Reviewer: CeJay Signed [Report This]
Date: 12 Aug 2021 19:46 Title: Episode 27.6: Sword of Destiny - vub

A sudden shift in Dramatis Personae and some old and familiar faces, and all of a sudden this almost feels like a completely different story altogether.

As does the abrupt change of circumstances as our new heroes find themselves having to flee the Romulans who'd rather burn everything to the ground than get their hands dirty in a rescue attempt.

Author's Response:

The many bizarre twists of a gigantic war sprawling across an entire quadrant. The Hunter's crew still play a part in this war, but it is much bigger than them, so I needed to enlarge the tapestry. I had added Geordi to the opening sequence of Ep. 2, so it felt like a nice balance to bring him back for Ep. 27.

Thanks!! rbs

Reviewer: CeJay Signed [Report This]
Date: 10 Aug 2021 20:17 Title: Episode 27.4: Sword of Destiny - lIH

Uh uh, no more nice Klingons.

Feels like this is a curveball the galaxy didn't need right now.

Nice twist.

Author's Response:

And just when things weren't going so well, too.

Well, Martok did warn them...

Thanks!! rbs

Reviewer: CeJay Signed [Report This]
Date: 08 Aug 2021 22:19 Title: Episode 27: Sword of Destiny

That certainly shows the idea of the Klingon warrior in a different light. Not so much honor and song but regret and failure.

Although it has a certain ring of truth to it, one must consider the source. I don't believe Alexander had a great career as a warrior to draw inspiration from.

Author's Response:

The quote is from Alexander's biography of his father. Of course, Worf is an oddball klingon - raised by humans. He never really fit into either culture.

Martok made Worf his champion, then sent him to the Forge to keep him out of trouble and to get him out of the way...

Thanks!! rbs

Reviewer: CeJay Signed [Report This]
Date: 05 Aug 2021 20:23 Title: Episode 27.1: Sword of Destiny - Bat'leth '.' QeyliS

Alright, so hybrids aren't just limited to the Federation it seems. I wonder how these Klingons fit into the picture. I certainly remember the sword of Kahless and the rather unfortunate expedition to locate it.

Author's Response:

In most mythology, things tend to go from bad to worse whenever magical swords show up...

Thanks!! rbs

Reviewer: CeJay Signed [Report This]
Date: 03 Aug 2021 20:01 Title: Episode 26.28: Rain Over Rising Sun - Napoleon

Another rather unexpected pivot ... And another promotion. Riker is right about at least one thing, those seem to be happening quite a bit on Hunter.

Author's Response:

You and Riker are both right - Napoleon hasn't earned this promotion. He doesn't even seem to want it.

But Dolphin's agenda isn't about what Napoleon wants or deserves. It's about what Star Fleet needs.

Thanks!! rbs

Reviewer: CeJay Signed [Report This]
Date: 01 Aug 2021 10:42 Title: Episode 26.26: Rain Over Rising Sun - Planetary Defense Grid

Yeah, I didn't get T'Lon's order at first of targeting all ships in orbit including Hunter ... clever.

Also, kudos on your high ratio of female characters. Something I've noticed before. It's a small thing but a lot of fan fics don't bother with trying to present a more balanced gender ratio.

Author's Response:

Glad you liked their little ruse with the klingons. Really good idea to avoid shooting at klingons if at all possible...

I'm surprised I don't see more female captains and admirals - about the only one I remember other than Janeway is Fleet Admiral Alynna Necheyev from DS9 (whom I bring in at the end of STH as the detestable head of Star Fleet Intelligence...)

Your Maya is the only female captain I can recall from any fanfic I've read - including a few by female fanfic writers.

Thanks!! rbs

Reviewer: CeJay Signed [Report This]
Date: 30 Jul 2021 10:52 Title: Episode 26.24: Rain Over Rising Sun - Starlight

You just love messing with your readers, don't you? This was a classic case of misdirection that had me entirely baffled as to what the heck was going on now, . Nice call-back to the GM, one of the most bizzare places in this series. Which is saying quite a bit.

Author's Response:

Dream sequences are so much fun... This one sets up the conclusion in Ep 28 and asks the big question that's kind of at the heart of the series. 

Glad you enjoyed the return of the GM! Thanks for sticking with this bizarre series!

Thanks!! rbs

Reviewer: CeJay Signed [Report This]
Date: 28 Jul 2021 09:47 Title: Episode 26.22: Rain Over Rising Sun - The Atlas Class

The pride of Bolarus. There's certainly a theme here of building bigger and bigger ships. I wonder how sustainable this is. Surely, there has to be some sort of theoretical limit on how big you can build a ship. Or maybe not.

Author's Response:

The Borg Cube is 3 km cubed. The Death Star is 160 km in diameter...  Thanks!! rbs

Reviewer: CeJay Signed [Report This]
Date: 25 Jul 2021 11:10 Title: Episode 26.20: Rain Over Rising Sun - Martok

Talking of Old Dogs who refuse to die. Martok is also still around and kicking ... and keeping himself in shape, it seems. Although, obviously not quite the man he used to be. I hope he won't be challenged to a duel to the death at any point soon. I don't care for his chances.

Admiteldy, the funniest part of this chapter was the fact that you defined what a bat'leth is.

Author's Response:

I found myself fielding odd questions from readers unfamiliar with Trek lore. They knew what a vulcan was, and maybe a klingon. They kind of got warp speed, but after that they were out of their knowledge. I ended up posting screenshots and fan art of andorians, romulans and various ships to those platforms and to my personal blog.

Yeah - I suppose Martok would be at a disadvantage against a younger opponoent. But you know the old adage about old age and trechery... Martok has a champion whom he can call on when challenged to single combat. 

Martok is the oldest naturalborn klingon. Original series klingon (Kor, Kang, Koloth and others) have much longer life expectancies due to their enhanced DNA from the original series of human augment virus. A rather nasty and not well known side provision of the Khitomer Accords required them to have skull ridges surgically implanted...)

Thanks!! rbs

Reviewer: CeJay Signed [Report This]
Date: 24 Jul 2021 10:09 Title: Episode 26.18: Rain Over Rising Sun - The Pink Kimono

This chapter felt like the setup of a hilarious joke:

A Klingon in a pink komono walks into an interrogaion room.

No joke. Instead we get to see some tough interrogation techniques. Not exaclty standard Starfleet procedure, methinks. But hey, it got results and probalby the right approch when dealing with a Klingon (who is not very good at being a Klingon)

Also, since when is Gamor such a badass? I expected these kind of moves from T'Lon. Dayum.

Author's Response:

Glad you enjoyed the kimono twist... 

Dolphin mentioned a few times (as early as Ep 14) that Gamor had made it to the semi-finals of krav maga her senior year at academy. She finally had a chance to employ that skill.

Dolphin is desparate to prevent another Hudson River Massacre - or worse. He and Gamor choreographed the entire interrogation to strip the klingon spy of all dignity - down to the parting shot that he isn't good enough to wear the kimono. They have a good idea of what is going to happen, but they need to know who, how and when... And the spy understands that he needs to protect his family from the dishonor of his disgrace.

Thanks!! rbs

Reviewer: CeJay Signed [Report This]
Date: 21 Jul 2021 19:26 Title: Episode 26.16: Rain Over Rising Sun - Maria

The greater good, I get it. Still, always a tou pill to swallow to make moral concession in the name of a more pressing goals. Realpolitik in action, I suppose.

Author's Response:

A particularly galling choice for Maria - she started out as a human rights advocate, which is what took her to those corrupt courtrooms on Cardassia Prime during the Bajoran Occupation and kept her there right through the Cardassian War.

Back when she was a lithe young Mexican lawyer, before middle age, too much responsibility and a hankering for well-spiced hasparat took their toll on her waistline...

Thanks!! rbs

Reviewer: CeJay Signed [Report This]
Date: 18 Jul 2021 10:56 Title: Episode 26.14: Rain Over Rising Sun - Oversight

Don't see that very often. The crew messing up and getting a lecture from the boss. I guess this kinda stuff is bound to happen with all the recent staff turnover on the ship.

This would never have happened under Irons ... well maybe.

Author's Response:

Would NOT have happened under Irons. As Chekov warned, Dolphin was promoted too fast. He's talented, but inexperienced - and not academy trained. OCS officers almost never make captain. Dolphin's taking ownership of his failure by putting himself on report and expects his senior staff to follow his example.

Thanks!! rbs