#takes a much more thoughtful view of human-vulcan first contact

[cantsayidont]

If I'm being honest, I haven't liked a lot of STAR TREK since TNG canonically established in "Encounter at Farpoint" that the Federation's supposedly utopian future Earth is a post-apocalyptic world, which was a profound betrayal of the promise of STAR TREK as a positive future and permanently colored my attitude toward TNG and its successors (with the conditional exception of DEEP SPACE NINE, which has some unique virtues to partly mitigate its various failings). The nadir of that shift is the ideologically repellent STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT, which takes a potentially compelling moment in the TREK timeline and turns it into a ghastly Libertarian zombie movie, but PICARD and STRANGE NEW WORLDS taking pains to rub viewers' faces in this dishonest and cynical conceit all over again hasn't improved my opinion of those shows.

[theshadowrealmitself]

About my last ask

Got two lads I want to know about

"who hasn’t realized yet that their Vulcan coworker is an alien, and keeps summing up their behavior as them being autistic like the oc or it being a religious thing as their coworker is clearly religious (they assume the Teachings of Surak is a religion) "

Because honestly this is my favourite thing ever. Also my brain is so stuck on *oh yeah, vulcans do just look like goth humans don't they?*

And also "Mostly just because I want Vulcans to come into contact with a knitted Sehlat and stop functioning for a second, I don’t want to look at everyone through a human lens but I still think coming across a small plushie that resembles your pet growing up is a universal want "

Because mmm funky ass interactions of "I made this for you?" "What? H o w???"

Idk if I'm explaining my thoughts correctly but my autism has latched onto your ocs

(Real quick, none of my oc’s are named because I’m terrible at naming 😭)

Unfortunately I don’t have too much for the first one, the main thing was just misunderstandings of them like, offering chocolate to their coworker and when they reject it, they assume it’s either a religious thing or they’re allergic to chocolate, so they take great care to not offer it again to not make them uncomfortable (especially if they want chocolate but aren’t allowed to, wouldn’t be nice of them to dangle a treat like that in front of them knowing they can’t accept it)

Their Vulcan coworker just thinks they’re the most accepting Human they’ve ever worked with:

very courteous of their personal space and eating requirements, tries to communicate with them on the same level (mirroring them), i.e., trying to avoid words that imply emotions, they don’t ever make them feel unwanted or like an outsider, but they also don’t ignore that they’re a Vulcan, they’re always inquiring about Surak and acknowledging the differences in how they view things since they’re from a different species (their coworker is actually just acknowledging how coming from different time periods and religions causes them to view things differently)

I got stuck on what would happen after awhile, I was thinking that maybe their other coworkers figure out what’s happening first based on how the Human coworker has phrased some stuff about their Vulcan coworker or Vulcans in general, but I couldn’t think of how I’d want the reveal to go down (other than the Human bouncing back immediately because I can’t stand the thought of the Vulcan coworker having to deal with the fact that the Human actually is freaked out by them being different species or anything like that) so this little au/story/thing is on the back burner for now

And for the second one, oh my god I haven’t thought about those ocs in awhile, they’re connected to a type of ocs I was making for awhile that included “Humans making videos that Vulcans watch for entertainment”:

So the premise was that this Human wakes up in the future (I forget the buildup, really need to write stuff down more often), and they’re trying to adjust to the fact that since the world is post-scarcity they can actually follow their interests, but also since the world has changed so much, they don’t even know how to enter their world of interests anymore (if that makes sense?)

While trying to acclimate to everything, they look into their hobbies to see how much has changed, and find out that knitting (both fortunately and unfortunately) hasn’t changed that much, like there’s way more patterns for Human stuff, i.e., more realistic patterns for earth animals, but patterns for non-Terran stuff? Nonexistent.

The Human starts filling this niche, coming up with patterns for them, and then making long “how to” videos with no cuts (they have no idea how to edit videos, so all their videos are real time how they made the item), and then they post it where it doesn’t really get a lot of Human views, but it starts gathering the attention of other species’ who all start to really enjoy learning this Human hobby

Because the videos are so long, the audio is the Human talking about customs and stuff surrounding knitting (like baby blankets for baby showers, making scarves for crushes in media, the “boyfriend curse”, etc), which leads to other Human customs, and gives everyone who watches it a new view of Humans, while the Human gets an appreciation for these other species that other Humans don’t normally get, as their first introduction to these species is searching up customs and stuff that other Humans don’t even think about as they try to see if there’s anything similar to Human knitting customs

(Like do other species ever gift handmade blankets to each other? if they did what’s everything surrounding them? like do different patterns and different colors have different meanings? can any of these blankets be recreated with knitting? etc)

I’m so upset that I forgot what the setup was with the Vulcan in this scenario, the main things I remember was them seeing the stuffed sehlat for the first time and just freezing, and the other thing was them knowing the Human before ever knowing that they knit and getting a crush on them through the videos after seeing how focused and competent they were while knitting

(I love Vulcans falling for wacky or whatever types of Humans, but I also like them first logically getting a crush on Humans after seeing them serious or competent in a way they never really thought of Humans being like, and then the crush getting worse after seeing them be silly and they don’t understand it)

Edit: I have another oc set that’s similar to this (like I said I have a lot of Human ocs that follow this outline) except: they specifically make miniature realistic figurines, they’re academic rivals with the Vulcan (huge misunderstanding, neutralness sometimes sounds like being an asshole especially when the other person has been having a terrible day and doesn’t know anything about Vulcans and them being neutral, but the misunderstanding eventually led to both of them considering the other one a rival)

And one of their rivalries is over getting this specific study room, the Vulcan thinks it’s the most logical place to study, and the Human uses the room to make their figurine videos and hates the idea of switching to a different room when they’ve become accustomed to this one, so the two keep trying to arrive earlier and earlier than the other one to claim it, even going to the lengths of underhanded methods (the Vulcan swears they didn’t mess with the coding on the door to not let the Human in when they got the key first that one time, but they totally did)

Eventually a professor steps in and forces them to share the study room, which leads to the Vulcan’s new fascination with these tiny figurines and then a fascination with the one who makes them (although tbh that fascination was already building while they were fighting over who gets the room first, the Vulcan just doesn’t want to admit to ever having a crush on such a hot headed Human)

[lucycola]

Hey could you do a Spock X reader where she knows nothing about Vulcans and like keeps accidentally doing taboo things e.g touching hands or touching his ears

I thoroughly enjoyed writing this! I accidentally made it gender neutral, because I forgot what pronouns, you used. I’m sorry! I hope you like it.

WARNINGS: Fluff, affection, ignorance of affection in Vulcan culture idk. Maybe Spock is slightly OOC but who cares. I took a little liberty of giving the reader a pinch of background.

To say you were oblivious was an understatement. You weren’t a complete idiot, or anything, just innocently scatterbrained. Perhaps that was the explanation why you didn’t flinch when every you were chastised for a mistake or given a strict order by your commanding officer. As a blue shirt, you fell under the command of the Enterprise’s first officer, and his reputation as a stony, unfeeling, authoritarian preceded him. You were never bothered by this. He was most terrifying, others noted, when Captain Kirk left him in charge when unable to take the chair. You were warned about him-to never cross him and always do exactly as he said. Spock was a hard-ass. He was handsome and perhaps at first you wondered, but it had been made clear to by others he wasn’t interested in anyone.

You had met more terrifying people. You had nine brothers and a strict, often unfair and bully of a father. Commander Spock was a piece of cake. It was in your nature to be gentle, welcoming, and comforting despite the constitution of your upbringing. It was your personality. You didn’t like to let people bring you down.

You were elated alone to be living your dream, anyway. You weren’t going to let the attitude of anyone around you affect your nature or happiness.

You obviously didn’t know anything about Vulcans either.

The first touch was accidental. It always is.

You never took the Vulcan to be clumsy, but on one occasion while discussing your current assignment in passing he dropped his holotape. You both reached  for it, and in a cliché manner brushed hands. While your boss pulled away, you did not and picked up the tape.

“Here ya go!” You cheerily patted the tape in his hand for good measure, “I’ll have that report in the morning like you’ve requested, sir.”

Bypassers gawked as you cheerily skipped away. Your commanding officer only quirked a brow and went on his way.

The next time was less on purpose and more out of your kindness as your commander internally lamented about his captain’s safety during an emergency situation. He had donned the chair and even while appearing composed and direct you had an eye for spotting worry in well kept men. In an brief moment you pressed your hand to his wrist and said softly, “He will be okay. You’ll make sure of it.”

He tensed under your touch and you removed your hand a smiled.

“Report to your station, Ensign,” he said in his usual tone, no hint of distaste or approval in his voice.

“Yes sir.”

The third time was even worse. Somehow you had been suckered to prompting Spock by Doctor McCoy into reporting to an impromptu physical. Confidentiality be damned, the Vulcan’s stress levels were unusually high and it was affecting his demeanor. You accidentally overheard the nurse and the doctor whispering something perhaps about pon farr happening again, but no it hadn’t been seven years yet. Whatever that was.

“I don’t think he’ll listen to me, but if you say it’s important, I’ll try.”

“You’re his favorite, so you’re my best bet.”

“Mister Spock doesn’t have favorites,” you laughed, “But I’ll do it anyway. Someone has to draw the shortest straw. I never mind it being me.”

“Thankyou, Ensign. And good luck.”

You skipped along to the your commander’s quarters. You had never been inside and only rarely had delivered your reports to him in person when requested. He couldn’t always come to you and that was understandable.

At the chime the door slid open and though it was subtle, your boss clearly wasn’t expecting you.

“Hello, Mister Spock,” you greeted, “Doctor McCoy-”

“I am aware of the doctor’s request. As it is not mandatory  I do not find it necessary to attend.”

It wasn’t like him to interrupt you. He was tense and though he stood perfectly erect like a statue there was a little shake in his right hand. Without thinking, you grasped it to still the quiver.

“Are you alright?”

Many would expect his to snatch it away, but he didn’t and stood there. If he was caught off guard, it wasn’t apparent. His expression was unmoving and his eye contact never wavered.

“I am fine, Ensign. Report back to your duties.”

“Doctor McCoy said it was important.”

“I am not here to entertain the doctor’s every illogical human whim.” He pulled his hand away, “There is no empirical evidence to suggest I am ill.”

“You’re shivering.” You put your hands on your hip and gave him the most mothering look you could muster.

“Multiple factors such as the natural low temperature of deep space can illicit such a reaction,” he retorted.

“It’s broiling in your cabin, Mister Spock. Only people with fevers do things like that.”

“Humans, Ensign. Humans,” he corrected, “I deduce you are not aware of Vulcan biology or customs.”

“Please don’t lie to me,” you requested softly, “How am I supposed to work efficiently under an ill commanding officer?”

The way you spoke nearly convinced him to do your bidding, but still he remained stubborn.

“I do not comprehend how that would deter your work efficiency.”

You grabbed his hand again, “I am going to worry myself to death if you really are ill and you’re just trying to act like you’re alright. That will keep me from working like I’m supposed to. Efficient crew needs an efficient captain.” You winked at him.

“But Captain Kirk-”

“It’s a metaphor, Mister Spock. Now please come so the doctor can stop paging me and I can work on my report concerning the Althenian plant’s healing properties and various uses from its sap.”

“I yield,” he said after a small beat and without releasing your hand, followed you to the medbay. More people inwardly gawked watching to drag him down the hall. His face was tense, albeit slightly amused.

After reaching your destination you waved him and the doctor off sweetly and made your way back to the lab. You heart wrapped around the thought of him being ill and you hid that worry ill. A little heat bloomed in your chest at his previous touch. You brushed it away. No, you told yourself.

The doctor was only a little surprised. His suspicions were confirmed.

“I had my doubts at first, Spock, but now I see it’s true.”

“Despite Vulcan’s telepathic abilities, I cannot automatically read your mind. Elaborate, Doctor.”

The doctor chucked, “That ensign is your favorite.”

“I do not understand.”

“Who else could have convinced you to come here to let me scan you? Probably not even Jim-”

“I am inclined to follow the captain’s every order.”

“You don’t let anyone touch you like that. Especially not for a long time. If I’m not mistaken you two were practically kiss-”

“That will be enough elaboration, doctor. Please proceed with your medical assessment, as I have much work to attend to.”

The doctor chuckled again. “It’s too bad I can’t tell with that one. They act like that towards everyone.”

“Everyone,” Spock repeated flatly although it was intended to be a question.

“Sweetest soul I’ve ever met. Lights up a room as soon as they enter it.”

“Indeed,” Spock nodded, familiar with the colloquialism.

The doctor’s eyebrows raised and he grinned, “I knew it.”

You of course were oblivious to all of this as you continued through your work, happy as a clam.

After some deliberation one of your coworkers decided to explain the delicacies of Vulcan culture after viewing a friendly hand grasp as a greeting between you and your commanding officer. You were elated to see his shivering had stopped and once again he tensed under the touch, but nodded his head at your greeting. You had blushed while doing so. It was sweet, but your coworker had to break it to you as they had before when warning you last time about him not being interested in anyone.

“Vulcans don’t like to be touched, you know,” they said to you, taking you aside.

“What do you mean?”

“They’re very sensitive to skin to skin contact. They guard themselves mostly, but hand touching is extremely taboo the way kissing in public or other sexual acts are.”

“You mean...” you blushed, “I’ve been--! I hope he’s not offended.”

“Normally he’s not afraid to explain things or clear up-“ you coworker coughed,”-unwanted affection. I’ve seen plenty girls get a talking down to.”

“What are you saying?”

“Perhaps he’s forcing himself to be polite.”

“Oh, I’ve got to apologize right away!”

You felt so stupid! How could you be so offensive to him or his culture? You should have read up on his customs before truly interacting with him. It would seem like a smart thing to do-but you were so lost to the world it was embarrassing.

You paused in front of his door for the first time in your life, afraid to speak to him.

The door open quickly and you stepped back, surprised. He had looked like he had been going to leave and you sheepishly smiled, “I’m sorry for interrupting you, sir. I need to speak to you.”

“Come inside.”

You blushed at the request, wringing your hands as you entered.

You turned to him and blurted, “I had no idea what I was doing, sir, I swear. Had I known that touching you was wrong I would stop. I’m so used to being touchy-feely on Earth I forgot that not everyone-”

“Ensign,” he said firmly.

“Yes?” you squeaked.

“Had those interactions provoked me I would have made it known. I should be the one offering an apology. I should have explained what such interactions mean on Vulcan before anyone else claimed the opportunity. I assume someone took the liberty of doing so.”

“Yessir. I’m sorry.”

“Do not apologize.”

“Why not?’

“Because your actions did not provoke me, but precisely did the opposite.”

“What-what do you mean?” Your face was fully red and you obscured it with your hands. He let out a sound that was the closest Vulcan thing as a sigh and stepped closed to you.

He grasped your hands and lowered them from your face. His eyes were soft and the most vulnerable as you had every seen them.

He pressed his right hand that was shivering terribly to the side of your face. It stilled instantly.

“I am aware of your affection for me and I return the sentiment.”

You couldn’t find your voice and after a long moment of studying your features he leaned down to give you a kiss, warm and firm.

You gasped into his lips and pressed back.

He released you and you looked at him starry eyed.

“So it was true, what the doctor said, you said in a hushed tone.

Spock’s arms were around you gently, “Elaborate.”

“I am your favorite.”

“Affirmative.”

FIN

[og-danny-dorito]

Spock Headcanons (There's No Reason This Time I Swear)

S F W: 

- I don't even know why I like him so much I just do, but my dumb gay ass just loves this man. seriously no kidding

- spock is a child of two worlds; an outcast but a familiar part of both systems in their actuality, residing as the cross section between Vulcan and human that was frowned upon for so long. his intelligence was left unconsidered as he passed all of his classes with excellence, being known as not the intelligent Vulcan boy but as the dysfunctional human hybrid of a being

- so obviously he's probably got some insecurities

- they're not bad, but he tends to be a bit self deprecating sometimes when referring to capability of things. for instance if you ask him if he can say uhhh.... if he can draw something for example. he’ll most likely state that he has no talent or not enough skill or his previous artwork was terrible so he doesn't suggest asking him for it. 

- he knows what he logically isn't and is capable of, but the human doubt still crawls in the back of his mind like a parasite. he still feels emotions, just less outwardly, he's definitely capable of feeling and if you are observant enough you'll notice that he expresses himself through very very small gestures

- when he quirks a brow at something he either finds it surprising or he's being sarcastic, two things which don't happen often (except the latter)

- he's very private, obviously, but is still open to conversation about his interests. mostly he says that he just reads and works in his spare time, but that's not exactly the truth

- when he has nothing else to do, spock finds interest in cat videos and cat videos only. seriously, he'll watch them for hours if he's not got nothing to do, just staring at the screen in silence as he watches cats do stupid cute things like they're the most interesting beings in the world

- he secretly would like a cat as a pet, but yknow it's not really easy to keep pets on Starfleet considering he doesn't want to deprive the animal of connectivity with nature

- can and will debate you about whether cats or dogs are better. sulu once said he thought cats were problematic in spock’s general area of 10 feet in diameter and there was a very heated debate that went on for a good hour or so before sulu got frustrated and decided to just let him win

- spock also likes weird and exotic plants considering that their chemical composition is interesting. he finds it fascinating that different planets use the plants around them for food or medical treatment or a number of other things, so he finds that a way to start off with a culture study is to study the biotany of the planet first

- had NEVER seen a cactus before coming to earth, and now has like 10 of them just sitting in his quarters. he'll never tell anyone but they're named after the constellations that can be seen from Vulcan. he's just a nerd I swear

- Shakespeare nerd, although that's  fact not a headcanon

- romantically I think he'd have fairly bad self worth issues. a lot of the time he views himself as unworthy of his partner, and he'll have trouble with physical contact the first few times mainly because he doesn't exactly know what to do with himself

- not much for pda at all. he says it's because it's indecent, but it's really because he gets all flustered when you kiss his cheek or snake your fingers around his in public where there are people all around. he gets super embarrassed and it's cUTE

- wouldn't have a favorite part of his partner physically; he's genuinely only attracted to the mind. male or female or not even using that gender binary, if you fit whatever standard he holds for intelligence and actually love him he doesn't care what you physically are

- vulcans bond through souls so appearance basically doesn't matter. this doesn't mean he doesn't find you attractive, it just means he wouldn't care if you weren't. he loves everything about you anyway, beautiful or not to the world around you both

- you could call him pansexual and I feel like he prefers someone with a more feminine or elegant way of handling themselves. someone that generally is elegant and cunning seriously catches his attention, and on top of that someone who can and will openly challenge him genuinely makes him intrigued and enrapt with you

- he does kindof have a taste for people who can be reckless (cough Jim cough) due to impulse or bravery, seeing as he admires the fact that the person is willing to take a risk

- cannot be with someone closed off and cold, it just won't work cause he himself is basically a block of ice. he does feel but like barely, and even then he doesn't really show it

- one good way to tell the emotion is to look into his eyes. they speak more than he ever would about his feelings to anyone out loud

- writes poetry to give as presents to those he cares about; most commonly to lovers or his mom (at least he used to write for his mom, until she died). he writes actually very well, although his poetry is more structured than eloquent in a sense of interpretation and imaginativeness. he writes about things that he likes about you, which ends up describing all of you with very specific details you probably didn't realize until you read the lines

- appreciates art in all forms, although he's fairly certain he'd be bad at it. if you write stories or draw he's always open to helping you interpret characters or figure out a good way to express your own feeling through the ar if you're having trouble. encourages you to try new things with pretty much everything, but mostly art

- VERY very good at giving advice, he's basically the Strict Mom of the whole crew (I say strict mom because there are multiple different people who take the mom title, such as Leonard “Bones” McCoy; Stressed Mom). for instance if you're injured or being faced with mentally stressing conditions he'll most likely tell you to take breaks more often or suggest speaking about them to either your peers or to someone you trust. usually people go to him when they don't know what to do and he calculates the probabilities of each and suggest they put aside most emotional matters to think through it more clearly

- his ideal date would probably be like going to a museum or something, but all he’ll do is stay in a section with all the cool rocks and taxidermy animals while asking your opinion and knowledge on them curiously. he may know about pretty much everything in there but he doesn't care, he likes to watch you marvel at all the cool things in there

- 100% does buy the stuffed animals and figurines that are supposed to be models of stuff. yes, he knows that he can find that rock from that one planet practically anywhere but he still WANTS it because it GLOWS in the DARK

- probably would not think you're like seriously dating until the second month or so, mainly to calculate stability between you two

- is open to a marriage if he's been courting someone for a particularly long time, being at least three years or so. he's very very plan-oriented and organized and so he expects you to be lacking impulsiveness when making life-changing decisions

- bonding with his partner means the most to him in all honesty, though. it hold s such a high regard in his heart and soul that he genuinely feel s very very seriously and passionately about it. it's something he doesn't take with a grain of salt, mostly because he wants to be with the one he loves forever. you mean the world to him, and he wants to keep you as close as possible for as long as possible

- down to have kids, maybe a girl that he'd name Amanda, after his mother, or a boy named Grayson or some Vulcan name that you wouldn't be able to pronounce correctly without extensive practicing

- just thinks kids are nice, although he'd probably be a little hesitant and VERY protective

- OH and before I finish this is completely unrelated but I feel like he likes summer more than any other season since it reminds him of his homeland so much. that and he also likes that everything grows up nicely during this time

- his favorite flower is either the notch-leaf phacelia or the harvestbell mainly because he likes the colors and structure of them; he just thinks they look neat

- he'll get them for you whenever, most likely organize the flowers specifically himself for you, combining yours and his favorite flowers to look beautiful even though the could be completely different

- denies that he's a hopeless romantic, merely stating that he just wants you to know that he loves you by giving you poems and flowers 

- but we all know The Truth

- tbh he just cares a lot, although he's bad a thing showing emotions. Spock is calm and collected, but inside a whirlpool of thoughts flood his head daily. be patient with him and he'll open up over time, letting you see into the depths of the mind you'll come to cherish so deeply

[angsty-violet]

Agony - Chapter 23

Agony Masterpost

@whumptober2020

Tuvok had been tired for the entire time he had been captured. The air was too cold, the days too long and filled with pain, and sleep had been scarce. However, nothing had felt quite like the exhaustion he had been left with after leaving the infirmary. Tuvok had to assume it was a side effect of the sedation. He had dealt with hypothermia before, and beyond some residual tiredness for a few days, he usually was fine as soon as he was warmed up.

This time though, it felt like someone had drained all of his energy from his body at once.

His limbs were sluggish and uncoordinated. His eyes had trouble focusing for any period, and Tuvok found himself not wanting to do anything but sleep. It was rapidly becoming an obstacle for his escape plans and his ability to deal with the torture. Kell’an seemed more and more anxious the longer Tuvok took to recover from the ordeal.

Kell’an had done several flushes to rid his system of the chemicals that had kept him compliant. However, their effect seemed to last, even after it left his system. It made him unbelievably tired.

Tuvok had been tired a lot in his life. Life on the Voyager was a stringent one, and no one could do his job the way he could. Long unrewarding hours and ungrateful people marked the days. Never on Voyager, nor during his residence in Kell’an possession, had he ever felt like this.

He wondered if this was what depression felt like. This constant pull to simply lay down and never get up. Vulcans weren’t prone to depression, and it only usually occurred once their mates passed away. Often it led to their own deaths. Their bodies merely executing what their minds already knew—that their life was over.

Since Vulcans repressed their feelings, they weren’t affected in the same way that races that did feel were. Emotions were not part of their lives, and without the emotional aspect, depression was just fatigue wearing a heavy coat.

Or at least, that’s what Tuvok had always assumed. He had never been in a situation before that forced him to believe that there might be no way out. That all action towards saving himself and all hope that he would be saved was for naught. There had always been a way out. Now, there might be nothing.

He attempted to push that thought from his mind, but it plagued him. As much as he didn’t want them to, his thoughts turned toward his future. There were downsides to being a pragmatist, and one of those was the inability to not think about the future. To not try and plan his way out of any situation.

In this one, though, with his body and mind weakening, it was becoming increasingly likely that there would be no way out. Tuvok closed his eyes and felt relief from them immediately. They ached and wanted to stay closed. He tried to force them back open, but they wouldn’t go.

The hypothermia was pushing him to the very edge of his limits. He was reaching the point of no return. Eventually, even if the Voyager managed to rescue him, there was a good chance that he would already be gone mentally or physically. That wasn’t a pleasant thought, but it was a realistic one. One, he hoped the crew was thinking about if they were pursuing him.

He had seen humans with their hopes dashed. Every time they came across a solution for getting home, that didn’t work. The Caretaker’s mate, the resonance device, and the wormhole had all placed a damper on morale.

They had affected him less, but Tuvok knew that it wasn’t fair to compare them to him. He had already resigned himself to not seeing his wife or children again. Even if they were to make it back in a relatively short time compared to the original timeline, even 10 years was too many. By that point, his mind would begin to degrade faster and faster. Eventually, it would cease to function, and he would die.

He hadn’t told the Captain that yet. He didn’t want her to feel guilt over not using the Array to send the crew back to the Alpha Quadrant. She already felt enough.

Tuvok felt a thought creep in. It was let in by the exhaustion, and he couldn’t clear it from his mind. It was similar to earlier thoughts where he had believed it was best to not contact Voyager. To save his crew from a hypothetical fate.

Perhaps it really would be better to die here than to go back to the Voyager.

He didn’t want to lose his mental faculties. He didn’t want to put his crew through the pain of watching him lose his mind and then losing him to death. He didn’t want to have them cling to the desperate hope that they would get back in time to restore him to his full self. If he died here, they would only know the grief of losing a comrade.

It would also mean that the fledgling relationships he had built would not go any further. No crew member would have a chance to become attached, as so many humans did. This would save them from further heartbreak in the future.

All he had to do was give in. To stop resisting the tortures being inflicted on him and allow Kell’an to kill him. There were so many things that could be prevented by doing so.

It felt like the right thing to do, but Tuvok still battled it. His logic dictated that he wasn’t thinking clearly. That it was the tiredness and his responsibility for taking care of the crew. He tried to argue that a developed relationship that ended, even that ended painfully, was worth more than not having to deal with a loss.

Perhaps they wouldn’t see it as a loss at all. Perhaps with his extended life span, they would view it as a natural part of life. Another elder passing on.

Tuvok didn’t even really believe that one. His logic said it was possible, but experience told him it was wrong. All his crewmates would see a middle-aged man, with a lot of life before him, losing first his mental faculties and then his life.

That still didn’t help with his dilemma. Was it better to simply remove that pain from their futures before it even happened?

[themiscyra1983]

Gender Identity In The 24th Century, As Viewed By Trekkies Named Cass Who Are Me

I’ve been real sick lately - in kind of a health crisis, honestly - and I’ve only recently been coming out of it. It made it really difficult for me to write or to find the presence of mind to keep up with a lot of things, Tumblr included.

But I’m back! I’ve been looking in now and then. I probably won’t try to catch up. And I’ve been easing back into writing by finally putting together the first few chapters of my “Trans Harry Kim” fic. (I need to work on other things, which I will get to.) As part of this, today, I wrote some notes on where I plan to take the fic over time, and then I got on this, which...took longer than I thought and now constitutes the majority of the notes.

Presented for your entertainment, my personal views/working canon on how gender identity is handled in the late 24th Century of the Star Trek universe. Working title: “FUCK THE J’NAII UP THE ASS WITH A PISSED-OFF CAT”. Actual title: “Gender Identity In The 24th Century”. With the caveats noted above.

The State of the Art

Even in the 24th Century (Earth standard calendar), no single genetic, environmental, psychological or other factor associated with gender identity has been definitively identified by any culture on par with the scientific and technological development of the United Federation of Planets. Though routine gestational and neo-natal scans sometimes turn up certain genetic indicators, these are generally not acted upon - at least within the Federation - until a child is old enough to express their own gender identity. In most Federation cultures, this will occur by the onset of puberty, if not before. When a child reveals that their gender identity differs from their presumed gender, standard procedure within Federation cultures is to begin a course of psychological evaluations coupled with hormone blockers to delay puberty. However, full transition is generally not delayed - the Federation lacks the paranoia that attended underage trans people of 21st Century Earth, medicine and psychology have advanced exponentially, and physical transitions can be reversed or performed again if required.

Federation medical technology allows for a complete physical transition into the form the patient finds most comfortable. This is accomplished through a cellular reconstruction matrix. The patient is suspended in a tank of biomimetic gel, and through a series of procedures over the course of a week, their body is altered on the genetic level - this is one of the few exceptions to the Federation’s general ban on genetic engineering. Cosmetic changes may be made if desired by the patient, but are generally minimal; in a sense, the patient is recreated as though they had always outwardly presented as their true gender. Those who fall within established gender groupings are genetically and biologically indistinguishable from cisgender individuals. Barring other medical conditions, trans women can bear and nurse biological children; trans men, similarly, can conceive biological children. Fat deposits, hormonal distribution, and all other biological functions are altered accordingly. In the case of individuals who fall outside their culture’s established gender groupings, their bodies will follow the functions they have chosen in collaboration with their physicians.

Cellular reconstruction can be performed on any sufficiently developed Federation planet and most starbases. The majority of Starfleet and civilian vessels are not equipped for the procedure, though some are, most notably those designed with the long-term residence of families including children in mind. Beyond the borders of the Federation, the available medical and psychological procedures vary.

The following is an incomplete summary of attitudes toward transgender individuals on various homeworlds and among the relevant species, including both Federation and non-Federation cultures.

Earth

Contrary to the stereotype, humanity has not become a species of perfect angels, coddled and content in their paradise. Bigotry still exists, but by the 24th Century, that bigotry, where it manifests, is largely turned outward. Vanishingly few human beings object in any way to any element of what the 21st Century would have considered the LGBTQ community; all romantic and sexual interests among consenting adults (including asexuality and aromanticism) and all gender identities are broadly accepted. When homophobia, biphobia, aphobia, or transphobia do manifest, those responsible are shut down hard. Though the LGBTQ community has largely integrated with the broader population and is no longer considered unusual in any way - human sexuality and gender identity are both understood to fall along a relatively even distribution curve - there is still a form of queer culture revived after First Contact. It differs substantially from the pre-warp queer culture that existed prior to the Third World War, but annual Pride festivals remain common, particularly in New York, where the Stonewall Inn still stands as an historic monument.

Transgender individuals are considered widely unremarkable, though self-actualization in any form is considered praiseworthy. Many are open about their history to some degree, but some binary trans people still choose to leave their past behind them, and considering both Federation law and the availability of complete physical transitions, it is easier than ever to do so. Though 24th Century Starfleet considers the use of addresses such as “sir” and “mister” gender neutral, some trans people do quietly object to the practice - as do some cis people, for that matter. Requested exceptions to these addresses are generally accepted with no questions asked; though there is a small movement to correct the perceived problem across Starfleet, tradition continues to stand for the time being.

Vulcan

Those with only a child’s understanding of logic might conclude it is illogical to change the physical body to fit the mind, when surely it is far more efficient to ‘repair’ the mind. Surak and the logicians who have followed in his footsteps would disagree. Transgender Vulcans were known even in the pre-logic era, and recognizing the complexity of the issue, even Surak wrote briefly on the subject in the Kir’Shara. Six hundred years later, in the 10th Century of Earth’s standard calendar, the non-binary Vulcan philosopher S’lira wrote what would later become known as The Logical Underpinnings of Gender Identity, still considered a seminal text by all students of Vulcan literature and philosophy, and beloved by trans people throughout the Federation. Vulcans possessed and employed cellular reconstruction technology prior to First Contact with Earth, though they did not share this technology with other cultures - humanity included - until the establishment of the Coalition of Planets, the precursor to the Federation.

Andor

Andorians, too, recognize gender variance, though their sense of it is somewhat complicated by the fact that their species recognizes four distinct gender groupings as well as a spectrum between and outside these genders. The specific physiology and biology involved can be complex, and as Andorians and Vulcans were mutually hostile for much of their shared history, it took some time for the Andorians to accept cellular reconstruction technology from their former foe, and longer still for them to adapt it.

For a time, during the 24th Century reproductive crisis, there was talk among the higher levels of Andorian government of suspending cellular reconstruction for transgender individuals, as it was felt that the population needed to stabilize and any form of genetic ‘tampering’ was unconscionable under these circumstances. Though this was a minority view, the suggestion, coupled with rumors of wide-scale genetic manipulation to reduce the Andorian species to two recognized gender groupings rather than four (modeling the “male” and “female” of other species), led to ferocious debate in the halls of power. Fortunately, by 2386, the crisis was resolved through the work of Dr. Julian Bashir and his colleagues.

Trill

Unjoined Trill may declare their own gender identities and transition freely. There is no stigma attached to it, and following a physical transition, transgender Trill can still apply to be joined.

There is, however, a taboo around joined Trill transitioning. This is due to two factors: first, the health of the symbiote is considered paramount, and though there are methods of reducing the risk, cellular reconstruction can endanger or at least alter the symbiote as well. Second, in the aftermath of joining, joined Trill must learn to balance their own identities against the memories and identities of their prior hosts. Though candidates for joining are vetted thoroughly, there is still a belief, generally unspoken, that it is possible for one or more prior hosts to so overwhelm the current host that their identity is radically changed. This would be considered a failed joining. In the rare event that a Trill comes out as transgender following joining, the Symbiosis Commission becomes directly involved in the subsequent evaluation, and can deny requests for cellular reconstruction. Though most such situations have been resolved amicably, there have been a few ugly incidents resulting from the Commission’s decisions.

Bajor

Prior to the Cardassian Occupation, the gender spectrum was widely recognized and celebrated among the Bajorans. Though most fell within genders analogous to the human concepts of male and female, and agreed with the gender assigned at their births, binary and non-binary trans Bajorans were not unknown. Trans people were viewed as following the calling of their pagh, and declarations of self, as well as physical transitions, were cause for celebration. Many Bajoran poets and religious figures wrote eloquently on the subject of gender identity, and the ancient Song of the Self Discovered has become a beloved text among Federation cultures since the Occupation ended and Bajorans began to trade and communicate with the Federation on their own terms.

During the Occupation, however, much of this fell by the wayside. The Cardassians frequently refused to allow the Bajorans any form of self-actualization, and it was difficult for those Bajorans in hiding, or in the Resistance, to receive the care they would previously have enjoyed. Following the end of the Occupation, the Bajorans turned to rebuilding their planet, and in that light, some viewed cellular reconstruction or other transition care as a frivolous luxury on a planet still prone to famines, disease, and a general lack of resources.

This began to change as the Bajorans gained distance from the Occupation, and successfully repaired the damage done to their world. By the time of Bajor’s long-delayed admission to the United Federation of Planets, transgender Bajorans were once again widely accepted, even if the culture around them had shifted. The Bajoran people continue to work to recover all that they lost, and strive to build a culture that carries worthy traditions forward while rejecting those elements, such as the d’jarra caste system, that no longer have a place in their society.

J’naii

The J’naii, the native species of the planet which shares their name, are not members of the Federation, though they have had contact and even trade with the Federation in the past. They consider themselves a monogendered species, and do not tolerate any form of gender variance, subjecting those who express any gender identity which does not agree with the prevailing consensus to exruciating psychotectic treatments which most Federation medical professionals decry as brainwashing and torture. This practice has soured relations between the J’naii and the Federation, but the Federation will accept individual J’naii refugees fleeing persecution for their sense of gender identity or general political dissent. There are even some J’naii officers across the gender spectrum serving in Starfleet.

Qo’nos

Even in the 24th Century, Klingon culture is often sexist and rigid. Though women can be warriors and serve aboard Klingon vessels, they do not command. Among noble Klingon Houses, the husband controls the House and its assets, while the wife attends to ritual and social matters. In the event of a noble Klingon man’s death, his widow can preside over his House only in narrow circumstances.

As such, Klingon society has a uniquely one-sided - perhaps completely warped - view on gender identity. It is understandable, in their view, for a woman with the heart of a warrior to hear the call to become a man. This warrior must prove himself in glorious battle before physical and social transition is allowed - but it has happened, and Klingons who would be recognized as trans men among other species have risen to high ranks, even commanding noble houses; historians and observers speculate even some Klingon Chancellors once presented as women. Trans men have been recognized in this fashion since the days of Kahless, who had such a warrior among his companions, and prior to the availability of cellular reconstruction technology on Qo’nos, such warriors could live as men without altering their bodies, taking wives and adopting children.

On the whole, Klingon society does not understand why any virile man would wish to become a woman. There is, even among Klingons, such a thing as compassion, and it is not unknown for individual families to take their transgender daughters offworld for treatment. Correcting their personal records is a more complicated matter, and as a result, there is a small population of “orphan girls” allegedly found among the stars and adopted into families grieving their sons. With the proper persuasion, the authorities generally look the other way.

Klingon society does not generally recognize non-binary individuals within their own species. The concept is baffling. Again, it is not unheard of for non-binary Klingons to seek treatment outside the Empire - but they often exile themselves from Klingon society afterward. Some abandon their culture completely; others attempt to preserve a form of their culture in solitude; but generally speaking, non-binary Klingons do not present themselves as such in public if they continue to live within the borders of the Empire.

Romulus

Gender variance and any accompanying physical transitions are accepted among the Romulans - but there is no escaping the past. Records are meticulously updated and maintained; transgender Romulans are recognized according to their gender identitiy in the present, but their assigned gender at birth, along with all the medical and psychiatric care they have received, are noted in their files. However, though this information may sometimes be brought into play if it seems relevant and the individual has become a target, there is no particular stigma attached to being transgender. Romulan society is largely egalitarian with regard to gender, for all that it is a xenophobic. repressive oligarchy. Men, women, and non-binary Romulans can all be of service to the state, whether in the military, the Tal Shiar, the Senate, or as simple shopkeepers, farmers, or whatever else is required.

Ferenginar

The Ferengi readily understand why a female might wish to become a male, but given their extensive cultural misogyny, they have generally forbidden it. Any Ferengi male discovered to have been assigned female at birth will be harshly punished, their physical transition forcibly undone. As a culture, they have no idea why a male would wish to become a female, and non-binary identities are beyond their comprehension.

None of this means it has not happened. Certainly Ferengi women have posed as men in pursuit of better lives, and some assigned female at birth have genuinely been transgender, going offworld to transition not only for the sake of profit but in answer to the call of their inner selves. Some Ferengi assigned male at birth, though it would be considered scandalous, have abandoned the expectations of their society to become the women they know themselves to be. And Ferengi assigned either way sometimes adopt non-binary identities. It often means leaving Ferengi society, living on the edges at best, but even among a people as profit-driven and rigid as the Ferengi, the true self cannot always be denied.

Things have begun to change with the ascension of the Grand Nagus Rom. Ferengi females can now wear clothes, move outside the home, and pursue profit in their own right. Slowly, the concept of non-binary gender identity has been introduced. Though it is a secret between zirself and zir wife Leeta, Rom is in fact genderfluid, sometimes identifying as male, sometimes as female, and sometimes as non-binary. Leeta accepts this truth wholeheartedly, and Rom’s mother Ishka has come around on the matter as well, but even the new Ferenginar would not accept Rom’s circumstances so readily, and so Rom maintains a strictly male presentation when dealing with literally everyone else.

Cardassia

Cardassian society is perpetually paranoid, and has been for some time. Gender variance is widely viewed as weakness, and weaknesses are to be exploited to remove the unfit from power and allow the advancement of those more equipped to deal with reality. Cardassian society officially only accepts the binary genders of male and female, and has not historically allowed transition between them.

This may not always have been the case - some archaeologists have found evidence of more accepting cultures in the Cardassians’ past, before the rise of the military regime that ultimately gave way to the Dominion. When the civilian Detapa Council briefly overtook the government, there was some movement in the direction of greater tolerance, but this was swiftly quashed once Gul Dukat and his Dominion allies took control.

In the aftermath of the Dominion War, the new civilian government has wrought many changes in Cardassian society. As a people, they have begun to rediscover their history, their ancient culture, even their spiritualism. Tolerance for gender variance, among other differences, has been growing. But progress remains slow. The military and the Obsidian Order, in their time, caused damage that may take decades or centuries to repair. For now, transgender Cardassians generally seek treatment offworld and do their best to keep their heads down and their hopes moderated. But there is hope, no matter how long the road ahead.

Breen

Literally only the Breen could tell you, and they aren’t talking.

The Dominion

The worlds of the Dominion vary widely in their acceptance of and response to gender variance, though most accept it to some degree and offer some form of transition care. The Federation is now in more constant contact with these planets, and with communication and trade have come cultural changes which are bringing even the more conservative societies around.

The Founders have no actual concept of gender or sexuality beyond the Link. They present in whatever forms suit their needs of the moment.

The Vorta and the Jem’Hadar are so heavily genetically engineered, created to singular purposes, that it is difficult to impossible for them to think for themselves. Federation doctors and anthropologists, with the permission of the Founders, are working to undo the genetic damage and to introduce concepts long since lost among these species, but for the moment, all Jem’Hadar continue to present as male and refuse to admit any feelings to the contrary.

The Vorta consider it blasphemy to alter the bodies given them by the Founders, but male, female, and non-binary Vorta all exist, so that they can interface with any culture regardless of the local views on gender. Among the Vorta themselves, the distinction is meaningless. They are sterile, cannot reproduce without medical intervention, and have been cloned exclusively for longer than any living Vorta can now recall. Their culture is stagnant, their imaginations nearly nonexistent, and they are only slowly beginning to recognize any sense of personal identity.

The Borg Collective

Surprisingly, the Borg recognize gender variance and routinely perform physical transition. The reason has to do with efficiency: gender dysphoria is a condition which inherently complicates the interlink between the drone and the Collective. In allowing a drone’s body to conform to their sense of self, this sense of self can then be subdued. The conscious mind, at peace, can be suppressed and captured within a waking dream, giving the drone over to the Collective. Transphobia and gender stereotypes are irrelevant. All will become one with the Collective and adapt to service them. Dysphoria will be subdued; resistance is futile.

Aboard a Borg ship, genetic reconfiguration can be achieved within any standard regeneration alcove or maturation chamber. Sterilization fields and other necessities can be easily supplied by the ship’s systems. The technology would need to be adapted outside this environment, but as the vast majority of drones live aboard ships, stations, and unimatrices, and treatment is applied as soon as the problem is identified, this concern is generally irrelevant.

[biscuitreviews]

Biscuit Reviews Star Trek Discovery Season One (SPOILERS)

So I know I normally review games, but I figured I’d try out a different review, mostly because I have a lot to talk about with one of the new Star Trek series, Star Trek: Discovery. I recently subscribed to the CBS All Access streaming service and granted it was mostly for Picard, I figured I’d give Discovery a go in between episodes.

As for my history with Star Trek, it’s been around for pretty much my entire life. My dad is a huge fan. I remember that he used to have a huge VHS collection of TOS and TNG. My first introduction was actually through TNG and it holds a special place in my heart. I’ve also watched every series minus Enterprise (will soon be remedying that), watched every movie, was in the initial launch of Star Trek: Online and watched the fan series Star Trek Continues, where despite being “fanon”, has been regarded by Rod Rodenberry as the true continuation of TOS and has gone on record multiple times that his father, Gene Rodenberry, would consider the series canon. 

So yeah, I’d say Star Trek is a pretty big deal for me.

This review is going to cover the entirety of season 1 for Discovery. I won’t break down episode by episode as the season did have a continuing storyline throughout the entire season. I will go ahead and state that I’m not going to harp on the inconsistencies of Discovery’s technology. I know season 1 takes place 10 years before TOS. In fact, I gave it a pass because when it comes to long lasting sci-fi IPs, I feel that it’s an issue that has to be forgiven. How the 1960s audience viewed the future is vastly different than how we today view the future. So with that all of the technological inconsistencies, are just going to get a pass. As far as the subject of Lore such as well established events within Trek history, that will be taken on a case by case basis and I’ll be explaining those in my review as well.

Oh, and I will also be mentioning spoilers for season 1. A lot.

I walked into Discovery with an open mind, I was actually excited for the pitch on how it followed a first officer and would be more of a personal story. Discovery follows Michael Burnham (portrayed by Sonequa Martin-Green), first officer of the USS Shenzhou, a human who was raised by Vulcans. Immediately I loved this idea as Michael Burnham, which is traditionally a masculine name, is played by a woman and a person who identifies as a woman pushing another boundary that names are just names, they got no gender.

Even her backstory on how she got adopted by Vulcans was intriguing. Her home was attacked by Klingons which resulted in the death of her parents. This not only created depth but immediately establishes that Discovery is very much Michael’s story. Then came what is what I consider the biggest blunder to Michael and perhaps her greatest weakness. The Vulcan who adopted her was Sarek, Spock’s father. 

This is the first case of lore that I have a problem against. For one it’s never been mentioned that Spock had a sister, adopted or otherwise. Now you can argue that the idea of Spock having a sister is open to debate as Spock himself has teased that in the movies when he mentioned having a brother to Kirk. However, we never got any actual confirmation that it was the case. Also, we see that Sarek actually has somewhat of a close relationship with Michael which goes against Sarek’s character in that point of time in the Trek universe. Although Sarek is more open and accepting to emotions, he always still projected the outward appearance of Vulcan logic to his peers and his son. He was also always stand-offish towards Spock, yet despite that he did a lot for Spock and tried to teach him both his Vulcan and Human heritages. There’s also another issue with the Sarek/Michael relationship that I have that I will expand upon later in the review.

If you thought lore inconsistencies would be my major sticking point, my other major sticking point is the first two episodes of Discovery. These episodes cover the event that started the Federation/Klingon war in TOS, an event that would be known as The Battle of the Binary Stars. What’s my issue you might ask? This very episode actively contradicts a certain event, an event that Discovery itself established. That Michael’s home was attacked by Klingons. How does it contradict this? By having Captain Georgiou say in the same episode and to Michael that Klingons have had no known contact with the Federation for 100 years.

Now, we don’t know how old Michael herself is, but I’m assuming her tragic backstory happened 20+ years ago. Last I checked, Michael and her parents are considered Federation citizens. Having Klingons attack what is a Federation outpost, I would consider that a contact. So to have a character say that didn’t happen, when that very contact makes up Michael’s backstory was quite a head scratcher. You could argue that maybe the Federation is trying to cover that up, but if that’s the case, they’re doing a pretty terrible job by allowing one of their leading ambassadors to adopt a survivor of this attack and then accepting that survivor into Starfleet.

Aside from that bit of lazy writing, there’s also some really stupid character and narrative decisions that occured within the first two episodes. I feel that these two episodes were prisoners of the established lore so to keep in line with that, they tripped over themselves to make sure said event still happened.

You have Captain Georgiou not listening to Michael. Michael tells her how the Vulcans managed to open a dialogue with the Klingons. Despite Michael giving Captain Georgiou a proven working tactic, Gerogiou actively does the opposite thing saying, “no we can’t shoot at them, we have to talk, peace, Federation principles.” Yeah, but Federation principles are also figuring how to communicate with a species and seeing how Klingons respond with aggression and you have Michael who is citing how Vulcans established contact, nope, we gotta talk to them, not shoot them.

Now, there are a couple of sticking points that the first two episodes also show. For one, the Klingon redesign. Klingons have always had lore inconsistencies in terms of their design so I don’t see a reason to give Discovery grief on that so it gets a pass. The other point, Michael being labeled the first mutineer, with as controversial as that is among the Trek fans, I’m letting that one slide as well. I know TOS said that there has never been a mutiny on a Starfleet vessel. I know technically Spock was the first mutineer but even TOS itself has been weird about that detail. So, I feel that argument doesn’t really hold much water to count as a lore inconsistency if even the established canon likes to be wishy washy about the fact.

Anyways, it’s not until episode three that we finally get to the titular ship and meet its crew. We have Captain Gabriel Lorca, First Officer Saru, Lt. Staments, Chief Medical Officer Hugh Culber, and Cadet Tilly. There are some other regular crew members throughout the entirety of the series, but they have such little screen time that I’m not going to count them.

As far as supporting cast goes, Captain Lorca actually does an excellent job in helping establish that this Trek series is different than the usual fare. It’s more focused on war and he considers himself a Soldier more than he does an explorer. Saru, is by far the best new character introduced to this series. He’s a new race never before seen in the lore and the past he shares with Michael during the Battle of the Binary Stars creates good drama and tension in all these fronts. Staments is researching a new travel method that involves space mushrooms and his personality falls under the “cold and jerkish, but has a heart of gold” trope. He’s also the resident gay and how Discovery showed his relationship with Dr. Culber was so beautiful and amazing, that I really wish other series would take note. Then it had to do the typical “kill the gay” trope and it lost my respect.

Then there’s also… Ash Tyler. He is perhaps the most mishandled character in the entire Trek series. Honestly, he felt like someone that was just written to create problems for the sake of creating problems. I don’t mind showcasing PTSD and bringing awareness to it. But when you constantly throw the guy with PTSD at Klingons and even acknowledging it multiple times that’s not bringing awareness, that’s terrible writing and a blatant lack of understanding. Let’s not forget he’s also a result of Klingon torture, experimentation that caused his personality to be shared with a Klingon personality, brainwashing, and rape. When he recognizes something is wrong, he reaches out for help, but what does everyone do? They just keep bringing him on missions and then yell at him for fucking up. The crew keeps telling him he'll be fine, it will pass he has their support and then proceed to chastise him for not seeking help and having their back when he was having a mental episode.

The series also brought a classic TOS antagonist as well, Harry Mudd (portrayed by Rainn Wilson). I have to say if there was a way to bring a classic Trek character to help build the universe and show the relation between Discovery and TOS, having a minor antagonist from TOS was a great way to build that bridge. I’m talking about the episode where Harry Mudd attempts to steal the Discovery and he tries to do it in the most Trek way possible. Creating a timeloop with technology that is beyond our understanding, but alien enough and futuristic enough to have the audience intrigued about how the device itself works and the cast also trying to figure it out and finding a solution.

There’s also two other classic Trek trope episodes, first contact and saving an ambassador. First contact was amazing and further showcased Saru as a Starfleet officer. The saving an ambassador episode was a bit of a mess.

In the ambassador episode (which is episode 6) Sarek’s ship has been attacked by...Vulcan logic extremists. This is something that I’ll admit was a really tough pill to swallow, Vulcan logic extremists? I was against the idea at first but then I sat down and tried to think logically. I mean it’s not unheard of, as we do have Vulcans in the Maquis during the TNG and DS9 era. Having a Vulcan terrorist organization on Vulcan would make as much sense as there have been Vulcans in previous series that are in terrorist organizations. Then there’s also the Vulcans that followed and worked with Spock during his attempts to broker peace with the Romulans during the TNG era. They too were considered extremists, so much so that the Federation ordered Picard to get Spock for fear that he was defecting. So having a Vulcan logic extremist group actually isn’t as much of a leap as I initially thought.

However, it’s the event that followed the attack I have issues with. After the terrorist attack, Sarek reaches out to not Spock, but Michael. This is an issue because it’s been proven that although Sarek can be a bit callous, he will always reach out to Spock in times of trouble and need. I feel like Sarek reaching out to Michael, as he is possibly dying, is a bit of a slap to the complicated relationship showcased between Sarek/Spock throughout the years. “Sorry Spock, got to make way for your adopted sister that was messily written to have connections to us in an attempt to get the long time Trekkies to buy in the series.”

As mentioned previously, I want to make it super clear that I have no issues with Michael Burnham. I just wish that the writers treated her character with more respect to allow her to be her own character rather than have a sloppy connection to legacy characters. I feel that Michael would have stood out more if she were adopted by a Vulcan that was not Sarek, but rather some other Vulcan. I feel by having a different Vulcan adoptive parent, Michael could have had a lot more room to grow as a character. You want the connection to Spock still? Fine, make them childhood friends or something else other than adoptive brother/sister. Make them Starfleet Academy rivals, I felt anything would have been better than Sarek adopting Michael.

Then there’s the Mirror Universe, which I’ll admit the multiple episode arc that covered the Mirror Universe gave me a love/hate feelings. First, I do love that it continued and added on to the fan theory turned canon event of the USS Defiant being shifted to the Mirror Universe in the past. I love that it touched more on how a Prime Universe person, living in the Mirror Universe can take a toll on them as they do things against their morals to stay under cover. TOS only scratched the surface and with Discovery taking it further and actually having that impact Michael was truly a nice change of pace to other instances of Trek characters encountering the Mirror Universe.

But there were definitely weird moments. Again, continuing to put Ash Tyler in situations that trigger his PTSD or his dormant Klingon personality, Captain Lorca actually being from the Mirror Universe. Now I’ll admit I wasn’t a fan at first, but the way he left the Mirror Universe and returned was such a Trek way of going back and forth, I can’t help but actually admire it.

Of course we run into counterparts of other characters as well. For example, we find out that the Mirror Universe version of Captain Georgiou is actually the Emperor of the Terran Empire. It was such a beautiful build up and made so many changes to Michael and bringing the Emperor to the Prime Universe could and does lead to some great dilemmas. However, there is one very tiny thing that I feel negates all of that and something that plagued Discovery in its first two episodes. Being a prisoner to established canon. When Discovery makes their way back to the Prime Universe they are ordered to never reveal the discovery of the Mirror Universe to anyone, because you know, Kirk hadn’t found it yet. So how does Discovery explain this? The Klingons can’t know about alternate universes and that it’s possible to travel to them so they are ordered to never reveal the possibility of alternate universes.

Anyways the Federation is on the verge of losing the war and desperate means call for desperate measures, that being genocide. Now it’s the not first time the Federation has threatened to commit genocide, they’ve threatened to do that in the established canon a few times as well. TNG did it, DS9 did it, Voyager did it, and from what I can tell, Enterprise did it too. So being in the corner that they were in is not uncharacteristic of the Federation, especially with how desperate they were to turn the war around. It also establishes Emperor Georgiou as a recurring antagonist to appear in future episodes.

After turning the war around, the Federation and Klingons agree to end hostilities, the Klingons are united as one empire and glorious speeches all around then off to Discovery’s next mission: Escort Sarek to Vulcan and pick up its new Captain. However, during the journey, Discovery picks up a distress signal from none other than the U.S.S. Enterprise and ends with the classic ending theme from TOS, which I’ll admit really hit hard and brought many happy feelings.

Discovery does have a lot of potential. However, I feel the writers are trying too hard to keep within established lore. The attempts to also sell Michael as the sister of Spock holds her back so much that it weighs her down unnecessarily. A lot of issues I have with Discovery is with its writing. It has all the ingredients to be a great series, but it was greatly mishandled. I feel that if Discovery was either not a prequel series, or a prequel series that didn’t try to play coy with established events the first season would have been great. With as big as a universe there is to play with, they could have had the potential to truly explore new worlds and ideas and it wasn’t seized upon. Hell, despite a rough beginning, it had a great idea with introducing the theme of war it established in the beginning and how it affects someone on a personal level.

However, despite the good, it was mishandled in so many ways and did these new characters more of a disservice than anything.

Star Trek Discovery receives a 2 out of 5

[empress-violetlight]

Some thoughts on Alien Life

Not really an “ask” per say, but one of the forum members on Zelda Universe once asked me about my views on alien life.  I think we got into a discussion about Sci Fi on the Creative Corner sub-forum.  Anyway, I thought it would be cool to share here, since it’s actually the most concise way I’ve explained some of my ideas for my “Spiral” sci-fi universe (aka what this blog’s named after).  And I’m bored / stuck in my writing, and nobody here asks me anything :P  (except for you, @shocotate.  You’re cool )

Ecrofirt on ZU asks:

Greetings. I saw you mention that you were a sci-fi writer in some thread. If you don't mind my asking, what do you think about the aliens are presumably out there in the universe? Are humanoids common amongst intelligent species due to convergent evolution? Everyone seems to think that they're not, but I... just can't imagine an advanced civilization working any way except the way we've made it work. Even if they're not two-armed and two-legged, they've gotta have hands, right? It would truly be mindblowing if see aliens some day that are totally, well, alien to everything we know. I'm ready for the Vulcans, but if the amorphous energy blobs show up I'm gonna be confused!

Violetlight answers:

Hey, good to hear from you! I personally think aliens will probably be more alien than we can imagine. Look at how much we've learned about space in such a short time (i.e. since space probes have been sent out to the outer planets). We thought Jupiter's moons would all be boring ice balls, for example. Io and Europa sure proved that wrong! Besides, intelligence, maybe not to the extent of humans, but intelligence nonetheless, has expressed itself several different ways on Earth. Dolphins and whales, crows and parrots, elephants, and octopodes are all very different from humans, but have evolved to use intelligence in ways that work for them. Elephants, for example, defy Larry Niven's assertion that herbivores are stupid ("how much intelligence does it take to sneak up on a leaf?" - Speaker-to-Animals, Ringworld). A manipulative organ is probably necessary to get to where humans are, but it doesn't necessarily have to be humanoid-type hands. Trunks or tentacles could work fine. In my original sci fi universe, I have two main intelligent alien species planned so far. The first, the Dragons, are basically semi-humanoid well, dragons. Think Disney's Gargolyes with draconic features. They're from a world where mammals never evolved, and are actually a type of bird (or their world's equivalent). Every land-dwelling vertebrate-equivalent on their planet uses a base six-limb body plan, and their world has lower gravity, but a thicker atmosphere than Earth, like Saturn's moon Titan does in our own Solar System. They are semi-social apex predators, and humans originally do not recognize they are sentient. Their primary source of food is a large, flightless bird that human colonists to their world have named "Moas", after the extinct New Zealand giant. Since they're used to bipedal, relatively large prey items, their initial contact with humans is antagonistic, until one dragon and one autistic human develop a friendship. Later, the Dragons formally join the Spiral Empire, the autistic humans, known as the Chie's, government, in order to protect themselves from the "regular" humans of the Confederacy. My second alien is one I don't have a formal name for yet, but I'm calling the Tripods for the time being. They are aliens with a radial body plan -- three legs and three arms set around a central body. They can orient themselves in any direction without turning around, so can move in one direction, then the opposite without turning. They have no eyes, and use echolocation to orient themselves. They evolved in the jungles of a world with permanent cloud cover, like Venus, and are built to move through the trees better than a spider monkey. They also have no concept of gender, being hermaphrodites that reproduce by impregnating each other. (they find human gender concepts to be hilarious). The most revered genius of their society, their "Galileo", was the one who figured out there was something beyond the clouds. Since then, they have become extremely technologically advanced, more so than the space-age humans of my universe, and actively choose which faction of humans to make first contact with after observing all three for quite a while (the Confederacy, the Chie, and the cyborg Machina). They chose the Chie, and are allies, to the Confederacy's annoyance. One Tripod, named Hex, serves as the navigator aboard the primary ship of my novel, the HMS Beagle. So yeah, my best advice if you want to design a convincing alien is think about their planet, their habitat, their history both biological and cultural, and go from there. You can do it backwards too, design the alien first and then their world to fit them. If you're going to go with Star Trek-style humanoids, explain why they look so human, and maybe illustrate that the appearance is only skin-deep. I love Star Trek, but they're quite boring with their aliens for the most part, and they should NOT be able to reproduce with each other! Carl Sagan once said we're more likely to successfully reproduce with a petunia than an alien lifeform, and he's right. When writing, you don't have things like make up budgets to worry about that restrict TV show and movies (or did in the past), so go wild!

[v-thinks-on]

Contact (Between Two Minds)

Part 4 of A Crazy Little Thing Called Love

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The captain helped Spock to his feet and for an instant Spock’s hand brushed the captain’s bare skin. In that instant he was inundated with emotion; a stormy gale of concern rushed through the tiniest point of contact, underlain with disorganized thoughts and incomprehensible feelings. Spock was frozen, his eyes wide with the sheer force of the captain’s mind. He shored up his mental shields as quickly as he could, but by then the contact was gone.

Spock found himself suddenly upright and stumbled to regain his footing.

“Spock, are you alright?” the captain asked urgently.

Spock nodded.

The captain smiled at him as though he saw something remarkable in his first officer. His eyes still betrayed concern, but the mission continued as though nothing had happened.

Spock expected the captain to learn from his mistake. The captain undoubtedly knew Vulcans were a telepathic race, and for all of their secrecy, there were rumors that they could detect a person’s thoughts from any physical contact. The truth was more nuanced, but the last thing Spock expected was for the captain to increase the rate of physical contact between them.

Spock often found the captain standing much closer than was strictly necessary to hear about Spock’s latest readings or to ask him for his opinion on a difficult situation. The captain frequently put a friendly hand on Spock’s shoulder for emphasis or to provide comfort, or for no apparent reason at all. Spock could almost feel the captain’s thoughts wafting through his skin, even though there was a layer of cloth between them.

Spock stepped into the captain’s quarters and the door slid shut behind him. Captain James Kirk stood before him, as young and strong as ever. His bare torso left no doubt as to his full recovery from the radiation poisoning.

“Dr. McCoy has declared me fit for duty,” Spock announced without preamble.

The captain smiled, and his eyes seemed to light up with a very human intensity. “It’s good to have you back, Mr. Spock.” He stepped toward his first officer, so there were only a few feet between them.

“And you, Captain,” Spock replied, his expression softened. “I also wish to apologize for subjecting you to a competency hearing. I had no choice-”

Captain Kirk rose a hand to stop him and Spock fell silent.

He put his hand on Spock’s shoulder and squeezed it for emphasis. “You have nothing to apologize for, Spock. I was the one who was out of line. I know you wouldn’t do anything like that without a good reason. I just didn’t like the idea of you taking orders from Commodore Stocker.” He gave Spock a wry smile.

“I assure you, Jim, there is no one else I would rather serve under,” Spock replied, his voice low with an undercurrent of emotion.

“I should hope not,” Jim said with a grin. “Though I suppose you’ll be wanting a command of your own one of these days.”

“Hardly, sir.” Spock almost sounded insulted at the suggestion.

Jim smiled like he had gotten the response he had expected. “Good, because I would hate to lose the best first officer in the fleet.” He gave Spock’s shoulder another squeeze for good measure.

Spock quirked an eyebrow at him as though he suspected flattery, but did not protest. Instead, his lips turned upward in a suggestion of a smile.

Jim’s smile widened and his eyes seemed to shine with a mischievous spark, like he was going to do something brilliant and reckless that was just crazy enough to succeed, but Spock could not begin to fathom what - Jim’s greatest ideas were usually beyond the realm of Vulcan logic.

Jim kept a careful eye on Spock’s face as his hand slowly left Spock’s shoulder, ghosted down his arm, and just barely brushed the back of Spock’s hand. Spock’s shields were up, but he could feel the burst of emotion threatening to overwhelm them. Jim’s intense, meaningful expression seemed to invite him in, to suggest that he should succumb to the intriguing waves of human emotion that rushed out of his captain’s cool skin. Spock could only wonder why, but somehow suspected he already knew.

“Fascinating,” he remarked, because that was the only response he could give.

“There are worse things to be than fascinating,” Jim teased, the contact already broken as quickly as it had been made.

Spock nodded in assent. “You are most fascinating,” he said with the barest trace of a smile.

While transporting up from the surface of a planet, the captain had vanished without a trace. The only answers were negative: no magnetic storms, no ionic interference, no breakdown in equipment.

Dr. McCoy demanded answers and Spock replied, “We shall continue sensor scans, Doctor. At the moment, that is all we can do, except hope for a rational explanation.”

“Hope? I always thought that was a human failing, Mr. Spock,” the doctor taunted.

“True, Doctor. Constant exposure does result in a certain degree of contamination.”

Captain James Kirk materialized in the Enterprise transporter, followed by Lieutenant Uhura and Ensign Chekov. A whole welcoming committee faded into view, Commander Spock at the head. All Jim could do was grin at the sight of his first officer, watching him so intently. Spock’s eyes narrowed in concern as they flitted over Jim’s chest, no doubt taking in the welts and scars from his time on Triskelion.

Dr. Leonard McCoy rushed to the fore before Spock could speak. “Jim! You’re alright!”

“It’s mighty good to see you,” Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott put in.

Bones continued, “I was worried you wouldn’t make it out alive with that crazy plan of yours, but you did it! I guess Spock was right about where you were after all,” he admitted.

Jim nodded and gave Bones a smile. “The other prisoners should be alright too,” he said.

“Let’s get you to sickbay and you can tell me all about it,” Bones declared. He glanced over Jim’s shoulder at Chekov and Uhura, who stepped down from the transporter pad after the captain. “Nurse,” he ordered, “I want to run all scans, make sure there’s no internal damage, and we’ll need to get out the dermal regenerator. These are some nasty welts, Jim.”

Jim held up a hand to stop him. “First, I want a word with my first officer.” He smiled at Spock over Bones’s shoulder.

“Captain,” Spock began to protest.

“I don’t see why you can’t talk to him after,” Bones insisted.

Jim motioned for silence, cutting them both off. “Spock” - he gestured for Spock to follow him out of the transporter room.

Spock obliged, leaving Bones grumbling in their wake.

“Dr. McCoy is correct,” Spock remarked as they strode down the corridor, “It would be most prudent for you to submit to treatment and medical evaluation to ensure that you were not seriously damaged.”

“I’m alright,” Jim dismissed his concern. “This is more important.”

“What is it, Captain?” Spock asked as they stepped into the captain’s quarters.

The door slid shut behind them.

“It’s Jim, we’re not on duty right now,” the captain said. He reached over his shoulder to pull at the harness he had been given on Triskelion. “I don’t suppose you could help me out of this thing.”

“Sir- Jim?” Spock raised a questioning eyebrow at the captain.

Jim stopped struggling with the harness and leaned an arm against the wall so he was angled toward Spock. He paused just to look at his first officer. Spock’s warm brown eyes were darkened with concern, his eyebrows arched in uncertainty at Jim’s intent, all of the tightly controlled emotion fighting to escape.

“How did you do it?” Jim asked at last. He gave his first officer a smile of pure wonder. “How did you find me all the way out here? I was starting to worry I’d never see the Enterprise again.”

“Any transporter, no matter how sophisticated, leaves some form of energy residue. We merely located the anomalous trail and it led us to this system,” Spock replied as efficiently as ever, but the creases on his face told another, more harrowing story.

Jim put a hand on Spock’s shoulder. “That’s another time you’ve saved my life,” Jim said with a grin.

“It is my duty,” Spock said simply, but Jim could almost feel the emotion behind his words.

Jim did not miss how Spock’s eyes wandered over his torso, lingering on the angry red welts, as though he wanted to do something, but could not bring himself to. His hands were locked firmly behind his back.

Jim leaned back a little to give Spock a bit more space, a mischievous smile teasing at his lips.

Spock quirked an uncertain eyebrow at him.

“What was that gesture your parents did?” Jim remarked a little too casually. “Like this” - he held out his right hand, his first two fingers extended toward Spock.

Spock’s eyes widened in open surprise. “Jim,” he nearly whispered, “That is…” he trailed off.

Jim grinned at him. “Only if you want. Regulation clearly states that I can’t give you any orders here.”

Slowly, his hand just barely shaking, Spock extended two fingers and brought them nearly to meet Jim’s so that they were just centimeters apart. He hesitated, and then, very gently, he lowered the tips of his fingers so they brushed against Jim’s. Spock’s skin was warm and the contact sent a jolt down Jim’s spine. Spock’s eyes widened and his cheeks flushed green.

Jim couldn’t have looked away even if he wanted to. His heart hammered in his chest and he could only imagine how Spock’s was racing - it usually beat several times faster than a human’s already. He wondered how clearly Spock could sense his thoughts and feelings and wished he could feel some of Spock’s in return. He wanted to reach out for a kiss or a mind meld - he didn’t know which.

Very slowly, Spock pulled his hand away, though their faces remained mere inches apart. Jim could feel Spock’s breath tickling his cheeks. It took all of Jim’s willpower not to kiss him, but his wide smile would have made it hard to kiss anyone anyway.

“Jim,” Spock began, his voice low.

“Yes, Mr. Spock?” Jim asked.

“It is good to have you back, Captain,” Spock said at last. Despite his even expression, Jim could see every indication of a subtle smile.

Jim grinned back at him. “It’s good to be back and to see you again. Now,” he remarked, stretching a hand over his shoulder again, “I don’t suppose you could help me out of this harness.”

Spock gave a sharp nod and circled around behind him. Spock seemed to hesitate there for a moment, before Jim felt warm fingers against his lower back, working their way under the bottom rung of the harness on either side. The cloth strap dug into Jim’s stomach as Spock slowly eased it up his torso, his fingers trailing along Jim’s side. Jim closed his eyes to savor the contact.

[aion-rsa]

Star Trek: In Defense of Enterprise’s Worst Episode

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Don’t worry, this isn’t a defense of “These Are The Voyages.”* We’re here today to talk about the other “worst episode of Enterprise,” season two’s “A Night In Sickbay.”

“The episode that killed Star Trek.” “One of the worst episodes of the whole Star Trek franchise.” “Almost as bad as ‘These Are The Voyages.’” These and similar opinions of “A Night In Sickbay” are all over the Internet. The episode frequently appears on “worst episodes of all time” lists alongside “Spock’s Brain” from The Original Series and Star Trek: Voyager’s “Threshold.”

I have no intention of arguing that this is a great or outstanding episode of Star Trek – it’s not. But nor is it anything like as bad as those other two notorious examples. Does anyone turn into a lizard? No. Do any crew members abduct other crew members to have lizard sex with them? No. Does anyone’s brain get taken out and yet their body still, inexplicably, functions? No. It’s about time we went over a few of the more common complaints about this episode, to see if it really deserves its terrible reputation.

Complaint 1: Archer behaves like an idiot, and no trained diplomat should behave the way he does.

The episode’s events are kicked off when Archer takes his dog Porthos down to an alien planet on a sensitive diplomatic mission, and then gets upset when the aliens are insulted because the dog peed on one of their sacred trees, while poor Porthos nearly dies after coming into contact with an alien pathogen.

Viewers have complained that Archer’s behaviour in this episode is childish, that no “trained diplomat” should ever think it was appropriate to bring a dog on a sensitive visit, and that the episode makes the Captain look like an idiot. He spends most of the time railing at the aliens, the Kreetassans, avoiding taking any responsibility for what happened, and suggesting that he might refuse to apologise.

Bringing Porthos may not have been the brightest idea in the world, but it isn’t the act of total idiocy critics have made it out to be either. Archer himself points out repeatedly that they told the Kreetassans he was planning on bringing Porthos, and the Kreetassans said nothing about their sacred trees, plus they endangered Porthos’ life by not running proper checks on his genome. Should Archer have known better than to try to bring the dog with him at all, considering an alien species may not understand the nature of the dog-human relationship? Yes, and T’Pol tells him as much in the episode. Is he completely irredeemably stupid for thinking that he’d taken appropriate precautions and wanting to give his dog some exercise? No.

Archer’s reactions are also aggravated by the fact that the Kreetassans are, to put it mildly, gigantic pains in the backside. In their previous encounter, in the first season episode Vox Sola, the Kreetassans took offense because the Enterprise crew ate in front of them, which they consider vulgar. Except the crew didn’t just turn up to their planet touting takeaway – they were eating in their mess hall on their own ship. You know, the room set aside specifically for eating, an important social activity in Earth culture. The Kreetassans’ reaction is ridiculous and made worse by their reluctance to explain the problem, a reluctance they show again in this episode. Sure, Archer should grow up and get over it, but his frustration, while unprofessional, is very human.

It’s also worth bearing in mind the title of the episode – this takes place over the course of a sleepless night during which Archer is afraid Porthos is dying. He is stressed, emotional, and on edge, and he’s lashing out. By morning (and with Porthos thankfully having survived) he has cooled down and started behaving more appropriately again. And none of Archer’s complaints are actually communicated to the Kreetassans – he’s sounding off to his crew and his colleagues about a frustrating situation. He may not be the world’s best diplomat, but there are real life diplomats guilty of worse offences.

Complaint 2: Archer shouldn’t be whining so much about his dog.

How you feel about this one is going to depend partly on how you feel about dogs, or about pets in general. As a person who has slept in the lounge to watch over and comfort a sick dog, I have every sympathy with how Archer feels. If my dog is sick, you can bet I’m not at my best at work, especially if I’ve also had very little sleep. Archer’s way of explaining this, calling Porthos “my beagle, my pal”, may be a cringe-worthy way to put it, but those of us with “subservient quadrupeds” at home really are very attached to them.

Incidentally, given that Phlox’s bizarre treatment for Porthos involves drowning and reviving him, this episode initiates the dog into the grand tradition of Star Trek episodes that “kill” main characters only to bring them back to life again.

Complaint 3: Archer’s romantic feelings for T’Pol come out of nowhere and aren’t convincing.

While many viewers consider Archer’s romantic feelings for T’Pol in this episode to be a one-off story thread that was never picked up again, this is actually the end of a slight romantic thread between the two of them that started in season one, but largely fizzled out afterwards. Archer’s defence of T’Pol in “Fusion” could be assumed to be no more than a Captain protecting a member of his crew, but as well as several aside glances over the first season, they snuggle up together under a blanket in “The Andorian Incident”; in “Fallen Hero,” Vulcan ambassador V’Lar tells them she sees a “great bond” of “friendship” between them, and in “Shockwave Part 1,” T’Pol tells Archer she has his back. That may not sound like much, but in 90s Trek terms, that was practically a relationship.

The suggestion of an Archer/T’Pol romance would come up once more, in season three’s “Twilight.” Nothing to do with sparkly vampires, this episode had originally been suggested as a romantic storyline between Captain Janeway and First Officer Chakotay on Star Trek: Voyager, a couple who flirted mercilessly for seven years before Chakotay was inexplicably paired with Seven of Nine at the last minute. Re-written for Captain Archer and his First Officer, this episode is often considered one of Enterprise’s best – so it’s not the sexual tension between Archer and T’Pol itself that is the issue with “A Night In Sickbay,” merely the sloppy execution.

The main reason the idea of a romance between the two has such a poor reputation is that the way it’s brought up here feels rather strange, with Phlox insisting Archer’s concern for his dog is actually stress caused by underlying sexual tension, and some very dubious “Polarian slips” (“the breast I can,” really? With poor Jolene Blalock in that catsuit?). It’s true that the dream sequence in which Porthos’ funeral becomes a romantic moment between Archer and T’Pol, followed by yet more sexy “decontamination”, is rather silly, but it is just a dream. No one mated with each other and had lizard babies, and dreams are often weird – it’s not that bad a scene.

But the idea in itself isn’t inherently terrible – T’Pol and Archer do work well together and she is an obviously attractive woman. However, when she calmly tells Archer any kind of relationship would be inappropriate he does the right thing and moves on, and that’s the end of that. It’s a simple story of an attraction at work that isn’t pursued.

Complaint 4: The humor doesn’t work.

Some of the episode’s bad reputation is the result of its attempts at humour. The opening panning shot across Hoshi “decontaminating” T’Pol, who is “decontaminating” Archer, who is “decontaminating” Porthos, is presumably meant to be funny. The problem is, the exploitative “decontamination” scenes are so problematic in general, it just isn’t very funny, but rather makes it seem like the show is trying to sexualize the dog.

Similarly, the daft sequence at the end of the episode, where Archer has to go through a bizarre ritual in order to apologise to the Kreetassans, is a simple case of humour gone wrong. It’s too silly, his hairdo is bizarre, and it makes no sense. But again, no one turns into a lizard, or randomly picks a fight with some cavemen. It’s not great, but it’s hardly the worst Star Trek has to offer.

The main sources of humour in the episode are, of course, Phlox’s various shenanigans overnight in sickbay. He trims his toenails, he brushes his tongue, he and Archer chase a bat around. If you don’t find any of that funny, then sure, you may find the episode grating. Perhaps I just have a terrible sense of humour, but what can I say – I thought it was funny. Judging by this episode’s Hugo nomination, I’m not the only one.

This episode is sometimes accused of having “killed Star Trek” and blamed for Enterprise’s dwindling viewing figures and eventual cancellation. It’s true that it has flaws and it won’t be bothering any “Best Of” lists. But it doesn’t deserve its place on all the ‘Worst Of’ lists either. It’s a good chance to get to know Phlox a bit better, a fascinating and genuinely alien character who didn’t get the spotlight often enough. The interaction between Phlox and Archer here is genuinely fun to watch. It’s light and fluffy and silly, and maybe that’s not your bag, but that doesn’t make it bad. It shows Archer at his worst, at his most childish and petulant, but how can we really get to know any character without seeing them at their lowest? By the end of the episode, he has regained his sense of duty and is fulfilling his role as normal once again. He had a bad night – so do we all, sometimes. It’s about time we cut him, and this episode, some slack.

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*Though if that was a season finale, rather than a series finale, and if it hadn’t killed off a major character, it really wouldn’t be that bad either.

The post Star Trek: In Defense of Enterprise’s Worst Episode appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[phantom-le6]

Episode Reviews - Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 4 (5 of 6)

Ok, loyal readers, here’s another group of episode reviews from season 4 of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Episode 21: The Drumhead

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

When an explosion within the dilithium chamber of the Enterprise's engines appears to be the work of sabotage, Starfleet Command dispatches a retired admiral, Norah Satie, to lead an investigation to uncover the cause. Lt. Worf discovers that J'Dan, a Klingon exchange officer, had been using modified hypospray syringes to encode information into amino acid sequences for secret transport. J'Dan admits his collaboration with the Romulans but attests that he did not sabotage the chamber. Satie and Captain Picard interview crew members who came into contact with J'Dan. Among them are Dr Beverly Crusher and medical technician Simon Tarses, the latter claiming that his only relationship with J'Dan was to administer injections necessary to treat a rare disease. Satie's Betazoid aide senses that Tarses is concealing something. Meanwhile, Lt Commanders La Forge and Data determine that the hatch had failed due to simple fatigue, not sabotage.

 Picard considers the matter closed, but Satie pushes to complete her investigation of Tarses under the pretext of proving his innocence. She conducts a second interview with Tarses, held in front of a room full of people. Captain Picard assigns Commander Riker to act as counsel to the crewman. Satie's aide falsely accuses Tarses of using a compound found in Sickbay to sabotage the hatch. He then accuses Tarses of falsifying his academy entrance application and that he is in fact one quarter Romulan, not one quarter Vulcan as he had claimed. Commander Riker quickly whispers to Tarses, who invokes his right to not answer the accusation on the grounds that his answer may incriminate him.

 Satie uses this discovery as a pretext to expand her investigations. Picard objects, but Satie reveals that she has been in constant contact with Starfleet Command's Headquarters, that all future hearings will be open, and that Admiral Thomas Henry of Starfleet Security will attend. Picard begins to compare the tribunal to a drumhead, resembling a battle-field court-martial of the 18th and 19th centuries on Earth that became infamous for its numerous miscarriages of justice. Even though he resolves to prevent her from conducting a witch-hunt, he is summoned to be interviewed before the tribunal.

 Satie uses the hearing to accuse Picard of numerous transgressions of the Prime Directive and other Starfleet orders, actions which were, in fact, later vetted and approved by Starfleet Command. When Worf stands to defend Picard's actions, Satie turns on him, pointing out Picard's poor judgment in having a Chief of Security who is the son of a traitor. Satie then proceeds to question Picard about his encounter with the Borg and whether he has fully recovered, implying that Picard should have trouble sleeping from the guilt he should feel, because the knowledge of Starfleet obtained by the Borg when Picard was transformed into Locutus had caused the loss of 11,000 lives and the destruction of 39 ships.

 Picard recalls a quote from Satie's own father Aaron Satie, whose judgments are required reading at Starfleet Academy: "With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably." Satie is enraged at him invoking her father, and launches into a fanatical tirade, condemning Picard as a traitor seeking to undermine the very fabric of the Federation. Satie's fanaticism proves to be her undoing, as a visibly disgusted Admiral Henry, who was previously one of Satie's closest allies at Starfleet command, walks out of the hearing without so much as uttering a word to her, and later calls a halt to any additional investigation.

 Worf and Picard reflect on Satie's disgrace. Worf expresses regret for his assistance in her investigation, not seeing her for what she really was. Picard notes that such enemies are well-disguised through apparent good words and deeds, and that vigilance against such subtle threats is the price humanity must continually pay in exchange for freedom.

Review:

It’s a sad truth that this episode will continue to find resonance in any present-day that it is viewed because it all revolves around how easily we can fall victim to witch-hunts and fanaticism. The Salem witch trials, the progression towards Nazi domination of 1930’s Germany, McCarthyism and even the anti-protest bill cooked up by the present Conservative government here in the UK are all examples of how those in power will seek any excuse to scapegoat the innocent in the name of a false righteousness.  It is the ultimate form of villainy camouflaged in good deeds, often begin under a seemingly benign excuse and often allowed to carry on for far too long because it doesn’t rear its head suddenly.  It is subtle, insidious, and it is why all people all round the world need the ability to hold their leaders to account.

 This is why this episode is one of Trek’s finest; it explores an issue that keeps coming back to haunt all societies because too many people forget their own history, and it does it through the metaphor of the Trek reality.  Jean Simmons makes for a very effective antagonist as Norah Satie, and at first you do actually like her, only to then begin to see how horrible she is just as Picard does.  Michael Dorn and Patrick Stewart also give stand-out performances as Worf and Picard, both of whom are firmly at the centre of this episode.  Indeed, the whole thing is well-performed, and the reality that this issue could dog humanity even into the 24th century if one if not vigilant helps to bring the world of Trek down to Earth a bit more.  That’s something I always appreciate because all too often there is only so much unrelenting optimism one can stand, and there has to be the occasional flaw here and there to lend the show’s premise some believability.  I honestly can’t find any flaws in this episode, and I also like how the episode makes Picard re-examine one of the show’s staples, namely his use of Deanna Troi’s psychic powers.  For me, this one warrants the full 10 out of 10.

Episode 22: Half A Life

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

The Enterprise takes aboard Deanna Troi's eccentric mother Lwaxana and Dr Timicin of Kaelon II. Timicin is brought aboard to conduct an experiment which he hopes will save his threatened home planet, as its sun is in a state of near-collapse. The Enterprise takes Timicin to a sun in a similar state of decay to conduct experiments which may yield a method for saving the Kaelon system from destruction.

 Upon arrival at their destination, the crew assists Timicin in modifying photon torpedoes to launch into the proxy sun with the expectation that it will repair the damaged star and prove that the technique can be safely applied to the Kaelon sun. The torpedoes are fired and, although the experiment seems initially to work, the effect is short-lived and the star explodes. The Enterprise returns to Kaelon II. Timicin is crushed, and after some questioning by Lwaxana, he reveals that there are other things troubling him. Timicin tells Lwaxana that he is about to turn 60, and on Kaelon II, everyone who reaches that age performs the "Resolution", a ritual act of voluntary euthanasia. Lwaxana is outraged to learn of this and brings it to the attention of Captain Picard.

 Picard makes it clear to Lwaxana that due to the Prime Directive, he will not interfere in the planet's local affairs. Lwaxana tries to beam herself down to the planet to halt the process herself but she is thwarted by Deanna who comforts her. After Lwaxana and Timicin spend an evening together, he tries to explain the custom of the Resolution. He tells her that it was created to stop age-based poverty and a fixed age had to be selected by the Kaelons because just randomly choosing a time to die would be heartless. Lwaxana finds the practice barbaric and refuses to accept the Kaelon tradition. She tells Timicin how a Betazed woman on her planet successfully fought the tradition of wearing ornate wigs that contained live, captive animals. It only took one courageous woman to step forward and end this cruel tradition. Lwaxana also compares Timicin's plans to end his life with his research to save his star, noting that perhaps it is also time for his star to die as well, so why should he continue to try to prevent it from dying. Timicin thinks about what Lwaxana has told him.

 Timicin's analysis of the failed test turns up some promising options, but if he follows through with the Resolution, no one will have his experience and knowledge to carry on his work to save his world. Concerned, Timicin requests asylum on the Enterprise so that he can renounce the Resolution and continue his research. B'Tardat, the Science Minister on Kaelon II, is outraged after learning of Timicin's request for asylum, and he sends up two warships to ensure that the Enterprise does not leave the system with Timicin on board. As Picard orders the bridge crew to analyze the offensive capabilities of the Kaelonian ships, Timicin realizes that his situation is not as simple as he had hoped, for his home planet will not accept any further reports from him, and he realises that even if he does find a solution, they will not accept it.

 Dara, Timicin's daughter, beams on board the Enterprise to insist that he return to Kaelon II and undergo the Resolution. She tells him that she cannot bear the thought of him being laid to rest anywhere but next to her mother and, although she loves him, she is ashamed of him. Timicin realizes that he is not the man to forge a cultural revolution, and agrees to return to Kaelon II. Lwaxana, despite her disagreement, realizes that Timicin's decision is his to make. As it is the custom for loved ones to be present at the Resolution, Lwaxana beams down to be with him at his side at the time of his death.

Review:

When you realise this is a Lwaxana Troi episode, the impulse to skip it altogether is very hard to ignore, and it’s certainly got moments early on where you’re getting her usual over-the-top attitude that really isn’t funny and just annoys the hell out of me.  However, this is also an episode with David Ogden Stiers, better known to many as Major Charles Winchester of M*A*S*H fame, coming on as a guest character, and having a guest like that on the same episode as Patrick Stewart is always going to be worth a watch, and so the Lwaxana bit is something one attempts to tolerate.

 Now, once you get to what the episode is really about, the whole thing takes a great big seismic shift that suddenly opens up Lwaxana to be a decent character to watch; she’s fallen for her fellow guest character Timicin (played by DOS), only to learn his culture practices euthanasia based on a general age, and all of a sudden, her character and her performance are finally, finally something that is actually Trek-worthy.  It’s a great bit of issue exploration and a fun change that it’s the two guest characters rather than any of the series main cast holding the focus throughout the episode.

 In many ways, I think the approach of the Kaelon II society is probably representing one or both of two things. The first is that the reason for the resolution, the planet’s past issues with age poverty, could be a metaphor for the same issues experienced by many societies in real life.  The second, through the concept of the ‘Resolution’ ritual, is a metaphor for how some people may view assisted suicide, in that some may take it as arbitrarily killing anyone over a given age as a preventive measure rather than doing it more on the basis of individual medical necessity.

 The episode doesn’t really take an overall side in the overall debate, and the character of Timicin going ahead with his ritual suicide comes strictly from things like the Prime Directive and the in-universe obstacles to him trying to resist the ritual instead of a writer or director trying to suggest it’s right or wrong.  This is also a notable episode for briefly featuring actress Michelle Forbes, who would soon become better known to TNG fans as Ensign Ro Laren. Anyway, to sum up, I’d give this episode 8 out of 10; if Lwaxana had been played seriously, or at least a bit more toned down, right from the outset, this could have been a top marks episode.

Episode 23: The Host

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

Odan, a mediator, boards the Enterprise to negotiate a peace treaty between two hostile lunar colonies of the same race. Doctor Beverly Crusher is charmed by the man, and the two share a love affair during the trip. Odan refuses to use the transporter and requests that a shuttle and pilot be provided for him; Commander Riker honours this request. During the mission, the shuttle is attacked by a dissident faction and Odan is mortally injured. While trying to save the alien in sickbay, Dr Crusher comes to learn that Odan’s species, the Trill, are a joined life form; a humanoid host and a symbiont that lives within the host, and Odan is actually the symbiont component. It is further revealed by Lt. Commander Data that the transporter would have harmed the symbiotic lifeform. Following the death of Odan's host body, Commander Riker volunteers to allow Odan to use him as a host to conduct the necessary negotiations until a new host arrives.

 Odan's presence becomes dominating over Riker, and Dr Crusher finds herself initially confused when Odan continues to try to engage with her to continue their relationship. Dr Crusher is puzzled and full of emotion as she later confides to Counsellor Deanna Troi and wonders about the true depth of her feelings for Odan. With some effort, Odan in Riker's body manages to convince the delegates from the warring moons to work with him and work out an agreement. However, Riker's body begins to deteriorate due to the incompatibility of different physiologies, and the ship transporting the new host has encountered engine malfunctions. Dr Crusher does everything she can to extend Riker's and Odan's chances while the Enterprise races to meet the Trill ship, and has a deeply emotional moment with Captain Picard.

 The Enterprise successfully rendezvous in time to bring aboard the new host, a female, much to Dr Crusher's surprise. She helps to transplant Odan into the new host, and both Riker and Odan fully recover. When Odan attempts to continue their relationship, Dr Crusher is uncomfortable, knowing both that the Trill appear to have no preferences on gender orientation, and that Odan will continue to live on in any number of hosts' bodies. Odan admits she still loves Dr Crusher, but understands her confusion and discomfort, and promises to never forget her or their short time together. And Dr Crusher replies that she loves Odan too; in Odan's new, female host body, Odan then kisses the inner wrist of her hand.

Review:

This episode is an ok one, but it gets undone by both later continuity within the Trek franchise and how it ends.  First off, this episode introduces us to the Trill, and much like the Cardassians that race gets sizeable improvements through their use in Deep Space Nine, so looking at this episode with the benefit of that hindsight, this is a quite poor, clumsy initial execution.  In many ways, this is one of the things that is almost certainly a drawback to serialised story-telling; the rush to make the deadline for the next instalment is probably why the Trill make a poor first appearance and then get improved.  Given the proper time, a more effective first-time appearance that could be made consistent into the rest of Trek might have been managed.

 Now the crux of this episode is meant to be a metaphor for how our feelings towards others change when they alter significantly on the outside, as a kind of metaphorical exploration of how humans fall in love.  It’s certainly apt in that we are indeed a species initially attracted by outside appearance rather than the inner person, and it’s a combination of these two aspects that we fall in love with.  Any major change to either massively impacts the sum total, and there’s no guarantee of love surviving that, given that the emotion is paradoxically incredibly strong and incredibly fragile.

 Where the episode’s execution lets this premise down is at the end when Odan does a second body-swap, and this time it touches on the concepts of transgenderism and homosexuality by putting Odan into a female body after we’ve had two male bodies.  Now at first that seems like it could be a good thing, but then Beverley makes it whiff by not only saying it’s a bridge too far, and then putting that down to being part of being human.  First off, she’s been bonking a fucking alien for the better part of a fortnight; you cannot seriously tell me anyone open to inter-species copulation is going to be a bloody homophobe, especially in the era of TNG Trek.  At the very least, she could have let him down gently and just said “it’s just my personal preference”, as opposed to getting all uppity about the gender change.

 Second, we’re supposed to be beyond homophobia and transphobia by the time of TNG Trek, so the dialogue about it being a ‘human limitation’ is very much anti-Trek.  It’s not enough to just add in a little bit saying ‘maybe one day our ability to love won’t be so limited’; that’s for 20th and 21st century humans to say.  24th century humans can’t say that because they’re supposed to be beyond that kind of rigidity and prejudice already.  Again, Beverly should have just said “I’m sorry, it’s just my preference to only go for men,” or words to that effect.  Overall, I give this episode only 3 out of 10.

Episode 24: The Mind’s Eye

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

Chief Engineer Geordi La Forge of the Federation starship Enterprise, en route to the planet Risa for shore leave in a shuttlecraft, is captured by Romulans. While an impostor that looks like La Forge is sent to Risa, the Romulans tap into La Forge's visual cortex via his visor sensors, enabling them to begin mentally conditioning him to act as their agent. After several days, La Forge's mind is wiped of his capture but given memories of going to Risa, and put back aboard his shuttle to return to the Enterprise. He arrives as the Enterprise crew are working with the Klingon Ambassador Kell to deal with rebels attacking the outlying Krios colony of the Klingon Empire. The Governor of the colony, Vagh, asserts that the rebellion is being aided by the Federation, thus requiring the Federation's presence to resolve.

 At the colony, Vagh shows Captain Picard and Kell several Federation weapons and medical supplies taken from the rebels. Picard orders his crew to investigate. Lt. Commander Data finds that strange E-band signals are being transmitted from but cannot detect the source. He and La Forge also discover the apparent Federation weapons were replicated using Romulan technology and powered by Romulan energy cells. Later, under the direction of his controllers, La Forge unknowingly transports a case of Federation weapons from the Enterprise to the rebel base, and then subsequently erases the logs. Vagh, monitoring the transport, immediately accuses the Enterprise of its deception. Data and La Forge review the transport logs but find no evidence for the transport even though the weapons originated from the Enterprise, and realize that only they themselves and two other crewmembers could have falsified the logs in that manner. Again, outside of his control, La Forge enters Kell's quarters on the Enterprise, where it is revealed that Kell is controlling La Forge. Kell orders La Forge to assassinate Vagh in a public setting before witnesses in such a manner as to utterly convince Vagh's people of Federation involvement.

 At Kell's suggestion, Picard invites Vagh to come aboard the Enterprise to witness the transport logs first-hand. As Picard takes Vagh around the ship, Data comes to learn that the E-band signals are coming from aboard the Enterprise and that La Forge never made it to Risa. He orders Lt Worf to immediately detain La Forge. The assassination attempt is blocked, and Data arrives to explain the situation, saying that the limited transmission range means the device controlling La Forge must either be in Picard's or Kell's possession. Kell refuses to undergo a search, but Vagh offers to take him to the colony to do so there. Fearing the consequences of being investigated by his own people, Kell quickly requests asylum aboard the Enterprise, which Picard says they will consider after his name is cleared of any wrongdoing by the Klingons. Kell is taken away by Vagh's guards. La Forge is cleared but struggles to understand what happened to him.

Review:

As someone who has been researching recreational forms of hypnosis recently for fiction-writing purposes, I now find episodes like this that are all about ‘brainwashing for evil’ a bit irksome. Part of why hypnosis and related subjects get a bad reputation is pop culture where such practices are mis-used by villains.  Granted, that’s kind of the point of this episode, as it’s basically TNG doing an homage to The Manchurian Candidate, but personally I wish there were more episodes of TV shows showing such things in a more positive light.  After all, it’s not that something like hypnosis is bad in and of itself; it just sometimes gets misused by people with bad intentions.

 All that said, it’s an otherwise ok episode that helps to feed into the overall thread of some past episodes to feed into the upcoming season finale cliff-hanger.  However, it does fall a bit flat for neither developing a character (aside from the closing scene between Geordi and Deanna, there’s no psychological consequence for Mr La Forge after this that I can recall), nor for exploring an issue.  It’s basically an episode that is Trek by name and appearance, but not Trek in substance. Add that to the perpetuating of negative hypnosis myths, albeit through some very heavy metaphor, and I only give this episode 5 out of 10.

[ezrisdax-archive]

a new standard

It takes a while for Michael to get used to Tilly. That's not necessarily a bad thing. (also here on ao3)

~~

Tilly- Syliva, or Syl if that’s what you want to call me as Tilly had insisted Michael call her – waved at her when she arrived in the mess hall.

 “Michael!” Tilly voice was far too loud and bright given the hour of the day and some of the other officers shot her confused or dirty looks but she didn’t seem to notice. “Over here.”

 Michael sighed to herself, getting her food and making her way to the table where Tilly sat. She supposed it was better than sitting alone, at least Tilly no longer viewed her as ‘the mutineer’. Now she seemed to be actively trying to include Michael to make up for her previous behaviour.

 “Did you sleep okay? I mean I slept okay, but then I know I might have been snoring and that might have been annoying and-”

 “Tilly.” Michael cut off another rambling bout. “I slept fine.”

 “Oh.” Tilly broke out in to another smile. “That’s good then. Do you know what you’re working on today, you’re coming back to the science lab right?”

 “That’s what I’ve been ordered to.” Michael agreed, taking a sip from her tea.

 “Do you like it there?” It seemed like no matter how short Michael’s answers were Tilly was determined to bring her in to the conversation.

 “I enjoy looking at scientific advancement.” Michael admitted. “I’m curious to know what’s out there.”

 “I thought that you were raised by Vulcans?” Tilly tilted her head and scrunched up her nose a little, it was almost cute. Michael hid a small smile by taking another sip of her tea at that. “I mean I know Vulcans love science but aren’t you not supposed to enjoy stuff? Oh no.” Tilly flushed suddenly, “That was insensitive, oh this is why I’m never going to be a first contact mission.” Tilly bemoaned, dropping her head.

 “It’s fine.” Michael assured her though secretly she thought Tilly might be right and not suited for a first contact mission. Her throat felt tight as she continued. “Captain Georgiou encouraged me to embrace some human aspects of exploration.” She didn’t mention that she was only really expressing it now in the wake of Philippa’s death.

 “You really admired her.” Tilly said quietly, fiddling idly with her fork. “I’m sorry.”

 Michael swallowed hard, “Thank you.” She replied quietly in kind. Tilly squirmed in the ensuing silence but didn’t say anything else, leaving Michael to her thoughts.

 ~~

 “You’re still here.” Tilly said somewhere behind Michael, sliding up beside her.

 “Since you’ve found me here, then logically yes I am.” Michael responded, not moving her gaze away from her screen.

 “C’mon.” Tilly yawned widely and Michael glanced at her from the corner of her eye. Her hair was back down in it’s many curls instead of up in a bun like usual and she was dressed in her pajamas.

 “Did you walk through the hallway like that?” Michael asked furrowing her brow and turning to face Tilly.

 Tilly glanced down and then her eyes widened. “Oh no. Oh no I did. Do you think anyone saw me?” She was beat red though the blue light cast by the screen turned her more purple. “I just woke up and you weren’t there and I got worried.” She glanced back at the door, biting her lip in worry and Michael could tell she was thinking if she ran into anyone while in the corridors.

 Michael shut down her screen and reached out to touch Tilly’s arm to get her attention. “Come on, I know a way back that shouldn’t have anybody around.” She’d learned it because she could tell she was making people uncomfortable and even the glares got tiring after a while.

 Tilly grabbed at her wrist as Michael led the way and babbled on about how she was glad that Michael knew where she was going and her vision at night was so poor. Michael mostly tuned it out, leading them back to their shared room.

 Once they were in she made move to go back out but Tilly stopped her with her hold still on Michael’s wrist. “You’re not going back are you?”

 “I still have work to do.” Michael said and tried to gently remove her wrist. She didn’t actually want to hurt Tilly after all.

 “You need some sleep.” Tilly said and raised her head stubbornly which only lasted for a second before she met Michael’s eyes. “Please?”

 Michael held in her sigh and nodded. “Very well.” She’d see if she could sneak out when Tilly was asleep again.

 Tilly beamed at her and let go of her wrist and Michael suddenly felt cold but knew logically it was just because of the sudden absence of warmth where it had been. She rubbed at her wrist anyway.

 “You know Michael I’m glad you’re my roommate.” Tilly said between another yawn as she slipped back under her covers. “It was pretty lonely in here.”

 Michael hesitated for a second. “I was…lonely as well.” She had been. It hurt to say but with the ostracization from the rest of it reminded her of her years on Vulcan never being accepted by her peers. On the Shenzhou Philippa had always been there as her friend and mentor. Discovery felt empty in that way.

 “Well now you’ve got me.” Tilly said and there wasn’t a hint of doubt in her voice. “Night Michael.” The lights overhead turned off at Tilly’s command and Michael laid on her bed, thinking.

 “Good night Tilly.” She said after a few minutes when she was sure that Tilly was still asleep anyway. It wasn’t Vulcan of her to admit her loneliness but it sure felt human.

 She took a deep breath, purging all emotions from her mind as she’d been taught as a child. The warm assurance that Tilly was there however remained. The snoring from the other side of the room helped with that.

 ~~

 The tricorder was long since broken and Michael’s right arm was burning with whatever acid had dripped on to it. Tilly was pressed against her other side with Michael’s left arm slung over her shoulder and was rambling on about how much trouble they were in.

 Michael wished, not for the first time, that she was a Vulcan so she could help calm Tilly down.

 “Breathe.” She murmured in Tilly’s ear instead and Tilly sucked in a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

 “Okay. Okay. What do we do?” Tilly still sounded worried but at least not as panicked as before.

 “We need to contact the others. We’ll have to set up a distress beacon. I can walk you through it.” With her right arm out of use currently she couldn’t do it.

 Tilly helped her get seated on a piece of rubble on the planet they’d landed on. They’d answered a distress beacon of their own only to find it was a trap for some kind of alien gladiatorial arena where they forced species to fight each other.

 Michael had bested whatever species had hurt her arm with it’s poison and Tilly had been quick to blow a hole in the arena with chemicals she found around them and gotten them out but they were still in trouble wandering the world aimlessly and no idea where their crewmates were.

 Tilly listened as Michael instructed her, every second it hurt to talk more and more and she had feeling the poison was spreading. She wanted to shut her eyes and just succumb to sleep to not feel the pain but she knew she had to stay awake.

 “You don’t look so good.” Tilly said once the beacon was set up and she’d rushed to Michael’s side again. “This isn’t good.” She had pushed up Michael’s sleeve and the poison was indeed running up her arm now. “It hurts doesn’t it?” She didn’t let Michael answer. “That’s a stupid question of course it does. I’m sorry I asked it. Is there…anything I can do?” Her eyes looked wet as she looked at Michael, close to tears.

 Michael gritted her teeth before she answered to steel herself from the pain. “We just have to wait until we’re answered.”

 Tilly hovered over her, fluttering between her and the beacon and looking more desperate as the minutes ticked by.

 Michael licked her lips, “Tilly-” She paused, “Syliva.”

 Tilly’s head shot up at her first name, her mouth dropped open in surprise.

 “If I don’t make it-” Michael began.

 “You’re going to!” Tilly blurted out before she could continue. “You’re going to and, and, I’ll bring you plomeek soup! And read you Alice in Wonderland while you’re stuck in medbay and um.” Tilly stopped, her shoulders falling. “You can’t die.”

 Michael laughed quietly, more a huff under her breath than anything else at the idea of Tilly annoying the other patients in medbay as she’d constantly visit Michael. She’d constantly be there and Michael knew it.

 Before she could answer though a ship’s light felt over them, wind whipping around them as the ship landed.

 “Looks like you’ll have to.” Michael said drily and Tilly wiped at her eyes to get rid of the tears though it did no good. She helped Michael get up and to the ship, staying right next to her the whole ride back even as medical poked at her.

 ~~

 True to her word Tilly was there every second she could be and they’d eventually kicked Michael out to recuperate in their room instead. She was off the duty roster for one week and it was making her feel twitchy but Tilly came back after the shift with padds of data for her to look at and stories of what they’d done that day.

 She sat on Michael’s bed, right next to Michael. The first time she’d done it Michael had shifted even closer to the wall and been somewhat annoyed. Now she pressed right against Tilly as they looked over the data.

 She was still scrolling through it as Tilly fell asleep on her bed and Michael knew she should wake her so Tilly could move to her own and not have to worry about possible rashes but a few minutes couldn’t hurt.

 Her right hand still hung at her side as she scrolled with her left and her fingers brushed by Tilly’s own, taking in the comforting warmth.

 ~~

 At some point they’d moved to Tilly’s bed over the course of the weeks so that when Tilly inevitably fell asleep all Michael would have to do was move over to her own. She usually still ended up staying there for a little while longer.

 Some nights Tilly’s head would drop on to her shoulder and Michael would stiffen for a second before allowing it.

She knew logically this wasn’t just what friends would do and she was staring too long at Tilly these days, noting the shape of her lips as she smiled and the flush in her cheeks as she laughed. Perhaps at some point something would come of it, she’d noticed Tilly staring more as well.

 If it did, she thought with her fingers entwined with Tilly’s as they’d gotten somewhere between the afternoon, she didn’t think she’d mind it at all.

[onyeenhok]

I’m just gonna warn right now that this post will almost definitely contain Discovery spoilers. It’s primarily meta about Michael’s feelings toward Spock, but I want to reference canon events to explain my reasoning, so I wanted to say that to start this post out.

So I have seen another post that theorizes that Michael dislikes Spock for various reasons, but I disagree with that interpretation. (Of course, not that it’s a wrong interpretation to believe! I just think differently!) In my experience of being an older sibling, even when my younger sister was given more attention or affection than I thought I was getting, I always have and always will love her to bits, and I feel like Michael is the same way with Spock.

First of all, knowing that Michael lost her first family at a very young age, I think she’s attached to her new family all the more because of that. She lost her first family, so she’d be dedicated to keeping this one—of course she’s gonna show them how much she loves them in the best way she knows how. She listens to Amanda and seems to make sure to be receptive when recieving advice or help from her, because she knows that’s what Amanda hopes for. That’s why she not only takes the copy of Alice in Wonderland Amanda gives her, but quotes it as though it’s a prayer. She studies and studies and practices and works so hard for Sarek, because she knows that giving Sarek the proof he wants that humans and Vulcans can coexist will make him happy. Which is why she’s so broken up about being rejected from the Vulcan Expeditionary Force—when she says “I am not good enough”, she isn’t just referring to not being good enough for the Vulcan Expeditionary Force, she’s referring to not being good enough for Sarek himself. And, at least I think, for Spock, she makes sure to show interest in what he does and follow his path as he grows up, because she adores her baby brother and she wants him to know that she cares. And (later), not only that, she probably doesn’t want her relationship with him to cast him in a bad light.

Michael name-drops the Enterprise to Cadet Tilly, which we can view as just a fun little reference the writers threw in. But I don’t think that’s the only purpose. Looking at the content of After Trek episodes and answers we’ve been given, the writers don’t add things in for only the purpose of fanservice—the references are important and have meaning, there’s little to no wasted content, from what I’ve seen. I don’t think that Michael’s choice to mention the Enterprise, out of any Constitution-class ship, is an accident; she wouldn’t have pulled the name out of thin air. Maybe she admires Pike, maybe she likes the ship’s name. Or maybe she knows that the Enterprise is where her little brother is, doing exactly what Tilly is asking advice for—trying to work his way up Starfleet ranks—and the first place her mind went was to Spock.

This leaves the question of ‘but why hasn’t she contacted Spock, then?’

We’ve seen on several occassions that Michael is caring and sensitive, and clearly puts others before herself. An example of this is even included in her original mutiny! She honestly was trying to save her ship and her crew and her captain, and she wasn’t afraid to sacrifice her reputation and career to save them. And this carries over into her family life, too. Some children would be resentful and fight their parents the whole way if they were pushed the way Sarek pushed Michael. In fact, I’d venture to say that most children would be. But Michael isn’t. She’s happy to do what Sarek asks for her, because she knows it will make him happy. And with that kind of personality, it only follows that of course she wouldn’t have a bad relationship with Spock. In fact, she probably had a fantastic relationship with him until she was arrested.

In my opinion, it’s likely that her relationship with him now isn’t bad so much as nonexistent. And I think this is on both ends.

Spock’s end is somewhat in line with the other post I saw, except that the whole thing about Michael resenting him for being the favorite and not taking the chance she wanted so desperately is just what he believes. He thinks that of course Michael would resent him, and being locked up in prison was an excuse to finally stop pretending to have a good relationship with him, so he won’t disturb that. He chooses to let her be, hoping she’ll be more comfortable that way. (Spoilers: she isn’t)

For Michael, her lack of contacting him is because she’s so deeply scared of the possibility of hearing from him that he’s disappointed or even disgusted with her behavior. She’s scared to death that, if she contacts him, she’d only have her heart broken again with the knowledge that she’s disappointed yet another one of her family members. She doesn’t want to hear something like that from someone she loves, so she chooses to hear nothing at all, and instead silently watches him work through the Academy with pride—watches him get assigned to the Enterprise, which informs her advice to Tilly.

So, the way I see it, the only issue in their relationship is that both of them have assumed the other doesn’t want to talk. Michael loves her baby brother and doesn’t want to hear that she failed him too, and Spock loves his big sister, but thinks she hates him. So if they were to meet, they could probably work through the misunderstanding, and we’d be able to see some nice sibling conversations (ideally). It would probably end up more like her conversation with Sarek, though. That’s just my two cents based on canon and my experience of being an older sister and imagining how I’d feel in Michael’s shoes.

TL;DR: Michael loves her baby brother Spock, but is afraid he hates her because of her mutiny, while Spock loves his big sister but is afraid she hates him because he got what she wanted and threw it away. Because of that they don’t talk, and I’m ready to cry about it.

[kinkykinard]

When Hope is Lost

Fandom: Star Trek AOS. Pairing: Reader X Spock. Prompt:  Anon - I wish you would write a fic where Reader is with Bones and Spock when they crash in the Krall ship? Reader can be injured or not, doesn’t matter. Word Count: 2919. Warnings: blood, minor injury, language. Rating: Teen+. Author’s Note: For Trek Fest 2017’s Spock week!  I feel like I tried to cram way too much into way too few words in this fic, but I hope you guys enjoy it nevertheless!  Writing Spock is definitely not my forte.  Unbeta’d, so any mistakes are my own.

When Hope is Lost

You drag in a breath as lights around you flicker and die.  The sound of hissing fills your ears as some sort of a gas escapes through a crack in a pipe near where your head is wedged in a joint between the hull and deck plating of the craft you’re occupying.  Smoke curls in thick tendrils around you and you cough, shutting your eyes tightly and putting a hand over your mouth and nose in an attempt to wave away enough of the stuff to catch your breath. You grapple with memories of the events leading to the crash you’ve just suffered as you grope around in the darkness, hoping to find other signs of life – the lives of the two officers you’d plummeted to the ground with.  You remember being in an escape pod.  You remember the sounds of footfalls and phaser fire.  You remember a body colliding with yours – Dr. McCoy’s – and another one narrowly missing you. Oh, God – Spock.

You shift around some more, pushing yourself into a seated position, still feeling around for other bodies in the wreck. You’re both relieved and worried when you find no signs of either the Vulcan or the CMO, and you realize that if you don’t act quickly, you’re going to asphyxiate from the smoke and coolant aerosolizing into the compartment. As you test your limbs, thanking the stars that none of them seem to be banged up too badly, you hear voices just outside the shuttle.  They’re deep in hurried conversation and you recognize them as belonging to Spock and Dr. McCoy.  You can’t make out what they’re saying, but you’re relieved that they’re alright. Your relief doesn’t last long, however, as a bloodcurdling scream tears through the otherwise relative silence.  Your head snaps up and you hiss as it comes into contact with the shuttle’s console, the blow making you see stars.  The scream was Spock’s, you’re sure of it, and you find yourself flying into a complete panic as you wonder what’s happening. You shift around, realizing the reason you can’t make much headway in clambering out of the shuttle is because you’re pinned beneath the now-broken piloting station.  Wrenching around, you attempt to slide out from beneath the beam that’s lying across your legs but you don’t make much progress.  You’re just about to cry out for help when the smoke around you clears a little bit and a strong pair of hands grips your upper arms, stilling you and making you yelp in surprise. “I’ve got you,” Dr. McCoy assures you.  “Just relax and I’ll get you out of there.” You nod and do your best to calm down, groaning as he slips his hands under your arms and pulls you up just enough that you can get your knees out from beneath the beam that’s pinning them. Once they’re free, the rest is easy; you pull your legs up to your chest and slowly push yourself to your feet, ducking to avoid hitting your head as Dr. McCoy helps guide you out of the shuttle. “Are you hurt?”  He asks as he gives you a hand in climbing over the door frame. “I don’t think so,” you reply, dropping to the ground and stumbling a little before catching yourself on a nearby boulder. “Just a bit banged up.” Glancing around the craggy valley you’ve crash landed in, you finally lay eyes on Spock where he’s bleeding and leaning against the side of the shuttle.  Shaking off the CMO, you rush over to him, reaching out to put a hand on your shoulder both to steady yourself and to reassure him. “Oh my God,” you breathe as you take in the not insignificant gash on his side and all of the blood on his tunic.  “Are you okay?!” “I am in satisfactory condition,” Spock replies, but you notice he’s moved to cover the gash with his hand and hide it from your view.  “Are you wounded, Ashayam?” “I’m fine,” you insist, repeating what you’d told Dr. McCoy. “I would feel better if you allowed the doctor to assess you,” Spock countered.  “You could easily have sustained internal injuries in the crash and the adrenaline in your system may be masking them.” “While I don’t disagree with you, Spock, I think we ought to find some shelter first,” the CMO interjects, earning himself a long-suffering look from you.  “We’re sitting ducks out here.  I don’t like it.” You nod and glance up at Spock again. “He’s right,” you agree.  “We need to get to safety, then we can think about our next move.” “Agreed,” Spock relents, pushing himself up off the side of the shuttle and taking a shaky step forward. You move in, slipping underneath his arm and slinging it over your shoulders to help keep him stable as Dr. McCoy does the same on the other side.  Together, the three of you glance around and choose to head in what you believe is an eastward direction.  You don’t see any signs of other escape pods or alien craft having crashed anywhere nearby and you begin to wonder for the first time exactly where you are and how you’re going to contact the Enterprise, assuming there’s anything left of it. The three of you wander down the valley for a while, looking for shelter so you can be a little more out of the way and in relative safety before hunkering down to consider your next move.  After a few failed attempts to hail the ship and a bit of hiking and scrambling over rocks – which has been made easier since Spock has recovered enough strength to walk unaided – you come across a network of caves that look more promising than anything you’ve seen so far.  At the sight of the caves, Spock lurches forward unsteadily, nearly falling before catching himself on a rock.  You rush over to him to help support him once more as the doctor admonishes him. “Take it easy there, Spock,” he grouses. “That was just a temporary fix back there.” Spock nods and you make a mental note to ask the CMO exactly what he means by temporary fix later on.  You have no idea what happened with the two of them before you’d been pulled from the shuttle, but you do intend to find out. “I understand, Doctor,” the Vulcan acknowledges before starting forward again with your help. The two of you, with Dr. McCoy in tow, round a bend and come across a ground level entrance to the caves.  You’re forced to duck as some small birdlike creatures flee the caves at the sound of company and you straighten again once they’ve cleared, considering the passage before you. “Fascinating,” Spock murmurs. “Ominous, dark, dangerous,” Dr. McCoy chips in, clearly displeased. If Spock hears him, he doesn’t acknowledge it. Instead, he simply presses forward, taking the first step toward the cave entrance with you at his side. “We’re going,” the doctor says – a statement, not a question, tone dripping with exasperation. The three of you make your way into the cave and you’re pleased to find that enough light to see by filters in through openings higher up in what appears to be some sort of an atrium with an altar of sorts at its center.   A grunt of pain from Spock returns your attention to him and you move quickly to settle him into a seated position with his back against one of the cave’s walls.  You kneel at his side and reach out, gently pressing a hand to his shoulder in reassurance.  You know it’s illogical to him, but it makes you feel better – like maybe, just maybe, you’re helping in some small way. “Are you alright?”  You ask, searching his features for any flicker of discomfort. “I remain in adequate condition,” Spock says in what you’re sure is meant to be a reassuring way. “Why don’t you let me be the judge of that?” Dr. McCoy interjects, coming to kneel on Spock’s other side and getting to work on a quick assessment. As he works, you shift around and settle on the floor next to Spock, your back against the wall, your hand splayed on his thigh.  The doctor’s noises of displeasure briefly catch your attention but just as quickly he’s reassuring you that Spock is stable, if not in the best condition. “All we can do is wait now,” the CMO determines with a sigh, moving to join the two of you against the cave wall. You stare at the ceiling as the minutes and hours crawl by, your eyes taking in every letter of whatever alien alphabet adorns the ceiling and walls of the space you’re in.  The silence is nice for a while, but it all too quickly gets to be too much as thoughts of what’s happened to the Enterprise and its crew begin to take dark turns and force your heart to start galloping uncomfortably in your chest. “So,” you start awkwardly, swallowing thickly as you snap out of your reverie.  “Anything new and exciting to report?” Silence passes between the three of you for a moment before Dr. McCoy breaks it. “There’s a Denobulan flu going around that’s starting to affect the human crew, too,” he offers.  “I expect to see you in the med bay as soon as we’re back on the ship so I can administer a vaccine.” You laugh humorlessly. “Do you really think there’ll be a ship to go back to?”  You ask, your voice hollow. “I’ve got too much unfinished business on board for there not to be,” he replies.  “Hell, I was going to propose to Jim on our next shore leave.  I refuse to believe that this is how it ends.” Spock chuckles softly at his words.  The sound is so uncharacteristic that it turns both of your heads and sends Dr. McCoy’s eyebrow creeping up toward his hairline. “Spock?”  You ask warily. “My apologies, Y/N,” Spock says lightly. “I am simply amused by how timely Dr. McCoy’s proposal is.  The captain will undoubtedly need the levity after I deliver some personal news.” “What kind of personal news?”  You press. He looks up to meet your eyes and you swear you see apology in his gaze as he reaches out to take your hand.  It’s an intimate gesture for a Vulcan and all of a sudden your heart’s racing away again as you consider how bad the news must be if the usually stoic Vulcan feels the need to cushion the blow with such a display of affection. “I have recently been informed of Ambassador Spock’s passing,” he begins. As you listen to the story, pay witness to the depth of feeling that Spock had for the ambassador, your heart absolutely splinters apart.  You know that he’s hurting even if he won’t show it, and even Dr. McCoy is humbled enough by his words to get out a genuine, empathetic apology.  Your heartbreak for him does nothing to soften the blow that comes a moment later, however, when he explains that in light of Ambassador Spock’s demise, he is going to be leaving the Enterprise to continue the elder Vulcan’s work. “When were you going to discuss this with me?” You ask. Dr. McCoy shrinks back a little at your tone, averting his gaze and clearing his throat awkwardly, undoubtedly wishing he was anywhere else but within earshot of the conversation at hand. “I was going to discuss it with you as soon as this mission was over,” Spock explains. You fall silent, averting your gaze, chewing on your lip as your thoughts race by at warp speed.  Spock leaving the Enterprise.  Spock going to assist in the repopulation of the Vulcan species. Spock going to be with his own people, in his own culture, away from humans, from human fickleness and emotion.  Away from you. “I’m not going to say that you can’t go or that I want to stand in your way,” you say evenly once you’re ready to speak again.  “All I ask is that you consider my feelings in all of this; consider us and what this means for our relationship.  I don’t want an answer right now, but I need to know where you stand.  I need to know what we mean to you.” “Very well,” Spock says lightly with a polite incline of his head.  “I assure you that I will have an appropriate response prepared for you upon some more reflection.  Just allow me to reassure you now, Ashayam, that no amount of time or distance could ever lessen the depth of my feelings for you.” His words are a bit of a balm on your suddenly-frayed nerves, though you try not to let yourself hope that he’s willing to maintain a long distance relationship too much just yet.  To be entirely truthful, you’re not sure how you feel about that sort of an arrangement yourself.  It’s easy enough to live without sex for long periods of time, but you’re not sure missing his companionship – however distant and dispassionate it may be sometimes – will be as easy to weather. “McCoy to Enterprise,” the doctor’s voice suddenly interrupts your thoughts, and you realize he’s moved to the mouth of the cave to try his communicator again. Pulling yourself out of your reverie, you stretch a little and grimace from the stiffness in your muscles and bones.  You realize belatedly that Spock’s hand had come to rest on your neck some time during your contemplation and you close your eyes and bask in the feeling of his long, slender, skilled fingers gently kneading at the tension beneath them.  You thank him wordlessly, squeezing his thigh where your hand is resting on it as you turn to look at Dr. McCoy. “You won’t have any luck from in here,” you explain.  “We’ll need to try our luck outside again.” Moving reluctantly away from Spock, you get to your feet and brush off your uniform dress.  Shaking out your legs, you make your way over toward Dr. McCoy and glance outside.  It’s still plenty light out and with so much sunshine to see by, you figure now is as good a time as any to head back into the valley and try to get a message out. “I’m going to go try from out there,” you insist.  “Maybe try to get to higher ground.” “I’m coming with you,” Dr. McCoy says firmly, but you shake your head. “You need to stay and watch Spock,” you argue. “That will not be necessary,” Spock says coolly, his voice much closer than expected. Looking over your shoulder, you realize he’s on his feet and heading toward you, one hand clamped over his injury in an obvious attempt to control the pain he’s undoubtedly feeling.  He’s moving slowly but surely and you sigh, knowing you’ve lost the fight before it’s even begun. “Alright, we’ll all go,” you say flatly. “But you’re going to take it easy, and Dr. McCoy is going to stay close to you.” Both men nod in agreement with your words and you take a deep, steadying breath before stepping forward, making your way out of the cave.  You can hear the two of them shuffling along behind you and you maintain a good pace, leaving a little bit of room between you.  As you hike, you stop here and there to attempt contact, feeling your hopelessness and frustration ratcheting up with every failure to receive a reply. As you take your comm away from your mouth for what feels like the hundredth time, you hear the sound of some sort of a craft cutting through the air.  Glancing around frantically, you feel panic well up in your chest as the same sorts of shuttles that the three of you had crash landed in fly in low overhead and begin to circle the three of you.  You know they’ve spotted you and with Spock in poor condition – now being led along by Dr. McCoy – you know you’ll never make it to safety before they close in. “Run, Y/N,” Spock calls to you from several yards away. “I’m not leaving you!”  You yell back, and you can tell by the expression on Dr. McCoy’s face that he’s not going anywhere, either. “You have the best chance of survival,” Spock argues.  “If you run back the way we came, you may be able to find a suitable hiding place in time.” “Not a chance,” you shoot back with a firm shake of your head. Just as the three shuttles encircle your little group, you watch in mingled surprise and horror as a cloud of white and gold static envelops Spock.  He disappears in the flurry of the transporter beam within moments, and before Dr. McCoy can so much as react, he’s swept up, too, leaving you alone in the clearing. Reaching for your phaser, you pluck it off of your belt and hold it up in front of you, pointing it at the shuttle hovering nearest to you.  It’s futile, you know, but you’d rather go down fighting than surrender to death. You’re ready to pull the trigger when suddenly, the same gold and white light that spirited Spock and Dr. McCoy away envelops you.  You gasp in shock, take a deep breath, close your eyes, and wonder what’s waiting for you on the other side as you’re swept up and disassociated into nothing but the building blocks of your being.

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[time-schwime]

A (Kind of Long) Thought

I'm such a literary ho for a good metaphor and goddamn the root beer scene in DS9 is one of the best metaphors I've ever encountered.  And I know this has been said a hundred times already, but I’m doing it anyway, and I’m going into the Federation.

The Federation is framed as this golden organization which can solve every problem it touches and literally its golden rule is put in place to restrain itself from 'civilizing' every race it comes in contact with (which is such a metaphor for Western colonization, but I digress), but DS9 blows that shit out of the water.  Sisko makes a point of saying DS9 is gray –and every character has shades of gray to their personality.  But it's bigger than that; the Federation is the grayest of them all. It's basically the United Nations of space, right?  Its proclaimed goal is to unite a bunch of races in diplomatic, trade, and defense alliances.  Which sounds great until you really think deeply about it –who has the authority? Humans and Vulcans.  That’s pretty much it.

They’re the two races who see themselves as the most ‘civilized.’  Hell, First Contact between Humans and Vulcans is revered around the universe as basically a holiday, but is there a special remembrance day set aside for when the Vulcans met the Andorians?  Or when Humans met the Cardassians?  Correct me if I’m wrong, but none comes to mind.

So you’ve got two civilizations who see themselves as cultured enough to take control over everyone else.  And yeah, there is (or was, depending on timelines) an alliance between the Federation and the Klingon Empire, but they never really respected the Klingons.

Klingons are constantly portrayed as violent brutes who do nothing but fight.  They’re not diplomats, but do you know who are see themselves as the diplomats, according to the Federation?  Humans. And Vulcans.  

Cast your eyes back to history –you’ve got an empire (there have been quite a few in Earth’s history) who discovers this talent for exploration.  They discover (‘discover’) a land beyond their imagination, of which they’ve only dreamed.  And what do you know, there’s people there.  But they do things a little differently, so it’s the job of the empire to fix them.  To civilize them.

That’s what the Federation does.  That’s why they try their hardest to avoid the Ferengi, because they do things differently.  Now I’m not saying either is right or either is wrong, I’m just saying it’s different, and it works for the Ferengi.  They value profit; their actions reflect that.

But what does the Federation value?  Unity. Unity in the form of control.

And the Cardassians –oh, boy, don’t get me started.  The Cardassians are so similar to the Federation, so similar it’s almost laughable.  The difference is they don’t hide their want for power, they’re upfront about it. They value pride and order, in the form of their military.  And say what you will, they’ve got a damn good military.  And the Federation is threatened by that, so they mask that fear with disgust, and the Cardassians are viewed the same way as the Klingons, as brutes without morals.

But who are the Federation to talk about morals?

So go back to the root beer scene.  The dialogue in that scene is fantastic, it says so much in so few words.

How does Quark start the scene: “C’mon, aren’t you just a little bit curious?” Aren’t you curious how the Federation tastes, how it operates?

It’s like root beer –certainly an acquired taste.  And some people will, as he says, start to like it after a while.  But some will hate it no matter how much they drink, how much is forced down their throats.

Garak calls it ‘insidious,’ a word that’s no doubt been used to describe the Cardassians a hundred times.  Ironic, sure. Accurate, probably.

And Quark, oh, Quark, describes it as ‘cloying’ and ‘happy,’ and that gets right to the heart of it.  The Federation is portrayed as the heroes.  And undoubtedly they’ve done great things.  They’ve ended wars, they’ve certainly won a few.  They ally former enemies for the purpose of scientific pursuits. And I respect them for that, I do.

But they play favorites.  They’re vain, self-centered.  Worried about preserving the unity they’ve molded, and they’ve proven more than once that they’re willing to make sacrifices to accomplish their goals.  And those sacrifices are what make Quark so bitter, because he knows he’s got no choice.  That he needs the Federation’s help, that all of them do.

Quark follows certain principles.  Some may not agree with them, but that Ferengi follows them.  And the Federation has principles, but they’re more than happy to occasionally go back on them, if it suits what they see as the greater good. That’s despicable to a man like Quark; hell, even to Garak, whose principles are grayer than a storm cloud.

And the Federation hides all of this, justifies their actions by whatever means necessary.  It’s one thing to hide your motives, but to deny them to the very end, to set your own to take the fall rather than to admit to them –that’s insidious.

So this scene is so important (obviously because of the acting choices that everyone else makes a point to touch on, and props for that) because it’s between these two proud men –a Ferengi who wishes that he was anywhere other than where he is, but knows deep down that he belongs there, and a Cardassian who was exiled from his home, is so desperately alone and so hopeless to do nothing but watch as the home he loves so much falls apart before everyone’s eyes.  These two who are gray and so, so different, and yet so very similar.

They don’t trust the Federation to save them.  They hate the fact that they will most likely be forced to depend on them.

And yet they know they’ve got no choice, and they’re hoping beyond hope that this Federation can save them.  Because swallowing that pride and accepting help, even from the Federation, is better than their races being destroyed.

And that is why DS9 as a whole and this scene in particular is just a great gosh-darn metaphor.  And I love it for that.

[yourthyla]

[STAR TREK] FANFICTION REC LIST

Phew! I’ve been reading a lot of fics so I’ve been doing this rec-list of my favourites for you. trust me it’s from MANY sources and depths of the internet. I’m gonna try to keep it clearly organized and updated. 

Also, these fics are really various, but the pairings are only combinatinos of Spock, Kirk and McCoy. I warn you I have a huge thing for AUs.

I used AO3 ratings and sometimes included author’s description.

This is also a thanks to my nearly 400 followers, I LOVE YOU all! I hope this comes any useful to you!

TOS

Spock/Kirk

E// Hours of Freedom is a both-sided amnesia fic but the best I’ve read. Kirk and Spock in forest, surviving, fluffing around and eventually smutting.

E// Got You is a Mirror-verse PWP where Spock and Kirk do it right on the bridge. Yes, you heard me, in front of everyone. One of the hottest PWPs ever.

E// The Friend Awesome in-character fic taking place on Vulcan, exploring Kirk’s jealousy and sexuality

E// The power of suggestion Under an unfortunate influence of a drug, Kirk starts temporarily believing he and Spock have been lovers. One of the best get/together fics and solutions of long secret crush I’ve read!

M// Communication A  wonderful epistolary fic (I love these) Being at war, Spock is separated from his crew before the end of 5YM and they miss each other immensely. They quite maturely handle their affections for each other and start writing between the lines.

T// A means to an end A morning-after fic with an interesting twist! Kirk and Spock shyly & slyly taking their friendship to ‘the next level’ :D

E// Turbo Tale This story is from Turbo lift’s POINT OF VIEW. No, trust me. This is too wonderful and I’ve never read a blowjob scene used so strangely appropriately and affectionately like here. .

G// The Game Very entertaining and originally handled challenge by the author.  The crew plays a game in a bar. I love this too much.

E// The Berries One of the best ‘we’re in forest, you’re drunk and we’re too surprised we’ve both loved and craved each other all along so let’s get it finally over with’ I’ve EVER read.

E// Personal Effects Spock received a personal android, he likes him a lot. Kirk is furiously jealous. 

M// Shall We? This one is different and so weird? It has plot but a humorous one and somehow this kept me entertained and I appreciate it in a strange way. Such an original view of K/S development!

E// Absolution The author truly spoiled me with this fic. It is a fuel to my hurt/comfort love, there is nothing like nasty abduction and then (most of the fic) soothing the character (Kirk) delicately with love while every single sentence of it is PERFECTLY in character that it awes me. The thing is very real. (However I only enjoyed the first half as much, I’m not sure if I ever finished the second.)

G// First comes love AU. Kirk is a single parent and Spock is a child doctor. Why you should read this? 1) PUREST THING EVER. 2) REALISTIC PURE CHILD’S (David) POV. 3) His daddy is falling in love with his doctor?!! 4)OhgodpleasejustREADit... I just wish this was longer *cries*

E// At a glance Teenage!AU. Ok I just realized I read this as AOS? It totally worked? Anyway, I only read 2 chapters because it felt satisfying enough the other day but I was IN LOVE with the first kissing scene, one of the most powerful I’ve EVER read. Love at first sight. Epic. I’m gonna finish it one day and update my opinion. 

E// Surrender PWP. Warning for dub-con and dom/sub elements. Normally I’m not so into this and if yes I don’t bother rec-ing it BUT I am doing so for the massage scene because hot damn, that was the hottest stuff ever. Simply well-written Spock seducing Kirk. (wth was this published in year 1997?!?)

E// Master and Commander A satisfying first-time PWP, awkward shower sharing, pleasant switching of the roles.

E// Getting What You Wished For Having any wish on a planet that creates anything for you, Spock (very logically) summons copy of Captain Kirk to deal with his oh so suppressed sexual and romantic feelings toward him. It doesn’t work but it might give him a push to finally confess.

E// Ardor Amazing PWP which just didn’t feel too cliché for my taste. Features gym red pants and very nice foreplay and resolved sexual tension wohoo.

G// in love with my captain This is just a drabble to warm your heart. It’s just the last sentence...is everything good in the world.

T// An Impossible Smile “ Captain Kirk has a seductive smile that no man or woman can stand up to. He uses this against Spock.” THIS IS SO GOOD because nobody ever portrays Spock as ‘one of Kirk’s conquests’ (sorry for that) but this one does and IT HURTS SO BAD but it’s short enough so you won’t die but..wow..

E//  Rose Hips and Vulcan Lips PWP with FLUFF, married Spirk, Spock is cold, there’s Kirk’s mom in the house while the two dorks go warm up in the shower and do nasty things, anyway: "Spock...Only you could stand there, naked, in the shower, with soapy water running down your chest and that big, thick hard-on poking out at me, talking about plants with vitamin C. And I love you for it." :>> i want marriage like that.

Spock/McCoy

T// Questions, Questions Brilliantly in-character fic about Spock being forced to answer very personal questions to McCoy as a part of the physical. M// The Sample is a sequel to Questions, Questions, where Spock must deliver semen sample for McCoy. He is failing, and asks for help. I will read these for the rest of my life.

E// Aegri Somnia Spock and McCoy are stranded on a planet and fight for their life. PERFECT food for hurt/comfort lovers. Contains horror atmosphere, very naturalistic description, love confessions & cuddles. What’s not to love.

E// I have enough Huge hurt/comfort. I have a thing for depressed!Bones and this one suffers all included (alcohol, secret love for Spock, self-harm..) But don’t worry, he gets the comfort he deserves.

T// Nothing By Halves This is mostly for the nice idea. All I can tell you is copy the description and my favourite quote summing it up: “McCoy wishes he could talk to Spock's human half. After a transporter malfunction, he can.” And: “It wasn't your human half I needed to get through to, or the Vulcan. It was just you.” I’m crying.

E// What happens in Vegas Can be AOS too. Crack-ish. This was lot of fun. Well, the first part looked more promising. Somehow I thought it would be better if they slept together sooner, when it was still kind of taboo, you know what I mean? It turned too sugary for me which seems to by my frequent problem but still adorable and fun fic!

Spock/Kirk/McCoy

E// Always watching You - “An asexual but not aromantic Spock contemplates his relationship with Jim and Leonard.” Exceptional fic.

E// Unbearable “As McCoy struggles with holding Spock’s katra, he finds himself stuck in the middle of a relationship between his best friend and a dead man.” How bittersweet.

E// Get the party started (if it works for all parties involved) PWP-ish. “Jim caught Bones calling Jim's and Spock's name in his 'self-loving' time. Jim's solution? Phone Spock. While Bones's still at it so Spock could hear it first-hand, of course.” Wohoooo! Voyeurism is my weakness trope.

E// Beautiful Liar “McCoy reveals hidden feelings for Spock after accidental contact with his mind. He doesn't know Kirk and Spock are lovers, so Jim lies to him.” This is actually kinda sad? But not exactly angsty. 

________________________

AOS

Spock/Kirk

M// The Exchange Student Teenage Spirk AU. Jim is abused by his step-father, Spock, the exchange student comes to his rescue. Hurt/comfort, so fluffy, SO beautiful!

E// Gift An AU, takes place on xenophoibic Vulcan; Spock finds a young human and decides to keep him. I love how they grow up together and develop an unhealthy addiction to each other. However it gets a bit angsty at the end and I’m unsure how the ending makes me feel. 

E// Papers in the Roadside AU. Jim owns a bar and Spock is a mysterious journalist who makes him lose his mind. This story has flawless atmosphere and slow development. It is essential.

E// Educated Differences A standard 21. century university AU where Jim and Spock are put as roommates and I don’t think I even need to comment this.

T// Mayday, My Darling Very realistic fic about Spock getting drug-addicted. I don’t usually enjoy established relationship but THIS is perfection! Tags speak for it all. 

T// Subtext Jim has a crush on Spock, he misses him and regrettably end up trying to pick him through texting. Very enjoyable ‘texting’ fic (mostly.) Also funny and fluffy!

E// Tray Tables and Seatbelt Signs AU. You ever heard of Mile High Club? No? You will now. Spock is hot flight attendant and Jim a very annoying and needy passenger. Bonus: best description of Bones&Jim friendship ever.

E// In time AU. Kirk’s mother leaves to space for years and emplys Spock as her son’s ‘caretaker.’ Now, I know how difficult it is to characterise a child/teenager well but this author took my breath away. Jim's development feels 110% real and the relationship of him and Spock over THE YEARS is developing perfectly, it's balanced, flowing ideally fast. Lot of mutual pinning, slow-build, hurty comforty this is SO GOOOOOD and pure.

T// Stacks AU. Librarian!Jim and cadet!Spock. What I liked about this one is that Kirk was so pure, contrary to other AOS fics. As a librarian, interested in a regular Vulcan guest, he has this really nice character vibe. And he doesn't think it's creepy when Spock makes awkward sexual propositions and just goes with it because he actually respects him for once. 

E// The third wheel Academy AU. Awh yes, another fandiction that I simply devoured at once. Spock is a professor who calmly dates around with cadet Uhura but Jim is an annoying bastard who decides to steal Uhura from him, however he ends up falling in love with Spock and stealing him instead. Spock is succumbing hopelessly and adorably, god. 

M// The Fountain AU. “Somehow, Jim thought the brothel would be different—big and beautiful. Not like this, with just one broken Vulcan.” What can I say? Jim rescues Spock from where he certainly doesn’t belong. Hurt/comfort is my oxygen. Bones making important and appreciated appearance as well!

M// A Kingdom to Come Fairy-tale AU.  “Jim has been ordered by his mother, Queen Winona of Terra, to marry crown princess T'Pring of Vulcan. He intends to do no such thing.” Who doesn’t need a kingdom-set fic once in their life? I tell you, this is better than you think, do give it a try. I could not stop until I finished. Pure gold.

T// Mother, why Kirk is a waiter and Spock was arranged an outrageous blind date with Gary Mitchell in the restaurant. Jim manages to be the only pleasant thing on the date. Pity for the happy but open ending.

E// Muddy Waters Uni AU. I’m not sure about this one. I know I really loved the beginning, or half of it and then again I was deeply disappointed and dropped it. But in this fic Spock is a human but has ‘Vulcan syndrome’ or something so he looks like a vulcan so that was pretty cool I think.

E// Creep College AU. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to read this at first but I am glad I did!! It was very good! The characters were given their names because their parents were Star Trek fans and stuff?? So they are in the Star Trek fandom?  Kirk is in love with a ff writer while dealing with this creepy classmate at school. Well, as the author says:  “ One story, two storylines, one love.”

Spock/Kirk/McCoy

E// Called You Friend This is not a fanfiction, this is PURE ART. This is so imaginative, various, makes you feel things. You have to read bit between the lines to follow the plot but this is just beautiful.

McKirk

E// Life is Just a Bowl Full of Peaches ??? AU. I don’t even know why I saved this one but I knew I could regret it?? Crack-ish, maybe? McCoy is a single parent countryman and he is online dating Jim, thinking he's a GIRL. I don't know. Just. It’s fun but it’s also like nice? I don’t know if I finished but I definitelly enjoyed the beginning.

T// Subtlety Cute Cofee shop AU! Too bad it isn’t longer.