Date: 25 Oct 2010 21:12 Title: Chapter 38
Yeah, just when I thought the situation was about as bad as it could get... you do this. Whoa. Like throwing gasoline on a fire.
Author's Response: Ha...there's probably not much left for you to say about this story (thanks for reviewing every chapter!). Time to sit back and enjoy the ride! Though there are quite a few more chapters left, the story will start to come together and to a close.
Date: 25 Oct 2010 20:53 Title: Chapter 37
What an unenviable position to be in, with no easy answers!
Date: 19 Oct 2010 16:43 Title: Chapter 36
Oh... hell.
The Annecta are producing humanoid super-soldiers.
Santiago's going to have the blood of a great many Starfleet personnel on his hands. The farther this goes without intervention from Starfleet Command, the harder it will be for Seth (or anyone else) to broker a peace agreement between these warring planets.
I've popped a bowl of popcorn, and I have a tall, cool beverage at the ready. You may now open the proverbial can of Whoop-Ass!
Author's Response: The story takes a more action-packed turn from here on out. The time for debate is over...Seth and Santiago need to watch their backs! I thought it'd be interesting to learn that the aliens just haven't been 'feeding' on their victims (from way in the beginning)...they've been studying their genetic makeup too! And now that they understand the human genome...
Date: 18 Oct 2010 21:17 Title: Chapter 35
So, we finally see what this is really all about for Santiago. He'd rather commit genocide than look bad. Ego before mission, not a good combination.
Now Seth will have to face off against not only the alien threat posed by the Annecta, but he may have to come to blows with a fellow starship captain as well.
Author's Response: Santiago is hardly a realistic Starfleet captain, but part of my beef with Star Trek is that all of the captains seem pretty much the same. From a 'prime directive' perspective, Seth's view makes good sense; but from a purely 'survival' perspective, Santiago's view also makes good sense - just kill the damn bug that threatens us! That was intentional. We, as the human race, have a tendancy to be hypocritical about respecting life...we only really respect the cute ones.
[Report This]Date: 12 Oct 2010 21:24 Title: Chapter 34
Oh, boy. I've got a bad feeling that Santiago is going to take this latest development as provocation to do something rash.
Silly Jarad, taking on a Federation starship and then thinking he could escape. I was pleased to see his arrogance become his undoing.
I'm glad Seth had the backbone necessary to arrest Jerad for his crimes. I only hope there's time to broker some kind of cease-fire with the creatures before millions more suffer the fate of Jordan's wife.
Author's Response: Oh...the Annecta aren't finished yet. They still have a lot in store for Seth and Santiago! As for Jerad, he had to at least try, right?
Date: 03 Oct 2010 07:19 Title: Chapter 33
This is heading towards Santiago going ‘off the reservation’ at some point. He’s clearly too headstrong to work successfully under Seth’s command of the mission, most especially if he feels Dragonfly’s efforts are going to end in failure.
Poor Seth, standing in the center of the storm and trying to hold everything in place to keep the situation from coming apart at the seams!
Author's Response: We'll see if poor Seth can hold it all together!
Date: 03 Oct 2010 06:58 Title: Chapter 32
Min's use of the holodeck for medical trials is innovative, and I appreciate the fact that he wants to see firsthand the effects of his vaccines to better motivate him to complete the project before the situation on the colony becomes terminal for nearly everyone.
Author's Response: Drug development and discovery is more serendipitous than most scientists would like to admit, and it's because (as Dr. Min says) our knowledge of how chemistry translates to physiological response is murky. While I think that knowledge will significantly advance by Star Trek's time, to know exactly how a patient would respond to an unknown drug/vaccine would require that we understand how every molecule in the patient could interact with the drug - a gargantuan task. If the Star Trek computer could approximate all of the biochemical reactions in the human body, then I could see how it might approximate how the body responds to a new drug. I also like how Dr. Min uses the holodeck - he could just as easily run these types of experiments in his office - but this way he gets to see his vaccine in action.
Date: 24 Sep 2010 08:26 Title: Chapter 31
I sure wouldn't want to be in Seth's boots right now. With a hot-headed Santiago calling the shots here (or trying to) it's going to be very difficult for Seth to try to contain a situation which has all the earmarks of one about to go super-critical.
You've drawn up quite the horrific conundrum here, and I'm eagerly looking forward to how the crew(s) deal with their mutual plight.
Great stuff!
Author's Response: I really gave Seth a twisted first mission, didn't I?:)
Date: 24 Sep 2010 08:03 Title: Chapter 30
Whoa. It's bio-warefare on a whole new level. Infect your enemy so that they become you. It's as brilliant as it is alarming.
And just when I thought this scenario couldn't get any more complicated or ugly... silly me! ;-)
Author's Response: Originally, I designed the virus to be much more lethal, but I think I grossed out some of my readers, so I had to scale it back. Still, it's not a pretty way to die...:) I see you've posted a new story for the Gibraltar crew! I'm anxious to read, but I don't want to go out of order. I will hop on Geometries of Chance soon!
Date: 15 Sep 2010 17:46 Title: Chapter 29
Santiago's going to stick his nose into this, making a messy situation just that much worse... I can feel it.
More, please!
Date: 15 Sep 2010 17:41 Title: Chapter 28
And the truth finally comes out. This is one hell of a mess Starfleet has unintentionally wandered into, and now our heroes will find themselves directly in the firing line in a battle between worlds.
Glad to see you're back to posting chapters of this terrific story! :-)
Author's Response: Glad to see you back, Gibraltar! And as always, thanks for reading! I certainly didn't make it easy for our young heroes to sort through this mess...but it certainly wouldn't be any fun for them if it was:) There are still some surprises in store...so stay tuned!
Date: 24 Jul 2010 05:22 Title: Chapter 27
Oh. My. God. A genuine First Contact scenario, and Captain Santiago has not only completely destroyed any opportunity for diplomacy, but thrown down the gauntlet and essentially challenged a super-sentient force to a fight that might well result in the deaths of over a billion Federation citizens.
Ahem, for the record: Santiago = Tool. Just sayin’ ;-)
Author's Response: Hehe - my thoughts exactly. Santiago is the kind of guy that got to where he is only because he's a "go-getter," which is why he thinks the way he does. He has little idea of what he's doing or why (neither does Seth, really, but he's more contemplative). Stay tuned for Part III!
Date: 24 Jul 2010 05:20 Title: Chapter 26
Oh. Lovely. Some kind of viral pathogen is loose on the planet... and the Away Team's been hold up in a freakin' hospital probably full of infected people.
We've beamed from the frying pan directly into the fire.
Author's Response: Things just keep getting worse and worse for the crew of the Dragonfly, but don't worry, it'll all come together in a glorious conclusion!
Date: 11 Jul 2010 12:59 Title: Chapter 25
“I need to know if they understand the concept of revenge.”
Oh, yeah… this whole situation is going sideways at warp speed.
Author's Response: Yup, playtime's over for these two young captains...the situation is escalating with no easy answers. And with Santiago's authority superceding Seth's (an odd command by Admiral Kim, I admit, but I put it in there for story purposes), Captain Seth will have to move forward with his hands tied behind his back. In Part III, we'll also begin to see the true power of the aliens...and it ain't pretty...
Date: 11 Jul 2010 12:54 Title: Chapter 24
And now Santiago is once again undermining Seth’s authority, though only in front of his crew… for the moment. It appears that unfortunately one of our two newly minted captains may have received his fourth pip a decade or so too soon. Declaring war unilaterally on a newly discovered intelligent species during what has unintentionally become a First Contact scenario… wow… that’s going to be a career ender, provided Santiago is fortunate enough to survive.
You’re building some excellent drama here!
Author's Response: Hehe...yes, the opinions of Seth and Santiago will diverge from here, but as you will see both have very good reasons for taking the sides that they are taking. We wouldn't want to make things too easy for our young heroes, now would we? Thanks for reading!
Date: 11 Jul 2010 12:39 Title: Chapter 23
A collective alien intelligence on a planetary scale. Oh, yeah… this mission just went right into the toilet. When Starfleet tells the colonists, “No more bio-mass for YOU!” things are going to get really interesting… really quick!
Why do I think Seth and Santiago are going to butt heads over this… hmmm? ;-)
Date: 09 Jul 2010 02:34 Title: Chapter 22
Oh, geez, something tells me that Excelsior's CMO may not take all the precautions Dr. Min has. Rather reckless of Santiago not to trust in the conclusions drawn by Dragonfly's crew.
I hope the result isn't his funeral, or any of his crew's.
Author's Response: Santiago has something more sinister in mind...
Date: 04 Jul 2010 05:15 Title: Chapter 21
Interesting conundrum Dr. Min might be facing. An alien intelligence of a collective sort would make the bio-mass harvesting of Draloos V a Prime Directive violation and would seal the fate of the colonists on Draloos IV.
I can only imagine the sparks that would generate between the colonists and the Starfleet contingent.
Author's Response: Oh...it gets worse:)
Date: 04 Jul 2010 04:57 Title: Chapter 20
I suppose it's only natural that these two highly intelligent and resourceful men get along so well, and that they share similar feelings towards their new captain. I wonder how long it might take Seth to earn their confidence?
A nice little character moment here, punctuated by a little cliffhanger of sorts at the end!
Author's Response: I've always liked the Bashir/O'Brien dynamic, and I think it would make sense to see something similar here with Min and LeCroy. In my experience, in a general setting, nerds, like myself, tend to congregate with other nerds. As for their confidence in Seth, I think it will take little while to earn it fully, even a few years, just by the virtue that Seth is young and inexperienced. But like they say in the chapter, they're more interested in their work than wanting to plan any sort of mutiny.
Date: 02 Jul 2010 12:34 Title: Chapter 19
Seth was very patient in entertaining Ester's questions, as hand-holding a wet-behind-the-ears ensign is usually something left to the XO or another senior officer. It's nice that he's willing to take the time to be accessible to his crew, though. I hope his confidence in Min and LeCroy's abilities is well placed.
Author's Response: Yes, the job of hand-holding is probably reserved for someone like Counselor Jenovia, but she's off on Draloos IV at the moment. I liken the relationship between Ester and Seth to the relationship of a student and a young professor; that is, a kid who is wide-eyed, drawn to authority, and, being young and attractive, thinks she can flirt her way up the ladder. Seth probably sees her as 'clingy.'
Date: 02 Jul 2010 12:07 Title: Chapter 18
Ooof! Just when it looked like Thorn and his team were getting things under control, more bad guys show up on scene with heavier weapons. Thorn’s performance was impressive, but I wonder how well he and his people will fare against this new, larger threat.
Author's Response: When I wrote these chapters, I non-deliberately put Jenovia and Thorn together into the same situation on Draloos IV, but as it turned out, I really liked the dynamic between these two. One's an emotionally intelligent 'El Aurian/Betazoid'-like type, and the other is pretty much a robot. I conceived of a character like Thorn when I decided that a Starfleet crew would really benefit from a Batman-like character.
Date: 02 Jul 2010 11:44 Title: Chapter 17
Perhaps they want Starfleet hostages? Yeesh, bad situation... here's hoping Jenovia's a decent shot with a phaser!
Date: 02 Jul 2010 11:21 Title: Chapter 16
Yeah, this just went from bad to worse. The hospital’s under attack, and the security forces charged with protecting the patients and medical staff are wetting themselves. I’m guessing Counselor Jenovia is going to have to use that phaser before Thorn and his team arrive on scene.
Date: 02 Jul 2010 08:59 Title: Chapter 15
The situation on Draloos V is grim... real grim. The horrific fate of the Ion's away team, as well as that of the equally unfortunate crew of the cargo hauler underscore the serious threat now posed by whatever force was responsible.
Oh, and the SA's are a terrific idea. One question, though, they couldn't simply beam back the SA that was sinking into the soil?
Terrific stuff. Very descriptive and highly unsettling.
Author's Response: Yes, the crew is finally getting into the thick of things, and each new problem stacks on top of a previous problem. The SA idea just seemed to make sense in a 25th century Star Trek world, given that they now have holoemitters and holodecks. I really just developed the idea from the old TNG episode, "Interface," with a modern twist. As for beaming the SA back, er, yes they probably could have:P Oh wait...'there was radiation coming from the planet surface...'
Date: 02 Jul 2010 08:16 Title: Chapter 14
I'm still a bit confused as to why Starfleet would be offering to evacuate the population of the planet if their relief mission fails? With 1.8 billion inhabitants, it would take more evacuation capacity than the entire Starfleet combined to evacuate the planet. Even if every starship involved can carry 500 people emergency evacuation capacity, it would still take 2,400,000 trips to evacuate all of the planet's populace.
And if Dragonfly and Excelsior are only supposed to evacuate the colony's senior leadership, that would only leave a desperate, starving population with no leaders, which would result in societal chaos and rampant bloodshed. It sounds like Starfleet Command in general, and Admiral Kim in particular haven't given this situation enough thought and proper planning.
It also sounds as if Starfleet is toying with the idea of forcibly relocating the population. Even if they had enough ships to do it (they don't), these people are no longer Federation citizens. Despite their being human, wouldn't forcibly moving the people of a non-aligned planet still be a Prime Directive violation? I'd hate to be the admiral that had his/her name signed on these marching orders...
It sounds as if the situation is far more dire than either Seth or Santiago had been led to believe.
Here's hoping for the best, but our heroes had better plan for the worst.
Author's Response: Thanks for the comments and for the insightful questions. First, I've had to assume that Starfleet has had to deal with mass evacuations before, and so it must be equipped to deal with them somehow (even if we've never seen them before on the shows). As I hint later on, I had assume that Starfleet possesses extremely large escorts or 'transport vessels' that can carry +100,000 people (and even then, many will be needed and several trips will need to be taken). As for the Prime Directive violation, I admit the situation makes a clear call on this very fuzzy, but as you will see later on, the people aren't exactly being 'forcibly' removed...stay tuned!