#Andorians and sports

[indignantlemur]

Thank you so much, I do have follow up questions ^_^

1) how did those early conversations go? “What do pinkskins do for sports?” “You strap knives to your shoes and do what now?” (Maybe? I just feel like Dagmar would bring up winter sports first in an effort to be relatable? You’re the writer, do what you will)

2) what does Andorian dance look like? Historically, currently? do clans compete (any comparison to Highland Games)? Groups? Weddings? Siblings? Any Taboos? Anything you can think of :))

Hello again! <3

I suspect the initial introductions to Terran sports started out casually. Humans making friends, as they do, and doing friendly things like inviting them to attend sporting events - football, lacrosse, hockey, volley ball, snowboarding, rugby, what-have-you. This inevitably leads to a very confused alien asking about the rules, and from there the indoctrination begins! 😆

(1) I fully intend to have Dagmar bring up some uniquely Norwegian and Canadian sports at some point, probably when the gang is all back on Earth again. Dagmar's not really a sports person, per se, but her mother and little brother were and she often got dragged along to events regardless of her own preferences on the matter. You could say she learned the rules of lacrosse and hockey largely involuntarily, really.

(2) While I haven't fully fleshed out all of the details, my Andorians do dance, contrary to the impression that they like to give outsiders, but only very rarely and it's almost always centered around specific traditions and rites. It's considered a private thing meant for family and spouses, and therefore deeply personal - so much so that most Andorians will outright deny that such an activity ever takes place rather than discuss the matter with strangers. Andorians who are reasonably well acquainted with aliens, such as Thelen is with Dagmar, will understand that other species view the activity rather differently and of those Andorians many will often separate the two 'kinds' of dancing mentally. Thus, when Thelen learns from Dagmar he can truthfully say that he is not violating a cultural taboo; he is merely indulging an alien friend's equally alien customs.

When it is permitted, Andorian dances are surprising. This is one of the times where I get to bring in some of that insectoid ancestry that Andorians have and actually apply is sensibly. Drawing inspiration from bees (and stick bugs somewhat), I imagine that the steps are recreations of old migration paths, important battles, and other historical events, each one unique to a Clan and interpreted with heavy artistic license. Swaying, lunging, twisting, leaping, gliding, rising and falling and rising again - the pacing varies, but there is one consistent element: a heart-beat pattern. The measure of each dance is always based on the pattern of an Andorian's heartbeat, the timing quickened or slowed as needed in each 'scene' depicted; one might be frenzied and erratic, the other steady and even, and yet another might shift between the two extremes.

Andorians will dance to celebrate ancient religious rites, new births, and, yes, sometimes even weddings. During weddings, it's usually done after getting outrageously drunk - and usually results in at least one person making an absolute fool of themselves. As long as nothing too untoward happens, most folks let the behaviour slide as 'high spirits' and leave it at that.

One idea that I'm extremely fond of it the idea of the First Dance. After an Andorian child is born, one of the parents will hold the child and map out the progression of Andoria around their solar system in slow, ponderous steps, evenly paced like the steady orbit of their homeworld. When the entire quad is present, the three non-birthing spouses will take turns guiding the child through the First Dance, or move in a kind of relay-race with one switching out and one swapping in while the third waits their turn, rotating through each role until the dance is complete.

The First Dance was once a kind of portent for the child, with numerous outcomes derived from the the slightest of stumbles, the barest of missteps, and whether or not the parent(s) guiding the child took the correct number of steps, or more, or less. In modern times, it is an old tradition kept more out of fondness than anything else, with much of the weight once placed upon its meaning shifting to be an act of profound love and welcome.

As time progresses and Andorians as a whole become exposed to more and more alien cultures, I fully expect their natural reserve to lessen somewhat as new ideas are slowly, cautiously embraced and then eventually adapted to suit their culture.

[nichestartrekkie0-0]

Aenar headcanon: soccer moms

Aenar sports are ridiculously both non-competitive and yet competitive at the same time. Depends on the situation and who you're competing with.

A game of chess with you grandmother? chill.

A game of chess with an Andorian? You must win- and you must win so hard that you bring glory and honor to your family for the next decade.

Kids soccer? chill.

Kids soccer against the family that never returned your Tupperware? 'bloodbath' is a kind word for the amount of red cards that will be pulled.

They may not allow violence, but they certainly allow some good old shoving in contact sports.

[andoriansportutilityvehicle]

ANDORIAN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLE

🚙🚔

[spacefinch]

Magic School Bus/ Star Trek AU (part 1 of 2)

Captain Valerie Frizzle. A very eccentric (in a good way) captain, by Starfleet standards.

Commander Liz, first officer. Half-Andorian, half-Orion. Nonverbal; uses sign language to talk.

Lt. Ralphie Tennelli, chief navigator. When he’s not flying the ship, he likes to play an ancient Earth sport called “baseball.” He even has a ball autographed by Ben Sisko himself.

Dr. Tennelli, chief medical officer. Haven’t decided on a first name. Her and Ralphie’s situation (being on the same starship) is kind of like the Crusher family in TNG.

Lt. Wanda Li, pilot. She’s quite the daredevil. Always excited to go on away missions. Has a pet frog. Would have adopted the Threshold lizard babies if she were in that situation.

Lt. Keesha Franklin. Not sure exactly what she does, but she’s in the command division.

Arnold Perlstein, junior medical officer. Not a big fan of away missions.

Janet Perlstein, operations/security officer. Transferred from another ship.

[animentality]

I hope its not to late but the klingons cannonly love hockey. (As do andorians)

I think its like page 57 of the beta quadrant source book that has flavour text about additional hockey rules.

Oh my god, I was right.

That makes perfect sense because hockey is that one sport where dudes start just beefing on the field and the referee is like...figure it out.

That's awesome, thanks for sharing.

[genevra-von-krolock]

Yo, I hope your doing well! I was wondering if you'd be willing to write anything with hemmer being a mentor to a gender neutral ensign. I was really upset after he died and I couldn't find any platonic and fluffy fanfiction. If you aren't up for it I totally get it and I hope you enjoy the rest of your day/night!

Yeay my first request! Thanks so much anon and I hope I didn’t let you wait too long . This is my first fanfic and it being about Hemmer, I couldn’t be happier.Hope you like it :)

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

~Sleepless in Space ~

Star Trek SNW ✨ Hemmer x Gender neutral reader

Nighttime was always the most dreaded time of day for you, ever since you were a child. You would roll from one side to another, trying to find a comfortable position but never were successful. Every time you closed your eyes, thoughts run wild in your consciousness and kept you up all night. So sleep never came easy to you but when you boarded the Enterprise, it took insomnia to a whole new level. With the lack of daylight it was difficult for your body to adjust to a proper day/night cycle. Still you tried your best but were obviously failing. Bunching the soft fabric of your blankets between your hands, you gave a frustrated sigh and decided to head to the mess hall to get a tea. You pulled the blankets aside, slipped on your favorite cardigan and put on some shoes before heading out the door in search of some tea to calm you. The halls were eerily quiet as during the gamma shift, only a fraction of the personnel was up and ensured that all run smoothly. Turning into the hallway leading to the mess hall, you pondered your problem. Why was it always so difficult to sleep? Even children could do this, it was ridiculous!

The doors whizzed open and you headed straight to a replicator. “Hmm, what do I get?”, you thought to yourself. A small cough sounded from the sitting area. Your heart pounded and you whipped your head around. There, alone at one of the tables, sat Commander Hemmer, your superior officer down in Engineering. He wore some loose fitting lounge pants, a button down shirt and clutched a mug of tea in his hands. “ Ensign, what are you doing up at this hour, shouldn’t you rest?” When your pulse was somewhat back to normal you took a seat beside him. Normally, you wouldn’t share such personal stuff with others but the Chief Engineer was your superior and you regarded him as a mentor. “I..I have some trouble sleeping, always had”, you muttered and looked at the tabletop as it was very apparent how embarrassing you felt. “Something troubling you in particular?” Suddenly, the dust on the table looked very interesting to you. After a few beats of silence, you cleared your throat and looked into his face. “Not really, it’s just that whenever I lie down and try to sleep, there are so many thoughts in my head and I can’t seem to shut them down. I have tried so many things already, like doing some sports before bed to power myself out or take a bath but nothing works.” Frustrated, you put your head on your forearms and sighted. Hemmer contemplated what you said and sat his mug down in front of him. “May I offer some help Ensign?” Surprised, you looked up in his face. Normally, Hemmer wasn’t very social and tried to keep interactions with other crew members to a minimum as others often were intimidated by him and kept their distance. “Of..of course ! What do you have in mind, Commander?” He stood up and made a beeline to the replicators. “First, would you like some Srjula tea? It’s an Andorian herbal tea that has some calming qualities, as you will find.” “ Great, I will trust your tastebuds, Commander”, you smiled nervously. He gave the replicator some commands and after a few seconds, he sat down a steaming mug of tea in front of you. It was deeply yellow and a citrusy aroma wafted in your face. Tentatively you took a small sip. It warmed your body and maybe you were imagining it but you swore that you could feel yourself becoming drowsy already. “So, what do you have in mind?” You looked up to him expectantly. “Before I go to bed, I usually meditate and do some breathing exercises. Due to my telepathic abilities, I often have trouble blending out all the noises and colours, metaphorically speaking. Sometimes, it can get a little too loud in my head and it’s preventing me from getting adequate rest. I could teach you how to do it if you like.” You were still processing that he was talking to you so openly about his problems, he always appeared so perfect and composed to the other people on board. “I would love that, Commander. I’m willing to try anything to catch a few hours of sleep.” He nodded his head and stood up to put your two used mugs into the recycler. Wordlessly, you followed him out into the hallway and to the nearest lift.

You rode silently to the deck that held the quarters of the senior officers. The lift doors opened and he guided you to a set of doors nearly at the end of the hallway. Hemmer keyed in his codes and let you into his rooms and you followed him in what appeared to be his bedroom. “Please have a seat”, he waved his hands to a large, dark red mat which occupied the far left of the room and went into the main living area. Getting into the lotus position, you took a seat. A few seconds later, he came back into the bedroom, carrying what appeared to be an oil candle and a lighter. Taking a seat opposite you, he lid up the flame and put the candle in between you two on the mat. It gave off a warm red light that reflected on his stark white face and made him look warmer somehow. “Close your eyes please.” You did as he said and tightly closed your eyes. “ You have to take deep and even breaths, not too rushed but very slow. Try to imagine the flame in front of you in your mind. Focus on it as the center of your being.” You concentrated on what he said and tried to follow his instructions. You imagined the deep red flame that sat on the mat before your mind’s eye and attempted to shut out everything around you. Hemmer’s sudden voice brought you nearly out of your dream-like state. “Don’t forget your breathing. Deep and even breaths.” You breathed in deep, held it for a few seconds and breathed out. You repeated this till you felt a calm wash over you. Over the crackling of the flame you could hear the Commanders matching breath and simply continued on with the exercise.

After what appeared to you like half an eternity, you sensed some movement in front of you and opened your eyes. Hemmer looked at you with curious eyes, the white of his irises reflected the flame that had become smaller as time passed. “Are you feeling better now?” His tone was warm and you could have sworn you saw a tiny smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Yes, it does not seem as loud in my mind as before”, you answered surprised. “It’s an Andorian meditation technique that I learned during my academy years, when I was first confronted with all the thoughts and emotions of my classmates. Whenever I feel that it gets too much here, especially during tense times when the crew is not nearly as relaxed as they used to be, it helps a great deal and lets me focus.” Gratefully, you smiled at him and folded your hands in your lap. He cleared his throat. “If you ever feel restless again, try this and hopefully you will be able to sleep better after that. Or if you don’t want to be alone, don’t hesitate to call me.” That took you by surprise but you gratefully smiled at him. “That would be amazing. Thank you for your help, Commander.”

He nodded and gracefully he got off the mat and offered you his hand. You took it and got into a standing position. “Thanks again for everything but I should let you rest now, Alpha shift starts in only a few hours.” “Yes, it would be best if we tried to catch some sleep.” He let you to the door and with a nod, he bit you goodbye. When the doors slit shut behind you, you let out a long breath and made your way back to your quarters.

Maybe you had finally found a way to control your wandering thoughts and get proper rest like everyone else on this ship.

[hellpmeimobsessed]

What would going skiing or skating with Commander Shran be like？

I’m not exactly what I’d call ‘proficient’ with his character, but I’ll do my best! Thanks so much for the ask!

If you assumed an Andorian would be good at human winter sports... You’d be wrong. He’s used to just... Walking across. He’s actually extremely clumsy on skates, and he freezes up on skis. He’s the sort that becomes increasingly worried for humans mental health the more he sees.

“You wear... blades on your feet?! Why don’t you just walk??”

“We also do competitive sports on ice skates. Like hockey and figure skating.”

“... Explain the premise of these sports and what, exactly, they involve.”

*One explanation later*

“YOU WHAT?! AND... DO YOU REALISE?? ARE YOU ALL THIS INSANE?!”

That being said, no he did not have fun. He now keeps a keen eye on you and Archer thinking you’re just going to do something spontaneous and dangerous.

[phatburd]

“Andorians and Klingons alike adore the sport of ice hockey (for dissimilar reasons), and several Andorian players have already signed up as free agents in the Federation Hockey League. After a recent controversy, the Federation Hockey League has ruled that deliberately injuring an Andorian player’s antennae will result in a season-long suspension.”

— Artwork and text from the “Beta Quadrant Sourcebook” for Star Trek Adventures, by Modiphius Games.

[captaincrusher]

I know I wrote “Andorian bo-taoshi” as a joke but OF COURSE it stuck with me. One of Earth’s biggest export to Andor is bo-toashi as a sport.

For the uninitiated, that’s a Japanese game where one team of 150 players with great force tries to topple the other team’s pole. It’s traditionally played by cadets at the National Defense Academy.

The Andorians see this and they love it. The military aspects of it, the unified force against one target, the mix of tactics and brute force that requires both defense and offense.

After years of highly viewed Earth games being broadcast on Andor they finally start their own games. Now they even have a league and their own take on the game. Their version will probably be a little more bloody tbh. 

I declare this my headcanon and not a single one of you can stop me. 

[redshirtgal]

Ah, those colored jumpsuits from “The Devil in the  Dark.” There were orange ones, at least one yellow one, and a purple one. And they were quite utilitarian, if you like your long johns in bright colors.   But what was interesting about these jumpsuits is that they were reused many times over the three seasons of Star Trek. You can occasionally find two or three uses of a costume in other episodes (For example, Commissioner Ferris’s outfit in “The Galileo Seven” shows up on Garth (oops.. that’s LORD Garth) in “Whom Gods Destroy.”) However, the jumpsuits in “The Devil in the Dark” showed up many, many episodes. And occasionally, twice in the same episode.

When the Denevan colonists show up in “Operation: Annihilate,” they are actually wearing the same jumpsuits, even though there are two new colors introduced - the olive drab green and the red. 

Earlier, Kirk’s brother Sam was also wearing one when the landing party found his body. 

Now this brings up an interesting discovery - It appears Elias Sandoval and the colonists on Omicron Ceti III (and Spock) wear the same green version of the jumpsuit in an earlier episode. In filming order, “This Side of Paradise” came before “The Devil in the Dark.” But the olive color was not worn by the miners on Janus VI. Which is a wonder it certainly would not show the dirt from the mines as easily. However, color TV being a new thing and all.... 

Zephrem Cochrane looking peachy in the jumpsuit in “Metamorphosis.”

One of the attendees of the cafe on Argelius II decided to wear the same color in “Wolf in the Fold.” For some reason, he seems more focused on his drink than the floor show. 

Mr. Johnson, one of the colonists on Gamma Hydra IV in “The Deadly Years” at least looks quite sporty in the same color.

In “The Trouble with Tribbles,” a bar patron sports a purple jumpsuit.

And in the same episode, K-7 Station Manager Lurry rocks that peach one.

You catch a quick glimpse of the yellow jumpsuit in “Journey to Babel” on one of the Federation representations - she is on the right behind Captain Kirk.

We see two colors of the jumpsuit in “By Any Other Name.” Rojan appears first, wearing the peach version.

And Tomar models the purple jumpsuit (no, it’s not green).

Janus VI jumpsuits all over the place on members of the Starnes Expedition in “And the Children Shall Lead.”

Not sure which member this was - Tommy Starnes’ dad, maybe? Anyway, he has the honor of the purple jumpsuit. 

And in “Spock’s Brain” Spock decides to once again don the olive drab version with the black turtleneck/tee shirt (I was never sure which). McCoy looks on in envy. 

Kirk and company discover the bodies of Linke and Ozaba when they attempt to warn them about the danger of the planet’s star going nova. Well, at least they were stylishly dressed in those peachy orange and lilac purple outfits. 

When Kirk leads another landing party down to investigate what happened on Memory Alpha, they discover the bodies of several staff members. Two of them are wearing the jumpsuits. Despite refusing to give up his planet’s traditional garb, the Andorian meets the same fate. 

And finally in “Turnabout Intruder,” the last instance of wearing one of the “The Devil in the Dark” ever-popular peach jumpsuits falls to Dr. Coleman.  Which brings us to a total of fourteen episodes in which some variation of the Janus VI jumpsuits are worn. Probably the most cost-effective costume design William Ware Theiss ever made. 

[akiralazuli]

Star Trek gothic: Enterprise

The ship encounters something different, and it looks like the beginning of a new mission. You think you can hear a minute or so of someone singing.

"Vulcans do not experience anger," the Vulcans say angrily, with anger, seeming to be angered. You suspect they might not really be Vulcans at all.

The captain says he was abducted by people from the future. Nobody knows how true it is, but this is the sixth time in the last half hour.

You are sent on an away team to collect bugs and fungus from a planet. "Why?" you ask. "The ship surgeon needs new supplies," you are told. You hope you never get sick.

It has been seven weeks since anyone has seen the helm or communications officers. You ask around, but nobody knows anything. You begin to wonder if they were ever actually there.

Several personnel are wearing face-paint, carrying power tools and sports equipment to the transporter. You ask about it, and they tell you it is to get the captain his dog back. You do not question further.

People on the ship talk about the chef. You never see the chef, but food keeps coming. Where from? You never find out.

An Andorian named Shran keeps appearing in the most unlikely places. A Vulcan monastery. A distant border outpost. An expanse of anomalies. Under your bed.

You time travel to the past, on Earth. When checking for date indicators, you witness the locals watching your previous missions on their screens.

The senior staff plan for a dangerous mission to save a civilization, and perhaps the whole galaxy. The security chief offers to sacrifice himself. The ship is being intercepted by small defense craft. The security chief offers to sacrifice himself. The galley is out of coffee. The security chief offers to sacrifice himself.

The Vulcans have spent three years trying to cancel your voyage. Then, you and the crew save their society, and the Vulcans approve your continuance. Some other force cancels your voyage at the end of the fourth year.

[indignantlemur]

Andorian mermay pic is finally complete! Larger size: HERE

Each of the character was rendered using different brushes and techniques, with Dagmar being done up mostly in watercolour, Vrath painted with gouache, Thelen in oil pastel , and Shral in a combination of airbrushes, round brushes, and textured brushes.

Detail shots below the cut!

Dagmar and Shral, with Dagmar sporting some equipment inspired by Pike's oxygen mask/kit in SNW! I really love how their hands turned out, not gonna lie. Super proud of those.

Thelen's chitin was a lot of fun to map out and try to incorporate, and I might have had a smidge too much fun with the iridescent glimmer in some spots, but I think the overall effect really makes it stand out.

And then, of course, we have Vrath! Mermaids don't generally wear clothing, so naturally she isn't. Clothing just gets caught in sharp rocks and coral or just tangles up one's fins, I would imagine. I really like how the armoured scales on her hips turned out! They feel like they fit really well with the fish scales and the Andorian look at the same time.

@the-lady-general @horta-in-charge

@emilie786 @starrynightgardens

@emochook @velvet-luvie

@creature-of-the-stars @unknownfacelessfanfictions

@auroramagpie

[nichestartrekkie0-0]

Master post of stuff :)

I suck at post stuff- I hope these links work! Pls lmk if they don't :))

Hi there!! I'm Ev and I love Star trek! (I unfortunately am stuck in SNW season 1 as the LOML is Hemmer...which may have kicked me down the Andorian rabbit hole!) Anywho, I love Andoria, and my niche is Aenar stuffs!

Also! I take both asks and requests! If y'all have something u wanna know/see lmk!!

oh and I take commissions! (feel free to dm me about those :3)

links below :3

Chapters of my long fic:

Ch 1: Hannah, Super-Secret Government Bullshit in Antarctica

Ch 2: Oh. Ok.

Ch 3: Hannah, Jedi Mind Tricks

Regular fics:

Excuse me, that's my problem (Fluffy space anomaly shenanigans)

Bleeding Heart (more fluff) Ushaan fic

Give me that (Mentor/mentee fluff)

He'll know- (Hemmer and Una friend-fic)

Singing is personal- (La'an and Hemmer friend-fic)

Net Worth (Spock and Hemmer at a gala, friend-fic)

Asks/Headcanons :

Mirrorverse Aenar/Hemmer

wedding stuff

Aenar food

Aenar attraction/beauty

Aenar relationships

Aenar clothes (text)

Aenar movies/media

Aenar in Starfleet Academy! (or, Hemmer haha)

Aenar and Gender/Compatibility/relationships

Aenar pets!

Aenar tupperware:

Aenar birthdays

Aenar childhoods

Aenar and Animals

Aenar language

Aenar sports headcanon

Aenar emotions

Aenar relationships 2

Art:

Mirrorverse Hemmer

Mirrorverse Hemmer post w/headcanons

Aenar traditional clothes

old tattoo sketch- Hemmer

more tattoo stuff

Late for school! sketch variation

Hemmer in a tie/suit

D'vana Tendi

star wars crossover

my magnum opus- Hemmer in the Academy

Hemmer Dancing sketch

Da'an sketch

Da'an with her Aenar tattoos!

Tuxedo Hemmer

T'lyn

Mariner and Brad :3

NEW ART:

Hemmer sketcho after a while

Hemmer sketch in color

Hemmer sketcho 2

Hemmer rainbow art

Ezori OC for a buddy!

Andorian WIP

Thoris finished

Ask game!

Not mine (reblog) but still amazing

Hemmer fanfic by @unknownfaceless-ds9

[pupunu]

I went trough my own blog and found a bunch of Yuri!!! on ice stuff.

Then later I had a conversation with my gf that if klingons are known for opera and vulcan for poetry, what would andorians be known for. I suggested ballet since they are pretty tall and I feel that ballerinas always very long legs, but then my gf suggested figure skating because Andoria is a very cold planet.

So back to the Yuri!!! on ice: I really like the aesthetic of sport animes. And after our conversation I had this amazing idea of Federation figure skating championship. Then it got a little bit out of hand with all the other aliens and sports. :D

So here you have the Federation (+ some others) Olympics I guess  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[weerd1]

Star Trek DS9 Rewatch Log, Stardate 1907.22: Missions Reviewed, “Explorers,” “Family Business,” “Shakaar,” “Facets,” and “The Adversary.”

Long one tonight! We took a run at the end of season three starting with “Explorers.” Sisko reads about Bajorans of some 800 years before building solar sailing ships to explore their solar system, and possibly even making it as far as Cardassia. 

 He decides to build one to ancient specification (adding only a gravity web to the floor because weightlessness makes him queasy) and see if he can make it work. He invites Jake, who is initially reluctant to join, but then gets some news that makes him want to hang out with his father.  As they set sail, Jake tells Ben that he has been accepted to a writing fellowship back on Earth. Meanwhile on DS9 Bashir is busy flirting with a new Dabo girl named Leeta when Dax tells him the Lexington is coming to dock.

 Bashir realizes the woman who beat him out for head of his class is on board, and he prepares to meet her.  She walks past him as if she doesn’t recognize him. Ben reads Jake’s story and is impressed, recommending he take the fellowship. Jake says he’s worried about his dad though and may wait a year. Besides, there’s an freighter captain he thinks Ben should meet.  Before they can finish the conversation, there’s a malfunction and the ship seems to slip into warp. On DS9, after a charming drunken session with O’Brien, Bashir confronts the other doctor to find that she thought “Julian Bashir” was an Andorian. She’s excited to meet Julian for real, and is envious of the long term projects he can undertake. Jake and Ben are lost somewhere in space when suddenly three Cardassian warships appear.  Dukat hails them to reveal that tachyon eddies in the Bajoran system have in fact accelerated them at warp speed right into the Cardassian system. Coincidentally, Cardassia was about to announce the have discovered an ancient Bajoran crash site on their homeworld.

There is a lot of significant stuff going on in this episode. Leeta, who will become a staple of future season and Rom’s wife, is introduced. Though not named, Kassidy Yates is introduced as an idea, and we will see her in the next episode, beginning her long courtship and eventual marriage to Ben. Jake as a writer begins to really flourish setting the stage for his future as a correspondent during the Dominion War. It’s almost enough to make one ignore how little sense the rest makes. OK- 800 years earlier Bajorans built an airtight solar wind sail ship, literally out of lumber. How did they get it off the surface of the planet and into space? But, let’s assume they had chemical rockets that could survive leaving an atmosphere to deliver their wood ships into space, a solar sail would have to be kilometers long.  But, let’s say it’s special reflective material; when the tachyons begin to accelerate them to warp, what keeps the acceleration from crushing them into a thin red paste on the back wall? Ben has gravity control, no inertial dampeners 800 years ago. And assuming they DO survive, I would assume the Cardassian system is several hours at mid-warp from Bajor. Doesn’t take them long here. Then, there’s a crash site on Cardassia; how did the wooden ship survive re-entry? Though, maybe the acceleration DID paste the crew and throw the ship through the Cardassian atmosphere hard enough to crater in.  Holy Prophets that’s tragic.

Quark and Rom have to deal with “Family Business” when a Liquidator named Brunt from the Ferengi Commerce Authority shows up to seize their business because family on Ferenginar is causing trouble. 

 It seems Quark’s mother has been earning profit, illegal in Ferengi society for a woman. She seems to be…ugh, wearing clothes too! Brunt tells Quark he has to get her to confess, and then pay back the profit she made.  On DS9, Sisko meets Kassidy Yates, and they agree to coffee.  While there, she seems restless. Seems she forgot she’s supposed to listen to a broadcast from her brother out on Cestus III. It seems he is part of a league playing an obscure Earth sport called “baseball.” Sisko is smitten. On Ferenginar, Quark has discovered that “Moogie” has made more profit than they thought. MUCH more. He plans to turn her in despite the fact it will ruin him, but she cuts him in on the profits. She confesses and turns some over, but splits the rest with Quark…mostly; she tells Rom there may be some more even than Quark found.

A neat little look at Ferengi society which of course features the marvelous Jeffrey Combs as Liquidator Brunt (one of no less than seven different Trek characters he played). 

SNL’s Andrea Martin plays Moogie here, but will not reprise the role later due to makeup issues. We see Ferenginar is constantly raining, and the traditional house greeting of “welcome to my home; what’s mine is mine” is given. The whole episode will prove to kick off some interesting turns for Ferengi society.

Kai Winn comes to DS9 to see Kira, as her old friend and cell leader “Shakaar” is causing trouble in Kira’s home town.  The minister of the Provisional Government has died, leaving Winn not only as Kai, but as political leader. She makes some changes which will pull some farm equipment out of Kira’s province, and away from the farmer Shakaar. He won’t give it back. Winn expects Kira to talk him into it, but instead she negotiates a meeting with Shakaar to find a compromise. 

Winn dismisses that and sends in security forces to seize the equipment, causing both Kira and Shakaar to gather up the old cell and go back on the run. Sisko refuses to intervene in what Kai sees as a test of her authority. She scrambles more troops into the area, and discord begins to mount, risking a civil war. Shakaar approaches one of the Colonels chasing him, and they realize how futile this is. The colonel brings Shakaar back…with full military support as he decides to run for the position of First Minister displacing Winn.

  I love how Kira can basically start a civil war on Bajor (as much as I hate Winn) and then just come back to the station when it is all over. It is a tight episode though that really makes you swell your dislike of Kai Winn, and gives Louise Fletcher yet another great opportunity to be loathsome.  Shakaar of course is played by Duncan Regehr, once a staple of tv sf and genre: TNG, V the Series, Disney’s Zorro. I thought he had faded away, but it turns out he is in fact now a very successful painter with art on exhibition all over the world.

“Facets” brings us to Jadzia Dax undergoing a Trill ritual where the memories of each specific host are taken from the symbiont and placed temporarily in another host. This allows a Trill to “meet” all the previous hosts. She selects various people close to her on the station to house the various personalities (including sexually coercing Quark into participating…and then assigning him a female host). 

 Things get dark when Joran-the short lived host we learned was a psychotic murderer-goes into Sisko, and tries to kill Dax, but it becomes worse when Curzon enters Odo and they two of them merge into a single entity. One that does not intend to return to the Symbiont. Meanwhile, Nog is working on a preliminary Starfleet exam, and ends up failing. Rom realizes Quark rigged it to keep the boy out of Starfleet, but Rom gets Sisko to administer the test again, setting him on the path to Earth next season. 

Jadzia confronts Odo/Curzon, and realizes that Curzon is ashamed because when he initially failed her out of the symbiosis program it was because he loved her. She accepts his love and tells him she loves him too-as a part of her. An abashed Odo meets her later, admitting that the sensory input of Curzon was tempting, but she thanks him as she now has Curzon’s memory of being part of Odo, and what it is to be a changeling.  

The Dax stuff is fun here, if a little contrived, but we get some great performances out of each of the stars as they assume the personalities of the hosts. Rene Auberjonois is particularly effective as Curzon, though Avery Brooks is downright sinister as Joran. The b-story with Nog is neat, as it is such a great bit of character development for the annoying Ferengi kid from season 1 who is now on his way to a career in Starfleet.  Go Nog!

And season 3 comes to an end when “The Adversary” makes itself known. Sisko is promoted to Captain while a Federation ambassador visits the station. 

The ambassador mentiones a hostile race, the Tzenkethi, have had a coup, and may restart what were apparently rather brutal hostilities with the Federation. Sisko takes the ambassador out on a flag waving mission along the Tzenkethi border with the Defiant, but O’Brien soon notices strange things are afoot. They realize the ambassador is actually a Changeling, and a hunt through the ship starts to try to keep him from his real mission- using the Defiant to attack the Tzenkethi  and occupy the Federation so the Dominion can make its move. The crew becomes more paranoid as they begin to suspect any of them could be the shapeshifter. A very Carpenter-esque blood test scene happens and Commander Eddington is id’d as the culprit.

 They soon find Bashir locked away though, and realize the Bashir who conducted the test was the Changeling. Odo liquefies to chase him down, as Sisko prepares to self-destruct the Defiant to prevent war with the Tzenkethi.  Odo stops the enemy in engineering, and for the first time in history a Changeling harms another Changeling as Odo kills the other to save the ship.  As the invader dies he tells Odo, “it’s too late; we are everywhere.”

The “Thing” like horror aspects of this episode play off pretty well, keeping you guessing who may or may not be the Changeling at any given time. The paranoia we see the crew experience is shared by us as viewers at the end as we realize just how prevalent the threat from The Dominion may be, leaving a very disquieting end to season three. We have to talk here though about Sisko not becoming a Captain until S3. Really? Come on Trek, your first Black commanding officer leading a TV show, and you left him a Commander for three years? At least now Sisko has the rank, he has the goatee, and as we head into season 4, we get the shaved head; Sisko will soon evolve into his final form!

NEXT VOYAGE: Season 4 begins with more Klingons that you can shake a Bat’leth at as paranoia about the Dominion threat leads the Empire to pursue “The Way of the Warrior.” Best of all?  WORF!!!

[loonatic-moon]

I still occasionally think about an IniD Star Trek AU where there’s an entire underground subculture of (mostly) civilian pilots making unsanctioned and/or illegal mods to salvaged or otherwise acquired ships, military-grade or otherwise, just so they can hold races and other competitions vs each other. And while interest in the sport is all hush-hush because entities like the Federation have banned it inside their borders, there’s also a ubiquitous network of scientists and engineers who are also eager to compete with theories and expertise on the best types of ships and mods for dominating time attacks and performing risky record-setting maneuvers

And then there’s the son of a famed retired Starfleet pilot, who figured out how to make some old beat up andorian freighter to do light speed drifts around high-gravity stars to slingshot himself across his usual trade route…