Date: 20 Apr 2009 00:56 Title: 'Destructive Behaviour'
I think you've got something messed up with this; looks like the chapter's in here twice. Fix it! :P That being said, McGregor made me laugh out loud a few times in here, and Molly's line did too.
Author's Response:
Thanks for the catch Steff. Trust me to do something like that. Trust McGregor to bring levity into a given situation. As for Molly's response - quite polite considering, don't you think?
Date: 20 Apr 2009 00:51 Title: 'A Hostile Environment'
Shoulda listened to Becca there! I like your chief, too; canny fellow. Jex, of course, is awesome.
Author's Response:
The NCOs always tend to know what's best but sadly officers sometimes think otherwise. Tut tut. As for Gardner, I figured he had to suss things from a technical point of view as opposed to a tactical. More in keeping with his gritty blue collar image. And of course Jex is awesome! Glad you think so. Have a fond spot for her. But that doesn't necessarilly mean she's gonna get away with things!
Date: 20 Apr 2009 00:47 Title: 'Party Crashers'
Short and to the point; now, I have to know what happens to the mad captain!
Author's Response:
Mad? Mad? Mad? Ok ... well maybe so ...
Date: 20 Apr 2009 00:45 Title: 'Boarding Party'
Wow, damn. McGregor sure knows how to make some truly nasty enemies, doesn't he? Good pacing, if not horribly brutal stuff. And you think my mirror arc is bad!
Author's Response:
Your mirror stuff is bad! Glad you think T'Hos is nasty. Sometime's it's hard to get a bad guy to come off ok.
Date: 18 Apr 2009 19:00 Title: 'A Commanding Presence'
Oh, crap! Here I was, lulled into a comfortable sense of Noah learning about his new assignment, and then you go ending the chapter like that. Totally awesome at catching me completely offguard.
Author's Response:
Gotta spring a few surprises!
Date: 12 Apr 2009 22:07 Title: 'A VIP Event'
I have a totally new appreciation for Stanley now. Like, I really adore him. But all of your characters are good; Jex is very engaging, and the back-and-forth here was a great read.
Author's Response:
Thanks! To be honest Rob's made me fall in love with Stanley even more. Stanley is a great comic foil and someone to bounce off in great ways. He can do anything. So far we've not seen too much from him, but do expect more; that's for sure
Date: 10 Apr 2009 20:19 Title: 'An Admiring Admiral'
Sebastian's a really understandable guy. Then again, I could well be saying this because he's been court-martialed and had a bad homelife in his past, and that is a very understandable thing. I think I like him!
Author's Response:
Courtmartialed, bad home life - nope can't think who he would remind you of! ;) Sebastian is not darker than who you might be thinking of, but he hasn't quite been able to move on with things, own up to his own mistakes, a lot of his problems are of their own making. So he's a bit surly and mean. But you'll see a bit of that in upcoming segments. Wonder will you like him then? Asides from that, we don't see too much of him at the start; but he's going to have to come to terms with some of his issues before story's end.
Date: 08 Apr 2009 18:02 Title: 'A Message Home'
Ah, poor Noah! I can understand how he feels all too well; it's not cowardly. It's normal and human. It's nice to see an author actually tackle the internal struggles that characters would have to go through in order to go out into space like that. So many just pretend that there's no one left at home, that everyone's always understanding. But the truth is, people worry. Good stuff!
Author's Response:
Thanks!
Noah is the guiding voice for this story. I hope I manage to maintain that internal struggle and voice.
Date: 05 Apr 2009 16:28 Title: 'Bedding In'
LOL! Your McGregor is coming across as being a bit like Captain Ahab, though with some decided crazy that's more like bipolar. Interesting tidbit there about Templar that will be something to chew on in later chapters.
Author's Response:
Captain Ahab would be a good comparison, I think. Though obviously, not so good for the rest of his crew. LOL! And Templar's past will have a bearing in the story for some. Thanks again, for reading and commenting.
Date: 04 Apr 2009 16:42 Title: Hanging About
That McGregor is something else. LOL! I'm not sure if he's brilliant, mad or both. Probably both. But he sure does have a neat array of assault craft; I don't doubt we'll get to see those in action at some point!
Author's Response:
Oh I think we will must certainly get to see the Killer Bees and Wasps in action at some rather combustive moment in the story.
And McGregor? Brilliant? Don't let him hear that! He's got a big enough head as is. Mad? I probably wouldn't say that in earshot either. He did get rid of his counsellor after all! But more of that to come.
Date: 02 Apr 2009 20:16 Title: 'Problems in Engineering'
Still need to go back and add in those commas you were worried about. ;-) Trust me, they'll help. I kinda have to wonder what your Chief would think of my Chief, who was both a junkyard dog and an Academy trained engineer. ::laughs:: But so far, as wonderfully rough as your Kestrel crew is, it seems almost like as much a hostile environment onboard as the areas they go patrolling.
All that being said, they sure are an interesting lot.
As for the Shore Patrol, not much as been written about 'em. And, really, only one of them gets any real look-in -- Abigail Hanson, who's Corry's main love-interest. She's tough, she's smart and she has some of the foulest language in the Federation. Though, admittedly, I haven't shown much of that yet. ;-)
Author's Response:
Thanks Steff,
First, I'll go back and check over those commas. Pesky things, they like to run away on me. Second, I'll have to check out your Abigail Hanson. She sounds like fun.
As for my Engineer and yours? I'm pretty sure Scotty's smarts would shut Eddie up, quick sharp. ;) Remember too, that Eddie had to swallow his pride and do whatever was required to get the pips on his collar. So somewhere's along the line he had to face the Academy. Obviously, his experiences there probably did little to dissuade him of his perception of the paper trained Academy brats.
And yes, so far, the onboard environment seems a little hostile but I was trying to veer from the utopian wonderfully friendly and supportive characterisations of shipboard life I've fallen into in the past. Much like any staff, take for example an office, has its pecking order and office politics, I figured a starship crew would have similar issues to contend with. More so, because they have to live side by side one another too.
[Report This]Date: 31 Mar 2009 14:10 Title: 'But It's a Miranda Class!'
Oh, yeah. Okay, I love your border patrol; I think they would get along absurdly well with the shore patrol that gets a mention in my own storylines. A bit rough, foul, specific types who make Picard's crew look... well, weak, honestly. Good stuff, still!
Author's Response: Sure out on the border there's no such thing as diplomacy. Maybe punching a guy instead of shooting him! That's fairly diplomatic. And I have to read your Shore Patrol guys. Where might I find them?
Date: 30 Mar 2009 16:55 Title: 'He's an Hawsehole!'
I already like your McGregor. ::smirks:: I also like the fact that people still get divorced, some people still crawl up through the hawsepipe and that the Kestrel obviously has its fair share of 'personalities' aboard.
Author's Response: Thanks Steff. I actually figure that with the life styles and choices people would live in the Trekverse marriages and family life ought to be really difficult and challenging. So bringing in a little reality grit without the trauma I thought would add a little texture to the tale.
Yes the Kestrel certainly has its fair share of personalities - deliberately so in that I wanted to create something different to my Accipiter crew alot of whom were squesky clean shoe polishers by comparison. Also I wanted a really different captain from Vaughan (professor type character) so hit upon making McGregor a real rough neck. These guys are a bit more rough and ready and probably a lot more fun too. Certainly to write I find they can lead me in all sorts of directions and sorts of mischief - I try to resist it though.
As for McGregor ... quite a few liked him to begin but as the tale goes on he may drop from from favour. I wonder will that happen to you. Hopefully, by the end if that does happen I can win you back or at least make you understand the actions he takes. Thanks for the comment.