Date: 12 Dec 2010 07:55 Title: Part Six: Tango with the Collective
An interesting alliance. A common threat made their problems with each other insignificant.
But I wonder... The Cardassians were forced to withdraw from Bajor. Does it mean the Romulans and Klingons also withdrew from the worlds they had conquered? Wouldn't something like that (a sudden political move) weaken the empires and their stability and weakening with the Borg hovering around isn't the best idea?
Author's Response:
In short, yes. And also, the empires are part of the Alliance, so think of it more like they're all joining the Federation. Except it's not the Federation, but a federated political body.
Thanks for reading!
-- MDg
[Report This]Date: 11 Dec 2010 04:15 Title: Part Ten: not with a bang...
Wow Mike! As strictly a TOS girl, much of what happened, in terms of the actual events from the TNG episode and your divergent story were initially unclear, but the story in itself was extremely compelling.
The evolution of January McKenna, from a wet-behind-the-ears, mouthy, critical LTjg to that of a seasoned commander who now understood the reasoning behind chain-of-command and the necessity to follow orders despite one's personal feelings on the matter was very well drawn.
I must admit some disappointment when she decided to 'go rouge' at the Cirrius encounter, but was glad to see her get her thoughts of revenge in check (with the help of her XO) and come back into line with the fleet. Kinda reminded me of a certain Jim Kirk there for a minute...;-)
I also liked very much the idea of one-time enemies of the Federation being forced to work together, to create an Alliance to ensure their own continued survival against the Borg threat.
Overall, a very well-done, well-written piece, striking a good balance between character studies of your major protagonists and intense action scenes that kept me mesmerized. Excellent work!
LBD
Date: 11 Dec 2010 01:54 Title: Part One: My Ship was Destroyed at Wolf 359 and All I Got Was This T-Shirt
I'm not sure "And All I Got Was This T-Shirt" would be the sentiment if in January McKenna's shoes, but I get the context of the expression. I could see McKenna wanting to continue fighting for Earth, but would be self-defeating.
Date: 08 Jul 2009 20:01 Title: Part One: My Ship was Destroyed at Wolf 359 and All I Got Was This T-Shirt
Depressing but exciting opening, if that makes any sense. Looking forward to more.
Date: 07 Jul 2009 02:00 Title: Part Ten: not with a bang...
A wonderful coda to this story, though it does conclude things rather abruptly. It's good to see most of the crew lived and loved far into the future after the Borg Wars, and that McKenna went out fighting, as was her nature. Great work on this.
Date: 06 Jul 2009 20:39 Title: Part Nine: The Cirrius Prime Symphony (in D minor)
An intense and nail-biting chapter as the Galaxy Alliance finally gets the opportunity to kick the Borg squarely in the jumblies. Excellent detail on the strategy and tactics of this operation without bogging down the narrative, which remained fast paced and especially accessible.
Date: 06 Jul 2009 00:48 Title: Part Eight: The Pride of Qo'noS
Holy crap! Talk about a cliffhanger! This new Galaxy Alliance is shaping up to have some teeth, though it's yet to be proven if those teeth are sharp enough to injure the Collective.
Date: 05 Jul 2009 13:04 Title: Part Seven: Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue
This was a nice, well-paced break from the action. Our heroes get a chance to catch their collective breath, and McKenna gets to ponder the how's and wherefore's of being a celebrated hero, despite her reservations.
Yamaguchi's growing on me, and it appears there's a real beating heart under the spit and polish Marine exterior. Kudos to him for sucking it up and accepting that the person he loves is marrying another. A lesser man might have tried to put his happiness ahead of hers and upset her special day with making his true feelings known.
Well, here's hoping January gets a choice command.
Date: 05 Jul 2009 10:08 Title: Part Six: Tango with the Collective
An exciting and fast paced chapter. McKenna performed especially well in an engagement that looked more and more like a no-win scenario. I like how you've established a Borg 'time-out' in order for the Collective to assimilate the people and raw materials of the planet's they've conquered. It makes sense, seeing as only a single cube was responsible for the seizure of three of the most heavily populated star systems in the Federation.
Continued excellence!
Date: 05 Jul 2009 09:26 Title: Part Five: The Qo'noS Two-Step
A great chapter showing us how adaptable people can be, even in the face of the most severe circumstances. McKenna's finally settling down somewhat, and Sten has made a decision about the course her life will take that will doubtless have great repercussions in the years ahead... provided that she and the others have years ahead.
This chapter answered my questions regarding the 'Alliance' references in your Venture story set post-war.
Here's hoping the addition of the Klingon Empire entering fully into the fight will make the difference.
Date: 04 Jul 2009 06:16 Title: Part Four: Vulcan's Cacophony
Somehow this destruction of Vulcan is even more ghastly than the fate the befell the planet in the new Star Trek movie. The irony of McKenna's situation comes full circle as she discovers who was to have been the Malinche's new commanding officer, and then being thrust into nearly identical circumstances with the attack on Vulcan.
Great stuff, I'm glad you're posting this story.
Date: 03 Jul 2009 12:21 Title: Part Three: The Antares Boogie
Oh hell. From bad to much, much worse. This is a hell of a lot of responsibility to be thrust upon someone who was a junior lieutenant just a few weeks prior. More than a little ironic that McKenna now finds herself in nearly the same place as the captain she castigated in front of his bridge crew aboard the Akagi.
All I can say for the time being is, 'Run little ship, run.'
Date: 03 Jul 2009 10:22 Title: Part Two: Life's a Bitch, and then there's the Borg
She's a hard-charger, I'll give her that. Starfleet's already on the defensive and falling back in the face of an implacable Borg advance. One wonders what kind of tactics and missions they will brainstorm in the coming struggle to safeguard the rest of the Federation from the Collective.
Date: 03 Jul 2009 10:11 Title: Part One: My Ship was Destroyed at Wolf 359 and All I Got Was This T-Shirt
Well, McKenna's certainly made herself welcome aboard the Akagi! The combat sequence at Wolf 359 was visceral and riveting, and I found the aftermath of the battle just as engrossing. Reading this on the tails of trekfan's future-based Borg Apocalypse story brings me back to the heady days of 1990 when I eagerly awaited the conclusion to The Best of Both Worlds.
Author's Response:
I like the word 'visceral.' :) And riveting works, too. Thanks :) Do you know how many times I watched DS9's pilot to get in the mood to write that first scene? Quite a bit.
Thanks for reading!
-- MDg
Date: 03 Jul 2009 04:34 Title: Part Two: Life's a Bitch, and then there's the Borg
Yes, that's more like it. Put January where she can do some good.
The counselor bit was good too, loved that. Great convo between them and a hell of a hard point made.
Author's Response:
Jan's pretty pissed off at this point. She literally had her entire life shot out from under her and now all she wants is revenge and she wants it pretty badly. Running away from the fight went against her instinct to take the fight to the Borg, and in spite of orders, I think had she held command of the Akagi, then it would have been 41 ships lost that day, rather than 40 (39 at Wolf 359 plus the Enterprise).
Thanks for reading!
-- MDg
Date: 03 Jul 2009 04:11 Title: Part One: My Ship was Destroyed at Wolf 359 and All I Got Was This T-Shirt
Damn man, The Riker Manuever=FAIL, of epic proportions here. I love the look at this character and the tension around the whole situation. Your Borg AU is far quicker in development then mine, something I like alot.
I want to see just as far she's willing to go.
Author's Response:
Things move fast, and as it turns out later on in the story, as the Borg try to expand they eventually reach a point where they're expanding faster than they've been able to make efficient use of their co-opted resources. You'll get to that eventually.
Thanks for reading!
-- MDg