Great piece.

Oh what the hell. I had STUFF to do this morning, I'll have you know. Alas, morning gone. It's okay: my mind is richer for having read this instead of doing whatever I was going to do anyway. Which I can't exactly recall now...
Gripping. Truly.

"Hoping that his newly acquired weapon was set on stun while at the same time wondering why he still cared." I love this line from chapter 5. It combines the elements of fast action and thoughtful introspection that, to me, is a defining characteristic of your story.
Actually, you caught my attention in Chapter one and never let go. There was wonderful tension in that introduction to Tom and B'Elanna - both on the brink of moments when their lives changed so drastically.
Using Kurt Bendera to take us through their time in the Maquis, brought a new perspective that allowed us to revisit these characters with fresh eyes.
I was also impressed with the care you took to bring complexity to all elements in your story. You returned an edginess to Chakotay that has often been sublimated to the 'noble warrior' image. Mitya is an ally, but not altogether likeable. Even your Cardassians are more than cogs in a monolithic society, with some factions acting independently and more willing to take aggressive action on the frontier.
A strong story from start to finish. Thank you for an enjoyable read.

Excellent! I thoroughly enjoyed the back story given and the way you kept them so true to character. Great read!

Great Story, Thanks for sharing it. Look forward to your next one.

I really enjoyed this story and getting to know Bendera. Seeing Tom, Torres and Chakotay through his eyes was great. I m glad Kurt spoke up for Tom to B Elanna and having Tom name the Val Jean was perfect - just what he would have done. Thank you for writing!

Wow. What a ride! Great action writing, great characterizations all around. Having Tom disappear "off-screen" was a good choice, I think - it adds to the mystery. I'm on blackberry so can't cut and paste favourite lines easily, but Chapte 5's "Marseille" is up there ... :-)

I still find that phaser 'borrowing' clever. And the misplaced communicator. A great bit of climactic action, and nicely wrapped up with that conversation.
I've been trying to decide what I liked best about this fic. I feel like there was so much going on in 16000 words between the politics, the ship restoration, Bendera, and (of course) those P/T early impressions of each other.
I'm really hoping Alpha 441 and Bendera are going to get a revisit sometime soon : )

This is a really good read, I'm loving your attention to detail and all of your characterisations. Love the way you've created all this interest in the Kurt Bendera character! Can't wait to see where you take things from here between Tom and B'Elanna.

Your description of the mining colony and the all the shady characters and dubious interlopers to be found there sets the scene so well. I think your Paris and Torres are totally believable too; your dialogue has them spot on for me. I'm still hooked. Great story.

Love the inner Tom voice in this even more than I do the embryonic P/T. And I am finding myself getting increasingly invested in Bendera, poor sod. A thoroughly enjoyable journey you have your readers on here! :-)

The danger builds smoothly yet palpably. Tom’s observation of Chakotay using the ship as a recruiting lure and B’Elanna’s counter-argument about Starfleet’s promises being just as manipulative are insightful. The account of Caldik Prime and its aftermath as they continue to affect Tom are very believable. Tom being the one to come up with the name of the Val Jean was a nice idea. And Bendera “wondering passingly whether the 'little', 'yours' or 'prize' would most infuriate the engineer” is a classic!

From that tiny bit of Bendera backstory in “Alliances” comes this likeable and believable character. The "conflation of architectures" etc perfectly sets the scene (and I get a "Firefly" frontier vibe to Telfas Prime). "Her ship" - the delirious kind of glee at exploring the ship and the thought of fixing it up - given what we know happens in "Caretaker" this has a poignant edge to it, and in a subtle way a further weight to the early season 1 anger of B'Elanna. I love the comparison and contrast of Tom's first impressions of the ship: the pilot's assessment rather than the engineer's but equally enthusiastic. And the politics of self-interest clearly and concisely explained : )

Oh, this is developing nicely. Love the detail as much as I do the characterizations, the dialogue and your vocabulary - special points for putting "sublimate", "conflation" and "eclectic" within half a dozen lines of each other! ;-) (And I love getting to know Bandera.) But what I like the absolute best is the carefully woven background politics that give this piece resonance and texture. Not often found in fanfic, that. Kudos! :-)

Wow! I'm just loving this!
I'm such a sucker for anything with the Maquis in it, and I love the way you've made it consistent with the little detail we do get in the series. I hope you make this into a full length saga - i'm already looking forward to the next part.

Love the way you write B'Elanna - she's always been on e of my favourite characters, and you've got her spot on.

Thanks for sharing this.