[Report This]Date: 28 Aug 2011 00:05 Title: Flash
Very good story. I liked how Berat quietly questioned if the Cardassians were treating the colonists equably. Another thing I liked was how the boy assassin was not named. Not sure if he shows up again, but that was pretty interesting.
Author's Response:
Thank you so much for reading! :-)
Date: 31 Aug 2010 15:11 Title: Flash
I've read "The Thirteenth Order" before this, so I knew what would happen. But it still shocked me - as knowing and "seeing with me own eyes (that's how it felt)" are two different things. I knew the attack was senseless, but had no idea it was senseless to this point. The age of the boy made it additionally tragic - he did not really realise what he planned to do, he did not understand consequences (and I don't mean being caught), he did it to be a hero and to be accepted by those he considered heroes.
And Berat... he still can smile after that, he still can co-operate with people from the Federation; he is a man of a great heart and great mind :)
I really enjoyed the story and hope to see more Berat!
Author's Response:
"Senseless" is definitely the word for what happened on Volan III. The worst part of it was that neither one can be called a bad person, I think--even the boy. Unlike someone like the canon Dukat, I think the boy still hadn't quite chosen what side he was on. And he didn't understand all of the implications in an adult way. He never thought through the fact that Central Command would get angry and send a strike force to the colonies, for starters...I also think even the adult Maquis might not have been pleased with the idea of just assassinating a gul for that reason. But more than that...I think it never occurred to him that death by phaser would be anything but quick and painless. He now believes he's tortured a man to death. I don't think he ever could imagine, even now, that he left Berat alive but with permanent pain and disability.
Gul Berat's mindset is interesting, regarding his disability...I don't know if you were the one who read Betrayal, but I think because of those events, Berat actually doesn't hold the assassin (he has no idea it was just a child) fully responsible for the extent of his condition. He feels he brought some of it upon himself, with his rash actions on DS9. He also remembers the people he met during that brief encounter on DS9, and that's another part of why he doesn't take out his frustrations about his physical condition and the person who inflicted it on him, on the Federation prisoners in The Thirteenth Order.
I hope that gives you some more background, and thanks for reading!! :-)
Date: 28 Mar 2010 18:11 Title: Flash
This event was definitely the making of more than one man. Both Berat's and the boy's lives will certainly be forever affected by that horrible moment.
For some reason, reading this, I was seeing it cinema-style in my head -- no music, just the juxtaposition of the laughing and joking Cardassians trying to reach out a bit with the kid and his heavy breathing and his heartbeat pounding as he raises the gun ... making everything seem super-ominous. A well-crafted entry that shines a light on an important moment in Berat's past as well as makes me wonder who exactly this child will grow up to be.
Good work, as always!
Author's Response:
It's interesting you describe it as cinematic...I admit to having had the Kennedy footage in my head as I wrote. (Not the Zapruder film...I have deliberately NOT ever viewed that one because I've heard it's just unbelievably graphic.)
However, there was music in my head as I wrote--specifically "Terrorism on the Lev" from the Caprica soundtrack (by Bear McCreary, who also did the nuBSG soundtrack).
And yes...both of their lives have completely changed course because of that one horrible choice.
Date: 28 Mar 2010 01:02 Title: Flash
^What he said. :)
I've had ugly-bad pain before, but I can't imagine what Berat went through. Made my nerves get antsy some. To have something that would give any captain comfort, the sounds and vibrations of his own ship, be the cause of more pain is sadly ironic.
A very effective and moving piece. :)
Author's Response:
I didn't expect the part where the power flow through his ship would hurt him (and that's the most painful part for him, because his bioelectric sense is going crazy), but yes, it is a sad irony and especially for a former engineer as well as a current commander.
Glad you liked the story!
Date: 27 Mar 2010 23:54 Title: Flash
That was an impressive piece of work Nerys. To disscover the incident behind Berat's injuries and even to understand a little of the pain he endured then and eftwards as even his own vessel's power caused him further pain. I like the build up, the ticking clock effect, that winds the story along. Very effective at driving the thrust of the story onwards. Good stuff.
Author's Response:
Thank you so, so much.
I've had this in my head for a LONG time, and to finally see it on "paper"...it's really something. He copes much better now, but he will never be free of the pain, and his hands only improve somewhat after this.
To me the whole, entire incident is an absolute tragedy. And not just for Berat.