[Report This]Date: 21 Jul 2020 18:58 Title: Part 1
Nice chapter-ending cliff-hanger. Andorians are always fun to write as you can express their emotions with their antennae.
Interesting that the science officer did not defer to the pilot when she probably knew her roomate had better instincts.
Looking foward to part 2 - Thanks!! rbs
Author's Response: Yeah, I love Andorians and I'd love to see more of them on the screen. I get we got a lot of Andorians on Enterprise, but considering that they are co-founders of the Federation, I'd love to see more of them in Starfleet.
Date: 07 Sep 2013 20:17 Title: Part 1
Oh my!
Again, you are very good with below decks characters and unlikely or at least unfamiliar heroes. Srena's day is not going well at all, but it makes a great deal of sense in the context of warfare. The grunt soldiers (and she isn't, truly, a soldier, at least not a ground force one) take all sorts of punishments. The shower and the replicator were particularly good and personalizing touches.
Author's Response: Yeah, I was aiming for a certain degree of realism for this story. I don't always do this, but here it felt appropriate. Life in Starfleet isn't all glamor and even battles are not necessarily an everyday occurrence. Endless days filled with training and superior officers breathing down you neck, however, that never goes away.
Date: 18 Jul 2013 05:05 Title: Part 1
Great start, CeJay. Srena's tension is immediately palpable, as is her frustration with the endless string of fruitless red alerts. She is instantly likeable, and we identify with her as green and untried, but wanting to do her best, especially in the eyes of her superiors (Commander Star, most notably). Be interested to see where you take that character, BTW.
But getting back to the cliff-hanger ending of this chapter - it only makes me want to read more, to see what happens to our intrepid ensign, who had war, and command, thrust upon her all too soon.
Off to read more...
Author's Response: Thanks for reading it and almost more importantly, liking it as well. War is hell, of course, but not always for the same reason as this story may illustrate.
Date: 17 Jul 2013 01:30 Title: Part 1
Srena is so immediately likable (and I love your cover); I liked the very normal routine of trying to deal with mundane biological functions even under a red alert. The Lower Decks perspective is one you write so well, and you make immediately likable characters. Her day-in-the-life here well reflects the exhaustion and constant stress of shipboard operations during wartime, and the ways people adapt to it.
Mikki was also likable, if naive, but man. What an ending. Suddenly, everything goes horribly wrong, and you could feel Srena's shock and confusion, but it's impressive how she managed to keep her head and make the right calls despite it. The last few lines of this chapter are horrible. Excellent writing, drawing us in, and making us care, and now this.
Author's Response: Thank you very much.
Full disclosure, the image on the cover was created by artist Patrick Reichel. I think the story only really works if you can somehow identify with Srean and I'm glad you could make that connection.