Arc of the Wolf: Below Forty South

[SLWalker]

This is the next actual, factual, in-context section of the Arc of the Wolf. That means it's massively unfinished, of course. It picks up about a year and a half after True Bearings ends, and if that was an era of light and warmth, then this is where all of the good things our heroes learned there is put to the test. A lot of it's grim, though hopefully not all of it. Bear with me; writing this kind of thing isn't easy and takes a long time to pull off. If you'd rather wait to read this on Ad Astra, you can; I won't be offended.

"Below forty south there is no law..."
- sailor's proverb​

 

[SLWalker]

--pulled for story control. But this has been finished finally in March of this year; you'll be able to read it on Ad Astra.

 

[CeJay]

Re: Arc of the Wolf: Forty-Eight - Prologue

Nice.

Every time I read something of yours I think: 'this gal could teach people about writing.'

If this is what I think it is, it's a terrific way to portray this situation and a refreshing change from the usual ... death and destruction on a starship.

 

[SLWalker]

Re: Arc of the Wolf: Forty-Eight - Prologue

Nice.

Every time I read something of yours I think: 'this gal could teach people about writing.'

If this is what I think it is, it's a terrific way to portray this situation and a refreshing change from the usual ... death and destruction on a starship.

I spend a bit of time, and have in the past, teaching. In an informal sense. I appreciate the vote of confidence! I don't know what you think it is, but I certainly and fervently hope I don't disappoint you.

 

[SLWalker]

--

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Re: Arc of the Wolf: Forty-Eight - Part I

Damn, you would think in the 23rd century they'd have a better grasp over the timing of awful news like that!

 

[SLWalker]

Re: Arc of the Wolf: Forty-Eight - Part I

Damn, you would think in the 23rd century they'd have a better grasp over the timing of awful news like that!

I think it was a matter of miscoordination, but I honestly don't think it woulda made much of a difference to Scott who delivered the news. Thanks for the comment!

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Re: Arc of the Wolf: Forty-Eight - Part I

Damn, you would think in the 23rd century they'd have a better grasp over the timing of awful news like that!

I think it was a matter of miscoordination, but I honestly don't think it woulda made much of a difference to Scott who delivered the news. Thanks for the comment!

You're welcome!

I'm sure it would've hit just as hard--but it just makes a bad thing even worse.

 

[CeJay]

Re: Arc of the Wolf: Forty-Eight - Part I

No difference maybe but still ... you don't mess up these things. Miserable timing. Miserable news. Excellently written.

 

[USS Fardell]

Timing is never good when the news is of such a nature...

 

[SLWalker]

No difference maybe but still ... you don't mess up these things. Miserable timing. Miserable news. Excellently written.

I sure hope I don't disappoint you, CeJay. ::chuckles:: That's some damn high praise to live up to.

Timing is never good when the news is of such a nature...

No, it definitely isn't.

Thanks both for the comments!

 

[SLWalker]

--

 

[CeJay]

Scotty strikes me as a man who doesn't wear his heart on his sleeve. Even puts an effort to keep his private emotions as seperate from his daily, professional life as much as possible.

But when you have no outlet for your grief how are you going to process it in a productive and healthy manner? That, to me, appears to be Scotty's central dilemma here.

 

[SLWalker]

Scotty strikes me as a man who doesn't wear his heart on his sleeve. Even puts an effort to keep his private emotions as seperate from his daily, professional life as much as possible.

But when you have no outlet for your grief how are you going to process it in a productive and healthy manner? That, to me, appears to be Scotty's central dilemma here.

It is. He's so smart, and a quick thinker, but he never quite learned (at least by this point) how to handle things like this in anything like a healthy and productive manner. He learned a whole lot, mind; the biggest thing he learned across On the Nature of Wind and True Bearings was how to even trust people (trying to undo the lessons of his earliest years), and that he was allowed to let his guard down on occasion. But this is pretty much the first time that split nature of his past and present that he's ignored for a long time brings both barrels around on him.

I know that it gets better; also know it gets worse before it does.

Thanks for the comment!

 

[SLWalker]

--

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

VERY intense...this was also a very unusual perspective to show a battle from and I really appreciated getting to see what people go through in other places besides ground combat and the bridge. (Says someone writing a battle from that exact perspective. )

I also liked the reference to On the Nature of Wind, when you referred to there being no one to pull Scotty's head above water.

 

[CeJay]

I'm going to venture a guess here and say, Scotty pulls through.

Still, some very intense stuff here and I also agree with Nerys, the change of perspective was fun and very believable. Engineers don't know what's going on outside and they don't care. They need to make sure the ship stays in one piece no matter what. Sometimes even at the cost of their own life.

 

[SLWalker]

VERY intense...this was also a very unusual perspective to show a battle from and I really appreciated getting to see what people go through in other places besides ground combat and the bridge. (Says someone writing a battle from that exact perspective. )

I also liked the reference to On the Nature of Wind, when you referred to there being no one to pull Scotty's head above water.

ONOW gets a whole lot of mention here in this story. ::chuckles:: Especially in the next part, which takes a look at the beginning of Part V, Chapter 1 from Corry's POV.

And thanks much! The engineers rarely get much screentime, but let me tell you, it was really bloody hard to actually write a battle from that perspective. I can only imagine you'd need to be a pretty tough critter to be an engineer in a battle situation, just because you can only see a very narrow view of the overall event.

I'm going to venture a guess here and say, Scotty pulls through.

Still, some very intense stuff here and I also agree with Nerys, the change of perspective was fun and very believable. Engineers don't know what's going on outside and they don't care. They need to make sure the ship stays in one piece no matter what. Sometimes even at the cost of their own life.

Oh, of course. LOL! Canon defines where Scotty ends up, and since I adhere to canon, we all know he lives. It's the 'how' that makes the story, though in this case, it's a story far more about picking up pieces than it is anything else.

Thank you, too. As I said above, it was surprisingly tough to write that perspective and I'm glad it came off well.

 

[SLWalker]

--

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Uh-oh...somehow I suspect Corry's going to be nursing some guilt over not being at Scotty's side now that all hell's broken loose around him. Poor thing!