsellor. Might I suggest my Captain McGregor's tactic of selling his counsellor to the Orion Ring - of course it was purely part of campaign to capture the pirates - he just didn't let on to the counsellor about such a pertinent piece of information. I'd say Beth could probably be tempted. Her temper does seem like she is someone I'd hate to cross.
Author's Response: Beth's decision to keep her condition a secret is only partially related to Cassidy's condition. It's mostly due to being burned by her brother when she was a teen and being victimized by an invasion of privacy - she actually becomes hypersensitive about the issue...much to her chagrin I believe. You'll see. :)
Date: 16 Nov 2009 19:56 Title: Chapter One - Part Three
Crikey, Beth almost seems to have handpicked her crew to please her mum and dad. Quite a lot of connections here but I don't think it stretches credibility just yet. I guess considering their long and illustrous career that Deanna and Will would have made a long line of connections. What I was particularly impressed by is the gratitude given and the acknowledgement given of Deanna and Will's impact and legacy in the History of Romulus. And that sentence is way loonger than I ever intended it to be. But very effective and very, very good.
Date: 16 Nov 2009 18:54 Title: Chapter One - Part Two
Dear oh dear, pulling a surprise like that maybe seemed like a good idea in the beginning, but Riker's reaction to it was probably not what Beth anticipated. I can't believe she kept it from him. Again, although I'm only at the start and I've had a number of failed starts reading this Teri, it must be said there is a subtle humour laced throughout and a very warm connection between characters. It's clear that the connection is also there between the author and her creations. You imbue these characters and it adds to the feeling of family you have so far created effortlessly.
Date: 22 Sep 2009 15:44 Title: Chapter Two - Part One
Another interesting chapter - I can't wait to see what the ship's motto will be.
And I thought Beth handled that really well
Date: 17 Sep 2009 16:03 Title: Interlude II
Love this little glimpse into the Riker household and flashback to Beth's little manipulation to get into the Academy
Date: 17 Sep 2009 15:53 Title: Interlude I
A touching interlude, so great to see Picard at this point in his career - but I wonder what happened to make him so tired??
Author's Response: Other than the fact that he's 90 years old and maybe feeling a little worn politically? Over the course of the trilogy you will find that Picard does in fact determine that he's still too young to have retired - so he decides to pursue one, last great expedition in his life - a 30 year archaeological mission that he undertakes at the age of 95. :)
Date: 17 Sep 2009 15:49 Title: Chapter One - Part Four
Another great chapter, providing another layer to Beth's character. I'm looking forward to seeing how this develops
Date: 16 Sep 2009 13:44 Title: Chapter One - Part Three
Another fantastic section - the relationship between Beth and her parents is really well written and I love the emotions you concocted with that memory of the shuttle flight.
Ghosts?! Wow, that sounds interesting. As Riker says: Shentaria. Thraiin. Ghosts and now the Borg. That's a hell of a lot for one ship! :)
Date: 16 Sep 2009 12:23 Title: Chapter One - Part Two
A cool confrontational meeting here between the Riker-Trois! ;) Good to see that Will is still himself, with the added position of Admiral allowing him to make commanders and captains quake in their boots! LOL And nice to see the Baku are still around.
Date: 15 Sep 2009 15:49 Title: Chapter One - Part One
Hmmm... An interesting future you have created here, with an original antagonist - I don't think we've had a race of crustaceans in Star Trek before. The only niggle I have is that a lot of the information was provided in a bit of an info dump, I'd have liked to have it dished out over more time, but that's just me. I'm loving this! :)
Author's Response: Hi Captain! Thanks so much for reading it. My OWN biggest complaint about this book was its "initial info dump" characteristics. It's a big book that I might have done a little differently now that I'm more comfortable with my own characters; but I think, and I have been told, that the road you walk down with Beth (You, like Picard, call her Elizabeth) is worth it. Again - I am thrilled you are enjoying the tale, it's a big'un to be sure. :) OH! BTW - I love the feedback! It was comments like this that helped me improve greatly with my other works!
Date: 15 Sep 2009 15:36 Title: Prologue II
A really nice introduction to William and Elizabeth (sorry I couldn't bring myself to write Bill and Beth! :)) You really got across the fear that he felt for his Starfleet sister and I'm intrigued to see how both of these Riker children have gone on such different paths.
A great start!