Re: ST: Gibraltar - Backup - Part 12 To echo RedShirt, a fabulous finish to a fabulous tale. With Ben Maxwell, we see how the mighty have fallen; how bitterness and the desire for revenge twisted a once noble human being. To be honest, it would have been a mercy for Akinola to have tossed him out the airlock as now he's going to have all the time in the world to think about his fallen state--only this time, I have a feeling it's not going to be in Club Fed. Both Gibraltar and Bluefin are the "little ships that could"--overtaxed, overmatched, overwhelmed, yet they and their captains and crews still find some way to get the job done. As for Ramirez, it's her time--may she have a long and fruitful career... Again, a beautifully executed story.
Re: ST: Gibraltar - Backup - Part 12 This story was one big action scene! It was great. It leaves some questions (presumably for your next story): Who will be Gibraltar's new XO be? What is Ro's next step? I sure hope Sandhurst can keep from denting Gibraltar's fenders again.
Re: ST: Gibraltar - Backup - Part 12 I just had the pleasure of reading "Backup" from start to finish. This was an outstanding story, and I enjoyed it immensely. Gibraltar, I am in awe of the skill with which you write your space battle scenes. By the end of VOY's seventh season, space battles had become the most hackneyed and routine part of televised Trek. An exploding panel here--shields down to forty per cent there--yawn. For me, your fanfic has revitalized this aspect of the Trek universe, and made it seem fresh and exciting again. The hand to hand combat scenes were extremely well-crafted as well. I was impressed by your ability to sustain such a high level of suspense and excitement in what was essentially one long running battle. The tension never slackened, and yet, it was never exhausting--mostly because you were able to keep changing things up. I haven't yet had the pleasure of reading any of TheLoneRedShirt's USS Bluefin stories, so I can't comment on how faithful you were to your source material. But I was impressed by the way you were able to breathe life into the crews of both ships, and keep them from blending into each other. I also loved a lot of the little details, from the Emergency Vivisection Hologram to the name of Maxwell's Bird-of-Prey. (And did I detect a homage to the work of David Brin in the crew roster of the Bluefin?) Finally, this story was just about the right length for someone with my relatively short attention span. For me, the best Trek stories seem to last about as long as a televised episode--and this was very close to that. I hope you'll write more of your works in this shorter format in the future, though I won't complain if you return to the longer stories you have written in the past. Now--I do have one quibble--and that's all it is, a quibble. It concerns Pell's plan to beam a bomb aboard the Maquis ship. I didn't find that objectionable, and I especially liked the way Maxwell was able to anticipate her move. What I did find objectionable was the casual way in which she was willing to feign surrender. Traditionally--at least, here on Earth--false surrenders are considered war crimes: they're defined as "treachery" and "perfidy," and troops who abuse a white flag know they can expect little mercy from their enemies. Now, it's true that the Federation is not at war with the Maquis, and that the laws of war do not necessarily apply. And I appreciate the dramatic flourish of ending Part 7 with that line about announcing the Gibraltar's intention to surrender. But somehow, I just can't see a Starfleet officer being so casual about an act of perfidy, when she could have stalled for time simply by asking for a truce to discuss terms--or even by demanding that Maxwell surrender! But like I said--this is a quibble over a single line--a single brushstroke on an otherwise flawless canvas. Well done! :thumbsup:
Re: ST: Gibraltar - Backup - Part 12 Thanks to everyone for their kind words, this was an enormously fun story to write. My next tale will likely be another cross-over work, but it is still in the planning stages. Camelopard, in answer to your quibble regarding Pell, you are correct in that her actions were inappropriate during the standoff with the Maquis. This is another indication that perhaps Pell is not yet ready, or ultimately not suited, to the role of a starship command officer.
Re: ST: Gibraltar - Backup - Part 12 Intense stuff with Maxwell. I hope my finish to Destiny's first episode isn't too similar. Also, on the length of the story, I agree that the episode should feel as long as a Trek episode. That was the very same impression I got with this fic.
Re: ST: Gibraltar - Backup - Part 12 If it's good enough for Kirk, it's good enough for me. If you'll recall in ST:TWoK, Khan didn't exactly play fair and Kirk used the false surrender to stop Khan's attack and give him more time to get away to repair the ship. Also, in ST:TSFS, Kirk used the false surrender to lure the Klingons onto the ship as the autodestruct countdown ended. Perhaps 2 counts of perfidy should've been added to Kirk's court martial?
Re: ST: Gibraltar - Backup - Part 12 ^That's true. I hadn't thought of that. The circumstances in both cases were a little different, though. In TWOK, Kirk was dealing with a small band of renegades who had hijacked a Federation starship. And in TSOS, he was dealing with Klingons on a secret mission in Federation space, who presumably were disavowed by their own government as renegades. In such cases, all bets would be off. You don't declare war on spies and criminals. And when it comes to the laws of war, the Maquis are in a bit of a grey area. Nonetheless, I think Starfleet would expect its officers to play by the rules, in order to encourage the Maquis themselves to surrender, and thereby reduce bloodshed on both sides. If the Maquis thought that Starfleeters were going to behave treacherously, then they'd be more likely to fight to the death, and take no prisoners. Neither outcome would be ideal, from the Federation's perspective.
Re: ST: Gibraltar - Backup - Part 12 Being as the Maquis are an extra-legal movement in and of themselves, they'd be more apt to play fast and loose with the 'rules' of war, which freedom fighters/terrorists always view skeptically anyway. I believe Pell was incorrect in her handling of the situation, but I don't necessarily think that was due breaking any ethics or accepted codes of wartime conduct. From my perspectiving, getting caught red-handed after blatantly faking your first surrender pretty much gives your opponant free reign to blow you out of the stars. Gibraltar's crew is exceptionally lucky Ben Maxwell was feeling merciful that day.
Re: ST: Gibraltar - Backup - Part 12 Had Gibraltar been in any state to fight Pell wouldn't've tried to surrender to start with. Having her plan fail, she was left with truly nothing (in her eyes), and Maxwell saw there was nothing to gain from blowing them up outright. Not necessarily mercy though.
Backup can now be found in its entirety on our new shared Trekverse site, Different Worlds. Here’s the link to the story: Backup