Dark Territory: Maelstrom (WIP)

[DarKush]

Hey Everyone,

Really missed posting here due to compatibility issues. So, here goes another attempt.

Maelstrom is the first part of a story that takes place between 2375 and 2377.

[FONT=Times New Roman]DARK TERRITORY:[/FONT]


[FONT=Times New Roman]MAELSTROM [/FONT]


[FONT=Times New Roman] [/FONT]​

[FONT=Times New Roman]Author’s Note: The following events take place during the closing months of the Dominion War [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman]USS Cuffe [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman]The Second Battle of Chin’toka [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman]October 2375[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman] [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman] [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman]Captain Terrence S. Glover walked stiffly to his ready room, the pleas, shouts, and cries of anguish spilling from the intercom hitting him with physical force, but he withstood the barrage until he got behind the closed doors. Once away from his crew, he dashed to his desktop and stabbed open a line of communication. [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman]Rear Admiral Hake, the reserve fleet’s commander, appeared on the tiny screen. The teal-hued Aquan held up a webbed hand. “I see the images and hear the chaos too Captain, but we can’t engage the Dominion, not until we figure out what type of weapon the Breen are deploying.” Terrence could see the fear in the man’s yellowed eyes and it sickened him. [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman] Glover ground his teeth, forcing down his anger and disgust before responding. “Sir we don’t have time for that, our forces are getting chewed up out there.” His mind’s eye showed him a picture of Captain Benjamin Sisko, a decade’s old friend, and the commanding officer of the Defiant, one of the many the day’s casualties. He didn’t know if Ben had made it off his ship before it had been destroyed, or not. From what he could glean of the battlefield it was pure pandemonium. [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman]The surprise entrance of the Breen into the war on the side of the Dominion with their attack on Starfleet Headquarters and now their arrival at Chin’toka, with an energy weapon that was crippling Starfleet and Romulan vessels left and right had reversed many of the hard won gains the Allies had made over the last several months in a matter of weeks. [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman]Watching the carnage unfolding before him reminded Terrence of a similar slaughter in the Tyra System at the war’s beginning. Though it had been his wife Jasmine who had somehow survived that debacle and she still bore the scars from the hellish experience. [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman]But Glover couldn’t sit back and allow the survivors to be butchered. He hadn’t been there for Jasmine, but he would be damned if he sat back and allowed one of his best friends to die. “I’m sorry sir, but someone has to retrieve those escape pods and those derelict ships. We have a responsibility to the comrades that we can’t ignore.”[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman] Hake glowered. “I’m in charge here.”[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman] “I’m not asking your permission,” Glover said through gritted teeth. [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman] “Come again?” Hake asked, his voice rising. Terrence painfully swallowed his pride and apologized. Then he tried another tack. [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman]“If nothing else, the more people we save will give us more intelligence about the Breen weapon.” Terrence dialed down his mounting frustration. [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman] Hake rubbed his tapered chin. “Fine Captain Glover, you may break formation. Take your destroyer group with you and the medical ship Satcher. And don’t do anything rash.”[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman] Glover grinned, but there was no joy behind it. “Scout’s honor,” he replied. [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman] “Harrumph,” Hake snorted before cutting off communication. Glover immediately got to work. [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman]***********************************************************************[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman] [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman]USS Cuffe[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman]Main Bridge[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman] [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman] [/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman]The silence was almost crushing. Everyone was so focused on their various assignments, wading through the wreckage and debris wrought by the Breen super weapon that there was no time for unnecessary chatter. Every second wasted could mean the difference between life and death. The Starship Cuffe moved slowly, its shields down, its transporters and tractor beams working almost as a tandem to collect as many escape pods and life boats as possible. [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman]On the outskirts the battle still raged. Klingon ships appeared to be immune to the energy dissipaters and General Martok’s forces kept the fight going, no doubt buying time for Glover and the reserve fleet to save as many people as possible.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman]The Breen also continued prowling through the metallic sea, destroying any disabled intact Starfleet and Romulan vessels they happened upon. A long line of Dominion, Cardassian, and Breen vessels formed a pincer around the battlefield, most of their weapons deactivated; mockingly silent voyeurs in the arena of tragedy they had just created. [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman] Captain Glover didn’t know what their game plan was. Why were they sitting back and allowing them to rescue some survivors? It didn’t make sense, and Terrence hated not understanding his enemy as much as he did moving towards them without shielding. [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman]Every few minutes he checked the running tally of the rescued, looking for familiar names. So far, his crew hadn’t picked up anyone from the Defiant. Hopefully one of the other ships from his destroyer group had. But he didn’t want to distract their captains by asking. Instead he focused on the task at hand, but always with a wary eye on the Breen and Dominion. [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman]*********************************************************************[/FONT]

It appears the compatibility issues continue.

Would one of the moderators please close this thread? Thanks.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

I'm afraid you'll have to manually remove those tags. That's what I end up having to do every single time I post a story. Please don't let that stop you from sharing!

 

[BrotherBenny]

I'm afraid you'll have to manually remove those tags. That's what I end up having to do every single time I post a story. Please don't let that stop you from sharing!

Nerys, go to UserCP, then to "edit options" on the left hand side, scroll down to miscellaneous options, and choose "standard editor" instead of "full editor" that should stop all the tags

 

[Thor Damar]

This does sound like a good story and I cannot wait to read more(I have a soft spot for DS9 war stories). The formatting makes it harder to read but it can be edited. Believe me I've had the same problems myself! Please don't give up on this story, it has great potential in my opinion.

 

[mirandafave]

Darkush,
I copied your post and removed the font tags. Other than them there's no other formatting issues with your post. What word processor do you use? Anyway, here's the post as it should be. It sounds like a great start and already you manage to convey a mystery and a menance about the Breen motivations that DS9 did not quite pull off.

Hey Everyone,

Really missed posting here due to compatibility issues. So, here goes another attempt.

Maelstrom is the first part of a story that takes place between 2375 and 2377.

DARK TERRITORY:


MAELSTROM

​

Author’s Note: The following events take place during the closing months of the Dominion War

USS Cuffe
The Second Battle of Chin’toka
October 2375


Captain Terrence S. Glover walked stiffly to his ready room, the pleas, shouts, and cries of anguish spilling from the intercom hitting him with physical force, but he withstood the barrage until he got behind the closed doors. Once away from his crew, he dashed to his desktop and stabbed open a line of communication.

Rear Admiral Hake, the reserve fleet’s commander, appeared on the tiny screen. The teal-hued Aquan held up a webbed hand. “I see the images and hear the chaos too Captain, but we can’t engage the Dominion, not until we figure out what type of weapon the Breen are deploying.” Terrence could see the fear in the man’s yellowed eyes and it sickened him.

Glover ground his teeth, forcing down his anger and disgust before responding. “Sir we don’t have time for that, our forces are getting chewed up out there.” His mind’s eye showed him a picture of Captain Benjamin Sisko, a decade’s old friend, and the commanding officer of the Defiant, one of the many the day’s casualties. He didn’t know if Ben had made it off his ship before it had been destroyed, or not. From what he could glean of the battlefield it was pure pandemonium.

The surprise entrance of the Breen into the war on the side of the Dominion with their attack on Starfleet Headquarters and now their arrival at Chin’toka, with an energy weapon that was crippling Starfleet and Romulan vessels left and right had reversed many of the hard won gains the Allies had made over the last several months in a matter of weeks.

Watching the carnage unfolding before him reminded Terrence of a similar slaughter in the Tyra System at the war’s beginning. Though it had been his wife Jasmine who had somehow survived that debacle and she still bore the scars from the hellish experience.

But Glover couldn’t sit back and allow the survivors to be butchered. He hadn’t been there for Jasmine, but he would be damned if he sat back and allowed one of his best friends to die. “I’m sorry sir, but someone has to retrieve those escape pods and those derelict ships. We have a responsibility to the comrades that we can’t ignore.”

Hake glowered. “I’m in charge here.”

“I’m not asking your permission,” Glover said through gritted teeth.

“Come again?” Hake asked, his voice rising. Terrence painfully swallowed his pride and apologized. Then he tried another tack.

“If nothing else, the more people we save will give us more intelligence about the Breen weapon.” Terrence dialed down his mounting frustration.

Hake rubbed his tapered chin. “Fine Captain Glover, you may break formation. Take your destroyer group with you and the medical ship Satcher. And don’t do anything rash.”

Glover grinned, but there was no joy behind it. “Scout’s honor,” he replied.

“Harrumph,” Hake snorted before cutting off communication. Glover immediately got to work.

************************************************** *********************​

USS Cuffe
Main Bridge

The silence was almost crushing. Everyone was so focused on their various assignments, wading through the wreckage and debris wrought by the Breen super weapon that there was no time for unnecessary chatter. Every second wasted could mean the difference between life and death. The Starship Cuffe moved slowly, its shields down, its transporters and tractor beams working almost as a tandem to collect as many escape pods and life boats as possible.

On the outskirts the battle still raged. Klingon ships appeared to be immune to the energy dissipaters and General Martok’s forces kept the fight going, no doubt buying time for Glover and the reserve fleet to save as many people as possible.

The Breen also continued prowling through the metallic sea, destroying any disabled intact Starfleet and Romulan vessels they happened upon. A long line of Dominion, Cardassian, and Breen vessels formed a pincer around the battlefield, most of their weapons deactivated; mockingly silent voyeurs in the arena of tragedy they had just created.

Captain Glover didn’t know what their game plan was. Why were they sitting back and allowing them to rescue some survivors? It didn’t make sense, and Terrence hated not understanding his enemy as much as he did moving towards them without shielding.

Every few minutes he checked the running tally of the rescued, looking for familiar names. So far, his crew hadn’t picked up anyone from the Defiant. Hopefully one of the other ships from his destroyer group had. But he didn’t want to distract their captains by asking. Instead he focused on the task at hand, but always with a wary eye on the Breen and Dominion.

************************************************** *******************​

 

[Dnoth]

Thanks, Mirandafave, for helping Darkush out.

It's a great set up.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Very interesting.

Just one question, though. The way I remember Second Chin'toka, the Klingon immunity was due to one ship that had miscalibrated its engines. But what I don't remember is this: did they figure that out during the battle and adjust all the ships mid-course, or did they only figure it out afterwards?

And that's rather creepy about the enemy forces just hanging back and watching.

I think I'll continue reading this--it'll be quite interesting to see if you can make me like Glover even in light of what I know he's done.

 

[Thor Damar]

Very interesting.

Just one question, though. The way I remember Second Chin'toka, the Klingon immunity was due to one ship that had miscalibrated its engines. But what I don't remember is this: did they figure that out during the battle and adjust all the ships mid-course, or did they only figure it out afterwards?

And that's rather creepy about the enemy forces just hanging back and watching.

I think I'll continue reading this--it'll be quite interesting to see if you can make me like Glover even in light of what I know he's done.

It was afterward I think. There was only one Bird of Prey that was immune to the Been superweapon and the Klingons made the upgrades in the next episode.

I really liked the sinister image of the Dominion fleet just sitting there letting the Feds know that they could finish them off at any time but won't...
(the actual scene with Weyoun and the Founder leader on board the Jem'har flagship was almost as effective in my personal opinion).

I'm liking this fanfic, more please!

 

[Gibraltar]

Yeah, wow, creepy situation.

Well, best of luck to Glover and the crew of the Cuffe. Great stuff so far. More, please?

And, Nerys, remember, Terrence Glover's a complicated man, and no one understands him but...

That's just it. No one really understands him.

 

[Mistral]

Well done and kudos to Mirandafave for the assist.

 

[DarKush]

Big thank you Mirandafave for reposting this for me. I also want to thank everyone for reading-esp. the crazy text- and commenting.

Xeris has given me some pointers and I'm going to attempt to repost the first part now. Due to Cejay and Nerys questions, I'm going to rewrite this scene. This is just a test.

Here goes. Crossing fingers.

DARK TERRITORY:
MAELSTROM

Author’s Note: The following events take place during the closing months of the Dominion War

USS Cuffe
The Second Battle of Chin’toka
October 2375

Captain Terrence S. Glover walked stiffly to his ready room, the pleas, shouts, and cries of anguish spilling from the intercom hitting him with physical force, but he withstood the barrage until he got behind the closed doors. Once away from his crew, he dashed to his desktop and stabbed open a line of communication. Rear Admiral Hake, the reserve fleet’s commander, appeared on the tiny screen. The teal-hued Aquan held up a webbed hand. “I see the images and hear the chaos too Captain, but we can’t engage the Dominion, not until we figure out what type of weapon the Breen are deploying.” Terrence could see the fear in the man’s yellowed eyes and it sickened him.

Glover ground his teeth, forcing down his anger and disgust before responding. “Sir we don’t have time for that, our forces are getting chewed up out there.” His mind’s eye showed him a picture of Captain Benjamin Sisko, a decade’s old friend, and the commanding officer of the Defiant, one of the many the day’s casualties. He didn’t know if Ben had made it off his ship before it had been destroyed, or not. From what he could glean of the battlefield it was pure pandemonium.

The surprise entrance of the Breen into the war on the side of the Dominion with their attack on Starfleet Headquarters and now their arrival at Chin’toka, with an energy weapon that was crippling Starfleet and Romulan vessels left and right had reversed many of the hard won gains the Allies had made over the last several months in a matter of weeks. Watching the carnage unfolding before him reminded Terrence of a similar slaughter in the Tyra System at the war’s beginning. Though it had been his wife Jasmine who had somehow survived that debacle and she still bore the scars from the hellish experience.

But Glover couldn’t sit back and allow the survivors to be butchered. He hadn’t been there for Jasmine, but he would be damned if he sat back and allowed one of his best friends to die. “I’m sorry sir, but someone has to retrieve those escape pods and those derelict ships. We have a responsibility to the comrades that we can’t ignore.”

Hake glowered. “I’m in charge here.”

“I’m not asking your permission,” Glover said through gritted teeth.

“Come again?” Hake asked, his voice rising. Terrence painfully swallowed his pride and apologized. Then he tried another tack.

“If nothing else, the more people we save will give us more intelligence about the Breen weapon.” Terrence dialed down his mounting frustration.

Hake rubbed his tapered chin. “Fine Captain Glover, you may break formation. Take your destroyer group with you and the medical ship Satcher. And don’t do anything rash.”

Glover grinned, but there was no joy behind it. “Scout’s honor,” he replied.

“Harrumph,” Hake snorted before cutting off communication. Glover immediately got to work.
***********************************************************************

Yessss!!!!!! I think I'm back in business. Once I rewrite the opening scenes to fit in line with Dnoth's "Wounds of Chin'toka" I will repost. Thanks for sticking with this one everyone. I really appreciate it. Thank you again Xeris.

 

[DavidFalkayn]

Excellent beginning. I'm glad to see you back in the saddle again DarKush!

 

[DarKush]

Okay, here we go again. This is the new official start of "Maelstrom". Thanks to everyone who has read and commented so far.


DARK TERRITORY:
MAELSTROM

Author’s Note: The following events take place during the closing months of the Dominion War.


USS Cuffe
The Second Battle of Chin’toka
October 13, 2375



Though blood stung his eyes, Captain Terrence S. Glover refused to look away from his dead wife. He stroked the still warm flesh of her charred face, locked on her sightless caramel eyes. He wanted to shout, to scream, to rage at the Heavens, but knew he could blame no one but himself for this tragedy…this loss.

Why…how could I ever have wanted to be here? To be part of this battle? He asked, though he expected no response, not any that could stitch together the chasm in his soul. It had been only three days ago that the Federation Alliance had been stunned when the Breen attacked Earth, striking Starfleet Headquarters before being demolished by planetary defenses.

Though their late entry into the war reeked of desperation, the Breen had quickly made their presence felt again, joining the Cardassian and Jem’Hadar vessels seeking to retake the Chin’toka system from the Allies. Terrence had wanted to be here, had lobbied to be here to be part of the force that would hold the line, to teach the Breen a lesson for attacking Earth, and to show the Dominion that the Breen wouldn’t do anything to stop their losing streak. How wrong he had been, he realized as soon as the Breen employed a new weapon, an energy dampening ray that rendered most of the fleet powerless. After that, they began mopping up the deactivated ships and their helpless crews.

Terrence had just ordered the ship to fall back when they had been hit. Everything went dark, and seconds later, the world upended, and the captain was thrown from his seat as plasma beams sliced into the ship. They were now on the mop up list. Just finish the job, Terrence thought, holding Jasmine’s head in his lap. I want to be with her.

He heard voices on the edge of his consciousness. Was it angels? Was it his ancestors? His mother come to greet him and carry him over the threshold? Maybe it was Jasmine? He eagerly began looking around, for the white light he had always imagined that would accompany death, but he saw only darkness. And then he felt a sharp, intense pain.

“Captain! Captain!” The harshness of the voice was softened by fear. “Captain, snap out of it!” Another snap brought Terrence back to reality. He threw a hand over his face to cover the intense light raking across his eyes. “Sorry about that captain,” Terrence squinted, looking up at his first officer, Lt. Commander Ivan Cherenkov. The man placed the arm containing the wrist lamp behind his back, though he kept it on. “You were mumbling sir, nonsensically…about your wife. Once we restore power, we’ll get you to Sickbay.”

Jasmine, Terrence thought, his eyes widening, as an acute pain pinched his heart. He clutched the stiffening flesh in his arms and peered down. “Jazz…no,” he whispered. He stared down into the charred face of Lt. Chillers, the alpha-shift flight controller. His wife was alive, she was still on Earth. He felt relief, and then sadness, and then shame for celebrating that it was Lt. Chillers in his arms and not Jasmine. He gently placed the dead woman on the deck, and tried to stand, but his legs betrayed him.

Commander Cherenkov rushed to his side, and caught him. He tried to push Terrence back toward the floor, but the captain pushed upward. If he was going to die he would do it on his feet. Ivan made a motion and one of the bridge officers, a young Bolian named Mehta, rushed forward, carrying an emergency medical kit. In her haste, she almost tripped over Lt. Chillers’s corpse. But she caught herself. She quickly unlatched the case, pulled out a medical tricorder and waved it the length of Terrence’s body, stopping at his head.

He forced himself not to be annoyed by the scanner’s beeping and whirring, but each sound was like a slammed door. The Bolian sucked her teeth, and frowned.

“Well?” Both Ivan and Terrence asked in unison.

“Sir…sirs, I’m not a medical expert, but it appears that the captain has suffered a serious concussion.

“Anything in the kit for it?” Ivan asked, and Glover found himself irritated by the Russian’s take charge attitude regarding his health.

“I can speak for myself Commander,” Terrence groused. He looked at the young woman, “Anything?”

She bit her lip while perusing the scanner for the proper answer. She lit up when she found it. She took out an ampoule of clear liquid and attached it to a hypo. “I think this will unscramble those neurons in your head sir,” she said. The captain pulled down his red collar so that she could apply it to his neck. She placed the cool metallic device against his neck. It made a shushing noise after she pressed the release button. Its sting faded in seconds, and so did the haze in Glover’s vision. She then used a skin knitting laser with a pleasant burn to seal the gash on his forehead.

“How do you feel sir?”

“Functional enough Ensign,” he replied, before smiling at her. “Good job.” He patted the young woman on her shoulder. “Now, go take care of the others.”

“Yes sir,” the woman smiled. Terrence turned back to his first officer.
“Status report,” he said, his mouth dry as sandpaper. He gingerly tried to shake the rest of the cowbells out, but winced from the residual ache.

When Ivan reached for him, Terrence waved him back. “Status report,” he repeated.

“We just got hit with a sledge hammer,” Ivan said, succinctly. “Everything’s disabled.”

“Not everything,” Lt. Seb N’Saba said, his voice pained. Glover looked aft. Ivan handed him a wrist lamp before he asked for one. The captain switched it on and swung it low into the back compartment of the bridge. The Alshain Science Officer was slumping over his console, his whiskers twitching as he worked futilely on his console. Far too much dark blood shined on his matted, black fur.

“How are you feeling Mr. N’Saba?” Glover asked.

“Better than the ship,” he croaked, looking in Terrence’s direction. His blue, artificial eyes shone spectrally in the dimness. The captain smothered a retort to the man’s usual flippancy. Now wasn’t the time for an argument. It was the last way he wanted to spend his last few moments in the universe.

“Do we have power or not?” He asked. Operations Officer Gralf beat him to the punch. N’Saba’s growl was low and deep in his throat. Glover attempted to roll his eyes at the two men’s petty rivalry, but even that hurt.

“Every system connected to main computer and the warp core has been deactivated,” the arboreal Xindi replied. “However, disconnected networks, such as those on the shuttle craft and escape pods, which have separate power sources are can be operated manually, should be unaffected.” Glover glanced at N’Saba.

“You agree?” The Alshain struggled to fold his arms, and maintain his scowl, but he confirmed Gralf’s assessment with a nod.

“We’ve got to find a way to use this to our advantage,” Cherenkov said, “To turn the tables on those Dominion bastards.”

“No,” Glover shook his head carefully, “First, we’ve got to get as many people to the escape pods as possible. I want you and N’Saba working on that.”

“But,” Ivan started to protest, but was silenced by Terrence’s hard countenance.

“If…Pedro survived, he’ll be working on finding a way to restore the warp core, and if he does, we’ll get main power back. We’ve just got to help him.”

“How sir?” Cherenkov asked.

Terrence nodded at Gralf. “Mr. Gralf and I are going to test his shuttle theory. We’ll use the Jeffries tubes to hike to the nearest shuttle bay and see if we can contact Main Engineering from there.”

“Sir, you can barely stand on your own feet, much less tackle climbing through all of those tubes,” Ivan shook his head. “I’m sorry sir, but I can’t let you do that.”

Glover laughed, “I want to see you stop me.”

“Sir, do I need remind you of Regulation…” Ivan began.

“Every moment we stand here is one less we could be saving lives Ivan,” Glover replied, shutting the man up. The Russian slowly nodded. Terrence reached out, grabbed the man’s shoulder, and leaned close, “I know you’re concerned about Aquiel…don’t worry, I’ll do my best to bring her, and everywhere else through this, but I can’t do it without you.”

“Acknowledged,” Cherenkov nodded.

“Good, now let’s get to work.”
********************************************************************

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Dumb question here, since I haven't followed this story. I remember N'Saba from a crossover with someone else's stories, but I missed the fact that he had artificial eyes. (Did I read that right?) What's the story there?

 

[DarKush]

Dumb question here, since I haven't followed this story. I remember N'Saba from a crossover with someone else's stories, but I missed the fact that he had artificial eyes. (Did I read that right?) What's the story there?

Not a dumb question at all. I've written a lot of stories and been jumping over my own timeline so it's easy to get lost or confused. I confuse myself all the time.

Seb N'Saba lost his eyesight in my story "The Crucible". He got artificial eyes, similar in appearance to Geordi's, which made him an unsuitable mate for Alshain females.

Little background-He served as Science Officer on the USS Cuffe for most of my stories based on the Cuffe. He also served as a liaison on the Enterprise-E for the Briar Patch crisis in Gibraltar's "Prophets and Loss" and my story "Fall Out".

 

[Dnoth]

I feel guilty that your original opening clashed with "Wounds..."

Having said that, this new perspective is amazing. You write the hell they are going through well. (yes, that's a complement! )

 

[CeJay]

I thought this opening was absolutely awesome. It actually had me dumbfounded there for a while ... Jazz is dead? What? Why? When?

It took me a minute to catch up to the fact that something had to be wrong with Glover.

I also liked the little touches of humor you managed to sneak in. The little interchange between Glover/Cherenkov and the ensign had me smirking. Typical Terrence.

Off to a great start.

 

[Gibraltar]

Agreed, excellent work.

The part about Glover thinking Jasmine was dead threw me, too.

 

[mirandafave]

Great opener - again - and the whole dead Jazz thing threw me completely. Your hopping all over your timeline causes us headaches!!

 

[DarKush]

Great opener - again - and the whole dead Jazz thing threw me completely. Your hopping all over your timeline causes us headaches!!

Thanks for reading and commenting for everyone. Much like the Bajoran Prophets I don't quite grasp the idea of linear time. Sorry for making everyone confused, but I have gotten better at putting dates on the stories so you know where they fall.

I had started the writing the series, originally Star Trek: Aegis, setting it in 2376, but as I wrote more I really wanted to explore the backstories, and to do some Klingon War and Dominion War stories, etc. So, I've been doing that. So, hopefully, one day in the future at least if anyone decides to check out DT from the first story it will be an almost comprehensive reading experience.

This was originally part of one story "Aftershocks" that would have two parts-one in 2375 and the other in 2377. I decided to separate them and call the 2375 parts "Maelstrom". I've been rewriting this particular story over and over for years-it had been the original second story following "Valley of Peace". Back in the day it was called "Oumriel", but I've never been satisfied with it. Hopefully I'll get it right this time.

I'm glad you guys were faked out by Jasmine's 'death' . I wanted to do a headscratching opening.