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uchihasakurawrites · 4 years

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A Lesson in Practicality (1)

Rating: T for language & depictions of violence

Summary: It takes a near-death experience in Yukigakure for Sakura to realize that Sasuke has her back in more ways than one.

Word Count: 3,154

A/N: This idea was going to be a short drabble, but the storyline ended up going in a direction that I didn’t initially plan for. There will be a Part Two (of 2). Part One has more implied SasuSaku - Sasuke will play a much more significant role in the next part! There’s a very high chance that this is going to be a prequel for the longer SasuSaku fic I’m currently working on.

Let me know what you think, please!! Thank you to everyone who has left feedback on my work thus far~

Cross-posted on AO3 and Fanfiction

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Sakura had heard enough stories from her fellow kunoichi about birthday gifts from their boyfriends to know that Sasuke’s definition of a gift was unique, to say the least.

Sai’s most recent gift to Ino was simple - a modest bouquet of flowers, carefully cultivated to convey a special message, a basket of cherry tomatoes from his personal garden, and a painting of the two of them on what Ino later told Sakura was their engagement day. Naruto once took Hinata on a two-week getaway to the hot spring resorts of Yugakure for her first birthday after they became official (though Hinata later let it slip that Naruto hadn’t informed Hiashi of their vacation and was subsequently banned from the Hyuuga compound for the foreseeable future). Chouji hosted a surprise birthday party for Karui just a few months after she migrated to Konoha, complete with her closest friends from Kumogakure and a home-cooked buffet. Even Shikamaru had stepped up his game with a private couple’s cooking class at Amaguriama, knowing that Temari would punt him to Suna if he showed up with just the personalized shogi piece he had originally planned on giving to her.

Temari had still barely let him escape, fully aware that Shikamaru had organized the class in hopes of never having to go out of his way to buy her favorite sweets again if she could just make them herself. Watching him burn three batches of roasted chestnuts was enough of a gift in itself.

Sasuke hadn’t been in the village for any of Sakura’s birthdays since before his defection back in their genin days. Even then, she couldn’t remember him going out of his way to give her a gift beyond grumbling out a low “Happy Birthday” if team training happened to coincide with her birthday.

To say that Sakura was shocked when she awoke to the tap tap tap of a messenger bird at her window before dawn on her nineteenth birthday was an understatement. Her grumbles at being awakened at such an hour on a day Ino had explicitly banned Sakura from working stopped the second she recognized the bird as Sasuke’s hawk. After fumbling with the latch on her window for a moment - she swore that the hawk gave her some serious side-eye when it took her three tries to get the latch to unstick - she held out her wrist for the bird. It left in the next breath, right after Sakura untied the scroll it was carrying. Sakura frowned at the hawk’s manners as she hadn’t even gotten to send a reply but realized she shouldn’t expect much. Of course Sasuke’s summons would take on his taciturn attitude.

The note tied to the scroll was simple: A last resort.

Huffing a laugh at the note, which was so very Sasuke, Sakura made quick work of the scroll’s seal. She immediately recognized the script as a summoning scroll, though she couldn’t parse out exactly what the summons was. Most likely one of Sasuke’s if he had sent it to her - a hawk or a snake. She sincerely hoped for the former.

Her first Chunin exams had effectively wrecked snakes for her.

Sakura resealed the scroll with a small smile. She had learned what she was getting into quite quickly when she first realized her love for Sasuke ran deeper than a surface-level crush. Any relationship she had with him wouldn’t be normal, be it romantic or platonic. Sasuke’s definition of a relationship was understandably different than most others; she had to learn how to read into the small gestures and unspoken words he left between them - the forehead pokes, the thank you’s, and the occasional mumbled annoying. There would be no typical gifts, no grand romantic gestures, and she was okay with that.

She had hardly expected a congratulatory note for her birthday, let alone a physical gift. Sure, a summoning scroll might not be the most conventional gift, but Sakura figured the practicality of it summed up Sasuke’s approach to relationships perfectly: securing the safety of those closest to him. This particular gesture meant she was at least somewhere on his (very short) list of valuable people in his life.

So when she tucked the scroll away, she did so with a smile, knowing that the added weight next to her medical supplies was a comfort that Sasuke had her back no matter where he was.

* * * * *

Sakura discovered that sentiment was far more literal than she had initially thought as she fled the scene of an assassination mission gone wrong in Yukigakure. Eliminating the target - a noble displaced by the war who sought to sow seeds of discontent against the ruling family - was fairly straightforward. A quick henge, a few unconscious guards, and a convenient chakra-induced heart attack left no trace to Konoha or the royal family.

The bounty hunters on her tail were decidedly less straightforward.

Since the end of the war, Sakura’s field mission count had dropped drastically. With Tsunade out of the village, rebuilding and strengthening Konoha’s medical system fell squarely on her shoulders. Ino’s support with the Children’s Mental Health Clinic left some room in her schedule for diplomatic medical missions to neighboring villages as a show of goodwill after the Allied Shinobi Forces dissolved, but she was rarely included in combat units. Kakashi had only assigned her to this solo mission as a favor to Koyuki since she was already familiar with Sakura from her genin days. Relations between Konoha and Iwagakure had been steady enough after the war, but Kakashi couldn’t risk instability in a country so close to Iwa.

While Sakura had kept up with her combat skills as well as she could through spars and periodic demonstrations at the Academy, she could feel the rust in her reaction times as she adjusted her own fighting style to the unfamiliar terrain. Snow meant additional chakra expenditure to maintain body temperature and keep her feet planted firmly on the ground; it took her the first few moments of the pursuit just to adjust her fighting style so that she wouldn’t go skidding across ice when she followed through on her punches.

It was the split second of hesitation between her noticing the first hunter rapidly approaching from behind and actually lunging to the left to avoid his attack that cost her a kunai to the thigh. The wound was deep, but Sakura was less concerned about the fact that she could clearly see the muscle fibers in her leg and more concerned about neutralizing the unknown poison that was trying to spread from it. Sewing the skin together enough to stop the bleeding was second nature; it was maintaining a chakra net around the wound to contain the poison that required a bit more focus.

Based on both their speed and specialized jutsu, Sakura guessed the hunters were at least jounin-level. Ten to twelve total based on a quick extension of her sensory jutsu. Had this been a different situation, Sakura would have been flattered that someone thought she was dangerous enough to send so many high-level shinobi to ambush her. She made a quick mental note to thank Karin for training her in a variant of the Kagura Shingan jutsu.

Running forever wasn’t an option, especially at the pace she was being forced to keep. She needed to start picking these guys off - she figured she had faced far worse odds and won.

Sakura slid to a stop and waited precisely six seconds for about half of the hunters to catch up before she drove her fist into the ground. Unsteady ground and low visibility from the snow she had loosened caught the two closest hunters off guard, and she pressed her advantage to neatly slice their jugulars open with chakra scalpels. She took note of their appearance, standard shinobi gear in shades of white and grey and curiously blank hitai-ates linked around both of their necks, and paused just long enough to snatch one of the headbands for later inspection. She tucked it into her medical pouch before rounding to face the next wave of hunters.

Most of the remaining nin were smart enough to keep their distance; they must have done enough research on her to know that engaging her in close-combat was the fastest way to lose. The nin fell into a loose semicircle formation around her, half close enough for mid-range attacks and half further back. If they were Iwa or Yuki missing nin, she could expect mostly Water and Earth-style jutsu - the same affinities she had, but probably much more practiced.

Keeping a firm hold on her Kagura Shingan to track her opponents, Sakura quickly formed the seals for Suiton: Kiri Shikaku she had picked up during a brief stay in Kiri and saw an immediate improvement in her vision. She caught four hunters in her visual range and charged forward, hoping to close the distance between them fast enough for her to get a clean hit. All four flew through the same familiar sequence of hand signs she had seen from Iwa nin during the war, and a solid rock wall about ten feet high erupted in her path.

Not deterred in the slightest by the barrier, Sakura augmented her speed with chakra and drove a fist into the wall. The rock gave more resistance to her wrist than normal, so she quickly adjusted the chakra concentration in her knuckles to absorb the additional force. The hunters, she guessed, had infused their chakra into the wall in hopes that the reinforcement would injure her wrist or at least slow her down.

Sakura smirked as her fist drove clean through the wall and followed her punch up with a roundhouse to shatter it. Their chakra control was good if they could spread it so finely across the surface of the wall - but hers was better.

She darted towards the closest target and delivered a punch to his gut that snapped his spine clean in half. His partner appeared at her side in the next breath, driving his katana towards her neck and forcing her to drop to her knees to dodge. Sakura swept her leg underneath the nin’s feet, ignoring the stinging sensation of the snow on her skin as she followed the nin’s dodge up with a well-aimed kunai. The weapon landed squarely in the back of his dominant hand and forced him to change grips on his katana.

A small part of Sakura’s mind was immediately suspicious when the two other nin closest to them chose to charge her head-on instead of retreating. Perhaps she had given them too much credit if they were reckless enough to rush into a taijutsu battle with her just because she had taken a few of them out.

It made more sense when chains of water shot out from the ground to bind her ankles and wrists firmly to the ground - the work of the long-range nins’ combined Suiton: Suikusari no Jutsu. They must have been watching for an opening to slow her down long enough for the mid-range hunters to close in on her and deliver a killing blow.

The chains were sturdier than any suiton she had faced in the past, no doubt due to the number of hunters who were focused on restraining her. Sakura channeled a burst of pure chakra to the surface of the skin on her wrists, ankles, and torso; anywhere the chains touched, she honed in on. She could either drive her chakra into the chains, slow down the water molecules in them so that they turned to ice, and shatter them, or push her chakra directly outwards to free herself long enough to move away from the chains.

The first option would have been a more permanent solution, but the breath of a hunter nin on her neck forced Sakura into the second. With a shannaro! Sakura willfully tore her body out of the chains, redirected the chakra to her feet, and used the closest nin’s chest as a platform to fling herself over the chains and out of reach. She shoved one foot into the woman’s chest and used the other to bat a kunai with an explosive tag away from them both.

What Sakura didn’t account for was the nin she had planted her foot on reacting quickly enough to snag her ankle and drag her to the ground with her. She used the momentum of her fall to slide further away from the chains and twisted her ankle to free herself. Ice-covered rocks sliced at her forearms and stomach, but she drove her fingers into the ground to lever herself forward.

Crippling pain radiated from her ankle as soon as she was free, drawing a hoarse cry from her throat. She hadn’t seen a weapon in the nin’s hand, and there was no open wound. A second wave of searing pain nearly brought Sakura to her knees yet again, and she reached out for her medical chakra to send to inspect the area as she narrowly vaulted over a windmill shuriken -

Only to find that summoning her chakra felt like pulling a viscous liquid through a fine sieve. The chakra that had been isolating the poison around her wounds only stayed in place from sheer force of will. She spared a quick glance at her ankle, eyes widening at the black seal branded onto her skin.

Fuinjutsu.

Sakura didn’t recognize the seal and didn’t have time to inspect it further. Water chains exploded from the ground beneath her just as four hunters lunged at her from each direction. She jumped into the air, twisting to narrowly avoid a series of kunai. A loose shuriken lodged into her calf. Sakura immediately recognized the signs of poison digging into her system; she also recognized with a growing trepidation that it took far more of her concentration than she could spare to dredge up the medical chakra necessary to isolate it.

Whatever seal the hunters had placed on her was blocking her chakra flow, but not in a way she had experienced before. Training with Shizune’s poisons and Hinata’s tenketsu blocks hadn’t prepared her for this. Her chakra wasn’t completely inaccessible, but it was as though a fine mesh had settled over each of her chakra points. It was as though the hunters hoped she would continue trying to mold her chakra, exhausting herself enough in the process that they could take her out.

Her dread grew when she reached out for her Byakugo only to feel the same fine mesh blocking her access. She could still feel the mass of chakra settled behind her forehead, but she doubted she could summon enough of it fast enough to make a significant difference in this fight.

Sakura had a sinking feeling that this seal, which she hadn’t even come across in the Uzumaki fuinjutsu scrolls Naruto had lent to her, was designed specifically to hinder ninja with her level of chakra control and reserves. It didn’t matter how much control she had if it took her six times as long to drag her chakra to a specific point. Keeping the poison in her system at bay occupied enough of her attention at the moment. Evading the seemingly endless water chains that followed her and the four nins on her tail only added to her exhaustion.

One of the hunters managed to land a kick squarely on her side, cracking at least two ribs. Sakura took another blow to her back, and she twisted to catch the nin’s ankle. She snapped it cleanly in two, baring her teeth as she drove a kunai into the kunoichi’s neck before she could finish the seals for an Earth-style jutsu.

She managed to keep with this rhythm long enough to incapacitate another two nin but knew that she was reaching her limit. She took a half dozen more hits from the closest hunters and a particularly nasty cut from a katana before she pulled back, focused on her seal, and pushed. Black lines twisted down her face and startled the hunters long enough for her to shunt what chakra she could get ahold of to the soles of her boots. The force of the chakra from her seal was enough to push what little she needed through.

Sakura took off at a sprint, running as far and as fast as she could in the opposite direction of the hunters who immediately followed suit. Knowing her options were limited, Sakura scrambled behind the first large boulder she could find and snapped the highest level genjutsu she could manage over the surrounding area. Her jaw clenched to choke off a scream at the fire that lanced through her chakra network as she forced her chakra into the jutsu.

Her chakra control, it seemed, was not better than whichever nin had developed this seal.

She quickly surveyed her condition - several lacerations, at least two cracked ribs, and more poison in her system than she could afford to isolate at once - and realized that the seal on her ankle was not only making it more difficult to mold chakra but also draining it. Sakura immediately withdrew her own chakra, slamming her Yin seal down before the hunter’s seal could touch her reserves. Without her Byakugo, Sakura figured she barely had enough chakra to maintain her genjutsu and keep the poison around her major wounds locked in place. Healing herself would do nothing but leave her drained and vulnerable when the hunter nins eventually found her.

Her genjutsu skills had improved drastically under Kurenai’s tutelage, but the hunter nins would eventually figure out what she had done and double back to find her. They knew as well as she did that she wasn’t in a condition to flee very far.

Without hesitation, Sakura withdrew the summoning scroll Sasuke had given her from a pouch at her hip and snapped it open. She didn’t have enough chakra to summon enough of Katsuyu to be useful, and Sakura would be long dead before reinforcements came even if she did ask Katsuyu to send a message to Konoha.

As much as she hated snakes, Sakura desperately hoped for Aoda as she drew a bloodied thumb across the parchment (though the rational part of her brain noted she probably didn’t have the chakra to handle that level of summons either). She blanched at the strain the summons put on her chakra network and wondered belatedly if she had overestimated how much of what little chakra she had left she could actually direct towards the summons. Slamming her eyes shut with a choked cry, Sakura visualized grabbing onto the thin trails of chakra that creaked through her veins and pulled.

If she’d had the energy for it, Sakura is certain she would have screamed when it was neither a hawk nor a snake that appeared before her - but rather, Sasuke Uchiha himself.

#sasusaku #sasusaku fanfiction #sakura haruno #sasuke uchiha #part 1 #a lesson in practicality #sasusaku blank period #sasusaku fanfic #naruto fanfiction

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per-ineptia-ad-astra · 4 years

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Star Trek Episode 1.23: A Taste of Armageddon

AKA: Good God Y’all, What Is It Good For?

Our episode begins with the Enterprise on its way to conduct some diplomacy. Kirk elaborates for us:

“Captain’s Log, Stardate 3192.1. The Enterprise is en route to star cluster NGC321. Objective—to open diplomatic relations with the civilizations known to be there. We have sent a message to Eminiar 7, principal planet of the star cluster, informing them of our friendly intentions. We are awaiting an answer.”

Kirk is filling in the time until they get that answer by being a nuisance on the bridge, first hovering over Spock’s shoulder and then going to bother Uhura about whether they’ve received a reply yet. She patiently tells him that yes, the hailing frequencies are open and no, they haven’t gotten a reply yet. Before Kirk can try asking, “Okay, how about now? How about…now?” the lift doors open and a man in a suit with a collar you could dunk a basketball through and a face like people have tried to steps onto the bridge.

[ID: A screenshot of Fox, a middle-age white man with short curled blond hair, blue eyes with heavy bags under them, and a bitter expression. He’s wearing a grayish-brown top with a round collar wider than his entire head.]

He also wants to know if they’ve gotten a reply yet. Kirk tells him no, they’re still waiting for Eminiar 7 to call back. In fact, it’s only since today that they’ve even been sure the Eminians have gotten their signal at all. But just then, Uhura announces that they’ve finally gotten something back from Eminiar, and it’s “Code 710,” repeating over and over. “Is that supposed to mean something?” the ambassador says loudly. Kirk explains to him that Code 710 means that under no circumstances are they supposed to approach the planet—no circumstances whatsoever (something you’d think an ambassador would know). You notice he didn’t say “under no circumstances except the circumstance that you, specifically, think we should do it anyway” but apparently that’s what the ambassador heard, because he immediately tells Kirk, “You will disregard that signal, captain.”

“Mr. Fox, it is their planet,” Kirk points out, but Fox is not impressed by this. “In the past twenty years, thousands of lives have been lost in this quadrant,” he snaps. “Lives that could have been saved if the Federation had a treaty for here. We need to have that port, and I’m here to get it.” Kirk points out that disregarding Code 710 could result in an interplanetary war, but Fox says he’s prepared to take that risk. Oh, you’re prepared to take that risk. I’m sure that will make everyone else who winds up involved in an interplanetary war feel better about it.

Further protests for caution prove equally useless; Fox reminds Kirk that his mission gives him the power of command, and he’s going to exercise it. Kirk’s job is to get them into orbit, and leave the rest to Fox. Then he stalks back off the bridge, leaving Kirk to sit gloomily in his chair for a moment before putting the ship on yellow alert, raising the shields, and having the phaser crews stand by. “We’re going in, gentlemen,” he says. “Peacefully, I hope, but peacefully or not...we’re going in.”

After the titles, we see the Enterprise in orbit around a nice Earth-y looking planet while Kirk gives us a quick update: they’ve made it to Eminiar 7 and are preparing to beam down. “My orders are clear—we must establish diplomatic relations at all cost.” I see, going for the “be friends with us OR ELSE” approach here.

Kirk is on the bridge talking to Spock, getting the lowdown on the Eminians. Apparently their civilization is “advanced,” by whatever metric we’re judging that, and they’ve had spaceflight capability for centuries but have never left their own solar system. First contact was made fifty years ago, at which point Eminiar 7 was at war with its nearest neighbor, and the ship that made that contact, the U.S.S. Valiant, never returned. Spock says it’s “Listed as missing in space.” Right, sure. Same way the Lusitania is listed as “missing in the Atlantic Ocean” I bet.

At this point Fox comes onto the bridge and shoves his way into the conversation, demanding to know, “Kirk, what’s this about you going down alone?” Kirk says, nonsense, he’s not going down alone—he’s taking some redshirts with him and everything. Of course, what Fox really means is, what’s this about Kirk going down there without Fox. Kirk says that whatever Fox’s prerogative as ambassador might be, he’s not going to risk beaming Fox down until he knows “what kind of a reception [Fox is] going to receive.” Which makes sense. You don’t want to just beam your ambassador down into a completely unsecured situation, who knows what might be going on down there. Of course, you also wouldn’t want to beam the captain of the ship down into a completely unsecured situation but, well, you can’t have everything.

“Your safety is my responsibility. Those are my orders, sir,” Kirk tells Fox. Then, before Fox can come up with a rebuttal to this, Kirk leaves him standing there and walks off to talk to Spock. Spock reports that the transporter is ready, and they’ve selected a beam-down spot that they’re guessing from the traffic is near some kind of official establishment. He also reports that they haven’t noticed any signs of hostility from the Eminians, or in fact any sign of the Eminians acknowledging their presence at all—which is odd, because they were scanned when they arrived, so the Eminians obviously know the Enterprise is there. So they’re leaving the Enterprise’s shields down for the moment, but Spock assures Kirk that all defensive details are on general alert, just in case.

Kirk wants the landing party to take some ‘phaser number ones’ ��when they go down, but keep them inconspicuous. Then he tells Scotty, “The ship is yours. Take care of her until I come back.” With that, Kirk, Spock, and three waiting redshirts depart into the lift, while Fox glowers after them.

We then see an establishing shot of a pleasant enough looking city down on the planet...

[ID: A screenshot of the Eminian city, consisting of several tall white buildings with black and gold detailing and a wide expanse of mowed grass in the foreground. A couple of monorails are visible among the building, and a small group of people can just barely be seen standing on some paths among the grass.]

...before cutting to an interior corridor, where a woman is looking at a device as she walks, flanked by a couple of guards in very silly hats. After consulting her device, the woman says, “They will materialize there.” (How she knows this is never explained.) “Remember your instructions. They are to be treated correctly, nothing more.”

[ID: Three people walking down a corridor composed of several angular archways that are lit in bright green, pink and purple. In the center is a white woman with blonde curly hair, wearing a kind of wrap tied draped diagonally across her chest, colored in blocks of teal, black, white and blue, with black tights and flats underneath it. She is looking down at a gold device in her hands. On either side of her are two men dressed in black one-piece uniforms that each have a colored stripe going diagonally across the torso and down one leg, with a large silver clasp on the shoulder; one guard has a red stripe and one has a purple stripe. They are both wearing a hat of a corresponding color which is tall and somewhat resembles a paper bag standing on its end.]

ah yes, our proud and noble city guards, the Sack Hats

Sure enough, the landing party materializes in a nearby courtyard, next to a nice bit of abstract art. As the woman and her escort walk over to meet them, we get a swell of romantic music and a shot of the woman’s face sparkling in soft focus, for no other reason that I can tell except that she’s a woman. Seriously, she’s not even a love interest in this episode.

Kirk introduces himself and says he’s representing the United Federation of Planets, which is incidentally the first time we’ve actually heard the Federation referred to by its full name. “I know,” the woman says. “I’m Mea 3. I congratulate you on your instrumentation. You’ve come directly to the Division of Control. If you’ll follow me, please?” Oh boy, the Division of Control. That doesn’t sound ominous at all.

Mea 3 leads them back into the building, but as they start to head down the corridor, her professional decorum breaks for a moment. She starts to say, “Captain, I wish...” When Kirk prompts her to go on, she just says, “You were warned not to come here.”

Kirk says he had to come anyway, because orders, what you gonna do, then asks why they were warned off anyway. Mea says it was for their own safety, which baffles Kirk, because he sees no danger here. I mean, how can there be danger if you can’t see any danger? Doesn’t make sense. But Mea 3 says the danger exists anyway. “Nevertheless, you are here. It would be morally incorrect to do less than extend our hospitality. Anan 7 and members of the High Council await you.”

She picks up the pace again, leading the party down another corridor ending with a big door watched over by a couple more guards. Mea takes the group inside, where they are awaited by five men sitting at a half-circle table, all of them dressed in the same black-and-color-stripe uniform as the guards, but without the silly hats. The man in the middle is also wearing a kind of beige shawl over the top of his uniform to set him apart from the rest. Ah yes, beige. The color of authority.

Kirk introduces himself, Spock, and the redshirts: Galway (hello again!), Osborne, and Yeoman Tamura. (Why do you keep bringing Yeomen on these kinds of missions.) The man in the beige shawl stands up and introduces himself as Anan 7. He welcomes them to Eminiar 7 and asks what he can do for them. Kirk says his mission is to establish diplomatic relations between their people, and Anan 7 immediately says, “That is impossible.” Ohhhhh boy, this is gonna be a long visit.

“Would you mind telling me why?” Kirk asks, very politely but with a look in his eyes that says clearly that he is already SO tired.

“Because of the war,” Anan replies. When Kirk is surprised that they’re still at war after fifty years, Anan tells him that in fact, they’ve been at war for over five hundred years. This catches Kirk off guard because, as he says, they conceal it very well. He then calls Spock up to the front of the class to give a quick presentation on the subject. Spock says they’ve scanned the planet and found it, “Highly advanced, prosperous in a material sense, comfortable for your people, and peaceful in the extreme.” So, very nice planet, 4.5/5 stars, would stay again, so how can there be a war going on when there’s no evidence whatsoever of it?

Nonetheless, Anan tells them that they see 1-3 million civilians dead every year from direct enemy attack. That’s why, he says, the Enterprise was told to stay away: as long as it’s orbiting the planet, it’s in serious danger. Well gee, thanks. The Eminians sure do lean a whole lot on that “you were WARNED to STAY AWAY” thing considering the incredibly tepid effort they made with the actual warning. Sure, they sent out a code, but as we’ll learn a bit later, they’re fully capable of contacting the ship well enough to have a full conversation, and the Enterprise was trying to establish such a conversation for quite some time. There’s no reason we’re told that the Eminians couldn’t have explained specifically why the Enterprise should stay away, or established communications with them at a safe distance—they just didn’t bother.

Spock asks who these invisible people are that they’re at war with anyway, and Anan explains that they’re at war with Vendikar, the third planet in this system—which is something Spock should know, considering he earlier described the Eminians as being “at war with their nearest neighbor” fifty years ago, and all indications are that this is the same war, but never mind that. Anan says Vendikar (I don’t know why Eminiar 7 has a number but Vendikar is just Vendikar) was originally colonized by Eminiar 7 in the first place, but apparently there was some kind of falling-out, because Vendikar is now “a ruthless enemy—highly advanced technologically.”

At that moment an alarm starts buzzing, and one of the walls of the room slides open, revealing an adjoining room filled with computer banks and screens on the wall. “Please excuse me,” Anan says. “Vendikar is attacking.”

He asks Mea to look after their guests and hurries off into the computer room, leaving the landing party to watch in confusion. Kirk asks Mea if they’re not going to take shelter, but Mea just gives him an odd look and says that there is no shelter. She doesn’t seem especially perturbed by any of this, and when Spock asks her if the attacks are frequent, she calmly says, “Oh, yes. And we will retaliate immediately.”

One of the screens in the computer room, which is showing a large map, suddenly lights up. Mea looks stricken and explains that it’s showing a hit—right here in the city. Since there’s a conspicuous lack of any explosion noises, the landing party is naturally even more confused by this. When Kirk asks Mea what weapons are being used, she says it’s fusion bombs, being materialized over the targets. Not the sort of thing it’s easy to miss, but there’s no sign at all of anything happening. Kirk even calls up Scotty and asks him if the scanners have noticed anything going on, but Scotty says it’s all quiet down there.

While Kirk and Spock are trying to figure out what’s going on, another illuminated spot appears on the screen in the computer room. One of the councilmen points it out to Anan, who grimly muses that “They were warned.” Yeah, keep telling yourself that. The councilman says that this is “Just as it happened fifty years ago.” Considering that fifty years ago was when the Valiant came here and was never seen again, this exchange doesn’t seem to bode well for our heroes—and neither does Anan’s subsequent order for the councilman to alert a security detachment because “they may be needed.”

As the councilman heads off, Anan comes out of the computer room to talk to Kirk. “It was a vicious attack,” he says. “Extremely destructive. Fortunately, our defenses are firming, but our casualties were high, very high.” Kirk is so confused by this that he wonders out loud if it’s all some kind of game, but Anan takes immediate offense, telling him that half a million people dead is no game. Then he tells the other councilmen to “activate the attack units” for an immediate counter-attack.

With this, Spock has finally got this whole thing figured out: “Computers, captain. They fight their war with computers totally.” Kirk protests that computers don’t kill that many people, which is obviously wrong. There are many exciting ways for computers to kill people. Those ones in the background right now could probably take out several just by falling over on them.

Of course they’re fighting with computers, Anan says. The deaths have been registered and the dead now have twenty-four hours to report. Report to what? Why, the disintegration machines, of course.

“You must understand, captain,” Anan explains in the face of Kirk’s increasingly confused and horrified expression. “We have been at war for five hundred years. Under ordinary conditions, no civilization could withstand that, but we have reached a solution.” Spock asks if that means the attack by Vendikar was theoretical, but Anan says that no, it was very real—Anan’s own wife was killed in the last one. It just wasn’t an attack accomplished by any real, tangible weapons. Their computers, and Vendikar’s, calculate where such weapons would strike, and what the damage would be, and the people who became casualties in the simulation must then become such in real life, and report to the disintegration chambers to be killed. “Our civilization lives. The people die. But our culture goes on.”

When Kirk expresses stunned disbelief that the people of Eminiar will just walk into a disintegration chamber when told to, Anan simply replies, “We have a high consciousness of duty, captain.” Right, I bet they do. Enough propaganda will do that for you.

Spock admits that all this does have “a certain scientific logic” to it. Anan takes this to be approval, but Spock coldly corrects him.

[ID: 1. A screenshot of Spock saying, “I do not approve. I understand.” 2. A screenshot of Anan, a middle-aged white man with short graying brown hair, a short brown goatee, and brown eyes, looking off to the side and saying, “Good.”]

no NOT good! weren’t you listening???

Anan then reminds them, once again, that they were warned not to come here and did so anyway, and now “I’m sorry, but it’s happened.” “What’s happened?” Kirk asks, in the voice of a man rapidly approaching his breaking point. Anan grimly explains that once the Enterprise was in orbit around Eminiar, it became a target in the war, and in the attack just now it was marked as being destroyed in a “tri-cobalt satellite explosion” whatever that is. By the rules of Eminian/Vendikaran warfare, everyone aboard the Enterprise is now dead and has twenty-four hours to report to the disintegration chambers—and Kirk and co. will be held in custody to ensure their cooperation.

Of course, the Enterprise may have been warned against approaching the planet, but they weren’t told why they shouldn’t, and certainly not told anything about the simulated war or about the incoming attack, giving them no opportunity to take evasive action or defensive measures as they ordinarily would do when engaged in battle. Indeed, we’ll later see that the Eminian weapons aren’t capable of doing more than lightly shaking the Enterprise when her shields are up—and it seems unlikely the Vendikaran weapons could do much more, since they seem to be pretty evenly matched. The Eminian style of war might be cleaner, by some definition, but it removes all hope of second chances. No taking of bullets for someone else, no deaths averted due to swift action by a skilled commander on the scene or by luck or by someone getting medical attention fast enough. You not only don’t have a say in whether you’re involved in this war if you’re born onto the planet or just happen to be in the nearby vicinity, but no action on your part can ever do anything to avert the preordained death of you or your loved ones. No wonder everyone on this planet is so defeatist about the war. They’ve spent their last five hundred years as a culture having the idea hammered into them that nothing they do individually could do anything to change it.

I’m sure you can just about imagine Kirk’s reaction upon being told that his entire crew is supposed to report for execution, but as soon as he and the security men start reaching for their phasers, they find themselves surrounded by Sack Hats with their own weapons drawn. A couple of them grab Kirk by the shoulders, keeping him from escaping but not from all but vibrating with palpable fury.

“If possible we shall spare your ship, captain,” Anan tells him, apparently trying to be reassuring. “But its passengers and crew...are already dead.”

The comment about sparing the ship was probably meant as nothing more than a bit of filler dialogue, but if so inclined I think you can take it as quite indicative of Anan’s worldview. Kirk dearly loves the Enterprise, sure, but the idea that he would be concerned with the ship itself remaining intact, or would find any degree of solace in that idea, in this moment when the lives of literally everybody aboard are now at risk, is pretty absurd. We know Kirk better than that. It’s not even practically useful to him, since even if he and the landing party survive and could get back on the ship, what would they do then? Try to fly back to Federation space with five people manning a ship meant to have a crew of four hundred twenty? That would just be silly.

But that Anan would say such a thing as he breaks news so incredibly bad perhaps shows that it’s the kind of thing that, were their positions reversed, he would find comforting to hear. It echoes what he said just a few moments ago: “The people die. But our culture goes on.” Anan’s culture evidently places a high enough value on inanimate things and concepts that they consider the loss of individual lives tragic, but worth it to preserve those things. The question is, was their culture being like that what led to them conducting war in this way? Or did five hundred years of living through this endless war and being forced to justify it to themselves change their outlook over time?

After the break, Kirk gives us a quick recap via captain’s log:

“Captain’s Log, delayed: The Enterprise, in orbit about Eminiar VII, has been declared a casualty of an incredible war fought by computers. I and my landing party, though apparently not included as casualties aboard the Enterprise, are confined on the planet’s surface awaiting...what?”

We then see that the landing party are indeed confined, although as far as holding cells go you could do a lot worse; the room they’re in has some nice chairs, a rug, even a coffee table with some mugs on it. Swanky. Kirk’s obviously not taking much consolation in this, though, judging by the way he seems to be trying to wear a furrow in the floor with his angry pacing.

The door opens and Mea 3 enters, accompanied by a Sack Hat. She says she’s been sent to ask if they require anything.

[ID: Kirk, Spock, two male redshirts, and a young Asian woman in a red uniform dress, assembled in a small stone-floored and walled room with two chairs, a couch, a coffee table, a rug, and several pieces of assorted abstract art. Kirk is standing near the door and talking to Mea 3, saying, “yeah we could use some creamer for the coffee if you don’t mind OF COURSE WE REQUIRE SOMETHING”.]

Kirk positively snarls that he requires a great deal, starting with speaking to Anan, but Mea says he’s busy coordinating casualty lists. “He’ll have more casualty lists than he knows what to do with if he doesn’t get in here and talk to me!” Kirk fires back.

Mea, now starting get a bit ruffled, tries to say something about their duty, but Kirk isn’t having it, and tells her that it is not her duty to be cheerfully disintegrated. Actually, Mea says, that is very much her duty now: she’s been declared a casualty and is required to report for disintegration by noon tomorrow. Which is a bit odd, because Mea was in the same room and standing right next to the landing party while the attack was underway, and none of them were declared casualties. Either there’s been another attack in the meantime, or there’s some kind of lottery system in place to determine who dies, out of everyone in a specific area that was designated ‘hit’.

Kirk looks pretty thrown by this for a moment and asks if that’s really all this is to Mea, to dutifully report in and die. Mea informs him that no, she values her life as much as he does his, but she doesn’t have a choice; if people on Eminiar started refusing to report to their deaths, the terms of the agreement with Vendikar would break down and they would have to start using real weapons again. Eminiar would have to retaliate in kind. “More than people would die then. A whole civilization would be destroyed. Surely you can see that ours is the better way.”

“No,” Kirk says. “I don’t see that at all.”

But better or not, as Mea then reminds him, it’s been their way for five hundred years, and they’re clearly pretty stuck in it. At any rate, she’s not interested in arguing about it any more, and turns to leave, then stops to ask Kirk once again if the party needs anything. Kirk just repeats his demand to see Anan, so Mea sighs and leaves them in there to stare gloomily at each other.

Back up on the Enterprise, McCoy is engaged in his favorite pastime: standing on the bridge and grousing. Specifically, while they still don’t have any idea what’s actually going on down there, he’s concerned that they haven’t heard anything from the landing party by now. Scotty agrees that they should have heard back by now, but the fact is they haven’t, and they have no way of knowing why because they can’t raise the group. McCoy protests that dammit Jim Scotty, they can’t just SIT HERE! So Scotty asks what McCoy would have him do, then.

[ID: 1. A screenshot of McCoy looking taken aback. 2. A screenshot of McCoy looking off to the side and saying, “uh...tbh I didn’t think I’d get this far.”]

McCoy is forced to admit—well, more accurately, ‘come close to skirting around suggesting at admitting’--that he does not, in fact, know what they should do. “Would you have me open fire?” Scotty demands. “Of course not!” McCoy immediately replies, but he’s still not happy.

But that’s what happens when you put McCoy and Scotty together for too long. They make a dangerous combination. I always feel like they’re about thirty seconds away from either getting into a raging fist fight or egging each other on into committing arson, it’s just a toss-up as to which.

Luckily, before either of those two things can happen, Uhura reports that there’s a message coming in from the captain, and all disagreements are hastily thrown aside to pick it up. “Good news, Mr. Scott,” Kirk’s voice says. “The Eminians have agreed to the establishment of full diplomatic relations.”

[ID: A shot on the bridge, with Scotty sitting in the command chair, leaning forward, while McCoy stand next to him with his hand on the buttons on the chair’s arm.]

Bones get your hand off the chair console you’re gonna accidentally go to red alert.

Well, that sounds great! So no worries, then? Everything fine? Indeed, everything is so fine that, Kirk goes on, the Eminians have extended an invitation for all personnel to visit the planet for shore leave, and he’s been personally assured that they’ll have a wonderful time.

At this point some dubious looks start getting traded across the bridge. Starfleet might have some remarkably lax standards for what constitutes an appropriate shore leave location, but the middle of an active war zone is pushing it even for them. Plus, there’s that thorny little bit about sending down all personnel, something not typically done due to the minor little issue of the ship needing some people on it to prevent it from crashing into the planet. But Kirk assures Scotty that yes, he really did mean all personnel. Everyone. Send ‘em all. It’s fine—they’ll just beam up some trained Eminians to assume support positions aboard the ship. No worries!

As Kirk’s voice is heard saying this, we briefly switch perspectives to see that Anan is holding Kirk’s communicator up in front of a speaker system of some kind. “Those are my orders, Mr. Scott,” he says sternly in Kirk’s voice.

Scotty, of course, is no fool, and also would saw his own arm off before trusting the Enterprise solely to the care of a handful of absolute strangers, so he assures ‘Kirk’ that yes sirree captain, we’ll get those shore leave parties going right away, and hangs up. Then he gives McCoy a look and says, “Well, now, what do you think of that?” McCoy, rather surprisingly, doesn’t have a fiery opinion on hand about the situation, though he’s clearly got a sense that something’s up. Scotty is rather more certain, and marches over to the computer to have it run Kirk’s message through a voice analyzer. Apparently voice analyzer technology has improved in the Federation since that whole Kodos business, because rather than having to compare a couple print-outs of sound waves the computer just quickly runs a scan and then immediately tells him that nope, not Kirk’s voice, just a close copy. Most likely it’s from, as Scotty guesses, a “voice duplicator.” I think the implication is that Anan was using the machine we saw him holding the communicator up to to imitate Kirk’s voice, but it really could have been presented more clearly.

But never mind the mechanics of how it was done. The point is, as Scotty says, “They’ve got them, doctor. And now they’re trying to get us.”

Back in the holding room where the landing party has gotten Got, Kirk is asking Spock, “Are you sure you can do it?” Spock admits he’s not sure if this is going to work or not, but as he tells Kirk, “Limited telepathic abilities are inherent in Vulcanians.” He then goes over to the door, which we see has a Sack Hat standing guard on the other side of it. There follows a somewhat strange scene in which Spock puts his hands on the door and frowns at it, causing the guard to start looking increasingly uncomfortable and twitchy until finally he moves to open the door. So yes, I guess Spock can telepathically influence people to, at the very least, open doors, even without any direct contact.

Everyone quickly hides up against the walls, and as soon as the guard is within the room, Kirk chops the gun out of his hand and knocks him out, leaving the redshirts to drag him away. Yeoman Tamura asks what they’re going to do now, and Kirk says the immediate plan is to get back their communicators so they can contact the Enterprise. But to do that, they’re also probably going to need to secure some weapons. Kirk tells Spock that they’ll try to go easy, but they may wind up needing to kill, to which Spock nods glumly but says he understands.

The group sneaks out of the room, narrowly avoiding being seen by another passing guard, before heading off down an intersecting corridor. We then see a light set in a ceiling and flashing orange. But the landing party hasn’t been caught yet—this is no alarm but, in fact, an indicator light of some sort, installed above a booth set into a wall with a console set up outside. One Sack Hat is manning the console while another is talking to a woman in a purple toga, or at least something toga-adjacent. The party comes around the corner just in time to see the door to the booth open and the woman step inside it. Then the door closes again, the Sack Hat operates some controls, the light flashes, and the door opens again—now with no sign of the woman. Well, that doesn’t bode well.

As the landing party watches in grim horror, the other Sack Hat proceeds to get into the booth himself. “An entrance, captain, but no exit,” Spock comments. “They get in, but they do not come out.”

Well, given what we already know about the Eminians, it’s not hard to work out what we’re looking at here: this is one of the aforementioned disintegration machines, processing some of the day’s casualties. Given the cultural significance attached to these booths, I would kind of have expected them to be off in their own dedicated space, maybe with a few more guards around in case anyone got cold feet. But apparently they’re just stuck in various corridor junctions in this one very multi-purpose building, which is surely going to cause some traffic problems in these corridors on days with a particularly high body count.

Kirk leads the group in a careful creep down the corridor towards the machine, but as they approach another junction they suddenly and almost literally run into Mea coming the other way. She actually starts to walk right past them without seeing them, but Kirk quickly grabs her by the arm and pulls her off to the side, scaring the bejeezus out of her in the process.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he demands, and then cuts off her flustered stammering by telling her that she’s not going in there. Mea protests that she must and tries to get away, but Kirk’s got her by the upper arm, which as we all know makes it impossible for a woman to escape. “Please, don’t worry about me!” she says, while meanwhile the guard down the corridor continues to somehow be oblivious to all this.

Speaking of which, Kirk directs Spock towards said guard, and Spock sets off down the corridor while Kirk covers him with the gun they took off the chamber guard, still holding onto Mea with his other hand. For someone who supposedly has no qualms about getting in that chamber, she sure isn’t struggling a whole lot against the person preventing her from doing it.

[ID: A gif from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory of Gene Wilder’s Willy Wonka saying, “Help. Police. Murder,” with a totally deadpan expression.]

Down by the disintegration booth, a couple more people have shown up to be, ahem, processed. (And none of them have noticed anything either.) Spock casually strolls up to the Sack Hat, who surprisingly does not shoot him on the spot.

[ID: A gif of Spock walking up to one of the guards with silly hats and saying, “Sir, there’s a multi-legged creature crawling on your shoulder.” When the guard turns his head to look, Spock nerve pinches him.]

Having pulled off that legendary little maneuver, Spock then grabs the guy’s gun and backs up the way he came, while everyone else watches nervously. Including the other guards—apparently only that one had a gun. Once Spock is back with the group, Kirk yells at everyone to clear the area, then shoots the door of the disintegration booth. I might have aimed for the control panel, but apparently Kirk’s idea works too, because the whole thing starts smoking dangerously.

“What are you doing?” Mea exclaims in horror. “Throwing a monkey wrench into the machinery,” Kirk replies, undoubtedly a confusing statement for poor Mea who would have no idea what a monkey wrench is. “You can’t do this!” she yells, but as Kirk points out, he already has. Right on cue, the chamber explodes. Kirk and co. make a hasty retreat, hauling Mea along for the ride.

[ID: A screenshot of the geometric corridor, with a door at the end of it that is emitting large clouds of smoke.]

and thus the execution chamber was itself executed

Back in the council room, the councilmen are sitting around their table listening gloomily to someone radioing in a report about the landing party’s hijinks. Anan looks particularly grim, and sends out an order to the security personnel to find the landing party and “if they resist, do what is necessary.” This is interspersed with scenes of people running away from an explosion. I’m reasonably sure it’s supposed to just be that one explosion, but the editing makes it look as if disintegration booths are blowing up left and right.

Anan moves on to calling up the planetary disruptor banks and telling them to lock onto the Enterprise. I guess he’s figured out by now that they’re not going to report for shore leave. “In ten seconds, open fire,” he says. “Destroy the starcruiser. Those are the orders of the council.”

After the break, we get a report from said starcruiser in the form of a ship’s log from Scotty:

“Ship’s log, stardate 3193.0—chief engineer Scott recording. The captain and first officer are overdue and missing on the surface of Eminiar 7. I have taken standard precautionary measures while we continue our attempts to locate them.”

To kill time while they wait for news, McCoy and Scotty are having a conversation about some flashing lights on one of the consoles.

[ID: A gif showing a goldshirt at work at the helm in the foreground, while in the background McCoy and Scotty are standing at one of the computer consoles, looking at a screen with some flashing colored lights on it. McCoy points at one of the lights and says something to Scotty.]

One of the helmsmen, a Mr. DePaul, starts making a standard station check-in report, but just as he’s getting to the part about the sensors not reporting anything he hastily corrects himself. The sensor readings aren’t zero, they’re off the scale! Man, they should really install more than just those two settings on those sensors.

Immediately after DePaul says this, something impacts the ship, causing the lights to flicker and the bridge to shake a bit, although no one falls over this time. When it all dies down, DePaul reports that the screens are holding firm, and that they just got hit by some real hefty sonic vibrations. “Decibels—eighteen to the twelfth power. If those screens weren’t up, we’d be totally disrupted by now.”

Okay…there’s a couple of problems with this. Eighteen to the twelfth power equals about one quadrillion, or 1,156,831,381,426,176, to be precise. For reference, it takes a mere 194 decibels before a sound is so loud it stops being a sound and becomes a shock wave. The Krakatoa explosion, the loudest sound recorded in our history of recording sounds so far, registered 172 decibels at about a hundred miles away. I don’t know what one quadrillion decibels would do to you, but I’d be willing to bet that “we’d be totally disrupted” is a bit of an understatement. Also, THERE’S NO SOUND IN SPACE.

At any rate, as McCoy muses, this at least proves pretty definitively that their suspicions are correct: the Eminians aren’t feeling real friendly towards them. “Aye, but what about our captain, and the landing party down there, somewhere?” Scotty says. “We get them out!” McCoy replies, because of course he does. “If they’re alive, and if we can find them,” Scotty says. “That’s a big planet.” Right, whereas a small planet we could search no problem.

“Not too big for the Enterprise to handle if it has to,” McCoy snaps back. Steady on there, Bones, we can’t just go around blowing up every planet that Kirk doesn’t come back from on time, there wouldn’t be any planets left.

Scotty points out that while the Enterprise might have Eminiar outgunned, they’re a bit limited on reprisal options at the moment: they can’t fire their phasers with the shields up, and they can’t risk lowering those shields while the Eminians have their crosshairs on them. They could shoot off a dozen or two photon torpedoes, though. Probably not a serious suggestion—though it’s hard to tell with Scotty sometimes—but unfortunately who should walk onto the bridge just in time to hear it but Ambassador Fox, resulting in a swift rebuke that Scotty is to do no such thing.

“Mr. Fox, we’re under attack!” Scotty protests, but Fox isn’t interested. He claims it’s all obviously a misunderstanding.

[ID: 1. A shot of the bridge seen from just in front of the helm, with McCoy, Scotty and Uhura all looking up at Fox, who is standing near the lift. Fox is saying, “And one of my jobs is to clear up misunderstandings.” 2. A very similar shot, with Scotty saying, “so what’s your other job?” and Fox replying, “being incredibly obnoxious of course”. ]

McCoy jumps in to angrily point out that the Eminians are holding Kirk, but Fox waves this off, saying they don’t have any proof of that. I mean, no solid proof, maybe, but they did fake his voice to send a message trying to get everyone to leave the ship, bit hard to come up with an innocent explanation for that one.

“I am responsible for the safety of this ship!” Scotty protests. “And I’m responsible for the success of this mission, and that’s more important than this ship!” Fox replies. Ooh, bad move. Not a good idea to tell Scotty that anything’s more important than the Enterprise at the best of times.

[ID: A shot of Scotty looking confused and betrayed, saying, “the FUCK did you just say”.]

Fox insists that they came here to establish diplomatic relations and dammit, they’re going to establish diplomatic relations, regardless of whether they’re attempting to kill us as we speak. And Fox’s orders—according to Fox, anyway—get priority. He tells Uhura to open a channel and tell the Eminians to expect a priority one message from him. Uhura looks rather less than impressed by all this, but she does it.

“There will be no punitive measures, gentlemen,” Fox says just before he exits back into the lift. “Those are my orders.” I like how he addresses that not just to Scotty but to the whole bridge, presumably expecting that McCoy might just start throwing things out the window at the planet otherwise.

“Diplomats,” Scotty sneers. “The best diplomat I know is a fully armed phaser bank!”

Down on the planet the landing party is hurrying back into their original holding cell, choosing it as a place of cover since, as Kirk explains, it’s the last place the guards are likely to look for them. Mea is still insisting that Kirk has to let her go, because her time is almost up. Kirk asks if she’s really that anxious to die, and Mea starts to say, “You don’t understand--” before Kirk, undoubtedly seeing another rendition of the same rhetoric from before in his future, just cuts her off to talk to Spock instead.

Spock reports that their raids on the disintegration booths have netted them four guns, two complete Sack Hat uniforms, and, most importantly, a communication device. Unfortunately, it’s not able to reach the ship. But Spock thinks that with a bit of time he might be able to jury-rig it to get a longer range.

While Spock gets to work on that, Kirk pulls Mea aside and says that he wants her to give him a complete layout of the complex, especially regarding how he can get to the war room. Unsurprisingly, Mea refuses. “Now listen to me,” Kirk tells her, employing his favorite rhetoric technique of grabbing people by the shoulders. “I’m trying to help you. To save your life, and the lives of millions like you. If you help me, maybe I can do it. If you don’t, you’ll die. We’ll die, and the killing will go on—or are you that fond of the war?”

Mea, for the first time, really hesitates. “I believe you,” she says, looking down sadly. “But...”

“Tell me what I want to know,” Kirk says, still holding her by the shoulders. “Please.”

Back in the council room, Anan is standing at the table, addressing the other councilmen. Their situation’s not looking good: they haven’t been able to take out the Enterprise, they’ve lost a disintegration chamber, the prisoners are running loose, they’re behind on their death quota (the worst kind of quota), and they’re rapidly running out of time to fix any of these problems. Anan openly admits that he doesn’t know what to do now.

But at that point, a messenger suddenly comes in to tell the council that the Earth ambassador is calling them with an urgent message. Anan pauses woefully and says, “What is the greater morality...open honestly, or a deception which may save our lives?” Well, y’all have already committed one deception and didn’t seem too fussed about that, I don’t know why you’re having moral qualms about it now. Apparently said moral qualms aren’t too great anyway, because Anan sits down without waiting for a reply and asks to be put through to the Earth ambassador.

Up on the Enterprise, Uhura tells Fox that a channel is open and that he’ll be talking to “Anan 7, head of the high council of the Eminian Union.” McCoy and Scotty are standing by, ready to start yelling at a moment’s notice.

After brief formalities, Fox cuts to the chase: we came here to make friends, and you attacked us, and also you’re holding our landing party? What the heck? Anan smoothly replies that this was all one big mistake—a sensor error indicated the Enterprise was about to attack them, and, well, they are at war, after all. But no worries, it won’t happen again! Water under the bridge! Not even a thing! And as for the landing party? Don’t even worry about it.

[ID: 1. Scotty standing behind Uhura at her comm station, his arms folded and a disbelieving look on his face. Over the comm, Anan is saying, “You have my sacred word as an Eminian...”2. A shot from a different angle, showing Fox and McCoy standing behind Uhura, as Scotty says, “no good. I’ve known too many Eminians.”]

Fox smugly says that he thought all this just had to be a mistake, giving Scotty quite the eyeball in the process. Scotty is not impressed, and when the helmsman reports that the disruptor beams are no longer hitting them, Scotty immediately tells him to maintain their status anyway. Meanwhile, Anan is going on about how they’re really very eager to establish relations with the Federation and he’s so sorry about all the accidentally-shooting-you business, but we see him pause in the middle of it to mute his mic and tell the councilman next to him, “The moment their screens are down, open fire.”

Oblivious to all this, Fox tells Anan that he expects Kirk to be there when he beams down, and Anan assures him that Kirk will be. Satisfied with that, Fox tells Anan that Eminiar and the Federation are going to be best buds, he just knows it, and he can’t wait to meet Anan in person. Then he hangs up, turns to Scotty and McCoy, and rather snidely says, “Diplomacy, gentlemen, should be a job left to diplomats.” Well, sure, but keeping the ship from getting blown up should be a job left to people with a good track record for not getting the ship blown up.

He then casually adds that they will, of course, immediately resume a peaceful status. “No, sir, I will not,” Scotty replies, in a Superman pose for good measure.

[ID: A shot of Scotty standing behind Uhura, chest out and hands on his hips like Superman, saying, “No, sir, I will not.”]

“What did you say??” Fox demands, stunned and outraged. Scotty is unperturbed. “I’ll not lower the screens, not until the captain tells me to.” Fox tries to remind Scotty that he’s taking orders from Fox and he is to lower those screens as a show of good faith right now, young man!

“I know about your authority,” Scotty replies doggedly, “but the screens stay up.” Fox just stares at him, dumbfounded and clearly at a loss as to how to respond to this. (For a diplomat, you’d think he’d be better at handling it when people don’t do exactly as he wants them to.)

McCoy chimes in at this point to remind Fox that the Eminians have fired on the ship and faked a message from Kirk—and now you want us to trust them, just like that? It’s actually quite restrained for McCoy, but he’s got a good point: the whole “whooops we accidentally fired on your ship, just a misunderstanding, our bad!” thing doesn’t do anything to explain the fact that they faked a message from the captain, something Fox didn’t even attempt to bring up with Anan. But Fox, of course, ignores this. “I want and expect you to obey my lawful orders!” he demands. “No sir!” Scotty insists. “I won’t lower the screens!”

Fox, now in the middle of a full-blown fit, splutters that Scotty is endangering the success of this whole mission, and Fox could have him sent to a penal colony for this! It seems rather unlikely that Fox, however high his diplomatic clout, could have someone sent to prison just like that without at least a court martial first. But who knows how these things work in the Federation? On the plus side, I’m sure the penal colonies are much nicer now that they’ve taken out the brain-melting machines.

“That you can, sir,” Scotty says, without the barest flinch. “But I won’t lower the screens.” Stone. Cold.

“Your name will figure prominently in my report to the Federation central!” Fox fumes, and stalks off angrily into the lift.

“Well, Scotty, now you’ve done it,” McCoy says. Hey! Whose side are you on here?

[ID: A shot of Scotty looking tired and saying, “Aye. The haggis is in the fire for sure...” while McCoy stands behind him with his arms crossed.]

yeah that’s definitely something Scottish people say

Back down on the planet, Anan has retreated to some private quarters and is drowning his woes with a stiff drink, from a bottle that’s a lot more neck than bottle.

[ID: A shot of Anan standing at a low stone table, holding a green glass bottle with an extremely long neck, having just poured it into one of three glasses positioned on the table.]

the perfect design for when what you really want is a high glass: alcohol ratio.

But he’s not even managed to take a sip before Kirk suddenly steps into the room behind him. Anan pauses, obviously realizing he’s there—presumably because he heard the sudden musical sting—and says, “Won’t you join me in a drink, captain? You’ll find our trova most interesting.” First tranya, now trova. I’m starting to pick up a naming pattern with these made-up alien drinks.

Kirk’s not interested in acquiring new tastes at the moment, though. “I didn’t come here to drink,” he says flatly. You don’t say.

Anan points to the disruptor Kirk is currently pointing at him and says, “I presume that is what you used to destroy disintegration chamber twelve.” Kirk calmly remarks that it’s a very efficient weapon, and one that he’s not afraid to use.

“My first impression was correct.” [siiiiiiiiiip] “You ARE a barbarian.”

Anan goes on to say that there’s no need for Kirk to look confused—of course he’s a barbarian. “We all are. A killer first, a builder second. A hunter, a warrior, and—let’s be honest—a murderer. That is our joint heritage, is it not?” Wow. Projecting much?

Anyway, Kirk’s not here to talk about philosophy any more than he’s here to have a drink. What he wants is to contact his ship, so where are the communicators? “In a safe place,” Anan answers calmly. “You take a lot of chances, councilman,” Kirk warns, but Anan, still not intimidated, replies that Kirk may be worried about his ship, but Anan is trying to save a whole world.

Kirk suddenly elbows Anan up against the all and says, “If I were you, I’d think about saving my life.” Good one liner. But it’s ineffective against Anan, who only looks glumly back and says, “Won’t you have a drink, captain?”

You could interpret this as Anan simply calling Kirk’s bluff, and to an extent I think it is that—Anan’s already seen how outraged Kirk was at the idea of this war even before he knew that it would have an effect on him and his ship, and the fact that Anan has received reports about destroyed disintegration machines but no reports about deaths should tell him that at the least, Kirk is not inclined to kill if he doesn’t have to, even in a situation where doing so would further his goals. But I also get the impression that Anan is so unperturbed even by imminent danger because he’s all but given up. Practically everything Anan says throughout the episode is dour, glum, positively Eeyore-ish. Over and over we hear him say some variation on, “I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do about it.” Coupled with the fact that his wife has died recently in the same attacks that dominate Anan’s life day in and day out, which he clearly sees no hope of ever ending but has to carry on responding to anyway, it’s not a big leap to guess that he might just have all but stopped caring about his own life.

Kirk, clearly realizing that this tack isn’t working, looks at Anan for a long moment, then slowly backs off, shrugs, picks up the bottle, and pours himself a glass. Careful there. Never trust a drink described as interesting. Then he makes the mistake of strolling away a bit, and while his back is turned, Anan surreptitiously presses a small button under the bar, while saying, “And then we can discuss our differences.”

“I’m not interested in discussing our differences,” Kirk says. “You don’t seem to realize the risk you’re taking. We don’t make war with computers and herd the casualties into suicide stations. We make the real thing, councilman. I could destroy this planet.” Dang! Sometimes you forget Starfleet is supposed to be a military, but not in this episode, huh.

Anan says that’s exactly why he’s not letting Kirk talk to his ship, but Kirk says no, he doesn’t need the ship. “You mean, all by yourself, with a disruptor, you could destroy this planet?” “That’s exactly what I mean.” A heck of a claim there, but it might not be a bluff. If Kirk destroys enough of the Eminian infrastructure to leave them unable to meet their casualties quota, Vendikar would attack, and probably destroy the planet in the process. Despite their guards carrying lethal weapons, at the end of the day Eminiar doesn’t seem to be prepared for much in the way of real, physical resistance, considering the way they responded when Kirk and Spock blew up that one chamber. They probably have no need to be, if everyone is as compliant in reporting in as Mea.

But Anan clearly isn’t taking this threat anymore seriously than the more immediate one being levied against him personally. When Kirk once again demands to know where the communicators are, Anan says, “If I told you, captain, would you walk right out and get them?” “Something like that,” Kirk says. “Very well, captain. They’re in the war room. Go left, down the corridor, left again. They are unguarded.”

Kirk walks over to the door, then pauses and gestures Anan over. As soon as Anan gets within range, Kirk grabs him. He might not have actually seen Anan press the button, but he clearly still doesn’t trust Anan as far as he can throw him—which indeed he does, out the door and straight into the Sack Hat that was right outside. Unfortunately for Kirk, another Sack Hat is just arriving, and he quickly leaps into the fray.

[ID: A gif showing Kirk in a fight with two guards. He barrels into one guard, spins him around, and throws him into the opposite wall, then kicks a second guard in the ribs and chops him on the back of the neck, knocking him the floor. The first guard gets up and tries to punch Kirk but Kirk manages to throw him to the floor, only to have the second guard back up him up against the wall.]

Kirk gives it his best effort, but in the end one of the Sack Hats manages to whack him on the back of the head with the disruptor, which puts him out for the count. Anan examines Kirk and sees that he’s stunned but still alive. “Pity,” he says. “A man like that would’ve...preferred to die fighting. Take him to the council room.” Pretty sure he would’ve preferred not to die at all, actually.

The guards drag the half-conscious Kirk away, letting him dangle between them in a position that must have been hell on the knees.

[ID: Anan watching two guards, walking in very awkward positions, haul a limp Kirk away, his knees dragging on the floor.]

actually I’m willing to bet all three of those people had sore knees in the morning

After the break, we get another exterior shot of the city—in fact it’s the exact same exterior shot of the city-- followed by Fox beaming down at the same place where the landing party originally did. He’s accompanied by a man that I assume is a subordinate of his, based on the fact that his clothing is similar to Fox’s but his collar is much smaller. Must be a status thing.

Anan and an attending Sack Hat stroll up to greet them, and pleasantries are exchanged. But as soon as the two have been led inside, Anan turns to Fox and says, “Mr. Ambassador...I am sorry for what must happen.” Which is never a good way for a conversation to start. Anan proceeds to tell the baffled and increasingly alarmed Fox that he and his aide have been declared war casualties, and will be taken immediately to a disintegration booth so their deaths can be recorded.

Which seems like a significant tactical error, actually. I get that Anan is desperate to start getting the casualties from the Enterprise reported, but Fox is pretty much the only person on that ship who’s not immensely distrustful of the Eminians right now. If they kept up the act for a while longer and let him report in and tell the Enterprise that everything’s fine down here, really, see, I told you—well, it probably still wouldn’t convince Scotty, but it’s definitely going to convince him that something’s amiss if Fox beams down and immediately disappears and is never heard from again. Then again, if the Eminians were that good at tactics this war probably wouldn’t have gone on for five hundred years.

“You mean...we are to be killed?” Fox says weakly, while one of the Sack Hats starts tugging his file folder out of his arms.

“That is correct, Mr. Ambassador,” Anan says sadly, just like he says everything. “I very much regret it, but there is nothing I can do about it.”

He then walks off, leaving Fox to just stand there looking absolutely dumbfounded until the Sack Hat starts hauling the two of them away. Well, that’s a bummer. Not only has he just learned he’s about to be executed, he’s also learned he was wrong. The Eminians were up to something! Even if he gets out of being executed he’s going to have to eat so much crow he might prefer being executed.

Back in the holding cell—where, true to Kirk’s prediction, the guards have still not found the landing party—Spock is sitting on a couch tinkering with one of the Eminian communicators while Mea and the redshirts watch. I say redshirts, but only Yeoman Tamura is still wearing red; the security guys have put on the uniforms they stole from the Sack Hats.

It seems that whatever Spock did—installed a new SIM card, perhaps—was a success, because when he tries to call the Enterprise Uhura picks it up. Scotty immediately rushes over to take the call. The first thing Spock asks about is the ship, which Scotty confirms has taken a few hits but is still doing alright. He, naturally, wants to know what’s been going on with the landing party. Spock tells him that they’ve suffered no casualties, but Kirk is overdue to come back from his little solo jaunt. But never mind that now—the most important thing for the crew to know right now is that no one, under any circumstances, should beam down from the ship, because they’d be killed immediately. No one, you got that? No one. You haven’t beamed anyone down, have you? Because you shouldn’t. It’d be very bad, if you did that.

Scotty’s like, “Well. Uh. About that,” and tells Spock that Fox just beamed down not five minutes ago. “...The ambassador,” Spock says, although his tone says, “aw, goddammit.” He then tells Scotty to get out of maximum phaser range from the planet and wait for further orders, then hangs up. I do have to wonder how Fox beamed down, actually, since the fact that the Enterprise is still in orbit instead of having been shot out of the sky proves that they didn’t drop the shields. Then again, Spock called himself a Vulcanian earlier, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised they hadn’t worked out the whole “no beaming through the shields” thing yet either.

Spock takes a moment to nurse a “well, fuck” expression, then regretfully gets up and tells Tamura he’s going to go rescue that damn stupid bloody ambassador, ugh, I guess, if I have to. Oh, and Kirk too. “You stay here,” he adds, “and prevent this young lady from immolating herself. Knock her down and sit on her if necessary, this is a killing situation. Do what you must to protect yourself. Clear?” “Yes sir.” Man, someone’s just full of snark this episode.

He and the two redshirts in disguise head out, while Tamura turns to watch Mea, who looks at the camera with a somewhat sulky expression, but doesn’t attempt resistance. Speaking of said damn stupid bloody ambassador, Fox and Friend are currently being hauled, struggling, down the endless corridor toward a disintegration station. Actually, only Fox is really struggling, his aide seems rather apathetic towards the situation.

While the Sack Hats are trying to shove Fox into the chamber--despite his protests that he’s “a representative of the United Federation of Planets! A special representative!”--Spock and the redshirts come walking down the corridor, pulling the ol’ ‘you guys pretend to take me prisoner’ trick. They use one of the redshirts ushering Spock into the line as a pretense for Spock to get close to the Sack Hat holding onto the aide, at which point Spock quickly takes him out while the redshirts handle the other Sack Hats.

Fox is all “wait what” but he’s got no time to be confused because Spock none-too-gently herds him and his aide back down the corridor. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he tells the crowd of confused and concerned casualties-in-waiting, “please move quickly away from the chamber, or you may be injured.” Everyone obediently scrambles for cover while Spock and the group back up down the corridor, guns at the ready. When Fox asks what they’re doing, Spock replies, “Practicing a peculiar variety of diplomacy, sir.” Then he blows up the chamber.

Spock says that he’ll take Fox to a place of comparative safety before finding the captain, but Fox stops him and says he knows where Kirk is—the Sack Hats, for some reason, told him and the aide that they took Kirk to the council room under heavy guard. Spock nods and says, “By now, Mr. Ambassador, I’m sure you realize that normal diplomatic procedures are ineffective here.” Fox looks pretty subdued, but he says, “I’ve never been a soldier, Mr. Spock...but I learn very quickly.”

The group heads off past the burning chamber, while various panicked extras run around in the background. I notice no one asked the aide if he might not prefer to be taken to a place of comparative safety.

Cut to: Kirk, not dead, extremely unimpressed. He is, indeed, sitting in the council chamber, being lectured by Anan while some Sack Hats stand around him on guard and the rest of the council watches the exchange, still as superfluous as they have been all episode.

“Surely you can see the position we are in,” Anan is saying. “If your people do not report to our disintegration chambers, it is a violation of an agreement that dates back five hundred years.”

Kirk points out that he and his people can hardly be held responsible for whatever agreements Eminiar and Vendikar made between them, but Anan insists that they will be responsible for the ensuing escalation and everything that will come of it: “Millions of people horribly killed, complete destruction of our culture here—yes, and the culture on Vendikar! Disaster, disease, starvation. Horrible, lingering death! Pain and anguish!”

Kirk listens to all this with the kind of expression you might expect from a man who has firsthand experience with disaster…

[ID: A screenshot from The Galileo Seven of Kirk making his log and grimly reporting, “...that seven of our shipmates still have not been heard from.”]

...disease…

[ID: A screenshot from Miri of Kirk in the diplaidated classroom, sleeves ripped open and baring his arms covered in blue lesions, yelling, “Look at my arms!”]

...starvation…

[ID: Two screenshots from The Conscience of the King of McCoy and Spock walking through a corridor at night, as Spock says, “There were over 8,000 colonists and virtually no food.”]

...horrible, lingering death…

[ID: A screenshot from Arena of McCoy and Kirk kneeling over the injured colonist among the rubble, as McCoy says, “Shock, radiation burns, internal injuries for certain.”]

...pain and anguish...

[ID: A screenshot from Balance of Terror of Kirk hugging Angela Martine to him and saying, “It never makes any sense.”]

...and is now sitting here listening to a lecture about it from someone who has spent a career upholding a system that allows him to deal out death without ever having to face any of those messy, dirty things firsthand himself. In particular I would imagine Anan must remind Kirk of Kodos to some degree. Back in The Conscience of the King, when Spock and McCoy were discussing Kodos’s rule, Spock mentions that the people Kodos had executed died “without pain—but they died.” In many ways it’s the same rhetoric, really—it’s regrettable that all these people have to die, but it’s for the good of the society as a whole. We’ll make it quick and painless. Humane. You understand.

But all Kirk says to Anan is, “That seems to frighten you.”

“It would frighten any sane man!” Anan cries back. He’s still oblivious to the point Kirk is making for, instead doubling down on the same rhetoric we’ve heard from him all episode: we have done away with all that. We’ve done away with all the worst parts of war. Our way is better. Our way is the only way to avoid all that. And now you are going to be responsible for bringing it back. All the pain and suffering, all the destruction and noise and mess. Your fault. “Are those five hundred people of yours more important than the hundreds of millions of innocent people on Eminiar and Vendikar?” Anan demands. “What kind of monster are you?”

In the face of this, and the horrified stares of the other councilmen, Kirk only looks back calmly. “I’m a barbarian,” he says. “You said it yourself.” Level two, thinking about going for Path of the Berserker, haven’t decided yet.

“I had hoped I had spoken only figuratively,” Anan says, barely above a whisper. Oh, looks like someone was willing to dish out a lot of talk about “we’re all murderers” but doesn’t want to live up to it, huh. Kirk says, nope—Anan was totally right, and Kirk intends to prove it to him.

Anan furiously turns away and snaps at one of the councilmen to open a channel to the Enterprise. “You give me no choice, captain. We are not bandits, but you force us to act as bandits.” Okay, I really gotta ask what the heck Anan’s definition of ‘bandit’ is.

Before he can say more, Scotty answers the call, and Kirk immediately lunges forward for the table before the guards can catch him. “Scotty, General Order Twenty-Four in two hours! In two hours!” he yells, before the Sack Hats finally manage to wrestle him back into his seat.

“Enterprise, this is Anan 7, first councilman of the high council of Eminiar,” Anan says, trying to pretend like that didn’t just happen. “We hold your captain, his party, your ambassador, and his party prisoners. Unless you immediately start transportation of all personnel aboard your ship to the surface, the hostages will be killed. You have thirty minutes.” Oh, that’s fine, then. Scotty can do anything as long as he’s got thirty minutes.

[ID: A screenshot from The Naked Time of Scotty saying, “I got to have 30 minutes.”]

Anan insists to Kirk that he really means it—okay he totally just lied about having the rest of the landing party captive but he still really means it okay—but Kirk just shrugs and says that all that means is that he’ll be leaving the party an hour and a half earlier than he would anyway, because General Order Twenty-Four is an order for the Enterprise to destroy the entire planet. Immediately Anan wheels back to the comm and orders the planetary defense system to open fire on the Enterprise, but they can’t—the ship has moved out of range. Thanks Spock!

“You wouldn’t do this,” Anan says desperately. “Hundreds of millions of people.”

“I didn’t start it, councilman,” Kirk says. “But I’m liable to finish it.” ♫We didn’t start the war with Vendikar♫--nah, needs work.

Back in the endless corridor, Spock’s party encounters a couple of Sack Hats, leading to a disruptor-off. The guards go down, but so does Fox’s aide, so they just kind of...leave him huddled up against the wall and keep going. Man, no one cares about that dude, huh.

In the council chambers, a guy comes rushing in to announce in a panic that they’ve received a message from Vendikar accusing them of reneging on the treaty, on the grounds that their time is nearly up but their quota is still short by several thousand. Okay, hold the phone here. Sure, the Enterprise is currently making up a big chunk of that unmet quota, but there’s only about four hundred twenty people on there. As far as we’ve seen the landing party has only managed to destroy two booths, both located in one building in one city out of the entire planet—and given that we saw those booths process about one person every couple of minutes or so, there have to be a lot more than two of them because otherwise they’d never be able to process thousands of people in that time period no matter what was going on! How the hell can they be short by several thousand people? What have you guys been doing? Did everyone get so freaked out about what was going on that they just ran around in circles screaming for the past several hours instead of doing their jobs?

Anyway, Anan tells Kirk that, “You see? It’s started,” and Kirk replies, “You’re wrong. It hasn’t begun.” That really doesn’t mean anything, but okay. Someone else then calls in to report about the landing party’s recent antics, which have left two guards unresponsive and one more disintegration booth destroyed. Kirk definitely has quite a smug look on his face when he hears that, and he reminds Anan that he has less than two hours now.

“What I want or don’t want has nothing to do with it!” Anan insists. “Escalation is automatic! You can stop it!”

“Stop it?” Kirk says, clearly enjoying milking this situation for every drop of dramatic one-liners he can get. “I’m COUNTing on it!”

Up on the Enterprise, Scotty tells Uhura to open a channel to the council. “This is the commander of the USS Enterprise,” he tells them. “All cities and installations on Eminiar 7 have been located, identified, and fed into our fire control system. In one hour and forty-five minutes, the entire inhabited surface of your planet will be destroyed.” At this last, Uhura spins around in her chair to give him a shocked look, even though she certainly heard Kirk give General Order Twenty-Four in the first place. “You have that long to surrender your hostages,” Scotty goes on, paying no mind to this.

In the council room, Anan is finally having an absolute breakdown. “What can I do?” he moans, slumping over onto the council table in abject despair. “Somebody, please tell me.”

Then, for some reason, one of the Sack Hats guarding the door steps forward—I dunno, maybe he was going to give Anan a comforting pat on the back or something, but it gives Kirk the opportunity to trip him. Then he pushes the second door guard into the remaining two Sack hats.

[ID: Kirk and three guards in a tussle against the bland gray wall of the war room.]

gentlemen, you can’t fight in here, this is the war room!

In the confusion Kirk manages to grab a weapon off one of them, which he points at the last remaining guard as he runs forward. Just like that, Kirk is in control of the situation. He chivvies all the guards and councilmen, including Anan, over to the door, then picks up another gun and says, “Now we’ll talk.”

Just after the nick of time, the door opens and Spock and crew come running in with their weapons pointed. There’s immense confusion among everyone for a moment.

“I had assumed you needed help,” Spock says, sounding just a tad reproachful that Kirk managed to get free on his own after Spock went to all this trouble. “I see I’m in error.”

“No, I need the help,” Kirk says, with, it must be said, an incredibly fond smile on his face. He opens the door to the computer room and directs Spock inside, then calls up the Enterprise. “Everything’s secure here,” he tells Scotty. “If everything goes according to plan, you can beam us up in ten minutes. If you don’t hear from us, carry out General Order Twenty-Four, on schedule.” Now there’s a check-in you don’t want to miss. Might want to set a timer or something just in case.

“Aye aye, captain,” Scotty says. “Is there anything else we can do?” “Cross your fingers. Kirk out.”

Kirk hangs up and looks back at Anan. “Death...destruction, disease, horror...”

[ID: A gif from Monty Python’s Flying Circus of Michael Palin, dressed as a cheesy talk show host on a cheesy talk show set, happily saying, “Blood, devastation, death, war and horror.”]

“That’s what war is all about, Anan. That’s what makes it a thing to be avoided. You’ve made it neat and painless. So neat and painless, you’ve had no reason to stop it. And you’ve had it for five hundred years. Since it seems to be the only way I can save my crew and my ship, I’m going to end it for you, one way or another. Mr. Ambassador?”

“Yes, captain?” Fox says, remarkably politely, for Fox. Kirk instructs him to take everyone out into the corridor and hold them there, except for one councilman he has a redshirt usher into the computer room, where Kirk tells him to show them where the communicators and phasers are. With that sorted, Kirk gets a low-down on the computer situation from Spock: they’ve got some attack computers, one for defense, and one for calculating the casualties. All of them are tied into a subspace transmission unit so that they’re in constant contact with the equivalent computers on Vendikar. If contact is ever broken, the treaty immediately becomes null and void. Also, Spock’s locked a circuit so that destroying one key computer will take out all of them. Excuse me, who set up this system? It should not be so easy to destroy all your vital computers at once. Please tell me you at least have a decent surge protector in here.

Kirk has the redshirt haul the wildly protesting councilman away, then shoots the key computer. He and Spock quickly run out and tell everyone to get up against the walls, right before the computers all blow up.

Anan wades through the ensuing smoke and raspily asks if they realize what they’ve done. “Yes, I do,” Kirk says. “I’ve given you back the horrors of war. The Vendikans will now assume that you’ve broken your agreement, and that you’re preparing to rage real war with real weapons. They’ll want to do the same, only the next attack they launch will do a lot more than just count up numbers in a computer. They’ll destroy your cities, devastate your planet. You, of course, will want to retaliate. If I were you, I’d start making bombs. Yes, councilman, you have a real war on your hands. You can either wage it with real weapons, or you might consider an alternative—put an end to it. Make peace.”

Anan insists there can’t and won’t be any peace. “Don’t you see? We’ve admitted it to ourselves. We’re a killer species. It’s instinctive. It’s the same with you, your General Order Twenty-Four.”

Yeah, about that General Order Twenty-Four. It’s pretty weird! The idea that Starfleet has a regulation in place for destroying all life on a planet and that said regulation can be casually invoked by a single captain is not only bizarre in terms of the tone of the series as a whole, it doesn’t even line up that well with what we’ve already seen. We know Starfleet doesn’t give that much autonomy to their captains—what would be the point of even having the Prime Directive if people can just go around obliterating entire cultures whenever they want? And, of course, it’s pretty ridiculous to think that Kirk, who earlier this episode said “We’re gonna use non-lethal force to knock out these guards even though they’re literally trying to kill our entire crew right now” would be so casually down with the idea of committing genocide.

This is all so weird that most people prefer to theorize that the whole thing was an elaborate bluff, presumably some standing arrangement between Kirk and Scotty. The episode never says that it was, but it doesn’t definitively say it couldn’t have been, either—although one minor problem with that is that is that GO24 does get mentioned in a much later episode, where it’s implied to mean basically the same thing as it does here. There’s also the fact that in a minute we’ll hear Kirk, while talking to Scotty with no Eminians listening, say “Cancel General Order Twenty-Four,” instead of anything to the effect of “Hey, our bluff worked,” or whatever.

But, for the sake of maintaining some degree of character consistency, we could say that perhaps GO24 does exist in some capacity, but is not something that would ever actually be used in a situation such as this. Perhaps it’s a purely theoretical protocol that exists in case of some situation that’s never actually yet occurred. Either Scotty knows Kirk and also Starfleet protocol well enough to immediately assume this is a bluff and act accordingly, or—a bit more of a stretch, but still possible-- ‘General Order Twenty-Four’ is a standing code between them that actually means something like ‘beam us up and GTFO pronto,’ which would explain why Kirk has to ‘cancel’ it in the end.

I think what confuses me even more is not just that GO24 doesn’t make sense in the greater context of the series, but that doesn’t even make a lot of sense in the context of this episode. Kirk invoking it doesn’t move the plot forward in any way. Even as a bluff it doesn’t do anything, because it doesn’t in any way lead to Kirk getting the upper hand—he does that all on his own a few moments later just by tripping the guard, and he doesn’t need the leverage from Scotty threatening GO24 to carry out the rest of his plans. I’m not even sure what the in-story motivation for it is, outside of the possibility of it actually meaning something else as just described (which might work as an explanation but is very unlikely to be what was intended because there’s no actual indication of it anywhere). Sure, ordinarily, ‘do what I say or I’ll destroy your entire planet’ would be a pretty effective threat, but Anan already thinks that his planet will be destroyed if he does what Kirk wants—whatever that is, because Kirk hasn’t actually made any specific demands clear to him. From Anan’s perspective it’s just a choice between having his planet blown up by Vendikar, or having it blown up by Kirk, whose bluff he’s already called once when Kirk had a gun to his head. It’s not a big leap to say that he’d prefer trying to call it again to angering Vendiker, who he was very sure would retaliate.

But if GO24 was a bluff in some way, Kirk sure doesn’t feel the need to enlighten Anan of that fact now. Instead he takes a different argumentative tack altogether.

[ID: Two gifs showing a scene of Kirk talking to Anan, with Spock standing next to Kirk and Fox standing behind Anan. Kirk is saying, “All right, it’s instinctive. But the instinct can be fought. We’re human beings, with the blood of a million savage years on our hands, but we can stop it. We can admit that we’re killers, but we’re not going to kill today...Contact Vendikar. I think you’ll find that they’re just as terrified, appalled, horrified as you are, that they’ll do anything to avoid the alternative I’ve given you. Peace or utter destruction. It’s up to you.”]

At this point Fox smoothly cuts in to point out that, whaddya know, here you’ve got a neutral third party with ambassadorial expertise, be a shame not to use him, huh? Anan admits—and boy has it been like pulling teeth to get him to admit even this—that maybe there might be something of a very slim chance. They do have a direct channel with Vendikar’s own council, which hasn’t been used in centuries, apparently. Oh I see, so you’ve just been sitting on that this whole time, huh? Yeah, trying real hard to stop this inevitable war.

The two of them walk off, while Kirk and Spock watch them go. “There’s a chance it may work, captain,” Spock says. Kirk just smiles at him, then pulls out his communicator and tells Scotty to cancel General Order Twenty-Four (see? told ya) and beam them up. You might want to specify that Fox isn’t beaming up too, or there’s going to be an awkward situation here in a minute.

Sometime later, on the Enterprise bridge, Kirk is telling the helmsmen to lay in a course for their next destination. Uhura reports a message from Fox: negotiations underway with Vendikar, outlook hopeful. Kirk and McCoy, who’s hovering protectively near the captain’s chair, exchange nods.

“Captain...” Spock says, “You took a big chance.”

“Did I, Mr. Spock?” Kirk asks. “They have been killing 3 million people a year. It had been going on for 500 years. An actual attack wouldn’t have killed any more people than one of their computer attacks, but it would’ve ended their ability to make war. The fighting would’ve been over, permanently.”

Still, as McCoy points out, he didn’t know his plan would work. Kirk admits that it was a calculated risk, but “The Eminians keep a very orderly society, and actual war is a very messy business—a very, very messy business. I had a feeling they would do anything to avoid it, even talk peace.”

[ID: A gif of Kirk and Spock talking on the bridge. Spock says, “A feeling is not much to go on.” Kirk says, “Sometimes a feeling is all we humans have to go on.” Spock says, “Captain...You almost make me believe in luck.” Kirk replies, “Why, Mr. Spock, you almost make me believe in miracles.”]

With that, the camera pans out and the Enterprise heads on its way. On its own this little denouement probably wouldn’t have been too bad an example of TOS’s tendency to try to end serious episode on comedic notes. Sure, it’s got a bit of that “everyone laughs, fade out” vibe, but it also discusses the heavy events of the episode with a tone that’s less overtly jolly and more a kind of ‘laughing mostly out of relief now that it’s all over’ feel. Except for the fact that after Kirk says his last line, there’s a little Humorous Musical Sting that plays over Spock’s expression in response, which completely changes it from ‘fond friends commiserating over having survived a tough situation’ to a joke at Spock’s expense that doesn’t even make sense as a joke. And that’s why it’s so dangerous for the power of post-production to fall into the wrong hands.

One other thing you might have noticed is a complete lack of any mention of the Prime Directive in all this, not even a half-hearted one like we got in The Return of the Archons. Which is pretty notable considering that what Kirk just did there would appear to be a pretty major violation of said directive—basically the exact opposite of what they’re supposed to be doing, really. It’s perhaps not surprising given both the other examples of early installment weirdness in this episode and the fact that its tone is in general a bit more, shall we say, aggressive than TOS often is. Even at the end no one questions whether what Kirk did was morally right, only how he could be sure it would work.

I think it’s mostly just something you have to ignore, although I actually find it easier to accept that the Federation would not protest too hard about the whole thing in this instance, mostly because of that line from Fox about thousands of lives being lost in the area over the past two decades. I’m not sure why so many people were going through what was apparently a quite dangerous section of space to begin with, but the point is, at some point this war stopped being a matter that was only between Vendikar and Eminiar. It was becoming a problem for the rest of the galaxy as well. Vendikar apparently wasn’t doing anything about it, and with Eminiar’s “well really it’s your fault for coming over here :////” attitude they clearly weren’t about to do anything to rein it in either. It doesn’t much surprise me that the Federation would have turned a blind eye to Kirk violating the directive in this case, considering how many lives he ultimately saved by doing so. They’ve turned a blind eye to worse, let’s be honest.

A Taste of Armageddon is one of TOS’s more powerful allegorical stories, although what it appears to be an allegory for has changed over time. It aired in the midst of America’s involvement in the Vietnam War, and could hardly fail to be at least influenced by that, although I am certainly not the person to be able to dissect the intricacies of that influence. Nowadays, of course, the idea of conducting a war via computers and never having to see the results is a lot less of a sci-fi what-if and a lot more chillingly relevant. The whole thing reads as such an accurate criticism of drone strikes and other such remote forms of warfare that it feels downright prescient.

But for as much as you could read this episode as a comment, prescient or otherwise, on the dangers of how technology might affect warfare, it strikes me as interesting because of the contrast between it and most of the TOS episodes that are in some sense about being leery of technological advances. Often in TOS, when we see computers that are scary in some way—What Are Little Girls Made Of?, The Return of the Archons, The Changeling, The Ultimate Computer, TMP, etc—it’s because those computers achieved some form of sapience and thus, some form of control over the people who invented them. They’re characters, active agents in their own stories. The use of computers in A Taste of Armageddon hits much closer to home because it matches today’s real fears about advances in AI. The fear for us right now is not “will the AI become sentient and kill us all?” it’s “how will more advanced AI be used against us by the people who control it?” The computer here isn’t sapient or aware. There’s no point at which Kirk tries to talk it out of doing what it’s doing, because it doesn’t know what it’s doing. It doesn’t know, or, as far as we can tell from what we see, even remotely have the capacity to know what the numbers it crunches mean in real-life terms. It’s basically just running a very advanced game of Starcraft.

So we can’t blame the computer for what happens. The blame can only be pinned on the people who are using the computer, and not even in a “we created this but now it’s run amok ahhhhhhhhh” kind of way. Every day for five hundred years people went in that war room and chose to use the computer to carry on the war, instead of making any effort to end it. And that’s where the real core of the episode’s message comes in.

To me, the allegory of A Taste of Armageddon has always seemed to be one that can be taken more broadly than being about one particular war, or one way of waging war. It need not necessarily be about war at all. Because one thing the story shows very clearly is the danger of allowing any system, any state of being for a society, to become inevitable. To be viewed as something that cannot be changed, cannot be altered, cannot be acted upon. The Eminians—and, we can assume, the Vendikarians—have bent their societies and their lives around this war for five hundred years, so long that even if the original grievance is still remembered, it surely can no longer be relevant. The Eminians claim that conducting the war this way preserves their culture and society, but the truth is that the war has become their culture and society. How could it not? If you lived every day of your life knowing that at any time the call might come in that your number’s up and it’s time to report for death, how could that not affect you?

We don’t see much of the Eminian outlook—the only two significant Eminian characters are Mea and Anan, everyone else is little more than an extra. But what we do get from those characters is telling. Mea, when pressed on the issue, repeats time and again that their way is the best way and the only way, and that doing anything else would turn out even worse. Anan offers that explanation as well at the beginning, but most of his remarks throughout the episode come down to a deferral of blame. “I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do about it” is a refrain he repeats over and over.

Anan takes every opportunity to deny any control over the situation, and/or to deflect blame for it onto someone else. From the beginning he tells Kirk that it’s really his fault that everyone on the Enterprise has to die, because Kirk brought his ship there. Under other circumstances he might have a point about Kirk not heeding the warning (of course we know Kirk did heed it and only approached the planet when ordered to anyway by Fox, but Anan didn’t know that, and it’s mostly irrelevant anyway) but Anan acts as if his planet is gripped by some natural disaster that he can’t control, rather than a war which, as apparently the highest-ranked person on the planet, he has at least some ability to affect. And once Kirk makes his intentions to disrupt the war known, Anan really starts to buckle down on pinning the blame on him. If we go to war, real war, the blood of everyone that dies will be on your hands. Not ours, for starting this war and continuing it for five hundred years. Not mine, for not taking any action to end it. Yours, for doing anything to attempt to change the situation. Because if you’ve convinced yourself that there is only one possible way to handle a problem like this, then by default anyone who would attempt to implement another option must be misguided at best and actively and intentionally malicious at worst.

I don’t read Anan as someone who’s consciously using this deferral of blame as a manipulation tactic or whatever. I think he genuinely believes that he can’t do anything to affect the war. But that doesn’t let him off the hook in any way because I think he believes that because it’s easy. It’s much easier to think that your current course is not only correct but the only thing to do than it is to admit that there’s any chance that lives could have been saved if you had acted differently. And the longer you carry on a course, and the more the cost of doing so stacks up, the harder it is to change it, because doing so feels tantamount to admitting that those costs didn’t have to be paid. You have to carry on, because otherwise it will have all been for nothing. It’s called the sunk costs fallacy. If Anan ever was willing to challenge the status quo—which I doubt, but it’s possible--he’s clearly lost all such ambitions by the time of the episode. It’s hard to change things. Easier to apologize for not being able to change them.

And, of course, that’s all too real a message. Pick a topic, any topic—gun control, healthcare, capitalism, climate change, whatever you want—and think about how many times you’ve heard rhetoric to the effect of, “It sucks but there’s no point attempting to change things because the system we’ve got is the best possible one there could be.” It’s easy to look at Eminian society and their willingness to die when told to by a computer and call it laughable (and, look, I’m not saying it makes total sense—this is a Star Trek episode, after all), but completely preventable deaths occur every day in our societies, often for really no less arbitrary reason. At the risk of getting too intensely topical here, do you really think it would seem any less absurd to the TOS characters that we let people die because they can’t personally afford things that we have to spare?

I think that TOS usually did better when it made its allegories and its moral points more general, rather than attempting to directly mirror a specific real-life issue. I won’t say always, necessarily, but usually it resulted in a stronger episode. In this case I don’t know if it was intentional to make the point more generally applicable, but I certainly think it resulted in a very strong episode.

We have no tallies going up from this episode. Next time, everybody’s gotta get high, in This Side of Paradise.

#star trek #star trek TOS #star trek the original series #star trek recaps #1.23 A Taste of Armageddon #1.23 A Taste of Armageddon Recap

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jyndor · 3 years

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Cop-thing-anon here:

(I don't believe in the blue lives matter thing by the way)

I do get where you're coming from. I guess I see the thing about cops and cop AUs differently because the police is different and not as fucked up in my country. The thing about the fanart is just..I think you're reading too much into it. I don't think the artist really focused on the skin colour of Sokka, I mean, it's a kids show. Skin colour was never really mentioned or important in atla. But Sokka's personality is most likely why the artist was inspired to draw him as a "gangster", with azula (the villain) being a cop. It is kind of insensitive to draw that with the events going on, but I think that a lot of people in the fandom take some things way too seriously, for a kids show back in the late 2000's anyway.

hey anon, I say this with love and I am being sincere. I'm gonna need you to rewatch the show if you think skin color didn't matter. and it doesn't matter where you live because there is no part of the world, no culture, that isn't shaped by colonialism. I don't mean to be condescending so please bear with me, I truly believe in educating people as a part of allyship and anti-racism.

Anon, please know that I am not angry or anything but sincere in what I’m about to say. Just bear with me because I know that unlearning shit is difficult and can be painful, but we’ve gotta do it. I do appreciate you wanting to have this conversation at all. And I’m not writing this just for your benefit - this is for anyone who wants to learn about why A) race is a part of ATLA’s narrative and B) why critical analysis of mass media is actually important. So I’m not assuming you don’t know basic things about this stuff, I’m not trying to be condescending.

Now we’re gonna fix colonialism and imperialism XD wee okay here we go.

No matter where you live in the world you have some awareness of skin color. Your understanding of race might be different than mine, in fact it probably is. Race as we know it today is a social construct that stems from many things (and I wrote several hundred words on it but it was too much and too far removed from the point I’m trying to make so I edited all of that out. Yay.)

You don’t usually see imperialism, one of the major themes in Avatar, without colonialism. Imperialism is slightly different than colonialism - you can think of it like the ideology behind the practice of colonialism.* Imperialism can be used to describe expansionism in general - which has been going on since the bronze age lol humans, I stg - but usually when people today refer to colonialism and imperialism they’re talking about imperialism starting in the 17th century.

Now imperialism is not just a European concept. ATLA is set in a world that we know is supposed to be like a combination of different Asian cultures (with some influences from the Americas). And the Fire Nation is clearly influenced by Imperial Japan. So briefly:

Japan had a policy of sakoku (chained or closed country) which kept it mostly isolated (out of concerns that Japan would fall victim to something like the Opium Wars in China, among other things) from the rest of the world for a couple hundred years until the 1850s when a US Naval commander named Matthew Perry (I am not kidding) forced Japan to open its borders for trade to the United States by gunboat diplomacy, an oxymoron if I have ever seen one before.

Japan ended up signing unequal treaties with a lot of Western countries, and this bred xenophobia and hostility in Japan. The Emperor who signed these treaties died of smallpox, and after some internal conflict his son decided try to renegotiate these treaties. The US and European countries were not interested in renegotiating dick but the mission wasn’t unsuccessful because the diplomats A) exchanged some islands with Russia and B) were inspired by western economic policy and society to “modernize” Japan. Japan began industrialization and it converted to a market economy with the help of the US and other western powers.

So over many years, Japan went to war with China, Korea, Russia (and took back some of the land they exchanged with them), and others. From wikipedia:

Using its superior technological advances in naval aviation and its modern doctrines of amphibious and naval warfare, Japan achieved one of the fastest maritime expansions in history. By 1942 Japan had conquered much of East Asia and the Pacific, including the east of China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Burma (Myanmar), Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, part of New Guinea and many islands of the Pacific Ocean.

But ATLA is not a Japanese story. The Fire Nation is not Imperial Japan. The Earth Kingdom is not China or Korea, the Air Nomads are not Tibetan monks, and the Water Tribes are not Inuit. The creators definitely drew heavy inspiration from all of these places and others, but ATLA is a story written by American people in the United States for American kids. It is an American story.

And it was created at a time when the United States was victimizing people in Afghanistan and Iraq (and other places) in many similar ways to how the Fire Nation victimized people. In fact, the show starts in the Southern Water Tribe, which represent Inuit people, indigenous people in Alaska, Canada and Greenland, I think it’s safe to assume that the genocide being referenced here is not one by Japan but rather by European colonizers and later by the United States and Canada.

Imperialism is in the show’s DNA.

And so is racism. In our world they are inherently connected. And visual cues from the show along with things the characters say suggest that we are meant to make the comparison between our world and the ATLA world. Every story has a purpose - it doesn’t have to be political, but for Avatar it is political, it is anti-imperialist.

In this article about how ATLA resonates with us in 2020, Aina Khan of the Guardian interviews Professor Ali A Olomi about using ATLA to teach at Penn State. “One of the things we see with the Fire Nation is the ideological justification for what they’re doing. We are a glorious civilization. We have abundance, we have wealth, we have technological advancement; we need to share it with the rest of the world. That’s almost word for word European colonisation.”

Zuko and Azula both call Katara a peasant. In fact, Azula calls her a dirty peasant. This is one step away from calling her a s*vage I mean come on. While peasant might just be purely classist (lol no) because Zuko and Azula are royalty, um it’s clearly racialized classism because of real life context. There is real history with colonizers calling indigenous people this, dismissing their cultures as primitive and barbaric.

Add into the mix colorism, which is bias against darker skin and privileges fair skin (which is a byproduct of imperialism) and you have clear race shit happening in Avatar.

When I saw that fanart, I was immediately reminded of black lives matter of course, but mainly of the fact that indigenous peoples are also at high risk of being victimized by police. Not just in the US. And how gross it is to depict a colonizer like Azula as an angry cop (representing the state) turning her gun on an indigenous man who is dressed like a gangster which... yike.

Mass media influence everything we do. The messaging we get, our politics, what we want to eat for dinner because we’re hungry and have been writing this stupid essay for three hours LOL. It’s important that people think critically about what they consume. Otherwise you get the goddamn United States with half of our population stanning a racist fraud. You want to know why US Americans are so ignorant? Because our education system sucks, because we don’t have any real media literacy. But apparently the rest of the world has some fucking nerve making fun of Americans** because all of us suck at it. No one is thinking critically about media.

A really terrifying thing about people is our ability to take whatever message we want from stories, even if it is in direct contradiction with the narrative of a story. There’s a movie called American History X which is explicitly anti-fascist, but because it’s a drama and Ed Norton is cut and looks badass and uncucked or whatever LOL, the iconography in that movie is fairly popular with neo-nazis. Yike. This is not at that level of course, this is some random niche fanart for a rare pairing.

For better or for worse, US media and entertainment gets a lot of attention and people around the world eat it up. Maybe you don’t need to know every little detail about US American shit, and I know we tend to dominate media, but black lives matter is not just a 2020 thing. People have known about it for years, since it started. If that fanart was created in 2019, which I think it was, the BLM movement had already existed for six years. If you’re watching an American show like Avatar and you’re making fanart on social media but you don’t know what BLM is in 2019... well educate yourself lmao.

Considering that Black fans have expressed frustration and discomfort in fandoms over and over again, and I am sure indigenous fans have too because fandoms are racist sometimes, it’s important that white fans help make fandoms better. And I am a white fan, and I consider myself an anti-racist. Which means I have to be active about racism when I see it.

btw I found this great essay by @cobra-diamond which you should read if you want more details about the similarities between Japan and the Fire Nation.

* that is very reductive but it’s fine lol

** I am kidding, unless you are english feel free to make fun of americans for non-gun, non-trauma related things pls

#anons #asks #racism tw #colonialism tw #atla #fandom racism #acab #police violence #indigenous right #nazism tw #oh lord shitty discourse tw #imperialism tw #anyway now i'm gonna eat

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wassup-zdravey · 7 years

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@amozon28, Why yes, I think Arya’s storyline absolutely could have her end up leading the BWB. It would make a lot of sense for her story and the books, and there seems to be possible foreshadowing and parallels. It would also add a lot to her arc and development, and possible future. (More detail on those later)

Above all else, Arya prizes family. She will likely head to the Wall again, as was always her goal; the original destination she was headed to with Yoren, the place she tried so many times to reach in order to be with Jon. This time, Arya is returning older and wiser, with new skills. She will need to pass through the Riverlands; and we get our plot opportunity.

Cut for length.

Would they ever choose her as their leader?

I think we can all agree that Arya is likely to return to the Riverlands and meet up with Land probably end up killing her. After that, the Brotherhood will need a leader, and Arya will be right there. I don’t think it would be absurd for them to pick Arya. She is the daughter of their previous leader, and was well liked and taken care of by their first leader; not to mention the other members. She is a highborn, and while the BWB believe the smallfolk have many rights, they still follow many class rankings and beliefs. Beric was named their leader partly because he’s a lord. Catelyn is also highborn, and was resurrected after Harwin begged for her, because she was Lady Stark, and there is a huge respect and love for the Starks. Arya is even more a Stark, and specifically very similar to Ned. It was he who sent out the men, and who they all know was all about honor and justice, as all of House Stark was known for honor and justice (The primary values the BWB was later formed on.) Her previous interactions with the BWB means she understands them quite well; how they work and what they stand for. Reversely, they know her. Admittedly, they saw her mostly as a willful highborn girl, though of course things like her intelligence and other skills must’ve been known. Arya is basically at the age when she’ll start to be considered more adultlike, and she is older and has learned and been through a lot. GRRM said he thinks Arya is one of the most mature characters in the series, and I have no doubt that maturity, and her intelligence, leadership and diplomatic skill, values and kindness, and sword skills will be quite obvious when she returns. There’s good reason to believe the BWB will see her as an option for their leader.

Does it match the rest of her story?

Arya’s previous arc in the Riverlands was about learning and experiencing the plights of the common people in times of war. (Which the post you commented on was about, so I’m assuming that’s what made you consider Arya leading the BWB) From Arya’s very first chapter, we see that she defends those of a lower class than her, and that is in direct parallel with the mission of the BWB that she knew under Beric. Under LS’s leadership, it has become darker and driven more by revenge. At the same time, Arya has become partially driven by justice (she always believed in it and fought for it, but I mean her story becomes more and more involved in it, as does her personality, thoughts, and spirit.) No, revenge and justice are not the same things, and that contrast will come to a peak with Arya meeting LS. This is likely the event (or one of them) GRRM plans on using to demonstrate his views on Justice/Mercy/Revenge; major themes in the series, and specifically in Arya’s chapters.

Revenge Vs. Justice/Lady Stoneheart Vs. Arya:

Arya’s list is a list for justice, and not revenge. bitchfromtheseventhhell made a good post explaining that and much more about Justice/Mercy/Revenge in Arya’s storyline, but I’m going to summarize the relevant bits here. Revenge is a lot more about when something is done to you personally, and the fact is not a single name on Arya’s list is about herself. Over half is for war criminals like Chyswik. Some of those she most likely blames primarily for seemingly minor/personal things like stealing Needle because she is not familiar with ”war crimes” other than the fact that they feel like they’re bad. But Arya knows that they’re bad in her heart. We see that with truly personal things, Arya is quite quick to forgive for the smallest thing, like a bit of kindness. The rest of the names are for people who killed people Arya cares a lot about. LS’s motivation is similar. The Freys did indeed do something very wrong, and deserve to be punished. What sets it apart is the way it’s done. I believe revenge goes beyond what’s done in the name of justice. Of course, as was said in the post and by Ben Franklin, it’s often a matter of perspective.

BUT, when we, outside parties, name something either justice or revenge, there is often a pattern. In revenge, There’s usually no care about the laws, and it’s often crueler than justice. That’s because it’s fueled by hate, not a desire to right wrongs. LS is just out for blood, for anyone that had anything to do with her and Robb’s betrayal. A big difference with revenge vs. justice is that you can’t argue justice went too far, whereas revenge is often personal, spiteful, and crueler. The victim is not often at direct fault for what their being given “justice” for. It’s just that the person wants to punish anyone that is somewhat related because they feel it would make what happened okay if they can make them suffer the way they did. That’s not the motivation for justice. Another characteristic we attribute to revenge is it’s all consuming in the mind. it’s important to realize that there is nothing for LS in her life other than revenge. It’s all she’s been reduced down to, and therefore it’s currently what the BWB is helping her work for. Arya has much more to live for, much more going on in her life. Her main drive if for fairness, her family, her home. Arya is not going to be okay with everything LS is doing, especially when she knows that the previous BWB was more dedicated to the people, and trying to help them. Compare that purpose to the current one. We’ve seen before that when she faces the choice, Arya chooses helping people, helping her living family, over bringing justice or revenge for the dead ones. Arya could return the Brotherhood to their former ways and total purpose of helping people by using the BWB to help restore some peace in the Riverlands, and/or help the Northerners and her family there. How is a different post though.

Foreshadowing and Parallels:

-I can see Nymeria as foreshadowing. In Nymeria’s story, there is a She-wolf who leads a great pack that fight in the Riverlands, often helping the North in their victim choice. If Arya were to lead the BWB, it would significantly parallel that. If you need more proof, the original Nymeria led her people to safety, which is likely what Arya would work towards in the Riverlands with the BWB, and later in the North. Arya, who in-text is called a She-wolf and a wolf-bitch, would lead a pack of many men in the form of the Brotherhood. Before Nymeria arrived in the Riverlands, the wolf packs there were made of many small groups, but Nymeria unites them. Similarly, the BWB is made up of men who are Northerners, Tyroshi, southern knights, commoners, etc. All sorts of people brought together as one, because they are stronger together, as a pack. The Brotherhood owes most of their success to the amount of people helping them, with secret connections and loyal commoners. They would not be able to do what they do without the support of so many smallfolk, without the support of their pack. Arya has been constantly searching for a pack; people to lead, protect, and call her own. Until she is reunites with her family, the Brotherhood could be that for her.

-Arya’s rise to that leadership position would also parallel Catelyn’s, and set up some rules about how someone can become the leader of the BWB. First, the old leader must die (Beric). The person directly responsible replaces them (LS). It’s pretty much a given that Arya will kill LS, and be that person directly responsible. As of such, she would be the one to take her role as well. None of this means I think Arya will get killed. She won’t die, because no one replaces her. I think after they accomplish what the Brotherhood was originally created for, they will disband. Aryan lives, and the pattern can stay true.

-It’s already been pointed out that Arya spending so much time in the Riverbanks parallels Catelyn, given it was her mother’s childhood home. Aryan and Cat both grew up in the Riverlands. So if we can say Arya “got” Cat’s childhood, the beginning of her life, isn’t it fitting for Arya to “get” the last of it too? If Arya parallels and experiences Cat’s childhood, it would make sense to have Arya go through the same thing as the last of Cat’s life as well; her time as Lady Stoneheart being the leader of the BWB. Arya could parallel the beginning and end of Cat’s life.

-The last time Arya was in the Riverlands, she was a scared little girl. Arya was a captive of many different people. She was beaten, starving, dirty, nearly raped or killed numerous times. Throughout it all, there was one thing that Arya kept wanting. She wanted to be fierce and powerful, so that she could help herself and the people around her. So that she could bring justice. Arya wanted to be a water dancer and a wolf, not a sheep or a mouse or a lamb. She wanted the ability to do something, and not stand by in silence. When Arya returns, she will be a better Water Dancer than she was before, after completing her training. While it’s not even close to the most important or emphasized skill she’s learning with the FM, how to kill someone is something we know she’ll be good at by the time she returns. All the practice and training means she’s gotten quite good with a sword; especially in the Water Dancer style. Arya will be a fiercer wolf than before. Not just because of all she has learned, but after reclaiming her identity. She will be surer of who she is: Arya Of House Stark, the Night Wolf, Of Winterfell. Arya will be a stronger, fiercer wolf more sure of her identity as that wolf after being tested to abandon it. She wished to be a Water Dancer and a Wolf so that she could protect herself and the people. When she returns, she will be.

The relationship Arya had with Catelyn also makes me like this idea. This isn’t exactly a parallel, but a contrast (and sort of ½ a parallel) that I think fits well and would be very important. Lady Stoneheart and Arya represent two different ideas, revenge and justice. I think LS might be there to show us more about Arya. What would have happened to Arya if she was not such a kindness and equality driven person? Would all that happened to her, and her wishes for certain people to die turn her into someone more like LS? What’s more, LS is basically the stereotype most people put on Arya; no doubt largely encouraged by the show? But even many book readers fail to understand the difference, and see Arya as murderous and vengeful person. (Nevermind that Arya’s prayers were originally just for the people to die, no for her to do it. And Arya’s personal kills from the list have only ever been opportunistic, not seeking them out.) Having them interact and disagree will be the perfect evidence against that. LS can also be meant to show us what Arya would be like if she became no one. Catelyn was dead for three days before she was found, and Beric has said that fire consumes a lot of you every time you’re brought back. Much of Catelyn left her in those 3 days, and what was left was mostly burned up. There’s not much left. All that LS is is someone who is out to kill, and won’t question who it is much, or if it’s right, as long as they match her questionable criteria. Catelyn became only the worst inside her, and we could get to see that that wasn’t ever an option for Arya. She holds too strongly to her beliefs and identity to ever be turned into a FM, or even someone who gets twisted from terrible experiences. What’s really poignant is that Arya, by dragging Catelyn’s corpse out of the river is sort of the reason she was resurrected. Arya herself (while warging) thought something along the lines of “rise and run and hunt with us”. That’s exactly what she does. In the end, Arya will also be the one to kill LS, and bring her peace.

And my favorite part about this plot:

Leading the BWB would give Arya the large-scale ruling position she has so far been lacking. Bran was lord of Winterfell for a time, Jon became Lord Commander, and Sansa is helping run some things in the Vale. Yet Arya’s chapters are absolutely full with ruling and queenship foreshadowing. Still, GRRM has said he wants his books to be realistic, and people in King/Queen roles should have previous experience and will have to face tough decisions and their fallouts. It’s (hopefully) well known that Arya has many skills, attributes, and natural talents that are valued for leaders, but Arya has yet to be put in a position where she would gain that kind of experience beyond natural leadership roles over a smaller group of people. Fans have had to wonder how to reconcile these facts, as Arya is obviously headed to this type of future. Arya becoming in charge of the Brotherhood would fix this problem quite well. They are a large organization spanning a large area, taking part in battle and domestic issues as well. Arya would have to deal with strategy and conflicting advice from people below her. She’ll have to deal with money, and getting food, weapons, and housing. We know that Arya had a good head for figures and said she knew more about running a household, but if this were to happen we would see it in action, see Arya practice and prove she can run things.

Overall, Arya becoming the new leader of the Brotherhood Without Banners would be a good arc, and a reasonable option to expect.

#Arya Stark #arya stark predictions #asoiaf meta #Arya Stark meta #a song of ice and fire #asoiaf #lady stoneheart #Catelyn stark

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theunnamedlizardrogue · 6 years

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Books! - Chap 1

Backstory: So, I got really attached to a D&D character I made about a year ago, and the first day of January, the DM abandoned ship for disclosed reasons. To account for this. I decided to take up writing, to itch all that missing character development

Chapter 1: Corn starch A bouncer stands at his post, the cordial party held by the noble underway. The white brick accentuates the wealth here and the aristocrats walking about would make the colour brown stick out like a saw thumb. The door leading into the party is ornate and gigantic, approximately the size of 2 men and more gold than a bank. Money couldn’t be burnt in more useless ways than literally burning it. The lizard wanders up, looking his best to act casual; as much as one could be when a bipedal reptilian is in the middle of a group of humans and elves. He slyly slinks towards the bouncer and quietly whispers “Corn starch” The guard looks in confusion. The lizard realises this isn’t the contact, but an actual bouncer. He takes a step back to think to himself. Godsdamn it, Snakes fed him false info. Time to improvise. He distorts his voice and puts on a fake accent he’s never heard “My mistake. Friend tell me Corn starch secret access code to ball. I invited and thought ‘No, that not make sense.’ But he insist and I thought human custom.” The guard looks even more confused. While the guard’s processing the situation, the lizard notices the line behind him, the crowd are getting annoyed at the wait. This could work to his advantage. “I am Ackl-Snarr. Lizardfolk… ambassador? That is what human with brown hair say. Noble host give good negotiation and worldwide peace in exchange for warm rock and women” The poor sod finally speaks. “An ambassador? What ambassador wears a scarf and a hood?” “Scarf?! I have you know this efficient battle garb for enemies! Blood absorbed to not get on precious scales and sneaky like fox as enemy think normal clothing inappropriate for war. You offend me with human custom.” “Right… Sir. I’m sorry, but I require a letter of invitation”. “YOU DARE REFUSE ACKL-SNARR?”. Whilst the lizard might be drawing more and more attention to himself, it’s certainly for the right reasons. “No, I ne-“ “YOU WANT TELL NOBLE YOU RESPONSIBLE FOR DESTROYAL OF HUMANS BY SCALY HANDS? I SPIT ON YOUR HATCHLINGS WHEN THEY PILE OF ASH” With a resigned sigh, the door is opened to the lizard. Looks like most people aren’t willing to be responsible for severance of diplomatic relations, even more so when the upper class are waiting, though Lizardfolk aren’t even a nation in this country.

The place is filled with more guests than he expected, and much more wine. The decorum is… elegant. To be expected, of course. The lizard takes a second to stare at the marble staircase, the marble statues, the marble tables, marble… There’s a lot of marble. Whilst his eyes wander, he looks at the other guests at this party. Shit. Masks. So many masks. This is a masquerade. Yes. Masquerade. Masks. Everyone… has masks. Yep. Alright. Perfect. Okay, let’s calm down. The lizard considers exiting the mansion and running, but he just talked his way through the bouncer earlier so it’d look embarrassing if “Ackle-Snarr” decided that he’d be intimidated by simple masks. However, minor phobias aside, does the lizard really need a mask? The noble in question, Alexander Covingtree, is supposedly getting ready for an event in three hours. There’s plenty of time to go up to his room and talk to him abo- “Have you heard? Alexander is going to start greeting the guest members!” two nobles chirped behind him. One of them, a woman wearing a crow mask responds “Oh how wonderful. He truly is a spectacular host!” The lizard is quietly muttering every known swearword to man, elf and dwarf. This is a test, he guesses. Either that or a practical joke. Knowing Snakes, it was probably both. The last few jobs had been rather simple, so Snakes might have just been trying to sharpen the lizard’s resolve. It’s a little touching that his father had that much faith in him, but it’s a bloody pain trying to do this.

The lizard realises he needs to focus on the task at hand, a mask. It needs to be long enough to account for his muzzle. Though it’d be effective enough just to grab a half-mask, the whole ‘being a lizard’ thing would be noticeable.

A man nearby is drinking a rather lot of wine, his mask is perfect. Designed after a fox, but the snout itself is long enough for it to be used by The lizard. The lizard hopes the mask doesn’t stink of alcohol. … And from the noises the man’s making, let’s make sure it doesn’t stink of anything else as well. The lizard runs to the masked noble, feigning care for the poor soul who thought it best to drink six glasses of rosé. He lifts off the mask and pulls him away, to a Fern plant in one of the corridors. It lasts for a little too long. The guy passes out after he’s done releasing his stomach and the lizard tries to place him delicately on a chair. Mission completed, he dons the masks and shudders a little. He pulls up his hood, hiding the scaly back of his head. Leaving the corridor, a companion of the drunkard notices the mask and calls out to the lizard, “Hey! You there! That was my friend’s mask.” The lizard responds promptly. “Ah, I have forgotten my own this evening, and I thought it a personal challenge to acquire a mask at the party. After all, who doesn’t disagree to a little excitement every once in a while?” The man laughs, “Indeed, sometimes a little bit of debauchery can spice up our lives. Just give it back to him when you’re done, alright? You have no idea how much he paid for it, custom made, they say!” The lizard nods. “That sounds for a rousing tale! But I give my deepest apologies, I’m in a tinsy bit of a rush”. He’d have to satisfy his curiosity another time. He goes back to scanning the room, seeing if Covingtree has arrived yet.

Aha! The lizard spots Alexander walking down. Covingtree has straight brown hair, is clean shaven and looks rather young, approximately seven years older than the seventeen-year-old lizard. Best guess would be the Alex has inherited the money that he used for this mansion. It’s obvious that the place wasn’t designed in mind of someone in their forties, so what would be the reason that Alexander has his own mansion at such a young age? Parents are either extremely rich, or the Covingtree must have had a few deaths in their lineage. Someone bumps into the lizard and he’s brought back to reality yet again, he’s got to stop doing that. Alexander’s one for theatrics. He’s holding his mask as he’s walking down the stairs, just so he can put it on with a flourish. He takes a bow when he reaches the bottom, and the crowd let out a cheer in his health. The lizard is admittedly impressed.

Now how does one approach this? Alex wanders around, shaking hands. The lizard needs to get Alex alone by himself. An idea sparks, but it’s as risky as swallowing a dirty knife. Normally this would work with a Lord’s wife, not the Lord himself. He struts towards Alexander. The lizard seems confident, probably the mask, he guesses. Something about anonymity? He read it in a book once… Well, Twice. Alexander’s taken notice now. With a quick inhale, the lizard bows, similar to how Alex did earlier. He offers his hand out for a dance. Alex is taken aback, but he accepts.

Alex is obviously not used to being a follow, he instinctually looks down as soon as they start. As they dance together, there’s a small trip. It’s hard to tell who caused it, but the lizard’s footwork kept them upright and attempts to mask it through a spin. the crowd didn’t seem to notice. Perfect. A few minutes in, the lizard notices he’s trying to impress the audience with his dancing. It’s the mask. Probably.

The crowd let out another cheer, this is the lizard’s chance. He takes Alex by the hand and points up the stairs. Alex takes a second to look into the mask’s eyes and awkwardly nods. The lizard’s seen it before, Alex’s interested in the mystery of the man behind the mask. As they retreat upstairs, He swears he heard someone whistle.

In Alex’s master bedroom. The lizard, with a sigh of relief, takes off the mask. Alex seems a little surprised to find out the lizard’s identity, predictably. The lizard begins. “Okay, great. This was much more difficult than I thought it would be.” The lizard looks out the doorway “Were you on the guest list?” “No, I had faked my way in pretending to be an ambassador for Lizardfolk. Gave your bouncer outside a particularly tough time. More importantly, I’m here representing an individual named ‘Skirt of Snakes’, are you familiar with him?” There’s a quick pause. “Not particularly, sorry.” Alex takes the time to relax on his bed. “Ah, alright.” The lizard sighs to himself, Snakes misinformed him yet again. “We’re part of the rogues found here in this city. We’d like to request assistance with infiltrating the Slater residence.” “What would I gain from such a bargain? You seemed to do fine with entering the party.” “Yeees, but it’s going to be done in the dead of the night, looting everything that isn’t nailed down. We’d like to make this as easy as possible.” The lizard just realised he gave information to a man he hadn’t fully convinced. Fuck. “I could report you to the guards for what you’re telling me.” Fuuuuuuuck. “Come now, it’d be bad manners to imprison a dance partner.” The lizard lets out a smirk and continues. “If you help us out, we’d pin the blame on Samuel Hagan, stating that he bought off rogues to steal Mr Slater’s valuables. This would cause an uproar, discrediting his name. Meanwhile, you can snatch up his land.” Samuel had been known for being an… unsavoury sort. The lizard’s band of rogues have been trying to expose his corruption for months. “Tempting. I’ll consider this.” Alex seems deep in thought, it’s an opportunity few would refuse, after all. “Perfect, I’ll notify my crew and tell someone to meet you three days from now. We’ll leave a note outside your door for details.” As the lizard stands to leave the bedroom, donning his mask, Alex dons his earlier tone “Care to stay for wine?” “Maybe another time, you’ve got to be a good host after all.” The lizard winks and leaves.

He can’t believe any of that worked.

Chapter 2: https://theunnamedlizardrogue.tumblr.com/post/172107548441/chapter-2-feline-good

#dnd #fantasy #writing #my writing #lizard #rogue #Chapter

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jolienjoyswriting · 5 years

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Mortem In Contumeliam FFVI, Ch. II

Chapter 2 of "Mortem In Contumeliam Final Fantasy VI," a Final Fantasy VI fan fiction story.

This chapter introduces an original fan character of sorts! I hope you guys don't get too attached! (And, no, the character isn't based on anyone I know, or any existing character. But, the name does comes from a related game!)

Word count: 4,494 – Character count: 26,015 Originally written: July 16th, 2019

The plucky pair of soldiers find themselves on a ship. But, are they prepared for hi-jinks on the high seas?

Final Fantasy VI, Wedge, Biggs, and related characters, scenarios, and properties created by Square Soft, Inc. and © Square Enix Co, Ltd.

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“Man, talk about luck, huh?”

Despite his friend’s close brush with “certain death” – the unhinged General Palazzo – Wedge was all smiles as he slipped on the chest piece of some fresh soldier’s armor.

“I was pretty damn sure the commander was gonna jam that sword down our throats! But, after General Kefka showed up, he was all business! And, now? We’re goin’ straight to Doma – wherever that is!” “I suppose…” his partner, Biggs, told him as he put on some standard-issue pants. “What? You don’t think that’s lucky?” Wedge reached into a nearby storage chest and withdrew a helmet with little, sword-like horns on the sides. “We could’a been killed, or demoted, or anything!” he said as he put the skull protector over his head. “Instead? We’re gettin’ a free cruise to whatever this Doma place is, then we get to storm a castle! How cool is that?!” “War is never ‘cool,’ Wedge. But…” Biggs paused, then he smiled. “I am happy that we didn’t get demoted – if only because Pierre would never let us hear the end of it.” “Oh, man, is he gonna be steamed when he hears we got off scot-free!” The other soldier smiled a little more brightly.

“Pierre’s such a snotty little turd…” Wedge continued as he pulled on one boot and laced it up. “I wish I knew why… but, I don’t think that’d change much.” “He blames us for ‘the armor incident.’” “What?” The shorter man blinked from under his helmet. “What ‘armor incident?’” “Remember when we were stationed at the base near that sealed cave?” “Yeah?” “Remember when that powered armor malfunctioned and we tried to stop it?” “Yeeaaah…?” “And, remember how it ran through the wall of the storage building and who they found ‘piloting’ it?” “Yeeaaa–” He paused. “O-oh!” “Yeah…” Biggs said with a chuckle. “He thought he could stop it and climbed inside. After it went through the wall, our commanding officer found him semi-conscious in the cockpit. There wasn’t much anyone could have done, by that point.” “Not that I wanted to…” Wedge scowled. “Remember how that little ratfink tried to throw us under the carriage? We weren’t the ones who tried piloting a busted Magitek Armor!” “Still, you have to admit… Pierre’s demotion was unfair and mostly circumstantial.” “Yeah, yeah…” The soldier dismissively waved his hand. “We can feel bad about Pierre’s luck some other time. Right now, we’ve gotta–” “Unbelievable– unbelievable!!” Both Biggs and Wedge blinked as they heard a shrill voice screech from outside. They ran out of the barracks just in time to see Kefka stomp by, kicking crates, shoving soldiers out of his way, and just generally looking angry.

“Me?!” he raged as he walked down some stairs. “The Emperor wants me, li’l ol’ me, to go aaall the way to Figaro… just to find that stupid little girl?! Why not send Leo?! Why not send a regiment of grunts? Why should I have to go to that gods-forsaken desert wasteland and talk with that stupid, snot-nosed, spoiled-brat-of-a-king?! Life is so unfair!! I’m no diplomat! I’m a conquerer!! Why should I–”

Kefka continued to rant as he exited the area. A moment later, a brown-suit came from upstairs, looking a bit on the dizzy side. “What’s going on?” Wedge asked the soldier. “Ugh… Kefka’s taking his anger out on the men,” was the soldier’s reply. “From what I’ve heard, some idiots lost the witch-girl over in the Figaro region, so the Emperor decided to make General Palazzo go and find her, and he’s dragging a bunch of us along for the ride…” “‘Some idiots?’” Biggs curiously asked, despite knowing who said “idiots” were. “Yeah… some idiots who went to Narshe. They lost the witch, their Magitek Armor, their gear… Ah, it was a huge mess, from what I heard! I hope those guys get demoted!” “Yeah! Screw those guys!” Wedge suddenly added, surprising his partner. “How could someone screw up a mission that bad, am I right?” “You said it, brother!” the random soldier laughed. “Hey, after I get back, why don’t we hit the pub? My treat!” “It’s a date, friend!” Biggs hid his face, shaking his head as Wedge and the soldier bumped fists. A minute later, the soldier wandered off, leaving the duo at the barracks entrance.

“‘Screw those guys?’ Really?” “Oh, hush,” Wedge said with a grin. “I got a free drink out of it, so…” “You’re an idiot, Wedge.” “Yeah, but I’m your idiot, Biggs.” The other soldier smiled, then he thumped his partner’s arm. With that, the two returned to the barracks and finished getting equipped. Not long after, they rounded up as many soldiers as they could, then found themselves back on a ship and headed to a place called…

“‘Nikeah,’ huh?” That’s what a soldier with long, red hair coming out from under their helmet told them. “The commander says, yes.” They continued, “We have a stop-over in Nikeah, then we make landfall north of Doma Castle. From there, we’re to set up a base camp along the isthmus between the eastern and western regions and await further orders.” “Okay… Just one question?” “Yes?” Wedge grinned as he asked, “The hell’s an ‘isthmus?’” “An ‘isthmus’ is a narrow strip of land that has water on two parallel sides,” Biggs mentioned from behind him, “and usually connects two greater pieces of land.” “Follow-up question…” He rubbed the back of his head. “Where’s Doma, again?” “Doma Castle is located almost-directly east of Nikeah,” the red-haired soldier told him. “Third question,” Wedge continued with a sheepish grin. “Why aren’t we just boating right to the ‘is-miss?’ Or, setting up right outside of Doma?” “To maintain the element of surprise, I imagine…” was the soldier’s response.

“Alright, alright… One last question.” “Yes?” Suddenly, Wedge pressed up against the other soldier and smiled. “What’s your name, pretty momma?” And, just as suddenly… “Ow-ow-ow-ow-ow…!!” Wedge found himself face-down on the deck of the metal ship, his arm held behind his back as it was pulled up and practically out of its socket!

“My name is none of your concern, soldier!” the other brown-suit told him in a stern tone. “I suggest you stay focused on the mission! Otherwise, we may have to file a casualty report even before we storm Doma! Understand?!” “I– sonovabiii–” Wedge squealed like a stuck pig as the angry, red-haired soldier tugged his arm upward. “Y-yes, yes,” he yelled, pounding the deck with his free hand, “for the love of– aaah–!!” And, just like that… the hostile soldier let go, walking off without another word.

“Wedge?” He whimpered as he got to his feet, rolling his shoulder, making sure he still had two working limbs. Shortly after giving a little sniffle, he snapped, “I-I’m not crying…!” “It’s okay, partner…” Biggs clapped his partner on the other shoulder. “Jessie is a little… militant.” “Yeah, I noticed!” He gave a shaky grin… before his face lit up with realization. “Wait, ‘Jessie?’ Wait-wait-wait, that soldier’s name is–” “‘Jessie,’ yes,” the other soldier told him. “As you no-doubt noticed, she’s one of the few female recruits to the Gestahlian Army. As such, she… feels obligated to try a little harder, and tends to come off as–” “A bitch…?” Wedge interrupted as he waggled his sore arm. “I was going to say ‘cold,’” Biggs said with a frown. “She doesn’t… really believe in ‘downtime,’ so anytime someone tries to get ‘chummy’ with her… well…” “Eh, she probably just needs a good, hard–” “Wedge!” The shorter soldier grinned before saying, “Drink.” Despite that, Biggs just scowled. Then, he blinked from under his helmet. “Wait, where are you off to?” he asked as his partner walked away from him. “Gonna go find Jessie and apologize, of course!” The other soldier paused before telling him, “Alright. Best of luck, I guess.” “Yeah-yeah!” Wedge pumped his fist into the air, then winced and rubbed his shoulder. “See ya later, partner!”

The sun slowly swept across blue skies as the boat traveled along the calm seas. Biggs volunteered for the night watch and, come twilight, found himself at the head of the ship with a lantern and a long sword. Luckily, there wasn’t much to use the latter on, that night. Huh… I never noticed how beautiful the sky is, before. Once he’d finished a patrol, he found a seat on a crate containing some sort of machinery, took off his helmet, then stared upward at the black-and-blue sky. As expected, it was dotted with a great many spots of varying shades of white, blue, and even some purples. You never see the sky this clearly in Vector… Between the brightness of the Imperial Castle and all the smoke from the Magitek Laboratory, it’s a wonder we see any sort of sky… But, looking at the different stars and lights up there… It’s kind of relaxing.

His eyes slipped shut and he leaned back a little, one arm on his raised knee while the other arm propped him up from behind. Seeing the stars… hearing the spray of the waters brush against their ship… even the noise of the magic-powered engine quietly chugging and occasionally hissing… It was all pretty peaceful. He knew that, in a few days, he could be in for a bloody battle with the Kingdom of Doma… but, for that moment? He felt perfectly relaxed…

“Hey, partner.” He opened his eyes before casually looking to one side. Standing there, sometime after he’d zoned out, was his friend-and-partner, holding a lantern of his own. “Wedge,” he said with a nod. “Taking the night watch, as well?” “Nah… I just came up for my ‘goodnight kiss!’” As Wedge leaned down and started making a kissy face, his partner just shoved him away with a chuckle. The two then shared a quiet smile.

“It’s peaceful up here,” the shorter man said before looking out at the darkness ahead. “That’s why I like the night watch,” Biggs told him. “It gives me time to find myself…” “Heh. I find myself every night, stars-or-not!” Biggs smirked and shook his head at that, making Wedge smile. “Seriously, though. I can dig it. I mean, things haven’t been too hectic… but, ya know…” He looked back to the dark waters and paused. “This… is the calm before the storm.” At that, Biggs gave another blink. He thought about saying something, but decided to just watch and listen, feeling like his partner had more to say.

“I know I was all fired-up to go on the trip, and I was excited by the idea of storming a castle, like some big damn hero… but, to be honest? I’m… kind of scared, Biggs.” He gave a hard swallow before continuing. “We’ve been partners for a long-ass time, now – so long, I’ve kind’a lost count. We’ve been in scrapes, we’ve had close calls, and despite everything… we’ve always pulled through. But, that mission to Narshe? Something about that mission was… different… “We could’a died, Biggs,” he continued in a serious tone. “That thunder whelk could’a killed us, or the scary witch-girl… Maybe, that big bird thing. We were even stripped of everything and left-for-dead! Yeah… we could’a died… and, then what?” He slowly removed his helmet, then looked at his partner. “We would’a been replaced.

“We’re military men, you… me… everyone on this ship, practically,” he said as he looked back out to the ship’s head. “We’re all expendable… replaceable… When one soldier dies, another one steps up to take his place. That’s how the military works. So, what does it all mean…? Why did we choose this life? And, why do we keep trying to make connections… friends, lovers, all that… when we know that, eventually, we’re probably just gonna lose it all to some jerk with the right weapon or better luck than us. It’s sobering, Biggs.” He looked up at the sky, then. “The life of a single military man means so little in the grand scheme of things… We’re just cogs in the magical war machine. One breaks… you replace it. Simple as that!”

Biggs… didn’t know what to say to any of what he’d just heard. He rarely knew his partner to be so serious, much less philosophical… but, after hearing everything he’d just said, he had to wonder… “Do you have any regrets, Wedge?” “Yeah…” he heard his partner whisper. “What is it?” There was a long pause… then, Wedge looked him right in the eye and said… “I regret… you weren’t there when me ‘n Jessie made out! Oh, man, it was great!” The other soldier… was staggered. “W… what.” “She’s real passionate, partner!!” Wedge laughed as he stood back up. “Must be all that pent-up rage from bein’ serious all-the-time… She let it out all over me, and–” “You disgust me.”

Wedge blinked… then, he grinned and rubbed the back of his head. “Whaaat? It’s not like it was my idea!” he defensively explained. “Just– ah, don’t let her know I told you, alright? I’m pretty sure this was just a one-time deal, and–” “You’re a gods-damned married man, Wedge!” Biggs interrupted, looking pretty angry. “Oh, please… This ain’t my first rodeo, partner!” “And, you disgust me every time you do this! Why do you even tell me these things?! But…” He seemed a little ashamed, then, as he looked away and said… “I’m… kind of surprised. Jessie… doesn’t seem the type to just… go for a ‘fling.’” “I know, right?” Wedge laughed for a moment. “Yeah… poor girl just… She’s sooo tired of being all business all-the-time. But, it’s like you said: she feels like she has to just ‘cause she’s a girl! Kind’a dumb, if you ask me! If she’s as tough on the battlefield as she is off – and, no, that’s not an innuendo – she has nothing to worry about! Which reminds me… Thanks!” “‘Thanks?’” Biggs repeated, giving his friend a suspicious look. “What for?” “If you hadn’t told me her name,” Wedge replied with a grin, “I couldn’t’ve broken the ice like I did! Granted, I didn’t think it’d get me that far… I really just wanted to apologize for coming on too strong! Man, I’m glad I did, though! Wowie!” “You’re…” The other soldier paused… then, he smiled. “You’re a good man, Wedge. Even if you aren’t terribly loyal to your wife.” “Eh.” He shrugged and grinned. “We have an understanding.” “Heh. So do we…”

The night faded without incident and Biggs joined his companion for some well-earned shut-eye. In the afternoon that followed, they both woke up with a start! There was a commotion coming from the top deck! “Someone better’ve died…” Wedge grumbled as he dragged his lazy self out of bed.

“Help! Help!! I can’t– glrghphg– I can’t swim!!” That was the first thing either of them heard as they reached the top deck. Shortly after, the two rushed over to where a majority of the crew was… only for Wedge to gasp. “Jessie?!” Off the side of the massive ship was a figure clad in brown armor, thrashing and splashing around in the water below. They could have been anyone… if not for the bright, red hair whipping around their shoulders as they panicked.

“S-somebody, do something!!” Wedge shouted to the gathered group. “She’s drowning!” “How did she even fall in…?” Biggs asked. “What, were you asleep?!” a random cadet shouted at the two, prompting Wedge to nervously rub his helmet. “We got attacked by some ravenous, giant fish! While we were fighting, one of those beasties slammed into that soldier and threw her overboard!” Just as he said that… “Jessie!!” The girl went under the drink, vanishing from sight. “Th-that’s it!!” Wedge yelled, “I’m going in!” “No, you’re not.” He blinked. Biggs had grabbed his arm, stopping him from moving. “B-but, we can’t leave a man behind! Especially Jessie…” he added in a whisper. “We won’t. But, Wedge… You can’t swim, either.” “What?” He paused… then he looked down in embarrassment. “Oh… You’re right.” “But, I can.” “Huh? W-wait!” Before Wedge could try and stop him, Biggs grabbed the end of a coil of rope, took a run-up, and… “Maaan overboard!!” He leaped into the sea, punctuated by another soldier calling it out. “What the hell was he– w-wait!!” Wedge suddenly noticed… “Th-the rope isn’t tied to anything!! G-grab that rope!!”

Five soldiers took hold of the rope, the one on the end tying it around his waist and serving as an anchor. Not long after, Wedge looked overboard. He could see a lot of air bubbles and a bit of splashing… but, there was no sight of either his partner nor his new friend. At least, not until he saw… “B… blood…!” A cloud of red painted the murky water around the area where the air bubbles had been. “Pull… pull him up– pull him up!!” Wedge gave an order, and the other soldiers followed it.

“I– I see something! It’s Biggs!! And… and, he’s got Jessie!! Oh, gods!! Guys!!”

Minutes passed before the crew was able to fully extract the two soldiers from the tainted water. When they did… it wasn’t a pretty sight. Jessie had lost her helmet and, from the look of it, one eye. Her face was covered in stains of red and green fluid – monster blood, maybe – and her arm looked like it had been shredded! The fabric of her uniform was cut up and her armor had taken quite a few hits, as well. However, she was breathing… “Biggs…? Biggs…!!” Which was more than her savior was doing. Much like Jessie, Biggs looked like he’d been bitten, chewed on, and cut up. He didn’t seem quite as bad off and, in fact, looked like he’d come out victorious over whatever nasty creatures had plagued them. But, for some reason… he just wasn’t breathing.

“M-medic,” Wedge cried. “W– we need a medic!!” “What is going on, here?!” He gave a blink… then he looked up. Someone was cutting through the crowd, seemingly in a rush to examine the situation. As they drew closer, Wedge recognized them… “G… General Leo…!”

Standing over the two bloodied bodies was an intimidating figure with dark skin and short, golden hair cut to sharp angles. He wore a long, green jacket over a darker-green tunic, green pants made of rigid fabric, and brown boots which looked made for rugged terrain. That figure was General Leo Christophe of the Gestahlian Imperial Army, and he did not look pleased with the situation…

“G-General Leo, Sir!” Wedge called. “I can–” “Move!” It didn’t take more than that one word for the brown-suited soldier to get out of the way. The next thing he noticed was General Christophe checking his friend’s vitals… “Is… is he…?” he shakily asked as the man pressed an ear against Biggs’ chest. “He’s not breathing…” he said with a calm tone. “His airway may be blocked.” “What do we– G-General…?!” Without waiting for a response, the general leaned up… only to wrap his mouth around Biggs’. It almost looked like a kiss… but, Wedge quickly realized what he was actually doing. Not long after… “Huuuuuhhh– gack, ack’m, glapck–!!” Biggs was gurgling and hacking up a lot of water and, almost-amusingly, a small fish.

“Get these two downstairs,” Leo ordered in a stern tone, standing back up and wiping his mouth. “They need medical attention.” “Uh… y-yes, Sir!” a random cadet said. “Be gentle with them,” the general added. “We don’t know the extent of their injuries.” “Sir!” A moment later, Biggs and Jessie were being carried below deck. But, as Wedge went to follow them… “Soldier.” He found himself being directly addressed by the general.

“Y-yes, Sir?” he responded with the appropriate amount of respect. “Are those two friends of yours?” Wedge couldn’t help but feel intimidated… He’s heard stories about Leo… and, the strict tone to the general’s voice only seemed to confirm some of those. But… “Friends are a good thing to have.” He had to blink. Was General Christophe… smiling?

“Go on,” he told Wedge after a moment. “They’re waiting for you.” “Um… y-yes, Sir.” He hesitated… then, he called, “General Leo?” “Yes?” He paused… “Thank you.” “I’m just doing my job,” he replied in dismissal. “But, you’re welcome.” The general walked away then, a minute later… Wedge ran back below the deck.

“They’re unconscious and pretty beat up…” a medic told the soldier as he asked about his friends, “but, they’ll be alright. We can’t do anything about this soldier’s eye, though…” “That… sucks,” was all Wedge could think to say. “Would you like me to send someone to find you when they wake up?” “N… no. Well, maybe. Yes? I dunno… hell.” He rubbed the back of his head before finally decided on, “Y-yeah. Sure. Thank you.” The medic hesitated before suggesting, “If you’d like a moment, Sir…” “N-no, no… I’ll… I’ll come back after they’re cleaned up. Thanks, though.” “Right.” He sighed, then smiled. “We’ll keep you posted.” “Thanks, again.”

It seemed like the transition from-day-to-night took a horribly-long-time, that evening. As Wedge found himself wandering the ship with a lantern, he couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened not a few hours prior… “That damn idiot…” he muttered to himself. “He should’ve let me jump in…” “Would it have made any difference?” “Well, considering I can’t swim, I–” He jolted, then he spun around and found himself confronted by the stony face of… “G-General Leo?!” “At-ease, soldier,” Leo told him before he could even salute.

“S-Sir…? What are you doing out-and-about, and… uh… stuff?” “I wanted to talk to you,” was his simple reply. “Y… you… Me?” Wedge stammered. “Yeah.” Leo cracked a smile as he asked, “Is that so surprising?” “Well…” It took the soldier a minute… but, he was eventually able to guess why Leo was looking for him, specifically.

“L-look, if this is about Jessie going overboard or Biggs saving her…” he said as he looked away, “I don’t know much more than you do, Sir. Something about big fish attacking the ship, or something…” “How are you doing, son?” “Huh?” He gave a blink, looking up at the general. He was still smiling. “Me…? I’m… I’m alright, I guess. Just a little frazzled from seeing my best friend laid up. Idiot…” “Your friend is a good man,” General Leo told him. “Yeah, I know… I just…” Wedge nervously laughed before saying, “I just wish he’d let me leap in, instead! He’s not gonna be in any shape to storm Doma, at this rate!” “‘Storm?’” He winced. General Leo was looking at him with narrowed eyes…

“U-uh… yeah…?” he said. “Th-that’s what the plan is, right? Jessie – the red-head – said we’re gonna set up a camp near Doma, then–” “Son, this is a diplomatic mission.” “W-what?” Wedge suspiciously narrowed his eyes. “B-but, General Kefka said–” “General Palazzo,” he corrected, “isn’t here. Until he is, this is my mission, And, I say that this is a diplomatic mission, not a mission of conquest.” “Y… y-yes, Sir…?” The soldier wasn’t sure what to say to that… “There’s a saying, soldier…” General Leo cast his steely-eyed gaze out over the side of the boat. “‘You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar.’” “Heh. What a stupid saying…” Wedge said without thinking. “Is that so?” When he realized what he’d said, he tensed… Leo was staring at him, again.

“I… just mean, who’d want to catch flies?” he explained. “Idioms are, oftentimes, somewhat nonsensical. For example, when is the last time you’ve ever heard of someone literally ‘flipping their wig’ when faced with adversity?” “W-well… I don’t know anyone who wears a wig, but…” “Why are ‘brass tacks’ considered the very basics of a situation?” the general continued. “Why are the last moments before something of consequence considered the ‘eleventh hour?’ Why, in this strange world full of interesting creatures, do we liken the odds of doing something unfavorable to the chance of seeing ‘pig fly?’ These sort of sayings may not make a lot of sense… but, they are sayings that most people find great meaning in.

“I have no intention of attacking Doma Castle if, instead, we can parlay and come to a mutually-beneficial agreement,” the general said, getting back on-topic. “We will still prepare for a war with their kingdom… but, I pray that it does not come to that.” “Why… are we going after this place, anyway?” Wedge suddenly asked. “Why’s this place so important?” “Doma is a powerful force,” Leo explained. “Their soldiers are renowned for their discipline and, to the Emperor’s way of thinking, they would prove to be strong allies.” “And… what do you think?” Leo’s expression soured… but, only for a moment. “I’m a loyal soldier of the Empire, son. I do what the Emperor tells me.” “You… really don’t wanna invade Doma, do you?” He stayed silent, looking back out at the dark seas and listening to the sound of the parting waters. It seemed like he didn’t want to answer that question.

“I… should get back to my patrol,” Wedge eventually told the general. “Um… I mean, if that’s all, Sir?” “Are you okay?” He gave a blink… “Sir?” “I asked you a question, son. Not as your general…” Leo turned his way, a smile returning to his face. “But, as a fellow man.” “Oh. Well…” Wedge paused to rub his helmet. “Yeah… yeah, I guess I’m fine, General. Like I said… just feel a little weird from this afternoon.” “Your friends are going to be fine,” the general reassured him. “We have some of the best medical technicians in the world.” “Honestly?” The soldier chuckled. “I figured a couple Hi-Potions’d do it. I mean, aside from Jessie’s eye… it’s just blood they’re missing. Hopefully.” “Hopefully,” Leo repeated. Again, the two stood in silence for a few moments… then, Wedge felt the need to say something.

“You know… you’re not as much of a hard-ass as I’ve heard,” he said with a grin. “Thank you,” the general said, his smile warming. “I try to be a good leader.” “I’d say you’re doin’ alright… Just, ya know… You can be pretty intimidating. Your face is kind of scary, too.” “What’s wrong with my face?” Leo leaned down, looking at him with a raised eyebrow. “W… well…” Wedge started to reply… only to become distracted as the general switched which eyebrow was raised. When he started switching back-and-forth between eyebrows, the soldier just couldn’t keep a straight face and started laughing, which made the general smile, again.

“Take care of yourself,” he said as their conversation concluded. “And, take care of your friends, soldier.” “‘Wedge,’” he told Leo. “That’s my name, Sir.” “‘Wedge,’ huh? I’ll remember that name.” He gave a nod. “Goodnight, Wedge.” Leo wandered off, then, leaving Wedge to return to his patrol in much higher spirits.

#fan fiction #Final Fantasy VI #Mortem In Contumeliam #commercial characters #Imperial Soldier #Wedge #Biggs #Kefka Palazzo #Jessie #Imperial Cadet #Imperial Commander #Leo Christophe #fantasy #slice of life #drama

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