I really enjoyed reading Silverado 5.4. We all have dynamic scheudules so I will only mention one observation on story elements hitting home -
Friendly banter [FB] among co-workers [requires an artificial smile while undergoing an internal meltdown during superficial discussions w/ co-workers [especially those who are pushing one's buttons] - If you are able to tell a believable lie, you will do FB very well]
B-Guy - Nice ending, especially Noonan rereading the message
Take Care - and may the best team win !
[Returning to an extended tour of real life]
Distant Origin 3.23 Saurian Professor Gegen: It wasn't an invasion. We were on a field expedition to learn more about your species. We meant no harm. I'm a molecular paleontologist.
Chakotay: [referring to injury] Do you always harpoon the local wildlife?
While Admiral Tunney and his new ally work to find a way to send reinforcements to Matrian Space, the Hazardous Team finds themselves pulled into a fresh new Qu'Eh hell. What could be worse than living in a dirty cavern under a conquered city? And who's the mystery crew that's may end up charging to the rescue! My lips are sealed.
But yes, it's a brand new Silverado, along with a slight crossover with a much loved and missed Traks series.
All right, I think I lied a bit in my last group of comments. I said 5.4 was the last 'chopped' story of this run. This is true, 5.5 and 5.6 were never one book the way 5.3 and 5.4 were. However, part of the reason why I changed from book format to a regular season was because the multiple storylines that come up in what is now 5.5 were just too confusing to handle, on top of the stoylines that come in with 5.6.
So, for what became 5.5 I had two areas of focus. The first was the Matrian Rebellion, with Wowryk growing into her role as a leading figure in the rebellion and the Hazardous Team being pulled into the Qu'Eh corporate machine. The second was Noonan working to bring help to the Silverado crew.
Writing the final scene in 5.4, reintroducing Noonan to silverado after nearly a season and a half of absense was one of the those 'feel-good' writing momemnts that make me laugh right out loud. The problem was, I had no idea where he was going to find a ship. Who could Noonan talk to after Ra'al shot him down? Where do you get a Galaxy or Soveriegn class ship? Where do you get a Sovereign class....BINGO! Another feel-good moment! Bringing in the Banshee crew just seemed perfect, especially because Section 31 is one of the very few organizations that likely knows what he is and what he can offer in return. That, and I really enjoy writing the Banshee crew. I did a guest-write for Brad a while back, though it never did get posted. And they're a fun group. So I really enjoyed the chance to bring them in. The Waystation crew as well, although their appearance is much more minor. Anyway, expect to see the Banshee crew along with a few other familiar old faces in the stories ahead.
As for the Wowryk/HT thread, I really don't remember enough of what I was thinking at the time to comment much. I think the HT corporate thread speaks for itself...and definately shows a bit of bitternesss towards my old line of work. As for the Matrian Rebellion, the main sense I wanted to convey is that the Rebllion IS starting, that they ARE commencing operations and that they're only going to grow from here. I wanted to show Wowryk fitting into the organization, and some of the new challenges she's facing, but I really had too many other things going on to spend much time on that.
Hope you enjoyed this one...another one coming your way in two weeks!
Resolving some long-standing computer problems (i.e. got my "new" hard drive finally fixed so I can get back on the Internet at home) and re-transferring the data from my "old" drive - without the ability to simply slave the two like last time thanks to a faulty data cable* - has caused me to fall somewhat behind in my reading.
That said, it's time for another exciting Double Feedback Post!
Resistance to Change
So yea, wow. Things are really starting to move now, and discovering the Qu'Eh's true interest in Matria has certainly made things a lot clearer. Of course, there are the usual fun moments, such as Simmons and his new "baby", not to mention showing the constant temptation of the HT in their new cultural surroundings (strong, hot chicks who are under societal pressure to breed profusely? Yeah, that's... Yeah...)
I like how Jall is handling things aboard ship; it's a delicate balance to protect those under him from their conquerers while still pleasing said conquerers enough to remain in a position to protect the crew. It can't be easy, though he does seem to be finding ways to use the system against the Qu'Eh. Of course, his acts towards the end most likely royally screwed him, but sometimes you gotta sacrifice the queen to win the chess match. No, I'm not referring to Wowryk as the "queen", either - she wasn't the one Jall sacrificed...
Oh, and the surprise appearance at the end just made me grin.
Work Hazard
Damn, talk about building on the momentum of the last story! Yea, I figured Jall boned himself with that stunt, and I was right. Granted, it was for the greater good, but I can't help but wonder if his replacement will do as good of a job of protecting the crew... Still, he did what he seemed to have to do given the circumstances, so I'll give him that.
And it seems he really did have to do that! Wowryk was apparently being wasted on the ship; she's a far more effective weapon against the Qu'Eh on the surface (well, below the surface, but you know what I meant!) Let's just hope it doesn't go to her head like the last few times she was handed this kind of power...
I hope the HT can survive this new trial with their ... with what little sanity the possess intact. I've never had to work in a call center, but I know people who have, and the one thing they all unanimously agree on is it is HELL. Though, the way most of them describe it, your version is a bit tamer. And yes, that's including the explosive obedience collars. Then again, this plot wrinkle was only just introduced, we probably haven't seen the worst of a Qu'Eh call center yet. Not sure I look forward to that, but I am sure the HT will make it entertaining as only the HT can!
*I didn't realize it was a faulty cable until after my local Radio Shack closed for the night, forcing me to use my 2 gig mp3 player as an impromptu flash drive to transfer the files I'd backed up on the 98 to the XP drive, which required me to shut down the computer, swap cables and reboot for every 2 gigs worth of data. That took a long, LONG time. Oh, and the bookmarked copy of 5.4 I was working on was on the 98 drive, so I had to remember to transfer it over at some point to read it when I was done. The fact that my mp3 player wasn't meant to be used for that and started acting buggy did not help matters at all... And if you're asking why didn't I just use CD-Rs or a regular flash drive? The 98 drive won't recognize the CD drivers, and the mp3 player is the only flash device I've found 98 drivers for...
Life underground is finally starting to look up. The Silverado refugees have found food, comfortable places to sleep and even the
control knob for the air conditioning. But when Wowryk and the HT make contact with Stafford and the Matrian Council, Stafford and Anselia must decide if helping out is worth risking their
perfect little hide-out.
Tired of hanging around an old bunker, Stafford and Jeffery take off on a dangerous mission to retrieve Dr. Wowryk and the Hazardous Team. But neither Wowryk or the Qu'Eh are ready to make things easy!
A few things to say on here. This was definately a filler story, but I don't see that as a bad thing, considering that most of what's filled in is fairly important to the overall story arc. So, a few highlights that I needed to put in:
First, the flash-back thing with Colonel Abela. The intent here was to try to lay out a bit of history, to try to explain where this giant base came from and why it was abandoned but without filling in the main characters on those facts just yet. I was actually going to have more scenes with Abela in 5.9, I think, but those wound up getting pushed back. Anyway, there's your teaser: There will be more scenes with her coming up.
Second, getting everybody settled in. Yup, nice quarters, a name (Haven) and access to Matrian computer networks. The main goal here was to start transforming this unknown and possibly hostile enviroment into something that's more useful to the overall story arc, not just a place to hide. But don't get me wrong, there are still surprises coming up.
Finally, with regards to Stafford's bickering with Anselia and his eventual departure, my big goal here was to get things moving. After all, there's still a lot to do before this storyline can wrap up, and this story let me finish putting several very important pieces into place, so they could be used in the next few stories.
Action Plan
Hmm, this was a fun one to write. Finally! Cool stuff is happening! Ships are flying around, stuff is blowing up and people are getting shot at. Ahh, good times.
OK, I don't really have any specifics to comment on with this one. Mainly, the goal here was to take the momentum started at the end of 5.6 and get it moving. I'm still putting pieces into place, to a point, but I really wanted the characters to actually start taking action here. I still think there were some character moments. Stafford and Wowryk come to mind, and of course the HT is always fun to play with.
This was also the first story of Season 5 that was completely, 100% planned as a single story. 5 & 6 were definately a bit akward to try to separate and set up, but going forward, I'm much happier with how the story plots fit into the overall arc.
Speaking of which, in two weeks we're going to a short break from Matria Prime and see how things are going on the relief fleet. 5.8 was definately a fun story to write!
Taking a break from our usually schedualed crisis, we follow the crew of the USS Banshee as they lead the relief fleet on their trek to Matrian Space. But suspicions begin to rise that perhaps the Banshee, or USS Medusa, as they are know to the fleet, aren't what they appear to be. Featuring the crews of Star Traks:Banshee and the USS Stallion!
Been too tired to post proper feedback, but the last few stories have been great. "Conflict of Interests" was filler, yes, but even filler stories serve an important function in such complex and ambitious story arcs. Not everything that happens needs Epic Resolution; sometimes things (characters, plot points, etc.) need to be moved into place, and that's what fillers are meant to do, get stuff into place. And if we get some great character moments out of it, all the better.
"Action Plan" was a fun followup to the filler setup in "Conflict of Interests" and did indeed have some great character moments too. The HT is becoming the marketable characters of Silverado. Every series has that character, or group of characters, that are so interesting, dynamic and fun that no matter how much a story is lagging, the inclusion of these characters seem to make things move forward and start to pop. I'm not saying that the current stories need that kind of addition, but the HT are definitely that group in Silverado.
"Attack of the Little Titan" was actually somewhat creepy. It was damn funny, to be sure, but something about the altered Klingon parasites was just ... unsettling. These buggers made the crew into better "zombies" than I've ever seen in Traks. That's including the Zomborg I utilized in the last Governor's Song. Nicely done. Though, the end of the story highlights one of the problems I had with the Banshee series as a whole - being crew of, essentially, a super-ship with access to secret technology that is, supposedly, decades ahead of everyone else, it's too easy to just wave the "advanced tech" magic wand and make everything right. But that's minor; the rest of the story was great. I especially loved how the Stallion crew were able to completely burst the "Medusa" cover by simply stumbling over a misplaced padd - excuse me, Wikipaddia.
The Qu'Eh have moved against the Matrian Rebellion, forcing Dr. Wowryk and her allies to retreat for the safety of Haven Base. But when Wowryk brings news that the Qu'Eh have started experimenting with new ways of extracting information from prisoners, her return becomes only the beginning for Simon Jeffery and the Hazardous Team. We also included some random singing, just for the hell of it.
