Well, that's certainly a novel way to deliver orders. Very Inception-ish.

And what a tall task for Irons. As if I needed any more evidence that Section 31 is up to no good. Bashir must have gone through quite a gauntlet to reach this point.

Looking forward to see where Hunter and Irons go from here, not to mention the future of Vulcan, the Romulans, the Federation and pretty much the rest of the galaxy.

Author's Response:

I had the idea that Slade recruited Julian as his hand-picked succesor as Director of Section 31. He's really into the cloak and dagger and showed his dark side a few times in DS9 - particularly in the ep with the idiot/savants. He makes a great dark chess master... If occasionally a little whiny.

Interesting rationale for the invasion of Vulcan by the Romulans. I had forgotten that this is taking place post the Hobus Incident.

One thing that seems odd to me is Vulcans location in relation to the Romualn Empire. I could be mistaken, of course, but isn't Vulcan deep in Federation space? If so, the Romulans may struggle to get a massive space lift into Vulcan going as they'd find themselves surrounded by a hostile Federation and Starfleet.

Interestingly, this theme is not too dissimilar to recent events depicted in Discovery, though that show is getting increasingly implausible to me for my money. And I appreciate Hunter predates the current season of Disc, I believe.

Author's Response:

I've only seen the first episode of Discovery and Picard - and that was after I had written 23.15 JAG Wars - The Venus Incident. STD didn't really enthuse me despite Michelle Yeoh - one of my favorite actors. And I realized I couldn't watch STP until I was finished writing STH. I wrote the last scene for STH, 19.5 The Ivonovic Commission - Stroke of Luck, on 10/20. (I didn't write all of this in order - I wrote the beginning, some of the middle and the end first and then filled in the middle.)

Looks like the rescue mission was a complete success.

Smart call to sedate the kids. Not everyone would have thought of doing that.

Also, nice bit of a possibly prophetic message at the end about Dolphin. So far, he's had a bit of a hero complex but in this story, I wouldn't be shocked to find out if his trajectory changes to the dark side at some point.

Author's Response:

Well, Dolphin is a Section 31 agent. And Section 31 tends to corrupt everything it touches...

Well, that was certainly nice of them to rescue those slaves. Made me feel better after the last chapter, certainly.

And the Orion slave girls learned an important lesson that most fighters have known for centuries. Long hair just gets you killed.

Author's Response:

I wanted to show the Orion slave girls as powerful fighters - but that's not their primary role. And to have a taste of what the new tactical squad can do.

So far so good. But plans have a habit to go terrible askew especially for a team operating behind enemy lines without backup except for a greedy Ferengi.

Well, whatever happens next, I've no doubt it will be highly entertaining.

Author's Response:

This is the first part of a chapter that I divided into 3 parts because it was just way too long and I wanted some of the punch lines to have a little more punch. 

A rather interesting, Lord of the Flies inspired encounter. How long exactly have these people been hiding in that cave? One might think there may have been better places to seek refuge. Then again, maybe not if they got stranded.

Author's Response:

I think in a future chapter, Pomm mentions that he and Oarama have been running Pivin the Betrayer for 9 years. They set up this escape refuge in preparation for her missions, so the romulans might have been there as long as 8 years. Probably arriving via escape pods.

A healthy dose of politics here. But probably more pressingly, a new mission going right into the belly of the beast.

I can already think of half a dozen ways this could go terribly wrong.

Author's Response:

It was a way of explaining what Ivonovic has been up to - not just sitting on his hands.

Well, there is no doubt Alstars is a character to watch in this story. Who says space exploration is a young man's game?

Took a minute but it looks like you are slowly tying in the events from the teaser. Curious to see where this goes.

Author's Response:

He definitely has a critical job to do.

Well, I'm obviously a fan of cantankerous old veterans who've done it all and seen it all and are not shy to teach their juniors the errors of their ways.

I'm quite certain Alstars (All Stars?) and Katanga would get on famously.

Also loving the little Back to the Future reference (quite poignant considering recent time travel shenanigans), not to mention the return of one of my favorite Trek-themed running gags, the infamous self-sealing stembolts. At least these guys know what to do with them. Kinda.

Author's Response:

A bit of a pun - Moon, Sun and Alstars in the engine room. Glad you're enjoying Geoff - he could definitely relate to Katanga.

Oh, okay, I've missed the title of this episode. That might help explain some of the things in the preceding teaser, not to mention the presence of Orions.

Always thought Orions are fascinating and slavers are always good villains. Like Nazis they usually more than deserve their fates.

Author's Response:

Who doesn't love those sexy orion slave girls? Pep's grandmother was one...

Another colorful and certainly more than ordinary crewmember joins Hunter. Gotta hand it to ya, none of these characters are boring.

Author's Response:

Thanks again for the kind words. Geoff is a fun character - crochety old codgers are particularly fun to write.

Perhaps the biggest tell that this crew has hurt as much as it has, and lost so many people, is the the fact that there's nearly nobody out there surfing as the ship returns to his home away from home at Ocean.

Bittersweet installment here.

Author's Response:

I'm really pleased that came through. I added the surfing originally as a fun thing to give a unique flavor. But it just because a through-line that served all kinds of purposes. 

The comedic tone in this story reminds me a lot of Hitchhiker's Guide. And also kudos for the great Trek connections. I've certainly hadn't come across the theory that the Traveller might me a Progenitor but I can see how it makes sense. There may even be a bit of a visual resemblance if I remember correctly.

Author's Response:

Big Adams fan - thanks for the kind words!!