#yes I know they did wormhole on ds9 too but still | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

torielectra83 · 3 years

Text

Garak and the Jack Pack

Want to thank

@volixia669

for giving me the idea and motivation; this is the first fic I've posted and finished in quite a while. Also gonna tag

@unicorn-and-bluebells

and

@tirlaeyn

since their DS9-related posts are what helped lead me to this (if there's a DS9-related Discord I should join, let me know); note that I'm not much of a shipper (and I'm ace), so I wasn't quite sure how to approach the Bashir/Garak relationship; I just left it in the background (and the lizard man t-shirt).

“Oh, Doctor. There you are, and I….see you’ve brought company!” As he could see, Dr. Bashir was heading for the Replimat for his typical luncheon with him, only four other people were crowded around him. A skinny man with a mustache, a stocky older man with a timid expression, a rather gregarious-looking woman, and another woman who looked rather distant. “Oh, hello Garak. I’d like to apologize for being a bit late.”

“Oh, don’t worry, given what I’m seeing it’s very much a valid excuse.” Garak had heard about the other genetically-engineered people who’d been sent to DS9 to meet Dr. Bashir, but he’d been busy with orders at his shop; he’d been thinking about hiring someone to help out, actually. “Well, that’s Jack, Patrick, Lauren and Sarina. This is my...friend Garak, he runs a tailoring shop here on the Promenade.” “Oh, hi there, Hi. Uh, I gotta go over to the replicator, I’m starving over here.” Jack promptly excused himself, while Lauren made her way to Garak next. “Well, hello, Mr. Garak.” She promptly began her flirtatious attitude. “If you’re trying to seduce me...it won’t work. I am sorry, but I do not generally do one night stands.” Surprised and somewhat disappointed, Lauren backed away.

Patrick then approached Garak. “Do you make clothes?” “Yes, I do.” Patrick then grinned eagerly. “Good, because the clothes the institute gives us are too...itchy and things like that. Do you have softer clothes?” “Well, I can certainly make some? I believe Dr. Bashir said you need “sensory-friendly” clothing?” Bashir nodded; the term was an old term from pre-warp Earth. “I’ll do it at no charge; anyone who’s a friend of Dr. Bashir is a friend of mine.” He sipped his Tarkalean tea as Jack argued with the replicator over not being able to make something, while Lauren used the other one to replicate a bowl of Vulcan plomeek soup.

“And… Sarina, is it? I’ve noticed you haven’t said anything yet.” Garak simply saw the young woman turn, before holding up a PADD, with words written on it -- “I can’t speak, If you want to have a conversation with me, use this.” She promptly set the PADD down and continued to watch Jack’s tussle with the computer. “Sarina’s unable to speak, I can explain the whole thing later Garak.” Julian felt the need to pre-emptlively apologize for their behavior. “Oh, you don’t need to. I’m seeing people with a lot of potential here.” Bashir nodded. “So do I. And not many others do. That’s why I brought them here. I want to try and help them.”

“They seem to be helping themselves.” As Garak watched, Jack had finally managed to get something from the replicator that agreed with his standards -- a ham sandwich with Bajoran mapa bread. “So, this is the irrefutable Elim Garak, huh?” Jack asked. “Yes, and I see my reputation precedes me.” Garak said politely. “That’s right. Former intelligence agent for the now-defunct Obsidian Order, exiled and now working as a tailor here on DS9.” He said hastily before ripping into his sandwich. Garak raised an eyebrow. “And how did you find that out?” He asked, a tone of interest in his voice. “Oh, you’d be surprised what you can dig up on the extranet. There’s all sorts of unsavory rumors about you, like you causing a Cardassian doctor to break down by staring at them for four hours straight.” He promptly chugged from his cup of targ milk, before continuing. “And that your father was the head of the Obsidian Order, Enabrian Tain, and he got wiped out by the Dominion when the Obsidian Order and Tal Shiar teamed up, yeah, but they didn’t know the second-in-command of the Tal Shiar was actually a Changeling leading them right into a trap!”

“I...think we will have to pick up this conversation sometime later, Doctor.” Garak was getting rather uncomfortable at all this private information being practically shouted in the Promenade. “Oh, and I’ll see what I can do about those new clothes you requested, Patrick.” As Garak walked back to his shop, getting his mind off old events, he began pondering about what to do in the present. My orders are backlogged. I simply need help. As he opened his shop doors to see the current state -- half-finished orders, bolts of fabric all over and supplies in crates he hadn’t unpacked. “I must find someone to help me. I would get Julian but he’s too busy with being in Starfleet.” Garak sighed, and began getting back to working on an order.

Some time later...

Having returned from the Defiant, Dr. Bashir went into Garak’s shop, expecting to see it as it had been for some time -- cluttered and filled with things Garak was working on. He instead found it a hive of activity. Customers were entering and exiting, some waiting for their orders, others were looking at holographic models of new clothes to order. Bashir looked around in confusion. “What the…'' Suddenly, a figure blocked by their holding of several bolts of fabric maneuvered into view. “Look out, everyone!” Bashir knew that voice. “Patrick?!” “Oh, hi, Dr. Bashir.” Patrick didn’t even turn back as he carried the bolts into the back of the shop. “Patrick, how did you get here?” Bashir followed him, and realized the entire “Jack Pack” (as someone, most likely Quark, had nicknamed them) was working there. Patrick set the bolts down for Jack, who proceeded to start measuring what exactly was needed for that order. Lauren was busy inputting data of some kind into a PADD, while Sarina was sewing an order up. “Ah, Doctor, good to see you’ve returned home safe and sound!” Garak greeted him cheerily from behind his desk.

“Garak, what is going on here? How did they…” “Well, Julian. I saw their potential and I needed help. And so far, they have been excelling at everything they’ve been doing. I haven’t been this efficient, ever!” Garak looked positively delighted at this. It was rare to see him like this, and Julian was a noted expert on Garak’s emotions. “But...what about the Institute? And Dr. Loews?” “Well, she needed a vacation, and my offer to give them steady employment was something she couldn’t pass up.”

“Oh, well then. But...how are you so busy now?” Julian wondered. “Well, their brightness led them to not only help clear my backorders, but also introduce whole new product lines based on pre-warp Earth stylings. I will admit I knew little about it, but they have brought in several new kinds of clothing. Like this ‘tee shirt’.” Garak promptly held one up, the front reading “WWCKD?” with a small line underneath reading “What Would Captain Kirk Do?” “They’ve come up with several of these things. Like this one for the USS Voyager.” The shirt had a fictional flyer on the front with a picture of Voyager, underneath a “Missing: Reward” banner as if it were a lost dog. “We’ve also re-created other Earth fashions, from “bell-bottoms” to “zoot suits”. I must admit, they make most current styles of clothing look downright boring!”

“Yeah, Dr. Bashir! Here’s one we made especially for you!” Jack promptly handed him a T-shirt and headed into the front of the shop. Julian simply looked at Garak with an expression of disbelief. “Garak, we caught them trying to pass on classified information to the Dominion, and now, they’re recommending I wear a t-shirt that says ‘If lost, return to lizard man for reward’!” He said angrily, shaking the shirt in his hand for added emphasis.

“Doctor...these people needed another chance. One that nobody else was willing to give them. And another thing...they are still very useful analysts. They can predict trends, root out information and generally think far ahead of the game. To be quite honest, they’re the best analysts I’ve ever seen. “ Garak admitted. “Yeah, where else can you get a nice new pair of pants and information of Dominion troop movements?” Lauren commented.

“So...you’re basically running your own intelligence service out of this shop.” Bashir muttered, running his hand through his hair. “Well, there has to be a third-party intel service somewhere. With the Obsidian Order gone, there’s a market for it; we used to take on clients for analysis as a method for extra revenue. Strictly off the books, of course. So that’s what I’m doing now.” Garak reasoned. “And we aren’t just doing war intelligence either; we’ve got multiple projects for the Ferengi Alliance, the First Federation and the Gorn Hegemony for analyzing things like market trends, population censuses and whatnot.” Patrick nodded. “Yeah, Grand Nagus Zek and Ishka appreciate it! We got in touch with them thanks to the Ferengi maintenance guy, oh, what was his name…”

“Rom, that’s him. Real friendly guy. Came up with the self-replicating mines around the wormhole and keeps the holosuites running, real good guy.” Jack said at his normal speedy pace, before returning to his fabric measuring. Sarina promptly passed a PADD to Bashir, with a message reading “This is the best we’ve been treated in years. We’re working for ourselves, we’re constantly kept active, and we’re being paid 5 strips of latinum an hour.”

“Anyway, I’ll see you later, Doctor. We’ve got a lot to do before closing time today. After that we can meet at Quark’s, perhaps? Jack came up with this astounding holo-program based on another pre-warp Earth cultural thing, a “game show” called...Wipeout, yes. It involved picking the right answers and avoiding the wrong ones, it’s fascinating. But we have work to do and I’m sure you have work in the infirmary.”

Garak promptly ushered Dr. Bashir out of the store and back onto the Promenade. “...what just happened?”

#ds9 #dr bashir #garak #jack pack #one shot fic

16 notes · View notes

sshbpodcast · 3 years

Text

Tales from the Holodeck: DS9 Fanfic: Chris’s Story

Not only has A Star to Steer Her By wrapped all of Deep Space Nine, but your podcast hosts are also celebrating our fifth anniversary of bringing you through all of Star Trek! As a treat, we’ve concocted DS9-themed fanfic stories and teleplays in our much-celebrated “Tales from the Holodeck” series that you can listen to us cold read here (this one starts at 39:05). Read on for the transcript of Chris’s Weyoun-Ee’char story below, that might pilot a whole new series we’re all asking for!

[images © Paramount/CBS]

“Dude, Where’s My Ee’char?”

By Chris

Random picks: Weyoun, Ee’char

“Tea, earl grey, hot?”

Miles O’Brien instinctively glanced up at those words. Surely not. Sure enough, a lanky Andorian walked up to the counter and accepted the drink that had been called out. Admiral Picard – well, not Admiral, anymore, but even thinking of him as “Jean-Luc” was bizarre to O’Brien – had less than no reason to be hanging around Starfleet Academy. Or Starfleet anything, for that matter.

“Not that I can entirely blame him,” he mused to himself, going back to the PADD containing last week’s warp field dynamics exam. “Nothing’s felt right since Romulus was destroyed. And then Mars…maybe Keiko’s right. Maybe it’s time to retire.”

He sighed and put down his stylus. Twenty years of teaching at Starfleet academy and even he could see how things were shifting. The students grew less and less enthused, dropout rates going up, those that did stay becoming so by-the-book when it came to everything that it was maddening.

“They’re just lacking in imagination,” he’d moaned to Keiko one day. “If I’d thought like them we’d’ve never got the Defiant working like she did. They think the deflector array is just for deflecting things.”

He had immediately realized how ridiculous and old-mannish it had sounded. But even his wife had been on Starfleet ships long enough to get it. Everything on a ship potentially had a purpose no one had ever dreamed of, and dreaming it up in that critical moment could be the difference between getting the ship home and a warp core breach.

“Professor O’Brien?” came a strangely-familiar voice from behind him. He turned and saw what he thought, at first, must have been a Romulan because they were smiling. And there was a sardonic edge to the tone that didn’t seem terribly Vulcan, either. But the fellow had that waxlike pallor that was unique to the latter, something their cousin species had evolved away over their centuries apart.

“Yes. Can I help you?”

“No, but my employer believes he can help you.”

Well, this was shady. Was Section 31 out for belated revenge? Maybe someone had finally slipped in Starfleet Intelligence and the Orion syndicate found out he’d worked undercover against them? Could it be that some T’Lani was still cross about what he and Julian had revealed about their corruption? The grudge could’ve gone further back; someone related to the incident at Setlik III had tracked him down. Christ, for someone who’d only ever been an engineer he’d sure managed to pile up a list of old enemies that could come calling. Ought to at least make him an honorary Commander for that.

“And he would be?”

“An old friend.” The mystery man reached into a pocket and pulled out a small, red figurine. The coonskin cap was unmistakable. “He said this would explain. He remembers the hours you and the good Doctor spent on this.”

So it wasn’t Julian, but someone who knew how they’d passed their time in their DS9 days. Didn’t rule out Section 31, or necessarily a few others, but it did make him feel a little better. He realized the man was still holding out the figure to him, so he reached out and took it, putting it in the bag he’d been carrying his PADD and some miscellany in.

“My employer understands that you’re too cautious a man to just meet somewhere.” The man’s voice – what was it that was so familiar? – had dropped even further. “Be at your desk in twenty minutes. A signal will come in. Use the code on the bottom of the figure.”

The man turned without another word and strode off. O’Brien raised his eyebrows and watched him go. He’d have to tell Julian about this next time they talked; he’d be jealous. Goodness knows how long it had been since his old friend had been involved in any cloak-and-dagger shenanigans.

Despite everything O’Brien was a little surprised when, back at his desk, his computer began to chirp. The text on the screen read “incoming external transmission”. External transmissions were always supposed to go through central comms; only an Admiral could bypass that procedure, normally. He turned the little figure over and punched in the numbers he saw there.

“Ah, my dear Professor O’Brien!”

“Ga-” O’Brien stopped himself. For some reason he felt if he said the full name of the Cardassian now grinning at him from the screen it would just summon the whole of Starfleet security. Just behind him and to his left stood the mystery Vulcan/Romulan from the cafe.

“You look well, Professor,” Garak continued, not acknowledging whether or not he had caught the Engineer’s odd outburst.

“Having you call me that is a bit weird,” O’Brien admitted. “How about Chief? I think that’s still technically my rank.”

“Very well, Chief. I believe you know my associate?”

“Not that I can remember.”

“Oh, how silly of me,” the man said, reaching up. “I still have the mask on.”

His hand slid down his face, and the telltale webbing of a holographic disguise flickered to life as the pallor, eyebrows, and eyes vanished. Instead there was a very different kind of pointed ear, skin like powder, and violently violet eyes.

“Weyoun…”

“Yes, it would seem there were, in fact, a few leftover despite what we had been told.” Garak smirked in that old, familiar, entirely unsettling way of his. “It seems they just meant their Alpha Quadrant supply.”

“Of course, I’m now the actual, final one,” Weyoun added. “Garak here found me right before I was…discarded. My predecessors had not been quite so lucky.”

“Is that where you’ve been the past two decades then?” O’Brien asked. “The Gamma Quadrant?”

“Mostly.” Garak raised his brow briefly. “Someone has to keep an eye on the Dominion. Starfleet Intelligence can hardly be trusted to do it on their own, the Romulans are too busy trying to keep their culture intact, and Klingons have never had a spy agency in their entire recorded history.”

“I see.”

“I came across a story that I thought might interest you.” He glanced down and pecked a few buttons just off-camera, and a ping sounded on the Chief’s computer. “Look particularly carefully at the upper left-hand corner of the screen. It was a pleasure to see you, Chief.”

“Wait…”

But Garak was already gone. O’Brien knew there’d be no point in asking for a trace. Should he report this? He was supposed to, certainly. But this was Garak. O’Brien…well, okay, to say he trusted Garak would be a staggering lie. But he certainly felt like both the Federation and he personally owed him enough that he could be allowed this little indulgence. At least once.

Decision made, O’Brien opened the message he’d been sent. He winced when he recognized rather quickly the world of Argratha. It had all the appearance of a news story of some kind. But the Universal Translator hadn’t caught up to the shift, so he started over and paused it.

Argratha. He’d been twice. The second time some fifteen years later, to testify at a public hearing about his experiences the first time. What his false-memory twenty year imprisonment had been like. There was talk at the time of abandoning the practice; it made the judicial process too casual, too many false guilty charges because, for those who’d never experienced it, what was really lost? The Chief and countless others had told them. How real the time felt, and how cruel the simulation was. He’d told the Special Envoy who’d arranged for him to go that he felt he deserved a medal for how calm he’d been during his testimony. The Envoy had chuckled until the Chief’s expression had told him he had very much meant it.

He started the story up again. When he’d not heard anything for months after his testimony he’d assumed the reforms had failed and the sick practice was still going on. But in fact it had simply taken a bit of extra time and work. The story was about the closing of the final facility that had run such incarcerations. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to weep or go celebrate. He was going to call Keiko straightaway, that much was…

The upper left hand corner.

“No.”

He had almost forgotten to look.

“No.”

Despite it being the entire reason Garak had dropped by.

“Fuck.”

Ee’char. His “imaginary” cellmate. Standing among the crowd of politicians and other self-congratulatory types formally shutting the program down. Almost identical to the twenty-year-older Ee’char from his memories, though one that had clearly lived a somewhat less wretched life. One who’d gotten proper meals and sleep and care, just like O’Brien had.

But did he have the false twenty years that still occasionally wafted into his nightmares and had him waking in a cold sweat? Did he still, on rare occasions, almost set aside a bit of his meal before realizing saving it wasn’t necessary?

“In short, friend,” the Chief said aloud. “Who the fuck are you?”

He was glad the stopover at DS9 to switch transports had been short. None of the old crew were there, anymore, but he was fairly certain he was at least vaguely acquainted with some of the Stafleet staff that still maintained a presence on the Bajoran station, and the last thing he wanted to be was some old man wandering around his old posting looking worn and nostalgic. Even Quark had shipped out for Freecloud. A part of him had been tempted to see if Morn was still at his usual seat in whatever the bar was called now, assuming it was even still a bar. But he had just stayed in the docking ring and then made his way to the next leg of his journey.

He spent the flight through the wormhole standing by a window with just about everyone else. He realized that he’d never gone through it after the War had ended, so it was his first time making the journey in ages that he wasn’t expecting to potentially die on the other end. It was so nice to just watch it, to get lost in its beauty, and vaguely wonder if Sisko was watching him just then.

O’Brien stood in the space between two homes, watching as a car slid noiselessly from the sky and halted in front of the house. Finding his old friend had been much easier than he’d expected; Garak had encoded everything he needed to find the man in the newsclip he’d sent. A door hissed open and the old Argrathan stepped out. He exchanged inaudible words with someone in the vehicle before the door shut and it lazily drifted back into the sky. O’Brien glanced around. No one else seemed to be coming. He watched as the other man walked towards the his home.

The Chief darted from the shadows and jogged across the street. If Ee’char heard him he showed no sign. O’Brien reached up, paused, and then gently tapped the other man on the shoulder. He gasped and spun.

“Yes?” he asked.

“I’m…ah…I’m Miles O’Brien.”

“Oh. Oh! Yes, yes, I remember watching your testimony.” He held out a hand “Ko’vax.”

“A pleasure,” the Chief replied, taking his hand and shaking it.

“But why did you come to see me?”

“We…well, we were cellmates, you see.”

“Were we?” He nodded slowly. “Well. Someone had quite the sense of humor.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve been arguing against our mental prisons for a very long time.” His lips went slender and he glanced off. “Please. Come in, have a warm drink.”

“I…sure, thank you.”

“I never had the misfortune of experiencing what you or so many others did,” Ko’vax explained, putting down what seemed effectively to be a mug in front of O’Brien. “But my father did.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Thank you.” He picked up his own mug, almost took a drink, but didn’t and put it down. “His story was similar to so many others. To yours. Adjusting was so hard. Too hard. They don’t offer any kind of help to reintegrate to society. To help you deal with the fact that you’ve not actually lost any time but it still feels like a huge swathe of your life is gone. That might be worse than actually losing time. I don’t know.”

“Neither do I. I’ve never had the real version.”

“He lasted…half a year. My brother found him.” Ko’vax paused and took a sip of his drink, and the Chief finally did automatically. Not that he took any note of the flavor. “I’d already started writing letters, but I got more active after that. Showed up at politician’s doorsteps. Showed up and shouted at meetings that had nothing to do with it. Became a real pain.”

“Must’ve been afraid they’d…well, you know.”

“Oh, sure. But I didn’t care. Let them. Let them put me in a fifty year dream, a century, I knew I’d be fine. I’d have my rage to see me through.” He sighed. “I was so angry for so long. I mean, I never stopped being angry, but you can’t be as constantly angry as I was at first. That would be impossible.”

“So what happened?”

“I lived my life. But I never stopped my campaigning. Whatever free moment I could scrounge up was spent talking with others who shared my goal. I guess someone thought it would be a good laugh to have a cellmate based on the man who hated them and their program so damn much.” He smiled. “But then I got to be there today. When it all ended. Thanks to so many people. Like you.”

“I…” The Chief paused. “I’m glad I could help.”

“So what made you come to see me?”

“I wasn’t sure who you were, to be honest. Outside of looking like Ee’char. That was his name.” He paused. “I guess a part of me was almost hoping you’d been part of it somehow. So I could let you have it. And feel less bad about…how things went between me and the other you.”

“We didn’t get along, eh?”

“We did, eventually. And then for a long time. But then, towards the end…”

“It gets particularly bad, yes. Everyone says that.”

“Well. Glad to know it wasn’t just me getting special treatment, I suppose.” O’Brien took another drink. Now that he was paying attention he realized it was very pleasant. He’d have to find out what it was and bring some home. “We fought. You…he…I killed him.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You’ve nothing to apologize for. I killed you. Sort of.”

“I’m sorry on behalf of a government that will never properly apologize fo anyone affected by their sick little program because they think it’s just fine. They are giving it up with great reluctance you can be sure.” He paused. “And I’m sorry you were driven to that. I know we’ve barely met but you don’t seem the type. So it must have been truly awful to drive you that far.”

“I guess so. I hope so.” He paused. “I don’t know. I’d killed before. Served in one war already by then. But this was something else. Something that still comes up at me in the wee hours. Every time I’d killed before then I could justify it as having been for my survival. And that’s what I told myself it was that time, but I’d not actually proven that first. I told myself it must have been so I could.”

“I wish I could help. I’m almost sorry I’m not who you thought I was.” He shrugged. “If it helps, well…I didn’t go what you went through, but I saw firsthand what it does to people. I know how real it can seem, even to those who go in knowing it isn’t. You had no idea. I’m sorry they used my face as part of your torture. But, if it helps…well, I forgive you. On behalf of the false me. And I only wish you the best.”

“Thanks.” He smiled, nodded. “That actually is nice to hear, somehow.”

The wormhole again. Its eddies and currents and majesty unchanged even as the twenty years around it had entirely altered O’Brien’s world. Why had the gone all the way to the Gamma Quadrant? What would he have done if Ko’vax had been involved somehow? Certainly not killed him. Shouted for a bit? What good would that have done? But what good had this done? No. Time to move on. Figure out what’s next. He’d been in neutral for far too long, and…

“Oh, I know that look,” came a voice to his side that he scarcely believed he was hearing. “That is the look of the Chief when everything seems against him. When things have stopped making sense.”

O’Brien turned. There, not looking a day older when he’d last seen him, still in the now very out-of-date uniform, stood Captain Sisko.

“Well, Chief. It’s time for things to start making sense again. And I’m going to need your help.”

The End

—

For more DS9 fanfic, check out Caitlin, Jake, and Ames’s stories from this round of Tales from the Holodeck! And be sure to keep listening to new episodes every Thursday on SoundCloud, follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and stay out of brain jail if you can. Jay-sus.

#star trek #star trek deep space 9 #ds9 #fanfic #star trek fanfiction #ds9 fanfiction #weyoun #ee'char #miles o'brien #garak #hard time

3 notes · View notes

oathkeeper-of-tarth · 4 years

Text

After The Dawn

Hello, hello! I am indeed still around, and sometimes even do non-work-related stuff. About, oh, 2 years ago, this got sent in as a prompt, so have a little 4 times + 1 thing, for the occasion of me processing my recent DS9 comfort-rewatch (by which I of course mean “mostly spending a lot of time gazing adoringly at Kira Nerys and crying”). As far as I recall, I’ve never actually posted anything from my giant decade plus WIP pile of Trek stuff, so this is a first - I hope it doesn’t disappoint.

The prompt was “five different sunlights”. So here are five snapshots of Kira Nerys from joining the resistance to DS9 and beyond, ~4400 words. Veers into Kira/Jadzia because I’m hilariously predictable. Also includes brief appearances by (in order): Lupaza, Furel, Shakaar, Damar, Garak, Kaksidy, and Jake. Mentions of several others.

Contains discussion of the occupation of Bajor and canon character deaths, but nothing explicit I can think of to warn about.

---

After The Dawn

1. 2356

The raid was long over but her fingers still shook – cold, always because of the cold, never from fear. Every so often they would twitch more decisively, as if recalling the sensation of the phaser rifle she was just barely big enough to hold jerking to life in her grip. But then they’d travel to her right ear of their own accord, tracing the lines of her new earring. A proper d’ja pagh all of her own, with the symbol of the Kira family emblazoned in the metal – echoing the beautiful engraving she’d always admired on her father’s.

Lupaza had worked through the night to make it for her, by the feeble light of one of their few still-working heaters, with skill that seemed otherworldly to Kira (who, though by far the youngest among them, knew better than to ask about anyone’s life before joining a resistance cell). Lupaza, who had looked at the scrawny thirteen-year-old hanging around their camp, and who’d chosen to believe in her, and speak up for her. Who’d presented her handiwork to ‘their newest member’ at sunrise, during the change of guard at the mouth of their current cavern hideout, letting the winter light glimmer on its silvery surface for all to see. And Kira had beamed at her, not caring about who’d been around to witness it or how young it may have made her look.

I’m in the Resistance, she wanted to shout over and over again until the reality truly set in, flooded and near-overwhelmed by the newfound sense of belonging and pride and brightly burning defiance mixing in her chest.

Again and again her fingers went – over the cuff hugging the shell of her ear snugly, down the single deceptively delicate chain, to the simple but beautiful main piece. She could almost believe it was still warm to the touch, heated by the orange-glow burn of Bajor’s atmosphere on Cardassian hull metal – made from stolen Bajoran ore, mined with stolen Bajoran labour. It was only right and just that it be returned this way. The rest of the beritium hull salvage they’d stripped from the ship would be used for lining the walls of their hideout, shielding them from sensor sweeps and the bite of the winter cold alike. But this small bit of it was a shield all Kira’s own.

It was a comforting presence, a slight but grounding weight with a depth of meaning that its size belied. Lupaza smiled at her fascination and distraction every time she happened to pass by, promising she’d get used to it. Furel agreed, for once without a trace of a joke in his voice, and slapped a hand on her bony shoulder with a gruff: “You’ve more than earned it, kid.”

Shakaar himself, in between whatever it was his leaderly duties entailed, took a moment to consider her. “It suits you,” was all he said on the matter, though if he meant the earring or the phaser Kira had for the first time stuck in her own belt instead of giving it back after cleaning was anyone’s guess. Then, turning to leave, he added, “Good job out there.”

There was something like sadness behind all of their eyes. Kira chose not to see it, or dwell on it.

She was in the Resistance.

She didn't even know if any of her (many) shots during the ambush had found their mark, but it didn't seem to matter. She could, she would help protect her father and his little garden, scrounged up, cobbled together, but growing. Protect her remaining brother, for the one she had failed to. She would honour her mother, the bravest woman I've ever known, Nerys. She saved us all, at great cost to herself.

Whenever her fingers floated back down and twitched for want of a rifle trigger again, she told herself to be patient. There would be more work for her, more chances to be useful, more chances to prove herself. No more sitting idly by, and no more fear.

2. 2369

Even after weeks on the station Kira had yet to manage to sleep through an entire night, but she sincerely doubted it was the bed's fault. Sure, the Cardassian-designed beds in the Cardassian-designed quarters on the Cardassian-designed station left much to be desired, but they certainly beat the ground of a half-frozen cave. And yet here she was, with endless damn bunking arrangements as one of the most frequently brought-up complaints among the crew body. Why and how those PADDs always seemed to end up on her desk was anyone's guess. She'd been prepared for a more administrative role, yes, but…

“The time is oh-six-hundred hours,” the computer helpfully informed her.

Kira huffed, and tossed aside another PADD with a blinking Request denied, then shrugged on her uniform jacket and made to leave her quarters for a quick breakfast.

It was still an odd thought that took getting used to: her quarters – hers alone; a viewport in the bulkhead, allowing her to see the stars and, when the rotation was right, Bajor’s own familiar sun from a very new perspective. Regular meals thanks to Federation engineers patching up Cardassian replicators and whipping them into shape. Shops and eateries opening on the Promenade. The ruinous mess the Cardassians left behind them slowly coming together again into something functional. Kira permitted herself a wry twist of the mouth at the thought – hopefully the planet the station had formerly orbited could manage to do the same.

The discovery of the wormhole brought fascinating, colourful crowds to the station so quickly and in such volumes, she didn't envy Odo at all. Even the small segment of the Promenade she saw on her way from her quarters to the replimat was enough to reinforce, every morning, that this was no longer Terok Nor: grey in every way imaginable, filled with throngs of terrified, beaten-down Bajoran workers and their Cardassian overseers, delighting in the former’s disposability.

The small but lively, chattering crowd in the replimat seemed to underscore all of her thoughts – no more waiting in line for gruel with the exhausted shift that had just left ore processing.

“Good morning!”

Instead, a friendly Federation face. The pattern of spots that ran down the sides of Lieutenant Dax’s face and down her neck was fascinating to Kira still – not Bajoran, and certainly not the grey, flared bony Cardassian necks that had made up most of Kira's world up until not so very long ago. She had to stop herself from staring often, even though, judging by that smirk, the Lieutenant did not seem to mind. She appeared to relish attention in general, of all kinds. Kira ducked her head, and tried to focus on the replicator instead.

“Something wrong? Quark interfering with the menus again?” Dax was right behind her, peeking over her shoulder, eyebrow raised, and smiling. Somehow she always seemed to be doing that.

“Oh, no, nothing like that, thankfully. Still not quite used to this, is all.” She shuffled her feet and made no real move to complete an order.

“Hm. Well, if I may, Major, I’d recommend the raktajino for early morning starts like this.”

“Raktajino?” Kira repeated oafishly, biting back the Early!? her mind had immediately supplied.

“Klingon coffee. Try it – I think you’ll like it.”

Kira was sceptical, but Dax seemed to be very sincere – so after a few button presses she found herself holding a large mug of something hot, dark, and quite thick. She wrinkled her nose and took a sip.

“It’s, uh… strong.”

“Hits the spot, right?”

The crooked, almost sly smile on the Lieutenant’s face was contagious. Kira didn’t even feel like bringing up growing up under an occupation-enforced famine as an excuse for her own lack of a developed or sophisticated palate or culinary taste in general.

The drink did have a real kick to it, and Kira took another sip. “Yeah, it does.”

“Just don’t go overboard with them – let me tell you, I made some grave mistakes there right after I became a host. Curzon,” Dax smirked, shaking her head, then waved at the table they’d found themselves next to. “Mind if I join you?”

Kira thought about it, but only for a moment.

“Not at all, Lieutenant.”

And ah, there it was then, as soon as they sat down: the small, incessant, bitter sting of you knew what they were doing to us and you sat by and did nothing that insisted on making itself known at very inopportune times. It was, however, becoming more bearable by the day and with every individual met, every new reassurance that they were here now, despite everything, to make a good start. Together.

When the Cardassians came they were helpful and charming too, nagged the little voice at the back of her mind. But this couldn’t be like that, and just looking at Dax was enough to… well, perhaps Kira was being a naive fool, but there seemed to be ground to build here, and she found herself willing to try. And after all, she knew she herself was ready to do anything, to lay her life down for Bajor. She just needed to be pointed the right way – or, rather, she needed to be able to point herself the right way. Now that knowing who the enemy was and who the enemy could turn out to be had gotten more complicated. Still, if nothing else: she wouldn’t let it be a repeat of anything, and she was prepared to be a thorn in anyone’s side, Federation or provisional government or otherwise, for as long as was necessary.

“You seem to be mulling over something grim already. Everything alright?”

The concern was genuine enough, but Kira had no idea how to even begin to explain all of it, even if she’d wanted to.

“Just thinking about some complaints about quarters I need to handle,” she lied smoothly – or what she hoped was smooth, anyway.

Dax caught on, and backed off. Lifetimes of experience to thank – or perhaps Kira was just that easy to read. A transcript of Trakor’s annotated ninth prophecy just waiting on a lectern, as Lupaza would say.

“Sure. Let me know if I can help.”

“With station admin? Aren’t you a science officer?”

“Absolutely. But it's in all our best interests to get this place running as smoothly as possible as fast as possible, right?”

Kira narrowed her eyes at her, entirely unconvinced. “Right.”

“Fine,” Dax threw her hands up in the air in a very silly, exaggerated gesture, “I admit it, I’m after juicy gossip. There’s bound to be quarter reassignment requests in there! What could be juicier?”

Kira couldn’t help but bark out a laugh, then. “You are ridiculous.”

Dax grinned right back. “Glad to be of help. Let’s get to Ops, you can tell me all about it on the way.”

When Kira got to her feet, both she herself and the entire day – if it could truly be called that on a space station – felt somehow lighter already.

3. 2372

It was swelteringly hot under the sun of some new, as of yet unnamed planet, in the midst of a survey mission that had already gone on longer than scheduled. Hardly Kira’s idea of a good – or productive – time.

The place was an unpleasant dustbowl broken up by stray glass-encrusted rock here and there, and Kira was surrounded by a bunch of bustling, tricorder-armed Starfleet explorer types she would have sneered at, not so long ago – but many of whom she’d now consider fast friends. She’d hardly consider herself an ideal choice for helming this particular mission, but Sisko had been insistent, and so here she was. It would appear that, if nothing else, it gave her time to indulge in reverie – a truly rare occurrence.

The unfamiliar stars of the Gamma Quadrant, unimaginably far from everything she’d ever known, could now be reached within seconds, thanks to the wormhole – more proof of how the Prophets kept looking out for Bajor in sometimes quite unexpected ways. And Kira, as Bajor’s official representative on the mission, was determined to do her best to facilitate and build upon their efforts.

“Take a look at this, Major!” It was Dax calling her over, her tricorder beeping over some bizarre green-magenta form of plant life she found beneath a rocky outcrop a little off the not-so-alien dirt path Kira was stomping down.

“What've you got for me, Lieutenant?”

“Some kind of elaborate root system stretches on for more than a kilometer underground, running beneath the very acidic soil, with an impressive – and perfectly symmetrical – array of large tubers.”

Kira shot the sensor readings a look. “Huh, could’ve fed a whole resistance cell for an entire winter on nothing but a few of those.”

She frowned as soon as the words left her mouth – Jadzia Dax, decorated Starfleet science officer and dedicated, studious initiate who’d earned the approval of the strict Trill Symbiosis Commission, certainly hadn’t had such prosaic, practical implications of her findings in mind. For a very, very brief moment, Kira felt a sting of embarrassment – but then her mind snapped decisively back into its standard guarded, resolute position: she had nothing to be embarrassed about.

Dax, as had somehow become a somewhat frustrating habit of hers, seemed to be able to encompass Kira’s entire internal dialogue with a glance. But somehow she did it… gently, without making Kira feel small or inadequate in any way. No smug Starfleet superiority here, even with all the accumulated bragging rights of all the lifetimes under her belt. And – perhaps most importantly – no trace of pity to be found. Instead, a wellspring of enthusiasm.

“Their composition is interesting, I agree. Starchy, and rich in several key proteins – this has potential for significant contributions to agriculture. I bet Keiko will love to get her hands on this – see what she can set up in one of the hydroponics bays.”

Her smile was as bright as the orange-tinted light of the unfamiliar sun, but Kira took up the challenge of matching it.

Jadzia leaned in, almost conspiratorially, “Help me catalogue it?”

“I, uh, don’t really know what the procedure–”

“No worries, I’ll walk you right through it. It’s fun!” Kira’s scepticism must have been written all over her face. “I swear it is! I’m not just saying that, you’ll see.”

“Not to mention,” Jadzia winked, “it’ll get us under some nice shade and right next to a cooling unit.”

“You are incorrigible.”

“And you love it.”

Kira couldn’t disagree.

4. 2375

The weak, grey light of Cardassia Prime’s sun filtered through the slits in the cellar windows – if they could even be called that.

Another very literally bleak dawn. No contact with the Federation. No hope of reinforcements, or extraction, or help of any kind. Negligible chances of news from Deep Space 9, of the fleet, of Odo’s health, of anything at all. And here, far behind enemy lines, Kira and her unlikely comrades presumed dead, their network of allies and carefully-hidden carefully-built-up resources destroyed, all three (three) survivors hidden away in the capital of a people she’d once have termed her worst enemies, relying on the goodwill of an old woman.

Kira, a veteran of hopeless causes, had been in worse spots – but not many.

Whatever Damar’s less… pleasant compatriots had thought, she found no joy in any of it. Not even a flutter of satisfaction at all the irony the situation was positively dripping with. It was enough that it meant that twice now she’d been witness to oppression and destruction on an immense scale – civilisation-ending, one might term it. It was wearing, and wearying, no matter who it happened to.

Would she have cheered for the destruction of Cardassia as little as a handful of years ago? Perhaps, if it would have meant Bajor being left alone. The moral quandary aspect certainly wasn’t something she wanted to be thinking about at the moment.

While the others seemed to still be asleep, Kira lay on her back on one of the thin blankets Mila had provided them, and thumbed almost idly through a list of signals intercepted nearby, identifying potential sabotage targets. There were still things three people with extremely limited resources could do to make themselves useful - or disruptive, depending on your perspective.

Two Jem’Hadar barracks complexes (a hatchery would be better, and far less dangerous). A comms central (they might not have the proper tools available to make it truly worth the risk). Long-term storage warehouses (they needed to maximise short-term effects on the Dominion occupiers, not minimise the chances of Cardassia’s eventual recovery). Weapons manufacturing plants (tempting security gaps during shift changes, but still far too well-guarded for the three of them to take on alone). A power distribution junction (...remote, potentially high-impact, and definitely worth looking into). Kira made a note to ask Garak for any further details he could muster about it.

She should have, perhaps, been saving her strength, getting what rest she could while she could. Restless, that was what she was, even with all her experience and her awareness that so, so much of a resistance fight was simply spent waiting, biding time. With another brief glance around the murky room, she gave up even the pretense of repose, and got up to stretch her legs and pace out her nerves.

Garak was asleep in his corner, or at least pretending to be. Whatever suited his purposes best.

“Commander,” came a low murmur from the other side of the room: Damar, sitting up on his own improvised bed, very much awake. The Starfleet rank still sounded strange to her, but Kira could appreciate the way Damar made sure to respect it from the start, and never allowed himself a slip. “There’s something I’ve wanted to talk to you about. If you have a moment.”

“Somehow I have both far too much and far too little time these days. What is it?” She asked quietly, stepping closer, though the chances of Garak actually sleeping through whatever their conversation was going to be were negligibly low – as were the chances of him ‘waking up’ before they were done.

“I know it might not make much difference. And I do not ask for your forgiveness, or understanding. But I wanted – no, needed to tell you this. I'm sorry – for what I did to Ziyal.”

Her mood miraculously sank even lower. “For murdering her, you mean,” Kira didn’t even try to hold back the bite, nor had she ever been one for softening any blows.

Damar’s lips twisted. “You are right to call it what it was. Hiding from the truth won’t accomplish anything anymore. I killed her, and I deeply regret it.”

Kira said nothing, and Damar continued. “I’m not asking you for anything, believe me. But I hope… she can become a herald, of sorts. Her presence can live on in our alliance, a spirit of cooperation, and a new dawn for both our peoples.”

It was hardly the first time Damar made her think there could be a future for Cardassia after everything, one of reinvention and coexistence. Even Kira, with her underdeveloped imagination (Jadzia's efforts notwithstanding – ah, there was the stab of that hastily half-handled grief), could let herself imagine it.

Kira nodded, and pursed her mouth. Forgiveness wasn’t something she felt was hers to give, even if she wanted to. Maybe it wasn’t anyone’s.

“Nice speech, Damar,” she said, flatly. Ground out, almost. “It’ll be good for you, to’ve had the practice.” Then, after a moment of consideration of what she was prepared to give: “I hope I'll get to hear you make more of those someday soon. And I hope Cardassia will get to hear them, too.”

It only took another tragically small circle paced before the weight in the room became unbearable. Kira decided to make for their somewhat improvised refresher and what little privacy could be scrounged up – and caught Garak watching her, lying motionless but as alert as ever.

She silently met his eyes, then turned away.

5. 2376

The first day of her long-awaited leave dawned beautiful and clear. It seemed a small thing, to be sure – but perhaps the Prophets, prompted by their Emissary, had had a hand in making it so. No matter the reason, the sun shone on a Bajor that was growing prosperous and whole in ways Kira had feared it wouldn’t ever be again.

The document that had just brought peace to two quadrants of the galaxy was called the Treaty of Bajor. There was talk, increasingly common and growing louder, of reactivating Bajor's suspended Federation membership application, and Kira had been made aware of the validity of her Starfleet field commission and the implications on her future career. The Vedek Assembly would be announcing their choice of the new Kai within the week. The soil beneath her feet was healthy, fertile, fully reclamated and ready for planting. There were now schoolchildren on Bajor who had never lived under the occupation.

And there was Kira, who had helped liberate it, and hadn’t lived on it since.

This was the first time she’d returned to her home planet after the formal end of hostilities with the Dominion, and all that that had entailed. The light of B’hava’el was strong but not harsh – the same sun Kira had spent most of her life under, but that had never hit her more differently than it felt now. B’hava’el, that she had now seen from so much closer and so much further away – had, in a horrifying, memorable incident, helped prevent the destruction of, even. Her! Not just scrappy little Nerys from the Shakaar resistance cell anymore, small enough to slip through narrow passages in the labyrinthine caves of the Dahkur province and gaps in the Cardassian sensor nets alike.

She was Colonel Kira Nerys, commander of Deep Space 9, and, as a dear lost friend had made sure she was aware a while ago, a public figure in her own right. Ah– her own importance was something she would need to confront some other time, perhaps, right after she somehow went head to head with her grief. Ezri had been dropping some suggestions, in her capacity as a counselor, for all of the senior staff and beyond. It would be foolish not to consider her recommendations, both as the commanding officer and as a friend.

Kira was well aware she had lost so much and so many. And she could sit down and catalogue the losses on a PADD, like freighter cargo inventory, but what for? She had gained, too, and lost again, and gained yet more. Like waves and eddies, pulling along a lightship on its way through the stars.

“Prophets help me if I try being a poet, too,” Kira mumbled to herself. Maybe she would take up writing tortured metaphors about the Prophets watching over and guiding ancient Bajoran star sailors on their journey all the way to Cardassia, for better or worse.

A stray breeze toyed with the chain of her earring, carrying the scent of ripening moba fruit, and as she crested the hill, the outline of a house well under construction came into view.

“I'm sorry, what was that?” Kasidy asked from just behind her, Jake right at her side, holding her arm.

“Just thinking aloud. Nothing important. Anyway… where did you want to start?”

Her two companions caught up to her quickly enough. The gasps of surprised joy at the sight of all the progress that had been made on the house were by themselves more than worth the trip planetside.

“Well,” Kasidy began, “we have all the plumbing specifications and details all worked out thanks to the local architect you recommended – thanks again, by the way. I think… the kitchen should be first.”

It was an obvious tribute. A longing and anticipation there, too. Kira's heart ached just a bit stronger then, for a beat or two. She nodded, scrolling down a PADD loaded with floor plans and interior concepts. “I know some people who can help with that, too. Ceramics and pottery artisans, and a few others. I’ve got some favours to call in.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Kasidy started, but didn’t get too far.

“Yes I do, Kas. We’re going to see this through, and we’re going to see it done properly.”

“Only the best for the Emissary?” Jake asked, pointedly. There wasn’t bitterness there, though Kira would have understood it, and perhaps expected it, from a young man longing for the return of his father.

“For a dear friend and his family,” Kira corrected. “But – yes, I’m sure they’ll be happy and honoured to contribute. Now, Julian and Ezri will be down with the next transport, just in time to meet us for dinner in the village. We have a few hours to handle things here, check on the progress so far, make notes – any complaints or requests you might have. Remember, I’m here to make sure they listen to you.”

They started down the path into the almost startlingly green valley, Kira catching herself marvelling along the way at the visibility of all the growth and healing made possible by the hard, dedicated work of so many. Who knew what could be in store for an old civilisation of artists, architects, and philosophers, forced to reinvent itself, and the sometimes tenuous connections to vast stretches of heritage that Kira herself had grasped at in various ways for most of her life, born into struggle and desperate, determined rebellion, like so many others.

Well. Nothing to stop her from trying her hand at poetry, after all.

She felt her lips twist wryly at the private joke – she knew her place and her strengths. And she thought she could say she knew herself, too – precious knowledge, by any accounting. She knew there'd be no rest for her, not really, as long as there was something to be done for Bajor, and for her station, and for her unlikely family, wherever they might end up, scattered among and beyond the stars.

But Kira allowed herself a moment, gazing up in what she imagined might be the direction of the wormhole’s entrance.

#kira nerys #star trek #ds9 #deep space nine #fandom: oath to the prophets #oathkeeper writes things #fanfiction #my fic #this is far from polished but #I'M PROCESSING #bless you angry space wife #always and forever #i'm also gonna tag the #kiradax #though i was using #jadzia x kira #really struggling to properly tag this

31 notes · View notes

autisticburnham · 4 years

Text

Emissary: Parts 1 & 2

Text crawl??? This is the wrong Star Franchise

Yes hair no beard Sisko is always strange. Better than no beard Riker, but still strange

I wish this Bolian had come back as a friend for Benjamin later on

Did Jennifer die in this ship's version of Ten Forward? Why are there so many windows?

Who is this BABY playing Jake?

To be clear, that last point is about the flashback. Actual Cirroc Lofton is also baby though

Ah, Benjamin and Jake looking at ds9 and how I know it's gonna parallel with Nerys and Jake looking out from it 😭😭😭

Here it is, the slowest theme song in the universe. RIP to y'all who think Faith of the Heart is bad, how do y'all stand this?

That said, my love for ds9 makes this theme song feel like coming home, no matter how slow it is

Love that Miles is wearing the ds9 uniform and Benjamin isn't. Miles is the one coming from the Enterprise

I know Quark has Rom's nose in this episode bc they hadn't finished making his yet, but still, everytime I rewatch the episode I'm like "Does Quark have Rom's nose??"

32°C? I didn't realize they set up the temperature difference between Cardassians and humans in the pilot

KIRA'S HAIR

Nana Visitor, every Star Trek fan owes you their life for cutting up that wig

Is Odo's face meltier than usual?

Nog! Baby!

Odo may be a fucking cop, but at least he says no guns

I forgot the Ferengi hissing in the early seasons

Oh, I'm not used to seeing the Enterprise conference room not in HD

Benjamin, I know you're traumatized, but it's not Jean Luc's fault

"I've come to know the Bajorans" sir, you have one Bajoran officer and you nearly didn't allow her to wear her earring

I do like how Benjamin is doing his absolute best in the job and making long term plans even though he's planning on leaving

Odo, don't act like you wouldn't despair if Quark left

This hair does make Nerys look significantly more like Laren, which I guess is what they were going for

Opaka! Ma'am, I miss you

Remember how in the original script, you felt someone's pagh through their foot instead of their ear?? I hate Star Trek

Love when Benjamin just Yells. Emissary and Our Man Bashir show Supreme Acting

I wish we had gotten to see more of Jennifer. She seems so lovely

Morn! Didn't realize he showed up in the pilot

There are so many Bajorans not wearing earrings in this episode

Julian, the stuttering is cute, but please calm down

"He knows I'm a Trill, he finds it fascinating," that's bc he's an alienfucker

Love that ds9 immediately says "This whole 'Final Frontier' stuff is bullshit. People live here"

Didn't Curzon get fucked to death on Risa? How is he on the same operating table as Jadzia?

Dukat, no one cares what makes you happy

Benjamin: We'll try to keep the dog off your lawn. Dukat: What the hell is a dog?

Forget latinum, Kira's smile is the most precious resource in the universe

The inside of the wormhole looks like the time travel closet in Halloweentown 2

I know it's just supposed to show how much turmoil Benjamin is in, but the fact that the Prophets see Jadzia's internal view as this pretty garden is really interesting considering the inferiority complex Curzon washing her out of the program gave her and how much she is presumably struggling to find a balance between Jadzia and Dax given how much her personality changes over the first couple of seasons

Me trying to watch Benjamin in the white void the Prophets put him in:

How the fuck did Avery tolerate filming this?

Listen, I know I don't understand science, but I really don't understand how they make the station lighter. Please don't try to explain it to me

Damn, Odo, you've got such interesting potential as a character. I wish you weren't a fucking cop

Love the Prophets and how extremely different they are from any other species we meet

Miles, don't be rude to the computer; she's trying to help

"In a linear existence, we can't go back to the past to get something we left behind, so it's lost" well, now I'm emo about the finale title

Benjamin is being remarkably patient trying to explain the concept of time

He looks so uncomfortable trying to explain kissing to them

Listen, I don't have like One Big Event that causes my trauma, but even still, the phrasing of you existing in your trauma really Hits

Dukat enters the wormhole and the Prophets immediately go "oh, no, fuck this"

The Prophets are me trying to understand sports

Man, fuck the concept of a Picard speech, Sisko speeches are where it's at

Does Kira have a different nose than usual? I feel like it doesn't normally have that line down the mide

"I can't believe the Cardassians would ever attack a Federation outpost." Julian, hon, I love you, but how are you so clueless about very recent, very significant galactic events?

Avery Brooks is so fucking talented

I fucking love Kira

I know we joke about Julian being in ops when he should be in sickbay, but honestly, why did he not leave as soon as they started taking hits?

Benjamin and Jake hugging gives me life

In The 7th Rule podcast, Cirroc says that Avery wanted him for the role bc he was the only kid who called him "dad" and I'm so 😭

Love the contrast between the two meetings with Picard and how much better Benjamin is doing already just from acknowledging his trauma

Love Kira threatening Quark

Very good episode, but I think it's probably difficult for new viewers to follow, and has a bit too much action for my taste 7/10

#ds9 rewatch #my post #ds9

19 notes · View notes

onimiman · 5 years

Text

If I were to rework the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine finale

Nearly a week ago, I had finished my viewing of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Overall, a great show and easily my favorite Star Trek show by far. And the finale, while overall satisfying, could have been better, and I think it’s obvious where it needs improvement: the final confrontation between Sisko and Dukat. Like many, I thought that aspect of the finale was rushed, anticlimactic, and way too removed from the Dominion War to be of any relevance.

But after a brief discussion with a coworker, we came up with a rough outline of how the Pah-wraith and Dominion elements could have been better handled.

Now I would have had Sisko confront Dukat in the fire caves before the Federation launched its attack on Cardassia. Kai Winn could still have died the way she did, and both Sisko and Dukat still fall in. However, this unleashes the Pah-wraiths upon Bajor, beginning the apocalyptic Restoration that Dukat sold Winn on in the previous episodes. The Federation, unfortunately, cannot help the evacuation of Bajor as they must focus on finally defeating the Dominion: it’s their last shot, and if that means leaving Bajor to die, then so be it.

Thus, as the Federation, Klingons, and Romulans attack Cardassia, Sisko and Dukat, still alive but now in their Prophet and Pah-wraith forms respectively, are battling over the fate of Bajor in the fire caves with their newfound abilities. Sisko is soon overwhelmed by Dukat and his fellow Pah-wraiths, but that is when the Prophets finally come to save Bajor. Together, Sisko and the Prophets defeat the Pah-wraiths and save Bajor from total annihilation; the damage can be salvaged, as it had when the Cardassian occupation of the planet had ended.

However, Dukat makes a cowardly escape, using his Pah-wraith abilities to go to Cardassia as its fate is being decided between the Federation and Dominion. There, Dukat transports himself in the office of the female changeling and Weyoun, where he says to the Founder, “You call yourself a god?” He telekinetically shoves her in her seat. “I am a god. And you will sit there until your war is over.” This happens as it seems as if the Federation will lose the battle; but Dukat knows better. He knows that Sisko will not let the Federation lose this war.

The Prophets refuse to help Sisko finally defeat Dukat for good; they must protect Bajor. So Sisko transports himself to Cardassia, on the bridge of the Defiant, where he uses his powers to halt all of the Jem’Hadar and Breen vessels in their tracks, declaring, “No one else will die because of this war.”

Sisko then transports himself to the surface of a ruined, embattled Cardassia, where Dukat meets him. Dukat threatens to kill Kira, Garak, and their allies who wish to get into the Founder’s compound; but Sisko doesn’t need to help them. Kira and her Cardie allies take that opportunity to get in because of the Founder killing her Cardassian puppet (like in the actual finale). Dukat tries to go after them, but Sisko stops him, grabs onto him, and launches the both of them into the skies of Cardassia. The two of them build in power, Dukat struggling to break free, Sisko holding on for dear life, until they clear the atmosphere. A colossal explosion occurs, seeming to kill both Sisko and Dukat, with Federation and Dominion forces watching on in awe.

The end of the war occurs as it did in the finale. However, when the female changeling signs the peace accord, it is then that Sisko appears to witness the formal end of the Dominion War. Everyone who had thought him dead, who had been preparing a memorial service for Sisko, embrace him happily; he also assures them that Dukat did not survive the explosion. He even shows up at Vic Fontaine’s lounge, where everyone celebrates as they did.

However, it is after the party that Sisko reunites with Jake and Kasidy alone and explains that he must go. He will return one day, but for now, the Prophets need him; they had been charitable to grant him the time to defeat Dukat. Thus, he says goodbye not only to them, but to the rest of the DS9 crew before he flies off (literally, with his Prophet powers) to the wormhole. The rest of the finale plays as it did.

I would understand if many out there think this finale might be even worse than what we got; it’s over-the-top, yes. But at least it would have tied Sisko’s role as the Bajoran Emissary with the Dominion War a lot closer. However, I am totally open to any improvements to this fix-it idea.

@blue-mint-winter

#star trek #star trek deep space 9 #ds9

7 notes · View notes

douxreviews · 5 years

Text

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - ‘Hippocratic Oath’ Review

Bashir: "We are dealing with a complex situation here." O'Brien: "No, it is not complex. It is simple."

By nature I love brevity: DS9 continues to make use of the pairing of O'Brien and Bashir, here delivering an interesting character study of both men. But it's also a far more unlikely character study of the Jem'Hadar.

Let me start by laying out the situation. O'Brien and Bashir are made to crash land on a remote planet in the Gamma Quadrant on their way home from a bio-survey of Merik III. When they exit the runabout, they are captured by a squad of Jem'Hadar soldiers. The Jem'Hadar First, Goran'Agar, initially intends to kill them both, but decides not to when Bashir reveals he is a doctor. It turns out Goran'Agar crash-landed on the planet three years ago, and when he ran out of Ketracel-White, he discovered that he was no longer addicted to the drug. Now he wants Bashir to figure out how to free his other soldiers from their addictions to the White.

Obviously, Bashir and O'Brien have very different reactions to this situation. Bashir wants to help Goran'Agar to cure his men, and O'Brien simply wants to escape and leave the Jem'Hadar to fend for themselves. Both of these approaches are so very in character for the two.

One of Bashir's defining characteristics is his arrogance, as we all know. But his arrogance is channeled by the redeeming parts of his character: his kindness and charity, and his overwhelming optimism about the world. This is what makes him such an interesting character to watch, and his response to Goran'Agar's plight is right in line with it. Not only is he kind and generous enough to want to help the Jem'Hadar, he is arrogant enough to believe that he is capable of doing it, and he is optimistic enough to believe that the Jem'Hadar will respond to their freedom in a constructive way.

In stark contrast to this is O'Brien's harsh, down-to-earth realism. This conflicts with all of Bashir's relevant traits in such a way as to give him the opposite viewpoint. Part of this is that O'Brien was once a soldier. As the Federation edges ever closer to open war with the Dominion, his warrior instincts are coming back to the forefront of his mind, and he approaches any situation involving the enemy from a soldier's perspective. And O'Brien's soldier's perspective tells him that nothing good will come out of a situation like this, one way or the other. It tells him that they need to get out as quickly as possible to avoid worse consequences.

But this is not the only set of conflicting values that 'Hippocratic Oath' presents us with. The other one, at least in this main story, is between Goran'Agar and his soldiers, represented by Second Arak'Taral. Goran'Agar's experience of slowly discovering that his core beliefs about himself are now wrong has made him disillusioned about all he has been taught. He is questioning all of his beliefs that he was given by the Founders and the Vorta. Even his gods have fallen in his eyes. The problem is that, as a Jem'Hadar, his entire worldview has been shaped by them, and reinforced by all his Jem'Hadar brethren who believe the same way. At the end of the day, he is still a Jem'Hadar. Can he separate himself from the Ketracel-White? Yes. But can he escape the influence of the Founders and the Vorta? No, it turns out he cannot. They are his gods, impersonal and distant though they may be. And he cannot bring himself to disbelieve everything he has believed for his entire life.

But his efforts to leave the shadow of the Dominion put him at odds with Arak'Taral and the rest of his men, who are still addicted to the White and thus still buy in almost completely to the worldview they have been programmed with. To question these ideals is perceived as weak to their eyes, and weakness is to be expunged. Only the strong are of worth, because worth is derived entirely from one's service to the Founders. If you can't serve the Founders anymore because you are weak, it is better that you are dead. But they are willing to follow Goran'Agar to some extent, because he is their First and that is the order of things. As the White disappears, this willingness slowly goes too, along with their sanity.

All these clashing perspectives come to a head in the conclusion. Bashir, true to form, wants to stay and try and finish his work. But his arrogant optimism is still tempered by reality, so O'Brien removes his last reason for being optimistic. Was he right to do so? The episode doesn't say. Certainly, Bashir's perspective is portrayed as naive, even though it was legitimately dealt with. But O'Brien is wrong, too - this is a much more complex situation than his perspective will allow. This is one of the things I love about DS9: its readiness to not give you all the answers and to allow you to draw your own conclusions.

There's a 'B' plot here, to drive home the point about complexity and shades of gray. I don't have a lot to say about it, except that it uses Worf well. Fans will be used to seeing Worf alongside the TNG crew, and on TNG terms. 'Hippocratic Oath' cements the reality that Worf, and by extension the fans, will have to learn to play by DS9's rules here. It's good to have Worf take a few episodes to learn this, and it makes sense on both an in-universe and a real-world level. Simple judgments, such as Worf's initial assessment of Odo, are no longer necessarily accurate. We are dealing, as Bashir aptly puts it, with a complex situation here. Good and evil aren't black-and-white anymore. Welcome to DS9, Worf.

Strange New Worlds:

The planet is never given a name. It is uninhabited and in the Gamma Quadrant somewhere between the wormhole and Merik III. It orbits a red giant, but there is an unexpectedly high concentration of chlorophyll in the plants. It is never made clear whether the planet was actually responsible for Goran'Agar's freedom from White addiction.

New Life and New Civilizations:

The mercenary Worf is after, Regana Tosh, is a Markalian. This, as far as I can find, is the first canonical mention of the species' name, although members of it appeared many times before this episode.

Pensees:

-I love the new theme equally to the old one. This one suits the show DS9 is becoming better, and the old one suited the first few seasons.

-Worf never calls Quark by name in this episode, referring to him only as 'the Ferengi bartender.'

-After taking a prominent role in 'The Visitor,' Cirroc Lofton's Jake Sisko does not appear in this episode.

-This is the first mention of Ketracel-White by name.

-Goran'Agar is played by Scott MacDonald, who has had a few other Trek roles. His most famous was Dolim in Enterprise Season Three. I'll get there eventually in my reviews of Enterprise so we can talk about him.

-This is the third DS9 episode directed by Rene Auberjonois, after Season 3's 'Prophet Motive' and 'Family Business.'

Quotes:

O'Brien: "Why can't she be more like..." Bashir: "More like?" O'Brien: "Well, a man. More like a man." Bashir: "So... you wish... Keiko was a man." O'Brien: "I wish I was on this trip with someone else, that's what I wish."

Bashir: "I'm just surprised." Goran'Agar: "Surprised that a Jem'Hadar soldier would want something more than the life of a slave? You know nothing about the Jem'Hadar, except that you fear us."

Wounded Jem'Hadar: "You know the rule. If the death of one will make the rest stronger, then he dies." Goran'Agar: "We came here to be free of the Vorta. It is time to stop living by their rules."

Goran'Agar: "I have fought against races that believe in mythical beings who guide their destinies and await them after death. They call them gods. The Founders are like gods to the Jem'Hadar. But our gods never talk to us, and they don't wait for us after death. They only want us to fight for them and to die for them."

Arak'Taral: "If being free of White means becoming like you, I don't want to be cured."

Goran'Agar: "You are a soldier?" O'Brien: "I have been." Goran'Agar: "Then you explain." O'Brien: "He's their commander. They trusted him. He can't leave them."

Worf: "When I served aboard the Enterprise, I always knew who were my allies and who were my enemies." Sisko: "Let's just say DS9 has more shades of gray, and Quark definitely is a shade of gray."

O'Brien: "I'm sorry I had to destroy your work." Bashir: "You didn't have to, Chief. You had a choice, and you chose to disobey orders, override my judgement, and condemn those men to death." O'Brien: "Yes I did. Because I thought it was the only way to save your life. Whatever else you may think of who I am and what I did, at least try to understand that."

5 out of 6 clashing perspectives.

CoramDeo thinks he won the Powerball. Pshoooo.

#Star Trek #Star Trek Deep Space Nine #Deep Space Nine #DS9 #Julian Bashir #Miles O'Brien #Worf #Star Trek Reviews #Doux Reviews #TV Reviews

6 notes · View notes

randomnessunicorn-imagine · 6 years

Text

✬ SCENARIOS / PREFERENCES: SECOND MEETING ✬

「 Star Trek DS9 x Neutral! Reader Drabbles 」

{ Every drabble has its plot so I recommend to read the first part and then this one. There will be other parts, of course. Leave a like and share if you appreciate! }

PART 1: http://randomnessunicorn-imagine.tumblr.com/post/181721362583/scenarios-preferences-first-meeting-with-the

🌟 Benjamin Sisko 🌟

The commander was a brilliant man and you liked spending time with him.

Not many days had passed but, thanks to your mild and friendly personality, it was not difficult to earn Sisko's friendship. You were grateful and you did not regret even one moment of the decision you made. This space station was not bad at all, on the contrary, it intrigued you, you were very curious and impatient for something that was about to happen.

"What kind of feeling did you mean last time? By the expression on your face, I wouldn’t say it was a normal feeling.” He said, drinking his coffee.

"Yes, I'm doing research, I’ve not still found anything concrete... That feeling helped me, it brought me here." You answered, making Sisko even more curious.

"Really? Explain that to me, please.” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

You looked him in the eye and knew that you could trust him, maybe you should not have confessed this secret, but you read in his eyes sincerity and curiosity. You smiled, nodding.

"Well, you know? I am for a quarter betazoid, my grandmother was and even my mother has developed some kind of mental powers... Very strange.“ You explained, smiling shyly.

The commander was amazed by your confession but he did not understand how this could have anything to do with your job.

"I would never have said that, now I'm more confused than before." He nodded, taking another sip of coffee.

"I know… It's absurd. My telepathic abilities are not very developed, I have never been very capable to handle it. I have always defined myself as a simple human being.” You explained, sighing, "But sometimes I perceive, I mean, I feel things. Feelings, like the feeling that brought me here. I would define it as a kind of... Invitation." You said, staring at the emptiness inside your empty cup of tea.

"That’s why you’re here. As if, it were a sort of premonition…?” He asked, confused but fascinated at the same time.

"Exactly! That's it. I often see future events during the night, I perceive emotions that do not belong to me, these sensations remain for a long time. This one in particular, it is tormenting me.” You explained, sighing.

"I understand. It's strange. So the only logical explanation you have about your ability is that it can be related to your grandmother. You have developed betzoid telepathic abilities in ways others have never had.” Sisko said, truly interested in what you said.

"You are very perspicacious, commander. I believe it is so but I don’t have a more rational explication. It happened even when I was a child and very often, my visions came true. It's scary." You said.

"And this feeling about the space station worries you?" He asked.

"I don’t know, it's a positive but alarming feeling as well. Something extraordinary is about to happen but then... " you have explained but you are stuck, you were hit by a terrible headache.

Sisko, worried about your safety, was about to call the doctor when he was called by his first officer who told him that a mysterious wormhole was just appeared in space.

🌟 Julian Bashir 🌟

A new day begun and the doctor was already in his sickbay waiting for his patients. He hoped it was going to be an interesting and curious day, not that he hoped people would get sick, but he did not like to be bored.

Today, new staff would come to the station, including new members of the medical staff like nurses and scientists, so he was content and he could not wait to know his new colleagues.

At that moment, his thoughts were interrupted by the mechanical sound of the door opening.

"Good morning, Doctor Bashir." A familiar voice spoke, but he was turned and so he did not recognize the person, but it was a lovely voice, he smiled.

"The visiting time has not started yet..." he said, turning around and a surprised expression appeared on his face.

"Are you okay?" You asked and in fact, the owner of that charming voice was you, the person he had met yesterday.

"Yes, I guess you're not here for a check-up." He asked, smiling.

"No, fortunately I have no health problems. I'm the new nurse, but I think I don’t have to introduce myself." You told him, giving him the PAD with your professional information.

He had not read anything about his colleagues because he loved the surprises and now he was really intrigued.

"Oh, I didn’t imagine you were part of the new staff. You didn’t tell me." He said, smiling.

"No, I wanted to surprise you, did I succeed?" You asked in a playful tone.

"You did it! Welcome to Deep Space 9." He said, nodding happily.

"It’ll be a pleasure to work with you." You said, smiling tenderly.

"No, pleasure’s mine.” and he smiled too.

His day could not start better than that and he was sure, next days would be even better.

🌟 Kira Nerys 🌟

You spent two days in prison, it was not a great stay and you were really worried for your little sister.

Actually, you were not alone in this space station because you were with your uncle and your younger sister. Your uncle could not be defined as an honest, nice and altruist person. He was the definition of horrible, arrogance and rudeness, so you could not stand him. Your uncle had the bad habit of beating you and your sister, and so many times, you sacrificed yourself and took his violence for her. You just wanted to protect your sister and you could not do it inside a cell.

In fact, you had stolen those gold nuggets for her, to buy something to eat, since your uncle was selfish and so you had to take care of your sister alone.

After 48 hours, you were released even if Kira did not agree and she was afraid you could commit another crime.

Your criminal record was still cleaner than Quark's, the person you robbed, so maybe you had learnt your lesson and she had nothing to worry about.

After your release, you were free to come home and you ran as fast as you could to reach your quarters, hoping your sister was fine but you did not find her anywhere and so you thought she was with your abusive uncle. The only place he could stay was to Quarter’s bar because that man loved gambling.

You found your sister there, she was crying and your uncle was about to slap her in the face when you started screaming.

“You bastard, don’t touch her!” you put yourself between your sister and uncle, taking his slap.

In that moment, the security came and they took you and your uncle, there was also Kira watching and she was not glad to see you there.

“You again, are you searching for new troubles?” she asked, blocking you.

“No, it’s not how it seems, I can explain.” You tried to explain yourself, “I was just defending her, he wanted to beat her, I couldn’t stay here to watch. I didn’t do anything wrong!” you said while your sister was hugging you and crying.

“That little bitch complains and cries all the time, I had to stop her!” your drunk uncle said, and then he was taken away by the security men.

Kira knew you were honest and you were not the guilty one and so she let you go.

“Ok, you’re innocent now but don’t think I’ve forgotten what you did last time!” she said with severity.

“I know, I’m sorry for what I did and I won’t do it again, I’ve not even told you the reason why I stole that gold.” You talked, maybe you needed to vent with someone and you were so desperate that she nodded, sitting with you in a table of the bar.

“Ok, if you want to confess your crime I’m here to listen, but I’m not your friend, I’m giving you the chance to redeem yourself.” She said and then she looked at your sister, maybe she was the reason why Kira decided to give you a chance to explain yourself.

“Thank you, Commander.” You nodded.

Maybe it could not help you to resolve your problem but it could help to heal your nerves from the stress this life gave you.

🌟 Jadzia Dax 🌟

You could not forget Dax's beauty so easily, she was the thought that kept appearing in your mind.

Her presence tormented your dreams and your desires. You continued to observe her without ever speaking to her as if you were blocked by a kind of shame, by an irrational fear, perhaps you were afraid of not being enough for a woman like her.

What could you tell her that she did not already know? What experiences could you narrate to her that she had not already lived in her past seven lives? Whatever you had told her, she would have continued to ignore you, finding her PAD more interesting than your words.

You craved her, you wanted to know and love her more than anything else, you knew that this was impossible because the trill race had precise rules on romantic relationships but you wanted to be the exception. Her exception.

You had to be brave and try your luck. This life was an hazard after all and you had to risk it all.

"Hello, do I bother?" You asked Dax, appearing calm but you were so anxious.

Dax remembered you, since she had noticed the way you looked at her and she wondered why you had never talked to her until now. People usually invited her to dinner, everyone was interested in her, but she politely refused all their invitations.

She also observed all your moves, just as you observed her, but she was not sure of your intentions.

After a few seconds, she looked up and looked at you, smiling, and she shook her head.

"No, you’re welcome." her smile was mysterious and fascinating, you would watch her smile for hours but you knew you could not waste any more time.

"I heard you're a Tongo fan, do you want to play with me?" You asked, smiling.

The expression of Dax changed, now she was curious, surprised that you had proposed to play this game.

Maybe you were different from the others, you just wanted to be her friend without ulterior motives or maybe you just wanted to know her. She did not expect it, especially after all the time you spent watching her like a maniac.

Her smile widened and she nodded, "Sure, but I warn you I'm very good at that game, so it will not be easy to defeat me." She replied, putting down her PAD.

Your big chance arrived, you felt so happy that you would jump all over the hall but in the end you just nodded, smiling radiantly, "May I win or lose, it will be a pleasure to play with you, Jadzia Dax." You answered, spelling every letter of her name.

🌟 ODO 🌟

Last night was very hard for you, you drowned your sorrows in alcohol and you risked feeling sick. Fortunately, Mr. Odo came before you passed out on Quark’s counter and convinced you to come back to your quarters.

Now that you thought about what happened, you felt ashamed, you did not want anyone to see you in that miserable state but it happened. You were so sad that you did not care about anything anymore, you were still suffering but now you were sober and you regretted what you did. Unfortunately, you knew it could happen again because the wounds in your heart were still bleeding and you might have fallen into the abyss again.

There was something you wanted to do, you wanted to thank that member of the security that helped you yesterday. You have not talked so much with him, but without his help now you would really be sleeping on the floor of the bar, stinking like a drunken bum.

Despite the alcohol and the confusion, you still remembered his face, his austere and cold expression of a strict diligent man, completely loyal to his duty. More people should be like that, you thought, even if you did not know him at all but you trusted him unconditionally, you did not know why. You had to thank him and find some of the honour you lost yesterday.

You dressed and then you came out of your quarters, you looked so different from the sloppy person of last night. Yes, you lost your mind and you kept being afraid, anxious and worried.

Your steps were quick and you walked until you found Odo, he was doing his reconnaissance, so you approached him.

"Good morning, sir!" you said, your voice was shy and then he turned around.

Odo remembered you, but he did not expect to find you here, usually people spoke with him when there was a problem and then his thoughts went to Quark, Odo thought that ferengi had bothered you again.

"Good morning, do you have any problems?" He asked politely.

"No, I'm fine... I wanted to thank you for yesterday, I was in terrible condition. I didn’t want to cause troubles, I'm very sorry. Thank you very much for helping me." You said in a weak voice.

Odo raised an eyebrow, he knew that you were not a bad person and by your insecure voice, he also understood how vulnerable and scared you were.

He nodded, "You do not need to thank me, I just did my duty. I advise you to avoid certain places at night... Well, avoid them every time, actually." He said, looking at Quark's bar with severity, "This station is full of thugs, be careful. "

"Yes, I see. I am grateful that there are people like you who protects this space station. I feel safe, thank you." You said, timidly, and then you showed him a small smile.

Odo was surprised, it was rare that someone thanked him for his job. He realized that you were sincere, he was proud of himself.

Odo just nodded and then returned to his job but he did not forget your words, your smile.

35 notes · View notes

iforcedabot-blog · 6 years

Text

I Forced a Bot To Watch Every TNG and DS9 Episode and Write One of Its Own

You may have seen “I forced a bot to watch” posts where someone claims to have “forced a bot” to read or watch hours of video and written it’s own script. Those weren’t real but in recent history it has become possible to do it for real in a pretty convincing way with OpenAI’s GPT-2 system. This is an unbroken, unedited sample of GPT-2 ‘fine-tuned’ on all the TNG and DS9 scripts. Note that television scripts have have distinct formatting and style and all of that is copied perfectly by the bot. It even *almost* gets understands page numbers (in the first example – 28, 28, 28A).

28 EXT. PLAZA/SURFACE - DAY (OPTICAL) Data and Worf as before. DATA (puzzled) You left him there? He left him there? WORF Yes. He had been there for hours... then decided that I was going to kill him. Data frowns, he can't figure out how to phrase what he did... DATA I do not understand. WORF You knew? DATA I was afraid. They exchange a look... Data thinking quickly, is back to the source... DATA (continuing) I could have programmed some medical bank monitors to monitor you for a pulse response when you could enter Klingon memory. WORF We would have -- STAR TREK: "The House... " - REV. 08/10/94 - ACT FOUR 45. 28 CONTINUED: DATA But I was afraid that it would disrupt my memory. PICARD I'll tell you what I have to do. They look at him and then Picard EXITS. Data sits in command. CUT TO: 28A INT. WORF'S QUARTERS The room is DARK and distant. Worf is struggling to regain his senses as Picard ENTERS. WORF Captain... everything I saw is gone... everything. Worf regards him for a moment... then he starts to fight it off... he stops in surprise... he doesn't know how all this is going to impact his relationship with him... he's uncertain what to do... he glances at the wall panel and frowns, surprised at the way he sees Worf... he glances around the room and tries to find a way to fight it off-kilter... it's pretty night... Worf hits the wall panel and it OFF. WORF I was... heading somewhere. PICARD Worf... what's the matter? Worf decides to break for a moment... he EXITS.

That was one the first scenes I generated that impressed me, though it cheats a bit with by being mysterious enough that it’s hard to rate how coherent it is. But you could almost see as one of the more moody and experimental character-focused episodes in Season 7 TNG. Earlier networks could copy the formatting of a TV script but they totally fell apart when you tried to actually understand the content. Even which characters were present in a scene did not stay consistent from line to line. GPT-2 handles this amazingly keeping track of not just characters but subject of conversation in a scene.

Here are some more samples chosen mostly for the humor:

DAX I think we're lucky this was just a bad batch of equipment. KIRA I'm glad you think that. DAX I'm glad we're lucky. KIRA Okay. I'm going to let you use the Bajoran storage bin to backup your data on this trip. And with that, Kira heads off down the Corridor. We HOLD on a thoughtful Dax. 19 INT. OPS Kira and Dax EXIT the turbolift, followed by Sisko, who goes to the Transporter Room in frustration. DEEP SPACE: "The Wire" - 03/01/94 - ACT ONE 12. 19 CONTINUED: KIRA It's not working. DAX I'm having trouble retuning the transceiver. The adaptors won't work. KIRA Maybe they should replace us by rentals. DAX With what? KIRA With your arms. DAX With your hands. KIRA Your arms. DAX You're lifting your arms. KIRA My arms. DAX (the hurtiest) Your arms. They're my hands. Kira takes a beat, looks down at her arms for a moment. KIRA They're your hands. (a beat) You know what I see when I get this... DAX (laughing and crying) Kira, you never told anyone about your arms. DEEP SPACE: "The Wire" - 03/01/94 - ACT ONE 13. 19 CONTINUED: (2) KIRA When you get to the wormhole, you should see them grow into shape- shifters. And you'd be right... because their arms are like that... closer than you can get. They grip off your arm. Bad dreams. DAX I thought you weren't going to talk about me. KIRA I told myself I was not. But when the time comes... I want to figure out what we're doing and what we are. I always figure it out. Dax looks at her own hands. Kira's too fast for her good measure. KIRA I'm holding all the cards. I'm playing them all. I'm a prisoner in here. I can't be happier. DAX You seem like you've got a lot. KIRA You have me all. Kira takes one last look at her hands. Kira can't help her enthusiasm. Her hand. Kira takes another step toward the desk. KIRA You're not going to hurt me. DAX You're not. And that's a good thing.

This is from a later batch where I stripped out some of the very repetitive content in the scripts before training — mostly headers and footers that repeat the exact same information every page. Another sample that was weirdly hands and arms themed:

42 INT. ENGINEERING Geordi and Data at their respective consoles. GEORDI We're ready when you are, Data. DATA I will prepare enough data for your desire, Commander. GEORDI Good. Data, what was the vessel in which the shuttle was launched? DATA The vessel was slightly more complex than the starship I estimate, sir. It chose a specific set of coordinates to target the specific nodes on the Enterprise-D. GEORDI And it didn't work. That's your fault, Data. DATA I fault is very fault, sir. I should have realized that. GEORDI If you had, the Enterprise-C could have taken out a few more nodes... DATA I do not believe we could have survived the attempt on the shuttle, sir. STAR TREK: "The Loss" - REV. 10/10/90 - ACT FOUR 51. 42 CONTINUED: GEORDI I know Data, it would have been difficult for you to break into hands and legs and grab a few nodes... I've never run into a shuttle in my life that didn't get that lucky. Geordi looks down at his hands and arms, frowning. GEORDI What are you so angry about? DATA My heart... and possibly my entire psychology. GEORDI That's not good. DATA I am angry that Starfleet has let you down, Commander. GEORDI I know... but I was relieved that no one tried to destroy my shuttle.

INT. DATA'S QUARTERS Data, still in his Starfleet uniform, is sitting at a desk working at the computer. The door CHIMES. DATA Enter. The door OPENS and Geordi ENTERS. GEORDI Data, what are you doing here? DATA (stands) This is my quarters. He looks at the desk for a beat, then EXITS. DATA (continuing) You are here to examine my computer. GEORDI Computer, is there anything I can do about your... computer? DATA Computer, are you aware of what I have just said? GEORDI (nods) In case you're wondering... I've told you something before... DATA I have never spoken to my computer before. GEORDI That can't possibly be the case... Data shakes his head. DATA I have been trying, but I have been unable. GEORDI Why? DATA I have been trying for over three, four nights. GEORDI It must be a pretty long night. DATA As long as it is not. GEORDI And what does it feel like? DATA I have been experiencing a sustained, transient, and unsteady increase in the emotional neurotransmitter-like activity in my cerebral cortex. The same as if I were completely offered a cup of tea, or a coffee, or an air horn. GEORDI That sounds like someone who has been through a lot. Data nods.

I experimented with mixing other TV show scripts, the complete set of Frasier in this case. GPT-2 learns very quickly never to mix characters and language from the shows — too well, I wish it would mix them! But I swear the samples trained with some Frasier feel more like a sitcom:

ANGLE ON MAIN VIEWER (OPTICAL)

ANGLE ON MAIN VIEWER (OPTICAL) Riker's face... RIKER Captain, I am detecting a Class-M planet with high radiation unaffected by the sun. PICARD Which planet did you detect? RIKER Class-M. (beat) I'm sure it looked like a Class- M planet... (beat) What is it? PICARD A small planet with low surface radiation. RIKER (laughs) Not class-M.

Here’s another one that feels more like a sitcom, in particular, the repeated dialog lines are something I see a lot in the post-Frasier samples.

======== SAMPLE 15 ======== KIRA (to Dax, explaining) Dax, we were just talking about you. I realize you're upset about me, but I've always looked good in a tuxedo. DAX I don't look good in a tuxedo. I've always looked good in a clutch, Benjamin. And I'm glad to say, I haven't seen you since I left the homeworld. KIRA (smiles) I know you're upset, but I've always looked good in a chiffo uniform. DAX And I'm glad to see you've never worn it anymore. KIRA I've never looked good in a chiffo uniform. DAX Well, I've seen you look good in it all... when you're wearing anyone else's tux. KIRA (smiles) I never look good in a chiffo uniform. DAX (smiles) I'm glad you said you were going to be happy at the Bajoran wedding. KIRA (smiles) I'm glad you said that. Dax smiles and they walk off. DAX (re: the wedding) I suppose I'll have to mention it to someone. KIRA I'm not planning to. DAX Who's next? KIRA My husband. (a beat) I guess he'll be staying with us this year. DAX He'll probably be staying with us this year. KIRA I know. I just got here last night. DAX I mean it's just a question of... who? KIRA (beat) I'm still not sure. I've got a surprise planned for the next few weeks. Besides, it sounds like somebody's going to need a place to keep me warm. DAX I'm sure they will. KIRA I'm sure they will. DAX Now what about you... are you sure you don't want to stay with me for a while? KIRA (re: the wedding) I have a job to do... I'm a pretty gal... DAX (reacts) I hear you're married... KIRA That's right. DAX And what about Jake? KIRA He's leaving Starfleet. DAX A few weeks ago he was sent back to the Institute. KIRA (reacts) He's gone? DAX He's been living on the station all his life... KIRA (beat) ======== SAMPLE 16 ========

This sample is as long as you can get right now the limit on the output is about 1000 words in the tiny version of GPT-2 that OpenAI let’s us play with. It would still be possible to create an entire script by taking the output from one sample and using it a ‘prompt’ to generate the next sample, over and over until you have a complete script. Since the scripts do clear structure like page and act numbers it should eventually get to ACT 5 or stick an ending on there. Maybe a project for the future.

#gpt-2 #tng #text generator

5 notes · View notes

mswyrr · 6 years

Text

DSC 2x02 “New Eden” and the handling of religion

That was an excellent episode. I think it’s my favorite of the whole show so far, actually. It was operating on all levels really well and managed to tie them together into a coherent thematic whole. I’ll write more later, but I wanted to talk about the themes right now.

Thematically, the key for me is the moment when Tilly says she needs Michael there because Michael would “yes, and” her - to build upon an idea, pass it back and forth, explore. Discover. Make sense of the universe.

This episode manages something delicate, which is to respect the ways people explore, make sense of the world, and discover, while maintaining the centrality of the pursuit of scientific inquiry. At the end Jacob’s faith in scientific inquiry is rewarded, he receives the generator, and the light of scientific knowledge literally shines forth from the church’s stained glass windows.

Quite a powerful symbol visually. The light is knowledge, but it can shine out through the specific cultural lenses of people... and this relates to the Prime Directive too, yes? Because, as these people grow in knowledge culturally and scientifically, by the time they reach warp drive capacity they will have something beautiful and unique to share with the rest of the galaxy. From out of the meaning they’ve made facing down war, death, survival, struggle and seeking knowledge in the specific ways they have.

Their context and perspective will one day become part of the dance of civilizations that the Vulcan concept of “infinite diversity in infinite combinations” celebrates. Their way of making meaning will shape how people decide to deal with coming conflicts and grief in ways we cannot predict. Ways that might prove vital to the future. Because, as we learned in S1 and as we saw in this episode, trauma, war, and death remain things all mortal beings have to feel their way through.

Feel and sing and pray and research. The condition of being mortal is both objective facts and inner experiences and feelings that require a place too.

All of this works so well because the episode does the thing I wanted the recent episode of Doctor Who that dealt with the religion of the Ux to do, which is show reason at work in it.

It has an important moment where we see the work of reasoning that went into building the shared faith and culture of New Eden: we see the holy book, which is carefully pieced together and shaped from multiple traditions. After being pulled from the trauma of World War III, a diverse group of people used their reason and faiths to make sense of the world and find a way to live together in peace.

Scientific inquiry is hard work and a beautiful endeavor: we see that in Tilly. In Jacob’s faith. In Michael’s advocacy for his faith being rewarded. The reasoning involved in creating meaning through faith that can enable people to live in peace is also intellectual labor and its results can save lives too, though.

The argument of the episode is basically just: don’t cut off or demean lines of thinking or inquiry, don’t shut ways of forming meaning down. They can have results. People who came from war can create peace. The light of scientific knowledge can shine out of the stained glass windows.

It’s ST, so the highest good is scientific inquiry and that is as it should be. It is the thing that we can all perceive and test and agree upon. (VACCINATE YOUR KIDS lol). It forms a foundation upon which we can work together across disagreements in other realms. But that common ground doesn’t have to become authoritarian and demand everyone have the same perspective, the same cultural context and meaning.

For what it was trying to do I think it was framed just right. It reminded me of the moment on DS9 where Sisko is talking to his son Jake:

JAKE: How could anyone be so stupid? SISKO: It's easy to look back seven centuries and judge what was right and wrong. JAKE: But the same thing is happening now with all this stuff about the Celestial Temple in the wormhole. It's dumb. SISKO: No, it's not. You've got to realize something, Jake. For over fifty years, the one thing that allowed the Bajorans to survive the Cardassian occupation was their faith. The Prophets were their only source of hope and courage. JAKE: But there were no Prophets. They were just some aliens that you found in the wormhole. SISKO: To those aliens, the future is no more difficult to see than the past. Why shouldn't they be considered Prophets? JAKE: Are you serious? SISKO: My point is, it's a matter of interpretation. It may not be what you believe, but that doesn't make it wrong. If you start to think that way, you'll be acting just like Vedek Winn, only from the other side. We can't afford to think that way, Jake. We'd lose everything we've worked for here.

As long as everyone can understand the wormhole aliens/Prophets in terms of certain shared physical properties (and the political and social consequences of those), the realm of interpretation doesn’t have to be foreclosed. Would the Bajorans have survived without seeing them as the Prophets and investing in that shared meaning? Possibly; there are many ways to create meaning. But the fact is that it did bind them together. And it isn’t a lie, it’s a perspective/interpretation on shared information.

I can know all there is to know about the scientific mechanics of being in love and yet there’s still room to write love poetry about the person I am in love with. To feel the mystery of that experience. The *living* of the experience of life is a felt thing, and feelings and interpretations are big and vary and their knowledge can transform or save our lives. Because choosing to live requires creating meaning, having hope, investing faith in something. Whether it’s political systems, forms of inquiry, other people, art, or religious practices.

Choosing to live and wanting life--throwing our fragile mortal selves forward into an unknown future, coping with the pain and fear of life--presents us all with challenges to navigate in terms of how we feel and understand.

The fact that this episode reminded me of DS9, which I consider the most subtle and humane of the Trek series, really just says everything I need to about how it totally blew me away.

#star trek discovery #dsc spoilers #my meta #dsc meta

6 notes · View notes

the-nagakenny-archives · 7 years

Text

Space Case (crossover with Star Trek: DS9)

Julian Bashir carefully stepped over an upturned root that appeared in his way. He and a small contingent of officers had been asked to survey a small planet just an hour past the Gamma side of the wormhole. After completing an orbital inspection, they’d docked the runabout and began a more in-depth sweep of one of the moderately-populated areas. The planet’s inhabitants were easily capable of space flight; they simply chose to keep to themselves.

Julian had found multiple plant samples that would make for fascinating medical study when they got back to the station, but he’d somehow managed to wander far enough from the rest of the group in the process that, even with his abilities, he’d be hard-pressed to make his way back before nightfall. He sighed and started looking for a decent tree to climb. Most of the branches were just out of his reach, but if he could get up there, he’d be able to get his bearings and get back to the others.

A sharp rustling brought him up short. He looked around with trepidation; the last thing he needed was to be mauled by some alien predator. He reached for his phaser, not taking his eyes off where he’d heard the sound. But, just to be sure…

“Hello?” He called out.

The rustling returned, but now it was clearly coming from the understory. He watched as the leaves parted and his observer emerged.

“Hello, yourself!”

It was a man, or at the very least, a male humanoid. He appeared early- to middle-aged, bare-chested, with long auburn hair and a square jaw. He smiled brightly at Julian, but it faltered when he saw what he was reaching for.

“Hey now, l-let’s not be hasty. I’m not gonna hurt you!”

Slowly, Julian lowered his hand from his phaser. He might end up regretting it, but he was going to give the man the benefit of the doubt.

“Can’t be too careful these days.” Julian quipped, folding his arms across his chest. “So, what brings you this far out into the jungle?”

“Oh, I live here. Can’t you tell?” The man laughed, perching his head on his closed fist. “My, but you’re an interesting fellow, aren’t you? My name’s Kenny. What’s yours?”

“Julian.” He replied.

“Pleasure to make your acquaintan— whoops!” He’d reached to shake Julian’s hand, but he’d overbalanced and had nearly fallen out of the tree. As he hoisted himself back up, Julian saw what had been earlier obscured by foliage: a long serpentine tail that made up the lower half of Kenny’s body. Julian couldn’t help but stare; he’d never seen anything like Kenny outside of Terran folklore.

“My goodness!” He breathed.

Kenny gave an embarrassed chuckle. “Sorry if I startled you.”

“Started me?!” Julian was beaming with excitement. “You’re incredible! A miracle of evolution! Oh, would you mind terribly if I took some scans of you?”

Kenny shrugged and spread his arms wide. Taking this as consent, Julian pulled out his tricorder and started taking scans. As the information came in regarding Kenny’s skeletal and muscular systems, he looked on in wonder.

“Truly remarkable!”

“Ooh, can I see?” Kenny asked, hanging from the branch by his massive tail.

Julian mulled it over for a moment. It might be viewed as a violation of the Prime Directive, but he considered any damage negligible. Besides, how would Kenny use the information anyway? With a light shrug, he tilted the screen up so that Kenny could see.

“Neat! So that’s what I look like on the inside?”

He nodded. “Now if I could get some synaptic readings…”

_______________

This continued for a good half an hour, until Julian’s scientific curiosity was mostly satisfied. With a new species, one could never be completely satisfied, knowledge-wise. Julian had never been happier on an assignment, and Kenny seemed to be enjoying it as well.

“Ya know,” Kenny said with a mischievous smile, “I can do something else too.”

“Really?” Julian asked, looking up from his data.

“Yeah! Want a demonstration?”

“All right.” He wondered if he should be concerned.

“Just look right here.” Kenny pointed at his eyes with the tip of his tail.

Julian shrugged and did as he was bid. As he watched, Kenny’s eyes started changing colors, rippling out from his pupils. They went faster and faster, and soon he was struggling to keep up. He felt dizzy, then slightly euphoric.

“Pretty neat, huh?” Kenny asked with a smile.

“Y-yeah…” He blinked hard, trying to clear his head. His own eyes were glazing over, reflecting the colors back to Kenny. He felt Kenny’s tail winding around his waist in a firm squeeze.

“Why don’t we have a little alone time up in the canopy, hm? Doesn’t that sound nice?”

It really did, honestly. Just as he was about to nod his head in agreement, a memory flickered in the back of his mind: an old children’s program about a boy who lived in a jungle, and a python with very similar powers. Red-alert klaxons started shrieking in his brain.

“You’re n-not gonna eat me, are you?” He asked, dazed by the continued display.

The colors suddenly melded back into Kenny’s dark eyes as he pouted. “Why does everyone always ask me that? I don’t eat people!” He smiled and pinched Julian’s cheek. “And even if I did, I wouldn’t eat you. You’re too cute!”

A small giggle escaped Julian’s lips. That was always nice to hear, no matter the context. He’d started to relax, just a little, when his mind began to clear. He really shouldn’t be just sitting here, should he? He should be trying to find a way back to the runabout with the others. He really should be leaving, instead of staying there wishing he could go back to staring into Kenny’s eyes again, letting the dizzying array of colors flood his mind until he forgot everything else. Oh, it was so tempting…

“Dax to Bashir.”

Julian blinked out of his reverie and chuckled. “I, ah, I gotta take this.” He took a deep breath to steady himself, then turned and activated his commbadge. For some reason, it felt easier to focus if he kept his eyes closed. “Bashir here.”

“Julian, there’s some kind of problem with the runabout’s engines. O’Brien is working on them, but it’ll be a few hours before they’ll be up and running. How soon can you get back here?”

“Well,” he trailed off, feeing embarrassed, “I’m actually a bit lost. Any chance you could beam me back?”

“No can do, Julian. Whatever’s wrong with the engines is affecting the transporters too. Just stay where you are and we’ll come get you. Alright?”

“Understood. Thanks for letting me know. Bashir out.”

Julian sighed and rubbed at his forehead. Of all the times for a runabout to break down, it had to be on the planet where he was stuck with a serpentine humanoid with questionable motives. At least he was beginning to feel more alert, if only a little.

“Sounds like you’re gonna be here a while longer.” Kenny purred from behind him.

“Yes, it certainly does.”

“Well, I happen to know an excellent way of passing the time!”

“And what might that be?” He asked, turning back to face Kenny.

The second the words left his mouth, he knew what was about to happen, but he couldn’t shut his eyes fast enough to avoid his temptation of fate. Instantly, his vision was swamped by a myriad of colored rings. Still a bit woozy from the last time, Julian was unable to resist becoming transfixed, eyes glassy and reflecting the colors back. He wobbled on his feet, only to be caught by Kenny’s tail.

“Woah, easy there! I’ve got you!”

Julian leaned back into the coils, unconcerned that he’d almost fallen. He wasn’t really worried about anything right now; he just felt so good. Not even when he’d been on painkillers for a sports injury had he felt so blissed out. He trailed his fingertips lightly against Kenny’s scales, laughing softly at the texture. It was as if someone had flipped a switch, and all Julian needed to do anymore was feel.

Kenny smiled mischievously and wrapped his coils around Julian, then gently pulled the two of them up into the trees. Julian didn’t squirm or seem distressed in any way; his entrancement kept him completely relaxed, trusting Kenny entirely with his safety. They settled against a junction of thick branches, and Kenny made a pseudo-nest out of his coils for Julian to recline in.

“Feel better?” Kenny asked, toying with Julian’s hair.

Julian hummed in agreement, leaning into the touch. It felt so nice to just be held like this, drifting in this fog of euphoria. He absolutely never wanted to come out of it, ever.

“Good, good.” He purred. The coils tightened around Julian in a hug. “I thought we could just stay up here for a while. You could take a nice afternoon nap while you wait for your friends, and I’ll cuddle you until you wake up.” He lightly scratched behind Julian’s ear. “Would you like that, darling? Just have a little rest?”

“Mmm… yes, please.” Julian murmured. A nap sounded absolutely wonderful. He felt so comfy and relaxed, he could easily doze off.

“Aww, so polite!” Kenny cooed. He shifted his coils to form a makeshift blanket. “You just settle down and look in my eyes for as long as you can, just until you fall asleep. Can you do that?”

“Mm-hm…” Julian replied, nestling under the coils.

“Good…” Kenny’s eyes started to almost glow as the colors spun, hypnotizing Julian more the longer he stared. He didn’t mind, though; it felt so good to just keep staring as long as he could. As he continued to stare, Kenny started rhythmically stroking Julian’s hair and began to sing.

“Hush, my little moonbeam, Let your dreams take wing. To soothe your mind and bring you peace, This little song I’ll sing.”

Ohh, a lullaby! That would be so nice. He hadn’t been sung to sleep since he was a child. A big dreamy smile formed on Julian’s face. Kenny had such a pretty singing voice, so very pretty…

“Pillow your head on my lap, my dear, And snuggle close to me. All your thoughts drift far away. There’s no place you’d rather be.”

He did snuggle close to Kenny, yawning all the while. He was just so deliciously warm and cozy, and the coils that covered him felt like the weighted blanket he kept in his quarters, soothing him immensely. Kenny’s song made his own mother’s lullabies seem so trite in comparison. His eyelids fluttered and drooped. He wanted to keep staring into Kenny’s eyes, but he felt so sleepy.

“You’re safe and warm in my embrace, That promise I will keep. There’s starlight in your heavy eyes, Now it’s time to go to sleep.”

With another yawn, Julian’s eyes sank closed and he drifted into a deep, peaceful sleep. Kenny smiled, gave him a light squeeze with his tail, and placed a goodnight kiss on top of his head. He gently leaned back against the tree trunk and let his own eyes close, just for a minute.

____________________________

A soft beeping tugged him back into consciousness. Kenny yawned and stretched, rubbing his eyes. That had been a very nice nap, hadn’t it? He glanced over at his new friend, still sleeping soundly in his coils, and gave him a cuddly squeeze with his tail. Julian smiled in his sleep and hummed softly in contentment. He was just so darn cute!

The beeping that had woken him became louder and more insistent. Julian grumbled softly and tried to shift one of the coils over his head to muffle the sound, but it was a touch too heavy for him to lift. Giving up, Julian’s eyes slowly fluttered open and he sat up and stretched. At first, his mind was blissfully empty, but after a moment or two his memories trickled back.

“Morning…” he yawned.

Kenny chuckled. “Good morning, sleepyhead. How are you feeling?”

“Mmm… good, thanks.” Julian rubbed at his eyes, wishing he could have slept a little longer. He’d been having such a lovely dream. The setting sun in his eyes suddenly brought him up short. “Wait… it’s not morning, is it?”

“Nope!” Kenny laughed. “Almost dinner time!”

He finally started paying attention to the noise in the background, then glanced down at his commbadge. “They’re looking for me. I’d best get down from here.”

“Allow me.” Kenny offered, then gently lowered Julian to the forest floor. Now aware enough to appreciate it, Julian looked around in wonder at the environment. His feet softly connected with the ground and the tail wrapped around him slid away. He sighed softly in disappointment as the warmth retreated.

A thought suddenly occurred to him. “Oh, how am I going to explain you? I could get in trouble for what I showed you! And there’ll be a whole exobiology team wanting to study you and not all of them are nice, and—“

“Shh…” Kenny pressed a finger against Julian’s lips. “It’s okay. I’ll just make myself scarce before anyone else gets here.”

Julian mentally calculated the away team’s distance from the beeping of his commbadge, which was slowly but steadily increasing. “It’ll be a good twenty or thirty minutes before they get here. What should we do?”

“Well,” Kenny mulled it over, “you could tell them I got away while you were taking readings, and you couldn’t catch me.” A mischievous grin grew on his face. “You were a little foggy when you woke up, right? A little hazy in the head?”

“Well, yes, but—” Julian frowned at him in suspicion. “Kenny, what exactly are you planning?”

He chuckled and lifted Julian’s chin with his finger. “Oh, nothing.”

“Kenny, you can’t put me under again. I’m far too wired to sleep!”

“Don’t you worry; I’ve got a quick fix for that!” Kenny’s eyes rippled and glowed, and Julian was entranced almost instantly. His entire body felt unbearably heavy, and his knees buckled. Once again, Kenny caught him before he could hit the ground. “What was that about being too wired?”

“K-Kenny, you… um…” Julian struggled to form a coherent sentence, but all his thoughts were swept away by the colors rippling in Kenny’s eyes, which were soon reflected in his own. A dazed, sleepy smile formed on his face. “S-so pretty…”

“Yeah, really pretty.” Kenny purred, stroking Julian’s hair. He pulled Julian into a little cuddle and gently eased him to the ground. “You’re still so tired, huh? Need to have a little catnap?”

“Yes…” He slurred, already beginning to drift.

Kenny gently arranged Julian so that his head was pillowed on his arms. “There we are, nice and comfy!”

“Mmm, comfy…” Julian agreed, snuggling down with a yawn. “So sleepy…”

“Yessss,” Kenny replied with a sibilant coo. “So very sleepy, aren’t you? Can’t even keep your eyes open? They’re just too heavy?”

Julian’s eyes were almost completely closed. “H-heavy…” He yawned. “C-can’t…”

Kenny hushed him. “Don’t worry about that, darling. Just close your dreamy little eyes for a while. Have a nice long sleep.”

“ ‘Kay…” he murmured, eyes drifting shut. “Nuh-night…”

“Sweet dreams, Julian.” He purred in his ear. “Sweet, sweet dreamssssss…”

After that, Julian heard nothing more.

___________________________

Lieutenant Jadzia Dax held the tricorder out in front of her as she stepped over an exposed tree root. The signal was increasing in strength, so Julian had to be somewhere nearby. She was still kicking herself for letting him wander off.

“Remind me why we brought Doctor Nitwit on this mission?” Eddington groused.

“Because I find him infinitely less irritating than I find you!” O’Brien replied with a snap. The bloody Starfleet yes-man rubbed him the wrong way far too many times. If it had been up to him, they’d have brought Nog; the boy might be a cadet, but at least he wasn’t a pain in the arse.

“I thought favoritism wasn’t permitted in mission assignments!”

“Girls, girls, you’re both lovely.” Jadzia muttered. A sharp signal increase caused her to turn to the left, lift a branch, and stop dead in her tracks.

“Now what?” Eddington looked over her shoulder and groaned in disbelief. “Really? This is where he’s been all day?!”

A few yards in front of them, on a bed of moss, Julian was curled up fast asleep. He had his head resting on his arms and a soft smile on his face. He looked so adorable, Jadzia was hard-pressed to wake him.

Eddington did not share her feelings.

“We’ve been working our asses off for half a day, and he’s out here getting his beauty sleep? That lazy son of a—”

“Now, hang on! What do ya mean, ‘we’? I distinctly remember hearing you snoring away in the back of the runabout!”

Eddington flushed red. “I was not!”

“Oh, then it must’ve been somebody with a bloody chainsaw!”

While the other two continued to argue, Jadzia rolled her eyes and quietly walked over to Julian and shook his shoulder. “Julian? Time to get up.”

Julian stirred, then slowly woke. “J-Jadzia?” He yawned. “Must’ve dozed off.”

He unsteadily got to his feet, leaning on Jadzia for support. Seeing that he was up, O’Brien and Eddington has moved their argument towards the runabout instead. Jadzia gave Julian’s shoulder a squeeze and walked him the same direction, promising him that he could rest on the flight back to the station.

There was a soft rustle from the leaves behind them. Julian glanced behind and, when Jadzia wasn’t paying attention, waved goodbye. Part of a large, tawny snake tale slid out and waved back.

#ask-nagakenny #submission #story #anonymous #ds9 #julian bashir #hypnosis #aaaAAAA this is so cute i'm dying <3

24 notes · View notes

verdigrisprowl · 7 years

Text

Dec 19 Odothon Part 8 - DS9 S7E17 S7E18 S7E19 S7E20 S7E21 S7E22 S7E23 S7E24 S7E25

At last, the marathon that Soundwave has been showing Prowl is over. The star of their viewings, an unpopular law enforcement officer who’s been grappling with the discoveries that his home planet is 1) full of murderous conquerors bent on galactic domination, and 2) about to die off, has decided what to do about his ailing, awful species: cure them completely, and go home to try to teach them to be better people.

Prowl’s furious.

It doesn’t work like that. It’s not that easy. It’s a waste of time and a waste of effort and it just allows a rusty tumor that’s slowly corroding the galaxy to get stronger. One person can’t possibly hope to change a culture like that. It isn’t possible. People don’t get nice little happy endings like that.

... But. But. Now, he’s thinking about it.

ItsyBitsySpyers 5:09 pm *He's going to beat Prowl to it today. He's going to ping first. Rapidfire string of five.* FakeProwl 5:09 pm *He arrives between the third and fourth.* FakeProwl 5:10 pm Hold on, I wasn't actually upstairs yet. *He just kind of stopped walking in the middle of the doorway to turn on his avatar. He goes idle a moment.* ItsyBitsySpyers 5:11 pm *Soundwave shakes his helm in amusement and parks himself on the couch, cubes nearby.* FakeProwl 5:12 pm *Right! Optics bright again and claims his seat.* Ready. ItsyBitsySpyers 5:13 pm [[Good. There is one he thinks could be important, but we must finish this story today, so he will let you go back to it in your own time. There is also one to summarize.]]

[[Section 31 - the Federation's hidden spy organization - returns and demands Bashir gather data on key Romulan figures during a military and medical conference, intending to control who rises to power to preserve Federation interests. Sisko asks Bashir to agree, hoping to publicly expose them. Unfortunately, Bashir's work plays directly into their hands.]] FakeProwl 5:14 pm Mhm? ItsyBitsySpyers 5:15 pm [[Yes. They get their mole elected while doing what the humans call "throwing someone under the bus" to another senator who was already interested in helping.]]

[[And we begin.]] FakeProwl 5:18 pm {{S7E17 Penumbra: Part 1}}

... His mother is related to the wormhole aliens? ItsyBitsySpyers 5:19 pm [[Yes.]] FakeProwl 5:19 pm Hm. That explains why they like him so much. ItsyBitsySpyers 5:20 pm [[And why they expect so much of him.]]

[[He will be cutting out scenes in the next few tapes. They are somewhat important, but not greatly. The newest Dax host secretly leaves to rescue Worf, who is missing and stranded. They will be captured by the Breen aliens after she finds him.]] FakeProwl 5:24 pm ... About the Docks alien. I've never gotten a clear explanation. It's a parasite that lives in other people and passes its memory down across its hosts, correct? FakeProwl 5:26 pm *That was an extremely subtle way to propose. Prowl approves. Excellent job.* *I mean, he made it explicit after that. But if he'd left it at "I want it to be /our/ house" it would have been the most understated proposal Prowl's ever seen.* ItsyBitsySpyers 5:27 pm [[It is a symbiont, not a parasite, but yes. The host species and the worm species willingly work together. Those interested in becoming a host train hard and are well-screened.]] FakeProwl 5:27 pm ... People /volunteer/ to have someone else move into their body? I suppose someone has to enjoy it. ItsyBitsySpyers 5:28 pm [[The hosts are not mentally destroyed. They benefit from years upon years of experience, often retaining past skills and memories.]] FakeProwl 5:30 pm Roommates are hell. ItsyBitsySpyers 5:31 pm [[They can be.]] *This puffing is Soundwave chuckling to himself.* ItsyBitsySpyers 5:32 pm [[Some more than others.]] FakeProwl 5:32 pm *Sideways glance at Soundwave* Do /you/ have any? ItsyBitsySpyers 5:33 pm [[Not the kind you've been saddled with. Not the kind the Trill have. But he lives with seven others, and even without them around there is almost always a stream of other voices passing through his head.]] FakeProwl 5:34 pm Visitors. ItsyBitsySpyers 5:35 pm [[Of the longest-term variety.]] ItsyBitsySpyers 5:37 pm [[But, as he said. Some more than others. He knows yours falls under "more".]] FakeProwl 5:38 pm ... If the wormhole aliens weren't going to let him get married, it would have been nice of them to let him know before he proposed. {{S7E18 Til Death Do Us Part: Part 2}} ItsyBitsySpyers 5:39 pm ((WHOOP i forgot you were doing that. i'll catch the rest)) FakeProwl 5:39 pm ((o7)) ItsyBitsySpyers 5:39 pm [[It would have been. That is the problem with beings existing in non-linear time, he supposes.]] FakeProwl 5:40 pm If they're in non-linear time then couldn't they have seen the proposal coming and said something first? ItsyBitsySpyers 5:41 pm [[You'd think so.]] FakeProwl 5:41 pm *Ah, Prowl finally gets to see this Kai Winn he keeps being told about.* ItsyBitsySpyers 5:42 pm ((say hi to Nurse Ratched btw)) ItsyBitsySpyers 5:44 pm [[During these cuts, the Breen aliens torture Worf and Dax for information.]] FakeProwl 5:44 pm Very rude. ItsyBitsySpyers 5:45 pm [[Understatement.]] ItsyBitsySpyers 5:49 pm [[He does not understand why Sisko did not tell her right away. She is clearly excited about becoming his companion. Her hopes will have been built.]] FakeProwl 5:51 pm Fear of her pain when she's told. Short-sighted, yes, but still daunting. ItsyBitsySpyers 5:51 pm [[But waiting created more.]] FakeProwl 5:52 pm ... Were the prophets telling her that she needs to be guided by /Docket/? Why in the world...? ItsyBitsySpyers 5:53 pm [[All in time.]] FakeProwl 5:54 pm I'm hoping it's to screw her over. ItsyBitsySpyers 5:55 pm [[You dislike her.]] FakeProwl 5:55 pm You haven't talked her up. ItsyBitsySpyers 5:57 pm [[She does not deserve to be talked up.]] *Soundwave starts to lean toward Prowl, waiting to see if he'll be allowed to complete it.* [[And he is not complaining. He dislikes her too. He's just used to too many excusing all who bear religious power.]] FakeProwl 6:00 pm You're speaking to a mech who's made a career out of arguing with Primes, and who recently decided to cut out the middle man and argue directly with Primus. FakeProwl 6:02 pm ... Docket must be fuming on the inside. He's putting up a good act of gratitude. ItsyBitsySpyers 6:02 pm [[That is true.]] *Looks like he's not. He'll just prop himself up to stay in that position so he doesn't tip over or hurt himself trying to stay unsupported.* [[And most impressive of you.]] ItsyBitsySpyers 6:04 pm [[Dukat is indeed a skilled actor. And she is too naive for the level of her ambitions.]] FakeProwl 6:05 pm *It isn't until Soundwave props himself up that Prowl realizes he was leaning toward him. Oh. Oops. Slides over against Soundwave.* ItsyBitsySpyers 6:06 pm *Oh? Changed his mind? No more questions from him; he'll settle up and rest against Prowl in turn.*

[[She should, at the very least, be looking into his history.]] [[If for no other reason than most religions he knows of demand documentation for the miracles they lay claim to causing, so that they may wave it in the faces of those who disbelieve.]] [[Look at these fantastic events happening on Bajor, she could say. Bajor thrives under her spiritual leadership. And so on.]] *Ah, they're defying the Prophets and becoming spouses anyway. Charming. He'll be quiet now.* FakeProwl 6:09 pm Based on the previous things you've said about her—all her political machinations and so on—it seems to me as though that /would/ be the sort of thing she'd do. FakeProwl 6:11 pm So it's curious that she isn't. Is she that confident in the wormhole aliens' guidance? Is she... twitterpated by Dukat? ItsyBitsySpyers 6:13 pm *Where was he?*

[[She is twitterpated, yes. And always eager to believe herself in the right. Here is "proof".]] ItsyBitsySpyers 6:15 pm [[Her ego overrides her common sense.]]

{{S7E19 Strange Bedfellows: Part 3}} ItsyBitsySpyers 6:29 pm [[NOW she asks.]] FakeProwl 6:31 pm Aha. ItsyBitsySpyers 6:32 pm [[You begin to see.]] FakeProwl 6:35 pm Why does she still trust him in her presence even after finding out that the "prophets" that led her to him were false? ItsyBitsySpyers 6:36 pm [[Refusal to admit she was wrong? Her state of infatuation? Believing he did not know either? He cannot say.]] FakeProwl 6:41 pm ... Is she repenting? ItsyBitsySpyers 6:41 pm [[Trying.]] FakeProwl 6:41 pm Impressive. FakeProwl 6:42 pm ... Well, it was nice while it lasted. ItsyBitsySpyers 6:42 pm [[All ten seconds of it.]] ItsyBitsySpyers 6:47 pm ((solbor is 5000% Done)) FakeProwl 6:50 pm ... You know, if all it would have taken for her to realize she was wrong and repent is a visit or two from the prophets, just a chat every once in a while... Of course, I'm not saying it's /their/ fault if she goes completely evil. But, they could have done something about the situation. If they don't want to deal with her, they could have at least given a vision to a bunch of /other/ Bajorans telling them not to listen to this Winn Adami. If they're going to set themselves up as gods, for goodness sake, they could at least attempt to do the job properly. ItsyBitsySpyers 6:54 pm {{S7E20: The Changing Face of Evil}}

[[Who is to say they have not? She lost her other grab for political power. She herself states that they have never spoken to her - odd, for someone who leads the entire spiritual side of their planet. Kira has been warning her for the last seven years, and told her the truth now.]]

[[That said, he does agree that they could have done more. Clearly, she is too far gone for subtle messages.]] FakeProwl 6:54 pm ... Anyway. *Looks at Soundwave.* Where's Odo during all this? ItsyBitsySpyers 6:56 pm [[Odo is dealing with station life and will soon be brought into things as a larger player. It is best we see all these dominoes being placed so you understand his role in their tipping over.]]

[[And now he must answer a quick call - he will be back in a moment; Ravage has something to ask him.]] FakeProwl 6:57 pm *A nod.* All right. ItsyBitsySpyers 7:15 pm [[We're clear.]] FakeProwl 7:17 pm I can't begin to say how disinterested I am in this love triangle. ItsyBitsySpyers 7:20 pm [[You don't need to say. He is disinterested in it as well.]] *He was all too happy to cut most of it out.* FakeProwl 7:26 pm ((why do dukat's shoulders go on forever)) ((I thought it was just his gul suit but he's still got them)) ItsyBitsySpyers 7:27 pm ((marc alaimo just has broad shoulders and long neck irl heh)) FakeProwl 7:36 pm *There he was. For thirty seconds. Odo. It was nice.* ItsyBitsySpyers 7:37 pm *There will be more than thirty seconds of Odo as of next episode, Prowl. Patience will be rewarded.* FakeProwl 7:38 pm ... Docket and Kai Winn make me appreciate Starscream a little more. ItsyBitsySpyers 7:38 pm [[...Those are eleven words in an order he never thought he would hear them.]] FakeProwl 7:38 pm He's selfish, power-hungry, narcissistic, and cares nothing for the people under his control... but he's /self-aware/ of it. FakeProwl 7:40 pm You won't catch him explaining how thinking he's inherently superior to all the people around him makes him a good guy. ItsyBitsySpyers 7:41 pm [[Being self-aware of it does make it harder to interfere with his actions, but that has its upsides as well. He's generally not THIS]] *point at Kai Winn* [[easy for others to control.]] FakeProwl 7:42 pm I was thinking that it's less annoying to have to watch. ItsyBitsySpyers 7:42 pm [[Starscream's power lust?]] FakeProwl 7:43 pm THEY have themselves convinced they're doing the right thing. That makes them far more frustrating to watch. FakeProwl 7:48 pm If Starscream decided to massacre a planet, he'd at least be honest about his motives. If you tried to argue with him about how he's not doing this for whatever greater good may exist in his mind, you don't have to argue him out of that belief first before you can move on with the conversation. He'd shrug and says "So what?" FakeProwl 7:50 pm ... So why did it light up now? Does the book only reveal its contents to somebody who doesn't want them? Or maybe it requires a sacrifice. ItsyBitsySpyers 7:50 pm [[It does waste far less time. We may be a long-lived species, but even we have so much patience to spare.]]

[[The book lights up because it is the blood of the people the pah-wraiths would destroy.]] [[Proof that the would-be reader is ready to destroy Bajorans because they have already done so.]] FakeProwl 7:51 pm Sacrifice, then. ItsyBitsySpyers 7:51 pm [[Yes.]] ItsyBitsySpyers 7:53 pm [[She no longer bothers to hide her illness.]] ItsyBitsySpyers 7:54 pm {{S7E21: When it Rains: Part 5.}} FakeProwl 8:00 pm Poor Kira. Teaching her oppressors how to fight against oppressors. (("I need to borrow, a cup, of goo. I'll give it back." omg.)) FakeProwl 8:03 pm How easily she excuses the genocide of her own people, when she's the one committing it. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:06 pm [[He can't imagine Kira enjoys the idea of teaching them. But the alternative is... unpleasant. And dangerous for the rest of the galaxy, including her home.]] FakeProwl 8:07 pm Indeed. There's no practical alternative. On the bright side, the Cardassians won't enjoy it either, and then they'll be indebted to her. She seems unlikely to be the kind of person to cash in on that debt, but she and they will all know she has it. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:08 pm [[If she does not wish to cash in on it, she can always hand it off to her government.]] [[...Or she can simply enjoy sitting on it. It can be a pleasant feeling.]] FakeProwl 8:09 pm *Sits forward. Odo has an STD. This is unacceptable.* FakeProwl 8:15 pm ... Is Martok the one that was a changeling replaced? ItsyBitsySpyers 8:16 pm [[Yes. The true Martok was discovered in that internment camp, escaped, and returned to the Empire. He has fought valiantly since.]] FakeProwl 8:19 pm ... He's... not wrong. Losing one ally in order to allow their enemy to all die off... ItsyBitsySpyers 8:21 pm [[An important ally, who has an increased understanding of the Founders' mindset and is unlikely to let himself be trapped by it again, who could potentially gather more information and protect whatever ship he is placed on because of his species.]] [[And has an *incredibly* valuable ability for a resistance member.]] FakeProwl 8:22 pm The advantage he offers won't be necessary if the Founders are all dead. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:23 pm [[He does not need to die for them to do it.]] FakeProwl 8:24 pm No. He doesn't /need/ to. But if he's saved and the cure that's used to save him is leaked to the enemy... FakeProwl 8:27 pm He's already proven vulnerable to other Founders. He might voluntarily go out of his way to protect his home world. And changelings are already known to have infiltrated Starfleet. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:30 pm [[He broke from the conditioning he was being brought under.]] *Thoughtful nibbling.* [[You have a point that someone hiding in Starfleet could take it from him... but then why not imitate the people in charge of deciding whether or not Bashir gets the cure and freely hand the medical records over?]] [[And they are not doing this.]] FakeProwl 8:31 pm Maybe they simply haven't had the chance. Maybe they haven't been able to replace anyone high-ranked enough to get their hands on Odo's file. Maybe they think that if their doctors in the Dominion can't find a cure, Starfleet can't; but if they ever discover they underestimated Starfleet and they HAVE found a cure, they'll swoop in to take it. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:33 pm *Passing half-formed thought that can be interpreted as sneering at Gowron's idiocy.* FakeProwl 8:33 pm ... Primus below, save me from bad strategists. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:34 pm [[He hopes you mean the Klingon and not his mulling over points with you.]] FakeProwl 8:34 pm I definitely mean the Klingon. FakeProwl 8:35 pm And before that, the Cardassians. And I'm throwing in Docket and Kai Winn too... ItsyBitsySpyers 8:36 pm [[Good. It has been thoroughly enjoyable speaking with you and listening to your points and counterpoints. Too long since he's been around anyone who even tries to think as hard as you on such matters.]] FakeProwl 8:36 pm *STARFLEET infected Odo? Prowl's... ...not surprised. And... can't disagree.* ... Mutual. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:36 pm {{S7E22: Tacking into the Wind, Part 6}} *Sits up just enough to allow him to dip his helm in gratitude.* *And gets comfortable again.* FakeProwl 8:38 pm *Wraps arm around Soundwave.* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:39 pm *Pleased rumble.* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:40 pm [[...He knows only what absorption of Earth media and Knock Out's data have provided him, but the... peeling? Flaking? The disintegration looks horrifically painful.]] [[It certainly would not be comfortable for our kind.]] FakeProwl 8:41 pm I've seen rust infections like that. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:43 pm *Silent for a few seconds, debating whether or not it's his place to say what came to mind just now.*

*In the end, he figures it's history anyone can look up.*

[[...So has your alternate. Fragmented records suggest that they were forced to close a bridge on one of their - you would call them batchmates, he thinks? When their planet became overrun by a rust plague.]] FakeProwl 8:44 pm Batchmates? Built in the same factory batch? ItsyBitsySpyers 8:45 pm [[Not built. Forged in the same group at the same time and made the Underworld run to the surface together.]] [[Close for much of their lives.]] FakeProwl 8:46 pm Ah. If they were born instead of built, "from the same hot spot" or, more poetically, "forgemates." ItsyBitsySpyers 8:47 pm [[Thank you. He will make the correction. But yes - forgemates, then.]] ItsyBitsySpyers 8:49 pm [[Shrewd.]] FakeProwl 8:49 pm And also exactly what Kira predicted. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:51 pm [[The sooner they shed the uncooperative one the better.]] FakeProwl 8:55 pm Check out that projecting he's got going on. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:56 pm [[He could play it on a screen from a thousand feet away.]] FakeProwl 8:56 pm *Huff.* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:56 pm *Pleased.* [[Garak did warn him.]] FakeProwl 8:57 pm If Garak's so concerned that Russet is going to kill Kira, why is he urging Kira to kill him? That will undermine her authority in front of all the other Cardassians. Garak should kill Russet himself. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:08 pm [[Odo's protest reminds him of your simulations.]] FakeProwl 9:09 pm *wry smile.* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:10 pm *...Not sure that's a good smile. Looks at it for a moment longer than necessary and then away, unable to decide.* FakeProwl 9:10 pm ... Odo is learning to imitate other people. Admittedly, so far it's only another Founder whose face looks almost like his, but. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:11 pm [[That's hardly an "only", given their situation.]] [[Imagine all they could do...]] FakeProwl 9:12 pm True. But it means his skills at imitating other people are still limited. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:13 pm [[Hopefully O'Brien and Bashir will buy him time to learn.]] *Soundwave leans forward a little bit.* FakeProwl 9:14 pm Hopefully. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:16 pm *Gets back to his comfortable lean.* FakeProwl 9:16 pm That's a terrible governmental system. Admittedly, not much different than ours, but. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:19 pm [[It can be improved. Martok is sufficiently honorable.]] FakeProwl 9:19 pm It's not going to get a lot better as long as you can seize leadership just by being a good enough warrior. Hand-to-hand combat skills and leadership skills have low correlation. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:20 pm [[What he means is, Martok is a fine tactician, and unlikely to serve his personal interests above those of his people. He may help to change what is corrupt and foolish.]] FakeProwl 9:21 pm {{S7E23 Extreme Measures: Part 7}}

Maybe. But he seemed pretty invested in the status quo. FakeProwl 9:22 pm ... He's hideous. *That's Prowl expressing concern.* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:24 pm [[Mm. It is a possibility. Still. If Worf is right, and the Empire respects him enough to support him and try following in his footsteps, it will do much to stop the rampant selfishness. It is a start.]] FakeProwl 9:24 pm Mm. *At the moment, he's been quite thoroughly distracted from Klingon politics by dying Odo.* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:25 pm *On the other side, Soundwave is uncomfortable with the concept of loved ones dying and was trying not to focus too much on it.* *He's gotten braver about letting himself be open and attached, but there's always That Fear.* FakeProwl 9:29 pm *... Rumors of nonconsensual mind reading, now.* This message has been removed. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:29 pm ((DAMN forgot one)) FakeProwl 9:30 pm ((how long ago did the ep start?)) ItsyBitsySpyers 9:30 pm ((about 10 minutes)) ItsyBitsySpyers 9:33 pm [[The Section 31 operative wakes in the medbay, threatens O'Brien's family, tries to convince them he does not have the cure, and attempts to kill himself when they apply the probes. Bashir stabilizes him, but only for an hour. They manage to find the cure just before he dies.]] FakeProwl 9:35 pm *Well, Prowl doesn't think he minds skipping all that.* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:35 pm *Soundwave didn't think he would.* FakeProwl 9:35 pm *Odo isn't dying and that's what matters.* FakeProwl 9:36 pm ((episode #?)) ItsyBitsySpyers 9:36 pm ((typing it!)) {{S7E24: The Dogs of War Part 8}} FakeProwl 9:38 pm ... How are they going to explain the dead guy in the medbay? ItsyBitsySpyers 9:40 pm [[It was somewhat explained in the part he skipped. The operative had been in Section 31 for so long and devoted himself so deeply that he had done his best to eliminate himself from the historical record. There will be few who knew he existed and fewer who cared.]]

[[In any case, no-one who does recognize him can be publicly upset by it, lest they get exposed themselves.]]

[[He expects they simply vaporized the body.]] FakeProwl 9:41 pm ... That's unfortunate. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:43 pm [[Isn't it.]] *Folds his hands.* [[It's possible they turned him over to his family and concocted a lie, but the amount of explaining they'd have to do would risk revealing their hand. Or trapping them in the future. It would be wiser to remove the evidence, and he thinks Bashir is that sharp.]] [[There is a war on. There will be plenty of missing citizens that never return.]] FakeProwl 9:44 pm Oh, no, I meant, *gestures at the screen* the people they were coming to recruit being killed. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:44 pm [[Ah. That, too.]] ItsyBitsySpyers 10:02 pm [[Quark spends the next while complaining about all the other social reforms on Ferenginar and states that he will demand to be allowed to do things as he wishes or else refuse the job despite the loss of status and wealth.]] FakeProwl 10:02 pm ... The Founders don't seem to be doing much about the fact that they're currently dying, do they? Well, there's no need to watch Quark gripe. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:03 pm [[They don't, no. Stubbornness and pride and a stupid, *stupid* determination to win instead of attending to the health of their people.]] [[No, there isn't. Let us skip him.]] FakeProwl 10:03 pm *Very emphatic. Is that self-reproach Prowl hears?* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:04 pm *A little self-reproach, a little residual anger with Megatron... it's a strong cocktail.* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:07 pm [[The Grand Nagus arrives and informs Quark that he is mistaken. It is Rom who will become the Ferengi planet's next leader, not him.]]

[[Quark declares that his bar will be the last outpost of the old Ferenginar. He will continue to cheat and swindle while Rom carries the planet forward.]]

[[Moving on.]] FakeProwl 10:07 pm Oh, a happy ending. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:08 pm *Huffing.* FakeProwl 10:12 pm ... Poor timing to be reproducing. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:12 pm [[Agreed. One of the worst.]]

[[We are now at the end of all the wars that have woven around and through one another because of the Dominion.]] {{S7E25 What You Leave Behind, Part 9}} FakeProwl 10:13 pm The end? The war ends here? ItsyBitsySpyers 10:14 pm [[They all will, one way or another.]] FakeProwl 10:14 pm Hm. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:14 pm [[That is, we are at the point of watching it.]] FakeProwl 10:14 pm I figured that was what you meant. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:15 pm [[Yes.]] *Huff.* [[The galaxy does not stop because the Emissary has reproduced.]] FakeProwl 10:17 pm Thank goodness. That would be a dull five months. *Isn't quite sure how long pregnancy lasts.* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:18 pm [[Still. At least it would offer them all a break.]]

*Doesn't know either.* FakeProwl 10:21 pm ... So the helmet causes the voice, that's not what the Breen actually sound like? FakeProwl 10:22 pm ((garak is beaming. "look at that, my honorary grandma's complimenting my deceitfulness")) ItsyBitsySpyers 10:22 pm [[Apparently. It's a handy trick, you know.]] ItsyBitsySpyers 10:23 pm ((precious snek boy)) ItsyBitsySpyers 10:25 pm [[Must he return.]] FakeProwl 10:27 pm Ugh. FakeProwl 10:28 pm I hope to see them hoisted by their own petards. Or maybe just backstab each other. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:29 pm *Soundwave lifts a cube in a feeler and nods, then sips from it. He'll toast to that.* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:31 pm [[Coward.]] FakeProwl 10:31 pm I was just thinking the same thing. Look at that, Dumber /can/ be humbled. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:33 pm [[It is good for him.]] FakeProwl 10:34 pm *... Long exhale.* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:34 pm [[This is the kind of thing he meant when we discussed Bashir's numbers about surrendering. Resistance becoming nigh impossible when they already have a solid hold.]] FakeProwl 10:35 pm *Two million, in moments.* *Prowl's seen numbers like that, many times. They never stop feeling like an icicle through the spark.* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:39 pm *Soundwave glances at Prowl. Is he all right, there? It can't be bringing up good memories - his own aren't - but Prowl isn't seeking comfort yet, so he must be holding up relatively okay.*

*Or else hiding it, but Soundwave can't make him not do that.* FakeProwl 10:41 pm *well, his expression hasn't changed.* FakeProwl 10:43 pm ... It's the fastest way to inspire the population to join a side, isn't it? By having the other side bomb their civilian cities. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:45 pm [[He doesn't know if it is the fastest, but we did use it on Vos and Tarn.]] FakeProwl 10:46 pm Did you? The Decepticons just conquered them in mine. FakeProwl 10:48 pm ((in his bajoran disguise dukat looks like he should be the so-serious-he's-goofy uncle in a 90s family sitcom)) ItsyBitsySpyers 10:49 pm [[Mm. Shockwave attempted to play each city against the other and convince both the Autobots had done it.]] ((...i'm never gonna unsee that)) FakeProwl 10:49 pm ((good. suffer with me.)) FakeProwl 10:51 pm *Oh shoot, Prowl had almost forgotten about Odo, he was so worried about the Cardassian civilian cities.* FakeProwl 10:52 pm *Prowl wonders how often his spies and saboteurs have had little breakdowns like that behind enemy lines.* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:55 pm *Soundwave's group have had them from time to time. They're probably more prone to shenanigans than Prowl's bunch, but he'd still put money on it happening if he had any to spare.* [[A death well spent.]] FakeProwl 10:55 pm Indeed it is. ... I thought you didn't believe in heroic sacrifices? *mumbles at the screen* Qapla'. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:58 pm [[He would prefer Damar have perished another way, or not at all. Cardassia needs people like him. But, if he must go... better that than cringing in the cellar.]] FakeProwl 10:58 pm Mm. True. FakeProwl 10:59 pm *Wants to know who the hell these Breen are and how they got involved. Will ask once this is over. Doesn't want to interrupt the show for it.* She's poisoning him. He's a sacrifice. Of course, it was obvious he was going to be a sacrifice the moment she said she needed him. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:01 pm [[Naturally. To all except he who thought himself invincible.]] ItsyBitsySpyers 11:03 pm *Soundwave would run and run and run from the DJD rather than stay and fight them head on at the first battle, but if he were finally cornered? Yes, he would die on his feet.*

*He focuses on the screen.* FakeProwl 11:03 pm *Focuses as well. Odo is playing a very dangerous game.* *Linking with the person who used that link to manipulate him? Cure a Founder at the edge of death?* *slow blink.* ... Why? Why has she changed her mind? Odo's linked with her before, and it twisted him. Why not this time? ItsyBitsySpyers 11:10 pm [[He has become stronger. Firm in his convictions regarding the humanoids, with evidence of their interest in peace and their ability to learn to accept and help others. Acknowledgment of her failure. A reminder of the traitor Vorta's story would not hurt.]] FakeProwl 11:10 pm ... He has weapons he didn't before. FakeProwl 11:11 pm ... And that's enough? ItsyBitsySpyers 11:11 pm [[And despite all they have done to him, he offered to cure his people. That is... something powerful. Especially to them.]] FakeProwl 11:12 pm That can't be enough. They've sent hundreds—maybe thousands—maybe /millions/ of changelings out into the galaxy to live among solids, all of whom have come back to report their findings and contributed their knowledge to the—the hivemind— And somehow he's the only one who's come back with a positive impression? The only one whose positive impression was strong enough to override the consensus she learned from the hivemind? It's, it's—irrational. ((i bet THEIR alamo in the future has a cool plaza with a bunch of trees in front of it.)) ItsyBitsySpyers 11:15 pm [[He was the first to return. Ahead of schedule, by her own words.]]

[[In the episode we skipped, he finally found another of the Hundred. That one disliked humanoids and preferred to avoid them, but they did not go to join the Dominion.]] ((lmao we can hope)) FakeProwl 11:16 pm ... So he's the only changeling to ever get a positive impression of solids? I find that— I can't believe that. Surely others have had positive opinions, and their positive opinions were oppressed by the majority. His can't be different. ... His /shouldn't/ be different. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:18 pm [[No. The one he found had positive enough impressions to entertain relationships with them for a while. And to avoid joining the war, as he said.]]

[[And who is to say there were not those who once held or now hold positive opinions in the Great Link? If he returns, he will be able to help them find their voice.]] ItsyBitsySpyers 11:19 pm [[He is clearly strong enough now to teach those who don't.]] FakeProwl 11:19 pm He taught one. Who was desperate and dying. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:22 pm *Soundwave shudders slightly. Possession by such spirits - ugh.*

[[The others are desperate and dying. The others are as timeless as him. He has a long opportunity to try.]]

[[And even if he fails - at least he'll have made the effort to teach and protect them, and others around the galaxy.]] ItsyBitsySpyers 11:24 pm [[It is devotion to the safety of others. It is the rehabilitation of criminals. How is that wrong for him to try?]] FakeProwl 11:24 pm ... If he fails, then /they/ persuade /him./ And he's added another body to their army. One with intimate knowledge of the inner workings of the Federation. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:27 pm [[Their army is broken. Others will hear of this - and those who have already survived and won will not accept more wars.]] FakeProwl 11:29 pm If he tries, then he /gives up/ on trying /other/ things that—that might actually work. That might actually succeed in protecting people! They still have an army that can be and IS CURRENTLY a threat to the galaxy. Making an effort to /contain/ it—or better, just letting its leaders die—has a far higher probability of making a difference than /saving/ them and trying to talk sense into them. He's just /one person/! What can a /single/ person do to—to change the minds, of... of an entire... ItsyBitsySpyers 11:33 pm [[Why must he be all things? Why can't he try to be this while others conduct negotiations? While others assist worlds that need help breaking free of their former oppressors and rebuilding?]]

[[And one person can do much. Worf stood before Gowron. Damar inspired Cardassia's rebellion. He does not seize all the credit for Megatron's defeat, but his turning away from Megatron did help change things.]] ItsyBitsySpyers 11:34 pm [[If nothing else - one Cardassian allowed them to seize the Jem'Hadar ship. One Cardassian saved them when they were to be executed.]] [[One Bajoran taught them how to run a resistance.]] FakeProwl 11:37 pm He doesn't /need/ to be all things. But there's going to be /one/ thing, /somewhere,/ where he will make a greater positive difference than he will anywhere else. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:38 pm [[This is what he knows how to do. This is what he /wants/ to do, and has aspired to do well. This could be that thing. It does not need to be destructive.]] FakeProwl 11:38 pm And he is—is derelict in his duties if he turns away from that position to pursue one where he's got a /tiny/ chance of talking a pack of genocidal warlords into making peace! FakeProwl 11:40 pm SO WHAT IF IT'S WHAT HE WANTS TO DO?! He's pursuing the lesser good! What he WANTS is worth nothing compared to what he OUGHT to be doing! ItsyBitsySpyers 11:41 pm [[Who BETTER to do it? The humanoids cannot link, and the changelings still have some fear of them. The Founder will be punished for her war. No other Changelings have returned, and judging by the Founder's claims, it is unlikely they will for centuries.]] FakeProwl 11:41 pm Then maybe it shouldn't be done! Maybe he should have left them to die! No warlords, no threat! He helps them, and there's a tiny chance they improve compared to a MASSIVE chance they pick up right where they left off! He lets them die, and it's guaranteed they hurt no one again. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:47 pm [[And the Earth? The one that experienced a war so terrible it nearly destroyed the planet and everyone on it, yet survived to become a paradise?]]

[[Why do you deny the existence of hope? How can anyone claim the right to destroy that many people? To do that to their own species without proving themselves a part of everything they claim the others are - a part that doesn't know how to do anything /except/ murder?]] [[He said it himself. He is /not/ a god. He does not have that right or that power.]] FakeProwl 11:50 pm Hope isn't statistically probable, that's what makes it hope! If it was the probability you wouldn't need to hope for it! You put all your effort into pursuing a one percent hope of reform and you leave a ninety-nine percent chance they'll pick up their same old scrap! FakeProwl 11:51 pm He may not have that right but he /does/ have that power—and sometimes you have to do things you don't have the right to do. And what does it matter if he proves himself just as bad as the rest of them, as long as he becomes the only person left who would do that? That's the /point/ of a necessary evil—it's necessary but /still evil./ Yesterday ItsyBitsySpyers 11:59 pm [[It does not need to be all the effort! Odo does not need to be all things, and not everyone can have the same role! There are still many others who can assist and prepare in case the ninety-nine percent comes true. Kira stood against him when he fell; she would do it again.]]

[[He could not live with himself if he went against his nature and killed them all, and that would be a waste of him as well.]] *Vents. He thought this would help, but... it's as if Prowl is doubling down instead.* [[In any case, he doesn't think you'd have respected Odo for what he'd become if he did. Not in the long run.]] FakeProwl 12:05 am ... Not all /necessary/ things are worthy of respect. They're not done for—for respect, or to demonstrate one's moral high ground. They're done because they... The alternatives... *For a moment, he glowers at the floor, silent.* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:07 am *Soundwave doesn't say anything while Prowl glowers. He doesn't know what else he /can/ say. For Primus' sake, he's not an Odo himself and he never will be; that was out of the question from the moment he made his Underworld journey. How is someone like him supposed to convince someone like Prowl to be /better/ than him?* FakeProwl 12:08 am ... Does he succeed? ItsyBitsySpyers 12:11 am [[...He doesn't know. It isn't explicitly said. And maybe that is part of the point, that we must accept the presence of uncertainty.]]

[[But he likes to think so. They didn't show him failing. They showed him curing the Link. That must mean something.]] [[And they didn't throw him back out.]] FakeProwl 12:12 am You've got access to the records from this universe. You can look it up, can't you? FakeProwl 12:13 am Unless their war only /just/ ended, there's got to be /some/ update on what the Founders are up to now? ItsyBitsySpyers 12:14 am [[What he knows of what comes to pass after this does not speak of it, just as he does not have a record of every single thing within his own. He knows nothing of the result, good or bad.]]

[[But... sometimes quiet is a sign of peacefulness.]] FakeProwl 12:15 am ... Or plotting. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:19 am [[Perhaps. Uncertainty, again.]]

[[But he is tired, both frame-wise and of the idea that nothing can be improved. He has fought it since he first understood that Minicons were true people and he will neither accept it now nor apologize for that.]] FakeProwl 12:21 am *Back at the floor.* ... Sorry I'm so tiring. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:21 am [[You aren't.]] FakeProwl 12:22 am Hmm. FakeProwl 12:24 am *Props his elbows on his knees, laces his hands in front of his crest, presses his thumbs over his dimmed optics.* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:25 am [[You told him he was to be honest. If he had meant you, he would have said you.]]

*Soundwave isn't sure how to handle Prowl's current pose or provide what comfort he thinks that hmm might need, so he just... rests his hand on Prowl's back. And rubs tiny circles with his thumb.* FakeProwl 12:26 am *An initial twitch at the touch, but he doesn't push it away.* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:27 am *He pauses for a second at the twitch, but he's also supposed to trust that Prowl isn't fragile and can speak for himself, so he'll take the lack of being pushed away as a sign that his hand being there isn't a Vital Error.* FakeProwl 12:38 am ... I'm... *No. Get your words in line before you say anything.* ItsyBitsySpyers 12:40 am *Soundwave turns his helm just enough to make it clear he's being patient and listening without fixing his gaze on Prowl and getting all intimidating about it. He'll wait until they're in line.* FakeProwl 12:42 am It's... not that... he's not... that... FakeProwl 12:44 am ... that the path he's... That the path he /wants/ to take... doesn't have... value. It's not that it doesn't—increase the good. It—could. It might. A little bit. ItsyBitsySpyers 12:45 am *Nodding. Go on?* FakeProwl 12:47 am But—only a little bit. Only a small, tiny, local bit. He makes things a little bit better on—on one little planet—and maybe, MAYBE, if he's DAMN lucky, he has a minuscule effect on how that one little planet deals with a few other little planets. But probably not. FakeProwl 12:49 am Compare that to where he is now. The resources he commands. The organizations he's tied to. The things that he can offer to the greater good from his current position are—boundless. Sure, he gets his hands a little dirtier in using them, but what are his hands compared to the welfare of the entire galaxy? One set of hands is a small, small price to pay. FakeProwl 12:51 am By choosing to walk away from those resources, those connections, those many, MANY ways he can advance the greater good... he's just... FakeProwl 12:52 am He's a law enforcer. He believes in order and justice. How, with any good conscience, can he let himself abandon a position where he can do /so much/ for the greater good... to take a smaller role, where he does less good, purely because that's /what he wants/? What is what he wants worth compared to the greater good? ItsyBitsySpyers 1:04 am [[Yes, he is a law enforcer. But tell him, Prowl - isn't making things a little bit better a small, tiny, local bit at a time how law enforcement is supposed to work? It didn't in his time, but ideally - the way you've spoken of it - one officer patrols his set neighborhood, keeping it safe and helping those within it. And surely everyone he protects is happy that he is there, if he does the job the right way and does not abuse his position.]]

[[He may rise through the ranks and he may not. There simply isn't room for everyone to do it. But he continues to perform a vital function for that small area.]]

[[With enough law enforcers taking on pieces of the city, eventually the whole area becomes protected, one being at a time.]]

[[It is not so different with a galaxy. Odo can protect and teach his home planet. Others will try to protect and teach theirs. In time, entire sectors smooth out and things like the Federation are born.]] FakeProwl 1:09 am *Shakes his head.* ItsyBitsySpyers 1:09 am [[And just because someone has the resources, it does not mean they should be the one to use them. Kai Winn had connections, organizations, resources - the theoretical ability to do a great good with them at the price of dirtying her hands. Which she did willingly and often.]]

[[But she should have stepped down. She served Bajor best when she was still a Vedek. And there is no shame in knowing that. There is no shame in wanting to return to that.]] FakeProwl 1:15 am You're exactly right, not everyone deserves to use those resources. Which is why it's so important for the few who /can/ use those resources properly to be the ones to use them. Any patrol cop can make a single city block better. Not just any patrol cop can be trusted with the resources that can be used to steer an entire galaxy toward good or evil. Those that /can/ be trusted with them, can't—can't give up and restrict their influence to a little neighborhood and cross their fingers and hope that the next person to hold those resources isn't a despot or a moron. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:29 am [[They'll have to eventually, whether they want to or not. Someone must come after them. Existence can no more be permitted to stagnate and fall into stasis lock than it can to succumb to chaos.]]

[[And not everything needs to be a heroic sacrifice. He and his deployers share our burdens when we can. It stops us from pushing ourselves to a point from which we cannot recover. And it ensures that we are all capable of going places we could not alone.]]

[[Imagine what the Dominion could someday do for the galaxy if they learn to model themselves after Odo. All their genetic engineering and medical skills, their creative technological developments, their unsurpassed knowledge of an entire quadrant - all used to help instead of harm, to raise others up, and without being smeared by dirty fingers. Benevolence and guardianship.]] ItsyBitsySpyers 1:32 am [[He could have forced the Founder to go with him and make him their leader. He could have broken her the way she tried to break him. Instead, he gave her a choice and kept his hands clean, and she still agreed to turn herself in.]] FakeProwl 1:37 am Of course someone must come after them. That doesn't mean those who are /currently/ capable should—should give up before they must. "I'm going to be useless someday, therefore I might as well be useless now"? Pff. Sharing burdens is—irrelevant. A burden can be shared without giving it up entirely. Acquiring the appropriate assistance to complete one's duty is entirely different from—from flat-out running away from one's duty. FakeProwl 1:39 am *The last point, though—the things they could contribute if someone else steered them that way... Prowl doesn't reply. He lowers his hands from his crest to his mouth, frowning hard behind them, glowering again at the ground.* ItsyBitsySpyers 1:42 am *He doesn't think it's irrelevant. Everyone who isn't forced into dirtying themselves until they're buried and lost can still contribute. They can still show off a shiny spot or two and make the overall future brighter.*

*But Prowl is thinking again, and if he could fire lasers from his optics Soundwave would probably have a nice new storage pit in his floor. So for now, he'll sit in silence.* FakeProwl 1:43 am ... Do you think he succeeded. ItsyBitsySpyers 1:43 am [[Would he have asked you to watch this with him if he didn't?]] FakeProwl 1:45 am Depends on how desperate you are to change my mind. *But, he sees Soundwave's point.* ItsyBitsySpyers 1:49 am [[The answer is yes, Prowl. He thinks Odo succeeded.]]

*To make sure Prowl knows.* FakeProwl 1:52 am *A small nod.* ItsyBitsySpyers 1:56 am [[He's going to have to recharge soon. Would you rather idle with him or have time to yourself? Such as it is.]]

*Sits up only to bend forward a bit to try to get a better view of Prowl's face.* FakeProwl 1:58 am *His expression is unchanged. Still that intense frown of concentration.* FakeProwl 1:59 am ... I'd rather be here. ItsyBitsySpyers 2:01 am *Hmm. Running a simulation? Maybe he'd best not create a disturbance. Or allow one. He could cause a harmless error that would interfere with the sch--*

*Ah.*

[[Then he will stay here with you. Rouse him if you need him. He will not mind.]]

*Sits back again and maneuvers himself into a sort of half-sitting, half-laying position against Prowl's side with his legs over the side of the couch.* FakeProwl 2:02 am ... Before you... One question. ItsyBitsySpyers 2:02 am [[Hm?]] FakeProwl 2:04 am He's not charismatic. He's not popular. Why would—why would they listen to him? Sure, /if/ they listen to him, it could make a... But why would they? Someone like him? ItsyBitsySpyers 2:16 am [[He cannot give a definitive answer to that.]]

[[But it's probably for the same reason someone would listen to a prying, unsettling, suspicious mech like himself: the truth is the truth, whether or not it comes from socially preferred sources. Those who seek it will consider its existence reason enough to listen.]] FakeProwl 2:18 am *In Prowl's experience, next to nobody wants the truth if they dislike the source.* ... I've kept you up far later than you wanted to be. I'm sorry. ItsyBitsySpyers 2:21 am *Well, the world is slow to change. Soundwave hasn't convinced everyone of the Unicron threat. He's convinced a few, though, and that's a start.*

[[He is where he wants to be, and he does not regret the time spent. Don't apologize.]] FakeProwl 2:22 am *Nod.* *Finally, he breaks off his intense stare, sits up, and leans against Soundwave.* ItsyBitsySpyers 2:23 am *Coils a feeler around the avatar and closes his optics.* FakeProwl 2:24 am *Dims his optics, and lets his avatar go idle.*

#slenderwave #chat

4 notes · View notes

sleepymarmot · 8 years

Text

DS9 season 6

[Season index: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 PS]

Here I get angrier and discourse-y

A Time to Stand

The Garak/Bashir scene (finally)... and Bashir looking like this... I feel blessed

when he talks about his “boyish smile” but cannot smile at all. that hit hard

aw Worf/Jadzia!

the Terok Nor dynamics are fascinating. I'm very impressed by Kira's willpower...

jesus fucking christ the Dukat/Kira scene :O D: 😨

why is Bashir doing mental calculations now, he's not Data

Rocks and Shoals

Kira's storyline about being self-conscious about collaborationism is great. In the previous episode we saw her trapped and vulnerable, especially in the viscerally horrifying scene with Dukat, and now we realize along with Kira herself that all of that is having it good.

Sons and Daughters

how did Sisko send a signal that Martok heard but the Jem'Hadar didn't?

Alexander lived on the Enterprise because Worf's parents were incapable of raising him anymore... I guess that was so inconvenient for the DS9 writers they decided to just ignore it instead of at least trying to invent an excuse.

"But the last time you defied him, he left you here to die!" "We talked about that. He admits he overreacted" bwahaha

Oh Alexander, so much secondhand embarrassment...

god, he gave her a dress, eww

oh my god, and he immediately re-gifts it to his own daughter, what a jerk

accepting Worf into the house of Martok involved much less ceremony...

why doesn't this episode address Alexander's age? did the writers assume, again, we didn't watch TNG? they could have said something about his grandparents protesting because he's about ten years old. something about Klingon children growing up very fast, and humans disapproving of child soldiers.

I don't understand how Ziyal can be so naive. Sure, she's kept unaware of the creepy sexual aspect of Dukat's advances (though I was waiting for Kira to snap and finally say "Your father keeps hitting on me, please don't force me to be in the same room with him"), but surely she must see why Kira finds his company uncomfortable and inappropriate! I do like that Ziyal is on his side again. And I enjoy seeing the continuation of Kira's storyline where she has to walk the line between keeping a polite facade and staying true to herself, gets too used to engaging Dukat&co on their own terms and has to take a step back to reassert herself.

Behind the Lines

Wait, if the Romulans have signed a non-aggression pact with the Dominion, why do they still allow Starfleet to use their cloaking device against it?

I've already been concerned about their open discussions of resistance activities, but a Founder's presence on the station makes it even worse! Sure, discuss your plans over a bar table that might well be a changeling...

Odo, for fuck's sake, she's going to learn all about the resistance from you...

"She didn't find out about the resistance, if that's why you're worried" in the same scene: "If she had some hidden motive, I would have sensed it"

Odo!.. >:(

Captain Dax!

Do the Cardassians still have the truth serum? If no, it's a giant plot hole; if yes, things are looking really bad...

Favor the Bold

oh god ewwwwww

why is Leeta making that noise

haha you go Kira

"We are way, way past sorry" good. unforgiving Kira is the best Kira

Odo's longing for his kind works so much better when the Founders are not on screen -- the things they actually say are so boring, one-dimensional and unconvincing... Though I find interesting that Odo's storyline mirrors Kira's in this arc: the female changeling manages to seduce him while Dukat fails to do the same to Kira.

Sacrifice of Angels

"DAMAR: I doubt he was working alone when he tried to sabotage the station. He must've had help. His wife Leeta, Jake Sisko, Major Kira. DUKAT: What are you proposing? DAMAR: That we arrest them. Keep them in custody, at least until the wormhole is reopened." Finally someone wakes up! I was expecting them to do this an episode ago...

"War is such thirsty work. Don't you agree?" "Perhaps if you didn't talk so much, your throat wouldn't get so dry."

Oh look! He's actually pretty shocked by the suggestion to "eradicate [an entire planet's] population"! Even this guy has standards.

"A true victory is to make your enemy see they were wrong to oppose you in the first place. To force them to acknowledge your greatness" classic Dukat. this is his ideology in a nutshell

"Then you kill them?" I'm loving the discussion of the differences between the Cardassian and Dominion approach

"Perhaps the biggest disappointment in my life is that the Bajoran people still refuse to appreciate how lucky they were to have me as their liberator. I protected them in so many ways, cared for them as if they were my own children. But to this day, is there a single statue of me on Bajor?" how is it possible to be so deluded?! fucking incredible

"Link with me, Odo. Embrace the clarity" EMBRACE ETERNITY

Where's the Enterprise during all these battles?

haha Quark & Ziyal make a great team

"The only reason they haven't killed me yet is that I'm part of their victory celebration. Seven o'clock, Dukat makes a speech. Eight thirty, cake and raktajino. Eight forty five, execute the Ferengi"

holy crap, they actually detonated the minefield! I didn't expect that

LITERALLY DEUS EX MACHINA

(I'm beginning to think this is a predestination paradox and the wormhole aliens started taking care of the Bajorans throughout history because Sisko told them to...)

Shit, I thought Dukat was about to snap and kill her, but it's even worse

I didn't expect to feel sympathy for Dukat ever again after those scenes with Kira, but this show played me again. I guess he'll completely lose it now?

Did you really had to remind us that the trainwreck that was Garak/Ziyal existed?

Wait, please tell me this isn't Dukat's last appearance and he's not about to spend the last 1,5 seasons in an asylum?

You are Cordially Invited

Why does this Klingon woman have human teeth?

Ah yes, Jadzia is too proud and independent and should follow her fiance's totally reasonable suggestion to humiliate herself to fit better in his culture. fuck you

Resurrection

am I supposed to recognize this guy?

oh no it's a Mirror episode

I... don't... care...

ugh, her again

I wish I just fast-forwarded this episode

Statistical Probabilities

How did I know from the title that this is a Bashir episode...

lol my dude when Bashir gets his look on his face you know you're fucked

I can't believe Miles pretended to have work just so he could be in the same room as Julian... romance is not dead

Don't know what to think about this episode. There are some good conversations about ableism and intelligence, but that set of stereotypes and assumptions... It's like the final Sherlock episode. And it was implausible when they could read Damar so well in the first place. And the long-term predictions are a million times worse! Do they include variables like "wormhole aliens destroy the entire enemy fleet because Sisko asked nicely"?

Plus I don't like how this season portrays Bashir's enhanced intelligence... I thought he was just made smarter than average, not make mental calculations at the same speed as Data... Where did that come from. Why.

The Magnificent Ferengi

"May I help you, gentlemen?" lmao

"Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to take a nap."

"By the time the Dominion is done with you, all you'll want is a quick death." I love his serene tone haha

This was hilarious :D I really like this show's ventures into black comedy! Also Keevan looks exactly like Orlando Bloom and it cracks me up.

Waltz

Dukat's career has been through a lot of ups and downs over the seasons, and this is the lowest point ever that brings a new dynamic: Dukat so powerless that Sisko can afford to feel pity for him. I'm glad Dukat seems sane.

"A bottle of kanar and an Orion slave girl would be nice" ew

oh, so he has hallucinations. oh well.

"From this day forward, Bajor is dead. All of Bajor" Ouch. Sisko, I think you made it worse... I might have used the same rhetoric in Sisko's place, but damn, his final statement about Dukat's evilness rings pretty hollow since it was him who dragged "kill all Bajorans" out of Dukat's subconsciousness into the light. Like, I understand, when you're injured and trapped with an armed crazy fascist who tries to force you to praise him, you'd want at least the final satisfaction of telling what you think about him to his face, in no way I blame you for it... But if someone is mentally unstable and obsessed with proving to you he's a good person, and you reject it and instead goad him into exposing and accepting his darker motivations -- then don't say he is irredeemably evil? I can see how Sisko's rhetoric could have worked as reverse psychology -- his opponent would have started the speech about killing everyone, heard himself, stopped in horror and realized the error of his ways -- but Dukat didn't have enough self-awareness for that even in better times, and certainly not now. This was just giving your enemy ideas. Nice job breaking it, hero! When Dukat sabotaged his own redemption arc by joining the Dominion, it was beautiful, but when someone else does it to him... Idk, I usually like the Batman/Joker dynamic where the bad guy is obsessed with the protagonist and defines himself in opposition to him, but I'm not sure how well it works here... On the other hand, it has been a part of Dukat's character that he has an almost fourth wall breaking awareness of his role in the story as a likeable complex antagonist, so there is some poetic sense that he turns to straight-up villainy when someone convinces him that is the better role for him and he decides to live up to it.

The sad thing is, except that strange last scene, I was absolutely with Sisko the entire episode. And contrary to his words at the end, I found it an excellent example of grey morality. I've talked about it a couple of seasons ago -- allowing the antagonist to plead his case and then explaining why he's still wrong -- and this episode dedicates a lot of time to this. We've basically already heard Dukat's self-justifications, but learning what exactly was his role during the occupation and what he has done differently that made him think he was so much better than the other Cardassians -- that's something I've wanted since the beginning of the show. Cardassians are my favourite part of the show because of their messed up ideology, and Dukat is the one character who keeps talking about it, which is why he's so interesting for me. (Initially, heavy focus on ideology was what I expected from Garak and his character arc, which is one of the reasons I was disappointed in them.) It's great how he gives a lengthy speech that does make him sound pretty reasonable and sympathetic for a minute, and then with a single line Sisko breaks the spell and makes him reveal the ugly racism under it all, the reason why Dukat is deeply wrong despite any good intentions: "From the moment we arrived on Bajor, it was clear that we were the superior race. But they couldn't accept that. They wanted to be treated as equals when they most certainly were not". But, honestly, this isn't exactly news. Dukat's always been a racist, a victim-blamer, an egomaniac, an opportunist, and this episode doesn't even touch the issue of Bajoran women. So in this episode, he says pretty much the same things as when he played a "morally grey" role, but now that suddenly means he's "not morally grey"? Because of some bat-swinging during a psychotic episode, and a final villainous speech based on an idea fed to him by Sisko? He's responsible for a genocide, that's bad enough -- you don't need to start blaming him for things he's not fully responsible for! One of my favourite things about Dukat is that his crimes mostly happened offscreen, before the events of the show, so his presence on screen was sort of a test of integrity for both other character and viewers -- can you still tell right from wrong without a visceral reaction to violence and suffering happening right now before your very eyes? The characters have always passed that test; but now, regrettably, the writers decided that the viewers cannot. At the beginning of the episode he's a war criminal half-mad from loss, and Sisko feels sorry for him; at the end of the episode he's a war criminal completely mad from loss, and Sisko thinks he's evil. I guess, this might be interpreted just as Sisko's version of Kira's stories at the beginning of the season, where she briefly forgets how much she hates Dukat, and by the end of the episode he gives her a reason to hate him even more. I guess it comes down to the first line in this liveblog that I wrote during the first minutes of the episode: when the enemy is neutralised, we can afford to feel sympathy for them, but as soon as they start posing real danger, compassion goes out of the window and our first priority is to stop them. Except, of course, that works for any enemy, they don't have to be "truly evil"... So my complaint about that line still stands. Besides, it really deflated the drama; five minutes ago we had Dukat delivering his mad king's speech with the Shakespearean levels of gravitas, and now Sisko almost looks in the camera and summarizes his experience with the dramatic equivalent of "That's as many of four tens. And that's terrible."

Alright, let's try to stop raging about the dumb final scene and say something about the actual episode... I wish this was a real courtroom episode without the madness -- but the imaginary Weyoun, Damar and Kira's arguments were very well done. Their opinions sounded authentic while the delivery was distorted by Dukat's point of view. Just look at the imaginary Kira draping herself sensually over everything... :D

Dukat has a special talent for making me feel terribly guilty. You know the parts from his final monologue about Bajoran "superstitions", how they "clustered in their temples and prayed for deliverance"? Well, as I dislike the episodes about Bajoran religion I kinda see where he's coming from, and now I feel like a Nazi...

Idk how I'd fix this episode.

I'd like to throw out the mental illness altogether but then half of the episode stops working.

If I couldn't invent a completely different ending, I'd throw out the final scene, letting Dukat's actions speak for themselves.

Or there would be a final scene, but similar in tone to "The Ship", where Sisko'd be like "Whoops..." and also traumatised by the experience.

Or, if it were absolutely necessary to state the moral of the story and remind the viewers that Dukat is Bad(tm), maybe he'd say something like "Yes, I gave him the idea, but everyone is responsible for his own actions, and blaming everyone but himself is what he wants and does, so I'm not going to".

Maybe I'd end the episode with Sisko killing Dukat and the final scene being like "Generally I value life but you know what? No regrets". (Of course the best outcome would be if Kira killed Dukat but I've already been informed it won't happen.)

tl;dr: There are some impressive scenes, lines and acting, but the episode is deeply compromised by its general intent, mental illness excuse and the final scene.

Who Mourns for Morn

Not the best Quark episode... Gags about Morn don't work for me because the prosthetic is so bulky the actor can barely move in it, let alone make facial expressions, and it's impossible to believe that guy becomes talkative, charming and athletic as soon as the cameras stop pointing at him.

Far Beyond the Stars

Finally, a classic episode that lives up to its reputation -- and an AU that's good enough that it does not require an explanation. (The Prophets... made an elaborate simulation of 20th century Earth... to inspire Sisko to fight on? Okay.) I feel that somehow this is the best story about Sisko as the Emissary so far, even though -- or maybe because -- it was only discussed indirectly. It works as a history episode, as an AU episode, as an issue episode, as a meta episode about Star Trek itself...

I'm a bit confused by not-Bashir's role as one of the white writers who just don't get it -- just another reminder of how little I understand the concept of race... I've never thought of him as white -- would he be, by 1950's standards? I get that the episode is specifically about antiblackness, but they did mention sexism against not-Kira, so why not him?

I tried hard and failed to recognize the artist -- turns out, it was Martok! I'd never guess...

I'm darkly amused at Odo as conservative, contemptible half-antagonist again (similar to the roles he played during both occupations and in Mirror universe). His conflict with not-Quark is still recognizable, not just superficially imitated without any of the substance (remember when Quark called Odo a fascist?).

Similarly, I almost laughed when Dukat and Weyoun showed up as racist cops -- just in case you somehow still aren't drawing parallels to the current events, the show does it for you... How sad it is though: a show filmed in 1990s about the 24th century remembering the 1950s looks like an immediate reaction to the news reports of today...

It was a pleasure to see Kasidy in both worlds! I've missed her. She's such a likeable person, and has effortless chemistry with Sisko (and Benny).

Joseph was great, a beautiful variation on his role in Homefront/Paradise Lost.

I was impressed to learn afterwards that the writers all had real prototypes. So they’re based on a group of real people and group of fictional character at the same time, and both sets of influences are recognizable. That’s incredible.

One Little Ship

"I love it. Let's go"

more enjoyable than I expected

Honor Among Thieves

ooh nice scenery

this is the kind of story I find hard to watch both because it's painful to wait for something terrible to happen, and because it's not very captivating

Change of Heart

ah yes, Bashir learned all the rules from half a second glance *eyeroll*

this is season freaking 6!!! you told us two seasons ago that Julian's crush on Jadzia is dead! what the fuck?

moral of the story: don't send married couples on dangerous missions toge -- wait, as I was typing, Sisko said the exact same thing lol

why are all Jadzia/Worf episodes so bad. why are all Jadzia episodes so bad. is this a conspiracy?! why is her every episode about almost dying? you know, at this point I'm kinda looking forward to it happening for real.

Wrongs Darker than Death or Night

What, you can easily travel back in time? Just like that?

I didn't expect this show to actually use the term "comfort women"!

Kira looks like she needs a bucket to vomit in... I may need one too...

*Dukat kisses Meru* *mine and Kira's vomiting intensifies*

let me guess, the episode will end with Kira realizing that "my mother deserves death for having Stockholm syndrome" was a bit too harsh

"Kira and collaborationism" is one of my favourite themes in this show istg

"Believe me, there's a part of me that wishes that I hadn't. But the fact is, no matter what she did, she was still my mother" I actually wanted to Kira to go through with the assassination! But then it'd create a different timeline and the episode wasn't about that.

ok, I spoiled myself about Dukat/Meru so it lost the shock value, and I can see that it's incredibly contrived, but on the other hand it somehow managed to make Dukat's harassment towards Kira even more gross and creepy which is impressive

I have so many technical questions though. If Bajor has a freaking time machine why is no one using it in the war? Why is the Dominion not trying to get its hands on it? Why does it work differently than in "Tribbles"? Is it a closed time loop or alternate timeline? -- at the start of the episode, have Meru and Dukat met the time-travelling Kira or not? Dukat said he was the Prefect only for ten years but in this episode young Nerys looks about four and she certainly isn't a teenager at the end of the occupation -- how does all of that add up? Wait, if Ziyal was 13 by the end of the occupation, it would make more sense if Dukat was in charge for about 20 years and, roughly speaking, spent seven of them with Meru (as said in this episode) and thirteen with Naprem, and the line in "Waltz" is a continuity error -- but putting it this way sounds more wholesome than he deserves, since from the words of that one dude in this episode and a scene in "Things Past" I got the impression that those unfortunate Bajoran women passed through his quarters at a much faster rate...

btw remember when I was hoping that Dukat's mentions of his children to Sisko were intentional manipulation? now I'm pretty sure they were.

wow, TvTropes: "The episode itself... which is rather a letdown. With such a name, you'd expect some sort of horrible atrocity to be happening" -- you mean, MASS SEX SLAVERY, long-term psychological manipulation, prostituting oneself to a tyrant and learning to like it, and planning the murder of one's own mother -- these things are not horrible enough??? who tf wrote that entry

(btw, kudos to this episode for handling these heavy topics without going the exploitative shock value route like "Violations" that actually showed rape scenes on screen.)

also someone mentioned that Terok Nor is very brightly lit and now I can't get it out of my mind... why, set designers, why...

Something I liked: in the opening scene Dukat says: "Captain Sisko gave me the clarity to see beyond the lies, the self-deceptions that were controlling my life. He helped me see to the truth about myself. And now I'm going to do the same for you." And that's what happens indeed, even if not exactly in the way he might have intended. Sisko made him acknowledge the violence under the pretty words and justifications, and now we get to see the ugly true face of what Dukat calls -- and genuinely believes to be -- "love".

Inquisition

"Why would the Dominion leave your runabout orbiting the camp" well I'm glad the writers are aware of their plotholes... :D

"Captain, if Doctor Bashir had been involved in one or two questionable incidents, I could understand how you might be able to dismiss it, but the sheer number of incidents form a pattern of behaviour that can't be ignored" you could say that about literally any of the main characters lmao... every episode of any Star Trek series contains a questionable incident plot twist?? let me guess, it's set up by Sloan to make him confess

Second Skin 2

"And because you didn't want billions of Federation citizens to lose their lives needlessly, you agreed to provide us with information that would help us end this war quickly" heh, nice use of Statistical Probabilities

oh wow, Weyoun and his ship are actually real! I didn't expect that

the DS9 crew are all acting so strange, I guess they're part of the simulation too

"I admit it takes exceptional people to do what we do. People who can sublimate their own ambitions to the best interests of the Federation" heh, is this the final test?

wait, they kidnapped him THAT early? Bashir really should stop going to medical conferences...

this episode was pretty predictable after so many similar stories, but I do like these types of episodes, and this one utilised well the long-running themes of Bashir and secret service, and Bashir's idealism. And he got to join the club with Data, Riker, Picard, Dax, O'Brien, Worf -- am I forgetting anyone? Oh, right, Wesley -- that was one of my favourite episodes, actually... Oh, and I just rewatched the scene is the beginning where Bashir wakes up tired in the simulation for the first time, and remembered that episode of TNG where Riker kept losing sleep because aliens kidnapped him every night.

In the Pale Moonlight

Garak saves the day! I'm glad to see him live up to his reputation.

Actually, I don't think the plan was THAT immoral. Especially how it turned out in the end. The worst part was the danger to the Federation in case the forgery was discovered, but Garak took care of that. So ultimately, my only regret would be the use of that biomimetic gel in the clearly wrong hands. Call me cynical, but I fully agree with Garak that the price they paid was very small. Sure, for a Starfleet officer all of that must feel very dishonorable, but I'm sure the secret services of all major powers in the galaxy pull this kind of crap and worse on a fairly regular basis.* Hell, I think what Sisko himself did to apprehend Eddington was worse by my standards! And how is bribing Quark worse than blackmailing him, which Sisko has been doing literally since the pilot?! I think his guilt would have worked better for me if the plan failed and all of that were for nothing.

* Actually, why WAS Sisko the one doing this? And not someone like the just-introduced Section 31?

On a less serious note, I love that Sisko isn't satisfied with the recording until someone talks shit about Dukat :D then he's like "mmm perfect"

I feel obligated to mention the quality of writing and directing! And the wonderful ambiguity of the final "I can live with it" -- I love things like this.

His Way

let me get this straight, Julian got rejected three times by the same woman but she started dating him after he asked a hologram for advice?? wtf. Miles is surprised by the latter part but I'm more concerned about "Bashir is repeatedly rejected and refuses to stop pursuing a woman" (what is this, season 1???! between that and the mention of his crush on Dax several episodes ago, certainly feels like that, and not in a good way) and also about "Bashir dates a woman offscreen because the relationship is so shallow it's apparently not worth showing but we need to remind the viewers he's Straight"

"Is that the best you can do?" "I'd like to see someone do better." "So would I."

"You're not exactly the most lovable person in the galaxy. You're not even the most lovable person in this sector, or on the station. Or even in this room"

how many of those dumbass songs must I endure?

I'm really bored...

ughhh this is embarrassing

and THIS is creepy

(at least Odo is better than Barclay and backs off...)

he can just go to any other holosuite and interrupt whatever people are doing in there? D:

oh god, he can also use the station's com line?! SOMEONE DELETE THIS PROGRAM IT'S GETTING REALLY SCARY

kill me. or kill this episode with fire

ughhhh it's finally over bye. the scene with Quark was very good, but the rest... how come Kira and Odo by themselves are probably the most interesting characters but their romance is this utter dreck?

The Reckoning

why doesn't the universal translator work here?

how did the wormhole animals get here, anyway?

(I’m keeping this typo lmao)

for once, Winn is absolutely right!!

did he actually break it?.. this is not a dream?.. Winn won't be pleased

it's episodes like this when I miss TNG, and Picard's total refusal to treat Q like a god

this is getting stupider and stupider...

take a shot every time Sisko claims to know something

you know your story is bad when Winn is the most, and probably only sympathetic character in it (and Kira spends the entire final scene talking how bad Winn is? what?) Winn is being rational and ends up saving lives while Sisko keeps justifying his shitty actions with weak babbling about how "The Prophets want this, they work in mysterious ways" -- have they switched bodies while I wasn't looking?!

Valiant

Jake has a nice stylish outfit

That's strange... Why didn't they return to the Federation space after the war began? Will that be the point of the episode -- that they continued the mission on their own out of sheer hubris?

so this poor girl and the others spend months trapped on a tiny ship inside enemy territory because that guy wants to feel adult and important and likes to play captain?

so, they finally found one specific battleship they had been looking for for 8 months? and it happened the next day after Jake and Nog come on board? is that just because Nog adjusted the warp drive?

dude! your job was to gather info! if that battleship kills you, you fail!

The First Duty 2

...but a lot more bloody D:

this episode was better than I expected

Profit and Lace

aaaalright, here we go, let's see if this really is the Worst Episode Ever

why is Ishka wearing clothes that accentuate her breasts? the clothes in the previous episodes were so baggy I assumed that Ferengi women don't have boobs

"...brilliant Ferengi female. Do you know any?" I suppose Pel wouldn't be able to get here fast enough?

okay, Quark reluctantly doing his best to advocate for female rights is actually pretty awesome

are u telling me all Quark needed to be a better person was a little estrogen?

I actually... didn't find this bad for a Ferengi episode? and it was more interesting to watch than some other episodes in this season -- I was genuinely unsure what would happen and was rooting for everything to turn out well!

Of course I'd prefer if Ishka made the case for Ferengi feminism herself -- but, at least, the narrative is on its side this time, unlike at least one previous episode. And this time she has more agency than in her previous appearances (Zek's lover/hidden mastermind and damsel in distress) -- she's using her position of power to implement a whole new progressive law, and it even seems like she made it to Zek's side for that purpose and domestic bliss was a nice side effect.

Quark as a woman is an objectively transphobic gag, of course (and yes I know that it’s my privilege that allows me not to be viscerally upset by it enough to immediately ruin the episode forever). But I didn't actually find it as nasty as the same joke in "Facets", where the narrative and other characters used it to made fun of him, and the shot of his head on Kira's body in "Meridian"; here it's for greater good, and being in a woman's shoes (literally) gives him some perspective, plus nobody seems to think sex reassignment surgery is a big deal. Other characters criticise Quark’s performance of femininity in the same tone as Worf criticised others’ performance of Klingon-ness. Like, I see that this is fundamentally Bad, but I was preparing myself to be outraged much more so it doesn’t feel that bad.

And it's gross that Quark sexually exploits his workers and the narrative doesn't punish him, but that happened before in season 1...

Unlike, say, The Reckoning, it doesn't affect the show's overall plot or lore in a negative way -- I'd even say it's the opposite because of the big win for women's rights on Ferenginar. (It shows a frustrating lack of progress in Quark's character arc, but a lot of episodes share this problem...) So, even though this episode is unfunny and largely offensive, I don't feel it's exceptionally terrible -- just another example of the problems this show has always had. I have more problems with stories that break the entire show, than isolated episodes like this which can be easily skipped and ignored.

Time's Orphan

what about the Orb of Time, wouldn't it help?

Keiko, that's a terrible decision

I guess the episode will end with both Worf and the O'Briens realizing this parenting problem is too difficult for them, and they'll do what they should have done from the start and re-rescue Molly

No, Miles, your plan is horrible. If it works I'll never forgive this episode.

I'm glad it ended well. But feral!Molly was obviously a lost cause from the beginning...

The Sound of Her Voice

Odo, are you being shitty on purpose?

I was worried when Bashir didn't want to talk at the beginning, but this is almost scary!

I suspected something like this...

Julian no...

“I really care about all of you, even if sometimes it would appear that I care more about my work” says the guy who spent two seasons running after everybody like “PLEASE BE MY FRIEND!!!11!”

This entire thing looks like Julian and Miles are about to make a public proposal to each other...

"Someday we're going to wake up and we're going to find that someone is missing from this circle" *looks directly at Jadzia*

Tears of the Prophets

*sigh* Okay, I'm emotionally prepared, here we go

*sees Jadzia on screen* no I'm not prepared

ughh why are Bashir and Quark being so gross

where has he been all this time?

"I don't hold you responsible for Ziyal's death. You may have fired the phaser, but it was Benjamin Sisko who forced your hand" ????? dude. this is a stretch even by your standards.

"You've gone from being a self important egotist to a self deluded madman" Weyoun is not wrong

(but you know acknowledging within the story that your writing is shitty doesn’t fix the problem)

Klingons and Romulans!

why must I listen to this stupid song and look at Bashir and Quark being shitty and badly written

Oh great, the wormhole aliens can somehow contact him whenever and wherever they want, no orbs or travels to the wormhole necessary. WTF?

I like how Weyoun and Damar roll their eyes at Dukat's nonsense. same

"I've immersed myself in the study of the Bajoran ancient texts, and I've come to realize that the wormhole is much more than the gateway to the Gamma Quadrant. It's the Temple of the Prophets" o rly??? truly an astonishing discovery

congrats on finally getting the Renegade eyes, Dukat

what is Garak doing here?

ugh.

Dukat went from the embodiment of the best storyline on the show to the embodiment of the worst storyline on the show

At least Weyoun and Damar keep reacting to his every word as "That's nonsense" so at least someone inside the story doesn't like this plot as well. I think Dukat has passed them the torch of being the fourth wall breaking meta character...

...but, you know, if the wormhole would really close forever I'd be glad. of course they'll find a way to reconnect with their "Prophets" somehow

I interrupt the ugly crying to ask: how the hell would Sisko's presence on the station have saved Jadzia's life?!

"for the first time in my life I've failed in my duty as a Starfleet officer" uh, how?!

this is the worst season finale in DS9

Ohhh man... The season started so strong I was overjoyed. I've always wanted more stories set on Terok Nor during the occupation, and didn't expect the show to deliver in this way! The change of status quo was exciting -- it really felt like Shit Got Real and a serious war was on and things would not be the same again! And Kira's little storyline about normalization of oppression and fighting it, first of all inside one's own heart, was great. But then it just went downhill...

Odo's betrayal made me lose all sympathy and trust towards him forever, and even without that, his character arc was greatly weakened by the presence of the Female Changeling, who is the worst combination of uninteresting and unlikeable. When the Founders are somewhere out there, Odo's longing for them is poignant, but when you see them on screen being bland and annoying, the magic just evaporates.

An underused female character fridged to make a male character's arc less interesting: he loses his Morality Chain, his mind, and complexity as an antagonist. It's just so lazy. His main redeeming quality is the love for his daughter, and we're tired of writing bad people who still have some sympathetic motivations, that's too difficult, so let's take the object of that love away from him to make him Purely Evil(tm). And since the plot requires this rationalist character to do something OOC in the finale, we need to make him crazy or it couldn't happen. He's evil because of mental illness, he's evil because he gets himself possessed by a demon, he's evil because he has red eyes -- that leaves the viewer with the impression that his previous crimes weren't bad enough, that the writers think overseeing colonisation/genocide for years is tolerable but five minutes of hate speech & one minute of glowing red -- that's the real moral event horizon! Mental illness made him evil, huh? Take that trope and throw it in the trash along with Intendant Kira's Depraved Bisexual trope. Hey, remember when this show was about dealing with the effects of war and oppression, and Dukat embodied the different ways that oppression manifests? well now he's a comicbook villain with glowing satan eyes who shoots death rays

The wormhole aliens are now suddenly Good Gods hijacking bodies and using them for Voldemort-Harry ray battles

The best-forgotten stupid tropes about hyper-intelligence are dragged from TNG and pasted onto Julian

The writers pulled out of their asses Bashir and Quark's unrequited love for Jadzia?? Bashir's crush was cute in season 1, but he got over it long ago, and Quark has always been just friends with her. Bashir had such a nice friendship with her, and now he's wishing that her marriage would fail so he'd get a shot, even though she was never interested in him in the first place? Fucking disgusting. Way to compromise his character.

And, of course, as the final insult, they fucking killed Jadzia for nothing.

So, let me count: Jadzia literally dead. Dukat's character almost completely assassinated, Bashir’s comes pretty close. Odo's character weakened. Lore and plot of the entire series fucked up. God. I have no words anymore. How do you ruin something so quickly?!

#star trek #ds9 #blah blah blah #my friend finished s6 which finally prompted me to post this #i spent two weeks hoping to make my long unbroken paragraphs a bit more coherent #it didn't work

1 note · View note

sshbpodcast · 3 years

Text

The Highest of Highs and Lowest of Lows in DS9 S6

by Ames

In a carnival ride full of whiplash-inducing episodes, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s sixth season features some of the best episodes and some of the worst episodes in the entire Trek franchise, full stop. So it was a very emotional bunch of weeks for your hosts here at A Star to Steer Her By, and we may just break down and sing about it! And a one, and a two...

In our usual fashion, we’ve determined which of those episodes mark the best of the best and the worst of the goddamn freaking everything in our season wrap-up episode, which you can also listen to here (pertinent discussion starts at 1:25:55). Some decisions were easy (oh so easy) while some were wildcards, and we also had special guest star Liz helping us bolster our favorites and roast our least favorites. Crack open your favorite Benny Russell story and read away!

Bottom Three Episodes

Wow, there were a lot more clunkers than usual in this season than we were expecting from DS9, but some of them were just so bad that we took it personally.

“Time’s Orphan”: Jake For a concept that required a lot of research into child development and psychology, this one sure didn’t show it. But don’t worry: surely if we send this episode to live in the wilderness with no supplies or protection except a hairbrush, everything will turn out just fine for everyone!

“Statistical Probabilities”: Ames How did Jack and the other genetically engineered mutants not predict this one: that their portrayal of people with mental health disorders was frankly appalling and they deserve to be at the bottom of the barrel where they can be jettisoned into space with the rest of the trash? Hmm?

“Tears of the Prophets”: Caitlin, Chris Somehow way too much and way too little happen simultaneously in the season finale, leaving us bored and exhausted at the same time. Also, this is how they kill off a beloved main character? It felt like a cheap afterthought. Frankly, Tasha Yar had it better, and that’s saying something.

“His Way”: Ames, Caitlin, Chris, Jake When we vehemently beg for a B plot, you know something’s wrong. From the extremely toxic start of a relationship we honestly didn’t need, to the WAY TOO MANY SONGS, this musical episode just hurt us. Sorry, Vic Fontaine, you’re not turning this no into a yes.

“Profit and Lace”: Ames, Caitlin, Chris, Jake How do you possibly get worse than the misogyny in “His Way”? By trying to make rape jokes out of it. Ferengi episodes tend to poorly handle sensitive topics to begin with, but this one was so inexcusable that it might actually be the worst of all Trek. But don’t listen to me: I’m clearly just an emotional fee-male.

—

Top Three Episodes

On the flip side, there were also way more true gems this season than we were expecting as well, with some of the most well regarded episodes packed into a short span of time. What a ride!

“Inquisition”: Jake We see the dark side of the spy world in this riveting episode that pulls a new rug out from under us with every twist. Say what you will about Section 31 going forward, but its introduction was riveting, the mindfuck did not disappoint, and Luther Sloan looked damn good in that jacket!

“The Sound of her Voice”: Caitlin Where DS9 failed so utterly with Vic Fontaine, they capitalized with Captain Cusak: a character we don’t even see on screen and yet is so well developed, voiced, and portrayed that we too were immediately captivated by her. A resounding win for Debra Wilson (see what I did there?).

“Rocks and Shoals”: Ames While the big 6-episode war arc mostly blended together, the standout was “Rocks and Shoals” and meeting our new friends: the deliciously sleazy Vorta Keevan and the startlingly sympathetic Jem’Hadar Remata’Klan. How often do you actually root for Dominion soldiers to come out okay? Well done.

“Honor Among Thieves”: Caitlin More fun spy shenanigans and some genuinely touching scenes with O’Brien and his Orion handler Bilby: how can you go wrong? Miles is best when he’s outside his comfort zone and suffering, after all. And this episode gets many extra points for introducing our new favorite character, Chester!

“Waltz”: Ames, Chris Marc Alaimo and Avery Brooks carry this episode all the way through space, into the caves, and out of all sanity. It takes some special skills to make such a talky, static plot feel so riveting, and they really made it an episode the likes of which the galaxy had never seen!

“In the Pale Moonlight”: Chris, Jake DS9 is at it best when it’s at its greyest, and Ben Sisko lives firmly in the grey. The impossible decisions made during the Dominion War stick with you well after the episode is over, churning around in your head until you have to make your own 2am log entry with a stiff drink in hand.

“Far Beyond the Stars”: Ames, Caitlin, Chris, Jake “Far Beyond the Stars” really breaks the mold for what Star Trek can be, and we were here for it! We can’t dole enough praise upon the acting, the directing, the design, the unconventional writing, the everything, but what brings it all home is a profoundly true core statement about racism that is still relevant today.

—

Only one season left of DS9, so keep your eyes focused on the wormhole for more from A Star to Steer Her By, listen to new episodes on Soundcloud, follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and remove about five songs from every episode going forward!

#star trek #Star Trek Deep Space 9 #ds9 #podcast #star trek podcast #top three #bottom three #times orphan #statistical probabilities #tears of the prophets #his way #profit and lace #inquisition #the sound of her voice #rocks and shoals #honor among thieves #waltz #in the pale moonlight #far beyond the stars

4 notes · View notes

verdigrisprowl · 7 years

Text

Dec 14 Odothon Part 2 - Star Trek DS9 - S3E1, S3E2, S3E14, S3E20

Prowl's figured out why Soundwave wanted him to watch stories about the life of an alien constable.

Initially, he thought it was because Soundwave thinks Odo is just like Prowl: a law enforcement officer who—for all practical purposes—came into existence in a laboratory; who is sneered down upon by others as cold and soulless because he struggles to express his emotions in ways that other people can comprehend, and because at many times he recognizes the benefit of not bothering to express those emotions at all; who is shockingly brilliant but (as Prowl once was) untrained in how to correctly use that brilliance; who finds himself slightly outside of the culture he's spent all his life inside.

Now, Prowl has discovered it's because Soundwave thinks Odo is just like Prowl: he's dedicated himself to law and order and justice and the protection of as many of the people of the galaxy as he can reach... and he's just realized the greatest threat to the galaxy is his own warmongering, conquering, genocidal home planet.

So. Where do you go from there, Odo?

Where can you go from there?

ItsyBitsySpyers 8:16 pm *Today, Soundwave makes his preparations ahead of time. They've much to get through and few moments to waste. If Prowl is unable to attend, so be it; Soundwave will call Ravage down and watch Earth nature documentaries. Personally, though, he's hoping his comm will be well-received.*

(txt): Free shift. Story continues, if Prowl: prepared. FakeProwl 8:31 pm ... Be there in about fifteen minutes.

*And in about fifteen minutes, he is.* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:40 pm *Soundwave stretches a feeler across the back of their couch and curls it, waving the end in a 'come here' gesture.*

(txt): Prowl remembers stop point? FakeProwl 8:42 pm *will absolutely come there.*

Yes. DS9 has had some contact with the Dominion, and have met both their infiltrators and their soldiers. They're currently heading through the wormhole to... try to talk them into playing nice. Odo has been invited along out of pity because he's being punished. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:43 pm *Will absolutely coil it twice around his waist. Loosely, so it's easily shed if Prowl stands up. Just an embrace, not a prison.*

(txt): Good. Soundwave plays. FakeProwl 8:44 pm *he's going to see if he can lace his fingers with the tendrils.*

... Sisko looked... pleased, that Odo is coming? Did he object to Odo's punishment? If so, who issued it? ItsyBitsySpyers 8:46 pm *He can. They're not much thicker than Soundwave's fingers, honestly. They weave more intricately though.*

[[Higher ranking officers ordered it. He understood their objections to his failure to follow protocols but disapproved of the punishment. And his treatment as a shapeshifter.]] [[That is, Sisko understood.]] FakeProwl 8:47 pm Mm. He's still threatening people, I see. ... Granted, it's Quark. I'm beginning to get the impression that it's difficult NOT to threaten him. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:48 pm [[He is in pain and he dislikes Quark. A foul mood is not unexpected.]] FakeProwl 8:49 pm That doesn't make such threats acceptable, but understandable. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:49 pm *Nods. He'll concede that. Though he still makes those himself, when people irritate him too far.* *But he knows he doesn't obey the rules and has no intention of being in law enforcement as a career, so... yes.* FakeProwl 8:51 pm The Romulan didn't give them important information about the cloaking device until after it had endangered them, and didn't know important information about what sort of sweeps are effective against it. Are any of the Dominion's known member species part of the Vulcan-Romulan cluster of races? ItsyBitsySpyers 8:52 pm [[No. They are in an entirely different sector of the galaxy. One it would take decades to centuries to reach even at highest speeds.]] FakeProwl 8:53 pm Even with the known wormholes? ItsyBitsySpyers 8:53 pm [[The Federation are based in the Alpha Quadrant. The Dominion is based in the Gamma Quadrant.]]

[[No. The wormholes reduce the time to a little longer than a space bridge.]] [[...Wormhole. There is only the one.]] FakeProwl 8:54 pm Hm. FakeProwl 8:56 pm It certainly sounds like Odo's punishment was perfectly deserved. ... We didn't watch the episode of Odo's punishment. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:57 pm [[It was within this one, and a passing statement made while replacements were being arranged.]] [[Removed from office and replaced. No more than that, for now.]] FakeProwl 8:59 pm We skipped the scene where it happened. Even though this viewing is supposed to be about his development? ItsyBitsySpyers 8:59 pm [[As he said - it was a brief statement in a scene concerning a much larger event. He felt the summary was all that was needed.]] FakeProwl 8:59 pm Hmm. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:00 pm [[We can rewind afterward, if you wish.]] FakeProwl 9:00 pm No, it's fine. *just thought it was curious that soundwave's plans don't think that part is important.* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:01 pm *If he thought it wasn't important, he wouldn't have summarized it.* FakeProwl 9:02 pm *oh, odo's talking about instinct drawing him to a location. he's already discussed having some sort of species memories, and the changlings are from this part of the galaxy...* FakeProwl 9:04 pm *... If the Dominion is as bad as Prowl's been told, and if Odo's "racial memories"—an automatic attraction toward justice and order—are held by the others of his race; and if changlings are now only known of in mythology now, mythology that writes them as fools and villains...* *History—and mythology—is written by the winners. And the Dominion certainly sounds like the winners.* You ABANDONED them?! How is that just! Go back! ItsyBitsySpyers 9:06 pm [[They do not have the power to battle multiple Jem'Hadar ships with only an escape shuttle.]] FakeProwl 9:07 pm He should have gone back to DS9, for help. The— the O-whatever nebula will be there any time. His /crewmates/ won't. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:07 pm [[That is a better point, and one he will accept.]] FakeProwl 9:08 pm *oh never mind it's odo's people prowl's full attention is on the show*

FakeProwl 9:11 pm ... So Odo's people are stuck deep in Dominion territory. At the heart of it, if Quark's source is to be believed. They have no star. They're a myth to nearby planets that know very well about the Dominion. FakeProwl 9:13 pm If they're as instinctively drawn to justice as Odo believes they must be—and if they have his inclination toward ignoring authority—their star was probably put out as punishment for rebellion. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:14 pm [[How vicious. It would be a cruel punishment for most organic species.]] FakeProwl 9:14 pm The Dominion certainly appears vicious. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:15 pm [[They do, at that.]] FakeProwl 9:17 pm Don't speak for him. Let him meet his people in his own way. If they don't want to be interrogated they can say so. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:17 pm [[He often thinks that sounds pleasant. Or would, if he did not have so many secrets.]] FakeProwl 9:17 pm Merging in a big psychological puddle with everyone else? FakeProwl 9:18 pm ((his happy face is so awkward i love it)) ItsyBitsySpyers 9:19 pm [[Yes, and no. Not everyone else. Not against his will. But... if there were more telepaths, perhaps, and he were someone else. Conversations could be so much different.]] FakeProwl 9:19 pm ... I don't recommend the experience. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:20 pm ((it is!))

((rabbit i swear to god if i've fixed the bubble problem only for you to have connectivity problems tonight)) *Pulls the feeler tighter just a touch. He did clarify that it be not against his will, but...*

[[No. He supposes you wouldn't.]] FakeProwl 9:24 pm It's not a means of—communication. Boundaries between individuals doesn't exist. That sounds like an idealistic fantasy relationship, "we have no boundaries," but I don't mean it that way. I mean the very thing that separates individual identities no longer exists. If you join something like that—as long as you're joined, you're no longer Soundwave. Soundwave doesn't exist. That might work for some people. I can't—can't quite picture it working for you. FakeProwl 9:26 pm ... Oh good, the captain and doctor survived. ... Temporarily. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:27 pm *The feeler's claws spin while he watches the credits roll and thinks.*

[[In the memory he gave you - of the song - many were connected, but they did not lose themselves. He liked that.]] *Spin. Spin.* [[And he would like to feel the free flow of feeling and information, if it did not harm him in the process.]]

[[...But no. Not if he did not exist as himself.]] FakeProwl 9:29 pm ... Pff. "Solids." ItsyBitsySpyers 9:29 pm [[He wonders what they call liquid monoforms.]] [[Almost-Solids. Somewhat Solids. Solid-ishes.]] FakeProwl 9:30 pm ... I assume if they're liquid, by definition they're not monoforms. Even if they can't shapeshift, they can certainly be poured into different containers. ... I wonder what they call /solid/ multi-formers. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:31 pm [[Sixshot.]] FakeProwl 9:31 pm Pff. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:32 pm ((for the record: this is adult eddie kaspbrak from the old IT series)) FakeProwl 9:32 pm I mean us in general. Are we in a different category from other solids? Or does "solid pieces that just move into different positions" not count to them? Who's "Eris"? ItsyBitsySpyers 9:33 pm [[Ah. Eris was the Vorta who tried to plant herself as a spy.]] [[He assumes we would not count, as we are still more limited than them.]] FakeProwl 9:34 pm Ah. So the Vorta aren't just their diplomatic race, they're the ruling race. ((I could watch garak and bashir flirt while talking about something completely different forever.)) ItsyBitsySpyers 9:35 pm ((i'm glad you have said that. it gives me license to show more with those two on main movie nights.)) FakeProwl 9:35 pm (( 😎 )) ((that wasn't the mood i was going for but okay, smilie, let's go with Cool Shades)) FakeProwl 9:37 pm The changelings have a jamming frequency? No wonder the Dominion hasn't tracked down the rest of them. FakeProwl 9:38 pm *... even among his own people, Odo isn't on the same wavelength as the rest of them.* *"they meant is as an insult, but in defiance we took it and made it our own."* ... Like "Autobots." ItsyBitsySpyers 9:39 pm [[Hm?]] FakeProwl 9:39 pm They took a term that was meant as an insult and made it their own. FakeProwl 9:41 pm ... Was "Autobot" not an alien insult in your world? ((omg, kira talking to random inanimate objects)) ((is that u odo)) FakeProwl 9:43 pm *OBVIOUSLY shapeshifters would need a door to keep out solid invaders. they've obviously had a hard time before.* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:44 pm [[No. Orion Pax created it as a shortened form of "autonomous robots" during his speech to the Council, speaking to the idea of reforming away from the caste system.]] FakeProwl 9:45 pm ... Heh. FakeProwl 9:46 pm During his speech to the Senate, Orion Pax told them that aliens look down on us as Autobots, "automaton-robots," redefined it on the spot to mean "autonomous robots," and claimed it. Speaking to the idea of reforming away from Functionism, of course. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:48 pm [[It was before Alpha Trion's interference resulted in him being made a puppet Prime the Council believed they could control. Not long before... but before.]]

[[Then it is settled. Should he advise any pre-war planets in the future... he will suggest they find someone more creative to name the faction.]] FakeProwl 9:48 pm Heh. I shudder to think how many recruits we lost to the Decepticons just because they didn't want to be called "robots." ... the Great Cybertronian War, fought between the Drones and the Liars. No wonder nobody trusts us. I mean—besides the genocides. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:51 pm *He knows that wasn't what he was supposed to be taking from that, but he hasn't figured out what the greater significance of the reversal is.*

[[Words have greater power than most know.]] FakeProwl 9:51 pm Unfortunately. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:52 pm *He tilts his helm back and pokes through old memories, searching for Megatron's speech.*

[[The supposed idea behind "Decepticon" was that deception is sometimes necessary to force those who refuse the truth to see and confront their own lies.]] FakeProwl 9:53 pm Oh? So your Decepticons admitted they were lying. FakeProwl 9:54 pm In my universe, "you are being deceived" was the Decepticons' motto. Their name derived from it. I don't know if they made it or if it was put on them. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:55 pm [[You simplify. But in some sense, yes.]]

[[And that is not so different from our claim.]] FakeProwl 9:57 pm Mm. Different direction, same sentiment, I suppose. Although the Decepticons in my universe never claimed that they were using deception, for a good cause or not. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:58 pm *Huffs loudly at Garak.* FakeProwl 9:58 pm ... Odo, you just said the door is to keep something in, and now you're unlocking it without bothering to find out what's behind it. FakeProwl 10:00 pm *right. now to the question of this suspicious alliance. granted, Prowl knows very little about how Starfleet operates, but the suggestion that they've simply "gone insane"...* Wh—? They're—? They aren't even on the—? WHAT. *hold on while Prowl gapes at the screen* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:02 pm *Oh, he IS enjoying that.* FakeProwl 10:04 pm *the changelings were persecuted by solids, and now slaughter and conquer them. They call it imposing order on a chaotic universe.* *... Just like Nova Prime. Just like the Decepticons.* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:07 pm *Actually twists to see Prowl now while he checks his records for the next tapes.*

[[You were not expecting that.]] FakeProwl 10:07 pm *And Odo, who is one of them, stands against them, for the same reason they stand together. Because their definition of "order" is myopic and doesn't reach beyond their own race. And unlike them, Odo has learned to see what they do to other races—and would willingly stand against his own species in defense of all the other species out there. Just like...* *a sideways glance at Soundwave.* ... No. I wasn't. I think I should have.

ItsyBitsySpyers 10:11 pm [[Perhaps.]] *He already said his side's claim was that they would expose the truth through deception, after all, and there are a few sprinkled here and there in these tapes.* [[That is all right.]] [[Now. There is one he does not have time to show you tonight, though it is important. He will give you that file. Watch it when you can. We will move forward.]] FakeProwl 10:12 pm *nods* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:12 pm [[But before then - the priest, Winn Adami. You recall him mentioning her?]] FakeProwl 10:13 pm Yes. The one who is... opposed to Sisko? *there were two priests and both of them have funky alien names with too many vowels and double consonants.* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:13 pm [[Yes. Between the file he will give you and the one we watch next, she will have negotiated a peace treaty with the Cardassians... while intentionally working her sick former rival turned assistant to death in the process.]] [[We will proceed.]] ItsyBitsySpyers 10:17 pm [[He must also note that Kira and Odo have spoken and undergone irrelevant missions too many times for him to c--]] *Ha. Peregrine-class.* [[To cover.]] FakeProwl 10:19 pm They're friends again? ItsyBitsySpyers 10:20 pm [[Yes.]] FakeProwl 10:22 pm ((i like that the ferengi have "bylaws" instead of "laws" or "traditions" or whatever)) ItsyBitsySpyers 10:23 pm ((heehee)) ItsyBitsySpyers 10:24 pm [[Consumed by food.]] FakeProwl 10:25 pm That's an incredibly fast-growing crystal. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:25 pm [[Perhaps she's unusually nutritious.]] FakeProwl 10:26 pm Hff. ... They could dig a hole in the ground around the crystal and drag it along with them. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:27 pm [[What if it attempts to root itself deeper?]] FakeProwl 10:27 pm ... Dig deeper? It depends on how deep it roots itself. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:29 pm [[That might waste time, if they cannot reach deep enough fast enough.]] *He flicks a hand.* [[They could remove the leg.]] FakeProwl 10:29 pm ... As a last resort— yes. That. Most spacefaring organic species are physically durable enough to survive amputation. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:30 pm [[They would have to work quickly. To keep ahead of it before it could make a head of her.]] FakeProwl 10:31 pm *gives Soundwave a sideways look* ... How do you THINK puns? ((eeey, it's pran!)) ItsyBitsySpyers 10:32 pm [[It involves quickly juggling both expectations of the phrase while maintaining a sense of amusement. How well others catch and interpret that vary.]] FakeProwl 10:36 pm ... They're using sound waves to break the crystal. *and by reading criminal activity reports. BEAM* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:37 pm [[It's a worthy solution.]] FakeProwl 10:37 pm Indeed. *and obtained from a worthy source.* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:39 pm *Soft huffing.* [[Music to keep a smooth paddling rhythm. He'll have to remember that.]] FakeProwl 10:39 pm Mhmm. FakeProwl 10:43 pm *... and odo uses readings to build up scripts of stock phrases to use on other people and doesn't know what to do when they diverge from the expected replies.* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:45 pm *He really must ask Ravage if that's how it felt.* FakeProwl 10:46 pm *leans more on Soundwave. that's—a touching story.* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:46 pm *Leans into and squeezes the tendrils.* FakeProwl 10:53 pm *... well she can't die now, they just confessed romantic feelings to each other.* FakeProwl 10:58 pm ... They can imitate other people that well? He spoke to her for hours before figuring it out. FakeProwl 10:59 pm Well. Okay. Great. From now on anyone can be a changeling at any point. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:59 pm [[They are well-informed, and far, far more familiar than Odo with their abilities and how to mimic someone.]]

[[And yes. Yes, they can.]] FakeProwl 10:59 pm ((i would like to say, personally, for the record, i figured it out the first time the crystal grew.)) ((admittedly, i also know you're shwoing me odo-as-related-to-changelings episodes)) ItsyBitsySpyers 11:00 pm ((LOL yes, tiny bit of advantage)) FakeProwl 11:02 pm ((of course, in Search II, i also thought that the changelings replaced dax, o'brien, and the starfleet lady))

FakeProwl 11:03 pm ((ALSO I WANT TO POINT OUT garak was totally going to bring bashir chocolates in whatever the cardassian equivalent of a heart-shaped box is)) ItsyBitsySpyers 11:03 pm (( 😄 )) ItsyBitsySpyers 11:06 pm [[He does admire Garak's ability to continue making witty remarks in the face of death.]] [[That is a level of self-control most will never have.]] FakeProwl 11:09 pm Or self-deprecation. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:10 pm *HUFF* FakeProwl 11:11 pm Maybe he just isn't terribly opposed to the thought of his own death. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:11 pm [[Yes. Or that. Though it is hard for anyone sobbing in hysterics to crack jokes.]] ItsyBitsySpyers 11:13 pm *Side glance.* FakeProwl 11:14 pm ... Is "floral" a similar scent across species? ItsyBitsySpyers 11:15 pm [[He doubts it. Unlike you and Odo, he has a sense of smell, but he cannot pick up the scent of most organic flowers.]] FakeProwl 11:15 pm ... So how do you know they DON'T smell the same? Maybe it's like species with two arms and legs and a head and hands. Convergent evolution. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:16 pm [[If he can't smell organic flowers, but he smells the plants of his own planet, then the scents are probably not the same. Or so he assumes.]] FakeProwl 11:16 pm Hm. Fair. ... Although I expect when organics talk about "floral," they mean "organic floral." If they didn't, after all, that would mean they're considering mechanical species equal to their own. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:18 pm [[Also fair.]] FakeProwl 11:21 pm Good job, you just told the people who are supposedly trying to kill Garak that he's still alive. Unless you're luring them into a trap, that's stupid. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:23 pm [[It is. Then again, he has little faith in the capabilities of any organization that can't get knowledge as basic and readily available as Garak's occupation correct.]] FakeProwl 11:23 pm Is that Gold Docket? *doesn't remember his voice* *(or his name)* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:24 pm [[No. We do not discover their identity, but it is not Gul Dukat.]] FakeProwl 11:27 pm *Huh. Odo's better at playing politics than Prowl expected.* FakeProwl 11:32 pm *and guessing based on nothing but an understanding of assassins' modus operandis... a risky jump without solid evidence, but since no arrests were on the line, a fair one to make.* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:34 pm *There was the Cardassian tissue found in the pheromone explosive. Easiest to get from himself. And how unlikely it is for a suspected former spy of his caliber to not know when others have intruded into their space or modified something.* FakeProwl 11:34 pm ((sometimes i wonder how cold do they have to keep star trek sets so all the people in elaborate makeup and masks don't sweat to death)) ItsyBitsySpyers 11:35 pm ((same!! that greasepaint stuff melts so quick)) FakeProwl 11:36 pm *grimaces. prowl's been on the receiving end of quite a few accusations like that.* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:36 pm *Tendril squeeze. Such accusations are obviously nonsense.* [[How delightful.]] ItsyBitsySpyers 11:43 pm *Gently nudges Prowl.*

[[If you were wondering, he has no intention of destroying this building any time soon.]] FakeProwl 11:43 pm Good to know. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:44 pm *And a stretch.*

[[More next time.]] FakeProwl 11:45 pm ... I'm free tomorrow. *HE WANTS TO KNOW* ItsyBitsySpyers 11:46 pm *And that is why creative writers everywhere invented cliffhangers.*

[[So is he. We will do what we can then.]] [[For now, rest, and let the stories process. They will only grow more complex.]] FakeProwl 11:48 pm Mm. Rest comes after work. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:48 pm *Checks his chronometer.*

[[So it must. When you have returned, then.]] FakeProwl 11:49 pm *And, honestly, it's too close to work for him to watch another episode, anyway.* You'll send me the file of the one we skipped? I can watch it during my break. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:50 pm [[Of course.]] FakeProwl 11:52 pm Then I'll see you next time. ItsyBitsySpyers 11:52 pm *Nod.* [[Goodnight.]] FakeProwl 11:53 pm Goodnight. *He leans in for a crest tap, then disappears.*

#chat #slenderwave

2 notes · View notes