Lovely work. The plot was engaging, the characterizations were accurate, and the writing style was good. (Finally someone who correctly uses spelling and grammar.) You kept a fine balance of thoughtfulness and action as well. Overall, excellent piece. Very nicely done; do keep writing.

I must say that was an enjoyable fic. Getting to the author's note at the end, I did realize that this was a bit like or inspired by The Game, which I equally never found to be enjoyable.

With that said, I personally think that is was a much more enjoyable adept than the episode. It was actually fascinating watching the ship begin to come apart at the seems and more so that - until Worf and Picard's meeting - I was starting to think perhaps whatever was happening on the ship was affecting both Worf AND Picard and that THEY were over reacting.

I absolutely loved the twists and turns, especially within the senior staff. Most times, when something befalls the ship, its because of some no name ensign or somebody; I actually liked how half the senior staff went crazy - Geordi obviously, as he's lack of caring about Data was red flagged, but Deanna, Beverly, and Will just all going downhill as well was great and well written.

Again, a very well written piece!

Great story

I finally finished it! What a wonderful story! I especially loved Worf! That lying Cadassian needed a swift kick for all the trouble he put the Enterprise though! A mad Vulcan Scientist, who would have thought? I may sound like a Johnny-Come-Lately, but if you have anymore stories lying around, please don't hesitate to upload them! They will be read. Thanks again!

I'm up to only Chaper Three and I'm hooked! You're also dealing two of my favorite races, The Klingons ( Worf ) and Cardassians! I'm going to continue reading and get back to you with an update or two. Thanks for uploading this story!

That's a wonderfully intelligent story. I was worried at the beginning, particularly about Data and the crew's general indifference to the fact that he was missing - but it was well written enough to allow me to trust that you knew what you were doing, and to keep me reading. I enjoyed it a lot. Yes, I did think of 'The Game', and I agree with your assessment of that particular episode - this makes a very great deal more sense.

Hey! Wait! It's over? What? It...just...ends? We don't get to find out if Dravek is lying through his teeth? And...but...oh. Ok. I'm getting over it.

Obviously, I missed the 'Complete' banner.

Well, even if the ending did come as a surprise, this is, hands down, a top-flight story, and I congratulate you. After some of the lousy 'official' Trek novels I've read it's wonderful to find a really, really good story that you don't have to pay for. It's too bad it would be really difficult to get this published for real. I would buy it.

Kudos on finishing Ship of Fools.

P.S. Please revise and post this other story! I'm willing to wait for it; you're a great author. I'm glad I got to meet you.

And so it ends... Thank you so much for this marvellous, brilliant piece of art. The first minute after seeing that the story is over at this point, I have to admit I was slightly disappointed. But now I already realize that this calm exit is much more true to ST:TNG than a big *boom* at the end. Perfect stories don't need special effects or thrill in the last minutes, some authentic words are more satisfying. Like with a good drop of wine, the taste and warmth stay for quite a while and in a way, they even last forever. Thanks again.

Well rounded chapter, very nice. I guess Troi will now be able to help the captain deal with the Cardassians, find out their intentions. I should wait what they have to say before suggesting that, but as an old fan of LucasArts (R) adventure games i have to tell you my brilliant idea: Use. device. with. Dravek. Hrhrhr :)

I can think of several nasty things to do to that man Maruk. None of them are very nice. How utterly irresponsible of him. As a scientist he should know better. But I get the feeling I'm preaching to the choir here. (mutters) Lousy, careless, ivory-tower, reckless academics. Finally! Picard exploded at someone. About time. I would suspect Maruk of being allied with the Cardassians, but that would be too paranoid, right? And I'm still not going to be convinced of anything until there's a confession.

Now what does Dravek want? I really don't like that guy. I think he's going to ooze in the door and demand something. Don't know what yet. And I know I'm never going to guess.

Picard's never going to take that checkup, is he? Captains...

Must go, my brother's starting the movie downstairs without me. Grr!

Merry Christmas!

I'm very glad to see that the crew is taking every precaution possible. You never know when Starfleet crews will do something stupid in the name of 'a gesture of welcome/trust/etc'.

I have a feeling it's going to be a long time before everyone recovers from the aftereffects of the device. About time everyone got some rest. Poor Geordi, he sounds so humiliated (he should be!). But it occurs to me that while the senior staff is sleeping is a perfect opportunity for someone or several someones to try something. How's Deanna doing? Any better?

On another note, I think fanfic dot net has been messing with the font on this chapter. Several quotation marks are scrambled. It made it harder to read; I thought you should know.

Well done. I tend to believe that Dravek guy... now is that a good or bad sign? We'll see.

For my taste, Picard's interactions with him are a little too direct, "no bulshit" -esque. You know, you can make your point without saying "my ship can easily blow up yours" or "I don't trust you at all", there are other ways to submit the message. I remember him as a better diplomat than that. Of course, he's not in his best shape at this point and has no time for playing games, so that might explain it...

I'm sure the rant was good for Riker's nerves anyway. It would have made me feel better...a little bit.

Picard's always...appropriate?...as a negotiator (it's the voice); it seems that somehow he always ends up with the upper hand...eventually. Back-and-forth debate has always been a little beyond me, but I like the way you've done it. And while I'm thinking of it, Starfleet has got to do something about that 'polical asylum' rule. Those two words have gotten crews into trouble more often than any others, except for maybe words like 'open fire' or 'declare war' or especially 'what's that?' That last is an exception, because it's sure-fire disaster for ships called Enterprise.

Have I mentioned I don't trust Cardassians very much, especially ones who have betrayed their own empire, and therefore can betray others that mean far less to them? And it's making me very jumpy that 'Dravek' is a runaway Obsidian Order agent. From what I know of Enebran Tain, he's likely to track that man to the ends of the universe...if he's even telling the truth about that. I don't think putting that many Cardassians on the ship is a very good idea.

So, time to sort out the truth from the lies now? And dodge warships? The fun just never stops, does it...

I wonder if Gul Dravek can be trusted? Personally, I trust anyone and everyone once they tell me I can but this is interesting and more complicated.

I was also wondering when we get to see what's happening to Deanna, I hope she'll make an appearance in the next chapter or so. Please!

Thanks for the update notice. So here I am again, after a mad, intense reading session. :)

If someone was to describe a chapter, saying it contains lots of talking and no action, my reaction would probably be "boo-ring" - except that this was anything but! The tension was so palpable that I've almost squirmed myself into a knot on my seat, I'm feeling faint from holding my breath and I've chewed not only my fingernails, but fingers as well. And all they did was talked. Just talked!

I shall have to have a break, un-knot myself, and calm down before commenting any further... You're amazing! :)