Date: 02 Dec 2014 05:42 Title: Part II - The Never-Ending War: 6
I was really afraid that Mahoney was going to be a sourpuss during the entire engagement, but he seemed to become more reasonable towards the end. I can't help but wonder if there's more to Mahoney's depression than is initially apparent.
Author's Response: Mahoney is going a from one extreme to the other here ... hmmm, bipolar perhaps?
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: 01 Dec 2014 02:48 Title: Part III - The Olive Branch: 2
Owens' predicament continues to deepen, and now he's faced with the unwelcome prospect of sending Star to face the skeletons of her past without his guidance or oversight.
Yes, sending Eagle away will reduce tensions with Lam in the short term, but the ship and its capabilities could be a substantial difference maker in any crisis that develops.
Any situation serious enough to turn DeMara into a pragmatist is one worth weighing very carefully.
Well, I guess this is why they pay Starfleet captains the big money. ;-)
Author's Response: Secretly that's exactly what he's doing this all for. For some reason Starfleet is about 20 years behind on sending out these paychecks.
Date: 24 Nov 2014 10:04 Title: Part III - The Olive Branch: 1
It was a helluva fight, but Mahoney bit off more than he could chew, and now Sacajawea is sans warp core in a hostile system. If they survive this jaunt, I hope Mahoney takes a lesson from these events.
Author's Response: One can only hope. Of course Leva is not completely innocent here either. Will cooler heads prevail?
Date: 23 Nov 2014 00:16 Title: Part III - The Olive Branch: 1
They definitely pushed their luck and got what they deserved. All that because Mahoney wanted to show off. His fit of heroism caused more troubles than his usual negligence. They plunged into action without any initial estimates of the size and armament of these pirates. They did not have any reconnaissance data about the underground activities in this sector. At the same time, they did not check the operation with Starfleet so no one is going to send a search party for them. The Thulians are hardly a reliable source of information besides their knowledge of the situation might be limited too. I don’t know whether the young chief engineer will be able to fix the antimatter system himself.
Unfortunately, even Leva lost his healthy skepticism and let the heat of the battle consume him. Starfleet might fight for principles but those pirates do it for a living. They certainly know something about disabling bigger and more impressive vessels or they would not last long in this business.
Author's Response: You're absolutely right about Leva. He got all swept up in the moment. This is a man who has always struggled somewhat with his darker, Romulan side, and when it asserts itself, like it did here, it has a tendency to override the more rational voices in his head. And let's face it, it seemed like a good idea at the time. Hindsight and all that.
Date: 21 Nov 2014 01:01 Title: Part II - The Never-Ending War: 9
Pretty tough for Taz, but logical. The slimy creature is after her, he has smelt a rat. Fortunately, the crew is unwilling to cooperate. Katanga’s suggestion sounds great but it is easy to be prudent and balanced when someone else’s life is at stake. Letting West dig freely into her life and pretending nonchalance is hardly an option. Can’t she threaten him or accuse him of selling classified info to other parties?
Author's Response: Threatening West is likely not going to work. Both Nora and Star have already tried to some degree and it simply encouraged him further. It also doesn't help that this is a guy who is used to going after big fish. So he's probably heard it all before. West will also know how to navigate the tricky waters of working with classified information. So far he has not claimed to have any.
Date: 18 Nov 2014 23:28 Title: Part II - The Never-Ending War: 8
Well, Mahoney goes from one extreme to the other - he is inebriated by his improved standing and newly gained self-respect. However, there are far too many possible intricacies and he does not seem to have given the matter the due consideration. Leva is cautious about plunging into darkness but everybody on the ship wants adventures and glory. I am pretty sure they will have them. But they might taste bitter.
Author's Response: Yeah, be carful what you wish for, right? At least Leva can appreciate the dangers of working under a man with such severe mood swings.
Date: 18 Nov 2014 05:33 Title: Part II - The Never-Ending War: 9
Star's finally won friends among Eagle's senior staff after all this time, people who are willing to watch her back. However, if West gets his way, all of it will have been for nothing.
These little glimpses of friendship and respect from people like Xylion show how far she's come in a relatively short span of time.
Author's Response: Absolutely. She's finally earned some respect on this ship. It comes as a surprise to her mostly because it has been a long time she could claim to have people around her who cared about her, who she could call friends. As you pointed out, this won't last if West manages to dig out all the dirt.
Date: 18 Nov 2014 00:51 Title: Part II - The Never-Ending War: 7
Lam has got himself involved in the local political bickering, besides he clearly has lost sight of the bigger picture. He firmly believes he is doing the right thing and considers Owens an ill-informed intruder failing to understand the situation. I don’t think he can be brought to reason, he can be only forcefully deposed. Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Cardassians had their own hidden agenda concerning the future of this world.
It is a very complicated and intriguing chapter that poses even more questions and dilemmas. The ground forces and the Starfleet personnel have very different stances. Death might be names on a casualty list for people who watch a ship explode but it is a very real and personal experience for those who fight face to face.
Author's Response: Great point and I think you are completely correct about the differences between the Marines who are fighting in the trenches and the regular Starfleeters engaged in starship combat. Trek has never focused much on the ground forces, even though we know they exist from a couple of episodes, and this story makes the distinction quite clear. As for getting rid of Lam, let's give Owens a chance to flex his diplomatic muscles first. He's been known to sway a mind or two.
Date: 16 Nov 2014 08:48 Title: Part II - The Never-Ending War: 8
Mahoney’s unstable, veering between apathy and hyper-aggression, and poor Leva’s having to walk a very thin line between this mercurial captain and the rest of the crew. One wonders how new Ben Maxwell’s XO was during the fiasco along the Cardassian border… and how hard he/she might have tried to steer that veteran captain away from the edge of the abyss.
Author's Response: The Ben Maxwell episode is an excellent comparison and not one I believe I was consciously aware of when penning the Mahoney/Leva plot. One can only imagine that the situation on the Phoenix developed in a similar manner at first. Maxwell's XO was either fully on board with his captain's plan from the beginning or entirely helpless to stop him later on. Leva does not have much command experience and might find himself in as much trouble as the Phoenix's first officer may have been. Then again, things might develop in a much different way here. Stay tuned.
Date: 14 Nov 2014 07:03 Title: Part II - The Never-Ending War: 7
Ugh. Yeah. Quagmire.
Now Lam’s eyeing Eagle as another resource to help him ‘win’ a war that’s already ended. Not having foreseen this, Starfleet didn’t send an admiral along to remind Lam of his place in the scheme of things. I do not envy Owens the awkward and potentially dangerous power play that may await him…
Author's Response: Real tough spot to be in for Owens, right? After all he wasn't set to Valeria to give a general orders he didn't want to hear. We'll have to see if the good captain can come up with a way to end things quickly and with out having another battle on his hands.
Date: 10 Nov 2014 17:37 Title: Part II - The Never-Ending War: 6
I am very happy for “Sacajawea” “ they really needed some action to brighten them up. Even Mahoney acted as a Captain for a change. “Varlo lepo”(well done) as Ensign Nikolic would say. I wonder whether they will be able to keep this enthusiasm and elation or will fall into despair again.
Great tactical decisions during the battle, Mahoney was to overdo, but Leva kept a sense of proportion.
Author's Response: For many Starfleet officers the Dominion War has brought about a significant shift in their attitudes, especially in combat. Mahoney is a good example of this. Even Leva has to fight to remember that things have changed. As for keeping this up ... we'll find out soon.
Date: 10 Nov 2014 00:31 Title: Part II - The Never-Ending War: 6
Well, Mahoney finally comes alive with a little prodding from Leva. Here again we see the more lethal mindset many in Starfleet share after the war, with Mahoney’s order to destroy rather than disable the attacking ship. Perhaps things can be turned around on this little ship, with some subtle persuasion by Leva from behind the scenes.
Author's Response: Things seem to be looking up on Sacajawea, you're right. We'll have to see if this will be enough to buck the trend.
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.
Date: 06 Nov 2014 19:14 Title: Part II - The Never-Ending War: 4
I think this look on Leva was a very real representation. Often in Star Trek, we see the wonder crews, and little to no thought is placed on new crew members arriving (save Worf from DS9, and Seven, but the biases against her are a completely different story). You’d expect the crew to be apprehensive around a new ranking officer, even if there’s no one aboard who was gunning for that spot. A change of that nature ordinarily heralds a lot of other changes too. It is a rather telling fact that short of Alendra, no one really tries to meet his eye, strike up conversation, or brown-nose. This is a crew that is so devoid of hope that they don’t even want to attempt to curry favor with the new first officer.
I think Alendra is right, though. The Captain sets the tone for most things aboard his vessel, and it’s pretty obvious that Mahoney’s cloister, alcoholic ways are setting an extremely poor standard for the entire crew.
Leva has a huge amount of work ahead of him trying to get this ship’s crew in any sort of positive mindset, but I hope he succeeds.
Author's Response: I would think, and hope, that Sacajawea is not the norm as far as Starfleet crews go. Yeah, she's a small vessel but one would almost expect this to mean that there is an even greater camaraderie among the crew than on a larger ship like Eagle or the Enterprise. That's not the case here and while Mahoney is mostly responsible for this, I don't believe that war time attrition has helped the situation any. Then again this was never a stellar crew. If you are curious about the ship's history, Sacajawea also appeared in the novella Star Crossed, available right here on Ad Astra or at StarEagleAdventrues.com
Date: 06 Nov 2014 19:04 Title: Part II - The Never-Ending War: 3
Those darned Captains, ignoring their officers and the regulations that were designed to protect them. This is just destined to go very, very poorly, and I hope that everyone escapes in more or less one piece.
I feel bad for Belore, as he's in an awful position. I'm still disinclined to take him at face value. One doesn't survive long among Cardassians with such a benevolent attitude. There has got to be more that we haven't seen yet, and the part of me that is in love with all things intrigue and espionage is biting at the bit to see just what’s underneath that thick, reptilian skin :-D
Author's Response: Yeah, Kirk never had this problem. But then again that was before Starfleet decided to molly-coddle their captains. Owens is terrible at following any advice pertaining to his safety, regularly frustrating the likes of Nora Laas. As for Belore, you are not wrong to be careful about him. That's all I shall say on that for now however.
Date: 06 Nov 2014 14:57 Title: Part II - The Never-Ending War: 4
Most crewmembers seem too young to be irrevocably affected by the captain’s sulk. I don’t think that it would be that difficult for Leva to squeeze some enthusiasm from them but Alendra simply wants to leave instead of delving into it. Newheiser is dangerous and everyone senses it. He might be the grey cardinal behind Mahoney who is nothing but a dummy.
It is good that you present the attitude of the ordinary ensigns and junior officers who serve on insignificant vessels but still try to do their job to the best of their abilities.
Author's Response: I think there is a palpable sense of lack of leadership which has infested Sacajawea and that starts at the top, with the captain setting the tone. Alendra was a reluctant and probably out of her depth first officer who had been given little support. Can Leva do better without a buy-in from his captain? We'll have to see.
Date: 06 Nov 2014 06:37 Title: Part II - The Never-Ending War: 4
Leva's making inroads where he can, but the cards seem stacked against him. This is one of those posts people can't seem to get away from fast enough, and during wartime nobody up the chain of command really gives a damn about morale on a single frigate. I hope that Leva can turn things around here, but short of staging a mutiny, I'm not sure what he can do...
Great stuff!
Author's Response: Hey, let's not use the m-word just yet. But yeah, Leva's in a pickle, do doubt. Thanks for the review.
Date: 05 Nov 2014 17:40 Title: Part II - The Never-Ending War: 3
Well, these Marines must be quite shell-shocked having in mind that they have been serving on this planet for two years. Still, I expected more curiosity and relief on seeing Starfleet personnel. Probably Lam has hidden from them that the war is over. Their hostile attitude toward the Cardassian is logical, most Starfleet troops consider Cardassians enemies, war or no war. At least they did not shoot the away team “ being killed by friendly fire while bringing news on the end of war would be highly unfortunate.
Author's Response: We'll find out fairly soon what Lam may or may not have shared with his troops. A certain amount of relieve would have made sense here, you're right. It might have gone straight out of the window the moment they saw that Cardassian amongst the away team.
Date: 05 Nov 2014 00:38 Title: Part II - The Never-Ending War: 2
It's a wonder to me that the good Captain hasn't ended up on the wrong end of a phaser at some point; either burnished by himself, or one of these fellow "senior" officers. There's an art to leading from below, and one can only hope that Leva possesses it. Chances are, if he doesn't already know how, he will need to learn to do so rather quickly. It will be interesting to see if Mahoney ever gets his head on straight, or if this continues to be an uncomfortable relationship.
Author's Response: It's a really tough situation for Leva. It would be a hard place to be in for any XO, I would think, but Leva has the added handicap of being a first time first officer and thanks to the rather sheltered existence he's had on Eagle, not really used to having to deal with such a situation.
Date: 04 Nov 2014 01:32 Title: Part II - The Never-Ending War: 1
Uh oh. This whole situation is going deceptively well. Something tells me that it will soon go to hell. I feel bad for Tazla. She seems to deeply regret her past mistakes, and it's unfortunate that all the efforts that she has made to get her life and career started back up again may soon go to hell. It seems that the media of the future-- much like the media of the present-- has no concern for who or what suffers in the pursuit of a news headline.
Author's Response: It's always a bad sign when things start going too well, isn't it? As for the media of the future, I'm not prepared to throw them all under the bus just yet. But yeah, West is out to for blood. And by that I mean a juicy story which could potentially end somebody's career.
Date: 29 Oct 2014 23:59 Title: Part II - The Never-Ending War: 2
It seems to me that only the nuts and bolts in the ship hull keep this crew together. Mahoney is a far cry from authority or leadership, he can put off even the most enthusiastic cadet. Newheiser indicates that he holds a lot of sway on this ship so I suppose Leva has got his rather broad hint. Still, the doctor realizes that Mahoney has reached his level of incompetence and supports Leva. They may have expected a more glorious mission but given the inexperienced crew and negligent captain this task serves them well.
Author's Response: There are a whole bunch of things going very wrong on this ship. These guy's are a far cry from Starfleet's finest.
Date: 28 Oct 2014 01:38 Title: Part II - The Never-Ending War: 1
Hmm... so far so good, but I've got this nagging suspicion that Lam is going to be harder to convince than his Cardassian counterpart. I'm hoping the good general hasn't gone all 'Colonel Kurtz' in the absence of higher authority or oversight.
Author's Response: Full disclosure: This isn't a Trek reimagining of Heart of Darkness. Having said that there might be some parallels. Lam is an interesting character and we'll soon discover what his reaction to the good news truly is.
Date: 28 Oct 2014 01:37 Title: Part I - The Elusive Peace: 7
Poor Leva, assigned to a ship with a total burn-out for a captain. No wonder the Ops chief seemed so wound up, serving aboard the mobile equivalent of Gamma Seven, devoid of purpose or pride in your assignment...
Sacajawa is a slap in the face to other little-ships-who-could. Here's hoping Leva can bring some hope to this listless vessel.
Author's Response: Yeah, Gibraltar, this ain't. Because at the end of the day it's not really about the ship, is it? It's about the men and women (an asexual beings) which crew her. Leva did not hit the jackpot on this one.