Date: 29 Jun 2011 19:11 Title: Cheron: His Last Command
Excellent story about the final battle of the Romulan War of 2160. Great characters, as well as the introduction of several new classes of Earth designed vessels being the Chinook Class, and Falcon Class. Good to see that NX and Daedalus classes were involved in the War right up until its conclusion for costly victory for the COP(Coalition of Planets later becoming the UFP United Federation of Planets)
Author's Response:
Wow thanks BSG-Ajax. I'm so sorry I never saw your review. That would have been quite a buoy when you wrote it. Thank you. I'm glad that you liked the various details of the ship classes and the of the war itself. But particularly that you liked the characters. Thanks again.
Date: 15 Nov 2010 23:15 Title: Cheron: His Last Command
Nice nod to how the officer exchange program began and possibly how Starfleet became a more diversified organization. That ending has the same feel as one of a Deep Space Nine episode where the story is resolved and then there's that "Not so fast" development to bring everything to a close. ("Duet", "The Jem'Hadar", "The Adversary", "Broken Link" to name a few).
Look forward to seeing more...
Author's Response:
Yeah, given that canon had obvious reasons for not showing a more diverse Starfleet we can but assume the how and the why. The officer exchange program we know from Phlox existed in a medical doctors version. So I figured they were forward enough thinking to maybe consider the like with those they had begun to make friends with. All of which would help lead to the formation of the Starfleet and Federation we come to know. Again, much, much thanks for reading. Glad you liked the idea of the officer exchange program and the ending too. Yeah, low blow from me. As for more check out the rest of the Border Dogs title to see some of what comes after, more linked to the formation of the Federation and the Border Patrol Service.
Fingers crossed, there will be more Romulan War stories to come, filling in some gaps, the build up, battles, etc. Again, thank you for reading.
Date: 15 Nov 2010 23:06 Title: Cheron: Her Last Battle
Nice insight in the mind of a fighter pilot in the final battle of the Romulan War, especially the mindset of Sydney Madison feeling she had nothing to lose.
Noticed a few grammatical errors, but overall it was a nice look into how even winning side suffered losses.
Author's Response:
Thank you. Yeah the insight into Madison was helped by how intense a setting the scene was. I can only but imagine the horror of it all. Again, thank you for taking the time to read and comment. Will check it out. Thanks.
Date: 08 Aug 2010 20:06 Title: Author's Preamble
I look forward reading the upcoming narrative. The use of relatively primitive ships and weaponry is certainly logical explanation considering that Vulcan was holding Earth down until Enterprise's first season.
Another example of contradictory dialogue was in ST: Insurrection when the admiral said, "Warp drive transformed 'Romulan thugs' into an empire. We can handle the Son'a." And Picard's response was, "Someone probably said the same thing about the Romulans a century ago."
Author's Response:
Yeah, there have been so many contradictions I had to just try and marry what I could with my own version of things. Here's hoping... Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment. Sorry about the delay in responding Enterprising 1981.
Date: 28 Jul 2010 12:33 Title: Author's Preamble
Hi MF,
I found this through your recent post on the forum. This is a really well written, well thought out historical note. You've done a good job of combining various canon sources, adding your own flavor and tying them all together.
Well done! I'll check out the actual story next.
Author's Response:
Thank you very much Captain Sarine. Yeah I had a bit of fun [and headache] trying to match up some of the inconsistencies. Where I couldn't, I didn't! :D
Look forward to hearing your opinions on the actual story. Hope it holds up to this history. Either way, thanks for reviewing the history at least and for the stars. And glad the forum posts actually do garner some attention and I'm not tlaking to myself! Hee, hee. Thank you again!
Date: 18 Jun 2010 08:37 Title: Cheron: His Last Command
I'm starting to detect a theme here. A very sad, depressing theme. Introduce interesting characters and then ... kill them off.
It was especially poignant here because I really didn't see it coming. Which made this a lot more powerful of course.
You continue to paint an intense picture of space combat, from the fighter pilots to the bigger starships. Well done.
Author's Response:
Hee hee. That is a depressing theme. However, as is the fashion, you will have to wait and see who lives and who dies in this latest instalment. But I'm a happy camper that the ending wasn't anticipated. Good to know I can surprise you CeJay. Thank you for the comments in general but I'm particularly chuffed about those pertaining to the space battles. That should motivate me to write a few more battles!
Date: 15 Jun 2010 19:16 Title: Cheron: His Last Command
Oh, wow. Everything about this chapter was blown away by the last paragraph. :'( I mean, you know going in that this is a "last battle" story, but you did such a good job of fleshing out the crew and making them likable ... from the 'good man' Hofschroer, to the noble Andorian AnKorr, to fiesty Amelia ...
I liked their differing perspectives on the sacrifice of the fighter pilot, and I liked the technical details here with the Romulan tech, especially. Made it seem very real.
This is a great story and I'll be waiting for more!
Author's Response:
Yes the last part kind of pulled the rug on the readers. That was admittedly the intention so happy it worked. The intention of the rest of the chpater was indeed to give a picture of the crew and make you want to care what happened to them. Glad you liked them. Stay tuned and see who survives...
Date: 11 Jun 2010 19:55 Title: Cheron: Her Last Battle
Very vivid! Edge of the seat action! And a look at Cheron! Awesome!
Author's Response:
Yay! That's about what I wanted from the piece. So good to know the action had that feel. And of course, Cheron was a name I had heard before and wanted to show a glimpse of it. There'll be one more segment coming to do with it so keep peeled for that.
Date: 11 Jun 2010 19:47 Title: Author's Preamble
I'm not big on intros but I really liked this one!
Author's Response:
Not big on intros myself but I thought it might be worth putting a few details and thoughts down on paper. Thanks for checking it out.
Date: 08 Jun 2010 17:49 Title: Cheron: Her Last Battle
Dark, atmospheric and Battlestar Galactica inspired opening.
Battle sequences tend to be a bit slow and boring but I like what you've done here, using very vivid imagery and a sense of dread as Sydney Is forced to watch the destruction of her ship helplessly.
I'm curious to see how this will tie in into your main story. I'd love for this fearless pilot to be your protagonist but considering her final act that seems rather unlikely. However, in space you just never know.
Great stuff and looking forward to more.
Author's Response:
Thank you. Yup action scenes are tricky. There are only so many adjectives you can use without going a little OTT. Glad this particualr segment was vivid and the fact it harkened Battlestar Galactica opening for you is not bad thing.
Given Sydney's final act it does seem rather that her fate is sealed. Though the approach to this story is going to be more flexible and fluid and ficlet almost, so one way or another we will see more Sydney at some point. But as to whether she'll live to tell the tale here I'm keeping my lips sealed. You'll have to read on to find out. That and the fact we have another part of the battle of Cheron coming up! Stay tuned.
Date: 08 Jun 2010 17:34 Title: Author's Preamble
That's a very plausible history you've put together here not just for the Romulan War but also for the Border Service.
An interesting setting for tanew Trek story and I'm curious to see what you'll do with it.
Author's Response:
Hey thanks CeJay. Glad the details seem to ring true or plausible enough. Obviously, I thought the setting would be interesting enough for a few Trek tales in this era. Here's hoping. Thanks for starting out with it.
Date: 07 Jun 2010 14:56 Title: Cheron: Her Last Battle
A heart-pounding, nail-biting opening to this story. You really captured the epic scope of what is happening around Madison at the same time as keeping the focus very tight, on one character and her reactions. The result is an emotionally heightened, very coherent narrative -- some of your best work so far.
In other words .... I LOVE IT. ;-)
Author's Response:
Wow! Thank you kindly kes7. That's a very heart-pounding review! Thank you again. Glad the instalment had the intensity it required. Was going for all of that but going for it and achieving it in the eyes of the readers is another thing entirely. Thank you again.