Date: 08 Aug 2014 13:06 Title: Desperate Alliances
I like the fact that we get to see a much more complicated Cardassian society here and that not everyone automatically hates the Federation and Starfleet. Of course that doesn't mean that there aren't plenty of shifty and scheming individuals left.
Date: 03 Aug 2014 16:10 Title: Desperate Alliances
Lambda Paz is predictably out of the game thanks to those rather ungrateful Cardassians. Not much for Limis to do but wait for help and chow down some delicious MREs
Date: 03 Aug 2014 16:07 Title: Desperate Alliances
Looks like that last minute rescue was no rescue at all as our spy duo ends up into unsympathetic hands after all. If I remember right Moset was that Doctor Mengele inspired Cardassian from Voyager. Not the kind of man you want to look after your well-being.
Date: 03 Aug 2014 00:55 Title: Awakening
Well that went just splendidly, didn't it? Only a few hours after arrival and they've already got half the city's police force after them.
Good thing you can always depend on the kindness of strangers. Or in this case being shot by one only to be whisked away to God knows were. Things may not have improved for these guys.
Date: 30 Jul 2014 23:20 Title: Awakening
This doesn't bode too well for Kozar's little mission now, does it? They may have a shuttle tailing them but other than that he will not be able to depend on the support and resources of the Lambda Paz. At least not for the time being.
Nothing like spiking the tension then removing the cavalry from the equation.
Date: 26 Jul 2014 22:48 Title: Awakening
Uh, Section 31 is involved. So you know things are going to get real complicated, real soon. Doesn't help that S31's point man on this used to have a very intimate relationship with Kozar.
I'm not entirely sure how all this will tie in with this new enemy but I'm fairly certain we haven't seen the last of them.
Author's Response: All that will revealed in the next installment of this duology. But, for now, it's like when "The Search, Part II" appeared to branch off into two seemingly unrelated plots until the big revelation about Odo's brethren.
Date: 25 Jul 2014 17:51 Title: Awakening
Seems like an old dirty Cardassian secret may be responsible for these unexpected attacks. Or perhaps some long forgotten fore bearers come to exact their revenge?
If that's the case I'm not surprised Starfleet would want to stay out what may be an internal Cardassian matter, even if that doesn't appear to be their reasoning at the moment.
Limis and Latham are both pretty impressive here, considering they used to be enemies, not just during the war but also long before. Yet they are able to put their difference behind them and show each other a certain level of trust.
Too bad not all of Lotham's people can say that. It's going to lead to some trouble down the road, no doubt.
Author's Response: There's certainly more going on with this 'earlier iteration' of the Cardassian species. It would be like the Goau'ld of the Stargate franchise's universe took Neanderthals as hosts.
Date: 24 Jul 2014 20:59 Title: Awakening
Routine and normalcy is settling in for the crew but it looks like that might have been their last poker game for a while Sounds to me they are about to make contact with what remains of that Cardassian fleet that nearly got wiped out not too long ago. What will be the implications for this ship and crew, Starfleet as a whole and the Cardassians, I wonder.
Date: 24 Jul 2014 02:13 Title: Awakening
Ah, the war is over and everyone gets a chance to relax, let their hair down and some much deserved promotions are handed out.
And Lambda Paz apparently gets a nice quiet milk run mission for a change. Naturally it will turn out anything but nice and quiet.
Date: 24 Jul 2014 02:10 Title: Awakening
For a change the big bad aliens showing up out of seemingly nowhere are not going for Earth or the Federation. Instead they have their eyes set firmly on the Cardassians who still manage to put together a decent sized fleet considering they've lost a war recently. Not that it made much of a dent.
I wonder who these guys are. Unless they have some sort of historical beef with the Cardies, they might decide to go after the Federation next. This could be big trouble.
Author's Response: Well, throw in the fact the bulk of the Cardassian fleet defected from the dark side at the end of the war. Still, these aliens with a historical grudge are swooping in at the right time.
Date: 30 Apr 2014 20:12 Title: Short Memory
Whoah. Dark this. Frightful really. It speaks to the dark underbelly potential that lies within Ronnie Kozar when i read him. It's like he has issues and they stem from somewhere. He's angry and it emanates from somewhere. He lashes out at commands and those in authority over him. Perhaps this then explains all that. Because he was told to forget such awful costs. To get on with it. To man/soldier up. To keep pitching himself into the fight against the odds. Was pitched into fights that were badly called. He was failed and he failed.
When he speaks of short memories - he wishes he had a short memory. He can recall vividly the events. Even though he has tried to stamp them down and out. Does he live with them everyday? We do not know from this tale but clearly it does remain with him still. His mantra of a short memory is part shield, part clutch, part delusion, part a means of survival. He wishes he had a short memory. Maybe feels bad about the short memory. About the fact he never was held accountable for his part in the friendly fire.
Author's Response:
That's a rather interesting analysis. But anyway, it's one character arc that acts out the axiom, "Be careful what you wish for".
Date: 24 Apr 2014 19:00 Title: Vigilante Justice
Given that they've burned their bridges and embraced a vendetta against the Cardassians it is only logical that the only recourse for both women is to join the Maquis. Another stepping stone in the tale of the Lambada Paz crew.
Date: 24 Apr 2014 18:57 Title: Vigilante Justice
Oh now that IS twisty. Having Limis go to S31 in order to find out who was behind the attack and find a means of exacting revenge - it ain't justice that driving them even if in principle it is the seeking of justice that is their cause. But it is a dark dark place for Limis to willingly ensnare herself. I can see why she would do it, she's driven and knows that for things to happen then she needs to go to the people who make things happen. Alas, Sullivan allows Limis to do this action. Sullivan is grieving and wanting to lash out but we see here she willingly accepts the action taken by Limis, even admitting as much as that she wouldn't have accepted it years ago. Her parents' death changes that. It's allowed Sullivan to go to a dark place in her morals where viligante revenge acts as justice. That's the horror of these situations and how morals get twisted by passions and grief.
Date: 24 Apr 2014 18:49 Title: Vigilante Justice
There's always a sense of greater injustice when hands are tied by politics and justice is failed and not served adequately. You paint a clear picture as to why certain people are headed on a road of rebellion against Starfleet and all they once held dear. There's a lot of context here that helps to ground new unfamiliar readers but some of it can be a little like exposition especially if tracts are repeated. The focus on the characters is good however, and it is an interesting facet that Limis has this connection with Sullivan and has already had a burned scorned past with Starfleet so that no allusion remains of it being a utopia.
Author's Response: I've heard one should avoid "bald exposition". With prose writing, it does necessary to put everything into context. It's not like I would throw in points that are in no way relevant to the story at hand. But glad you enjoyed the focus on the characters and what drives them on the path they're on. Cal Hudson is a peripheral example of that, I would say, having him parrot the usual platitudes before he had decided he had enough.
Date: 24 Apr 2014 18:41 Title: Vigilante Justice
It's a stark introduction of what made the fire in Rebecca's blood burn so strong against the Cardassians. You've stipped it of any emotional overtones. It's very bare bones, almost factual but it in its way it works to not over sentimentalise the scene and to show how it crystalised a moment in Sullivan's life that would brand the rest of it.
Author's Response: I thought so, too. This scene helps plant the first seeds of going rogue.
Date: 15 Oct 2013 03:31 Title: Short Memory
A tricky one but then war is what it is. Friendly fire's are the worse. A tricky one indeed.
Date: 03 Oct 2013 00:39 Title: Short Memory
Not sure how I feel about this one, TBH. Yes, forgetting the atrocities and defeats one has seen and experienced in the past can help a soldier to get on with the job at hand, but the real danger for humanity lies in forgetting the mistakes of the past. That's when the beast within all of us can rise up and rear its ugly head.
This is how entire populations were enslaved, or tortured, or exterminated. I think there's a difference between being able to distance yourself emotionally from unpleasant things and striving to forget them altogether. I honestly think emotional distance is the angle you were going for, and I do concur with that.
However, I take umbrage with Kozar's decision to say nothing about the friendly fire incident. $#!& happens in the heat of battle, but Mitchell's family earned the right to know the true circumstances of his death.
That being said, the piece was very well written and a good expansion on the free write piece. A vivid window into the mind of a soldier who puts his life on the line on a daily basis.
Author's Response: Well, I wouldn't go as far as to suggest Kozar is on the slippery slope towards trivializing mass deaths. Some of what the colonel told him did have merit, but then Kozar learns that emotionally distancing oneself is easier said than done. And after that friendly fire incident, he lived by the revised advise Morrison quoted. Just don't get discouraged by the bad, especially when one commits no mistakes and still loses.
Date: 28 Sep 2013 16:20 Title: Short Memory
Well, yes, it does help you get on with things, but eventually there are inquiries, yes? I get the feeling that Kozar will find himself defending his actions at some point or another.
Date: 28 Sep 2013 12:33 Title: Short Memory
Enterprise1981 an intriguing idea that in war marines need short memories so that they can focus on fighting the next battle.
This is a good expansion of the friendly-fire short WFW story you did. I think how you’ve use the USS Lambda Paz retreating as a framing device for the story.
Then having Kozar reflect on the poor unit morale in the aftermath of the New Cheyenne Massacre and trying to understand why Colonel Samuels sent them out again to focus on the next battle.
Still I’m shock that Kozar got away with not reporting the friendly fire death, puts Morrison in an awkward position now, as I expect he should report it to his superiors now.
Still the line defeat happens sometimes, just don’t get discouraged has a harsh truth to it.
Date: 28 Sep 2013 07:41 Title: Short Memory
It seems like such a normal idea, something easily seen even today. "Move forward and continue doing your job." It should be easy for a soldier to do, someone so used to seeing death and destruction.
The truth is, it's not that easy. Or at least, it shouldn't be that easy. I feel like, if any soldier could actually be able to do that, and never worry about past mistakes and failures again, they stop being human. "Oh, well, that really sucked, losing that entire colony today, but tomorrow's another day! Let's go kick some butt tomorrow! Woohoo!" It seems like a loss of ones soul.
Which, I love it in this story, because despite the fact that Kozar says to have a short memory, I think he found what works best to keep his humanity. He didn't have a short memory; if he did, he wouldn't remember the massacres, or his role in the death of Mitchell. He doesn't dwell on them, certainly, but they are still very much in his mind, part of who he is as a person today. The phrase gives him comfort, and his past failures seem to give him encouragement as they enter the Dominion War; he's failed before, he's seen death and destruction and failure and been very intimate with them all and he's still there, he's still alive, and still able to lead and do his job. Morrison said perfectly what the Colonel probably should have said instead; you have to get up and keep moving, despite what happens.
This was a great expansion of the WFW it came from. Really great work here.
Author's Response: Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it. I was stuck on this for a while on how to expand it, but then a football game was my inspiration. One sportscaster's suggestion was "throw away the game tape... or don't." In other words, learn from your mistakes, but don't get too down on yourself over losses. The colonel had the right idea to a point that the troops should just put it out of their heads. They just got outplayed. But sometimes, it's better to take time off, get their head screwed on right, so there is value to rotating soldiers on and off the battlefield. And Kozar learned that having a short memory is easier said than done while still learning the value of still pressing on when dealing with a tougher opponent.
Date: 16 Jun 2013 00:46 Title: Divided Loyalties
An explosive beginning after a solemn start. Quite an unexpected way to deliver an opening. Rereading this story in the correct order and context. Already, liking the continuity going on between episodes. Shows you are going to keep on building and building on the series.
As for now, we have an explosion on DS9. In the time of war it ought really to be the Dominion behind it but given the tapestry of DS9 and the series you write it likely isn't just what it seems.
Author's Response: Glad you're re-reading these early stories. As I indicated when starting this series though, it's not going to be all Dominion all the time.
Date: 02 Jun 2013 05:49 Title: Revenge a Dish Best Served Cold
Merote herbs... I think you are the only author who has explored drug use amongst the Bajoran resistance. But it would be inevitable giving how hard conditions would be, but if so many resistance fighters were using these drugs, you wonder if that further set back the resistance's efforts to attack the Cardassians and try to remove them from Bajor.
And it looks like Arnit has betrayed everyone and given away the Lambda Paza's position to the Jem'Hadar. Already this first mission is going to end up as a disaster!
“Ah, yes, typical Starfleet officer who is hoping some kind of wedge can be driven between the Dominion and the Cardassians,”
Yeah! This is so true of Starfleet officer's thinking. But Kozar has no idea how Dukat and the Cardassians cannot possible backout of the Dominion now. It is too late and if Dukat did such a move, he would be removed and the Dominion would further their grip and control of the Cardassian government and military. While a revolt would be catastrophic for the Cardassians, though perhaps in the early stages of this war it could result in the rapid collapse of the Dominion. But then the Dominion would just go about exterminating the Cardassians...
So wishful thinking Kozar!
Date: 02 Jun 2013 04:58 Title: Revenge a Dish Best Served Cold
I think of all the chapters where our new captain gets introduced to his/her ship. I think Limis has one of the more unique introductions. I mean she has the experience, she is a very resourceful woman, and all of that. But she is unfamiliar with a larger vessel, yet she knows how to command people, so Limis enters her captaincy role with quite the mix of strengths and weaknesses. Her problem are the senior staff, because when trouble comes she is sure going to improvise and undoubtedly break dozens of Starfleet protocols and regulations. Actually make that hundreds!
And poor Logan! That guy was a real old grump when he saw him on TNG, and so strict and almost arrogant! He was a douche but I do appreciate his position and having Tarlazzi as a thorn on his side is the last thing Logan wants. Good thing Rebecca reminded Tarlazzi of that! And my God! It is incredible to see our main characters now, your series really does take them on a journey!
Last but not least there is Aurellan. At first when I read your series I thought she was a pretty average character who while not good was not bad either. But it is that lack of personality which intrigues me and her Asperger syndrome which makes her a rather unique character. In a way she kind of discovers her humanity over the course of the Dominion war. And there is the new EMH, the one which Aurellan will eventually date after this EMH goes through some extensive modifications! Or wait, was that another EMH type entirely?
Finally the Lambda Paz is off! So a great chapter! Brief, to the point and lots of impact!
Author's Response: Yes, there's a lot of good character establishment going on here. Regarding the EMH, the Mark III in Year 2 is the one Aurellan dates, while the one here is the Mark II--played by Andy Dick in "Message in a Bottle" (don't get me started on how many douchey characters that actor has played).
Date: 02 Jun 2013 04:45 Title: Revenge a Dish Best Served Cold
These little small touches and aspects really work well with this story. Like Kozar being the last to shake Limis' hand when she was on the bridge of the Lambda Paz, all of this subtly adds up to the tension between Limis and the rest of the senior staff. So already this feels like Voyager what with the tension between the Maquis and Starfleet.
That scene with Dukat and Weyoun was very foreshadowing and illuminating. This is the first instance where Weyoun is keeping Dukat out of the loop, and the first sign of a Dominion trampling over the wishes of its Cardassian ally. Dukat now knows Cardassian and the Dominion are not pact brothers, it is now the Dominion who are really running the show. So I think somewhere deep down inside, Dukat is regretting his decision to side with the Dominion. So this scene explains some of Dukat's hints to Damar that they are going to take on the Dominion.
Though this seems pretty crazy considering how the Dominion ships probably outnumber the Cardassian ships. And Dukat plans to do when the wormhole becomes open to. So how Dukat plans to defeat thousands of Jem'Hadar ships which will come pouring out of the wormhole should Cardassia betray the Dominion beggers belief. I guess Dukat was just a crazy megalomaniac all along!
The chase scene with the Defiant was nice. The line;
“I can compensate if I lock in on anything organic. Modesty be damned.”
Was great and really made me laugh. Especially when O'Brien beamed over the now naked Bajoran man! Fire Caves kind of transporter sorcery indeed!
Author's Response: In the case of Dukat, he seemed willing to let a few things despite Damar's complaints. He even backed off rather quickly Weyoun invoked the non-aggression treaty between Bajor and the Dominion. Also glad you noticed Limis's similarities to Sara Connor in the previous chapter's comments, with the "transporter sorcery" being another nod to the Terminator movies.
Date: 02 Jun 2013 04:36 Title: Revenge a Dish Best Served Cold
You know I find it really funny that for a ship that was not designed for war, the Lambda Paz can take an incredible beating and get away! It has faced so many battles so I guess the Prophets must have been watching over Limis all that time!
This chapter feels very much like that of Voyager's Caretaker when Janeway is down on that New Zealand penal colony trying to persuade Tom Paris to come aboard Voyager. But this chapter did it a lot more better and having Sisko to persuade Limis was a big help to.
Right now Limis feels like this Sarah Conner figure. She is dangerous, she wants revenge, yet deep down she is nursing terrible traumas and is desperate to track down her son.
As for Kozar, I love his reaction when he gets denied that captaincy he so deserved. For once I can agree with Jellico to a certain extent, and that's a rarity!
Author's Response: More precisely, the LP was a class of ship originally earmarked for exploration, but priorities quickly changed. Also glad you recognized one of the similarities to the Voyager pilot. There's also a tie-in to The Motion Picture where they're supposed to launch 12 hours even though Scotty says that's not possible.