Rigil's New Endeavour thread...

[Dinah]

I agree with your view of history, Rigil. That's one reason why generations of school boys couldn't wait to enlist, looking to find the glory that they think comes with war, only to find themselves in the midst of horror and desolation. How quickly we forget.

Another historical axiom is that the generals and admirals always enter a conflict as though they were fighting the previous war. With the Romulans, humans are in a far larger, far more complex fight than they've ever experienced before. Rigil, I think you have our favorite characters in a perfect position to begin innovating the technological, tactical, and support breakthroughs that will eventually enable them to beat the Romulans. Unfortuantely, history often shows that you sometimes need a good, swift kick in the butt to enable you to break free from traditional thinking. Some generals and admirals are just better at it than others.

You've done a marvelous job of writing all of your characters so that they behave in a completely realistic way, given the circumstances: Phlox is all business, Archer and Trip need to work, etc. With Erika's death, Archer is now really motivated. I think you've set him up to be a formidable adversary. Add in Trip and T'Pol's problem-solving abilities, and the Romulans had better watch out.

[Rigil Kent]

Act 5, Scene 2 is up.

Aftermaths, Part 2...

=/\= =/\= =/\=

Up at Fanfiction.net for those of you who prefer it there.

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

Wow! Totally awesome! I love these insights into Romulan culture and customs. You really bring them to life...

But you really should include a dictionary of the phrases you use, or at least have those "hover on" information thingies you have with military lingo.

Oh, have you picked out any "actors" for the roles of D'deridex and S'enrae?

[Rigil Kent]

But you really should include a dictionary of the phrases you use, or at least have those "hover on" information thingies you have with military lingo.

Crap! I did ... and then accidentally overwrote it. Fixed it ... it should work now...

Oh, have you picked out any "actors" for the roles of D'deridex and S'enrae?

Sorta. D'deridex is a smooth head Rommie, so I'll probably use an unnamed and relatively young Vulcan male from ENT. S'enrae I kind of envision as Jessica Biel with the bumpy forehead and longer hair than the ugly bowl cut Rommies usually have.

[blacknblue]

This is getting REALLY intriguing.

[Rigil Kent]

Just now?

Now tell the truth: did any of ya'll see that coming?

[blacknblue]

Actually, no. I like this twist. But it doesn't bode well for the Humans. This guy is DANGEROUS.

[Rigil Kent]

He he he. And the Author likes him too...

Beated version of the Teaser & Act One is up here at TriSilk. The nifty acronym coding works nicely here as well, so those of you who wanted to look at that but were having problems with my personal site, voila.

[Kevin Thomas Riley]

The nifty acronym coding works nicely here as well, so those of you who wanted to look at that but were having problems with my personal site

Heh! kll'inghanns = Dumb space Vikings

*remembers my heritage*

HEY!

[Rigil Kent]

Heh.

Dumb as in cliched Hollywood types, not the wicked cool versions of historical fact. From the wrath of the Northman Oh Lord deliver us...

Or maybe the Monty Python version. "Spam spam spam spam spam spam spam spam wonderful spam!"

[hth2k]

Yes he may indeed be formidible but he is just a newly minted field commander. He is still subject to the power structure within the branch her serves and the political structure that drives them.

Given the ethos of the Romulan war machine that throws away useful people casually there is much wanting in the Romulan system.

The political/social system is likely highly structured, authoritarian and inflexible in its vision and response to changing situations. There is also shown a ruthless pursuit of power and assinating one's competition is an accepted mode in this society. Quite likely this and patronage pervades the ecopnomic and amnyfacturing sectors as well. Usually bribery and corruption go hand in hand. Only the strong and well connected survive and prosper.

I think the Romulans are a mixed bag of individuals. Some more like their Vulcan ancestors are quite logical, linear and multi taskers. Others may well be less able to multi-task and retain the linear thought process. A few may well be able to use their emotions to inspire a intuitive process similar to that found in many Humans. However the high level of emotions due to Vulcan physiology may limit the ability to stand back and objectively analyze these gut reactions rather than being possessed away by them. I do not see many Romulans being the abstract inspirational intuitives that look at data or a situation and just know the correct answer without complete data.

HtH

[JadziaKathryn]

I like the revision in the previous scene much better.

now, instead of pressing their advantage against the Terrans, the war would grind to a halt as the captains and admirals competed against one another to be appointed fleet commander. Against all military doctrine and logic, the humans would be given a reprieve.

This I like. It reminds me a great deal of the Mongols, actually. Likely the only reason they didn't conquer a swath of eastern Europe at least once is that when the khan died, all his brothers, who led the armies, had to return home and duke it out to see who would succeed him. Very inefficient way to chose succession in an otherwise efficient war machine of a culture. That really works for the Romulans here, IMO. Instead of a logical system - a commander in chief appointing a new fleet commander immediately - they have to do that classic cloak and dagger. I also think it tracks with the idea of Romulan culture, which is self-serving. Instead of banding together to crush their foes, they are putting personal glory first.

[Mitchell]

Just now?

Now tell the truth: did any of ya'll see that coming?

Well I wasnt shocked.
I mean Ol Fleet Adm Valadore, Seeming to always be a step ahead of our Human forces. An not just by having higher numbers. I kinda figured that either the Tal Shiar had managed to get a Romulan agent into Starfleet Command, Or their was a traitor there. Im not sure on that yet, but I have a hunch considerin D'deridex's shock, Id say theirs a traitor at StarFleet Command.


Loved the look into the Romulan side of things, Even if I still hate the Vulcan Rejects.
Great Scene.

Another historical axiom is that the generals and admirals always enter a conflict as though they were fighting the previous war. With the Romulans, humans are in a far larger, far more complex fight than they've ever experienced before. Rigil, I think you have our favorite characters in a perfect position to begin innovating the technological, tactical, and support breakthroughs that will eventually enable them to beat the Romulans.

Uhh Dinah. Uh the Earth ships have thuse far proven to be so far more combat worthy, have faster vessels, an they have more fire power to. The Advantage the Romulans have, er Had over Starfleet Forces was that the Rommies had higher fleet numbers, and a better Commander at the top so far.

The fact that Rommies keep trying to aquire tech, such as transporters, an the fact they keep trying to capture starfleet vessels, especialy NX class vessels proves they beleave theirs something worth the trouble of attempting a capture to get to that tech. Atleast it proves it to me, that they might see Earth as of having some superior tech.


From what IVe seen Earth needs to bump up production, an find a Fleet Commander who can win the War for Earth.

[Rigil Kent]

Glad it went over well. I am a little surprised that no one mentioned the hint about Rihannsu pon farr that I stuck in there...

The political/social system is likely highly structured, authoritarian and inflexible in its vision and response to changing situations. There is also shown a ruthless pursuit of power and assinating one's competition is an accepted mode in this society. Quite likely this and patronage pervades the economic and manufacturing sectors as well. Usually bribery and corruption go hand in hand. Only the strong and well connected survive and prosper.

Beautifully stated. This, in a nutshell, is how I perceive the Romulan (Rihannsu) culture as a whole.

Well I wasnt shocked.

I was actually referring to Valdore's death, not the operative. There have been enough hints in the previous fics to point toward there being a leak - I think that BnB had a couple of theories in the previous thread before the Great Server Crash of '07 that I never confirmed nor denied.

Uh the Earth ships have thuse far proven to be so far more combat worthy, have faster vessels, an they have more fire power to. The Advantage the Romulans have, er Had over Starfleet Forces was that the Rommies had higher fleet numbers, and a better Commander at the top so far.

You're making an assumption that's inaccurate, I'm afraid. A bird of prey is the Romulan equivalent of a Neptune-class (the half saucers) and outclasses/outguns it. A warbird is the equivalent of an Enterprise-class (or NX class if you insist) ... and generally outgun and outclass it. Due to the extensive upgrades made on Endeavour (and the tech they reverse-engineered from an Orion ship), the NC-06 is the only ship in Earth's fleet (right now) that could go toe to toe with a warbird and possibly emerge victorious without resorting to some sort of trickery. (Helps that its the "Hero Ship", too).

Reread the first engagement in this fic: it took three ships to destroy a warbird (an ENT-class and two Neptunes). The Rommies have (or had, I suppose) the advantage in higher numbers, superior fleet commander, and better warships. IMO, humans are more flexible and adaptive, which is what will ultimately result in their victory. They "think outside the box", so to speak, while the Romulans, like all long-lived species, think in the long term which slows their short-term reactions.

Does that make sense?

The fact that Rommies keep trying to aquire tech, such as transporters, an the fact they keep trying to capture starfleet vessels, especialy NX class vessels proves they beleave theirs something worth the trouble of attempting a capture to get to that tech. Atleast it proves it to me, that they might see Earth as of having some superior tech.

Nope. It proves that Earth has some different tech that might be able to be pressed into service.

From what IVe seen Earth needs to bump up production, an find a Fleet Commander who can win the War for Earth.

They've got one ... you just won't like him.

[hth2k]

I really like that you had Tucker make a visit to sickbay before going to engineering. Wish Archer had as well.

HtH