Date: 19 Jul 2013 02:12 Title: Chapter 10
And now the tendrils of the story are starting to come together. And what has Icheb been offered? I am thinking it is something like full reassimilation, in an effort to save his life but what Malik had wanted was for his own selfish purposes. Can Lakwa save Icheb without making a devil's bargain?
Date: 19 Jul 2013 02:01 Title: Chapter 9
Well handled by Adele; she knows how to get through to Icheb. It is disturbing to see what Nechayev was considering doing with him. A lot of people write her as a villian and I currently have my own work on the drawing board where she is a villian, too. I suppose the temptation is just too great.
The insight about the liberated, independent Borg not working so perfectly well together is spot on, and it makes perfect sense. Here is a group that are held together by dogma, technology and nanoprobes. When that is all cut and curtailed, they suddenly turn into a bunch of very dissimilar people. And of course it all begins to fall apart. As it should.
Date: 19 Jul 2013 01:51 Title: Chapter 8
Adele takes a big, big chance here, but I think her reasoning is solid. Plus I suspect it may be a key to getting the Sol back, and possibly getting the Luna back up to snuff.
Date: 19 Jul 2013 01:44 Title: Chapter 7
John is really thinking and acting above his rank here, definitely doing everything possible and without much of a playbook. This is major league heroic work, but it is likely to haunt him just the same. He is absolutely right - there is a very real possibility that just getting the people away from the debris and into the cargo bay will not be enough for all of them. But he is giving them so much more of a fighting chance at living. I do hope he comes to realize that at some point.
Date: 19 Jul 2013 01:33 Title: Chapter 6
Well, this is an interesting turn of events!
Maren is right - the prize for Malik is Icheb. Threaten to take Icheb out of the equation, and Malik should eventually cave. The real question is when he will cave, and whether he will do so before she perhaps messes up and accidentally shoots him (oops).
Date: 19 Jul 2013 01:24 Title: Chapter 5
I love T'Pring and of course the name is a canon TOS shout-out. Competent and flexible, I like how she realizes to modulate her voice in order to deliver a sense of urgency to John.
The patchy work to get communications going is well-explained and does not drown in technobabble - a lot of authors have that as a problem, but you clearly do not.
Date: 19 Jul 2013 01:15 Title: Chapter 4
Uh, oh. This is not good.
Whatever Malik is hiding, it's big. And he is awfully testy. Maren is right to be cautious and then, eek, her fears seem to be founded.
As for Adele - the emotionless admiral is a puzzle, and is more than a tad creepy. He is clearly disciplined in some way, effectively shutting her off from reading him, but at the same time, he is also more than eager and willing to exploit her gifts in order to essentially spy on Icheb.
Date: 19 Jul 2013 01:07 Title: Chapter 3
That was a helluva chapter. John in command, screwing up and then not screwing up, and an unlikely, dying hero. John is right at the end, of course. Herk does not go in vain; this is a huge help to people. Anit needs to realize that there are more than three people on the ship, and those others just had a lot of time bought for them by what happened. Not nice? Sure, but it is no worse than getting a dying confession out of someone.
Date: 19 Jul 2013 00:54 Title: Chapter 2
Knowing much of their background (but probably in a weird order), I am thinking the issues with Icheb are failing implants. Is that correct? And Malik, is he a Soong android? He does not seem to be your standard Borg drone. And what kind of Faustian bargain is he offering Icheb?
Date: 19 Jul 2013 00:44 Title: Chapter 1
Is Malik a shout out to ENT? Even if not, I suppose I am reminded all the same.
Fast-moving chapter, from one of fifteen's distress to Adele picking up on things to the problems in the nebula to eventually sedating one of fifteen and determining to help her, and then to the decision to get out.
I wonder if the nebula is affecting one of fifteen?
Date: 19 Jul 2013 00:34 Title: Prologue
Free will! And determination, to be sure. Dena is rebelling against the Collective in what I feel is the best possible way - by concentrating less on herself and more on her child. If the Collective is a means of forcibly making someone stop having an ego, worrying about your child is almost the antithesis of ego. Ergo, rebellion that almost looks like acceptance, and is likely difficult for Borg programming to really shore itself up against.
Date: 26 May 2013 21:22 Title: Chapter 14
Once more unto the breach...
A truly harrowing chapter here, as we see two confrontations fed by anger, guilt and fear, as one family falls apart and another one is on the brink.
The way you portrayed Adrian's anger and despair, as well as his attack on Iden, was totally realistic, though I felt so bad for Iden. It was nice to see Adele step in and stop Adrian from going too far, though you have to wonder if what he said isn't already a step too far.
And then John and Icheb have what has become an inevitable "conversation". John's anger is both understandable and real, but I can't help but feel a little sorry for Icheb, no matter how justifiable it may be. He is in a bad place as well, and I think John is letting some of his jealousy get in the way of actually looking at the reality of the situation.
As usual, you have managed to paint these character interactions (bleak as they may be) with some fantastic prose and great dialogue. A wonderful job, as usual!
Date: 12 May 2013 00:09 Title: Chapter 14
A lot of raw emotion (and swearing) in this latest and long overdue installment.
Some of the stuff here is truly soul crushing. Keller's anger is of course understandable even if it was totally misplaced. Poor Iden didn't deserve that. And it's true what they say. Some things can't be unsaid.
John and Icheb's relation also appears stretched to the breaking point here. And John's anger is not unjustified either.
Tesseract's counselor is going to have to work overtime on this ship before all that indignation, sadness and anger boils over.
Date: 11 May 2013 07:10 Title: Chapter 14
So, there we have it. Lucy Keller is dead. Adrian is a wreck. Iden is super guilty. Icheb and John and Maren all have things to work out ... a major dose of hell has been administered here. I look forward to more ... as always, a superb effort. Well done.
Date: 29 Nov 2012 20:56 Title: Chapter 13
Oh man, sooooo happy to see this chapter up! I have missed Tesseract so much. Since we started posting on here around the same time, I've always associated Tesseract with Restoration in my head. Seeing you posting more has motivated me to get back to my story as well!
And what a chapter to return with. You immersed us right back in this world without losing a beat, throwing so many curveballs at us in such a short session! To see John on the edge of death, holding on with all he was worth so that he could help the other crewmember survive... :gulp: And as for the ending... :sob:
So much goodness here, can't wait for more!!! So good to see you back.
Date: 26 Nov 2012 02:57 Title: Prologue
I get the feeling this story is only going to become grimmer and grimmer as the losses and casualties mount. Keep up the good work!
Date: 25 Nov 2012 23:30 Title: Chapter 13
Great to have this story back even if it starts out (or ends up) being a serious downer.
It's been awhile since I read this but the details where slowly coming back to me. It'll probably help if we get some more chapters soon.
John's the hero here even if I'm sure he won't see it this way. Thanks to him both ships, and more importantly most of its passengers survived. And did he learn something about himself in the process? We'll have to see.
Date: 25 Nov 2012 22:28 Title: Chapter 13
Man, that was a hell of a tough read. Seeing JQ try to stick it out for Maren ... then to be reminded of Lucy Keller (I was thinking about her this morning, don't know why) ... rough stuff.
BUT ITS A NEW CHAPTER SO ITS AUTOMATICALLY AWESOME.
I wonder if this will hearing about JQ trying to stick it out to the bitter end will affect Icheb at all? Looking forward to more, as always :)
Date: 29 Jul 2012 03:54 Title: Chapter 12
No! No! No!
No more story?
Please finish this story! I'm begging you!
Date: 29 Jul 2012 03:34 Title: Chapter 9
This story gets stronger and stronger, it's going somewhere and it's a rather expansive story with so many possibilities. It's sort of like VOY crossed with Harry Potter or something...
Date: 29 Jul 2012 03:11 Title: Chapter 6
Awesome scene with Maren and Malik, I think Maren is becoming mentally unhinged whether she believes it or not. Or she is really desperate, in any case great stuff!
Date: 20 Jul 2012 10:47 Title: Chapter 2
Always love the Maren/Icheb stuff, and just the craziness of Maren's situation... Very interested to know what's so special about Malik's ship...
Date: 19 Jul 2012 01:20 Title: Prologue
Awesome beginning! Poor Dena, going through exactly what Seven was going through; the battle between the collective mind and her own individuality.
[Report This]Date: 14 Oct 2011 02:51 Title: Chapter 12
I just wanted to say that I am loving this story line. The characters have a real depth and realism about them. You have thought long and hard about everyone of them. Well done. The plot is great. I just got to the last one of Part II and I'm wanting more!!!! Hope you continue with this. This would be a great published novel or tv series... Keep up the great work and looking forward to more!!!!
Author's Response:
Your comment made my week. Thank you. I do plan to continue the story; however, it's on hiatus temporarily while I focus on another project. Thanks for reading and commenting; I hope you come back for the rest!
Date: 10 Feb 2011 20:25 Title: Chapter 12
Worrying developments for Icheb. He seems to see the point and reason of what Bashir is trying to tell him. Icheb can understand the danger of the connection - Bashir presents it basically in black and white so he cannot refute it - however, if I go back to the drug addict analogy, I'm sure many an addict is sure that continuing the drugs is a bad idea initially, but the temptation to share such an experience again becomes such that reason does not hold any sway over their actions. One wonders and worries how Icheb will fare; and will power alone be enough for him to exercise caution and patience.
Meantime, Adele finds herself turning to Telek to run the ideas past him. In part, she cannot trust Icheb's eagerness and she doesn't have her chief engineer to hand [not to mention those senior officers missing aboard the Sol and Luna]. So she finds she is running the idea past Telek who makes his stance very clear. It seems she only needed a second opinion but it seems telling that she now has to ask someone else instead of trusting her instincts. very telling given her empathic, emotional guidance in different affairs yet now she is asking for corroboration for the path to take.