#i mean the people running the federation planets and starfleet absolutely were

[myenterpriseisparked]

can.... can we get a cast for your zoologist Trek show?

I don't have names for them but here we go! This is kind of long, so I'm putting the characters under a cut.

The ship is called the USS Frontiersman. It works mostly in deep space, studying new forms of life on newly discovered planets. Crew compliment of 160. 50 exozoologists, 50 exobotanists, 20 environmentalists (including geologists and atmospheric experts). The remaining 40 crew members are engineers, security officers, helmsman, and the captain and first officer. I'm not positive on the time period this is set during, but it's at least at a point where there's not much conflict between Cardassia and the Federation.

Captain: She's a 40-year-old Engineer who never expected to make captain. Finding out she was being offered a command was the best day of her life. The worst day of her life was the next day, when she stepped on board and realized it was an exobiology ship filled with eccentrics. She slept through her required exobiology course so she has no idea what any of her crew members are talking about. She's basically that babysitter who's charges are all extremely passionate about things she doesn't understand and the parents have asked her to drive them around to local museums and science learning centers while the kids yell in the backseat about who's topic of interest is better.

First Officer: She's a 30-year-old who went through the academy on the command route and was known for being an excellent pilot. Has less knowledge of exobiology than the captain. The two of them keep trying to push interpersonal conflicts to be solved off on one another because neither of them understand what anyone's talking about enough to truly help solve the issue and, frankly, they're both a little frightened of the ferocity of their crew.

Head Engineer: Bajoran who actually did pay attention in biology and, while she's a little confused, she's eager to learn about what the others are prattling on about and is an excellent listener. She tries her best to translate for the non-exobiologist crew members, especially the captain and first officer. She was married (spouse died. tragically) and has a daughter that follows her around engineering. Everyone loves the kid and tries to convince her to study whatever their area of expertise is. Later in the show, when she's a little older, she decides to go the command route at Starfleet and become a pilot, much to the crew's dismay. The First Officer is absolutely tickled.

Chief Medical Officer(s): The Frontiersman actually has 2 chief medical officers; a doctor and a veterinarian. Yes, this is terribly inefficient and yes, they constantly butt heads. The vet is a young human woman from Ohio with a dry sense of humor and a penchant for snark. The doctor is a young human male from Michigan with a dry sense of humor and a penchant for snark. They absolutely hate each other until the day they realize that they are actually in love with each other and all of their arguments have been attempts to deny their attraction. Both of them are absolutely disgusted that they could fall in love with someone so... so... infuriating gosh dang it. They try to continue denying their feelings for each other because they are from rival states and they constantly fight over jurisdiction in the medbay for new species. One day, however, one of their most heated arguments ends in a passionate kiss and they stop fighting their feelings (but not each other).

From there, the rest of the crew is divided up under chiefs of specific taxonomical divisions. Sometimes a division will only have 1 scientist, other times it has a whole crew of people. Depends on the frequency of that type of living thing appearing. Most divisions only have 3 people; a chief and two junior officers. Not every chief is featured in the show because that would be too many characters, so just the ones that are considered part of the senior staff, which were selected by Starfleet at the time of commission based on training.

Chief of Feliformia: She's a hotheaded Betazoid in her mid 30's who spends her free time boxing on the holodeck. She argues a lot with the Chief of Canidae, but they still have breakfast together every morning to trade ship gossip. She wrestles with PTSD and anxiety, which she hides under a layer of bravado. Surprisingly enough, the only person she really feels comfortable opening up to about her past is the Chief of Canidae, because, despite all of their banter about cats vs dogs, they're her closest friend and she appreciates their blunt honesty.

Chief of Canidae: They're a Trill in their mid 30's who's passionate to the point of poetry about dog-like creatures. They're host to a younger symbiont, and they're one of the shortest people on the ship. They also only really open up to the Chief of Feliformia for similar reasons; the blunt honesty. Their relationship is strictly platonic (and I mean actually platonic, not whatever the VOY writers were trying to sell to us about Janeway and Chakotay).

Chief of Rodentia: He's a 70-year-old Bajoran/Cardassian. His mother defected from the Cardassian army to be with his father and the two of them raised him on earth where he raised pet rats. He always has about 7 various rodents tucked into his lab coat. He is a neat freak about his lab space and refuses to let anyone into his area unless they have completely scrubbed up and promise not to touch his PADD stack. Part of his particularity about his lab comes from the fact that he faced a lot of public ridicule due to his mixed heritage when he was young and so he's naturally very defensive of everything he does and owns.

Chief of Chiroptera: She's a twenty-something Half Vulcan-Half Betazoid who was raised on Betazed. Her Vulcan mother was the Vulcan ambassador on Betazed, and her work made her somewhat absent so, while she has enough of a restraint on her emotions not to be violent or aggressive, she's also more Betazoid in terms of personality. The combination of telepathic and empathic abilities from her parents has made her sensitive to large crowds, which is why she LOVES working in caves with bats away from other people. The combination of the two species' abilities constantly bombarding her and the need to restrain her Vulcan emotions have also resulted in her having ADD (her attention is being pulled in every direction so focusing on other tasks that don't immediately grasp her interest is SUPER difficult for her). However, she's also incredibly kind, difficult to shock or surprise, and very passionate about her work.

Chief of Reptilia: They're a human in their early 50's, a bit reclusive, and VERY unwilling to let people in their lab. They never show up to a meeting without a snake around their neck. The snake might be venomous. No one knows for sure. Whatever the case; everyone on board is pretty sure the reptile division is actually a cult because they never see anyone from that crew outside of the lab decks.

Chief of Aves: She's human, no one knows her age, and she refuses to wear a standard-issue lab coat, opting instead to wear a tie-die coat that reaches the floor. She speaks in riddles and everyone thinks she's crazy, but she's actually incredibly wise and an excellent listener. She specializes in raptors.

Chief of Livestock: Even though it's not technically a taxonomical order, they have a guy who specializes in studying livestock of alien cultures. No one is sure how old he is, or what his species is, for that matter. He has the calm, level-headedness of a Vulcan, but he always wears a hat so no one sees his ears or eyebrows to know for sure. He might just be a Midwestern farmer, because they can be Like That too. Despite working with livestock, he also never gets injured, so not even the doctor knows. Some people speculate that he's not human OR Vulcan, but some other immortal species, like a Q. This mystery is never solved on the show, but everyone really likes this guy.

Chief Exobotanist: Despite the fact that the plants are divided up into other taxonomical species, they all report to one Chief Botanist because the plant department is a lot more efficient and interconnected than the animal departments. Despite this, she's completely overworked and undercaffeinated. However, her workload doesn't stop her from being one of the sweetest and most creative people on board. As to the rest of her character, I defer to @emilie786 , as she is the inspiration for this character!

There are other chiefs who are occasional recurring characters, like the Chief of Aquaculture and the Chief of Amphibians. There are also several junior officers who we get to know a bit that are kind of fun. I'm thinking there's some kind of star-crossed lovers arc going on between someone who works in exobotany and someone who works in exozoology. There's also an overworked head of security who is getting really sick and tired of all the escapee animals he has to track down. I think he might fall in love with the Chief Exobotanist partially because plants don't run away and get into the Jeffries tubes (until they do, of course).

Anyway, if anyone wants to add to this, go for it! I'm open to ideas!

#Star Trek: Frontiersman #star trek oc #sorry for the long post #to be continued probably

[itsclydebitches]

ngl voyager gets a whole lot of very disproportional hate from the fandom and i'd hazard a guess that a lot of that is just garden-variety misogyny (and probably racism mixed in, considering how many of the most prominent characters are women, poc, or both). like, is voyager perfect? absolutely not. and no spoilers but there was a lot of executive meddling that wound up leading to the finale/conclusion being lacking and there's a lot of reasonable dissatisfaction with that--but again that was largely thanks to the execs fucking the show over and i recommend looking into that if you can once you've finished the show. but overall? voyager is trek right to its very core--it has heart, it's about family, and it never loses sight of that imo, even if some episodes are weaker or just duds (but, like, would it be a trek series without some episodes that just kinda suck but are still fun to watch???)

anyway, i absolutely love that you're getting into voyager, it is my all-time favorite trek series to this day for a lot of reasons, and i hope that ppl like that anon dont put you off bc i'd love to continue to see your thoughts as you watch the series!

Oh, it would take a whole lot more than some anons being salty that others enjoy things to turn me off :D 

Thus far (I lost internet last night so I’m still only on Episode 7 of Season 2), Voyager is the Trekiest Trek I’ve watched. Which is a weird sentence, but I mean it in the way you said it’s “trek right to its very core.” What is Star Trek, if we strip the intent of the story down to its basics? It’s about exploration, discovery, that “wagon train to the stars,” wrapped up in the argument that life is fundamentally good. We have problems, but we can work past them. We have differences, but they strengthen us. Diversity is the lifeblood of the universe and the future will continue to improve so long as we embrace that. 

Voyager is (again, from what I’ve seen so far!) basically a love song to that premise. I didn’t do too deep a dive because I’m trying to avoid spoilers, but I did look at a couple threads discussing why Voyager is so hated. Again and again I saw the same reason pop up: wasted potential. Now, a lot of fans left it at that (as if the answer to what potential Voyager apparently missed out on is self-evident. It’s not), but those who did expand on the idea consistently claimed that the show needed to be darker than it was, even if they rarely said it like that. Why aren’t the Federation and the Marquis at each other’s throats? Why isn’t the crew going crazy under these circumstances? Why aren’t characters getting killed off left and right in hostile space? “Anything could have happened out there and they played it safe!” but the “anything” here is always... awful. There’s this very pervasive idea that the world is inherently cruel, people are inherently divisive, that when pushed to the brink everything will fall apart... and that (while making for one kind of great story) is very much not Star Trek. 

See, Voyager created an unimaginable scenario--lost in space, 75 years from home, forced to live indefinitely with strangers--and their answer to the question of “What happens?” is “People make it work.” They learn to respect one another, they uphold their ideals, they maintain a love of life and discovery, and they create a family. And that’s fucking fantastic. That’s Star Trek! I’m not going to pretend there aren’t problems with the show, with plenty more to come, I’m sure, but I don’t think this is one of them. Why do so many viewers think that hatred, horror, death, and growing jaded is the only potential here? Why would they expect that in a Star Trek show whose premise is the very antithesis of those things? 

“But they don’t do enough with those things, even if they have happy outcomes.” They do plenty, they just do it in an episodic rather than serialized nature. I can point to multiple episodes where the replicator rations or Maquis differences are driving the characters’ actions. “But without that horror there’s no conflict.” There’s plenty of conflict. Hostile aliens aside, I just watched an episode where Tuvok and Chakotay are pissed as hell at one another because they fundamentally disagree over how to handle problems, but--because they’re adults with a well-tested respect for one another--they apologize and work through it. “But the characters don’t develop at all.” You mean they don’t grow harder. That’s not the same thing as no development. Tuvok is figuring out how to be more flexible, Chakotay is becoming more willing to accept cultures he doesn’t agree with, Harry is growing more confident now that he’s far from home, the Doctor is learning to see himself as a person, Paris is grabbing his second chance with both hands by making strong ties, and Janeway is learning to command and care for her crew simultaneously. I honestly believe that a lot of people think of “character development” as the character becoming a fundamentally different person, unrecognizable from where they started out. But  characters can also grow into the people they wanted to be in the first place. “We’re far from home, in hostile territory, tempted to do horrific things to survive... but no. Right now at least, we’re holding onto who we are. We’re scientists, so we’re going to explore and learn. We’re peaceful, so we’re going to make friends with as many species as we can. We’re members of a society that teaches acceptance, so we’re going to form a family on this spaceship.” That’s incredible!! Did fans miss why Seska was an antagonist in the episode she was unmasked? Because she was trying to convince them to give up everything they believe in in the name of survival, an ends justify the means argument. And the crew said no, we will not give up what we believe in just to make it through. I legit saw a ton of fans saying some version of, “I can’t believe they were that far from home and actually followed Starfleet’s rulebook.” It’s because those rules don’t exist for the hell of it. Overlooking their practical function, they’re a philosophy that the characters believe in, and they’re figuring out how important that part of their identity is to them under these circumstances. Am I willing to steal a specie’s technology if it gets us home? Am I willing to die to help another uphold their own philosophy? (Chakotay in “Imitations”). What regulations should we bend or change to accommodate our new situation? The first two things Janeway does are a) giving the guy who just came out of a penal colony a rank and b) deciding that she needs to be more familiar with her crew than is normally encouraged for a captain because she’s essentially their mom now. Developing doesn’t have to mean characters do a 180 on their initial personality, or characters getting killed off when stuff gets “boring” so that others can do edgy things in response. 

Voyager upholds Trek’s premise and runs it to its logical conclusion: 

Voyager has the most literal trek--a trek back home. 

Voyager has the most diverse crew--a woman Captain, Native American First officer, black Vulcan, Asian-American communications officer, and a White Dude pilot that realizes he wants to be soft and kind towards those who took a chance on him because Toxic Masculinity who? 

Voyager has the most literal family--not just a 5+ year mission, but a crew who expects to raise the next generation. They have no choice but to work together, so they indeed come together rather than pulling apart

Except they do, of course, have a choice. In “The 37′s” the crew is allowed to stay on the Earth-like planet with a city of other humans and Janeway is convinced that a sizable number will choose that. After all, they may never get home and this is a safer, kinder future for them. In fact, the real question is whether so many will stay that they can no longer run the ship... but Janeway would never dictate her crew’s choices in that manner. So she swallows her worry down, opens the door... 

... and finds that not a single person decided to stay behind. And the show has ensured we understand that this is not just because they all have some unshakable belief that they’ll get home (many don’t), but because this is their family now. This is home. 

And fans want to toss that out for a generic, gritty, sci-fi adventure where hope is scarce, the universe is cruel, and people need to be pushed to the limit just to admit that they maybe, sort of, like each other?? Obviously like what you like, but that’s a hard pass for me. I’ll take the bridge crew comforting each other in “Twisted,” thanks. Besides, we already have shows like that. And we already have DS9 which grapples with many of those dark, pessimistic themes. Voyager feels like a breath of fresh air, even within the breath of fresh air that is Star Trek as a franchise. It’s a show that says, “Yes, when everything goes wrong people will come together. They will love each other. They will make it through.” 

What’s more Star Trek than that? 

#star trek #ST #mymetas #Anonymous

[writingsfromstarfleet]

Leonard McCoy - Guilt

♫ - Mars - Sleeping At Last

For @space-cowboy2227, I hope you enjoy and this is what you wanted! You lot as always, thank you for reading! Hugs! ♡

TW/CW: Survivors guilt and PTSD are running themes, if these make you uncomfortable then please skip this one! 

Vulcan had been your home for some while, though you were not Vulcan yourself. Your studies had granted you time on many different planets, there to study the way their society worked and culture as a whole. Though, despite your time on other planets, there was just something about Vulcan that drew you to stay. Once your studies were complete, you returned and had resided there since. Two years later and you had remained.

There was something about Vulcan that kept you there. So much about it was beautiful. The colours of the planet were all sorts reds, greens and browns. The natural environment was made up of jutted rock formations, most of its surface covered in large deserts and mountain ranges. Bodies of water and rivers broke up the land. Your favourite parts of the landscapes were the volcanoes, some active and some not, alongside the ancient ruins and lava fields.

These were all things you were forced to remember about the planet you had come to call your home. Distant memories were all you had left.

Fire and death had replaced every good thought you had about Vulcan. Needless bloodshed all for the sake of revenge. A less than understandable motivation, more so now than ever. You were there the day it happened, the day Nero had drilled into the surface all in the name of vengeance. People died around you, in front of you, Vulcans and non-Vulcans alike. You were told fewer than ten thousand people on Vulcan had survived; most of those you'd held dear were dead. Images of that day flashed through your mind each day, unable to escape the thoughts.

You had ended up aboard the Enterprise, a Federation starship sent by Starfleet in an attempt to help Vulcan stop Nero's attack. They did, they managed to destroy his own ship, the Narada, but just a little too late. The ship's doctor, a man named Leonard McCoy, was the man to treat your injuries.

"There, you'll be fine," his voice was low, not unkind. You failed to say anything, you hadn't since you got into sickbay, and the doctor was rather worried. "Are you alright, Y/N? I mean, I can understand you bein' quiet and all, but are you alright?"

His voice pulled you from your thoughts, and you feigned a smile at him.

"I am, thank you, Doctor."

"Yeah, you look it," he raised an eyebrow. In a sincere voice, Leonard spoke again. "I'm a doctor, not a psychic, but I can absolutely see you ain't alright. I'm here if you need anything, just come on in and I'll help you with what you need."

Each night was a struggle to fall asleep, to even get any form of relaxation; memories and recollections plagued your waking thoughts, and your subconscious was no better. You were unmotivated to do anything, barely leaving your quarters unless you had to. Feelings of sickness and isolation overwhelmed you at times.

The gravity of Leonard's words didn't hit you until your worst night. Waking up with a start, you were in tears, and decided to take the doctor up on his offer.

Making your way from your guest quarters, you navigated the ship as best you could, still a little unsure of what was where; you hadn't seen a ship the size of the Enterprise before, she was beautiful. You only wish you had been aboard for better, happier reasons. Eventually, you found yourself at the doors to sickbay, hoping Leonard was still in there. In your scared state, you failed to acknowledge that these were indeed sleeping hours.

Opening the door, you slowly padded in to see a small light in the office, making your way over with a light foot. Knocking, you waited for any answer from inside.

"Come in." A gruff, tired voice sounded, and you did so.

The door opened to reveal the handsome doctor, hunched over his desk with a dim light above him illuminating the room and setting a rather pensive mood. A pair of shining eyes made their way up to your own, eyeing you with a curiosity; Leonard most certainly wasn't used to visitors at such an hour.

"Oh," he realised he hadn't spoke, so he stood and motioned for you to enter, inviting you in. "Please. What can I do for you?"

As you stepped in, you sat on the chair that was free and now in the light, Leonard could see your tear stained face, eyes red and puffy. He looked down apologetically, kneeling down in front of you.

"I- I-" you stuttered, unable to get your sentence out for fear of your voice breaking. Luckily, Leonard interrupted you, saving both an awkward sentence and an uncomfortable silence.

"I know, I understand."

"It was horrible, doctor. I can't put it out of mind, every time I close my eyes all I can see is the destruction. I feel so guilty, Leonard, there were people I knew, people I cared about, that didn't survive. I lost everybody, and still I managed to survive. A part of me thinks I shouldn't have..."

Your string of words had fallen off its trail as Leonard placed a hand on your shoulder, noticing the silent tears that began to fall down your cheeks once more.

"You absolutely should be here, Y/N. Please, don't ever think that you shouldn't be. Survivor's guilt is not uncommon, especially when someone's gone through what you have. It makes you no less worthy to be here. We'll get through it though, right? Together."

You looked up from your lap and stopped twiddling your thumbs. Seeing Leonard give you a small smile, you nodded, albeit a little half-heartedly.

"Is there any getting through this?" Your words were whispered, and he frowned slightly, not liking seeing you upset. He brought his hand from your shoulder and took one of your own in his. The other came to rest on your knee.

"Yes, there is. It will take time, and a lot of patience, but you can do it. Hell, we can do it. I'll work with you for as long as it takes. There's steps for things like this, and I'm gonna make a promise to you now, that you'll be alright in the end. Fully healed and moved on? Perhaps not. But better and healthier? Certainly. You don't deserve this; none of you do."

Leonard had moved his eyes from yours and instead was looking at the hand he held in his. You looked at his face, and in the light, you could see how he felt. He was upset himself, almost pained, and you instinctively took his other hand.

"Are you alright, doctor? You yourself seem... a little down" you asked softly.

"I uh, I'll share something with you. I have a.. a friend," he began, still not looking up at you. "He's a Vulcan, and he works on this ship. He's just lost his mother. Now, we fight tooth and nail and we never agree on nothin', but I still don't want to see him the way he is. He's struggling, as much as a Vulcan will let on, but he refuses help, citing his own peoples traditions as coping mechanisms instead. So, if I can't help him then I'm damn well gonna help everyone else."

As he spoke, you could see in each word that he was serious. Very serious. You placed a hand on his cheek, drawing his head up to you. Your eyes were watery, and so were his. Leonard looked at you just as you had him when you first arrived. Bringing him forward, you wrapped your arms around his neck and held him close.

"I swear," he said quietly. "I swear I'll help you be alright."

Pulling yourself back, you looked him dead in the eye, eyes still brimming with tears as you let your emotions free. Cupping his face, you wiped some of the stray tears that fell down Leonard's face too, a side of himself he rarely chose to show. In the face of such tragedy, however, it was hard not to. Taking comfort in each other, you whispered your reply.

"Thank you."

You stayed with Leonard in his office that night, sitting whilst he worked, both of you taking solace in the other's presence. From that day on, you vowed to work on recovery, knowing that with Leonard's support, you could accomplish anything.

#tw: ptsd #star trek #star trek imagine #star trek x reader #star trek aos #aos #leonard mccoy #leonard mccoy x reader #leonard mccoy imagine #bones #bones x reader #bones imagine #x reader #imagine

[dimmwriter]

Malta 490-5

Universal Translators (UT) are one of the more critical devices that allow for alien species to communicate freely. They are located in the ear for most people but the location may change depending on the species’ physiology. Speech heard will automatically convert into the user’s spoken language, and anything spoken will convert to the receiver’s language if they do not have the technology. While I do not require one as the programming has already been included as part of my positronic database, officials from Starfleet and the planet Lenoah have been using them extensively.

Even so, it is not enough. The lenos’ language cannot be fully translated through the UT as a large amount of their communication is non-verbal. It has to do with the crystals embedded in their head--their “centers.” It displays their emotions as a series of flowing colors which has made statements such as “I disagree'' obsolete given that such things are openly shown. It has made communications between Starfleet and the lenos rather difficult, which is why I’m on the space station with them. I am acting as the lenos’ second voice.

A few generals thought that my job wasn’t necessary--especially General Zamani--but I see differently. I find it strange that the people who believe lenos should simply say what they feel are the same people who nod their heads in agreement or wave their hands in dismissal. It’s all the same really. To perform my assignment as a translator, I’ve memorized over one-thousand different colors as well as approximately five-hundred different combinations and their meanings. For humanoids this would take years to master (not to mention human eyes are unable to perceive many of the hues), I was able to achieve full comprehension in four minutes and thirteen seconds.

At least two of the five original crew members are always present in these conferences along with their planet’s government officials. Though Krona stayed on Lenoah in order to be a more direct voice for her people, I have been in regular contact with the rest of the group.

Currently, I’m spending my lunch break with Vron and Yingue, or at least trying to, “Why don’t you get something from the replicators? I assure you they can make more than the liquid rubber I drink.”

“Eating isn’t really something we do...in public,” Vron stated. “Either way I’m not hungry, the lights on this starbase are making me nauseated.”

“No matter then, we could move to a dimmer area if you all would like. I can drink this just about anywhere.”

Vron shared a glance to Yingue before agreeing.

I brought them to one of the many large viewpoints that looked outwards into space. These places were often dimmed in order to enhance the experience. Together the three of us sat and watched for some time in silence when Yingue turned to me.

“Is the body suiting you nicely?” she inquired.

“Quite well thank you, it’s a lot easier to maintain than an entire starship.” I decided to keep the fact that Starfleet engineers searched every part of my suit to myself.

“Actually, I wanted to ask how you kept up with the engineering on the Malta without a crew,” Vron stepped in, his center gleaming with curiosity.

I figured they might ask that, and I’m sure they won’t like the answer I’m going to have to give them, “I will have to ask my superior to discuss that, I will try my best to persuade him for you two.” Zamani would say no, I knew he would.

Somewhat heavy footsteps stopped at my side, General Zamani.

“Malta 490-5, walk with me to my office if you will,” he said in a low voice. “Sorry to take them from you, it’ll be returned shortly.” Malta 4 is simply an abbreviation of my name: 490 is my issued number while 5 is the edition of the Malta starship I was assigned to. Before my assignment with the Malta, most referred to me as 490. Can’t say that I’ve missed it.

His office was as cold and stale as ever, “I wanted to discuss the next meeting that will be held in a couple of hours.”

“Is there something wrong General?”

“Nothing is wrong, but I would like a few changes,” he said. Based on the way he was speaking, I figured that this request had little to do with Starfleet, but his own motives instead. “This next conference deals with matters of security that I feel uncomfortable sharing with...someone who doesn’t have the credentials.”

“You’re referring to me, correct?” It is true, I’m technically classified as an ensign even though I can perform at a much more efficient rate than organics. Becoming a lieutenant wouldn’t be too difficult if it weren’t for the fact that most people aren’t willing to test androids.

“Correct. As you might have guessed, this isn’t an order but a personal favor. Please do your best to make yourself scarce.” He stood and took a beverage from the replicator while I processed what he said. No one was really forcing me to go to these conferences; if I didn’t want to go, I truly didn’t have to.

Time to be bold, “And if I were to refuse?”

General Zamani paused from behind his chair before saying, “The choice is up to you 490,” he said. “The Malta shouldn’t be left docked at some starbase. If you’re too busy to pilot, then I can find someone else to take over. However, I’d be willing to put you back on your original mission and forget past mistakes.”

He couldn’t make me do anything I didn’t want to, but taking away my ability to space travel was purely his choice. This was a threat, and I have a theory as to why he wanted me gone: he hates androids and fears what would happen should they have too much power within the Federation. Prejudice was usual for someone his age, I was not surprised.

The General tapped his comm badge before I had the chance to retort and called Vron and Yingue into his office. I saved my words for their arrival and sat in one of the guest chairs. They took a minute and forty-four seconds to get here.

Vron and Yingue clasped their hands together and bowed at the hip while Vron said, “Greetings Zamani, what can we do for you and Malta 4.”

I decided to stay silent as the General explained the conflict of interest. The next meeting was about shield technology, which most seemed to know enough when it came to starships. Lenoah was offering to shield entire planets, however; planetary security shouldn’t be open to just anyone.

On a surface level, the lenos seemed to have no outward reaction to this request. Seeing as how rapidly their centers changed hue, I figured otherwise. “Have you brought this up with any of our diplomats?” Vron asked.

“I have not,” Zamani responded. “Thought it best to see how you officers would react first.”

“I don’t see the need for this change,” he continued. “It’s hard enough getting through your elongated speech, how will your people do when they can’t understand half of what we’re saying.”

“The decision is up to 490, legally only it can make a choice such as this,” he finished his drink, set the glass down, and sat back into his desk chair. “Feel free to discuss but keep in mind that time is running thin.”

“We’ll have to speak with Ali and Deligh before concluding,” Vron stated. “Malta 4 we will be in our shared quarters, please come by and let us hear your thoughts.” They turned and left without a word.

Zamani made sure they had walked away from the door to say, “These people don’t have many manors, do they? At least you refer to me as General.” I’ve tried explaining why they do not acknowledge rank often, he’s never been interested in what I have to say though.

I stood to leave, “Before I go, would you permit Vron and Yingue to examine the Malta? They are curious about my engineering functions and would like to understand how I manage without a crew.”

“And give away our technology, of course not. Dismissed,” he picked up a padd and began to scroll through the day’s reports.

“As you wish sir.”

I knew this would be his answer, and yet it didn’t prevent my disdain. I ended up turning off my emotion chip while leaving this office, no need for something that would only hinder my ability to work.

_____

“They’re taking away your ship?” Deligh asked.

“He’s planning on doing so, yes,” I sat with the lenos. “Without it, I’m uncertain what would happen once this is over.” That wasn’t entirely true, I simulated 387 different outcomes (of which only 13 had a high chance of occurrence) on my way here.

“Does that not violate a code of sorts?” Ali asked.

“Not exactly. Technically the starship isn’t mine, he had every right to reassign it so long as I’m given something to do in return,” I responded. “I would like you all to choose for me, pay my interests no mind.”

I took a quick scan of everyone’s centers only to find them in poor moods. They had a difficult choice to make: let me go but struggle through critical negotiations that required absolute clarity, or keep me here and take away my autonomy.

After a while of silent glances at each other, it seemed as though they came to a conclusion. Vron spoke for everyone as per usual, “It would be best for you to stay.”

Even with my emotion chip offline, I couldn’t help but feel a slight shiver down my person. “I understand.”

“We have to discuss this matter with our superiors,” Vron continued. “Try not to worry, we will do our best to come to a more desirable conclusion.”

I wanted nothing more than to believe them in that moment. They walked out confidently as if they had something up their sleeves but I found it difficult to care either way. The longer effects of having my emotion chip off began to set in and everything turned dull and numb. Mapping didn’t seem too bad at the moment.

#writer #writeblr #writblr #writing community #writing #wattpad #star trek #my writing #malta 4 #finally a new part! #this one is slightly shorter than the last #and that's because i decided to combine the my last point #with part 3 for coherency and overall effect #let me know if you liked it :)

[aion-rsa]

Star Trek: Lower Decks Episode 8 Easter Eggs & References

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This Star Trek: Lower Decks article contains spoilers.

If anyone was on the fence as to whether or not the Lower Deckers in Star Trek: Lower Decks were also giant in-universe Star Trek fans, the latest episode, “Veritas,” will reveal the truth. Mariner, Rutherford, Tendi and Boimler know their Trek history better than most real life Trekkies. And to prove it, this episode has more Easter eggs and deep-cuts than (mabye) all the other episodes combined. From discussions about the hair styles of obsecure TNG characters, to some very big homages to a big seen in Star Trek VI, this episode packed in the references, and then decided to throw in a Gorn wedding.

Here are all of the Easter eggs and references we caught in Star Trek: Lower Decks, Episode 8, “Veritas.”

Klingon trial from The Undiscovered Country

Later in the episode, Rutherford describes the setting for the episode as “Alien trial 101.” He’s not wrong. From the elevating platform to the tall alcoves full of shouting aliens, everything about this setting — including the banging of the creepy gavel — is meant to remind us of Kirk and McCoy’s trial on the Klingon Homeworld in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Granted, the gavel in The Undiscovered Country was not shaped like a skull, but the guy who banged it in that movie was wearing a metal claw.

The voice of Klarr

Kurtwood Smith plays the alien Klarr in this episode. Smith is famous to RoboCop fans as being the bad guy in RoboCop and famous to Star Trek fans as the guy who played the President of the United Federation of Planets in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. As the President, Kurtwood Smith is the guy who said Kirk and McCoy had to stand trial for the murder of Chancellor Gorkon.

Roga Danar versus Khan

Mariner and Boimler’s debate about “biggest badasses” is hilarious because everyone has heard of Khan, and only hardcore TNG fanatics have heard of Roga Danar. For most people, Roga Danar (played by Jeff McCarthy) is as Mariner says, “some dude nobody has heard of.” He appeared in the TNG Season 3 episode “The Hunted,” and briefly, did “outsmart” Picard, just as Boimler says.

Mariner’s defense of Khan echoes what Trekkies generally think; that he’s the best Trek villain ever, though obviously, nobody would pit Khan against Roga Danar! Mariner describes Khan as a “genetically engineered supervillain. Dude was a space seed!” Naturally, “Space Seed” is the TOS episode in which Khan first appears. Tendi’s reference to Khan’s “thick, thick chest’ is likely an allusion to the urban myth that Ricardo Montalbán wore a prosthetic chest while filming The Wrath of Khan. However, many sources (including director Nicholas Meyer) have repeatedly said that the “thick, thick chest” was all 100 percent Ricardo Montalbán.

Living on Earth

Mariner is super concerned about getting kicked off the ship and being forced to live on Earth “Where there’s nothing to do but drink wine and hang out at vintners and soul food restaurants.” This is a reference to both Captain Picard and Captain Sisko. In 2380, however, Jean-Luc Picard has not returned to his family’s vineyard full-time, The “soul food” references Sisko’s Creole Kitchen, a restaurant run Ben Sisko’s family and specifically operated by Ben’s father, Joseph Sisko. The restaurant first appeared in the DS9 episodes “Homefront” and “Paradise Lost.” 

Picard’s family wine vineyard, made famous in “All Good Things…” and the series Star Trek: Picard, first appeared in the TNG episode “Family.” 

Bug Captain Is Kenneth Mitchell

Star Trek: Discovery actor Kenneth Mitchell — who played the Klingons Kol, Kol’sha, and Tenavik— plays the voice of the insect-like Captain Seartave. In this same episode, Mitchell also plays a Federation guard and a Romulan guard. 

Send them a message

When Captain Freeman tells Mariner to “send them a message” to the alien ship, Mariner fires the phasers right away. This could reference The Wrath of Khan when Khan says “explain it to them,” which means, he wants his lackeys to fire a photon torpedo. 

“Denobulan flesh-eating bacteria”

Jax mentions a “Denobulan flesh-eating bacteria,” which references the Denobulans, a race of friendly aliens made famous by the prequel series Enterprise, specifically Dr. Phlox. Interestingly, Phlox did have a bunch of unorthodox treatments on the NX-01 Enterprise, which might have included weird fleshing-eating stuff.

Vulcan nerve pinch

Rutherford points out he doesn’t know how to do the Vulcan nerve pinch but managed to do it anyway. Non-Vulcans have done the Vulcan nerve pinch on several occasions. Picard did it in the TNG episode “Starship Mine,” Data did it “Unification,” and Michael Burnham did it in “The Vulcan Hello.” Most hilariously, McCoy tried to do a Vulcan nerve pinch in The Search For Spock, while Spock’s Katra (soul) was in his body.

Vulcan shuttle

During their covert mission to the planet Vulcan (presumably) Jax, Rutherford and Philips are flying a classic Vulcan shuttle. This is the same design of shuttle Spock took to hook-up with the Enterprise in Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

Famous starships in the museum

The museum where Jax, Rutherford, and Philips steal a Romulan Bird-of-Prey is packed with a ton of famous Star Trek ships, including:

A Jem’Hadar fighter (Deep Space Nine)

A Ferengi shuttle (TNG and DS9)

A D-7 or K’Tinga class Klingon Battlecruiser (TMP, TOS, TNG, DS9, and, technically, Discovery)

Several Federation shuttlecraft (Mostly TNG era)

A classic TOS shuttlecraft

The Vulcan landing ship from First Contact.

A Tholian ship (“The Tholian Web,” “In a Mirror, Darkly.”)

And…something that looks like the Monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Romulan Bird of Prey

The ship that is stolen, and later used by Ransom and Tendi, is a classic TOS-era Romulan Bird-of-Prey. Prior to this episode of Lower Decks this style of Romulan ship has only been seen in canon three other times: In the TOS episodes “Balance of Terror” and “The Enterprise Incident,” and in the Picard episode “Absolute Candor.” That said, the Bird-of-Prey in “The Enterprise Incident” was digitally inserted into the remastered “Enterprise Incident” in 2008. So, really, this ship has only appeared in canon in 1968, 2008, and twice in 2020.

Federation Guard

Also voiced by Kenneth Mitchell, the Federation Guard has security armor and a helmet reminiscent of the kinds of outfits security guards wore in The Motion Picture, The Search For Spock, and The Undiscovered Country.

Fan Dance

Jax tells Rutherford to “to a fan dance,” to distract the guard. This references Uhura doing a dance with feathery fans on Nimbus III in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. In that case, the fan dance only got Kirk and Spock some horses. 

Does Philips know the TNG crew?

The chief engineer of the Cerritos, Philips, makes two references to TNG episodes when he’s running out of oxygen. He says “Mark Twain’s got a gun!” and “Tasha No! The garbage bag’s behind you!” The Twain thing references Mark Twain pulling a gun on the TNG crew in “Time’s Arrow.” And the Tasha comment seems to reference “Skin of Evil,” when a creature who you could call a “garbage bag” did kill Tasha Yar.

Gorn Wedding

Does the Gorn wedding count as an Easter egg? Considering we’ve never seen this many Gorn (Gorns?) in one place, ever, this feels like yes, this counts as an Easter egg. Also, if the shuttle crashlanded during a Gorn wedding, does that mean they crashlanded on Cestus III, a planet the Gorn took over in the TOS episode “Arena?”

Romulan Bridge interior 

Everything about the interior of the Romulan ship matches a TNG-era Romulan ship, which seems to reference, mostly, the TNG episode “Face of the Enemy,” in which Troi is kidnapped by Romulan agents, but also, made to work for them.

Covert Ops Starfleet Outfits (Again!)

This marks the second Lower Decks episode in a row that references the all-black bodystocking outfits from the TNG episode “Chain of Command.” And because Ransom wore one in “Much Ado About Boimler,” this is the second episode in a row that he’s been on an undercover mission.

“You know who I hate, Remans”

The Romulan guards are talking about how they hate “Remans” and that Remans are “the worst.” The Remans are an alien species who live in the same planetary system as the Romulans on the planet Remus. We never met the Remans until the 2002 film Star Trek: Nemesis. Although he was human, the Picard clone named Shinzon (Tom Hardy) considered himself a Reman. The events of Nemesis and the attempt for the Remans to take over the Romulan Empire happened just one year prior to Lower Decks, in the year 2379.

“Like whenever Q shows up”

John de Lancie voices “Q” in a flashback where he forces the crew of the Cerritos to play some kind of absurd chess game with playing cards and a soccer ball. Q is dressed in his judge’s robes from the TNG episodes “Encounter at Farpoint” and “All Good Things…” In the context of “Encounter at Farpoint,” this outfit is actually taken from Earth’s future history; at some point in the 21st century, several draconian courtrooms existed on Earth, in which the rulings were neither fair nor just. Q says “Do you think humanity is really worth saving?” which was basically his whole beef in “Encounter at Farpoint,” when he calls humanity “a savage, child race.” The ridiculous board game, in which the crew is turned into chess pieces could reference the DS9 episode “Move Along Home,” in which the crew has to act out certain moves that are reminiscent of a board game.

Salt Vampires… are… alive!

When Mariner tells Ransom that his date is a “salt vampire” the says that “salt vampires died out more than a century ago.” This references the very first aired TOS episode “The Man Trap,” which takes place in 2266, more than a century before Lower Decks. This is the second time the M-113 “Salt Vampire” creature has been referenced on Lower Decks, but the first time we’ve actually seen it in the flesh — sucker hands and all.

Dr. T’Ana has a “Remember Me” moment

When Dr. T’Ana says that nobody on the ship remembers her, this could reference the TNG episode “Remember Me,” in which Dr. Crusher enters a small bubble parallel universe in which people she knows, start to vanish from existence. 

Boimler’s speech about what Starfleet officers “don’t know”

To prove that Starfleet officers are good people, but sometimes totally ignorant of what is going on in the galaxy, Boimlter rattles off several examples of Starfleet officers not knowing something that was utterly nuts. 

“Did Picard know about the Borg?” References the TNG episode “Q, Who?” in which Q forces the Enterprise to encounter the Borg. Picard may not have known about the Borg in 2365, but there’s some debate that some people in the Federation did. Seven of Nine’s parents knew about the Borg in the 2350s.

Did Kirk now about that giant Spock on Phylos? This references an episode of The Animated Series called “The Infinite Vulcan.” The “giant Spock” was a huge Spock clone named “Spock 2.”

Did Dr. Crusher know about that ghost in the lantern from the Scottish planet that she hooked up with that one time? This is from the TNG episode “Sub Rosa,” and yeah, Dr. Crusher hooked up with a ghost that lived in a lantern.

“Drumhead!” Boimler’s mic-drop moment is the word “drumhead,” which references Picard giving a speech that ends a witch-hunt trial in the TNG episode “The Drumhead.” The “drumhead” itself, refers to the head of a drum that would be up-ended on a battlefield to serve as an ad hoc judge’s bench.

Q references Trelane!

When Q appears at the end of the episode, he says “I challenge you to a duel” to the Lower Deckers. This references the character of Trelane from the TOS episode “The Squire of Gothos.” Trelane was a being with powers that were basically exactly like Q, and later Trek novels like Q-Squared, made it clear that Trelane was a member of the Q-Continuum who had been cast aside. When Gene Roddenberry first created the character of Q, TNG writers were worried he’d be too similar to Trelane and fans wouldn’t accept it. These days, naturally Q, is much more famous that Trelane. And yes, Trelane did challenge Kirk to a duel in “The Squire of Gothos,” and Kirk accepted.

Q speaks French, talks about Picard

When Mariner says : “Get out of here Q! We’re not doing any of your Q bullshit” he says “S’il vous plaît Mariner!” This implies he knows Mariner pretty well, which is hilarious, but she tells him she’s not French and he should go bother Picard. Q says, “Picard is no fun!He’s always quoting Shakespeare, he’s always making wine.” Picard quoted Shakespeare to Q, specifcally Hamlet in the TNG episode “Hide and Q.” Mentioning that Picard is making wine at this point in time is interesting. We know that by 2385, Picard will leave Starfleet and go live on his vineyard in France. But, in 2380, Picard is still in Starfleet. Is he making wine on the Enterprise?

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Star Trek: Lower Decks has two more episodes in season 1, which air on CBS All Access on Thursdays.

The post Star Trek: Lower Decks Episode 8 Easter Eggs & References appeared first on Den of Geek.

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#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

[thehuntyhunties]

i’m finally in a place where I want to watch Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space 9 again so I’m finally back on my bullshit with my TNG AU. It also just hit me that this is the only one of my mainline AUs i’ve never talked about here? huh. Anyways this got very long and took most of my allowed tumblr time to type up so enjoy!

First off everything takes place on a Federation starship called the Blue Planet, flying under Captain Biscuit Krueger. I’m thinking that the Blue Planet is a Nebula-class vessel that performs various research and scientific missions on the edges of Federation territory and explored space, which gives a lot of potential for shenanigans. Bisky herself is an allasomorph from Daled IV, unbeknownst to most of her crew (or most of Starfleet for that matter), and she is blatantly ignoring the civil war on her home planet because unlocking the mysteries of the universe is a lot more fun. 

Well that’s the scene set, so now let’s get on to the main four!

Kurapika is officially Bajoran. It’s been literally three years but I’m gonna commit. idk why I was resistant to it because it really does make the most sense. If you haven’t seen TNG, Bajor is a planet colonized by Cardassia and a running theme of the Bajor episodes are the way the Federation has failed the Bajoran people by maintaining neutrality (but also the tricky situation of negotiating around the Cardassian Union, which is a pretty major military force in the galaxy). Basically this is a complicated way of saying that Kurapika’s family is dead and they’re very angry at just about everything about it, including Starfleet sometimes, despite being a Starfleet officer. Is there a secret revenge plot afoot? Absolutely.

I just full-on made up an alien species for the Zoldycks to be. I remember it very clearly, i was walking to work one afternoon and all these ideas just unspooled before me, it was wild. So Padokea is now a planet, and Padokeans are more or less the apex predators of their planet. Time was, if you wanted someone in the galaxy assassinated, you wanted a Padokean to do it – traditionally they were the best assassins in the galaxy, and traditionally the Zoldycks were among the best of the best. I say “traditionally” because theoretically Padokea had to put a stop to the assassination thing in order to join the Federation, but like... the Zoldycks are totally still active and everyone knows it, even though the Padokean government formally denies that any of the old assassin families are still doing murders. Anyways! Killua is very tall and has sharp teeth and cool eyes and very sharp hands when he wants to, and he’s a pilot under the Navigation branch of command. He’s really not interested in his family’s business, he wants to see the universe and discover cool things and have adventures! Even though that can be tricky for his species sometimes, because of shenanigans involving Padokean neurology. I wonder what I mean by that.... hmmmm....

Gon is... nominally human. He never had any reason to believe he’s not! He grew up in a colony on Cetacea Delta II, which is pretty on the fringes – lots of untamed alien wilderness for a kid to explore, a lot of people from all over the galaxy stopping by, no one really examining Mito’s oddball kid that closely. But once he’s on the Blue Planet and starts getting into his various scraps and shenanigans, Chief Medical Officer Leorio (actually human, grew up off-Earth) starts looking closely enough to notice... anomalies... there’s nothing that stands out dramatically and says what else he could be but it’s driving Leorio bananas and he wants to chase Ging down across the galaxy and demand some answers. Leorio takes his job seriously and he loves a puzzle but GEEZ.

I’m about to get kicked off tumblr for the day so I’ll pick this up some other time! I’m looking forward to finally nailing down some of the finer details, and I want to flesh out who else is on the crew and exactly what they do. I know that Knuckle keeps filling Cargo Bay 3 with various creatures and Bisky has had just about enough of him.

#tng au #i could spend hours unpacking this now that i'm back at it #i'm so happy i've returned ;u; maybe i'll finally iron out some of the trickier details... like what the zoldycks are up to #the hunterfam

[summahsunlight]

This Way Became My Journey, Ch. 7

Word count: 3506

Pairings: Janeway/Chakotay, Paris/OC

The Val Jean and Voyager had entered a stranded orbit around the fifth planet where their new friend had informed them that they would find the Ocampa. Captain Janeway had made preparations for an away team to beam down to the surface to search for Torres and Kim and had ordered Sarah Barrett, who had been given the pleasure of being their guest's escort, to retrieve their guest and bring him to the transporter room. For the most part she had spent it running him around the ship to see absolutely everything. He talked nonstop and constantly was asking questions about how the ship worked. Sarah's best skills were not in engineering but she managed to answer them to the best of her limited abilities. The whole ordeal had been utterly exhausting and it wasn't even past noon yet.

She tapped at the panel outside their guest's quarters to let him know she was there, but there was no response. Using her security clearance she opened the door.

"Hello?" Sarah called out as she stepped into the quarters that had been assigned to Neelix. "Mister Neelix?"

She glanced around the room and caught sight of the dinning table. There were several vases of water stacked on top of each other like children's blocks and plates of half eaten food every where. Glancing astonished at the sight, she leaned down to get a better look, allowing her sapphire eyes to study each vase. Mister Neelix must not have seen a replicator before today.

From the bathroom she could hear singing, although it wasn't words, just sounds, and she could hear the splashing of water. Straightening up, she turned about and stepped inside the bathroom, and immediately shut her eyes. Neelix was in the bathtub, soaking in a mountain of bubbles, and had no qualms about her walking in on him. "Sir?" she asked, nervously.

"Ah, Miss Barrett! Come in! Please, come in! I can hardly see your pretty face!" Neelix said happily from the tub. Sarah stepped into the room further but did not open her eyes. "I want to thank you for your hospitality, Miss Barrett. I must admit, I've never had access to a food… repmala...replicator before."

Sarah swallowed hard. "Really? I would never have guessed that."

"And to immerse my self in water, do you know what joy this is?" Neelix grabbed for another large vase of water and poured it down his throat, not caring if he wasted any. "No one around here wastes water in this manner," he told her, "a good sand scrub, that's the best we can hope for."

"I'm happy that you're having a grand time, but we've just arrived at the fifth planet. Captain Janeway needs your assistance," Sarah replied. She heard some splashing about in the water and assumed that the sounds were caused because Neelix stood up.

"Oh, could you hand me the towel," he asked her.

If it wasn't so hot in that room her face probably would have paled. "What?"

"The towel, Miss Barrett, oh don't be shy! I don't bite!"

"It's not you biting me that I'm worried about," Sarah said, reaching out with her hands and feeling for the towel. When she found it she grasped it tightly and held it out to her side. She heard Neelix move about as he snatched the towel from her hand.

The alien began wrapping the towel about his body and drying off, not bothered at all that he was wearing only a towel in the presence of a stranger. "On the large southern continent you'll find a range of extinct volcanoes. Follow the foothills north until you discover a dry riverbed. You'll find an encampment there."

For some reason she got the feeling that Neelix was leading them in a different direction for his own purposes, but she did not speak up about it, not yet anyways. "Do you think that's where our people are?"

"It's not impossible," Neelix replied. Again there was a rippling of a feeling that he was lying to her. "Maybe… perhaps not, but we will find them. We'll need several containers of water to bring, for barter of course." He eyed her science blue uniform for a moment and his finger traced her combadge in midair. "Do these replicators make clothing as well?"

"Yes," she said simply, finally feeling safe to open her eyes.

"Well it make me a uniform like yours?"

"No, it will not," She lied, " However I suggest that you dress quickly. I'll inform Captain Janeway of what you just told me."

Neelix went off to get dressed and Sarah nearly ran out of the quarters. Once out in the safe confines of the corridor she tapped her combadge. "Barrett to Janeway."

"Janeway here."

"I've just spoken to Mister Neelix. He says that we should travel to the southern continent, apparently there is an encampment near a dried up river bed," Sarah told her commanding officer. "He also recommended that we have several containers of water to use for barter. Captain, I get the feeling that he is not being entirely truthful with us, but perhaps we'll get more answers when we beam down to the surface."

"Understood; I want you and Mister Neelix to meet us in Transporter Room Two."

"Yes ma'am," Sarah replied as the doors to Neelix's quarters swished open. The alien stepped out wearing a colorful patterned suit. "Mister Neelix and I are ready. We'll meet you in Transporter Room Two, Barrett out." She tapped her combadge and then remembered she had something to give their guest. She held her hand out, in it was another silver and gold combadge, the same one that she had on her uniform.

"This if for you Neelix. It's so we can keep track of you, just in case anything goes wrong down there. It also allows you to communicate with Voyager directly," Sarah placed it in his palm. "Don't lose it, it could mean your life," she told him as she turned away and began to make for the turbo lift.

"My life?" Neelix sputtered. "What kind of missions do you Federation go on anyways?"

She chuckled as they stepped inside the lift. "Deck Four," she told the computer.

Neelix was nervously placing the combadge onto his suit jacket. "This is just a safety precaution right? I mean, you were joking when you said that this could mean my life?"

"No, I wasn't," Sarah replied as the lift came to a halt and the doors opened. "This is so we will have the ability to transport you off the planet at a moment's notice. Sometimes that moment could be just before the room you're in explodes. The chances of that happening though are slim, I wouldn't worry about it."

He didn't look entirely convinced as they stepped into the transporter room. Janeway was waiting there with Chakotay, Paris, and Tuvok. Neelix looked even more nervous when Janeway instructed Sarah to arm her self. These people were not taking the situation lightly, and they shouldn't, not for where Neelix was about to take them. The phasers were probably a good thing to be carrying. But the presences of their weapons might complicate his plan.

"Alright, let's get moving," Janeway ordered the group. They all got on the transporter pad swiftly and once they were all in place, Janeway gave the transporter chief the order to energize.

They rematerialized in what would be the equivalent of no where on Earth. There was no plant life to speak of, it was dry and hot, the sun beating down on their backs. It was a desert just like all their scans had told them, yet it was more desolate than any of them could have imagined. Turning about, Janeway and her away team saw the encampment that Neelix had told them about. Several alien ships were parked near by, and she could see beings crying out in shock at their sudden appearance and run back towards the settlement.

Janeway looked over her shoulder at Neelix, who stepped up to her side. They began walking towards the settlement while Tom Paris remarked, "Why would anyone want to live in a place like this?"

"The rich cormaline deposits are very much in demand," Neelix answered him, his orange eyes scanning the settlement, as if he was looking for someone particular.

"Do the Ocampa use it for barter?" Chakotay asked.

"Not the Ocampa, the Kazon-Ogla," Neelix said.

"The Kazon-Ogla, who are the Kazon-Ogla?" Janeway asked, confused.

Neelix gestured towards the settlement that they were walking towards. "They are." A group of Kazon had gathered at the entrance of the settlement, some were brandishing weapons, cautiously watching as the group of Starfleet officers, a Maquis commander, and a Talaxian trader came closer to their home. They resembled klingons in appearance, with cranial ridges and darker pigmented skin, the most common appearing to be a copper tone. They had dark hair that grew in chunks or was specifically parted in several places, perhaps, Janeway thought, as some form of hierarchy.

"I thought you were taking us to the Ocampa?" Barrett asked, walking alongside Janeway. She had known Neelix was lying to them and even though she had told the Captain she had such feelings, she had not insisted that they wait until they knew of Neelix's true motives. Now they could be walking into a dangerous situation that had very little to do with Harry Kim and B'Elanna Torres. "When we asked that you take us to the Ocampa, we meant we wanted to be taken to the Ocampa, not on a detour."

"The Kazon sects control this part of the quadrant," Neelix informed Janeway, ignoring Barrett. "Some have food some have water, they all trade and they all kill each other for it."

They had made it to the gathering of Kazon. Janeway, like Barrett, wasn't too pleased that she had been misled. "I thought you said the Ocampa had our people?"

The Kazon closed in around them, the group was pressed tightly together as Neelix cried out, "My friends! It's good to see you again!" The aliens weren't too happy to see him however, scooping him up and carrying him away while the others took the away team's weapons, pushing them all to the ground. Neelix was thrown against a wall, the group that had grabbed him snarling at him.

"I must speak with your Maje," Neelix said, "the ever wise Jabin!" The Kazon cocked their weapons at him as another Kazon made their way across a balcony above them, stirred by the noise of the mob. Neelix spotted him and cried out, "Jabin!"

The newcomer didn't look pleased to see Neelix as he made his way down towards the group. The away team began to feel nervous, more so than they already were. Things were not going quite as they had planned they were going to go. Neelix was still sputtering away, hoping that the Kazon whose guns were trained on him wouldn't fire. "Water Jabin! I have water! To replace all that I borrowed! Show them Mister Paris," he cried desperately.

Tom reached into the knapsack that he was carrying and produced a small canteen of water, holding it out to Jabin. The Kazon snatched the canteen up as Neelix told them that the ship they came on could make water out of thin air. Jabin opened the canteen and sniffed its contents before taking a large sip of the precious liquid. He handed the canteen off to the person nearest him, dark eyes looking at Paris, the closest male to him, and asked, "You have more?"

Janeway tapped her combadge. "Janeway to Voyager. Energize." Two large containers appeared out of nowhere to the Kazon and they quickly grabbed whatever they could to go and gather the water up, completely forgetting about Neelix. Jabin watched astounded as his people moved towards the large containers. "There's more where that came from, if you can help us." Even though Neelix had led them to the Kazon and not the Ocampa, Janeway was going to make best of the situation.

Jabin looked at her. "How can we help someone so powerful that they can create water out of thin air?"

Janeway eyed Neelix for a moment. "This man lead us here suggesting that we might find a people called the Ocampa," she noticed that a girl, with short cropped blonde hair, and pointed ears, had appeared near by where Neelix was standing. She looked like she had been beaten and it made Janeway's skin crawl. "Do you know where they are?"

The Kazon leader looked at Janeway curiously. "Ocampa?" he repeated before turning about and pointing towards the girl that was standing a ways behind Neelix. "She is Ocampa! Why would you be interested in such worthless creatures? They only live nine years. They make poor servants; we caught her when she wandered to the surface."

"To the surface? You mean they live underground?" Janeway questioned.

"The entity in space that gives them food and power, also gives them sole access to this planet's only source of water, two miles below the surface," Jabin answered, pointing towards the energy pulses that were going towards the mountains.

"This same entity has abducted two of our people," Janeway replied. "We believe that they might be with the Ocampa."

"There's no way to get to them, we've tried," Jabin answered, lowering his body down to be at eye level with Janeway. "The entity has established some kind of subterranean barrier, we cannot penetrate."

Barrett and Chakotay were thinking the same thing, but Chakotay voiced it first, "But she got out."

"Occassionally some of them do find their way to the surface. We don't know how, but the Ocampa seal the tunnels afterwards," Jabin said, stuffing all of their weapons onto his own belt.

"Maybe she can help these good people find a way down," Neelix offered a bit too slyly for the likes of Janeway or Barrett. He was up to something and they both hoped that it wasn't going to cost them.

Jabin laughed, and then snarled, "You'd be wasting your time. I've used ever method of persuasion I know to get her to help us. She won't!"

"She's worthless to you! Let us trade you water for this scrawny little thing," Neelix replied.

"I'd be more interested in obtaining this technology that allows you to create water out of thin air," Jabin said.

Janeway made eye contact with Barrett. Protocol didn't exactly forbid Janeway to share technologly, if it was in fair trade and a benefit to the people receiving it, however, the Captain didn't know much about the Kazon, and therefore felt uncomfortable about giving them access to Federation technology. "That would be difficult," Janeway answered, truthfully. "It's integrated into our ship's systems."

No sooner had the words left her mouth, than did Neelix suddenly run forward and grab Jabin. He was holding a small phaser that could be concealed in the palm of your hand and the away team was shocked when it was produced. "Tell them to drop their weapons!" Neelix ordered Jabin, jabbing the phaser in the fleshy part of the Kazon's neck.

"Do it!" Jabin cried. The Kazon who had rushed to his rescue put their weapons down.

The away team jumped to their feet, Chakotay retrieving all of their weapons from Jabin's belt. Each member pointed the phaser at the group of Kazon, but kept the setting on stun. Janeway only hoped that they could get out of there without any weapons firing.

There was going to be no such luck. Neelix pushed Jabin away from him and pointed his own weapon right at the containers of water, warning the Kazon to get out of the way. He then fired the weapon, puncturing the water containers. The liquid came gushing out and the Kazon rushed to get what they could before it all emptied out and was sucked up by the dry ground.

The Ocampa girl was joining them now, as instructed by Neelix. "I strongly suggest that you get us out of here," he implored to Janeway, who tapped her combadge and told Voyager to beam them all up.

Once on the safety of the transporter pad, Janeway and the rest of the away team put their weapons away, making their way off the transporter pad. No one was really paying attention to Neelix and the Ocampa, until they heard Neelix say, "My dearest, didn't I promise I'd save you."

Tuvok frowned, Paris and Chakotay looked amused, while Janeway looked at the couple,shocked. Barrett, on the other hand, wasn't too surprised, she had a feeling before that Neelix had another plan other than leading them to the Ocampa, but rescuing a lover was not what had been at the top of her list of things he could possibly be doing.

"Perhaps we should get our new guest to sickbay," Tuvok suggested, leading Neelix and the Ocampa girl off of the transporter pad.

When they were gone Janeway looked at Barrett. "Do you believe his sole purpose for helping us was to help her?"

Barrett nodded her head. "Yes, he was probably looking for ways to help her escape the Kazon and were were plopped in his lap, needing to get to the the fifth planet and with far superior technology than anyone in this sector of space."

Janeway shook her head. She wasn't about to let Neelix's little deception of them slid; he was going to help them now whether he liked it or not. "Let's prepare another away mission to the planet, only this time we're going to the Ocampa and no detours. Maybe the girl we just helped rescue will feel slightly inclined to help us in return. Let's go join our guests in sickbay."

Paris, Chakotay, and Barrett followed the Captain out of the transporter room and made their way to the turbo lift. When they arrived in sickbay they found the Doctor cleaning the young Ocampa up, healing the cuts and bruises on her face, and Tuvok scolding Neelix, like he was one of the Vulcan's children.

"If you had told us what you had planned, we might have anticipated your irrational behavior," the Vulcan was saying, in a crisp even tone.

"Irrational? We got out of there didn't we?" Neelix snapped.

"Barely," Barrett muttered under her breath as the young Ocampa sat up on the biobed. Janeway flashed her a warning glare. She knew enough about her new commanding officer that the look meant it was time to keep her mouth shut. Pressing her lips together, she moved back a little, allowing Janeway to take the lead.

"Excuse me," the Ocampa said. "Don't blame Neelix."

The Doctor looked annoyed as the group closed in around the surgical biobed. "That's enough; this is a sick bay not a conference room. Everyone except my patient is to leave immediately."

Janeway voiced the words that both Barrett and Paris wanted too. "Computer, end medical holographic program." The Doctor gave her a surprised look before he disappeared, dropping an instrument on the floor. Janeway inched her way closer to the biobed, her arms crossed firmly over her chest.

"I never should have gone to the surface, I'm too curious," the Ocampa said as the Captain put the palms of her hands on the biobed. "I'm told it's my worst failing."

Neelix shook his head. "No no, it's a wonderful quality, you're most endearing."

"Would you be willing to take us underground to look for our missing crew?" Janeway asked her hopefully.

"I'm afraid that Jabin was right, there's no way to get down. The tunnel I came out has been sealed."

"We don't need a tunnel. We have the ability to transport there directly," Janeway told her. The girl looked genuinely curious at this statement.

"Captain," Tuvok's voice came from somewhere behind Janeway, "our sensors didn't pick up any indication of an underground civilization, the subterranean barrier that Jabin described maybe responsible. It might also block our transporter."

"There are breaches in the security barrier where it's begun to decay. That's how I got out."

Janeway mulled over her next course of action and turned to look at Tuvok. "Have the transporter room began a sweep for any breaches that we might be able to transport through." The Vulcan nodded his head and left the room, the door hissing shut behind him.

"Kes can tell you where to go, but now that she's free, we're leaving this system together," Neelix told Janeway. The Captain realized that was the first time she had ever heard the girl's name.

"Neelix," Kes said, forcefully. "These people rescued me."

"I rescued you!" Neelix replied, hotly.

"With their help; it would be wrong not to help them now."

Janeway smiled and ordered everyone, including Neelix and Kes back to the transporter room, and to prepare for another journey down to the planet, this time, however, they would be going underground.

#star trek voyager #star trek voyager fanfiction #kathryn janeway #chakotay #tom paris #sarah barrett (oc) #b'elanna torres #harry kim #neelix #kes #the doctor (emh) #janeway x chakotay #tom paris x ofc

[trekkin-bubblegum]

A change of scenery (part one)

It took me a lot to write this so I hope you enjoy.

I dedicate this to my wonderful mum

Warnings: none I don’t think

pairing: none yet 

 “His daughter is a mermaid, but approach her with caution. Her mind swims at depths most would drown in”

“you just have to hope Scotty won’t be sitting day after day, year after year saying, ‘I love you’ before kissing her headstone”

“you read the file then”

“of course, I did, like the rest of the crew I, will be responsible for her health, also when I found out scotty had a daughter I couldn’t not read the file, I mean why wouldn’t he say something”

“he was sworn to secrecy by Starfleet, he almost got condemned for it”

“because he fell in love?”

 “he fell in love with a woman from the 20th century, doctor”

“I thought his daughter was born in the 21st”

“yes, but her mother was born in the 1960s, the girl was born in the year 2000”

“the girl has a name its (Y/N) (Y/L/N) born on the (Y/B/D) 2000”

“I know we clarified that doctor”

“when does she come aboard?”

“we pick her up from star base six in a few hours, she has been in our time for about six months”

“they deemed her immune system strong enough, but I will be giving her a fully physical just to make sure”

“bones, bones you need to give the girl a chance, she’ll be absolutely terrified, remember she did lose her mother not that long ago, her mother died in an invisible war one of the first victims of that attack”

“not before innocence”

“what do you mean by that?”

“the first victim of war is innocence, especially when it is an invisible war, how could people live like that, how could people go to work on a train and know that a terrorist could attack them it’s not even like attacks were rare they happened just about every month”

“why don’t you ask the girl”

“she’s been through enough without me pestering her”

“I thought you were going to give her a physical?”

~

My eyes bore into the ceiling above, a whir of a tricorder next to my head and talking from the doctor next to me, but I found myself a little too distracted my mind kept going back to the night my mother died, it was the first night I finally understood why people fear silence and at that moment when I saw the life leave her beautiful eyes it was at four years old I realised that none of us are immortal.

My mother has always told me that my father was a solider but he had to leave to go to war and only a flag came back. But when my mother died, I almost died too. The straight line is the most terrifying thing I have experienced.

Losing my mother made me think that if I take a deep breathe will I breathe clean air, or will my lungs be filled with chemical gas and children will die around me. When you lose someone like I did these questions, I don’t believe in God, used to but how can I love anyone if I am going to lose them, I will never love this man who is my dad. He left me in my time of need, didn’t even come to see me sent people in uniforms, from the federation, how can I love someone that who for all my life I had never known.

~

“energize”

There she stood. A small girl with mousey brown hair at waist that was done in thick braids, big brown eyes peeked out from thick eyelashes, she kind of looked like scotty but it really was only the eyes.

“good afternoon, Miss Scott, unfortunately your father has been caught up in engineering so Mr Spock, Doctor McCoy and I will conduct a tour of the ship when you are ready, but first we will show you to your quarters”

“thank you, sir”

Smiling at her Scottish accent I helped her down of the transporter pad, I looked to Bones who was studying her.

“this way” she smiled faintly at me and Bones ever the southern gentleman put his arm out to her which she took, just got to hope we don’t run into Mr Scott along the corridor.

Taking in her clothing I quickly realised it was Starfleet transportation uniform with a green stripe on the sleeve, which is the standard civilian uniform colour if being transported between space stations or ships.

“These will be your quarters they connect with your fathers we do hope you will be comfortable in your draw you will find some clothes that communications officer Uhura, nurse Chapel and yeoman Rand, who you meet later, we will leave you for now to get settled, your father will be along shortly”

“thank you, Sir”

After leaving her quarters I turned to Spock and McCoy. “so, what do we reckon?”

“what do you mean, Jim” chuckling at Spock’s inability to understand a human question.

“what he means by that Mr Spock, is what we think of the girl”

“yes, Doctor I understood the context quite clearly”

“then why ask the question”

“gentlemen, gentlemen all I did was ask a question” I said getting into the lift

“she seems nice, doesn’t say much though”

“Doctor, although I am not familiar with human emotions I can understand that she will be nervous and or scared by all of this”

“Spock, look here I am a doctor I’m now her doctor, so stop trying to be her physiologist”

“doctor, I sim-“

“bridge”

“simply was explaining what she must be feeling, I am a Vulcan not a Betazoid I cannot possible know what she is thinking”

Spock finished the conversation and went to his station, probably realising that some mediation would be happening tonight. One-nil to Bones, he lent on the back of the chair chuckling.

“Mr Scott” I said over the communicator

“aye sir”

“your daughter is on board and in your new quarters”

“thank you, sir, if you don’t mind I was going to finish up here”

“of course, Mr Scott, you are off duty tomorrow”

Smiling to myself I cut off the communication.

 ~

I stood in the middle of my new room it was a reasonable size there was a sort of living room area which had a table and chairs then through a small door way was a bed, a wardrobe, a desk with what looked to be a computer and next to it a small book shelf already filled with classics and some textbooks. Through another door leading of my room was a small bathroom with a shower, toilet, sink and vanity table peeking in the draws I found some makeup and jewellery and in a draw below that was an arrangement of soaps, deodorants and perfumes. Walking back though to my room area I peaked in the wardrobe there were a couple of dresses and jump suits, including the green Starfleet civilian transportation uniform. Sighing I sat down on the bed, looking over to the desk I spotted a piece of paper.

“dear Miss Scott,

Welcome aboard the USS Enterprise, before you get fully settled there are some rules which you must pay attention to as this is an on-duty government vessel.

1.       There are restricted areas on the ship and we ask that you pay attention to this unless you have permission from myself, the Captain.

2.       If someone ask for you over ships communication, you must acknowledge.

3.       It will be at your father’s discretion what punishment you are given if you break any rules, unless it is severe then it will be either first officer Spock or myself.  

4.       We do not mind your choice of clothing but please make sure it is appropriate, please follow this if a planet dignitary if coming aboard the ship.

5.       Unless stated by the person you must refer to them by rank and last name for example first officer/ lieutenant commander Spock.

6.       Please respect that shift work takes place on the ship so some people may be sleeping at different times

7.       By law of the federation you must have at least four hours a day of schooling by a Starfleet tutor

8.       If an alarm sounds please contact the bridge to let us know where you are if yellow alert sounds make your way to either the bridge or your quarters, if red alert or battle stations sounds make your way to sickbay and intern Doctor McCoy’s office and wait until further instructions from a senor crew member (lieutenant-commander and above).

We hope that you have a pleasant time on the enterprise for more information on rules and regulations please see the book on your book shelf titled ‘United Federation of Planets: rules and regulations of an on-duty Star Ship’.

Yours sincerely

Captain James T. Kirk

U.S.S Enterprise

Placing down the piece of paper I looked up at the wall and saw a clock I saw the time was 12:20 pm. I walked into the bathroom I went to take a shower this was all a little too much to handle.

After stepping out I got dressed and walked into my room where I saw a hunched figure in a red shirt sitting on my bed.

“um hello?”

“oh! sorry I dinnae mean tae startle you- “

“are you Mr Scott, my dad”

“yes lass, how do you do?”

“I’m” my voice cracked and I was so overcome with emotion I could no longer speak.

“hey, come here” he said pulling me into his arms and suddenly the man who I didn’t think I could love was gone and my father was holding me, crying into his chest he just held me.

Pulling away from him I got a good look at his face. I think I saw a man who I had known my entire life, but I knew it wasn’t true studying his face through my tears I saw a man who looked surprisingly venerable, he had wrinkles mapping out his eyes and corners of his mouth. You could tell he needed a shave and a haircut and that’s when I realised it is because of me as soon as he was informed I was alive or informed he has a daughter, he was probably going mad with wanting to meet me. For months now I had been thinking about him, criticizing him, but he didn’t deserve any of my insults that I had for him because he is my father and I’m not all.

#star trek #leonard mccoy #james t. kirk #montgomery scott #nyota uhura #Christine chapel #fanfiction #star trek fanfiction

[jamest-kirk]

I loved your jim with a beard! can we have the same scenario except it's bones with the beard?

Bones goes missing on an away mission. Everything goes according to plan initially, but then they’re ambushed by people on the planet, and Bones simply vanishes. Jim spends all affordable time and resources on finding him, but he’s nowhere to be found. Even so, he refuses to leave. “Jim,” Spock says, and Jim can sense he tries to remain calm despite missing the doctor, as well. It’s been weeks now, and there’s still no sign of him, “we need to move back to York Town.” “No,” Jim says, “not without Bones.” “We’ve scanned the entire planet,” Spock replies, “multiple times. We’ve run consistent search parties. There are no registered life forms left on this planet.” “That’s impossible,” Jim says, “if we got ambushed, and they took Bones, they’re still here.” Spock sighs, reaching out to rest a hand on Jim’s shoulder. “A logical deduction tells us that based on our findings, the ambushers are dead. But that also means-” “No.” “-that doctor McCoy is no longer alive.”

Jim refuses to believe it, but they just can’t find anyone. After two full months, though, Jim is forced to either stay behind himself and send the Enterprise to York Town, or guide the ship back to the space station himself. He wants to do the first option, but through much persuasion, Uhura convinces him to go back with them. But Jim is an absolute wreck on the way back. He realizes just how much time he actually spends with the doctor when the other man’s suddenly gone. No shared breakfasts, no hand resting on his shoulder when Bones stands next to him on the bridge. No one telling him he’s the biggest idiot Starfleet’s ever seen, yet someone fights anyone who agrees with that statement.  

He’s going to have to tell Joanna, and that make everything even worse. The federation is happy to do it for him, but it’s something Jim feels obligated to do himself. This isn’t something he can let a stranger do. But what is he even going to say to her? Hey Jo, we lost your father and though we haven’t found him, according to all calculations, he should be dead? No, he’s not going to be able to get that out of his mouth at all.

But he doesn’t have to. Arriving at York Town, something quite unusual happens to his communicator. A lot of static noise, at first, to the point where Jim’s about to hand it in for a defect, but then a very distant “Jim? Jim! Answer me damn it.” "Bones?“ Jim asks immediately, “Bones- Leonard! You’re alive.” “Of course I’m alive,” Bones replies, though his voice still oddly static, “where are you guys?” “In York Town,” Jim says. “York Town?! You fucking left me behind this place to rot?!” Bones yells at him, and Jim thinks he deserves that yelling. He listens to Bones yell at him until the doctor runs out of breath, before he decides to step in. “Bones,  we’ll come get you, okay? We thought you were dead.” “I’ve been gone for a few days-” “You were gone for months!” Jim counters, finding himself yelling at his own communicator, “where are you now, anyway?” “I never left, where do you think I am?” “Okay, we’ll fly back immediately. Whose communicator are you using?” “Who cares, get me out of here!”

With actually having a number to track, Scotty has something to work with. And sure enough, a couple hours after arriving at the planet’s orbit again, Scotty recognizes the communicator Bones used. “He’s underground,” Scotty says, “pretty far, too. The signal is vague, no wonder our scanners wouldn’t pick it up if we’re not looking for it.” “Get me the exact coordination, we’re going down there,” Jim orders.

A rescue mission in the deep underground is the most bizarre thing Jim’s ever witnessed. There’s just an entire civilization down there, and they don’t even really need to shoot their way in. They’re just… guided in, past tall structures that kind of seamlessly fade in this underground cave structure. It would’ve been beautiful if Jim could take the time to appreciate it, he just wants to get to Bones.

Bones is in the local hospital. Old, faded white t-shirt, and a beard that definitely goes against Starfleet regulation, but he’s still the most qualified doctor out there, and that’s apparently why they had ambushed them earlier. They needed a doctor. That in itself isn’t a bad thing, but Jim still spends all that time down there gritting his teeth and clenching his fists, only stopping himself because Spock consistently, quietly reminds him about the potential consequences of violence.

Jim’s so much more calm when Bones is back in his quarters. He doesn’t really give Bones that much time to adjust, instead just marches into his quarters. Bones is holding his own uniform in his hands, and he stares at it like it’s almost a foreign object to him at this point. “Jim,” Bones says, but Jim just reaches out, cupping Bones’ cheeks and pushing himself into bones’ personal space to kiss him. "Don’t you ever-“ Jim threatens him at first, and Bones frowns. “I was literally kidnapped.” “Yeah, don’t you ever do that again,” Jim warns him, hands still very much on Bones’ cheeks. “Fine,” Bones says, “I’ll try not to get in trouble on your dumb ass missions." "Better not," Jim agrees, relaxing into Bones' presence when the other leans in for another kiss. "I gotta go take a shower," Bones says, it sounds more like a whisper  against Jim's lips, "get dressed and shave." "Well," Jim says, fingers running over those cheeks, "you don't have to shave immediately."

#Anonymous #mckirk #otp: damn it jim #jim kirk #leonard mccoy #bones #headcanons #mckirkenterprise #enterprise au

[tomfooleryprime]

Ambassador Spock or Selek?

I must have read it in fanfics a dozen times – in the Kelvin timeline, Spock Prime is forced to conceal his true identity and adopts the pseudonym Selek. But why?

I suppose the concept probably originated with the animated series. In the episode “Yesteryear,” Spock poses as “cousin Selek” to help his younger self complete the kahs-wan ritual. It makes sense to conceal his true identity from his adolescent self in that context, lest he risk his own future.

But the two Spocks of the Kelvin universe are quite different. The Kelvin timeline Spock knows exactly who Spock Prime is. That’s not really in question, is it? In Star Trek (2009), Spock mistakes Spock Prime for his father, and then they have this conversation:

Spock Prime: I am not our father. There are so few Vulcans left, we cannot afford to ignore each other. Spock: Then why did you send Kirk aboard when you alone could have explained the truth? Spock Prime: Because you needed each other. I could not deprive you of the revelation of all that you could accomplish together, of a friendship that will define you both in ways you cannot yet realize. Spock: How did you persuade him to keep your secret? Spock Prime: He inferred that universe-ending paradoxes would ensue should he break his promise. Spock: You lied. Spock Prime: Aww... I implied. Spock: A gamble. Spock Prime: An act of faith. One I hope that you will repeat in your future in Starfleet. Spock: In the face of extinction, it is only logical that I resign my Starfleet commission and help rebuild our race. Spock Prime: And, yet, you can be in two places at once. I urge you to remain in Starfleet. I have already located a suitable planet on which to establish a Vulcan colony. Spock, in this case, do yourself a favor: Put aside logic. Do what feels right. Since my customary farewell would appear oddly self-serving, I shall simply say... Good luck.

It was such a monumental scene, Hallmark immortalized it with an ornament:

Then again in Star Trek Into Darkness, they have a much shorter, yet even more revealing exchange:

Spock: Mr. Spock. Spock Prime: Mr. Spock. Spock: I will be brief. In your travels, did you ever encounter a man named Khan? Spock Prime: As you know, I have made a vow never to give you information that could potentially alter your destiny. Your path is yours to walk, and yours alone. That being said, Khan Noonien Singh is the most dangerous adversary the Enterprise ever faced. He is brilliant, ruthless and he will not hesitate to kill every single one of you. Spock: Did you defeat him? Spock Prime: At great cost, yes.

Spock clearly refers to him as “Mr. Spock” in front of the entire bridge crew. He doesn’t seem overly concerned with protecting some secret identity.

One could make the argument that the Enterprise crew knows about the relationship between Spock and Spock Prime, but that his true identity must be kept a secret to the general public, but it forces me to ask two questions: 1. What exactly is it supposed to accomplish and 2. Is it really possible to keep a secret of that magnitude?

I’ll start by addressing the first question – why bother concealing his identity from the public at large? The most obvious explanation is that Spock Prime would want to allow his younger counterpart to make his own name for himself, but as the above conversations point out, they don’t seem worried about concealing the truth. Furthermore, no one in this timeline knows anything about Spock Prime – his service in Starfleet, his time as an ambassador – it was all done in another timeline. To the people of the Kelvin universe, he’s just some old time-traveling Vulcan guy.

The other obvious explanation is that the public would have a hard time accepting time travel and so, in order to prevent a panic and possible disruptions of the timeline, government officials would ask him to conceal his identity. But this is a universe in which Romulans from the future annihilate an entire planet and then attempt to destroy Earth. There is absolutely no possible way for any government to bury destruction of that scale under a pile of flimsy explanations and conspiracy theories.

Sure, they could try to claim Vulcan was destroyed in some kind of natural disaster, but too much evidence exists to the contrary. That brings me to the second question – is it really possible to keep a secret of that magnitude? Starfleet lost half a dozen ships at the Battle of Vulcan, the Enterprise has logs of the incident, and there were millions of people running around in San Francisco when Nero and the Narada came calling. There are literally millions of witnesses to the fact that the loss of Vulcan was the result of a malicious attack and not some random space anomaly.

The Federation could attempt to blame someone else – modern day Romulans or Klingons, perhaps – but what would be the outcome of that? If launching an attack of that magnitude on two Federation worlds isn’t an act of war, I don’t know what is. But even if they thought it would be better to lie and start a war with an innocent enemy, I don’t think they could have. The Federation’s forces were already spread thin. They sent cadets in the only ships they had available to defend Vulcan because the rest of the fleet was “engaged in the Laurentian system” at the time. It doesn’t seem likely that the Federation can afford the kind of war that would result from wrongly blaming their modern day adversaries for Vulcan’s loss. Telling the truth and placing the blame on Romulans from the future makes a lot more tactical sense, and if they’re willing to do that, why would they bother hiding the truth about Spock Prime’s true identity? It would be kind of pointless, all things considered. 

Lastly, Nero’s incursion essentially slapped a giant question mark on the TOS canon timeline after 2233.04, but that means that Star Trek Enterprise is still technically canon. I realize it’s not everyone’s favorite incarnation of the Trek franchise, but that doesn’t mean it’s invalid. Given that Captain Archer and the crew of the Enterprise NX-01 spent a lot of time exploring the Temporal Cold War as a major plot arc, it seems difficult to believe that many people in the mid-23rd century don’t at least suspect that time travel is a thing, therefore, I think it’s pretty safe to say the cat is out of the bag on time travel and the idea that the timeline “must be protected” is almost worthless when taken in context of the bigger picture of the Kelvin timeline.

Finally, I think the final nail in the coffin for the idea that Spock Prime would have to go undercover as Selek came during a scene in Star Trek Beyond. At the beginning of the film, two Vulcans politely pull Commander Spock aside and hand him a device with information about Spock Prime’s death. It clearly identifies him as "Ambassador Spock" and not “Selek” or “Ambassador Selek.”

I suppose one could speculate that they were pulling him aside to preserve the secret of his identity, but the scene didn't come off that way to me. It felt more like two Vulcans understanding that news of the death of a close friend or mentor might make a person emotional and they definitely wouldn't want to do that to a fellow Vulcan in a public setting.

I love Star Trek and discussing the fandom, but I get frustrated when I come across tropes and plot devices that are so overused that I start forgetting they aren’t canon. I think this is one that should be safely put to bed. 

#star trek #star trek enterprise #spock #ambassador spock #spock prime #selek #kelvin timeline

[sleepymarmot]

DS9 season 3 liveblog & notes

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

The Search 1

Um... so what about that treaty about no cloaking on Federation starships, that was such a big deal in The Pegasus?

What's going on with Jadzia's hair...

"We're going to take our only warship into the territory of people who think of us as intruders to convince them we represent no threat" Logic???? What kind of plan is this?

Loaned? Ah, ok.

"When did I start thinking of this Cardassian monstrosity as home?"

If this is "one of the finest collections of ancient African art you'll ever see", what is it doing in their luggage instead of a museum? This is almost as bad as Picard and that priceless artifact in The Chase...

"Maybe it is. Maybe I'm your friend, and maybe I want you to see that you are still needed here no matter what some idiot Starfleet admiral might think." ;_;

Why dim the lights when you cloak? Just to give a visual shorthand to the viewers?

Wow Odo... I don't understand why everyone is so hard on Quark in this episode -- Sisko bullies him, Bashir insults him for no reason, now Odo is yelling at him with more aggression than he's ever shown in two seasons...

Seriously?! Cloaked ships leave a trace, and nobody in all decades of conflict ever noticed that?! I mean, even if somehow only the Romulans know, that means they can detect cloaked Klingon ships, which would mean they could as well have been uncloaked -- that'd be a massive retcon that doesn't work with anything we've seen before.

I still don't understand how replicators can produce foul tasting food... They make exact copies on a molecular level...

Poor Bashir -- it's as if Sisko picked his best friends to leave behind on purpose...

another literal redshirt dead

Class M planet with no star? What? 

Why do these changelings all look like Odo -- imperfect imitations of humanoids? I thought Odo's appearance was the result of trying to fit in Bajoran society + lack of skill to make face more detailed. These changelings live by themselves so they can pick any shape they like, and I'd expect them to have more control over details, so just repeating Odo's design looks like a lazy shorthand to indicate they're the same species -- as if their liquid state weren't enough. They even have the same hairstyle -- which he copied from a Bajoran! If the writers are trying to say "they're just copying Odo" then they should all be played by the same actor.

The Search 2

Oh come on, Kira, there's absolutely nothing wrong with having a lot of questions in this situation!!!

Me: well this story is pretty bad so far, I don't have any expectations for it anymore Screen: Andrew Robinson as Garak Me: interest instantly restored

(I'm certain every person liveblogging this show made or reblogged a post in this vein...)

Alright, Sisko's plotline is definitely some kind of hallucination

Or is it? I thought it was all too good to be true, but maybe the Dominion is just tricking them

Wait, that subcommander is alive and on DS9?

Okay, I didn't like that "Starfleet security officer" and now he's more suspicious. Maybe he's a part of the Dominion. Maybe the changelings are a part of the Dominion. Maybe all these people acting strangely are changelings in disguise. Maybe everything is a conspiracy. I dunno, this entire episode feels incredibly fake. 

"It seems our leaders have simply gone insane" Garak stop reinforcing my impression that you and Sisko are somehow the only real people in this story... Well Dax and Bashir also seem to be alright, but they're a bit too passive.

Oh, Garak didn't look behind himself and got shot, guess he's not real either

FUCKING FINALLY

This is so unsurprising that I can't tell if the writing is to obvious or if I've seen this spoiler before and half-forgot. Probably both.

And they just let them all go. Sure. I wonder how they managed to gain so much power, if they're prone to dumb decisions like this..

What a shitty story. Jfc. The only amusing part was that according to the main characters, the Starfleet admirals are stupid and untrustworthy (what a surprise...), and Garak is smart enough to not only take action when needed, but seem to almost realize the world around him is wrong (but he still somehow fails a spot check in a firefight...). Bashir clearly wants him to join the team and run around having adventures (not a surprise either...). It's funny that the character who comes closest to becoming self-aware is actually one of the simulated ones.

The fakeness of the plot is obvious enough to make me unable to take it seriously, but not clear or fun enough to just relax and enjoy the ride. I don't hate simulations on principle, but I need them to be good simulations. The Federation is too stupid -- it might have worked with some new admiral, since they're often assholes, but we know Nechayev and she was obviously OOC. The editing is pretty telling: there are weird timeskips (worst offender: Sisko gets into a fight and then without a change of pace others come to break him out from the brig), plus I don't think there were establishing outside shots of DS9. And anyway, the very first scene with Sisko where he's in a shuttle even though at the end of the previous episode he was about to be captured, and then Dax and O'Brien show up and we've never seen them escape is a dead giveaway that everything about this group of characters from here on is somehow wrong. And that's 8 minutes into the episode. I thought "Well, maybe it's an editing experiment, and it'll be a how-we-got-here flashback episode" but nope. What a waste of time.

Lmao I just read this in a comment to a review of this episode: "When I first saw the The Search, Pt II I found it unusual that Bashir is in a shuttlecraft with someone and for the first time manages not to annoy his travelling companion. And then the ending reveals why – it was all a dream!" That's right! I actually thought that too! :D

I can say one good thing about this episode: Odo's love of order has always had dark undertones, and I like that it's explored and discussed here as a racial trait which made his brethren into a galactic evil force.

But otherwise I'm not very impressed with his storyline? In the first part his anger and compulsive homing instinct look offputting instead of sympathetic. At one point he makes an expression that is probably supposed to be soft and makes the viewers go "aww", but ends up just looking forced and creepy. And the tender moment with Kira at the end just didn't work for me.

The House of Quark

OUCH

I was pretty scared for Quark, since he's not a big fan of violence, nice to see he's taking this so well

A new pretty outfit for Quark! A beautiful Klingon woman!

Another beautiful Klingon with a great grey mane. Yes, my commentary is very deep today.

I just continue to be amazed by Quark's luck with the ladies. Cultural exchange with a Vulcan in the previous season, now with a Klingon.

Aw, O'Brien actually wants Bashir's opinion now. And Bashir gives good relationship advice to a married man -- compare to their conversation in Armageddon Game!

Doesn't this solve their problem? If Kozak died dishonorably, that means D'Ghor gets nothing. Which is what should have happened in the first place. So now that D'Ghor challenged Quark, Quark's inability to fight will be shown to everybody (as if it weren't obvious enough...), so D'Ghor's lie will be exposed. And then he'd not only have no right of ineritance, but presumably also become a criminal for lying to the coucil.

Quark is awesome

What a good episode. Quark acts cool and noble! Klingon vs Ferengi value clash & working together! A-story and B-story work together well because despite no direct connection, they're both uplifting and thematically linked!

Equilibrium

Oh, of course when Jadzia gets screentime, it's for her to act OOC

Aw, a J&J friendship scene

Time for the annual comment on how much Bashir grew up! I've already talked about his scene in the previous episode, and now there's this lovely, purely platonic scene with Jadzia

How can these Federation weirdos sleep without blankets?

This was okay. But can we have a Jadzia episode not about her almost dying? So far this season is disappointing -- only one good episode out of four.

Second Skin

O k a y. You got me, I really didn't expect this

This is the kind of episode I watch this show for

How do you disguise someone as a member of species for years? I can understand cosmetic surgery like in Face of the Enemy, but to change their entire body so it would show as target species during any medical examination... This concerns the episode Tribunal, too. How are agents so deep undercover supposed to work? She spent all these years helping the Resistance. How does that benefit Cardassia? 10 years ago they wouldn't have known the Federation would become involved and their sleeper agent would work with them

Niiiiice

"Just something I overheard while I was hemming someone's trousers" lmao his excuses are getting more and more ridiculous

Cardassian!Kira *is* more attractive than the real Kira

the real Garak demonstrates how much his reflexes are quicker than his simulation's :D

Honestly, by this point I'm just curious for how many seasons can the writers stretch the mystery surrounding Garak. :D They're having too much fun giving out pieces of the puzzle one by one.

The Abandoned

This beautiful woman with a really impressive chest is Jake's gf? Wow!

Why are they just taking away the wreckage instead of buying it from Quark?

Sisko holding the baby and Jadzia and Julian watching him with smiles on their faces :'))

oh my god Odo used his old bucked as a cache-pot for Kira's plant... :O

wait, weren't the Jem'Hadar much more reptilian?

"It's amazing how some people would judge you based on nothing more than your job" haha

If this boy has so much aggression, why is it only expressed as need for physical combat, and not angry verbal outbursts etc? Another genetically engineered quality -- he needs to be a brutal soldier that doesn't talk back?

I find it curious that this episode answers the question "Is it okay for a 20 year old to date a 16 year old?" with such a definite yes. That's pretty questionable territory, and it's unclear why exactly Sisko changed his mind: his opinion about the girl's job or Jake's interests doesn't negate the age difference.

I like that the show takes Odo's backstory as a lab specimen so seriously. I used to expect exploration of this theme with Data, since he must have spent a lot of time in some Federation research centers before entering the Academy.

Civil Defense

Garak AND Dukat? I like this episode already.

Why are they not asking Garak for help? I know they'd prefer other options, but is kind of an emergency! I know they'll have to, eventually, since he's in the opening titles.

"I never knew how much this man's voice annoyed me" :D I'd actually be curious to hear the announcement in full, personally!

This is such a good excuse for a Disaster-like episode?? Perfect synergy between the setting and the needs of the plot

haha of course Odo and Quark are trapped together

"The only place in the galaxy that still recognizes my access code is a Bajoran space station" So what about that code in Second Skin?

bwahaha it just gets worse and worse

I think this is a good episode to show new viewers who want a taste of the show before starting to watch it properly from the beginning: it gives a good idea of the setting and involves all major characters to some degree, but so far it has very few continuity references

"What? That you'd spend your final hours in jail?"

"Tell me, Doctor, what is it exactly about this situation that's making you smile?" "You, Garak." oh my god...

holy shit this station is something else...

Dukat shows up in person! It's strange they didn't even discuss the possibility of calling him earlier. Of course, he immediately turned this into a hostage situation, so...

Oh my god he's making himself tea in the middle of this... amazing

"If you had been on the station when I designed this programme, I would have made an exception in your case."

HAHAHAHAHA

When Odo and Quark walk out, why are so many people just chilling on the Promenade?! They were about to die seconds ago!

What a beautiful episode :D Probably not as suited for beginners as I initially thought, thanks to Garak&Dukat. But I really appreciate the dark comedy side of it

Meridian

I think I've seen this episode in TNG... maybe multiple times... Jadzia is even worse suited for this role than Deanna. 

welp this was really bad on literally every possible level. i could complain for a long time but i'd rather save my breath

the only good thing about this episode: it's so irrelevant you can easily skip it.

Defiant

I think she needs sleep, not a night out in the bar

THAT VOICE 

I think I'm spoiled about this one...

Second Chances did such a good job not villainizing Tom and then this episode comes and ruins it

ah yes tell all your military secrets to the Cardassians, including cloaked ship detection...

why the random kiss

aaand Riker spends possibly the rest of his life in a Cardassian camp? great. just great. why did someone hate him so much they deemed this necessary? they managed to make me so salty about this I didn't even care about the Cardassian stuff, that's an achievement. Will gets to continue his career and marry his imzadi while Tom, who already spent 8 years marooned alone and didn't even get a promotion afterwards, now rots in prison forever. "You always had the better hand," indeed.

it's hilarious how quickly Dukat can make Sisko sympathise with him just by mentioning fatherhood. worked even better than the last time. if he got half a brain he's doing it on purpose.

I hope Riker at least got to spend some time with Ro while they were both in the Maquis. now that's something I'd like to see

Fascination

"I'm a poor substitute for your wife" "I could have told you that 60 games ago"

do we really need the Odo/Kira/Bareil love triangle?

"I usually make it a point to drop by Quark's three or four times a day at random intervals, just to let him know that I'm thinking about him"

"Jadzia, of course. I've never understood how the two of you could be such good friends. [...] It's just that she gets to spend so much more time with you than I do." "Jadzia and I have been doing this for the past two years."  ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

oh O'Briens, pls don't fight over nothing :(

so where is Bashir during all this? because I'm pretty sure he and Garak are not immune to this romance confusion nonsense, and that sounds like a much more intriguing story than what I'm watching

ah, he's with Kira, well at least this one's mutual and not sexual harassment

I understand Odo, but why is Sisko unaffected too?

A question that concerns not only to this episode: why is Kira always the object of everyone's attraction? She's dating Bareil (which I completely forgot about; when she mentioned having a boyfriend in the previous episode I was very confused), Odo has a crush on her, in this episode Jake and Bashir do too, an episode before Riker kisses her, an episode before some creep wants a blow-up doll of her, an episode before Dukat leers at her...

Well... I guess this was less gross than The Naked Now.

Past Tense

I like how Dax adjusts to this time period instantly. was she already born by then?

"Some of these people are mentally ill." *braces myself for some horrible comment* "...They need proper medical treatment." oh thank god

Jadzia looks absolutely gorgeous

surely it's not a coincidence that the only white character among the time-travellers ends up with a millionaire, while the others are locked up in the sanctuary

Sisko and Bashir's discussions are very heavy handed, it's like watching some old moralizing play

I like how Jadzia retrieved her combadge by telling the truth

there was nothing particularly wrong with this story, and it was well-made, but for some reason it didn’t really impress me

Life Support

so. Winn was behind the sabotage, right?

this is like "Ethics" in reverse

haha they want Terok Nor back

"She talks a lot for a female" Nog you used to be better than that...

"Listen to me. I don't care about your negotiations, and I don't care about your treaty. All I care about is my patient, and at the moment he needs more medical care and less politics. Now, you can either leave here willingly or I'll call security and have you thrown out."

now it's more like "The Host". (I can't stop comparing everything to TNG haha)

don't try to make this into a "grey morality" situation. Nog is objectively in the wrong here, the human culture is objectively better than the Ferengi culture in this respect. TNG intentionally wrote Ferengi values to be abhorrent, and DS9 didn't change them but somehow tries to justify them and it just. doesn't. work. Just admit you wrote yourself into a corner, and either retcon the Ferengi to be more tolerable, or set aside your "all cultures are valid" agenda for a minute and admit some things are just bad. this glorification of moral relativism is DS9's version of TNG's worst misapplications of the Prime Directive

wow, are they actually going to kill him off?

"Positronic implants"?! Um. UM. They have working positronic brain now? Since when? Last time I heard, nobody managed to make stable ones since Dr. Soong... Or are implants easier to make than a full brain? Anyway, the possibility of a mixed organic-positronic brain has never even been discussed before, this is kind of a big deal. Dammit, just putting some human skin on Data was something only the Borg managed to do! This sounds 1000 times more complex!

"Major" ah, so that's how they break up, he’s incapable of romance now

ahh, his voice, head movemens and facial expressions are just like Data's

uggh the Jake-Nog storyline went as I expected

wow I didn't expect the treaty to actually get signed!

"I won't remove the last shred of humanity Bareil has left" rude... and that's from the man who befriended Data... I'm disappointed

oh btw if he just casually talks about the possibility of fully replacing Bareil's brain, that means it is possible to create stable positronic brains at will now! this is enormous! Data doesn’t have to be the only one of his kind anymore! Lal can be rebuilt! oh wait, let me guess, this will never be addressed again ever.

Welp. You know, right before I started this episode, I was mentally complaining about Bareil, like "kill him off already". Whoops! I feel bad now. This episode didn't go as I expected, and was more important than I expected too, which is good.

Jake and Nog's storyline and the positronic stuff -- less good. Honestly, the more I think about these two points, the angrier I become and the less I like this episode.

I thought that A and B plots were annoyingly unrelated, but actually... I think they share the theme of "peace above all", on a very different scale. Because the Bajoran-Cardassian treaty doesn't sound very fair to me either. "There's even the possibility that the Cardassians will issue a formal apology"?! Is that really enough? "Even the possibility"? Meanwhile, people like Dukat not only walk free but remain at their high posts. Cardassia|Nog was the offending side, Bajor|Jake did nothing wrong, and yet rather than declare that and demand justice and apologies, the latter can only hope to achive mutual tolerance -- even that is hard enough. Well, let's just hope the show isn't going to try and justify the occupation, like it did with Nog's misogyny...

btw, since we're talking about international politics and status quo: what about the Dominion threat? everyone was really scared for a couple of episodes, and then things went back to normal. we went to the Gamma Quadrant once for no reason (nothing about the plot required that!). the Defiant, a unique warship sent here for defend DS9 and the wormhole against Dominion attacks, is regularly used as a shuttle/runabout for random trips. way to disperse all sense of danger, change and excitement.

I certainly like Bashir in this episode more than I liked Crusher in Ethics (or in The Host, lol). He can get pretty intense when it comes to saving his patient's life. Not "fly to Cardassia to face a former head of secret service" intense, but still.

It's nice to see Winn humanized a bit. The writers have spent a lot of time making Dukat likeable, she deserves the same treatment. I'm so used to mistrusting her, I spent the entire episode being confused whether she actually wants the treaty to succeed or is plotting to make it fail for some reason, whether she wants Bareil alive or dead. But I guess I was supposed to take everything she was saying at face value for once? 

I don't know what the hell is this season doing with these Ferengi B-plots that, I guess, are supposed to be humorous (???) but are wildly offensive instead. Are we supposed to just calmly accept Quark and Nog's extreme misogyny? It was played for drama pretty well in Rules of Acquisition; this is a noticeable step back.

Heart of Stone

I love Sisko and Bashir's casual conversation about a male ensign's pregnancy! Sure, he's an alien, but it's still progress for this show.

Odo and Kira's storyline is so cliched... I don't even make an effort to listen to their technobabble

As viewers we all know Kira will be saved somehow at the last minute, but in her and Odo's place I'd already start discussing a mercy kill. Phaser blast from a friend >>> asphyxiation

"I'm in love with you too" ???????????????????? YOUR BOYFRIEND LITERALLY DIED IN THE PREVIOUS EPISODE

Sisko, he's just a kid. I know you're testing him, but there's no need to go that far.

Okay, I'm going to sound like a broken record, but: what about misogyny? The previous episode made a point of showing that Nog upholds Ferengi values regarding women. And that's completely incompatible with Starfleet. Isn't anyone going to mention that?

heh... there was a thought at the back of my mind that a changeling might be involved

aww, good, stand up to Quark, you two! :)

Well, most of this episode is very boring, contrived and derivative, but it does give Odo some character development (even if it includes the dreaded romance, ugh) and has a good excuse for this plot device at the end.

Destiny

"I also had Chief O'Brien reprogram the replicators to provide Cardassian food" Um, why wouldn't it already be on the menu? I assumed the replicators weren't replaced by Federation ones, and in season 2 Keiko gave a Cardassian dish to  Rugal. I went back to check, and she literally said "I found some Cardassian recipes in the memory bank of our food replicator"!

It makes sense that the Bajorans don't want the Cardassians in their Temple

let me guess, there'll be an unexpected third Cardassian and suddenly the prophecy will sound much more believable

"Now those are about the two friendliest vipers I've ever met" Hey, maybe don't make jokes like this immediately after someone walks out of the door...

Told you so

Damn, the third "viper" seems to actually deserve that name! Will she be the "bad" one, or, in subversion, the only trustworthy one?

"Men just don't seem to have a head for this sort of thing. That's why women dominate the sciences." ah yes hello reverse sexism trope

Cardassians flirt by bickering? Never heard that before... I thought this was more like Klingons.

Okay, they played it straight with Dejar

That's lovely! But "vipers will return to their nest in the sky" doesn't make sense -- how did the comet fragments return to their nest?

The Prophets don't "want" anything! They just can tell you the future because they don't exist in linear time!

Well, this was a lovely episode, if not the most engaging. But the subplot with O'Brien and the scientist was completely unnecessary.

Prophet Motive

Was! This! Necessary?! I don't need to see sex on screen! And yes that includes oo-mox!

Aw Bashir

I can't believe we're getting a story where Bashir is the one who suffers because his friends won't shut up. Karma is real...

nice job breaking it, Quark

The story is pretty shallow by itself, but makes me ask some interesting questions. Would it be ok to nonconsensually transform a bad person into a good one? Especially a person in a position of power? I know I'd be tempted to do this to some politicians... But even if we assume the ends justify the means, who would define good or bad? Sadly, this episode doesn't take these issues seriously.

After 2.5 season of Bajoran religion, it's actually nice to meet the "Prophets" in person again in all their creepy, clueless glory.

Visionary

Time to torture poor Miles with more unreality!

why are both sides being so dumb? just say "Odo was separated from the rest of his people as a baby, grew up with no knowledge of them, and only met them 1.5 times"?

"I'm always diplomatic" *cut* "THAT WAS THE MOST RIDICULOUS THING I'VE EVER HEARD AND I RESENT THE IMPLICATION!"

my first thought: the transporter genuis who beamed in the device was O'Brien

this one doesn't make sense... the sleeping Miles should know about the disaster and the radiation device too...

As usual with time travel episodes, it's very fun to watch, but the mechanics break down at the end and spoil the impression. I like that, as in Civil Defense, every time you solve a problem it gets worse.

It's only season 3, and "O'Brien suffers" as a type of episode is already getting old.

Distant Voices

There's a Cardassian writer named Shoggoth? :D

"Still the man of mystery?" "Oh, you wouldn't have me any other way"

Melting Odo is a genuinely disturbing sight...

"There's hope for you yet, Doctor"

Very predictable story, but it has some character development and lovely scenes with Garak.

Through the Looking Glass

when Mirror!Garak looks in indignation at Sisko kissing Kira: honestly same

Mirror universe Terok Nor is less riot-proof than our universe's was...

Episode: boring and pointless as I feared

Mirror Kira: somehow even worse than the last time, at least watching her hit on herself was mildly entertaining

Mirror Garak: still a giant waste of Andrew Robinson -- seriously, he appears rarely enough, and for the third time in this season he's not playing his real character

Sleeping with alternate versions of friends/subordinates: incredibly gross

Well at least Bashir and Dax looked really hot with these haircuts lol

Improbable Cause / The Die is Cast

Ahh, so many of my favourite things. Odo investigates! Garak confronts his past and justifies his reputation for once! International conflict! Dominion is dangerous again!

The cliffhanger where Garak joins Tain is the most thrilling thing that happened on the show recently! But I'd be severely disappointed if he didn't do that. 

The torture scene is very impressive, but there are some things I don't understand about it:

What, "They're still my people and I want to go home" is the big secret that's worth all that torture? Seriously? Anyone could have told you that. How is this information new or relevant?!

Nevertheless, "he never broke" is a lie, right? Odo did break and confess, even if I think his revelation was completely useless. Don't the intelligence agencies of the two biggest police states in the galaxy have security cameras in their interrogation chambers?!

I could understand if Odo forgave Garak eventually, but not so soon and easily! He tortures you horribly, then you never even mention it and invite him to hang out only several hours after! Sorry, what?!

It's becoming a trend to start Garak-centric episodes with something bad happening to him. :D Oh shit, Garak's hand got bitten! Oh shit, Garak has a migraine! Oh shit, Garak's shop blew up!

Explorers

Come on, O'Brien, is this really more ridiculous than building ships in bottles? :D You of all people should understand!

"For a moment there I thought that you had been put in charge of the Cardassian Ministry for the Refutation of Bajoran Fairy Tales"

Miles, just say the word! :D 

Fireworks in space! :D I don't know what I love more -- the beautiful and uplifting moment itself, or Cardassians going "Shit :))) We gotta be really nice today :))))) Congratulations :)))))))"

After the epic intense two-parter -- 45 minutes of pure fluff :D It has so many things that are specific to DS9: Sisko and Jake's family bond, Bajoran culture and Cardassians being jerks about it, Sisko and Dukat's passive-aggressive skyping, Bashir and O'Brien's slowly developing friendship -- all leading to the celebration of the “boldly go where no one has gone before” spirit, and everything, for once, ends well.

Family Business

"If I were Curzon, I'd have stolen her from you by now" *facepalm* let's just pretend this stupid heteronormative line doesn't exist

this house looks like a Hobbit hole

Quark and Rom's mom is awesome. get rekt you misogynists!

omg Miles & Julian, how old are you? :D

Rom is so nice in this episode

I like Kasidy

Ishka is 10 times more awesome than it seemed

Rom really rocks in this episode

aaaand the ship sails :D

I wish Ishka could make a public statement, and Quark would 

Good episode: interesting family dynamics, amazing Ferengi feminist, cute new ship

Quark and women is a fascinating topic. He's a traditionalist when it comes to Ferengi women, but in daily life among other species usually manages to come off no worse than any 20th century misogynist, and finds strong and outspoken women attractive rather than repulsive. Apparently it boils can be traced back to mommy issues: Quark isn't just a "good Ferengi", he's being reactionary towards Ishka, but at the same time she clearly is a positive influence on him, even if he won’t admit it. Too bad in this episode he refused to take even one step forward as he did in "Rules of Acquisition"...

Shakaar

Shit, things are really going downhill on Bajor... separation of church and state, what's that?

"We spent so many years fighting the Cardassians. We spent so much time hoping and praying for a Bajor that was free. Now that we won, how can people just hand their freedom over to someone like Winn?" "It has been my observation that one of the prices of giving people freedom of choice is that sometimes they make the wrong choice."

Why can't those reclamators be replicated?

"I wasn't aware that our relationship needed solidifying" 

Great episode! (If I set aside the question of replication... Seriously, what's the law here? The Bajorans on DS9 can use the replimat, but Bajor can't ask the Federation to replicate some farm equipment? I don't think it would be physically impossible, surely it's not made of something like dilithium or latinum.) Winn hasn't reminded me of our sad reality so much since her first appearance. The B-plot was completely irrelevant, but I always enjoy seeing this sort of thing.

Facets

Quark... are you trying to convince the station commander's 16 year old son to write porn for you? seriously?

Ah yes, people closest to Jadzia, aka all of the main characters... and a dabo girl who appeared once for 45 seconds

don't do this... especially in front of all of ur friends...

Dax has a multi-Doctor episode! :D

CurzOdo and Quark's reaction to him are beautiful :D But how can he drink?

Poor Jadzia :(

Go Rom! Quark is too much of an asshole this season...

This is messed up... 

Typical man: he's attracted to a woman, so he takes out his frustration and her and nearly ruins her life

How do Trill memories work? Why is this ritual needed when all memories are already in Dax's head? Are some of them in a .zip and need to be decompressed to be appreciated fully? How did Jadzia not know of Curzon's crush? Is it possible to hide some of your memories from the next host(s) on purpose? You know what, nevermind. Rene Auberjonois (whose name I had to copy-paste, I must admit...) clearly had fun with this episode, and so did I.

The Adversary

yes finally! :)

When they introduced the word "changeling" I was like "that's dumb, that's not what the word means" but now I understand. tbh I love them as enemy -- this story is so beautifully paranoid

why are they all assuming there's only one changeling on board

Well, they certainly know how to end the season on a dramatic line...

This season, my honeymoon phase of "oh my god, serialized Trek" finally ended, and I started thinking about whether or not I like these serialized stories. So I felt compelled to write longer notes after each episode, and don’t have any general remarks this time.

#star trek #ds9 #blah blah blah

[shirlleycoyle]

‘Star Trek: Picard’ Revisits America’s Imperialist Dreams and Finds a Nightmare

Star Trek: Picard is all about nostalgia. It’s built into the premise. Star Trek: The Next Generation is a foundational television series not just for sci-fi fans, but also for what Star Trek would become throughout the 90s and early 2000s. It's the foundation the JJ Abrams movies pointedly demolished in favor of the more paranoid, militaristic visions of a literal 9/11 truther. The first season of Discovery, the first of CBS All Access's new Star Trek offerings, was in many ways a photonegative version of TNG as it explored what happens when a StarFleet captain, with all the power and discretion of that position, turns out to be the anti-Picard: violent, unethical, and vain.

By centering the latest series on the the return of Patrick Stewart's beloved captain, Star Trek: Picard promises both nostalgia and reassurance. One of fiction's great leadership figures is returning to duty. Picard can right the ship.

But nostalgia is a poison we feed ourselves to ease the pain of the present, and reassurance is an empty substitute for a reckoning. If Trek is going to have meaning and relevance again, it has to change. Star Trek: Picard seems to know that, rather than resolving that tension, it feels like a show fundamentally at odds with itself.

Eighteen years after his last adventure, retired Starfleet Admiral Jean-Luc Picard is sitting for an interview. It’s the anniversary of a tragedy—the supernova of the Romulan sun. Picard led a fleet of 10,000 ships in an attempt to rescue 900 million lives. Starfleet, in the end, did not support the effort and Picard resigned.

"It was no longer Starfleet. We withdrew. The galaxy was mourning, burying its dead, and Starfleet had slunk from its duties," Picard said. "The decision to call off the rescue an abandon those people we had sworn to save was not just dishonorable. It was downright criminal. And I was not prepared to standby and be a spectator.”

It’s a rebuke of Starfleet, a critique in keeping with a character often at odds with his superiors, and one that comes a little more than 10 minutes into Star Trek: Picard’s first episode. It sets a tone. Star Trek: Picard is not Star Trek: The Next Generation. This show will be something different. It absolutely trades on fan nostalgia, but it does so with an aim towards critiquing it and building something new. That something new, however, appears to be Firefly.

It's filled with elements that feel lifted directly out of Joss Whedon's beloved but short-lived space cowboy show. There’s a young woman with a mysterious past and the ability to kick ass for seemingly no reason. Dream sequences drive the plot forward. An expository conversation at the end of the first episode waves its hands and asks the audience to turn off its critical thinking and roll with the coming explosions and nonsensical plot twists.

I think I can see where all this is going. We saw this story in Firefly, and we even saw Stewart play a supporting role in another valedictory "iconic character mentors young murder-waif" film when he laid Professor Xavier to an uneasy rest in Logan. It's practically a trope in video games at this point. Everything on offer suggests that Picard will build a crew and protect the mysterious young, ass-kicking woman. He has to take to space one more time to solve a mystery and probably save the galaxy. Along the way he’ll meet a who’s who of aging Star Trek veterans. The show certainly seems to be preparing for this kind of action-packed adventure instead of cerebral introspection, and rather ominously, that is the exact direction that producer Alex Kurtzman took Discovery when he took charge for that show's second season

The biggest problem, however, is that Jean-Luc Picard is not Malcolm Reynolds. He is a product of the establishment that he now rejects, and if it has become unrecognizable to him in his hold age, he was deep in its machinery for much of his career.

Star Trek is an American dream, one born out of the hope for a better world and the often sincere belief that this Empire, the American Empire, would be different. Like all dreams, Star Trek is a complex web of truth and lies that reflects the desires and fears of the dreamers.

The Next Generation typified that dream. Running from 1987 to 1994, The Next Generation seemed to show a United Federation of Planets that could explore the stars, encounter and aid new and unknown civilizations (often by bringing them into the Federation's orbit), and colonize planets benevolently.

Captain Picard represented the best of what was possible with Starfleet. He was a man created by its system, but constantly forcing the system to do better. In “The Measure of a Man” he defends android Data’s right to self determination in court against Starfleet attempts to dismantle him. In “The Drumhead,” a Starfleet investigator accuses Picard of treason when he refuses to participate in a witch hunt on his ship. In “The First Duty,” he excoriates then-cadet Wesley Crusher for abandoning the truth in exchange for esprit de corps.

“The first duty of every Starfleet officer is to the truth,” Picard tells Crusher. “It is the guiding principle on which Starfleet is based.” These moments, and countless others, build up Picard as an ideal. He is the perfect officer—forthright, intelligent, and compassionate. Captain Jean-Luc Picard is the dream of what Starfleet could be.

But dreams aren’t real and Star Trek: The Next Generation, which I love, is art created by a colonial power at the height of its power. It reflects the America of the 1990s, one that thought it could police the world, one that thought history had ended. The uncomfortable tension of The Next Generation, with its lofty talk of the prime directive and constant crises on far-flung colonial outposts, was that the dream wasn’t true. That America, and by extension Starfleet, was the project of—in the words of Next Generation antagonist Q—a “dangerous savage child race.” The less-popular but vastly more honest Deep Space 9 spent its seven seasons deconstructing the core conceits of Star Trek. It trapped its characters in a single place with a history and a context that characters could not simply fly away from at the end of each episode, forced them to live with consequences and compromise.

Picard wants me to buy back into that old Star Trek dream. Yes, it says, Starfleet is corrupt. It lets people die and imposes its will on the galaxy. But there are good people, great people, like Picard who flourish in that system. That’s what it seems to be selling. “Be the captain they remember,” a friend of Picard tells him before he sits for the interview.

Watching the first episode of Picard as a long time Star Trek fan—one of my earliest memories is of sitting in the theater next to my father, watching ropes of pink Klingon blood filled the screen in Undiscovered Country—I felt as if Jean-Luc, the aging moralist, was speaking to me as he derided Starfleet.

Then, it quickly asks the audience to turn its brain off and engage.

As the credits rolled on a decidedly silly plot twist, I thought of the serious and well-delivered monologue that kicked off the pilot. “You’re a stranger to history,” Picard told the interviewer. “You’re a stranger to war. You just wave your hand and it all goes away. Well it’s not so easy for those who died. And it was not so easy for those who were left behind.”

That’s the show I want to watch, the one about an aging imperialist trying to make peace with ideals that empire betrayed. But all of that good work seems to be in the service of a story where Picard awakens from the dream of the Federation and, confronted with its ugly, complicated reality, flies away to the stars to protect an innocent android murder machine. It seems too easy. Like a dream of redemption.

‘Star Trek: Picard’ Revisits America’s Imperialist Dreams and Finds a Nightmare syndicated from https://triviaqaweb.wordpress.com/feed/

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'Star Trek: Discovery' Premiere Explained | Michelle Yeoh

http://styleveryday.com/2017/09/25/star-trek-discovery-premiere-explained-michelle-yeoh/

'Star Trek: Discovery' Premiere Explained | Michelle Yeoh

September 24, 2017 7:30pm PT by Chris E. Hayner

[This story contains spoilers from the first two episodes of Star Trek: Discovery.]

  After the two-episode premiere of Star Trek: Discovery, it’s clear that the status of space is that of utter chaos. The first two hours of the CBS All Access drama introduced a new starship and its Starfleet officers, including the woman at the core of the drama, First Officer Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green).

  A human raised by Spock’s father, Vulcan Ambassador Sarek (James Frain), Burnham is unlike any previous Star Trek character. Her point of view shifts between the logical mentality of her surrogate home planet and human emotions, which ultimately in the first two episodes leads her down a dark path.

After Klingon leader T’Kuvma (Chris Obi) calls to unite all 24 houses in a war against the Federation, Burnham — in a bid to do the right thing for her ship — carries out a mutiny against her mentor, Capt. Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh). She attacks a Klingon vessel and her plan fails, prompting a fully fledged Klingon attack that cripples several Starfleet ships. Georgiou winds up dead and Burnham, filled with rage after seeing her human mentor die before her eyes, retaliates and kills T’Kuvma.

  It ignites the show’s central conflict between the human Federation and the Klingons, setting the stage for the 13 remaining episodes to come in Discovery. The events leave Burnham’s life in shambles: her mentor is dead, ship destroyed and she is striped of her rank and sentenced to life in prison for mutiny. This is where the true story of Star Trek: Discovery begins. 

  To break down the events of the first two hours and preview what’s to come from the rest of Discovery, THR spoke with showrunners Gretchen J. Berg and Aaron Harberts about where Burnham goes from here as well as how the loss of her mentor and her guilt over igniting the war will guide her going forward.

The premiere introduces this world and a number of characters but by the end of episode two, much of it is blown up to propel the story to what Discovery will be about. Building from those ashes, where does the series go?

  Gretchen J. Berg: The first two episodes is where we get to see her backstory. We get to see what launches her into the rest of the series and a lot of times, certainly on more traditional television series, you’d see that through flashback or hear about that through conversation. But we showed it.

  Aaron Harberts: It enables the audience to see in two episodes who she was, who she is in that moment and who she thinks she’s going to be. She’s convinced she’s going to be a captain, her captain tells her as much. To be able to show the audience who Michael Burnham is and how she’s functioning in walking down a path she’s convinced she knows where it leads, what it allows us to do in episode three is show you everything she’s lost.

  When we talk about Discovery, it’s not only discovery in terms of the cosmos and what Star Trek means, voyages of discovery externally. But it’s also so much a story about Michael Burnham discovering who she is as a human being. To watch her fall allows us to then have the audience invest in how she’s going to rebuild herself. And does she really want to rebuild herself in the same image as the person who came before?

  It seemed really vital to the character and to the journey we’re setting forth to really allow the audience to get a great two-hour glimpse of that. I think the other very important thing was to show the audience that war is a horrible, terrible thing. As Georgiou says, it’s filled with blood and screams and funerals. When you end this, you’re not cheering. You’re not cheering at the end of all of these battles. You’re left with this pit in your stomach, left with this loss. You are left wondering how does this organization pick itself up and dust itself off and how does this lead character do the same?

    As the show moves forward, she’s not only lost her ship — her home — but her human mentor as well. Why kill off Georgiou?

  Harberts: That was always a piece of storytelling that [former showrunner] Bryan Fuller and [executive producer] Alex Kurtzman had as the architecture for the first two episodes. For us, it’s a very old way of telling the story. Getting people invested in these two characters, only to yank one away. It was sort of subliminally designed to say to the audience, “You think you know what kind of Star Trek you’re getting. You think you see who your Kirk and Spock are. But they’re not. This is not your everyday Star Trek.”

  Not only was it important for Burnham’s emotional journey and the loss she’s going to carry the entire series but it was a really terrific way to announce that this show was going to defy certain expectations.

  How does the human loss and responsibility for starting the war with the Klingons impact Burnham? 

  Berg: She’s carrying it with her every single step of the way through the series. And going back to the idea of Georgiou alone, and casting somebody like Michelle Yeoh, we needed to make sure we had a character and an actress that, even if you don’t see her physically on the screen, you’re going to feel her absence because she leaves that kind of impact on Burnham’s life and on the audience’s life.

  It’s a constant reminder for Burnham. It puts her in a very vulnerable position. There’s this character who’s so sure of herself. Every choice in her life was made with a goal in mind and it’s all been ripped away from her. Now she’s starting from nothing. She thought she knew who she was and where she was going and the people around her were going to be constants. That’s all different now, it’s all gone. It’s literally discovery, somebody figuring out who they are and how they fit in with everybody else on the ship or around them. It’s a big part of the storytelling for us the first season.

Harberts: The other thing that happens with Michael Burnham when you pick up in chapter three, this is a human raised on Vulcan. Logic was a cornerstone of her education and then her seven years under Georgiou provided her with a certain amount of teaching about what it means to be a human leader and to use emotion when you lead. What happens in episodes one and two is Burnham makes a decision using logic based on advice from Sarek and it backfires. Then she makes an emotional choice, a very rash choose — one that’s made in microseconds and fueled by the heart due to the grief over her dying captain — to kill T’Kuvma, the very thing she said would make a Klingon a martyr and further the war.

  She’s made decisions based on logic, she’s acted on emotion. Neither has worked, so where does she stand? Her entire worldview has crumbled and she’s got nothing to hold onto. That was interesting for all of the writers because everybody on Trek, in all the other iterations, one thing they do share is they’re super competent. They know what they’re there to do. They know how to solve problems. They’re brave and intelligent and capable. This is a character who was all of those things and now feels like everything she believed in or knew of or tried has been called into question. So we find a very shattered individual at the top of [episode] three.

  There’s also the story of season one where we talk about Starfleet itself wondering who they are as an organization. War makes even the most idealistic organizations flirt with darkness. Burnham is also asking herself who am I and those stories are running parallel through the season.

  It’s said in the premiere that nobody has seen a Klingon in 100 years. Now, the Federation is at war with them and Michael killed T’Kuvma, making him a martyr. How much of the war will the show cover this season?

  Berg: The thing that’s interesting about that is how do you reach peace with an enemy or an other that you don’t know at all? What do they consider the compromise? Starfleet is so used to being able to extend the hand of “we come in peace.” What happens if the group you’re facing off against isn’t interested in the same outcome as you are? That’s something we thought was really interesting to explore. At the end of the day, Starfleet has to be Starfleet. We do have to hold onto optimism and hope. The war will last through the whole season. How do we stick to our ideals when the folks we are fighting with are not interested in our ideals and don’t share them?

  Harberts: And we’re going to be tracking the war from the Klingon side as well. We’re going to find out that T’Kuvma’s plan of Klingon unity may not necessarily come to fruition. We’re watching this war take its toll on both sides. Not only from the standpoint of who’s winning and who’s losing, but from the standpoint of how far is T’Kuvma’s message going? At what point do the Klingons turn on each other? We find that this war ends up having an effect in that it splinters many people that thought they were actually allied from the start.

    Georgiou’s relationship with Michael was parental in nature. How does that compare to Capt. Lorca (Jason Isaacs) and how he will relate to Michael on the USS Discovery?

  Berg: They don’t share the history she had [with Georgiou]. You see in the flashback in episode two that we’re to assume it was very hard-earned for Georgiou and Burnham to get to that level of closeness that we see up top when they’re on their mission to get the well going again. It is a completely different relationship with Lorca and she’s getting to know a new individual with a very different point of view on how to face war and what is necessary to win.

  Harberts: If Georgiou represents the absolute ideal version of a Starfleet captain, which is to say she has the moral authority given to her by Starfleet, Lorca represents the situational ethics that come into play during times of desperation and war. During times where sometimes the rules don’t apply when it comes to matters of life and death. He exists in a very gray area and he’s almost a captain that could only exist in this context. And, in fact, context if a very important thing for Lorca. He believes that context is what should decide actions.

  You use flashbacks to a young Michael with Sarek and Georgiou. Will you continue to use flashbacks to explore both of those relationships? Have we seen the last of Yeoh? 

  Harberts: We’ll definitely be exploring the parental relationship between Burnham and Sarek further on in the series in flashbacks. Georgiou will always be present in Burnham’s life, in her consciousness. We won’t be doing as many flashbacks with Georgiou but we do definitely explain and explore what happened to young Burnham at the Vulcan learning center in that horrific bombing, when Sarek brings her back to life. We explore how that event really cemented the relationship between this little human child and this Vulcan ambassador.

Star Trek: Discovery streams Sundays at 8:30 p.m. on CBS All Access.

Star Trek: Discovery

#Discovery #Explained #Michelle #Premiere #Star #Trek #Yeoh

#Discovery #Explained #Michelle #Premiere #Star #Trek #Yeoh