#please note the look picard is giving beverly in the first

[overseer-picard]

Looks like Picard decides his child exists.

Preview photos from Star Trek: Picard S3 E4 "No Win Scenario"

Source

[thegeminisage]

star trek update time. earlier tonight, my eyes were cursed with star trek generations, a very very bad movie. if you don't know the big spoiler for this movie (the character death), please stop reading here. or keep reading actually i'm not your mom. fuck this movie anyway.

with the tos movies, i tried to keep notes on notepad as i watched so as to better type up a "liveblog" later. i was a bit spotty at remembering to do that this time, but i have enough to put together a reasonable write-up. here's kind of how it went

cried multiple times during this movie. first time was when kirk showed up because i knew it was the last time we were ever gonna see him. got bonus aftershock tears when i saw scotty and chekov - i was under the impression it was JUST kirk. second time, i THINK, was when he showed up again, though i just misted up a little. big boo-hooing when he mentioned spock, naturally. MORE crying when he finally bit it, though it was mostly because i was angry!!! and finally, even though i promised myself i wouldn't cry over data, i did start sobbing when he was reunited with his cat. gave myself a crying headache.

it was difficult watching kirk be on the bridge and want to be captain and he's not captain. and then crisis strikes and oh yeah he is. and really, the captainly thing to do WAS to go down to the lower decks and do whatever the fuck. needs of the many. he saved that guy's life. that would have been a fine death.

it was a little ruined by chekov going "was there somebody in there?" like to me it struck me more as funny than anything

oh, spotting guinan in the tos era made me absolutely thrilled btw. i missed her so much in s7 it was UNREAL.

OH YEAH AND. sulu's daughter. wah. ik aos sulu is gay do we think tos sulu is gay too. either way i;m very happy for him

apparently one of the guys in this is from succession. i'm choosing to blame this whole debacle on him.

switching directly to a fucking holodeck scene KILLED me. i HATE the holodeck. at first i thought they were giving worf a retirement party to send him to ds9 but they were just doing all of that for fun. deanna's outfit was hot though. also, data shoving beverly WAS FUNNY tng writers just hate autistic people

i have mixed feelings about data and the emotions chip. i was surprised they never covered it in tng proper and i think it would have been handled better there...data having the chip WAS the reason soren got away, which makes it plot-important, but it felt like a b-plot to a normal tng episode and this is supposed to be a feature film. instead it was a tng two-parter with a budget and william shatner. it was fun watching data experience emotions (happiness, terror) and struggle to control them, but there ironically wasn't enough time to really get into it, except when picard gave him the tough love speech, which i think was uncalled for. why is he so against suicide when it's data when he was out here telling worf to kill himself over an empty barrel??

titty klingon sisters. i never remember their names or their faces but i ALWAYS recognize those boob windows. at first it was really annoying because it is pretty sexist but honestly i've become very endeared. it's absolutely devastating that this movie killed them too. they were everything to me 💔

hey, sorry, side bar, were they watching geordi bathe through his visor? freaks.

also, geordi in the bondage gear while he was kidnapped. ALSO, wasn't he growing new eyes in the tng s7 finale? whatever happened with that???

stellar cartography looks better than it did in tng but it brought back memories of picard running around on poor beverly. idk what he's so worried about continuing his family line for wesley crusher IS his affair baby

hey, also, the lighting??? the "distant sunlight" atmosphere when the lights are off vs the brightly lit interior of the show? truly, the upgraded lighting was probably my favorite part of the movie. it looked SO fucking good. i really felt like we were on a spaceship.

no, wait, ACTUALLY my favorite part was data getting to say "oh, shit!" that was really good. they got one bad word for this whole movie and used it in the perfect place

no, my favorite part was the spock mention.

did not like kirk referring to picard repeatedly as the captain of the enterprise. kirk's the real captain here, bitch. picard doesn't have what it takes to die for his ship. he doesn't love his ship the way kirk loved his.

i did like the nexus reference to the tmp wife. in the novel she was named lori but she didn't show up in tmp proper much less get a name so i'm ok with them calling her the wrong name, but i just know it's the same woman. less okay with kirk's nexus dream being all about some random woman we've never met. he's in love with the IDEA of a woman to come home to, sure, but it's just lazy writing. we don't have any reason to care about this girl. at least if it had been carol ruth marcus or something we'd have SOME basis to give a shit on. the nexus was the perfect place for spock and bones! i wish they and uhura and sulu had had cameos...

i also liked him warning picard to NEVER retire/accept promotion, bc retiring wound up being so traumatizing for him. this is not really consistent but i'm making it that way in my mind palace.

also, kirk being a horse girl is FAKE. they just made him be into horses bc picard is into horses. gross. he was really good at chopping wood though lol

the scene with the kids evacuating the spaceship...WHY WOULD YOU HAVE CHILDREN ON THIS SHIP. i also worried about the pets the entire time, which is part of why i lost it when data found spot :(

it's sad that a piece of guinan was left behind in the nexus...does that happen to everyone? is a piece of kirk in there too? i really wanted to write a fix-it for this someday but they have given me so little to work with that it's hard to imagine a fixit that isn't just 80% "yeah we're ignoring that" which isn't very satisfying.

the crash was SO long. also, why was data holding troi? she's got 2 different boyfriends who could be doing that for her

since i was going into this knowing kirk died, i expected that he was gonna die because the nexus swallowed him or something. i was expecting something grand. instead it was like, tos scene, an hour and a half of very mid tng content, and then half an hour of rushed and poorly paced kirk and picard scenes. typical tng episode that it didn't get to the point until it was almost over, but jesus. i can't believe they got shatner for their movie and then barely had him in it. like, kirk at the end was a total surprise narratively (obviously everyone watching it knows bc of the opening at LEAST that he'll be back, but imagine if this guy had been some rando - it would have been so unsatisfying and weird).

see, this is the thing. the nexus actually has the potential to be incredibly compelling. the way picard's scenes were shot were very very good, if one could ignore the clothes from 1790 and the horrific portrait of himself looking like he stepped out of les mis and also how creepy his kids were and WHY WASN'T HIS WIFE BEVERLY I HATE HIM. kirk's were rushed and messy (he likes horses? his dog? none of this connects us to the character we knew in tos...), and picard's involved, well, picard. but the CONCEPT absolutely fucks, and i did love the creep factor in spite of it all. this whole movie had huge potential and instead it's a steaming pile of shit. i could have learned to live with a good kirk death but living with a bad one is gonna kill me. at least he had good last words. "oh, my" right before he dies kinda fucks tbh.

my final note is that i think sir patrick stewart got sunburnt filming some of those scenes near the end. there were a few shots where he looked quite pink. give the man some sunscreen. oh yeah also why did some people randomly wear the ds9 uniforms...what on earth

anyway, terrible movie, 0/10 stars, i'm never gonna recover. tng never disappoints in disappointing me.

NEXT TIME: back to ds9, thank god. we're doing "meridan" and "defiant."

[themovieblogonline]

Strange New Worlds Season 2: What Is The Doctor Hiding?

Star Trek has a long-standing tradition of the Chief Medical Officer being a part of the main ensemble cast. Starting from Bones Mcoy from The Original Series to the Emergency Medical Hologram in Voyager to Bashir in Deep Space Nine. Star Trek doctors get a lot of importance and focus in their respective series. Star Trek: Picard season 3 even uses The Next Generation’s doctor Beverly Crusher as the main plot point that kicks off that story. So it’s only fitting that the Strange New Worlds doctor seems to be getting quite the highlight in this new season. The Strange New Worlds season 2 premiere saw the doctor in a new light, and with it, they seem to be teasing a dark past. Which begs the question that, what exactly is the Strange New Worlds doctor hiding? Please note the following will contain spoilers for the Strange New Worlds season 2 premiere episode. Strange New Worlds Doctor Has A Dark Past When the Strange New Worlds season 2 premiere episode aired, I remember thinking how nice it was to have Dr. M’Benga’s (Babs Olusanmokun) calming and soothing presence back on the screen. Throughout the first season, the doctor has gotten a great emotional arc with his daughter. Not to mention being the consistent rock that the rest of the crew looks to for support of all kinds. And he definitely starts season 2 in the same way, helping Spock with his emotional issues and basically acting as his therapist. However, when the story of the episode puts the crew in a position to interact with Klingons, things get dark, quick! We learn that, along with Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush), M’Benga served in the Klingon War years ago. An experience he clearly hadn’t gotten over given that Chapel asks him if he’s okay, reminding him that the war is over. To which M’Benga replies very ominously, asking if war truly is ever over. Dark stuff, folks. More Than War PTSD? While this new revelation about the Strange New Worlds doctor’s past is a very interesting character history to include, there is seemingly more to it than that. There are some usual storytelling tropes that come along with a character who has a war background; they may have PTSD, they may now be a pacifist or have trouble reconciling things they did under difficult circumstances that they are guilt-ridden about afterwards. All of these could be in play with M’Benga’s depiction of someone who was at war. But a certain interaction suggests that there is more to his past. When the crew meets up with La’an (Christina Chong), there’s talk of a certain kind of radiation making the inhabitants sick on the planet she’s in. M’Benga immediately identifies this radiation to Photon Torpedoes, a kind of weapon, causing Spock to be surprised at the Strange New Worlds doctor even has this kind of knowledge. Nurse Chapel quickly interjects revealing that they both served in the Klingon war and that ‘doc likes to read up on weapons systems is all’. It was subtle but almost felt like an explanation to questions no one really asked. Yet. Strange New Worlds’ Doctor Is A Low-Key Badass While this scene on its own doesn’t really mean anything, it’s what happens in the rest of the episode that definitely raises some eyebrows. Klingons at one point capture and force Chapel and M’Benga to provide medical assistance to their crew. However, realizing that these Klingons are trying to restart the war, they take things into their own hands. M’Benga brings out a vial of green liquid saying it can help them achieve their objectives. When Chapel asks does he ever not carry this, M’Benga replies in the negative. What this mysterious green vial contains is anyone’s guess right now. Once injected, it seemingly gives both Chapel and the doctor powers, or advanced strength to take on an entire crew of Klingons with ease. Also seems to bring about some violence in the good doctor as well. Now is this what Chapel asked about, that M’Benga apparently always carries? And if so, why? Why would the doctor constantly need to carry a vial of super strength potion with him at all times? But an easier explanation could also be a less literal one. Chapel could have asked he always carries the weight of his past on him. But given the sequence of events and the direction of the conversation, it feels less likely. I’m hoping season 2 explores this dark past and reveals what it is that the Strange New Worlds doctor is hiding, and how it ties into the character we’ve come to love from season 1. Strange New Worlds season 2 is airing weekly on Paramount+. Do you think that the doctor is hiding something too, or am I just spinning wild theories out of dilithium? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter at @theshahshahid. Read the full article

[to-boldly-nope]

Being Married to Picard- Jean-Luc Picard x Reader

Plot: {Requested by the one and only @groovy-lady} Can I please request some more Jean-Luc Picard x Reader cuteness: maybe what being married to Jean-Luc would be like?

Words: >635

A/N: I sat this up like a headcanon type post and like I believe that this is the fastest imagine I cranked out lmaoo. Also like Picard is now starting to grow on me

•First things first, tea parties

• well you like to call them tea parties and Jean-Luc kinda finds it ridiculous but he just simply can't tell you that he doesn't like it because you get so happy

• But all you do is sit and drink tea while discussing your day.

• He always finds a night to take you to a Paris Cafe on the Holodeck every week

• The night involves flowers, French cuisine, wine, and ends with a dance

• That's how you spent your honeymoon

• He's not affectionate in person and very private so the crew went nuts went they found out that the two of you were married

•Going to Paris on shore leaves because a) you adore Paris, b) you enjoy Jean-Luc telling you childhood stories, and c) it's the rare time affection is shown in public

•Since affection isn't really a public display for him, when you're behind closed doors then he gets really affectionate

•Like really really affectionate

•Not that you don't mind it, you love it actually

•And when you think that he couldn't get any more affectionate, when he comes back from a mission he will NOT leave your side

•Of course, you're the same way because you've heard stories of away missions and how dangerous they could be.

•You always end up scolding him if he gets hurt and won't let Beverly tend to his wounds, even though they are mostly minor scrapes and bruises

•Pet names are: mon amour, darling, my love, dearest

•Listen, once he let a pet name slip.

•You had to get some papers signed and when he finished signing them you thanked him and he, absent-mindedly, said "You're welcome, mon amour."

• You laughed it off as you walked over to the Turbolift

• If you don't like to read that much, Jean-Luc would read to you.

• You tried to read something back to him once but it was Latin but he thought it was cute

• Places where he likes to kiss you: lips, cheek, nose

• Places where you like to kiss him: lips, nose, forehead

• You like to leave him little notes around his quarters and he puts them in his books :)

• During the night shift, sometimes you'd take Riker's chair and sit with your husband because you know that it gets lonely late at night

• Even though he denies it, he's stubborn especially if crew are around

• it's the same way vice versa, sometimes when you work the night shift, Jean-Luc would convince Data that he was fine to stay because he is so used to you next to him and if you weren't then he couldn't sleep

• Nights like that you'd stare at the monitor at all the stars and Jean-Luc would always be reminded about why he fell in love with you and why he married you

• You know that holographic picture that Data has of Tasha? Yeah you both have one and it's your wedding photo

• He's the big spoon >:)

• Sometimes when Jean-Luc reads silently you always sit in his lap and read along with him, even if it is one of his philosophy books and you can't make any sense of it

• ARTIFACT HUNTING

• You always make the marriage jokes

• Example: Picard: *trips*.  You: It's looks like you've fallen for me.  Picard: We're married, darling.

• He taught you how to play the Ressikan flute and so whenever Ten-Forward holds concerts you both play a duet

• He gives you little artifacts because "this reminded me of you, dearest, and I know how much you adore small, shiny things."

• GOING ON DIXON HILL ADVENTURES WITH HIM

• He's always astounded by you in time period clothing because you pull it off so well

•In that one time traveling episode about Data when you walked out in that dress from the 1800s his heart went boom (hehe song reference)

• "I love you"s aren't rare but they're not frequent but when Jean-Luc says it, he really does mean it

• And you always say it back with a kiss no matter the situation

[aion-rsa]

Star Trek Doctors, Ranked By Crankiness

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This Star Trek: Lower Decks article contains spoilers for Season 2, Episode 3.

In the very first filmed episode of Star Trek: The Original Series — “The Cage” — Captain Pike drinks itty-bitty martinis with the Enterprise’s chief physician, Dr. Boyce (John Hoyt.) And although it remains to be seen if we’ll be seeing Boyce in Stranger New Worlds, the tradition of the cranky — but wise — Starfleet doctor was started right there. After Boyce and Piper, Star Trek set the standard for cranky, wise-cracking doctors in space with the introduction of Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy; as played by the wonderful DeForest Kelley. 

While Kelley passed away in 1999, the spirit of Bones lives on. Not just in the Karl Urban version of Bones in the reboot films, but also in the foul-mouthed, utterly hilarious Catian medical officer, Dr. T’ana (Gillian Vigman) on Star Trek: Lower Decks. In the most recent episode of Lower Decks, “Mugato, Gumato,” T’ana demonstrated some next-level crankiness, as she avoided her own physical examination, something Bones had to prod Kirk to do all the time, including his first-ever filmed episode, “The Corbomite Maneuver.” But is Bones actually still the crankiest Star Trek doctor? Has T’ana dethroned him? 

The only way to find out is to rank all the Trek doctors from least cranky to most cranky, and find out who is the hardest to please, and as a result, possibly the doctor we paradoxically love the most.

(Note: With some exceptions, we’ve excluded characters who were Starfleet doctors who weren’t regular recurring characters. This is why Dr. Selar from TNG isn’t on this list, even though as a Vulcan, she’s inherently cranky.)

10. Dr. Tracy Pollard (Discovery)

The least cranky doctor on this list is easily Dr. Pollard on Star Trek: Discovery. This woman even puts up with Georgiou, a dictator from an alternate universe who wants to die. As played by the fantastic Raven Daudu, it’s very possible Dr. Pollard is the best doctor on this list. She also may never be recognized as such, because she’s really even-tempered, kind and way too busy saving people’s lives to complain.  

9. Dr. Phlox (Enterprise)

Phlox isn’t just one of the nicest Star Trek doctors ever, he’s actively one of the most likable characters in the entire franchise. Played charmingly by John Billingsley in all four seasons of Enterprise, Phlox projected a childlike curiosity of the universe combined with a ton of knowledge and wisdom of having seen more of the quadrant than most of the other characters. Phlox is also, perhaps, the most tolerant Star Trek doctor, insofar as he never pushes his cultural views onto others, even though, in some episodes, like “Dear, Doctor,” he’s torn apart by his own set of ethics. Oh, and he saved the life of Porthos, Captain Archer’s dog in “A Night in Skybay,” AND while doing so, managed to make a joke that Porthos would develop lizard-chameleon powers in the process. That’s bedside manner!

8. Dr. Hugh Culber (Discovery) 

Who doesn’t love this guy? Since Season 1 of Discovery, Culber has put up with shit from everyone, and very rarely has he snapped. Yes, in Season 2, after coming back from the dead, he was pretty pissed off at everyone. But, as he said in Season 3, “My murderer and I are good now!” In episodes like “Su’kal” and “Die Trying,” Culber is one of the kindest and simultaneously most practical Star Trek doctors of all time. He doesn’t lie to anyone, but he does know how to make you feel better. Out of all the Discovery regulars, Culber feels cut from the same cloth as someone like Deanna Troi or Guinan. He’s smart, insightful and empathic. 

7. Dr. Beverly Crusher (The Next Generation)

Crusher certainly has the ability to sass her patients, but she’s basically a nice person. Whenever Crusher freaks out on anyone it’s always because she’s either in love with a ghost that lives in a candle (“Sub Rosa”), her feelings are being manipulated by a nearby Vulcan (“Sarek”) or Jean-Luc is messing around with her emotions. (All of The Next Generation.) Crusher suffers the fools she works with, but she does it with grace and dignity. That said, you kind of know she hates certain people in certain moments, which can probably just be attributed to Gates McFadden’s flawless talent.

6. Emil, Rios’ EMH (Star Trek: Picard)

Rios has a lot of cranky holograms in Season 1 of Picard, but his medical hologram is not even close to being the most difficult of all of them. In fact, he’s pretty cordigal, and reasonable, which is odd considering the situation he’s in. Clearly, among the holograms on the La Sirena, Emil is one of the most well-adjusted. You wouldn’t want him as your primary physician in real life, and because he’s basically connected to the personality of Rios the possibility that he might become super cranky is certainly there. But, so far, he’s right on the line.

5. Dr. Julian Bashir (Deep Space Nine)

Okay, we’re crossing over into slightly cranky territory here. Bashir began his journey on DS9 as a cocky jerk, which isn’t the same as the kind of crankiness we’re talking about here. The Bones-style of crankiness is the kind of crank we can get down with. Bashir’s off-putting personality was  — at first — not something anyone admired or liked. That said, as Alexander Siddig evolved the character, Bashir didn’t become more cranky, but he did develop righteous indignation. When Bashir got his indignant buzz on in episodes like “Past Tense,” or “Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges,” he was really at his best. To be clear, Bashir isn’t a nice doctor, and this is where we cross the threshold. 

4. Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy (Star Trek: The Original Series)

Although he set the standard for crankiness, in the entire canon of Trek, Bones is somehow not the most cranky Star Trek doctor. The reasons for this are threefold: First, there are three characters on this list who are much crankiner than him. Second, Bones is actually a sweetheart deep down, and demonstrates his love for Spock over and over again, despite his terrible, terrible comments. Finally, Bones can’t be the crankiest doctor on this list because Dax heavily implied in “Trials and Tribble-ations,” that one of her previous hosts — Emony Dax — totally hooked-up with him. For some reason, this detail makes it seem like he’s a lot nicer than he comes across. And again, The Search for Spock exists.

3. Dr. Katherine Pulaski (The Next Generation)

In 1988, Pulaski would have easily been number one on this list. She mispronounces Data’s name, doesn’t feel bad about it, and proceeds to kind of make everyone else on the ship feel awful. Pulaski is a pretty good doctor, and not remotely a bad person, but she’s pretty damn cranky. The brilliant Diane Muldar plays Pulaski like someone who has been transferred to a job she doesn’t really want, which is sort of amazing considering at this point, Roddenberry didn’t want Starfleet characters to have interpersonal conflict.

In “The Icarus Factor ” (which the latest Lower Decks also referenced) Pulaski also thinks Riker’s deadbeat dad is hot and tells Riker this point blank when he’s reminding her that his dad is the worst. This alone gives her deeply strange tastes, and makes her super cranky and weird AF. Don’t mess with Pulaksi! If you talk about how your friend is mean, she might throw it in your face and say she likes them better than you anyway! 

2. Dr. T’ana (Lower Decks)

Okay. So Dr. T’ana is almost the most cranky Star Trek doctor ever. Combining the best qualities of Bones, with that weird go-shove-it-vibe from Pulaksi, Gillian Vigman turns it all up to 11. It helps that T’ana is a cat-person (I.E. the Catian species) but her crankiness is more than that. She’s kind of sadistic, and isn’t afraid to use boulders to knock “strange energies” out of people when the time comes. T’ana is sort of burnt-out, but also, is kind of unflappable too. Like, you get the sense that she’s sick of all this space sickness stuff, but she’s got too much proffensionality to say she can’t do something. The secret crankiness of Dr. T’ana is that seemingly she can fix anything that is wrong with anyone. But, she’s going to make fun of them for it, and get pissed off if you look at her the wrong way.

That said, like Bones, you get the sense that none of it is personal. Which is what makes her Starfleet all the way. 

1. The EMH (Voyager)

Robert Picardo’s Emergency Medical Hologram is the best cranky Star Trek doctor. There are many reasons for this. His arrogance. His constant complaining. The fact that he has good reason to complain, considering he’s a hologram that has to do other people’s bidding. But the reason that tops all other reasons is the way that Picardo can make his crankiness clear with the simple inflection of his voice. It’s not what he says. It’s how he says it. And if you need proof, all you have to do is go back to the very first Voyager episode ever, “Caretaker.” When the Doctor has to start triage on the wounded crew, he asks somebody to hand him a tricorder. He looks at it, and realizes it’s not the right kind of tricorder, and hands it back and says “medical tricorder.” The amount of venom in this comment cannot be communicated in print. The way Picardo says medical tricorder is so dismissive and frustrated, that he basically created a new level of crankiness with one single utterance. 

T’ana may be creeping up the EMH from behind, but this cranky crown will be hard to swipe. Especially from a hologram.

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Lower Decks airs new episodes on Thursdays on Paramount+.

The post Star Trek Doctors, Ranked By Crankiness appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[musingsofsaturn]

What are we waiting for?

Fandom: Star Trek: The Next Generation

Ship: The Enterprise Will Riker/Deanna Troi

Rating: T for descriptions of injury.

Words: 3,800+

Summary: A re-imagining of how my favourite space idiots got back together. Will is injured while on an away mission and Deanna questions everything that has led them to this moment. Basically just an angst-fest but I give them a happy ending because they deserve it goshdammit.

Author’s Note: Hello everyone! This is the first piece of fanfiction that I’ve written in a very long time, so I do apologise if I’m a bit rusty. I’ve been watching Star Trek TNG all summer long and have been wistfully longing for these two to just get it together and get together already. But since that’s not going to happen in-series, I’m just going to make it happen for my damn self. Canon? What canon? I don’t know her. But I hope you enjoy!

- Saturn

[Photo pinched from kirksfattitties]

‘What are we waiting for?’

She was on the Bridge when it happened.

It should have been a routine mission, investigating the planet’s surface for artifacts left by a long-extinct race. The captain had sent a small away team to the surface to explore, including a few science officers, Worf, and of course Will to lead the group. In constant contact with the Enterprise, they’d been relaying their findings as they happened - a piece of art here, an ancient tool there. Every new discovery caused Picard’s face to light up a little bit more; it didn’t take an empath to know that he was delighted with the discovery of an ancient civilisation’s history.

“Captain,” Worf’s gruff voice came over the communicator, “We’ve found a structure of some kind. It looks like it may have once been a temple.” The transmission sounded slightly fuzzy, as though they were losing signal slightly.

Authorative and clear, Picard praised his chief of security. “Excellent find, Mr Worf. Let’s see what’s in there.”

“Ackowledged.” Again, the transmition didn’t sound as clear as it should. There seemed to be some sort of interference.

The away team continued their exploration, and carried on detailing the various interesting things they discovered. The communicator signal kept deteriorating.

“Cap-” The transmission was breaking up so badly it was clipping some of Will’s words as he spoke. “There’s- ... kind of mosaic. I think- ... to see it-”

“Can you repeat that, Number One?”

“I sai-... mosaic in the tem-... Get down!”

Everyone on the Bridge tensed at Will’s sudden order to the away team. He’d sounded startled, almost panicked. Something had gone wrong.

Picard shifted forward in his chair, alert. “Report, Number One.” No one came in to respond. “Picard to Commander Riker.” Silence again. “Picard to Lieutenant Wo-”

“Captain-” Again, Worf addressed the Captain and the others on the bridge. “Th- ... under atta- ... Riker is injur-”

“Picard to Transporter Room Three. Can you get a lock on the away team?”

Deanna’s heart was in her throat, barely listening as the transport engineer responded something about too much disruption to beam them back. She knew that Worf had been trying to tell them the words she had dreaded ever hearing: ‘Commander Riker is injured’.

She had always known that their positions aboard the Enterprise came with a degree of risk. There was always a possibility that crew members could be injured, or worse. As such, she’d sometimes found herself imagining how she’d react when those words reached her ears. Would she be calm and composed, her every thought coming to her with perfect clarity as she came to a logical solution to his plight? Would she shut down, become a useless dead weight, having no way to help? Would she play the hero, demand to be beamed to join them, so she could fight and vanquish whatever foe had dared to hurt him?

And now that she’d heard those words, she knew the answer. She would panic.

“Captain, do something!” she all but sobbed, turning to the Captain. He ignored her, focusing on the task at hand, contacting various transport rooms, engineers, and of course the away team. How Deanna envied that focus, that usefulness, while her mind conjured hideous images of whatever and whoever had injured Will. A blade, a phaser, some awful weapon of war used to destroy and maim...

“Captain-” Worf’s voice cut through the panic swirling through her mind. “Every- ... stunned. We’re- ... way to some- ... less disruption- ... -mander Riker- ... medical attention-”

The message was badly broken up, but the Captain quickly interpreted it. “Picard to Transporter Room Three, as soon as you can get a lock on the away team, beam them directly to Sick Bay. Picard to Sick Bay, expect the away team any moment. Commander Riker has been injured. The condition of the rest of the team is unknown.” The people he’d addressed over the communicator quickly acknowledged the message. “Counselor, in my ready room please.”

She could hear her own heartbeat drumming in her ears as she followed his orders.

“One of the things I most value in your presence on the Bridge, counselor, is your composure.”

“I-”

He interrupted her, and she fell silent as he spoke. “We all know that serving with Starfleet carries a great risk. And I should think that nobody recognises the importance of a level head in an emergency as much as you do.” He stopped to allow her a chance to speak.

“Captain, I-” Deanna swallowed a lump in her throat, suppressing the urge to raise her voice as her fearful thoughts continued. “I apologise. I don’t know what came over me.”

“Well I do. And I need it not to cloud your judgement or interrupt your professionalism again.” She was going to ask what he meant by his suggestion that he knew what had come over her, but he continued. “I’m placing you on leave for the time being. You need some time to regain your focus.”

Deanna wanted to argue, but she decided against it. She recognised that this was not the time to disagree with Captain Picard. “Yes, Captain.”

“Now, let’s get to Sick Bay.” He placed a gentle hand on her arm as he led her to the door, comforting and guiding her in one.

~

When they got to Sick Bay, it was in a flurry of activity. Deanna heard Dr. Crusher confidently issuing commands to her team, as the medical officers ran back and forth with various devices and medical instruments. She saw Worf first, sitting upright, protesting to a medical officer that he was ‘fine, a warrior embraces his scars’ as she tried to heal a cut on his chest. One of the science officers from the away team was lying on a bed, silent and still, no one tending to him. Deanna realised with sickening certainty that it was because he was already dead.

From behind a crowd of medical personnel, she heard Will’s groans of pain. He was normally so in control and composed. She knew his pain must have been severe for him to so much as acknowledge it, let alone hiss and yelp as the medical officers worked on him.

“Doctor, report.” A path cleared for the captain to approach the bed Will was lying on, and Deanna followed. Will met her gaze, and she could see from his face that he was suffering a great deal. But he was alive, so she still felt relief flood through her.

“Just a moment, captain.” Beverly injected something into Will’s neck. His groans of pain slowly faded to small whimpers, before he fell silent. Deanna watched his limbs become heavy as the muscles relaxed. His head rolled grotesquely. “He was in a lot of pain. It was better to make him unconscious before we continued.”

“What happened?” Picard demanded.

Worf answered, “Sir, we were attacked while exploring the temple. I did not recognise the species. They didn’t use phasers, but they had many weapons. The commander was investigating something when they attacked him from behind. It was... not very honourable.”

Beverly went on, “His right leg is broken. He appears to have been beaten with something heavy that smashed the bones in three places.” She gestured to the corresponding places on his mangled leg. Deanna managed a quick glance, then quickly looked away. “His stomach was slashed with something sharp. I’ve managed to stop the bleeding, but it seems to be too deep to heal it quickly. I’ll keep working on it. He was also stabbed in the chest-”

A sob escaped Deanna’s throat at those words. It felt as though she, too, had been stabbed. She felt a hand on her shoulder as the captain tried to comfort her, then he gestured for Dr. Crusher to continue.

“The blade missed his heart by half an inch, captain. And the angle at which it entered the body enabled the left lung to be punctured.” As if to emphasise that point, Will sucked in a juddery breath. “It appears that he fell and broke his left wrist. That’s a clean break though, easily repaired. And whatever weapon was used on his leg was also used on the back of his head. His skull is fractured, but scans show no brain damage. A miracle really.”

In a small voice, Deanna squeaked out, “Is- is he going to be alright?”

Beverly took a deep breath. “I don’t know the answer to that, Deanna. We’re going to do our absolute best, but his injuries are very severe and his condition is serious.” She reached forward and took Deanna’s hand in her own. “I promise you that I will give him the best chance I am capable of.”

Deanna swallowed, and nodded slowly. She leant down, pressing a gentle kiss to Will’s forehead. He was caked with blood, and she could taste his sweat, but she didn’t care. She needed him to know that she was there.

Realising that there was nothing she could do to help, Deanna slipped away to allow the medical team to do their job. She left Sick Bay, and made it all of two steps before she slumped to the floor against the wall of the corridor, allowing her anxious tears to fall freely.

~

Hours later, Beverly’s voice burst through Deanna’s comm-badge. “Dr. Crusher to Counselor Troi, you can come and see him now.”

Deanna struggled to her feet, her aching joints protesting. She wasn’t sure how long she’d remained in that position, her back pressed to the wall, knees pulled tightly to her chest by her shaking hands. Her face was still damp from tears, but now her eyes and her mouth felt uncomfortable dry and almost prickly.

Beverly looked surprised when the doors to sick bay opened. Deanna felt the doctor’s concern when she realised that her friend had been waiting right outside the door all this time.

“I’ve stopped all the bleeding, and mended the bones as much as possible. Don’t look too closely at his leg; it’ll freak you out. You should know that he is still unconscious. It was the kindest thing to do given the fact that he is still injured. And I’ll need to run some neurological scans on him before I feel confident waking him up. Deanna, he looks sick. But I can tell you he’s probably in better shape than he looks.”

Deanna nodded in acknowledgement, and braced herself as Beverly led her to a private room off the main Sick Bay. She was grateful for Beverly’s warning when she saw him.

His face was ashen, and his hair was matted with dried blood. His shirt was off, and she could see the gnarled scar across his abdomen from where he’d been slashed. Thankfully the wound was now closed, but Deanna imagined that the scar would probably be with him for the rest of his life. The stab wound to his chest appeared to have been a cleaner injury. While there was still some scarring, it was rather minimal given the damage that had been done, and the line of it was straight, not jagged and rough like the other. While his lower half was covered with a sheet, she could see the outline of his legs. The right one seemed to be jutting out in unusual places. She took Beverly’s advice and didn’t look at it too closely. Will’s breath was unusually laboured and noisy, and for once Deanna couldn’t sense his emotions, no matter how hard she tried. For now, it seemed he was closed to her.

“Will.” Deanna’s voice cracked as she spoke on a whisper, moving to the bed to take his hand in hers.

He was normally so large, so jovial, so full of life. Now he looked small and frail. She raised the hand she was holding to her lips, and pressed a kiss to each of his knuckles in turn.

“I’m here. I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.”

She remained by his side for several more hours. Her deft hands stroked his forehead soothingly, gently caressed his shoulders, carefully brushed his neck in a way she hadn’t done since they were far younger. At one point she requested a bowl of water, and she rinsed the blood and grime from his hair and beard. As it dried, she brushed it tenderly, grateful for a task that made her feel she had some use.

She spoke to him too, reminding him that she was present. She spoke of little things she remembered from their lives together so far. Of poker games, kisses on Betazed, relaxed evenings in Ten Forward. Of comforting hugs, the boredom of personnel reviews, and teaching him to enjoy chocolate as much as she did. She told him of all the things she would miss if he did not come out of this okay.

“So please,” she whispered to him softly. “Please be okay.”

Sometimes she tried to read his emotions, tried to pass hers to him. Their telepathic link wasn’t as strong as it had once been, but now it seemed tightly closed. It made her eyes flood with tears to think that it might remain that way forever.

When Beverly came to check on him, Deanna stepped to the side, but kept a watchful eye over the proceedings. She saw Beverly’s frown as she took some readings, and sensed a feeling of concerned disappointment from her.

“What’s wrong?”

Beverly sighed, and met her friend’s anxious gaze. “I would have expected an improvement on these readings, but they’re almost exactly the same as they were eight hours ago. I had hoped to be able to wake him up soon, now it’s looking like I was getting ahead of myself. I’m sorry, Deanna.”

Realising she wouldn’t get a response from her silent friend, Beverly slipped out of the room, leaving Deanna alone with Will once more.

“You know what all this is making me realise, Will?” Briefly, she paused, as though allowing him a chance to respond. Of course, he didn’t, and Deanna went on. “We are absolute idiots.”

She took a seat beside his lifeless body, capturing his hand tightly in hers again as she continued. “I mean, what are we doing? I’m still in love with you, and you’re still in love with me, and we both know that, for gods’ sakes. You date other people, and I date other people, and it never works out. And why does it never work out? Because we don’t want it to! We constantly push away something that could be good, could be real, because it’s not what we want.

“Will, when I was waiting on that planet for you, slowly realising you weren’t coming, my heart broke. And it remained broken for years afterwards. You were the first man I ever loved, and I knew I could never truly get over you. Even when I thought I’d never see you again, I knew you’d always be a part of me.

“And then here I was, minding my own business, and then you came in and everything just came flooding back. Will, I’m so glad you’re here. You are my closest friend, my Imzadi, and I am so tired of trying not to love you to be professional.” Tears started to cascade down her cheeks. “I don’t care about being professional. I don’t care what anybody else on this ship thinks. I don’t care about any of it.

“When you came back, Will, I was terrified. I was so scared that you were going to hurt me again. But nothing could hurt me more than this. You could have been dead.”

She interrupted herself with a loud sob. “You could be dead, and I’d never see you again. And I never would have taken that chance, that chance to hold you, to kiss you, to love you. And that chance wouldn’t come again. I couldn’t live with that regret, I know I couldn’t. To know that I could have had you all to myself forever if I had just been brave, and to know that I missed out because I was scared. I was scared of rejection, scared of getting hurt, scared of looking unprofessional, and it just doesn’t matter!

“So for goodness’ sake, William Riker, what are we waiting for?”

She pulled his hand closer to her, breathing deeply. Stillness settled over the room.

In spite of her sombre surroundings, a wry laugh escaped Deanna’s lips. “There’s a chance that you didn’t hear that. And I’m going to have to pour my heart out to you all over again.” She took a breath to continue speaking, then stopped.

Deanna paused. Listened.

It was faint, so faint that it could have been a figment of her imagination, but it was familiar. She could sense Will.

As she continued to focus her attention on him, his feelings were growing stronger, clearer. She could feel that he was hurting, though not as bad as before. His leg was flooded with a dull pain, and every inhalation felt like a repeated stab. She knew that he was worried. About what happened, about his upcoming recovery. She could sense his anger towards the monsters that did this to him. To take him by surprise and attack him so violently, so viciously, so mercilessly. His response was a white-hot rage, fuelled by mild embarrassment that he hadn’t had his wits about him.

One thing was cutting through every other feeling she could sense from him. Love. Love for her, warm and sweet, and constant. In all these years, it hadn’t faded. She felt how it had burst through him when he first saw her again, and how it enveloped him every time he saw her after that. She felt his longing, his yearning for her, how many times he’d envisioned their future together. She felt his utter adoration for her as it coursed through his veins, blurred his every thought until his mind was just Deanna, Deanna, Deanna.

And then she felt his fingers twitch. Her eyes flew to his face to see as movement beneath his eyelids caused them to flicker slightly. His brow furrowed, and a quiet groan escaped his mouth.

Not looking away, Deanna cried out, “Beverly?”

Within moments the doctor hurried into the room, scanning Will’s body and head and looking to Deanna in shock.

“He’s waking up.”

“Is that dangerous?”

“It shouldn’t be. It’s just a sign that his consciousness is a bit stronger than I anticipated. It’s better to let him wake himself up now. I can knock him back out if need be.”

Another quiet sound from Will caught their attention, and Deanna hurriedly looked back down at his face, just in time to see his eyelids fluttering open. He blinked a few times, then his eyes met hers.

“Im-” He broke off, heaving a difficult breath. “Imzadi.” He was gazing at her with such certainty, such love, that Deanna thought it could have knocked her off her chair. She jumped to her feet, moved her hands to cup his face, and captured his lips with her own. His weak hand moved to wrap around her small waist as he returned the kiss.

She broke away, pressing her forehead to his as they kept their eyes closed.

“Imzadi,” she whispered. Relief flooded through her as she realised that he was really okay, and that they had the rest of their lives to spend making up for wasted time.

~

Two Years Later

She was on the bridge when it happened.

His recovery had been a gradual one, but Deanna had been by Will’s side to help him every day since his attack. Thanks to Beverly’s expert medical treatment and Deanna’s attentive care, he was almost fully healed physically. He walked with an almost imperceptable limp, and the scar across his stomach was fainter but still present. Deanna said it made him look rugged.

They were the only two people on the bridge, having taken the graveyard shift together. Normally only Data would take this shift, and the rest of the senior crewmen would be resting, but Data’s cat, Spot, had been unwell for a few days and he’d wanted to remain in his quarters in case anything changed.

Will sat in the Captain’s chair, and Deanna sat in his, acting as his First Officer. Their hands were entwined together over the console. They’d activated the screen in front of them to show them what was going on outside the ship, and sat in comfortable silence watching the infinite ocean of stars in front of them.

It was Will who broke the silence. “Imzadi.” Hearing the word alone was enough to flood her with warmth. “I’ve been thinking about something for a very long time, but I was worried about what your response might be. But tonight, I’ve been thinking: ‘What are we waiting for?’“

He smoothly slid out of the Captain’s chair and onto one knee, clasping her hand in his.

“Deanna Troi, daughter of the Fifth House of Betazed, Heir to th-”

Laughing, she pressed her free hand to his lips to stop him continuing with the ridiculous spiel. “Just ‘Deanna’ is fine!”

He flashed her a mischievious grin when she removed her hand. “Deanna, I love you with all my heart, and I promise to protect, serve, and honour you for the rest of our lives and for whatever comes after. My Imzadi, will you marry me?”

“Of course I will.”

She pulled him to his feet and he wrapped her in his arms, pressing an elated kiss to her lips. It seemed that every moment in their lives up to now had been leading to this, and Deanna looked to the future with excitement.

~

The next day, as they proudly announced their engagement to their friends and colleagues, Deanna caught Captain Picard’s eye. She remembered something he’d said to her on that fateful day just a few years before.

“Captain, may I speak with you?” she politely requested once all the excitement and congratulations had died down. He nodded his agreement, and gestured towards his Ready Room. When they were alone, Deanna said, “After Will’s attack, when you had to give me a telling off-” They both shared a smile at the memory. It was funny now that years had passed. “I told you that I didn’t know what had come over me, and you said that you did know. And at the time I wanted to ask what you meant, but it slipped my mind.”

“I’m surprised you haven’t worked it out for yourself, Deanna.”

She took a pause to collect her thoughts. She remembered the sheer panic that had gripped her, the knowledge that the entire away team was in danger, but her mind was consumed with just one member of it.

Slowly, and with a soft kind of realisation, Deanna stated simply: “It was love. Love is what came over me.”

[v-thinks-on]

Generations - Part 1

Next

Note: This is the beginning of a nine-part saga that I’ll be updating every other week for the next few months. Ever since I first heard about Kirk’s death in Star Trek: Generations I’ve had plans to fix it, and now that I’ve finally seen the movie (and some of Star Trek: The Next Generation),  I’ve finally been able to put those plans onto paper. Without further ado, I give you my version of what happens if Kirk simply doesn’t die at the end of Star Trek: Generations.

Captain James Kirk struggled into awareness with a groan. Everything felt fuzzy and distant; the over-bright lights, the dull ache that permeated his entire body - what had he gotten into? Even his bond with Spock had faded away so much he could barely feel it. He struggled to remember where he was and what was going on. He’d had the strangest dream, and before that… Was he still on the Enterprise-B, in their sickbay?

He tried to reach out to Spock, for some semblance of order in all the uncertainty, but there was nothing. His heart leaped into his throat, suddenly beating much faster. Spock couldn’t be dead, he would feel it.

He forced his heavy eyelids open despite the searing bright light.

“Captain Kirk, you’re finally awake,” a woman said from just on the edge of his vision.

He tried to prop himself up on an unsteady arm to get a better look at her. She was attractive, with bright orange hair, in her forties, if he had to guess, watching him with a worried, almost nervous expression. She looked like a doctor or nurse in scrubs over a strange uniform that he recognized from somewhere, but on her chest was a pin with the Starfleet insignia. His first thought was an alternate universe, but somehow that didn’t quite sit right.

"Not so fast, Captain," she cautioned, her hands out to help him lie back down.

Despite his protesting muscles, he still had a little pride, enough to carefully lower himself onto his back without any assistance. Her exasperated expression suggested he was hardly her first stubborn patient, but she didn't interfere. Once he was settled, she stood next to him so he could see her clearly without straining his neck.

"I wouldn't be on the starship Enterprise, would I?" Kirk asked, not entirely serious just in case.

She answered with a faintly bemused smile of her own, "Not quite. This is the United Starship Farragut. I'm Dr. Beverly Crusher."

Kirk's eyes widened a little in surprise. It was quite the coincidence - if it was one - waking up on a ship that shared its name with the first starship he'd ever served on, whose crew had been ravaged by a sentient gaseous cloud that Kirk, as a young Lieutenant, had been unable to stop.

"I see," he remarked at last, as lightly as he could.

"How much do you remember?" the doctor asked gently.

"Other than waking up in the nicest sickbay in the Federation?"

Dr. Crusher seemed amused if not convinced. "Your reputation precedes you, Captain."

"All good, I hope. And you can call me Jim.” A little more darkly, he added, "I'm retired now anyway."

Her expression quickly changed from exaggerated annoyance at his teasing to something more serious, almost pitying. "You've traveled a long way in what must seem to you like a very short time. It may come as a bit of a shock."

He nodded for her to continue.

"Do you remember the launch of the Enterprise-B?"

"Yes."

When she continued, she spoke very carefully, "According to our historical records you died saving the ship from a gravimetric distortion."

"But I take it I'm not dead," he said with just a touch of mischief.

"Yes." She gave him a somewhat weak smile. "According to Captain Picard, you were stuck in a 'temporal nexus.' To you it may have seemed like just minutes, but" - she hesitated - "You were in there for almost 80 years."

Kirk nodded along almost blindly. It hadn't been a dream, then. He remembered Captain Picard and an incredible place that wasn’t quite real. Maybe that could even explain whatever had happened to his bond with Spock, he only hoped it hadn't broken. Just a few years after Spock’s death had almost been enough to drive him mad, he couldn’t imagine what eighty years would do, even to a Vulcan.

"It's 2371 now," Dr. Crusher said.

That was about 80 years. "I guess I have a lot of catching up to do," he said with half a smile.

"Let's worry about getting you a clean bill of health first. You took a bad fall while fighting Soran" - she glanced at him to check if the name was familiar.

He nodded. He could remember the man Picard had taken him out of the Nexus to fight, who had been desperate to return to it.

"Your bones are mostly healed," the doctor continued, "But you should take it easy for a little while, which shouldn't be too hard. Right now, the Farragut is just taking the crew of the Enterprise back to Earth, since our ship was destroyed in the attempt to stop Soran."

Kirk couldn't help but smile a little at the coincidence that another starship called Enterprise had been destroyed in exchange for the life of another old captain. "It wasn't the Klingons, was it?"

"Strangely enough, yes, the Duras sisters" - she attempted to clarify, "Rebels against the Empire." At last she said sympathetically, "A lot has changed in eighty years."

Kirk nodded. “I’m sure it has.”

"If you need anything or have any questions, just ask," Dr. Crusher said, a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"I don't suppose I could have a computer terminal?"

"Of course. You must have a lot of questions."

Dr. Crusher soon returned with a PADD, much sleeker than the ones from his time on the Enterprise. "You can use this to access the computer library. I also noticed your record says you're allergic to Retnax, so I replicated these for you." She handed him a pair of standard reading glasses.

He accepted the glasses much more reluctantly than the PADD, but he thanked her with a smile all the same.

Once Dr. Crusher had moved on to her next patient, Kirk put on the glasses and turned to the PADD. "Computer, status of Captain Spock."

"Did you mean Ambassador Spock?" it replied with the same feminine voice the computer had when he started as a captain.

Kirk smiled. He couldn't say he was surprised by Spock’s promotion. He wondered if the Federation wasn't also at peace with the Romulans now that Spock had something to say about it.

"Yes," Kirk said. "Status of Ambassador Spock."

He was alive - Kirk let out a breath of relief. The computer listed pages and pages of accomplishments; conferences and treaties, but no mention of what he was currently doing.

"Current location of Ambassador Spock," Kirk attempted, but it turned up no answers.

Spock couldn't be dead, he would feel it - wouldn't he? Maybe Spock was missing like Kirk had been for all those years - eighty years - or on some classified mission. Kirk would find out one way or another, if only he could somehow let Spock know he was back.

The computer, at least, seemed to hold no answers. So, instead, he alternated between sleeping - he was still recovering after all - and looking into who else was still around.

Dr. McCoy had retired to Georgia and was still living there today, if his Starfleet record was to be believed. Living to 140 wasn’t the strangest thing listed, and Kirk had been there for a lot of the other things, so maybe it wasn't so surprising he'd lived so long. He would be surprised to see Kirk again.

Scotty, as it turned out, had disappeared like Kirk had, in his case due to a transporter malfunction not long after the launch of the Enterprise-B, and had also been rescued by the Enterprise-D just a few years ago. Apparently, he'd hardly aged either. Now, he was travelling the galaxy in a modified shuttlecraft.

Kirk was reading through Scotty's reports - including plenty of commentary, of course - on all the places he had visited when he was interrupted by Captain Picard.

"Captain Kirk, Beverly told me you were awake," the captain said as he stepped over to Kirk’s bed.

Kirk put down the PADD and pushed himself upright. His body was still sore, but he was feeling much better. "Please, call me Jim," he said, once he was comfortable.

"If you're certain." A little less awkwardly, Picard asked, "How are you doing?"

"Good for a man who was last reported dead," Kirk said with a grin. "I see you rescued my chief engineer from a similar predicament."

"Your chief engineer?" Picard asked. His eyes widened as it dawned on him. "You mean Montgomery Scott? I forgot he served on the Enterprise at the same time you were there. And you both..." he trailed off. "It's an incredible coincidence."

"I'd say, but stranger things happen in space."

Picard shook his head in bewilderment.

"I don't suppose you've had a chance to meet Ambassador Spock too?" Kirk asked as lightly as he could.

"Oh, yes, he was your First Officer, wasn't he?"

Kirk nodded. "Do you know where he is?"

Picard's face fell. "I'm sorry, that's classified information. I would have to check with an admiral."

Kirk waved it off - he was sure he'd have a chance to ask for himself.

Picard hesitated before changing the topic - "Do you know if Antonia…?" He left the question hanging.

"Antonia?" Kirk asked, frantically trying to remember the woman that belonged to the name.

Picard looked dumbfounded, as though it should have been obvious and the name sounded familiar, like something from a dream… And then it clicked and Kirk couldn't help but give a silent chuckle.

"I never really knew an Antonia," Kirk said at last.

"But you said you almost married her," Picard protested.

Kirk shook his head. "I might have married Edith or Ruth, or maybe even Carol, and I even spent a month married to Miramanee, but I never knew an Antonia."

Picard hesitated again. At last he admitted, "What I saw in the Nexus wasn't real either."

Kirk nodded. After a moment’s pause he smiled and said, “Thank you for getting me out of there. I wouldn’t have thought to try and free myself.”

“I needed your help more than you needed mine. I wouldn’t have been able to defeat Soran on my own, so thank you.”

“We can call it even,” Kirk suggested.

Picard nodded in agreement. “You really put up a fight out there.”

“It’s all in the swing,” Kirk suggested with a wry smile.

“I think I’ll stay on the bridge, if it’s all the same.”

Kirk let out a sigh and leaned back a little against the pillows he was using to prop himself up. “There’s nowhere better.”

"Captain Kirk." A beautiful young woman who he had seen making the rounds through sickbay stopped by Kirk's bed. She had a pleasant accent, though he couldn't place it. "It's nice to meet you, I'm Counselor Troi."

Kirk removed his reading glasses, set aside the PADD, and sat up a little taller to face her properly. "Nice to meet you, Counselor, what can I do for you?"

"I just want to see how you're settling in. You've been through a lot in what may feel like a very short time," she said, as though in an attempt to pacify him.

Kirk nodded, but gave nothing away.

She continued, undeterred, "I am also half Betazoid and therefore have some empathic abilities. I can sense that you're uncomfortable about something."

An empathic counselor, that sounded almost as annoying as a Vulcan, and at least a little intriguing. For an instant, Counselor Troi detected what seemed to be a clumsy attempt at a telepathic broadcast of mischief and affection underlaid with a mess of other emotions that she didn’t have time to analyze, all coming from the old captain. It didn't seem to be directed at her, but she couldn't detect its intended recipient. And then it was gone.

Kirk shook his head and gave her a smile. "Those abilities must come in handy as ship's counselor," he remarked.

"They are very useful," she acknowledged, "But there's a lot more to the job." She turned her attention back to Kirk's psyche; "Eighty years is a long time. How do you feel about this sudden disruption in your life?"

"What is, is, what will be will be."

Troi could sense that it was like a familiar joke that he was using to deflect her questions. It was a strange use of Vulcan philosophy, though that would explain the attempted telepathy.

"You have an interest in Vulcan philosophy?" she asked.

"A little. Mostly just a good friend who happens to be half-Vulcan." He smiled to himself at the thought and Troi felt a wave of affection.

"You are referring to Ambassador Spock?"

Kirk nodded.

"You seem to care very much for him," she stated the obvious. "How do you feel about having been away for so long?"

"I would feel better if I knew where he was," Kirk replied with a pointed look.

"I sense you are concerned," she said, clearly intending him to elaborate.

However, he took an alternative, "I'm not very familiar with Betazoid telepathy. You can sense all the emotions of everyone in this room?"

She nodded. "It's similar to your sense of hearing. The closer someone is and the stronger the emotion, the more it affects me."

"You experience it too?"

She nodded. "Yes. Do you have a particular interest in telepathy?"

"It's a useful ability," he said, avoiding his primary interest altogether.

"It is." After a moment’s consideration, she said "It was nice meeting you, Captain Kirk," and held out a hand to shake.

"Likewise, Counselor," Kirk said with a smile.

"I look forward to talking with you again," she said and moved on to the next patient.

"You're all clear," Dr. Crusher declared, finally allowing Kirk to sit up and slide off the examination table.

"Thank you, doctor," he said, though he was too stubborn to accept the proffered arm. "It's been a pleasure."

She gave him a look, but the trace of a smile ruined the effect. "You're free to walk around, but be careful, your bones are still fragile while they finish healing. No strenuous activity for a few weeks at least. And I want you to come in here at the first sign of any trouble. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am," Kirk said.

"Good, then you're clear to go."

Kirk had just one more question; "I don't suppose you know anyone who could give me a tour of the ship?"

She smiled. "I think I know just the person." She pressed the Starfleet insignia on her chest, that also served as a communicator. "Dr. Crusher to Data, are you busy right now?"

"No, I am not doing anything urgent at present," a somewhat stilted male voice replied over the intercom.

Data turned out to be a humanoid, with unnaturally white, almost grey skin and bright yellow eyes. His hair was as even as a Vulcan's, but more closely cropped.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Captain. I reviewed your record in preparation for giving you a tour," Data said as he led Kirk away from sickbay, down a long brightly lit corridor, with white walls lined with black and brown panels. Data spoke in a very matter of fact way. Kirk may have even been able to believe he wasn't capable of lying, if he thought it was possible.

"Nice to meet you." Kirk held out a hand and Data took it with a firm, almost cold grip. "You can call me Jim."

"Very well, Jim," Data replied awkwardly, but his voice did not drop despite his hesitation.

"So you're an android?" Kirk asked as they continued down the hall.

"Yes," Data said. "I was created by Dr. Noonien Soong."

Kirk froze, his eyes wide. "Dr. Noonien Singh? Khan?" He readied for a fight he knew he could not win.

"No, Dr. Noonien Soong,” Data replied, as though it was a simple misunderstanding, “A famous cyberneticist of this century. I assume you are referring to the infamous tyrant from 20th century Earth who, similar to yourself, fell into a stasis and was reawakened in the 23rd century?"

Kirk could still picture Spock trapped behind the glass, dying before his eyes while he could do nothing to stop it. Spock had come back, he’d made sure of it, and they had renewed their bond years ago, but without Spock's reassuring presence in his mind…

Kirk swallowed and forced himself back to the present.

"No relation?" he confirmed.

"None," Data said. More hesitantly he continued, "I am sorry if I caused offense."

Kirk waved it off. "My compliments to Dr. Soong. Are there many other androids in Starfleet?"

“No,” Data replied sadly. “I am the only one.”

Kirk gave a sympathetic nod. “Stuck on a ship full of illogical humans?”

“Illogical?” Data asked, his head cocked to the side in confusion. “I do not find my colleagues’ behavior particularly illogical, human or otherwise. Rather, I admire the human capacity for emotion.”

“Do you?” Kirk asked, his eyebrows rose in surprise. “You don’t seem to be lacking any emotions yourself.”

Data grinned as though it was a great compliment. "Thank you, sir- Jim. I have been trying to be more human for many years, but I only recently installed a chip, which has allowed me to experience human emotions."

“How are you liking them?”

"They are very inconvenient at times," Data acknowledged, "But I believe I am beginning to master them."

“Really?” Kirk said with a wry smile. “You’re doing better than most humans already.”

“No, I still have much to learn,” Data insisted.

Kirk nodded in understanding - they all had a lot to learn.

Meanwhile, Data had led Kirk onto a turbolift, which opened on the bridge. Dark metal had been replaced by soft light browns, and the whole room looked larger, crowned with a bright domed ceiling, but for all the changes, it was unmistakable. They stayed to the side by the lift as not to disturb the officers at their stations. It looked like a shift of younger officers had replaced the normal bridge crew for the time being. They all stood as Kirk entered, but he hastily waved them back into their seats and they obliged.

His eyes wandered from station to station as he tried to take in the whole room, but his gaze was inexorably drawn to the con. It was a larger drop than he remembered between what had once been the science station and the central dias - it would have been harder to glance over his shoulder for a silent conversation with Spock. But in the center, there was not one chair, but three, with sitting space for more.

“How many captains can one ship have?” Kirk mused, his voice low enough that if Data was human, he would have barely been able to hear.

“Typically, only one,” Data replied, clearly confused by Kirk’s question.

Kirk just waved it off. He let out a sigh as his attention shifted from the unfamiliar trio of overly comfortable chairs in the center, to the viewscreen ahead. The stars raced by as they traveled incredible distances at an unfathomable speed. His heart seemed to soar, as though trying to escape his chest in a desperate bid for freedom before he was trapped back on Earth, even if it was by his own design.

The view seemed to hold him, preventing him from turning away and continuing on the tour. But he had retired years ago - it was already too late. It wasn’t his.

Finally, he tore himself away and forced himself to return to the turbolift, Data at his heels.

“Is something wrong, sir?” Data asked as the doors closed behind them.

Kirk sighed again and shook his head. “It brings back memories,” he said at last.

“You did not like serving aboard starships?”

“No,” Kirk said with half a smile, “The opposite.”

“You are unhappy because you were reminded of something you enjoyed?” Data clarified, dubious of the whole train of logic.

Kirk nodded. “Do you have any regrets, Mr. Data?” he asked as lightly as he could, with an almost challenging lilt.

Data seemed to consider the matter as the turbolift came to a stop, and they stepped out into another corridor. “I regret not stopping Soran from taking Geordi,” he admitted at last. “I regret pushing Dr. Crusher into the water and generally not understanding my crewmates’ jokes. I regret not feeding Spot promptly.”

“Spot?” Kirk interrupted Data as he began to ramble.

“My cat,” Data said.

“You had your cat with you on the Enterprise?” Kirk’s eyebrows rose a little in disbelief.

“Yes. I was very happy to see that she had survived the crash. She is currently in my quarters here, on the Farragut.”

Kirk grinned. He wondered if Spock would have wanted a cat if regulation had allowed it - of course, he got no answer. “Why a cat?” he asked aloud.

“They are common pets among the families that lived on the Enterprise, and I concluded that caring for a pet might enable me to become more human.”

“There were families on the Enterprise?” Kirk could hardly imagine it, let alone understand why with all the dangers they encountered exploring the galaxy, even without going into combat. As though to prove it, the Enterprise had just been destroyed, no doubt killing dozens of civilians, if not more.

“Yes,” Data replied, as though it was perfectly logical. “According to Starfleet records, that was not the case on the first USS Enterprise or the Enterprise-A.”

Kirk shook his head. Maybe things had calmed down in the intervening century, but he doubted it. Still, it wasn’t his place to argue, instead he asked, “What has having a pet cat taught you about humanity?”

“I have learned many things from caring for Spot, and Spot herself has proven to be an able teacher at times. Ever since installing the emotion chip, she has evoked in me a wide variety of feelings; joy, annoyance, even fear for her wellbeing.”

Kirk couldn’t help but ask, “And you never considered getting a dog?”

“No, It would be impractical to keep one on a starship.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Kirk acknowledged a little reluctantly.

“You prefer dogs to cats?”

Kirk nodded.

“I have noticed that my human colleagues occasionally engage in a debate as to which is a superior pet. I have never understood the reasoning” - Data paused in consideration - “Though I now find that I am inclined to favor cats on a purely emotional basis.”

“It’s probably just that, for the most part,” Kirk admitted with a smile. “When I was growing up, we had a dog - Butler was his name - and I couldn’t imagine a better pet.” He shook his head. He could only wonder why he had gotten so nostalgic all of a sudden.

“I see…” Data seemed to consider the information. “I will have to examine these feelings further.”

Data soon led Kirk through another doorway, into long, low room, lined with computer terminals, plus a large table in the center for more, all displaying ship’s specifications. At the far end of the room was a giant glowing column that could only have been the warp core.

“Welcome to Engineering!” a young man declared, with a broad gesture at the room around him. He had a visor over his eyes that Kirk could only assume was like a tricorder that left his hands free to work. “So, that’s where you’ve been, Data.” He grinned at the android and then turned to Kirk. “It’s an honor to meet you, Captain Kirk, I’m Geordi La Forge, Chief of Engineering of the USS Enterprise.”

“Nice to meet you,” Kirk said, and they shook hands.

“What brings you down to engineering, sir?” La Forge asked.

Kirk waved it off. “You can call me Jim. Mr. Data was just giving me a tour of the Farragut.”

“I take it you’ve already been to the bridge.”

Data gave a sharp nod.

“What about Ten-Forward?” La Forge suggested. “Or whatever they call it here. Riker said he might check it out since he doesn’t have much to do.”

“What’s ‘Ten-Forward’?” Kirk asked.

“Sorry, sir,” La Forge said. “That’s just what we call the ship’s bar - it’s on the tip of the saucer, deck ten.”

“The ship has a bar? A lot has changed in eighty years.”

“Oh yeah, the old Constitution-class ships were a lot more minimalist, weren’t they? We studied them in engineering track at the academy.”

Kirk smiled. “They were nice ships, but you’re right, they weren’t made for comfort.”

“Geordi, would you care to join us?” Data asked.

“Sure,” La Forge said. He led the way out of engineering without taking off the visor. “They don’t really need me here, I’ve just been hanging around since I don’t have anywhere else to be. I’ll be glad to be back on duty, that’s for sure.”

Kirk nodded in understanding. “It’s never the same being on someone else’s ship.”

“I didn’t think I’d miss the Enterprise so much, but now that she’s gone…” La Forge trailed off.

“I have also developed some affection for our late starship” - Data seemed a little surprised by the realization. “Perhaps that is why there have been so many starships with the name Enterprise.”

“I wouldn’t command another,” Kirk said.

“With all due respect,” La Forge said with a smile, “Captain Picard would give you a run for your money.”

Kirk shook his head. “He doesn’t have to. I’m retired now.”

“Funny thing, I met Captain Montgomery Scott - you knew him right?”

“He was my chief engineer,” Kirk said with a touch of pride.

“Well, that’s what he said too; that he was too old,” La Forge continued. “Did everyone in your time retire so young?”

Kirk shrugged. “Eventually you have to step out of the way and let the younger generation take over. One day you’ll understand.”

La Forge just shook his head. After a moment’s thought, he redirected the conversation with a grin, “Did he really say everything would take longer than he actually needed?”

“He told you about that, did he?” Kirk said, his lips pursed in mock annoyance. “To be fair, I always needed things done in half the time, so it probably evened out.”

“I do not understand why it would not be better to have the accurate times.” Data’s forehead was scrunched up in confusion.

Kirk smiled at him. “As Spock would say, it’s just an example of human illogic.”

To his surprise, Data exclaimed, “Why does Ambassador Spock reject the humanity that I seek? It frustrates me.”

“Why do you want to be human?” Kirk countered gently.

“As an android, my purpose is to be an artificial human,” Data explained.

“If Dr. Soong wanted to create another human, there’s a much easier way,” Kirk remarked with a wry smile.

“There’s something in the challenge of it - Dr. Soong was a scientist, wasn’t he?” La Forge suggested. “And I think he succeeded pretty well.”

“Thank you Geordi, that is very kind, but even with the emotion chip, there is still much I do not understand about human behavior,” Data said.

“There’s a lot we humans don’t understand about ourselves,” Kirk said.

Before the conversation could continue, they came upon a pair of double doors that opened into a dimly lit room, crowded with Farragut officers on their off shift and Enterprise crew members with nowhere else to be. Against the near wall was a bustling bar. One of the bartenders, a woman dressed like no Starfleet officer Kirk had ever seen, in a brightly colored dress with a wide disk of a hat, was watching him with a piercing gaze that made him wonder if she was telepathic. But at last she turned away.

Kirk shook off the peculiar feeling and let his eyes wander around the room. Amidst the crowd of standing officers, he could make out a few square tables where the lucky - or high ranked - were sitting. A young man at a nearby table glanced over and jumped up to greet them with an eager, almost wry grin. He had an easy confidence that almost reminded Kirk of himself when he was in his prime, but for some unfathomable reason, he had elected to grow a beard and moustache - Kirk could only assume it was the fashion of the times.

“Data! Geordi!” the young man exclaimed as they waded their way through the crowd to meet him in the middle. He was significantly taller than Kirk had expected. “And you must be Captain Kirk,” he concluded once they arrived, and held out a hand to the captain.

“You have me at a disadvantage,” Kirk said as they shook hands.

“Commander William Riker, First Officer of the USS Enterprise-D, at your service, sir. I’ve read about all your adventures, and I’m sure there are plenty that didn’t make it into the history books.” He flashed Kirk a knowing smile.

Commander Riker waved Kirk over to the table, where he had been sitting with, of all things, a Klingon in a Starfleet uniform. Riker introduced him with a wave - “Lieutenant Commander Worf.”

Worf stood and Kirk shook his hand as well.

“Worf…” Kirk trailed off - the name was familiar from somewhere. Suddenly, he remembered. “I didn’t realize Klingons lived so long - you don’t look like you’ve aged a day,” Kirk exclaimed. “I don’t think I ever got a chance to thank you for defending Dr. McCoy and I in that trial, though I know it was really just for show.”

“Sir?” Worf asked, in a very low, gruff voice.

Kirk’s face fell. “The trial over the death of Chancellor Gorkon right before the Khitomer Conference. I could have sworn we were defended by a Colonel Worf.”

“Colonel Worf was my grandfather,” the lieutenant commander explained, unamused.

“I can see the family resemblance,” Kirk attempted with a somewhat sheepish grin.

“Thank you, sir,” Worf said, still completely straight-faced. “I have been told that my grandfather was an honorable man.”

Vulcans were known for their stoicism, but Kirk could swear many of them hid a sharp sense of humor behind their logical mask. This Klingon, however, seemed entirely humorless, even more so than any of the other Klingons that Kirk had met over the years, but Kirk was hardly an expert in reading them.

Once Kirk had been properly introduced, Riker ushered him into a chair despite his protests. The others crowded around the table, and he caught several other officers watching him with eager, wide eyes. They all looked remarkably young, or maybe Kirk had just gotten old.

Suddenly, a young woman who must have been an ensign piped up - she somehow reminded him of Chekov, though there wasn’t really any resemblance - “Did you really kill God by crashing the first Enterprise in the center of the galaxy?”

Kirk took a moment to process the question while all the officers tittered eagerly around him.

“It’s about time you humans did away with your gods,” Worf remarked, “We Klingons slew ours eons ago.” Kirk had no way of telling if he was serious, but his tone remained unchanged.

“No,” Kirk said at last, “We didn’t really kill God, and we certainly didn’t do it by crashing the Enterprise in the center of the galaxy.”

“You did destroy the first Enterprise though, didn’t you?” La Forge asked.

“There is record of a court case-” Data began to explain.

“And according to the reports, you encountered some sort of god in the center of the galaxy,” Riker cut in.

Kirk carefully chose which question to answer. “It called itself god. But it only took a few disrupter blasts to destroy it, so it can’t have been that all-powerful."

“Your ‘god’ is even weaker than that nuisance, Q,” Worf proclaimed.

“Don’t get me started on Q.” Riker leaned back in his chair and explained to the confused captain, “He’s an ‘all powerful’ alien from something called the Q Continuum who drops by every so often to play his tricks on us. He’s not that different from some of the things you encountered.”

Kirk recognized the description - “Like Trelane? He could manipulate matter and energy at will and used it to dress up as an 18th century squire and toy with my crew until his parents put a stop to it."

“Unfortunately, Q doesn’t seem to have any parents to speak of,” Riker said. “The Continuum took his powers away once, but it didn’t last.”

“You also met the ancient earth deity, Apollo, is that correct?” Data asked.

“Yes, apparently the ancient Greek gods came from outer space,” Kirk said with a grin.

Worf crossed his arms over his chest. “You humans have too many gods.”

“At least Apollo wasn’t much harder to beat than the thing at the center of the galaxy. We just had to hit him in the right place to knock out his power source,” Kirk said.

“But then when did you crash the Enterprise?” La Forge asked, trying to go through the years in his head.

Kirk sighed. “That’s another story.”

The ensign took the opportunity to ask, “What about that old NASA probe that tried to destroy Earth? Didn’t you get rid of it by stealing whales from the Klingons?”

“Such weak animals would not survive long on Qo’nos,” Worf declared.

“Old NASA probe?” Kirk asked. “You mean V’Ger - Voyager?”

The ensign nodded.

“It was a different probe that wanted to talk to the whales, from another galaxy, I think. And we got the whales by going back in time, not asking the Klingons.”

“Can you really go back in time by sling-shotting around a star?” La Forge asked.

Kirk nodded. “It’s a little risky, but it does the trick.”

“Intentional time travel is also against Starfleet regulation,” Data said pointedly.

“Just hypothetically,” La Forge insisted.

“You’ve never gone back in time?” Kirk asked with a grin.

La Forge shook his head. “I know the theory, but I’ve never had the chance to try it.”

“We have entered into multiple time loops,” Data corrected him.

“Naturally occuring?” Kirk asked.

“Yes,” Data replied, “One of which produced an alternate universe.”

“I take it that’s why time travel is against regulation? Though there are other ways to get stuck in alternate universes.”

“I thought that was just a rumor that the old transporters could drop you in another universe,” La Forge exclaimed.

“Just under the right conditions,” Kirk said. “They could also split a person into their good side and their bad side if you were caught in the wrong storm.”

La Forge shook his head in disbelief.

“It is not quite the same phenomenon, but we entered a space where thought and reality combined,” Data remarked.

“Did you really meet President Abraham Lincoln?” Riker cut in.

“No,” Kirk said, a tad regretfully, “Not the real one. We did get to meet Jack the Ripper on Argelius II - he tried to frame my chief engineer for murder.”

“What was he doing there?” Riker asked.

“Apparently he was actually an alien ghost that fed on fear,” Kirk explained.

Riker grinned. “I was going to offer to show you the holodeck, but you’ve seen it all.”

“There’s always more to explore,” Kirk said with a glance toward the wall of windows, looking out on outer space.

“Anyway, you have to be careful with the holodeck,” La Forge said. “The holograms can be pretty real.”

“Especially if something goes wrong,” Riker added.

Before anyone else had the chance to speak, the Starfleet insignia on Riker’s chest beeped and he pressed it to pick up a call.

“Picard to Commander Riker,” the captain’s voice sounded over the communicator, “Admiral Brackett is on the line from Starfleet command. I want all the senior officers and Captain Kirk in the conference room as soon as possible.”

“We’re on our way, Riker out.” He pressed the insignia again and the communicator turned off with a beep.

[sharpnothashtag]

The Good Ship CrushWay, Chapter 30

Author’s Note: I needed some time away from that last story.  Call it a mid-season break, if you’ll allow it.  Now, for something I’ve wanted to do for literal years. (Yes, the stardate is going to be inaccurate because as much as I want to care about it, I don’t.  Two years have passed since chapter 1; six months have passed since chapter 29.  That’s all you need to know.)

Seven is walking through the corridors, nodding at doctors who smile at her.

Seven: Personal log, stardate 97770.33.  Admiral Paris has called myself, Captain Janeway, B’Elanna Torres, Tom Paris, the Doctor, and a few people I have not yet met to an early morning meeting.  It is rather inconvenient timing, as I was beginning to incorporate a new aspect to the filing system that would improve its efficiency.  Now, until I am permitted to return to my duties, the system will remain in its current state of disarray.  

Seven walks up to a door.  She rings the chime. 

KJ: Come! Seven: (enters, it’s a conference room.  KJ is seated near the head of the table. Seven nods in acknowledgement.) Captain. KJ: Good morning, Seven.   Seven: How was your sleep? KJ: Beverly woke me up snoring.  (drowning her yawns in coffee.  ...) Since when do you care? Seven: The Doctor and I have been talking about little talk.  It seems an inefficient way of communication, but the Doctor tells me it is seen as polite. KJ: It’s called “small talk,” Seven.  And I am perfectly fine to sit in silence--my restless night has left me rather cantankerous this morning.  (Seven nods in acknowledgement.  They have one more moment of silence before Tom and B’Elanna enter.  They see the way the Captain is chugging her coffee and decide not to comment.  They have a seat as well.  AP enters, smiling warmly.)

AP: Good morning, all.  Tom, would you mind bringing the Doctor up on this panel so we can begin? Tom: Yes, sir.  Will there be anyone else joining us, sir? AP: Yes, but I need to brief you all on your mission first. Tom: Understood, sir.  (He goes to the panel, presses a few buttons, and the EMH appears.) EMH: Good morning, Lieutenant Paris.   Tom: Good morning, Doctor. AP: Good morning, all.  I’m so glad to see you all again.  You all know I don’t like to beat around the bush, and there isn’t much time before you need to leave.  I’ll be brief.  We’ve managed to narrow down the location of the Voyager crew to a section of M class planets toward the border of the Delta and Alpha Quadrants.  We’ve not been able to communicate, but the homing signal they sent finally reached us.  According to his report, there were several minor injuries, but the planet they landed on had a benevolent species that took pity on them and helped them get to a stable position.  They, as far as I know, are waiting to be rescued, as the escape pods were very badly damaged in the landing.  We’re giving you a ship to bring back your crew. (brings up an image.  smiling)  Friends, this is the USS Ohana. KJ: (smiling) Family.  Family means no one gets left behind. AP: She’s intrepid class, just like Voyager.  She should have more than enough space to get all of you back in one piece. KJ: She’s beautiful.  When do we leave? AP: Well, as soon as your new crew members get here. Seven: New crew members? AP: Yes.  First, (pulling up a headshot) your head of security and first officer, Lieutenant Commander Tasha Yar.   KJ: Yes, she can cover that and tactical until we get to Tuvok.  That still leaves Ops, assuming that Tom will be covering the helm. AP: Your new Ops officer, Ensign Ro Laren (headshot).  I will warn you, Captain.  Both women are extremely opinionated and headstrong. KJ: Outspoken, are they?  They’ll fit it well.  (as if on cue, the doorbell chimes.) AP: Come! (Tasha and Ro enter.) KJ: (to Tasha) Commander Yar, yes? Tasha: Lieutenant Commander, but yes.  Tasha Yar.   AP: Report to cargo bay 4 in 2 hours.  Dismissed.  Tasha: (to KJ) Good to meet you, sir. KJ: Just “Captain” is fine.  I’ll be calling you “Number One.” (They all walk toward the Turbolift together.)

Tasha: I am honored.  Captain Picard used to call Commander Riker that. KJ: You served aboard the Enterprise? Tasha: Yes, many years ago.  I left for another position on a smaller ship that had the opportunity of advancement; Captain Picard gave me his blessing, as he and Captain Anton Farley were in the academy together. (smirking) He said I could learn a good deal from him. KJ: It’s a long story, but I became “Number One” after Commander Riker left for his position aboard The Excalibur. Ensign Ro, is it? Ro: Yes, Captain.  Thank you for using my proper name. KJ: No need to thank me for common decency. Commander Chakotay taught me well.   B’Elanna: Speaking of Chakotay, where is he? Seven: He is on an extended spirit quest.  He left messages with Starfleet Command that he would be back in a few months.  Admiral Paris felt it best to respect his religious practices and appoint you instead, Commander Yar. Ro: Now, Chakotay, why do I know that name? B’Elanna: It’s been a long time, but he and I fought with the Maquis against the Cardassians. Ro: But you aren’t Bajoran. B’Elanna: But Starfleet sure as hell didn’t give a damn.  We knew what needed to be done, and so we went to help, no matter what that meant. 

(Tasha and Ro share a look.  They’re uncomfortable and that is clear.  They certainly aren’t going to acknowledge what’s bothering them here. The turbolift comes and we are back with KJ and Bev.)

Bev: You’re going to call me every day at lunch, right? KJ: Of course.  I looked at the coordinates briefly--it doesn’t seem like it will be that long of a trip as far as navigation goes.  The species Tuvok has befriended seems docile and willing to learn from us according to his report.  I’d say I’ll be back in a month. Bev: Every day, Kate. KJ: 1200 hours.  We’ll keep up.  And when I get back, you’ll get to meet my crew. Bev: When you get back, can we tell your mom about us? KJ: (stopping dead in her tracks) Tell my mom? Bev: I don’t have parents to tell that I’m happy.  My closest friends and family already know you, especially since Wesley finally came to see me and you met him.  It’s time for your mom to know. KJ: I know it’s time.  I’m just worried that if we tell her, she’s going to fall apart.  It’s only been 6 months since Phoebe died. Bev: Her daughter is happy.  How could she “fall apart” over that? KJ: I don’t know.  I guess I’m just scared.   Bev: We’ll make a trip to see her and tell her in person.  It’ll be fun!  Plus I’ll finally get to meet Molly and Rocco.  I’ve been excited about that for a long time. KJ: Molly and Rocco will love you, and so will my mom after knowing that you’re my girlfriend.  (leaning in to kiss her) Just like I love you now.  (in each other’s arms) You’re the most loving, loyal, positive, funny, and sarcastic person I’ve ever known.  I love you. Bev: I love you, too.   KJ: I need to go. Bev: Do you have to? (starting to go in for another kiss)  KJ: I might have 15 minutes or so...(going in for a kiss on the neck) Bev: Good.  That’s just enough time.

Tasha is packing.  Ro enters.

Ro: Tasha, are we not going to talk about this? Tasha: There’s nothing left to talk about. Ro: Yes, there is.  We’re going to rescue some former Maquis. Tasha: Former Maquis who then became Starfleet officers. Ro: (sitting down on the bed) Tash, I need a friend right now. Tasha: A Maquis wanting to befriend a Starfleet officer? Ro: Will you just shut UP about that?!  (Tasha takes a deep breath and sits down next to her.) I defected to the Maquis, yes.  That’s only because I saw my people suffering.  I saw myself as a little girl again.  I couldn’t watch other people watch their fathers die like I did.  I just couldn’t.   Tasha: Listen...I’m sorry.  I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you.  I was hurting for a long time.  You and I were really happy, and then you defected.  It felt personal. Ro: You know it’s not. Tasha: I saw the way you were looking at that Kira Nerys.  Don’t tell me that had nothing to do with it. Ro: That’s just it!  Kira had nothing to do with it. Tasha: Bullshit. Ro: Ok.  But not in the way you’re thinking.  She understood my passion for Bajor.  She knew that Starfleet couldn’t help me with that. Tasha: And that’s where the problem really is--you think that I didn’t understand, or that I couldn’t.  I grew up outrunning rape gangs, Ro.  I know what it’s like to have an unsafe, miserable childhood. Ro: But you don’t know what it is to have someone else understand that and be able to help you through that.  Be able to give you something to do about it. Tasha: ...I thought I did.  I really thought I did. (Tasha gets up from the bed and starts to finish up her packing.) Ro: Tasha. Tasha: Dismissed, Ensign.  (Ro sighs.  She looks at Tasha longingly one more time.  She leaves.)

Seven is in the Medical facility.  It’s clear she’s stressed out. Erin: Annika, just let me take care of that while you’re away. Seven: My name is not Annika any longer. Erin: What should your designation be, then? Seven: Seven of Nine is more than appropriate, even if it is a bit vague. Erin: Seven, please.  Just let me take care of the records while you’re gone. Seven: You won’t know what to do. Erin: Yes, I will. Seven: (stops what she’s doing) Show me. (Erin does the same sequence of events Seven has been doing.) You have forgotten to capitalize Biquv’s name under “assigned counselor.” Erin: But is the rest of it up to your standards? Seven: It is...passable.  Thank you, Erin. Erin: You’re welcome. (Seven starts to walk away.) I was wanting to talk to you. Seven: (Stops, turns on her heels.  slightly annoyed.) Proceed. Erin: We didn’t get the time to be mother and daughter.  When you return, could we start getting to know each other? Seven: When I return, I will have many things to do.   Erin: But you have to eat.  We could at least eat together. Seven: (taking a deep breath) We will attempt conversation once a week. Erin: Five times. Seven: Three. Erin: Sold.  Now hurry--your mission can’t wait.

[starfleetimagines]

What’s your posting lineup

I mean, I don’t have a technical lineup or schedule for what I post because I write what I have inspiration for, not what was requested first. But, here is a list of the requests I have right now. Please note that these will not be written in this order, and some may be declined if I don’t get inspiration for them in a while. (Also titles are a work in progress lol)

Quark/Worf – Marital Problems (aw--heck on tumblr) [Any chance I could get a DS9 request where the reader goes to their best friend Quark to talk about marriage troubles with their husband Worf? A bit of comforting banter at the bar type thing?]

Malcolm Reed – Labouring Mission (thebeckyjolene on tumblr) [I was wondering if I was able to request an imagine using Malcolm Reed from Enterprise, where Y/N and Malcolm are set to enter parenthood and Y/N goes into labor mid mission.]

Garak – Flirtatious Surprises (anon on tumblr) [I wonder if I could please request a DS9 Garak x reader imagine where the normally quiet plus-size reader flirts with Garak in front of everyone and leaves him flustered but in the end he just kisses her and everyone cheers?]

William Riker – Confessions (Ravennya on wattpad) [What if the reader was secretly in love with Riker, and she only verbally admitted this to him when he was unconscious after sustaining an injury during a mission when he saved her from being harmed by an enemy. What she didn't know was that he became conscious while she spoke to him and he heard her. When Riker approaches the reader, she could be absolutely humiliated and believes that he is going to reject her. Instead, he would express his mutual affection for her.]

Data – Panic Attack (Area_C-137 on wattpad) [Maybe you could write one we’re the reader is in a relationship with data and he see the reader having a panic attack and then they cuddle to make the reader feel happy]

Data – First Date Part 2 of First Meetings (ElfWarriorQueen on wattpad) [Maybe them going on their date and there could be some kind of unfortunate accident that draws them closer together; like drinks get spilled over the reader, or maybe there’s a malfunction in the elevator and they’re stuck for a while.]

William Riker – Risa (anon on tumblr) [I’d like to see one with Riker, please? Maybe with a vacation theme, like going to Risa on shore leave!]

Trip Tucker – Tension (adela-topaz-caelon on tumblr) [Can I request a vaguley smutty Trip Tucker x Reader, where they're on a mission together in a shuttle, there's some repartee between the two, who aren't yet dating - and comments start leading to others and so on and forth and such, and then there's a time skip to them going back to the station, and whilst they did get the work done, other's can tell by marks on the Reader's neck that something has happened.]

Christopher Pike – Parents (anon on tumblr) [I had a realization thats night if you can do Disco Pike becoming for dad I'll love you forever]

Harry Kim – You’re Tom’s Sibling (evening_starz on wattpad) [Could you do one where the reader is Tom Paris’ sister, and she has to tell him that she’s dating Harry? And it could end with some sibling fluff?]

Wesley Crusher – Comfort (anon on tumblr) [could I request something fluffy where Wesley does his best to comfort the reader after her now ex-boyfriend break ups with her b/c of lack of sexual intimacy and the reader avoids Wesley cause she feels she's not smart enough or pretty enough for him]

Q Junior Being Jealous Would Include… (anon on tumblr)

Leonard “Bones” McCoy – Dance Practice (jesterofsorts on wattpad) [I was wondering if you could do a Star Trek imagine about AOS Bones? Maybe if he teaches the reader to dance because they don't know how and they fall in love with each other?]

Garak – Rescue Party (kate_the_dork on wattpad) [I was wondering if you could do a Garak x reader where the reader is taken by the Dominion and is interrogated for info about ds9 but she won't give it up cuz she's too cool for that lmao. And then, cuz I'm a cliche and fluffy gal, Garak comes to save her?]

Garak – “Sew, you like me?” (Indirect_Detective on wattpad) [Could you do a Garak x reader? Him coming to terms with loving the reader and finally trying to admit is but doctor Bashir keeps cutting in and ruining the moment. Garak finally gets the reader alone and compliments the reader(looks and personality) as he's hemming readers uniform before opening up to the reader?]

Malcolm Reed – Trust Issues (chevyp15 on wattpad) [Malcolm Reed x reader where reader seems off and when Mal confronts them they break down and confess all their worries about the relationship?]

Deanna x Will - Pregnant (anon on tumblr) [Can I ask you for something fluffy between Deanna Troi x William Riker where set during an official Starfleet ball and they announced that Deanna is expecting a baby again, but Deanna feels uncertain after the death of their son Ian Troi and Riker comforts her, which leads to a bit of passionate kisses please.]

Garak - Presents (anon on tumblr) [Ah I request an imagine for garak. Like he’s at his shop and his so comes in with something from cardassia for him and he has no idea how his so got it for him and she refuses to say. But he’s super happy about it because it’s something he’s missed for so long. And just fluff ensues?]

Pavel Chekov – Set Up (anon on tumblr) [Can I get an imagine with Chekov please? Fem!Reader works in engineering and is like a daughter figure to Scotty. When Chekov starts shadowing Scotty, he meets the reader and a friendship quickly forms because they are both adorable dorks. Scotty notices that their friendship could become something more with a nudge in the right direction. Soon the Scotsman has get both the reader and Chekov together. Just something super silly and fluffy!!]

Deanna and Beverly x reader (platonic) – Royalty (anon on tumblr) [Hi! I was thinking it’d be super interesting to have a reader that is an exiled member of royalty after a war that they lost on their planet, and they joined Starfleet but only the captain is aware of it. The reader is super close with Deanna and Beverly but they only find out after the reader has to go a diplomatic mission because of their hidden status and it goes wrong and they end up in Sickbay and the reader is super worried that they’ll change how they treat them?]

Kathryn Janeway – Protection (anon on tumblr) [Hiiiiiiii could I have a Janeway x reader fic where she steps in front of you to protect you and uses her arm to shield you and is super gentle with you and everything? Can be romantic or platonic whatever works best for this!]

Enemies To Lovers With Malcolm Would Include… (anon on tumblr)

Being Friends With Hugh Would Include… (anon on tumblr) [This is a bit outside your usual wheelhouse, but would you be up for writing something about Hugh the Borg? Possibly in an AU where he did end up staying on the Enterprise with Geordi, and the Reader ended up working with them and befriending him?]

Trip Tucker – Restless Nights (tinkerbelldetective on tumblr) [How about one for Trip where reader is trying to help him fall asleep and runs their hands through his hair please!]

Spock x Uhura – Wedding Bells (anon on tumblr) [Can I ask you for something fluffy between Spock and Uhura where they get married on planet Vulcan with all their friends and family around them?]

Being Pavel Chekov’s Betazoid Wife Would Include… (dancingwith-thesunflowers on tumblr) [Could you write some headcanons about Chekov and female betazoid-human hybrid!reader getting married and having children please?]

Beverly x Jean-Luc – Dinner Date (anon on tumblr) [Could you write something about Dr Crusher and Picard having one of their late night dinners together, and things getting a little romantic please?]

Garak – Lulled To Sleep (capan-devereaux on tumblr) [Can I please request one where reader falls asleep on Garak while he reads something, like maybe during the dominion war and he has to decide all those cardassian messages]

Dating T’Pol Would Include… (anon on tumblr)

Will Riker – Pregnant (borzanimariana on wattpad) [Write with command riker and reader are married and she's pregnant, please]

[pb1138]

El Tango de Data

Data asks you to dance, super fluff, gender neutral reader (I hope. I kind of decided 2/3 of the way through to make it neutral. I think I fixed everything though.)

Data had danced before, of course. He had learned it all—walzes, mambos, the Charleston, and tangoes, obviously. But never with his emotion chip. And never with you.

There was a party of sorts. The Enterprise had been tasked with escorting a small council of an extremely lively species to Vulcan, something which you thought was sure to be a sight to see. These councilmembers had been drunk from practically the second they stepped off the transporter, and Ten Forward had been basically just one giant party ever since. Even Captain Picard had come down to enjoy a drink with his crewmembers.

You had joined the party a few hours after it started. There was loud music, and tables had been cleared in the back to make way for a dance floor. Someone had fished out poor Guinan’s real alcohol, so a fair amount of crew members were drunk as could be. Beverly would be very busy in the morning, and not just with other people’s hangovers either. You could see her sitting at a table with Troi, both flushed, doubled over in loud, inebriated laughter. You smiled to yourself and wound your way to the bar. Guinan greeted you with a knowing smile and handed you a whiskey, a real whiskey. You knocked it back and she poured you another, taking note of the yellow eyes focused on you.

You had been ashore on a nearby planet for a few weeks studying the language of a sentient species of fungus that resided there, and it was honestly very rewarding work. The Enterprise had swung by to pick you up shortly after picking up the councilmembers. But you were glad to be back. And, much to his surprise, Data was, too. You hadn’t seen him since before he had had his emotion chip reinstalled after Ba’ku, where you had met him. You had decided shortly after the resolution of the Son'a situation to come aboard the Enterprise to learn as much as you could about the universe. Ba'ku had always been less than interesting to you. Starfleet had allowed your visitation, but had obviously given you civilian restrictions seeing as you aren’t an officer. During your short while aboard the Enterprise before embarking onto that planet, you had grown very fond of Mr. Data. And why not? He’s adorable without even trying to be. And not bad looking, either, kudos to Dr. Soong.

Data had spotted you the moment you entered the room. With his emotion chip in, he was able to look back on your interactions with him and he was surprised to find that he had sincerely missed your presence aboard the ship. You were intelligent, very quick to learn. He and Geordi had given you informational references to build your basic scientific knowledge to help you comprehend your daily starship life, from the replicators to the transporter to the artificial gravity, and you had caught on astoundingly fast. And you were funny, too, he now realizes. He chuckles to himself remembering a few of your puns and jokes and certain mannerisms. And beautiful. By god you were beautiful. He had seen other beautiful people, of course, but none of them even compared to you, and he had absolutely no idea why. He had asked Geordi what it was about you, because in reality your facial features were not that uncommon in other humanoid life forms. Geordi had been nose deep in some calibrations of the warp core but he had mumbled above his work, “When did you realize you thought this?”

Data had taken a moment to pinpoint the exact moment in his memory that activated that part of his emotion chip. “After boarding, precisely 15 days, 18 hours, 45 minutes and 32 seconds. Of course, my emotion chip had not been installed, but that is the moment in my reflection to which this feeling correlates.” Geordi had asked him what it was you were doing at 15 days, 18 hours, 45 minutes, and 32 seconds. Data smiled slightly to himself. “Sitting in a chair in Ten Forward, reading Gravitational Abnormalities of the Scorpius System.”

Geordi had paused from his work and looked at Data. “That’s it?”

“Yes,” Data responded.

Geordi had smiled then, a genuine smile which reached well into his artificial eyes. “Data, my friend, you’ve got it bad.”

Data had been puzzled of course. “Got what? And how is it bad?” But Geordi had gone back to his work, ignoring his adorably dense android friend who still did not know what “it” is, nor how he had contracted it.

But seeing you walk in, there was nothing like it. It was like he was hyper-focused on you, like everything else faded away, which makes no sense because he is still in Ten Forward and Geordi is still rambling on about the way this delegation’s planet had avoided becoming victims of the imminent supernova-ing of their sun by generating a freezing element that still allowed the sun to continue to burn but which slowed its implosion for another 4,000 years, giving them enough time to figure out another solution. It was fascinating, Data recognized that, but the second those doors had slid open, nothing else in the entire universe mattered. He watched you take in the sights, saw you notice the captain and Beverly and Deana, followed you with his eyes as you snaked over to Guinan. He watched you throw back the amber liquid she had poured in your class and watched you ask her for another, a double this time.

Geordi had stopped talking, noticing his friend’s distraction. He followed Data’s gaze and smiled. He stood up, clapping his friend on the back. “I’m going to turn in, Data. Have fun.” He winked at the android and started towards the exit.

You had seen Geordi get up out of the corner of your eye. You watched him head towards the door before you followed his path back to the source. You blushed slightly when your gaze met the mechanical gaze of Data. You waved slightly, smiling at him, and were surprised to see him smile back, rising from his seat. You said a quick goodbye to Guinan who had been watching the entire interaction before you weaved your way through the crowd to the greenish man. Once you got there, you set your glass down, but before you could look back up, you felt strong arms wind around you. You blushed brightly but returned the hug, laughing slightly. “Hi, Data,” you breathed.

He released you a little too soon for your liking but he smiled at you and you noticed something in his eyes you hadn’t seen before. Happiness. Actual happiness, not just a cheap imitation. “Please, won’t you sit?” he said, stepping around you to pull out a chair.

You smiled at him and sat as he pushed it slightly into the table. He rushed back to his seat and sat across from you. “How was your excursion upon ZhuFang 12?” he asked.

You smiled slightly and started talking about the welcome you got, explaining the surprising intricacies of the fungus-people’s civilization, explaining that you had mastered their language in only a few weeks because they don’t have a very complex language structure or word bank. He seemed to hold onto your every word with baited breath, his eyes boring deep into yours. You stopped talking to take a drink of your whiskey before you smiled at him, tucking your hair behind your ear. “And, how have you been, my friend?”

Data grinned. “I am much better now that you are here.”

Your eyes widened slightly and your blush rose again in your cheeks. “I-Is that so?”

He nodded, still grinning. “Yes.”

He stopped for a moment, his head cocked to the side and you blinked, looking around. It took you a minute to realize he was listening to something.

He suddenly looked at you and took your hand. “Please, Y/N, would you join me in this dance?”

You were surprised at his openness, wondering if he even knew how to dance. ‘I mean, he’s an android. I’m sure he’s learned before.’ You smiled at him, nodding, and you both rose to your feet. You let him guide you towards the dance floor which had emptied. You wondered why he was asking you to dance the last three measures of a Mozart piece (a few hundred years ago, the Ba’ku had intercepted an ancient Earth time capsule which included music and they decided to keep it, claiming it was of Ba’ku origin,) and your confusion was deepened when he stopped you on the edge of the dance floor. And then with the first three beats of the next song, you realized why and your eyes went wide. Data lifted your hand in his and walked you to the center of the floor, gently whipping you around to face him, taking your waist in his other hand.

This song was a tango. Data must have known the playlist, or maybe he overheard a request, or maybe he remotely arranged it himself, you had no idea. But, it was most definitely a tango.

It took you another two beats to snap to, but you quickly took his shoulder. He wrapped his hand around to your other hip, spreading his fingers as he slowly dragged it back in time with the slow-paced introduction, and once the beat picked up, he moved you across the floor with such skill and grace it took your breath away. The way he lifted you in his spins, the way he quick-dipped you, the way his eyes looked into your soul, the way his hands felt on your body—all of it was deliciously overwhelming, and you got the feeling from his smug smile and the look in his eyes that he enjoyed the way you reciprocated his moves, hooking your leg over his hip in the spins, twirling away from him and snapping back into him, one hand on his face and one on his chest, all of it. The song ended too quickly, but it ended with him dipping you parallel to the ground. You were panting as you looked up at him, flushed, smiling, hair a mess. If he had breath, you were sure he’d be panting, too.

He held you in the dip for a second or two longer than one normally would. You thought he was going to lift you up to your feet, but instead, he leaned down into you and pressed his lips to yours in a surprisingly passionate kiss. Your eyes went wide for a second before you melted into it, wrapping your arms around his neck. He slowly lifted you back to your feet and broke the kiss. You smiled bashfully at him before you realized literally the entirety of Ten Forward was cheering, much louder than necessary thanks to the alcohol. You reached up and touched your cheeks, laughing and grinning with them. Data was even laughing as he pulled you into his chest in a warm embrace. He leaned his head down to “whisper” into your ear. “I finally understand what Geordi was talking about. I am in love with you, Y/N.”

You looked into his yellow eyes and grinned, pressing your lips to his again, gently cupping his cheek. “I love you too, Mr. Data.”

[sttngfashion]

Genesis - 7.19

It’s a fashion-light episode but it DOES involve Spot, so. 

We start with Riker in sickbay getting some sort of spiny plant removed from his back after things “started getting romantic” with him and another crew member in the arboretum. 

Fuck so hard I roll over dangerous plants and don’t give two shits

Nurse Ogawa is here, which is always a pleasure, and she’s rocking a seriously voluminous updo, sort of a 1940s meets 1990s sensible French twist. I’m sure she loves having to remove Riker’s sexytime plant spines. That’s definitely what she went to Starfleet Nursing Academy for. 

Barclay is also in sickbay, because: Barclay.

He literally claimed he had something called “Terellian Death Syndrome” which is honestly a terrible name for a syndrome

Beverly has asked him repeatedly not to search the medical database before coming to her (AKA Never Search WebMD), but of course Broccoli does. She’s got her gorgeous strawberry shortcake season 7 hair happening:

MFW Barclay shows up in sickbay for the third time this week

The other patient being tended to is also a beautiful redhead:

The laying on of hands

Spot is pregnant and at first I was like “HOW THE FUCK DID SPOT GET PREGNANT” but apparently a) there are 12 male cats on board and b) Spot has a tendency to sneak out of Data’s quarters.

Okay, listen.

1. If there are AT LEAST 13 cats on board, WHERE ARE THEY? I want a Bridge Cat.

Bridge Cat: artist’s rendering

2. HOW IS SPOT GETTING OUT? This is a fucking SPACESHIP. Shit should be LOCKED DOWN. It’s literally AIRTIGHT. I GUESS she could sneak through, like, a vent or something but if you’re going to have cats on board, you need to PLAN for their fuckery.

This could be really bad

3. If the cats are WANDERING THE SHIP, aren’t you worried they’re going to end up in the warp core? Or that even just their fur is? WHO IS VACUUMING UP ALL THE FUR.

Anyway, Crusher is apparently also a veterinarian (which I guess makes sense since she treats all sorts of species) and says that Spot should deliver her babies soon. Nurse Ogawa then says that she’s also pregnant! THIS WILL BE IMPORTANT LATER, which is the only reason she says it.

Also important for later:

Oh yeah gimme that t-cell injection

I’ll just tell you now that all the weird stuff that occurs in this episode is a result of Broccoli’s mutated t-cells after he gets this shot (or something). It’s (enjoyable) nonsense so don’t worry about it. I just wanted you to see how much he loved getting this hypospray.

Picard and Data have to drive through an asteroid field to get a stray torpedo (bad). Data asks Barclay to keep an eye on Spot, since she’s about to give birth, and she likes Barclay best of all the people on board. You can tell by the way she looks at him:

This IS my “I love you” face

Broccoli is pleased, because no one likes him.

WE’RE BEST FRIENDS NOW

It’s actually very sweet; Barclay even seems to know something about cats and asks Data where she’s planning to have her kittens.

With Barclay’s luck, she will have them inside his pants while he’s wearing them, somehow

I just really enjoy Data’s display case here, with his violin case juuuuust open enough to let all the dust in, but not quite enough to actually see the instrument.

Spot’s in good hands:

Yarn, Spot? You cliche

Elsewhere on the ship, Worf is having a fucking feast:

No I asked for a SIDE of tentacles

This looks delicious, actually. Giant turkey leg? Some kind of weird dried fish? Potato salad on a bed of green beans? I’m in. 

Troi shows up, a little upset that Worf didn’t wait for her, since they planned to have lunch together. He’s mean and it’s weird. You can already tell something STRANGE is happening on the ship, mostly because Troi is NOT wearing a jewel tone:

Eileen Fisher for Spacefleet

Drink this look in, kids, because it’s one of the two non-uniform looks in this episode. We can see here that I THINK Troi is wearing some Danskin shimmer tights with her beige on beige minidress and matching waterfall cardigan. The color is not what we usually see on her, but it’s not terrible (except for my pre-existing anti-beige bias). It’s certainly along the lines of what I wear when I’m lounging around.

Secret pajamas except it’s not a secret. It’s just pajamas I wear in public

Ed. note: I copied that picture of my cat Violet to my clipboard earlier when I was making the images above and I accidentally pasted it here and I can’t bring myself to delete it.

Troi’s hair has reached its astonishing season 7 pouf levels and I just love everything about it. Anyway, Worf is acting like a real dick, but we do get another good look at those Ten-Forward outfits.

IS THAT HOUNDSTOOTH

If I ever attend another con, that’s going to be my look because houndstooth is everything to me.

Later, Worf’s dickishness turns into something MORE:

I’M A DICK ON A RAMPAGE

This scene is super dark and it’s not totally clear what’s happening, but Worf basically just destroys his own quarters, including his pillows, then cuddles up with them on the floor. We do get a decent look at Worf’s jammies, which are brown and might be made of varying colors of burlap.

If anyone was gonna wear burlap pajamas, it would be the Klingons

I’m not sure what’s going on with that shoulder detail, but it can’t be that comfortable to sleep in? But again - Klingons aren’t exactly a culture that considers “comfort” to be something to aim for. If you showed a Klingon an Aerosole, he would 100% cut it in half and throw the halves in your face.

These PJs might also be linen, which would be WAY nicer to sleep in, but a little off-brand. I mean, a Klingon in linen? Can you imagine? Hold on, you don’t have to:

Pure white to better show off the blood of my slain enemies

So everyone is acting weird. Troi is like “I’m cold. I need a bath,” and walks off the bridge. The next time we see her, this is happening:

Deanna, sweetie? It’s more relaxing if you take your uniform off

As she’s taking her fully-clothed bath, Worf busts in and:

CHOMP

It’s actually very upsetting, and at first neither of them even really know how to react either:

Oh god did I just bite you

Did you just fucking BITE me??????

Troi goes to sickbay, where she gets my favorite disco blanket:

Disco Blanket: Because why shouldn’t a blanket be iridescent

To be fair, emergency blankets ARE shiny, so.

You better believe that’s an affiliate link, friend

Okay so THEN Crusher is examining Worf and she asks him to open his mouth and HOO BOY was that a mistake.

Does the replicator not have the recipe for Listerine, or

He SPRAYS her like a fucking dilophosaurus!! 

NOT IN THE FAAAAAAAAAACE

Later someone says her injuries were so bad that SHE WILL NEED RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY. That means in every episode after this (not many, but still), we are seeing a RECONSTRUCTED BEV. 

So everyone is losing it, basically, which doesn’t explain why Broccoli thinks this is a normal way to stand:

Is this how a human? Does a stand? How is stand

Finally, Picard and Data come back, and when they arrive, the Enterprise is just adrift. They board and find this:

Sir, if the t-shirt does not spark joy when you touch it, the book counsels you to throw it away. I was unable to apply this method as I do not feel joy, nor any other emotion

It’s the shed skin of a reptile, which: whaaaaaat? Ain’t no reptiles on this ship!

Narrator: actually, there were reptiles on this ship

Troi is still in the bathtub when Picard and Data find her, and she is like, half lizard because the t-cells released when Barclay got that hypospray are making everyone de-evolve. Sure. She looks terrible, which is a real feat since Marina Sirtis is such a Betty:

Honestly she’s still p hot

I think my favorite part of this makeup is the gecko-like fingertips. Excellent detail. Love the scales, love the contacts, love the unripe banana shade of green they used. All great. 

Data and Picard go check out what else is happening, and they find a caveman at one of the control panels:

Not a Starfleet regulation haircut

But what’s this? It’s not a caveman at all! It’s...

I heard dramatic eyebrows were back in

...Riker! I guess! The makeup on Frakes here is SO heavy that it’s not immediately apparent that it’s Riker, except that he’s wearing command red and has a beard. Plus, Picard says “Will?” upon this reveal. 

FUCK YOU GUYS

I’m saving this as my “flipping the bird” image to use forever.

Data and Picard manage to subdue Riker and get him to sickbay, after which they go to Data’s quarters to use his computer. But guess what happened?

KITTENS

Spot had her babies! They’re legit VERY small kittens and very cute. Data says they’re hungry, and wonders why Spot isn’t taking care of them. And then comes one of the best shots since chicken in the hallway:

Sup

IT’S AN IGUANA WEARING SPOT’S COLLAR. SPOT DEVOLVED INTO LITERALLY JUST AN IGUANA. I laughed so hard at this shot and I REALLY wanted the kittens to interact with the iguana, but they didn’t. I don’t know if that iguana was even on set.

LOL

Data notes that the kittens didn’t turn into baby iguanas, so he thinks maybe there’s some kind of cure for the devolution from pregnancy? Or something? This is where Nurse Ogawa’s recently-announced pregnancy comes into play. So he goes to sickbay, and Picard goes to see what’s going on in Engineering, and finds:

Help meeee

Barclay devolved into, like, a spider? I guess? Because this gene mutating thing is just nuts and does whatever the effects people think will look cool. (And they all do look pretty cool.)

Nurse Ogawa has devolved into Standard Neanderthal #4:

On loan from the American Museum of National History

And finally, the big boss: Worf. Worf turned into something with an exoskeleton that was able to make this dent in the sickbay door:

Rude

Picard and Data speculate that Worf thinks Troi is his mate (sure) and he’s trying to get through the door to her, so they synthesize her pheromones to draw Worf away from sickbay so that Data can focus on making a cure with Nurse Ogawa’s pregnancy hormones. Obviously. But first Picard has to get out of sickbay.

PEEK

Picard manages to lure away the Worf-monster, which looks like this:

Part beetle, part conch shell, all covered in chocolate

It’s hard to see what’s happening but what you can see is just really gnarly:

Are there horny toads on Klingon?

Ultimately, Data is successful in making a cure and sends it through the air ducts so everyone on board is fine. And when Barclay finds out that it was his treatment that started it all, and that he might have a disease named after him:

A hypochondriac’s dream

And don’t forget: THERE ARE AT LEAST 13 CATS ON THE ENTERPRISE

[thegeminisage]

it IS tng update time. saturday we watched "relics" and "schisms" and last night* we did "true q" and "rascals."

*times altered bc as usual im typing this up late at night

relics:

oh boy. ohhh my god

so like, i'd like to preface this with: i am not a scotty stan or anything. don't get me wrong i love the guy and i'm fascinated by the way he tricked me into thinking he had all ten fingers. like he's v fun and all. but im not like Extremely Emotionally Invested In Scotty. all right. that said

I CRIED. LIKE A BABY. no one was more shocked than i was. actually i'm sure catherine was not shocked at all

i didn't cry when he first showed up which is what i suaully do when i see spock. no, no, no, no. it was when he went to the holodeck and created the fucking BRIDGE OF THE ENTERPRISE. and they played the main theme!!! the sound effects were even the same!!!!!!! and like all his friends are dead now except spock and bones and bones frankly has one foot in the grave and another on a banana peel!!!!!!!! I'VE NEVER BEEN SO UPSET IN MY ENTIRE LIFE.

chronologically, this is also the last time we'll ever see a tos cast member coming back to reprise their role except for aos spock and um. an appearance which i do not wish to discuss now or ever. anyway it's definitely the last time in tng proper. and like yeah we have aos and snw and everything but those guys arent the OGs. AUGH.

also wah him saying the doctors are prettier on this enterprise. thats SO MEAN TO BONES………………….i miss him so bad and he's WAY prettier than beverly sorry beverly

i definitely wanted to kill geordi for yelling at scotty when he tried to tell his old man stories. im glad they hung out for the rest of the episode and that geordi treated him really niceys but it still felt a teensy bit patronizing of him at first like he was just doing it because picard told him to make scotty feel useful

THAT SAID. for once, i am pro picard, because picard is a giant nerd and he wanted to listen to scotty's old man stories as much as i did. not that i got to enjoy them while being blinded by tears. i'm actually genuinely tearing up right now while typing this just thinking about it. i think it was genuinely compassionate for picard to want to give scotty something he could genuinely help with in a way that WASN'T patronizing. like old people are just regular people you know. we all get old one day if we're lucky

spotted scotty's missing finger twice, which is two more times than i spotted it in my original watch of tos.

he remembered how to hide the missing finger (mostly) but forgot how to do his fake scottish accent. in his defense it's been ages and he was old but it was still funny

synthehol is wack. it's just another way in which there's no work-life boundary in tng. you're always on call, so you can never get drunk. you will NEVER have personal time aboard this ship. they can call you in your son's parent-teacher meeting. they can call you during birthday parties. you cannot raise your children here. but they do. anyway.

IT'S GREEN!!! i remember seeing a gifset of data floating around saying that to somebody, and then later i saw a gifset of scotty saying it in tos, but i didn't realize data was talking TO SOCTTY i thought it was just a reference!!!!!!! there were actually sooo many tos references in this episode, i was so pleased to hav caught them all <3

looooooved the dyson sphere. that was genuinely so fucking fascinating and it was the b plot!!!!! why can't it be the a plot!!!! it was so cool looking

i thot for a sec they were gonna kill scotty at the end and got REALLY worried but they didn't and he decided not to retire after all and good for him <3

anyway. that cry felt like a full-body workout. horrific.

schisms:

OFF GOES RIKER TO THE COFFEE SHOP

i waited so long to see the episode that gifset is from and it did NOT disappoint

my one sour note re: this ep was the beginning with data's poetry. can we please be nice to him and not loudly fall asleep in the front row. i know the circumstances are highly extenuating. i of all people understand sleep deprivation, which i am currently experiencing even as i type. but that was just rude!!! could he not have simply explained he was unwell and unable to attend!!!!!!! the crowd being restless was terrible. if you simply tell him that he has to have a limit on his poems he would understand. i'm glad geordi was an honest critic when data asked later but i would have liked to see data's results after incorporating his feedback. ok anyway

firstly, i loved when a little guy is sleep deprived. it was great when sam winchester did it and also great when riker does it

SECONDLY, that whole sequence with the table was fucking insane. everything getting darker and darker both literally and metaphorically and deanna starting to look uneasy near the end and riker's eyes being ABSOLUTELY HAUNTED and that table was basically like a chair, anyway

when they were like "yeah the aliens cut off your arm and reattached it" READER I HOLLERED. you can't just put a guy on a chair and tear his arm off and then make him forget stuff. please. it's been nearly 10 years.

when he's like theyre gonna take me again whether i want them to or not. yeah man they sure are. this isn't quite riker roulette but it is definitely adjacent

i think the best cure for insomnia is to be absolutely terrified of going to bed because you're still in uniform and have a tracking device on you because you are about to get abducted by fucking aliens. who could resist sleep after that.

i did wonder why he laid on the table so long before attempting his escape when time was precious but i doubt i could have done any better in his shoes. i sure did love the way that knife thing hung right above his neck though. i'm pretty sure we spent that entire scene hollering DISMEMBER HIM. TRAUMATIZE HIM!! and then they didn't <3 but i'm not even mad about it

anyway. 10/10 episode they need more space horror in star trek bc it's always fun. i remember reading that tos was originally meant to be space horror-y, but i found the pacing of those earliest episodes waaaay too slow. i want a star trek show with more dismemberment though.

true q:

mistakenly thot this episode was named qpid (got it mixed up) and was hoping for more of q wanting to fuck picard to so bad it makes him look stupid but all we got was one little arm around his shoulder. which was REALLLY funny because picard instantly made a face like he'd eaten sour lemon but we deserved more. to reiterate i do NOT want them to fuck i think the dynamic of q wanting to fuck and picard preferring to die first is the funniest possible set of circumstances

instead, q constantly displays predatory body language towards this EIGHTEEN YEAR OLD GIRL. he leans really close to her and whispers in her ear and all that stuff and i did Not like it

i kept waiting for this girl to secretly be his child, or for her parents to have once been friends with him, but they literally were just randos to each other. disappointing, especially after he vanished while she was having her emotional moment on seeing their faces

where do the puppies go when she vanishes them? do they cease to exist?? did she just kill 12 puppies on screen???? too horrible to contemplate. i wish i could make kittens out of thin air though. actually that would be a terrible power the world is overpopulated with kittens as it is but STILL.

i want to know more about the weather altering net. we could have an entire episode about that alone. you just...got rid of tornadoes? and forest fires? did you fix climate change??

riker almost being killed by an empty barrel sent me into fits. they didn't strap them down after what happened to worf? this spaceship gets jostled horrifically EVERY EPISODE. what are they thinking!!!!!!!!!

RIKER ROULETTE STRIKES AGAIN. her bringing him to the alternate dimension and trying to lay on the moves was bad enough but using her powers to MAKE HIM START KISSING HER? HELLO???? i'm still mad they wrote an episode about rape and just used it for deanna fetish fuel instead of actually discussing what this poor guy goes through. why is it somehow ok/not noteworthy when it's men. come on now

it was kind of silly to have this girl go "no way im a human forever" and then immediately solve climate change on this other planet because her lil crush (/VICTIM???) was down there. like that was so rushed and weird

ultimately not a very good episode. i only like one thing about q and they did NOT deliver. he was also a misogynist to beverly once...like, die

rascals:

this got a 1 on letswatchstartrek.com and i simply disagree. i would have given it a 2 or mmmaybe 3. well no probably a 2 but STILL. first of all, tng's children are ALWAYS charming, and these guys were no exception, save possibly the kid who was playing picard, who was fine until the tantrum scene/riker's son bit, at which point i wanted to die

i never want to hear riker say daddy again.

i HAAAATE the ferengi theyre racist theyre misogynist i HATE THEM.

i felt like there was a missed opportunity with obrien and keiko to have him be cool about it, instead of awkward like everyone else. like i obviously dont think they should be canoodling or anything, gross, but there's nothing wrong with a little platonic compassion. he got there in the end ig but idk it would've made a nice contrast

how old is their fucking baby??? i just looked it up and she was born at the beginning of season 5...her ass is NOT old enough to be talking yet let alone full complete clear sentences??????

anyway speaking of compassion............GUINAN AND RO

i actually unironically loved ro's little arc here. anyone who had a shitty childhood will tell you they'd cut off their arm before going back, but she had to go back anyway, and guinan neither pitied her nor minimized anything she'd gone through. instead she got to occupy that space in a totally harmless way and receive a little closure. while the rest of this episode was okay-ish to maybe less than okayish (i NEVER want to hear riker say daddy EVER again) ro's little bit was so so so good.

re: ro...i love that we don't constantly bring her past and situation up as if it's the only thing about her but nor do we shy away from it and how it's shaped her and the narrative has never once suggested she's too harsh or too angry or whatever. of course with a season and a half left there's still time to ruin it but so far her whole thing has been one of the very few instances where tng is doing everything wonderfully.

NEXT TIME: "a fistful of datas" (noooo it's a holodeck episode) and "the quality of life."

[themovieblogonline]

Strange New Worlds Season 2: What Is The Doctor Hiding?

Star Trek has a long-standing tradition of the Chief Medical Officer being a part of the main ensemble cast. Starting from Bones Mcoy from The Original Series to the Emergency Medical Hologram in Voyager to Bashir in Deep Space Nine. Star Trek doctors get a lot of importance and focus in their respective series. Star Trek: Picard season 3 even uses The Next Generation’s doctor Beverly Crusher as the main plot point that kicks off that story. So it’s only fitting that the Strange New Worlds doctor seems to be getting quite the highlight in this new season. The Strange New Worlds season 2 premiere saw the doctor in a new light, and with it, they seem to be teasing a dark past. Which begs the question that, what exactly is the Strange New Worlds doctor hiding? Please note the following will contain spoilers for the Strange New Worlds season 2 premiere episode. Strange New Worlds Doctor Has A Dark Past When the Strange New Worlds season 2 premiere episode aired, I remember thinking how nice it was to have Dr. M’Benga’s (Babs Olusanmokun) calming and soothing presence back on the screen. Throughout the first season, the doctor has gotten a great emotional arc with his daughter. Not to mention being the consistent rock that the rest of the crew looks to for support of all kinds. And he definitely starts season 2 in the same way, helping Spock with his emotional issues and basically acting as his therapist. However, when the story of the episode puts the crew in a position to interact with Klingons, things get dark, quick! We learn that, along with Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush), M’Benga served in the Klingon War years ago. An experience he clearly hadn’t gotten over given that Chapel asks him if he’s okay, reminding him that the war is over. To which M’Benga replies very ominously, asking if war truly is ever over. Dark stuff, folks. More Than War PTSD? While this new revelation about the Strange New Worlds doctor’s past is a very interesting character history to include, there is seemingly more to it than that. There are some usual storytelling tropes that come along with a character who has a war background; they may have PTSD, they may now be a pacifist or have trouble reconciling things they did under difficult circumstances that they are guilt-ridden about afterwards. All of these could be in play with M’Benga’s depiction of someone who was at war. But a certain interaction suggests that there is more to his past. When the crew meets up with La’an (Christina Chong), there’s talk of a certain kind of radiation making the inhabitants sick on the planet she’s in. M’Benga immediately identifies this radiation to Photon Torpedoes, a kind of weapon, causing Spock to be surprised at the Strange New Worlds doctor even has this kind of knowledge. Nurse Chapel quickly interjects revealing that they both served in the Klingon war and that ‘doc likes to read up on weapons systems is all’. It was subtle but almost felt like an explanation to questions no one really asked. Yet. Strange New Worlds’ Doctor Is A Low-Key Badass While this scene on its own doesn’t really mean anything, it’s what happens in the rest of the episode that definitely raises some eyebrows. Klingons at one point capture and force Chapel and M’Benga to provide medical assistance to their crew. However, realizing that these Klingons are trying to restart the war, they take things into their own hands. M’Benga brings out a vial of green liquid saying it can help them achieve their objectives. When Chapel asks does he ever not carry this, M’Benga replies in the negative. What this mysterious green vial contains is anyone’s guess right now. Once injected, it seemingly gives both Chapel and the doctor powers, or advanced strength to take on an entire crew of Klingons with ease. Also seems to bring about some violence in the good doctor as well. Now is this what Chapel asked about, that M’Benga apparently always carries? And if so, why? Why would the doctor constantly need to carry a vial of super strength potion with him at all times? But an easier explanation could also be a less literal one. Chapel could have asked he always carries the weight of his past on him. But given the sequence of events and the direction of the conversation, it feels less likely. I’m hoping season 2 explores this dark past and reveals what it is that the Strange New Worlds doctor is hiding, and how it ties into the character we’ve come to love from season 1. Strange New Worlds season 2 is airing weekly on Paramount+. Do you think that the doctor is hiding something too, or am I just spinning wild theories out of dilithium? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter at @theshahshahid. Read the full article

[themovieblogonline]

Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Premiere: How A New Character Expands The Universe Beyond TNG

The final season of Star Trek: Picard is here and it’s already looking a lot better than the previous two. While I enjoyed both seasons of Picard immensely, this season has started in a way that truly resembles The Next Generation (TNG) sequel fans, and I wanted. But in another way, it also develops the world of Star Trek, beyond what we’ve ever gotten in a movie or other show. And they do this through one specific character in the Star Trek: Picard season 3 premiere episode. Please note that the following will contain spoilers for Star Trek: Picard season 3 premiere episode of season 3.  The Picard Season 3 Premiere Puts Our Heroes Into Uncertainty The premiere episode of season 3 begins with a classic TNG character, Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), in danger. She reaches out to Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) for help, obviously, and our adventure begins. Picard has to go far outside of Federation space to rescue Beverly from whatever mysterious danger she is in. Oh, and he brings William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) along for the ride. And this is where things get real. Despite the characters’ iconic statuses among fans, and to an extent within the universe of Star Trek itself, the Picard premiere episode puts them in their place. The story showcases to us just how much weight or lack thereof, these former heroes and badasses have in this world. As a retired Admiral and a Captain without a ship, Riker and Picard have little sway in this world anymore. Sure, they have respect as men of great accomplishment in their time, but that’s it. And it’s not just indifference or apathy towards them, but one particular character seems to be tired of their BS. Pardon my French. Not Everyone Likes Starfleet ‘Heroes’ In Picard Premiere When planning a ruse to convince Riker’s old ship, the Titan, to ferry them to rescue Beverly, our heroes hit a snag. They meet the new Captain of the Titan, Captain Shaw (Todd Stashwick). Shaw seems like a world-weary officer of Starfleet who has seen it all and what he lacks in decorum, he makes up for with a knack for brutal straightforwardness. When meeting Riker and Picard for the first time, he makes it very clear that he has no respect or admiration for their way of doing things. Getting into trouble, breaking the rules, and doing whatever they want, despite how it all works out in the end. Shaw is essentially referring to the countless adventures that these two had in stories from the Star Trek: The Next Generation series, as well as the multiple movies that came after. But unlike most other characters in the world of Star Trek, his opinion of them for these same reasons are of indignation. And he clearly doesn’t like them as people, either. Todd Stashwick’s Captain Shaw Provides New Insight Into Star Trek This attitude by a character who knows all of Enterprise-D’s exploits is a little startling. This isn't what we're used to from Star Trek. Usually, in later stories from the movies, the Enterprise crew are as heroes, role models, and the epitome of inspiration within Starfleet and the Federation. They’re always given room to do what they want, their names carry weight and they can call in countless favours from colleagues and friends through the years. But not anymore, it seems like. At least so far with the Star Trek: Picard season 3 premiere. Stashwick’s Captain Shaw gives us a different vantage point into, how I’m sure many members of Starfleet feel, about these guys. This contrast to what usually see really develops the Star Trek world as a real lived-in universe, and not just retreading the same dynamic over and over again. Providing us with a character like Shaw who actively opposes the reverence towards these characters, and puts them in place, is a great way to remind audiences that there are always two sides to the story. It creates a more rounded universe where our heroes aren’t just heroes who can do no wrong. But rather real flawed characters, whose actions can be just as much in the wrong, as we know them to be in the right. Picard Season 3 Premiere Is Off To A Great Start Whatever the main story and conflict and villain of this story are going forward, the Star Trek: Picard season 3 premiere sets the perfect tone for the end of this season. How despite whatever outward conflict there is, our aged, fan-favourite ensemble characters will also have to deal with their status in a world that has seemingly grown beyond them. And I’m sure whatever else the story has in store will make things even more interesting. And I can’t wait for more Stashwick! Episode 1 of Star Trek: Picard is now available on Paramount+ with a new episode every week. What did you think of the Picard season 3 premiere? Did you love Shaw putting Picard & Riker in their places? Let me know in the comments below. Read the full article