#ds9 had sacrifice of angels

[isagrimorie]

Captain Kathryn Janeway as a Brilliant Tactician, part 1, 2, 3 (version 1) (version 2)

Star Trek Voyager, 7x10 -Flesh and Blood II (version 2)

Hirogen ships wildly outclassed Voyager and the first time Voyager seriously went up against the Hirogen, the crew lost control of the ship and they were forced to participate in various Hirogen hunting games.

The crew barely took back Voyager and Janeway had to give Hirogen the Hologram tech to get them off her ship.

And then in season 7, after the EMH Doctor betrayed Voyager and thoroughly sabotaged the ship. The Engine room was a mess and the only reason Voyager didn't explode is because B'Elanna reinforced the Warp core. And then the holograms kidnap B'Elanna.

Voyager, battered and limping was on a mission to retrieve their two lost crew members. So Janeway decided to use the Hirogen's hunting skill for their benefit and had the best tactic to deal with the Hirogen while Voyager was in no condition for a firefight.

And despite limping all the way while tailing the Hirogen ships, Voyager fought against two Hirogen ships and won.

[thegeminisage]

star trek update time. last night we watched ds9's "favor the bold" and "sacrifice of angels."

favor the bold:

worf rescuing dax during these wartime bits is EXTREMELY sweet. i think this is like 2 or 3 times now? he loves her 🥺

i love all the big cgi shots of all the different ships...i feel like i could look at those forever just noticing the various differences

quark in this episode......................

quark e kira in charge of breaking rom out. quark/kira. QUARK/KIRA! odo who? he sucks. fuck odo.

i don't mean it. i'm actually going to try as hard as i can to forgive him because it would be too exhausting to hate him until the end of the series. but FUCK ODO!!! kira doesn't need him...quark is right there...

like, odo being busy in his room fucking the mommy changeling or whatever while rom was in JAIL and kira and odo weren't allowed to see him!!!! fuck off

THE BRIG SCENE???? where rom my king rom was like. like quark was fucking. TRYING TO COMFORT HIM? and rom was just like. brother you cannot save me from execution you've got to focus on saving everyone else first. and quark was like what the fuck is wrong with you. and then proceeded to save everyone else first???

AND THEN. HE FOOLED? DAMAR? INTO THINKING HE WAS ON HIS SIDE?

kira was also in amazing form this episode. first of all, her fucking beating damar to a pulp and daring him to do anything about it. her getting ziyal to finally turn on her dad. and most of all telling odo to sit on it and spin. literally go fuck your mother. she's amazing

nog!!! nog's little promotion. wah. about time.

sacrifice of angels:

WORMHOLE ALIENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i'm actually really nervous about it cuz sisko was like bajor is my home when i retire when i go home it's gonna be to bajor and they were like you will never find peace in bajor :)

it was still really cool to see them again though. i'm fucking obsessed

and like...imagine being kira, or any bajoran. and you work with sisko for five years and he's like man cmon im not jesus. stop treating me like im jesus. i dont believe in that shit. and then he goes into the wormhole to face down 2800 enemy ships and vaporizes them with his mind. buddy you're not beating the jesus allegations anytime soon or like ever

QUARK IN THIS EPISODE ALSO. everything up to him because everyone else got thrown in jail for being rom sympathizers. him kidnapping ziyal for help was brilliant. they made a good team for .5 seconds. i love also that he 1. murdered two guys 2. freaked the fuck out about it, which is exactly what he did in that one episode with the klingon lady

also, QUARK E KIRA!!!! "i'd kiss you quark but" NO! KISS HIM!!!!!!!!!!

ziyal......girl, rip. she got there in the end i guess. but holy shit, i didn't realize damar had it in him. if im being honest im glad they killed her and not rom, it looked dangerously close to heading that way i know i checked up on him on memory alpha but STILL

what was really fun about it was dukat snapping. that wasn't where i saw his arc going but him totally losing it and then giving sisko back the baseball vs sisko triumphantly taking the baseball back...wow. that prop held so much weight over these 6 episodes and i was wondering how it was gonna pay off and it paid off REAL good

odo's change of heart.....................................

look. in theory, i LOVE him having a struggle and coming down on the side of the federation because of, primarily, kira. i just think his "betrayal" came out of nowhere, he was instantly telling this mommy changeling all his deepest secrets and then linking with her without any lead up or build up. if he had been struggling beforehand, if he had still been human and wanted it taken away from him, this i would understand. but his "betrayal" had no meat to it, so his change of heart doesn't feel very meaningful either. so like i want to care but i don't.

that said, when she asked why he changed his mind and he said "i think you know the answer" that was. pretty good. that was pretty good. it makes me hopeful that odo and i can get past this very rough place in our relationship :(

TONIGHT: finally back to voyager to catch up on all the voyager we skipped to watch ds9 three nights in a row. we got "day of honor" and "nemesis," for realsies this time

[lady-sci-fi]

There’s an extra layer to “DS9: Statistical Probabilities” that is kind of hidden, but adds a lot to it.

Julian and the Jack Pack’s plan of surrender to the Dominion relies upon one thing to make it in any way positive (other than possibly immediately saving lives through not fighting back). The idea that 200-ish years along the line after the Federation or the entire Alpha/Beta Quadrants are taken over, a rebellion will start with Earth as the main gathering point.

BASHIR: If we fight, there will be over nine hundred billion casualties. If we surrender, no one dies. Either way we're in for five generations of Dominion rule. Eventually a rebellion will form, centering on Earth. It'll spread, and within another generation, they'll succeed in conquering the Dominion. The Alpha Quadrant will unite and a new, stronger Federation will rule for thousands of years. Since we can't win this war, why don't we save as many lives as we can? I know it's difficult to accept. SISKO: I don't accept it. Your entire argument is based on a series of statistical probabilities and assumptions. BASHIR: They're not just assumptions.

But this assumption that there would be an opportunity for a rebellious uprising like that is a completely wrong one. This exact scenario is something we see Weyoun and Dukat discuss a few episodes before in “Sacrifice of Angels.”

DUKAT: We didn't defeat the Federation by being cautious. WEYOUN: We haven't defeated it yet. And even if we do, it's only the beginning. Holding on to a prize as vast as the Federation isn't going to be easy. It's going to require an enormous number of ships, a massive occupation army and constant vigilance. DUKAT: I look forward to it. WEYOUN: If you ask me, the key to holding the Federation is Earth. If there's going to be an organized resistance against us, its birthplace will be there. DUKAT: You could be right. WEYOUN: Then our first step is to eradicate its population. It's the only way. DUKAT: You can't do that. WEYOUN: Why not? DUKAT: Because! A true victory is to make your enemy see they were wrong to oppose you in the first place. To force them to acknowledge your greatness. WEYOUN: Then you kill them? DUKAT: Only if it's necessary. WEYOUN: I had no idea.

If the Dominion wins, however they do it, they know Earth is very important. It wouldn’t matter if Dukat and the Cardassians want to make everyone grovel at their feet and not kill them. The Dominion viewpoint would win out and Weyoun knows exactly what that means. In fact, he didn’t even realize being the “benevolent dictator” like Dukat wants could be an option, because that’s not how the Dominion works. To Weyoun and the Founders, either you join them without resistance or they deal with you with brutality and little mercy.

Near the end of Season 4 in “The Quickening”, Julian spent a month trying to cure a disease engineered by the Dominion to punish one planet of people who defied them. (And remember, Julian did not cure the disease for everyone, he only made it possible for future babies to not be born with it).

BASHIR: I'm a doctor, and I have access to sophisticated diagnostic equipment. TREVEAN: We had sophisticated equipment once. Do you think our world was always this way? Two centuries ago, we were no different from you. We built vast cities, travelled to neighbouring worlds. We believed nothing was beyond our abilities. We even thought we could resist the Dominion. I see you've heard of them. Then take care not to defy them or your people will pay the same price we did. The Jem'Hadar destroyed our world as an example to others. More than anything, the Dominion wanted my people to bear the mark of their defiance. So they brought us the Blight.

Julian saw first-hand what defeat or surrender to the Dominion would mean.  While we don’t know exactly what those people did to get that wrath, surely the Dominion would view the Federation and other Alpha and Beta Powers as much worse defiance.

If they were willing to kill a bunch of this planet’s population, then destroy them physically and mentally for all generations afterwards, imagine what else they have absolutely no moral problems with doing. I also doubt this treatment would only be used on Earth. The Dominion would know that other places are important, like Vulcan, Qonos, Romulus... any former major positions of power that they’ve defeated where a potential big uprising could happen.

While I can’t fault Julian and the Jack Pack for not having full understanding of the Dominion’s set of morality or what they do when it comes to defeated enemies while running the numbers and thinking of plans, Julian did have some practical experience with it. Julian got so caught up in it that he forgot that or didn’t think that would happen to them.

But that assumption that the Dominion would take over and essentially leave them alone enough for a successful rebellion to occur in 5-6 generations was a very dangerous one, and one we know was wrong.

(For further proof of this Dominion brutality, in “What You Leave Behind”, what’s their response to Damar’s rebellion going on a little too long for their liking? Bomb an entire city of Cardassians, who are as a majority group their allies, to the ground and threaten to do it again for punishment and motivation).

(Dialogue source: Chakoteya’s Transcripts)

[trekkie-polls]

A reminder if it’s been a while since you saw Sacrifice of Angels:

The Dominion & Cardassians are occupying ds9. A battle involving the Klingons, Cardassians, Federation, and Dominion rages near the station. Rom had mined the entrance to the wormhole to prevent further Dominion Gamma quadrant reinforcements, but Damar has just removed the mines. The defiant punches through the battle only to watch the minefield detonate.

They detect a huge fleet of Dominion reinforcements coming through the wormhole. Sisko orders the Defiant into the wormhole to face them. The Prophets tell him to turn back and save his life, but he counters & convinces them to stop the fleet. They agree in exchange for a penance, and the approaching ships vanished on screen. Sisko says he doesn’t think they’ll be coming back.

[rippleberries]

Jeffrey Combs trivia: 17 of 44 episodes of Star Trek that had Jeffrey Combs (and his first 8 consecutive episodes) were directed by Star Trek actors.

DS9

Meridian - Jonathan Frakes*

Family Business - Rene Auberjonois*

Bar Association - LeVar Burton*

To the Death - LeVar Burton*

Body Parts - Avery Brooks*

Ties of Blood and Water - Avery Brooks*

Ferengi Love Songs - Rene Auberjonois*

In the Cards - Michael Dorn*

Call to Arms - Allan Kroeker

A Time to Stand - Allan Kroeker

Behind the Lines - LeVar Burton*

Favor the Bold - Winrich Kolbe

Sacrifice of the Angels - Allan Kroeker

Statistical Probabilities - Anson Williams

The Magnificent Ferengi - Chip Chalmers

Waltz - Rene Auberjonois*

Far Beyond the Stars - Avery Brooks*

Inquisition - Michael Dorn*

In the Pale Moonlight - Victor Lobl

Profit and Lace - Alexander Siddig*

Tears of the Prophets - Allan Kroeker

Image in the Sand - Les Landau

Shadows and Symbols - Allan Kroeker

Treachery, Faith and the Great River - Steve Posey

The Emporer’s New Cloak - LeVar Burton*

Penumbra - Steve Posey

Till Death Do Us Part - Winrich Kolbe

Strange Bedfellows - Rene Auberjonois*

The Changing Face of Evil - Mike Vejar

Tacking Into the Wind - Mike Vejar

The Dogs of War - Avery Brooks*

What you Leave Behind - Allan Kroeker

VOY

Tsunkatse - Mike Vejar

ENT

The Andorian Incident - Roxann Dawson*

Shadows of P’Jem - Mike Vejar

Acquisition - James Whitmore Jr

Cease Fire - David Straiton

Proving Ground - David Livingston

Zero Hour - Allan Kroeker

Kir’Shara - David Livingston

Babel One - David Straiton

United - David Livingston

The Aenar - Mike Vejar

These Are the Voyages - Allan Kroeker

[philosopherking1887]

If you've been following my blog lately, you'll know that I've been bingeing "Star Trek: Deep Space 9," I've thrown myself headfirst into the Garak/Bashir dumpster, and I'm really pissed that the writers basically had them stop interacting at all in seasons 6 and 7. It seems they became aware about halfway through season 5 that half the audience was shipping them and they frantically tried to no-homo it by conjuring up female love interests, no matter how inappropriate (Ziyal was about 30 years younger than Garak, and Bashir should NOT have gone back to mooning over Jadzia after several seasons of being over her). Just two bros chilling on a space station, at least 50 feet apart at all times because they are definitely not gay (never mind that Garak was blatantly queer-coded from the get-go).

If the writers weren't cowards, here's how their relationship would have gone:

- They flirt and dance around each other through seasons 1 and 2.

- After "The Wire" (2.22), they realize it's getting more serious. Julian confides in Jadzia that he has A Problem -- but stresses that she must NOT tell anyone else, especially Kira and O'Brien. He thinks Garak couldn't possibly be interested in the way he is (Garak thinks the same thing, but we don't get his POV until later).

- Julian has Feelings about apparently seeing Garak die in the Dominion simulation, but he can't be fully honest about them with anyone but Jadzia.

- After "Destiny" (3.15), Miles laughingly tells Julian that he learned Cardassians express sexual interest by arguing. Bells and flashing lights go off in Julian's head. Choirs of angels sing. But he doesn't know what to do about it until...

- Garak comes back after "The Die is Cast" (3.21). He wasn't going to pursue anything with Julian while Tain was still alive and probably watching him, but now he has nothing to lose... but they still keep it on the DL for the sake of Julian's career and to avoid alienating the Bajorans.

- They're secretly sleeping together for all of season 4. Only Jadzia knows, until Odo figures it out at some point. Garak busting into Julian's James Bond holosuite fantasies makes way more sense.

- Julian does start a relationship with Leeta, but as cover because it seems odd from the outside that he hasn't been womanizing for the past year or so. This creates some tension, especially since Jadzia is indignant that Julian is using Leeta. Leeta's growing attraction to Rom comes as a relief to everyone.

- The fact that in "Broken Link" (4.26) Garak is willing to sacrifice everyone, including Bashir, to destroy the Dominion becomes way more poignant.

- The Changeling who replaces Julian in season 5 breaks up with Garak to avoid detection, and Garak's self-loathing is such that he doesn't see this as a sign of anything being amiss; he's been expecting it all along. Then he finds the real Julian in the prison camp and everything is cleared up. Worf finds out, obviously.

- After they get back, their relationship is increasingly an open secret. Then Garak joins the crew of the Defiant at the end of season 5 and they come clean with everyone. The only people who have a problem with it are Kira (who's still on DS9/Terok Nor) and O'Brien, but he gradually gets over it as Garak proves his value.

- They're publicly a couple through the end of the show.

[milktrician-hell]

so i finished ds9

entirely forgot to post my favorite episodes list for ds9. mostly just episodes i remember enjoying.

i believe the key i had here was the ones in italics i found enjoyable in a funny way and the ones in bold were enjoyable in an emotional way.

S1EP 8: Dax S1EP 17: The Foresaken S1EP 19: Duet S1EP 20: In the Hands of the Prophets

S2EP 7: The Rules of Acquisition S2EP 14: Whispers S2EP 25: Tribunal

S3EP 3: The House of Quark S3EP 5: Second Skin S3EP 7: Civil Defense S3EP 11&12: Past Tense S3EP 14: Heart of Stone S3EP 25: Facets

S4EP 3: The Visitor S4EP 6: Rejoined S4EP 8: Little Green Men S4EP 10: Our Man Bashir S4EP 12: Paradise Lost S4EP 19: Hard Time S4EP 21: The Muse S4EP 25: Body Parts

S5EP 3: Looking for Par'Mach in All the Wrong Places S5EP 5: The Assignment S5EP 6: Trials and Tribble-ations S5EP 8: Things Past S5EP 9: The Ascent S5EP 12: The Begotten S5EP 13: For the Uniform S5EP 14: In Purgatory's Shadow S5EP 16: Doctor Bashir, I Presume? S5EP 18: Business as Usual S5EP 19: Ties of Blood and Water S5EP 20: Ferengi Love Songs

S6EP 6: Sacrifice of Angels S6EP 7: You Are Cordially Invited.. S6EP 10: The Magnificent Ferengi S6EP 11: Waltz S6EP 13: Far Beyond the Stars S6EP 15: Honor Among Theives S6EP 19: In the Pale Moonlight S6EP 22: Valiant

S7EP 4: Take Me Out to the Holo-Suite S7EP 8: The Siege of AR-558 S7EP 10: It's Only a Paper Moon S7EP 11: Prodigal Daughter S7EP 15: Badda-Bing Badda-Bang S7EP 24: The Dogs of War: Part 8

[spockvarietyhour]

Some unused Starship GIFS for the Select Starfleet Ships Project

Excelsior-class U.S.S. Excelsior in TNG’s “Flashback”  Galaxy-class U.S.S. Yamato in TNG’s “Contagion”  Constellation-class U.S.S. Hathaway in TNG’s “Redemption Pt 2″* Oberth-class S.S. Vico in TNG’s “Hero Worship” Nebula-class U.S.S. Prometheus in DS9′s “Second Sight” Nebula-class U.S.S. Farragut in “Star Trek: Generations” Nebula-class U.S.S. Lexington in DS9′s “Explorers” Unnamed Excelsior-class in DS9′s “Sacrifice of Angels” Prometheus-class U.S.S. Prometheus in “Message in a Bottle” & “Endgame”*

*according to Memory Alpha, as the labeling on the ships still had the names they bore in the previous episode

[sshbpodcast]

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

Not only has A Star to Steer Her By wrapped all of Deep Space Nine, but your podcast hosts are also celebrating our fifth anniversary of bringing you through all of Star Trek! As a treat, we’ve concocted DS9-themed fanfic stories and teleplays in our much-celebrated “Tales from the Holodeck” series that you can listen to us cold read here (this one starts at 2:53). Read on for the transcript of Caitlin’s Opaka-Damar story below, featuring a whole new take on the series finale!

[images © Paramount/CBS]

Caitlin’s Untitled Story!

By Caitlin

Random picks: Kai Opaka, Damar

The bipedal humanoid grunted with displeasure as his shovel hit something hard. “Damned lava rock!” he cursed, pulling a pick from where it swung at his belt and kneeling. “Every damn time I think I’ve made progress…” He braced himself and took a firm swing at the as yet unseen rock, using all of his strength - 

- and the pick shattered, a bright light emitting from below.

“What the devil - “ He shrank back, falling onto his buttocks and looking on in terror. “What witchcraft is this?!” He looked around for his companions, yelling, “Darv! Grekon!”

The two other men approached, shovels resting on their shoulders as they approached. “Triev! What the hell is that?” asked one, Darv, as he jogged up.

“Don’t get any closer!” said the one called Grekon. “The Kai should see this.”

* * * *

“I don’t blame you for being scared, my friends,” said Kai Opaka warmly, a warm smile crossing her broad face. “Such a thing has almost certainly never been seen Ennis or Sol-Ennis before - truth be told, I’m not sure how it came to be here.”

“But, what is it, your Eminence?” asked Triev, fear assuaged but replaced with distrust.

“This is what the Klingons would call a time crystal,” said the Kai, reaching out with a shawl-covered hand to lift it from the ground. “It is very special, very powerful, and must be put away where it can do no harm. I will store it in my quarters under lock and key. And who knows. One day, the prophets may reveal their purpose in sending it here to me.”

* * * *

Opaka woke from her dream with a start, and sat bolt upright in her simple cot. 

“My lady, what is it?” came the gentle voice of the former Kai’s trusted servant, Saline.

“I’ve had a vision! For the first time since I arrived here, the Prophets have reached me! And they have shown me what I must do,” said the Kai, rising from her bed and moving to her modest dresser. “Come, girl, help me put a few things together - the fate of my entire home quadrant could rely on my actions of the next few days!”

The confused girl rushed to do as bidden, with a murmured, “yes, m’lady,” and helped the Kai gather her few traveling necessities into a bundle. As she did so, Opaka crossed the room to the one lavish item in her home - a small, elaborately decorated box, tightly locked, its contents hidden from view. She drew a leather cord from under her robes, revealing a series of small keys. 

“I must ask for your complete silence, child,” the Kai whispered. “The mechanism in this box needs concentration and precision - an incorrect step in the unbinding process could cause the entire place to go up in an explosion you cannot imagine.”

The girl’s face paled as she watched the Kai, gently inserting key after key, twisting them each to measured intervals, her hands quick and meticulous.

As the lock sighed and released, the Kai kissed the keys and whispered, “thanks be to the Prophets for their guidance!” Before removing the box’s contents - the time crystal.

* * *

“But you eminence!” protested Triev. “How will you get there? And how will you return? And how will you keep us from all dy-”

“The Prophets work in mysterious ways!” the Kai said hurriedly. “Besides, with the aid of a Time Crystal, surely all will be well. Now never fear - since I’ll be using the crystal to stop the flow of time on this planet, I’ll literally be back before you even realize I’ve gone!”

* * *

She watched from the shadows as it all played out, saying a silent prayer to the Prophets for their guidance. 

WINN: Dorra tolka bre tri pah wran. Kosst Amojan, come to me! I await you.

But the wraith did not want Winn, and threw her against the rocks. Passing her by just as the Prophets have, thought Opaka.

The wraith went straight for the prostrate corpse that was once Gul Dukat, and entered him. An instant later, Dukat’s eyes opened, blood red, as he returned to his Carassian appearance.  

“No!” cried Winn, her hopes of being the chosen of the pah wraiths dashed, truly a woman with nothing left.

DUKAT: Did you really think the Pah wraiths would choose you to be their Emissary? Soon the Pah wraiths will burn across Bajor, the Celestial Temple, the Alpha Quadrant. Can you picture it? A entire universe set in flames, to burn for all eternity. The Prophets have sent me a gift. Their beloved Emissary, sent forth like an avenging angel to slay the demon.

SISKO: I should have known the demon would be you.

DUKAT: Go on. Kill me if you can.

(Sisko's rifle is thrown out of his hands.)

DUKAT: You'll have to do better than that, Captain.

(Dukat zaps Sisko with an energy bolt.)

DUKAT: This is too easy. That's it. Come closer. That's it.

(Sisko punches Dukat. And again. No effect.)

DUKAT: Now bow to me. I said bow.

(Sisko is pushed to his knees.)

SISKO: You are pathetic.

DUKAT: Then why are you the one on your knees?

SISKO: First the Dominion, now the Pah wraith. You have a talent for picking the losing side.

DUKAT: Benjamin, please. We've known each other too long. And since this is the last time we will ever be together, let's try to speak honestly. We've both had victories and our defeats. Now it's time to resolve our differences and face the ultimate truth. I've won, Benjamin. You've lost.

SISKO: The Pah wraith will never conquer anything. Not Bajor. Not the Celestial Temple. And certainly not the Alpha Quadrant.

DUKAT: And who's going to stop us?

SISKO: I am.

DUKAT: You can't even stand up.

WINN: Then I'll stop you.

(Winn raises the Kosst Amojan above her head, and it vanishes to reappear in Dukat's grasp.)

DUKAT: Are you still here?

WINN: Emissary, the book!

(Wraiths surround Winn and she bursts into flames.)

DUKAT: Farewell, Adami.

It is now or never, thought Opaka, it is time to save the Emissary, and the Alpha quadrant!

“That will prove to be your final error in judgment, Dukat.”

The Cardassian whirled around, his red eyes blazing, and a look of shock overtook his usually confident features. “Kai… Opaka? No, this can’t be, you’re dead -”

“I’m afraid reports of my death are greatly exaggerated,” smiled Opaka. “A sentiment you won’t be able to share for much longer.”

Dukat threw back his head and laughed, though the fear still shone in his eyes. “Such arrogance, to think you stand a chance against me. Do you still foolishly cling to your precious prophets? Your Emissary is on his knees, trembling, before me, and I have made easy work of your hypocrite of a Kai - what do you intend to do?”

“It isn’t the Kai you should be concerned with, Dukat,” said a familiar voice.

It couldn’t be - that pathetic little worm would never dare speak to me like this...Dukat thought, mind racing wildly. He turned, shock clearly written across his reptilian face, and saw -

“Damar! How?! You… you died!” gasped Sisko, his mouth agape.

“The Prophets have seen fit to give me a gift - a new life, to give in service to Cardassia…. And to Bajor,” said Damar. It was then that Dukat noticed the bright blueness of his eyes, the energy radiating off of him. 

“DAMAR!” he cried, as the other man -  once his second in command, his right hand man, a mentee and comrade in the fight for Cardassian supremacy - stood before him, hands outstretched, power gathering at his fingertips. “You fool - you think you can defeat me?”

“What began on Deep Space Nine will be finished now,” said Damar. “And this time, Winn won’t be here to stop you.”

The Kosst Imogen threw back Dukat’s head and laughed gutturally. “We shall see who will be stopping whom!”

 The two squared off, beams of energy shooting from their hands - Dukat’s was a sickly blood red, and Damar’s a pure blue beam. The sacrifices that had been made for the Kosst Imogen had made them strong - too strong, perhaps, to be beaten by the Prophet inside of Damar. 

Kai Opaka prayed then her most earnest prayer - for a Prophet to take her and allow her to assist Damar in the fight. A flash of light, and she was face to face with Sara; she did not know that this was Sisko’s mother, but she knew she was face to face with a powerful force. 

“Sulan,” she said. “I will help you to provide aid during this fight. We had not foreseen this, but perhaps this is the best way.”

Opaka felt power unlike anything she had ever known filling her body, and she found herself next to Damar, not sure of how she had arrived there, but with her body moving seemingly of its own accord - of the accord of hte Prophet! - to join in the fight. 

Blue energy flew from her hands to join Damar’s, and the two of them pushed against the Pah Wraith, feeling him start to slide back.

“NO!” cried Dukat. “No, this cannot be! This cannot be - ahhhhhhhhhhh!” Even the Kosst imogen was no match for the power of two Prophets. The once-Cardassian plummeted over the side of the cliff, disappearing into the flames below.

As quickly as they had entered, the Prophets left Opaka and Damar, and the two collapsed - one back to the peace of death, the other into the oblivion of sleep.

* * *

Opaka awoke in the familiar setting of her home, Saline standing over her. “My lady, you’ve returned to us!”

“Wha - How did I get here? How long have I - “ Opaka halted mid sentence, as she was taken by another vision.

“You have done well, Sulan,” Sara, again, stood before Opaka. “We wish to reward you… what can we give you that would make you happy?”

“To serve the Prophets is all the reward I need,” said Opaka. “But… it would mean the world to me, to save the inhabitants of this planet, and return to my home - return to Bajor.”

“As you wish,” said Sara. “So it shall be. Return to Bajor, and serve once again as our Kai. Help to guide the Sisko and prepare him for what the future holds.”

—

For more DS9 fanfic, check out Jake, Chris, and Ames’s stories from this round of Tales from the Holodeck! And be sure to keep listening to new episodes every Thursday on SoundCloud, follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and praise the prophets, my child! They work in mysterious ways.

[aion-rsa]

How Babylon 5 Made Star Trek Better

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

There are a few patient zeroes for  proving serialized storytelling on TV viable. Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Battlestar Galactica, and the so-called “golden era” of TV aren’t possible without a few under-the-radar precedents. Different critics will point to different examples, but when it comes to science fiction and fantasy shows, that list gets a lot smaller. Some might say Buffy’s interconnected season-long arcs are the most influential, while Trekkies tend to lean heavily on the innovation and risk-taking of Deep Space Nine’s serialization in later seasons. In fact, one prominent DS9 podcast — The Rules of Acquisition — has effectively argued that DS9 created the foundation for all contemporary TV that followed. And then there’s The X-Files. 

All of these examples are valid because, clearly, in the late 1990s, there was a vortex swirling that led to a revitalization of TV conventions that was most noticeable in genre shows. Buffy and DS9 probably deserve equal credit, but in terms of its influence on science fiction, and Star Trek in particular, the series that is (sometimes) overlooked is Babylon 5. By July 1994, Babylon was wrapping up its first season, and the future of science fiction on TV would never be the same… 

In retrospect, Babylon 5 made Star Trek better in the 1990s. Like Paul McCartney being inspired by the Beach Boys in the ‘60s, Babylon 5 was the scrappy ‘90s sci-fi underdog that, in a roundabout way, inspired the best of Trek to be better. Here’s why…

Did Deep Space Nine rip-off Babylon 5? (Or vice versa?)

If you were watching sci-fi TV in the ‘90s, you probably had at least an argument about whether or not the two TV shows about people living on a space station were ripping off each other. I had an ill-informed one with my dad in 1995. My dad claimed he thought it was clear that Deep Space Nine (which premiered on January 3rd, 1993) had ripped-off Babylon 5 (which premiered on January 26th, 1994), and I claimed the reverse. Neither of us was right, but it’s easy to see why fans we’re so perplexed at the time. Here’s the list:

Both shows featured a cast of humans living with aliens on a space station, trying to work out various peace deals. 

Both had no-nonsense female first officers, Kira on DS9, Ivanova on B5 (though in the B5 pilot episode, “The Gathering,” the first officer was Laurel Takashima, played by Tamlyn Tomita, who very recently turned up on Star Trek: Picard.)

In the first season, both had lead characters who were “Commanders” not “Captains.”

Both of these Commanders (Sisko and Sinclair) were veterans of major battles/wars, and their characters were (initially) defined by this experience.

Both space stations were positioned next to a strategic portal through space; the Wormhole in DS9 and a major JumpGate in B5.

And finally, both shows expected the viewer to have watched some, if not all, of the previous episodes in order to know what was going on. Again, in the ‘90s, this was not common for any TV.

So, what’s the deal? Well, as Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski has gone-on record saying many, many times: “Were Pillar and Berman [DS9 creators] aware of B5 at any time? No. Of that, I am also confident. The only question in my mind is to what degree did the development people steer them?” 

Babylon 5 had been in development since 1987, but there’s not really any reason to believe that camp Star Trek was super-interested in ripping off a space station show and using it for its own purposes. So, the theory floated by JMS and others is basically this: Because B5 had been pitched to Paramount before landing with Warner Bros, it’s feasible that Paramount Studio executives encouraged the DS9 team to use various elements from the B5 pitch without telling them about the existence of B5. There’s also one rumor that states that Warner and Paramount were planning on launching a joint network in the early ‘90s, and that from a studio-level point-of-view, at some point in time, Babylon 5 and DS9 WERE THE SAME SHOW, even if the people making the shows were unaware of that. That last one is pretty out-there, and also hasn’t been publicly verified, so, there’s a good bet it might not be accurate. 

Bottom line: Today, most consider the similarities between B5 and DS9 to be superficial and mostly coincidental. It’s water under the space bridge, Wormhole or Jumpgate. And yet, there are more concrete connections.

The Babylon 5 + Star Trek connections 

In front of the camera, Babylon 5 had a few obvious Star Trek connections. The recurring villain Alfred Bester (named after the famous SF novelist) was played by Walter Koenig, best known to Trekkies as Pavel Chekov. Patricia Tallman, who played telepath Lyta Alexander on B5, was a familiar stunt performer on The Next Generation and DS9 (often doubling for Gates McFadden, Nana Visitor, and Terry Farrell ) and also appeared in notable episodes like “Starship Mine.” On top of that, at the height of the rivalry between B5 and Star Trek, Majel Barret — the first lady of Star Trek and Gene Roddenberry’s widow — guest-starred in the 1996 Babylon 5 episode “Point of No Return.” She played a character named Lady Morella, the widow of the Emperor of the planet Centauri Prime. This cameo was a calculated move on the part of B5 creator JMS and Barret. Basically, the goal here was to send a message to all fandoms: Be cool.

Behind-the-scenes, there were a few more big Star Trek connections. Harlan Ellison was a “Creative Consultant” for Babylon 5 and Trekkies obviously know his mega-famous Trek episode, “City on the Edge of Forever.” And, JMS himself was also a big Trekkie. But we’ll get to that.

How Babylon 5 (maybe) made Trek writing better in the ‘90s

Okay. So, there’s no reason to believe that Deep Space Nine ripped-off Babylon 5 in the ‘90s, but that doesn’t mean Deep Space Nine and Voyager weren’t made better by the existence of some friendly competition. Documentaries like What We Left Behind make it clear that DS9 had its own agenda, separate and apart, from, well, pretty much anything. That said, DS9 didn’t start out as a serialized show. Those big story arcs came later. Babylon 5 on the other hand, did start out serialized, which when you consider that most seasons were 22 episodes long, that’s really saying something. DS9 always had ongoing storylines, but the heavy serialization — the types of back-to-back story arcs that happened during the Dominion War — happened years after the show got off the ground. Did Babylon 5 give the writers’ room of DS9 the confidence to go this route? Most would probably say no. And yet, B5’s serialization was its signature. With DS9, the serialization became its signature eventually. 

Adam Nimoy, son of Leonard Nimoy, directed the most pivotal episode of Babylon 5, the 1996 season 3 finale, “Z’ ha’dum.” These days, this kind of thing happens all the time — Jonathan Frakes directs episodes of Star Trek: Discovery and The Orville in the same year. But back in 1996, this kind of thing was more shocking. It’s not provable, but with so many Star Trek people working on Babylon 5, it feels unlikely that the writers and producers never watched the show. Because if they had, it seems like they would have been fired-up. 

How Babylon 5 saved Star Trek’s special effects in the ‘90s

In the early 1990s, real sci-fi on TV didn’t use CGI. If you wanted to do spaceships, you used models. Even the sci-fi epic seaQuest DSV got away with heavy CGI use because, in essence, the ships were half-hidden underwater. But not Babylon 5. From 1994 onward, everything about the series was CGI. Initially, the VFX company that provided these effects was a company called Foundation Imaging. Because B5 had a budget of roughly a third of a Trek series of that era, CGI effects were the only way to survive. You might not think the CGI on B5 looks that realistic now, but you have to put it in context. Outside of maybe The Last Starfighter, nobody had really dared to do outer space ship VFX with anything other than models. B5 proved it could be done. The series also pioneered virtual sets, a practice that every single sci-fi show benefits from to this day.

But this isn’t an instance of Star Trek noticing someone doing CGI and thinking that it was a good idea. Foundation Imaging literally became a part of the Star Trek franchise in 1996. After 1995, Warner Bros decided to create the CGI for Babylon 5 in-house, which left Foundation Imaging in trouble. Luckily in 1996, the company started doing CGI for Star Trek: Voyager, which led to a longtime association with the Trek franchise. Up until 1996, for spaceship exteriors, Trek almost always used models. But that started to change after Foundation Imaging began working on Voyager. Though another VFX company — Digital Muse — did a bunch of DS9’s effects, Foundation Imaging was eventually needed on DS9 as well. Remember the greatest spaceship battle in all of DS9? Yep, that’s (mostly) Foundation Imaging.

In “Sacrifice of Angels,” the scope of the starship battle was too big for models to be used, and the workload too large for Digital Muse to handle alone. And so, Foundation was responsible for the epic moment in which the USS Defiant breaks through the Dominion lines. For most DS9 fans, this exact scene defines why the series is legit awesome. And, the truth is, if Babylon 5 hadn’t employed Foundation Imaging, if Babylon 5 hadn’t relied on CGI effects, the Defiant might not have flown like that. Everyone knows great VFX can’t save a bad sci-fi movie or TV series. But, in the late 90s, it was also true that bad VFX could prevent great sci-fi from being accepted. If Trek hadn’t slowly made the switch to CGI, it’s hard to believe Voyager would have continued to be exciting. Without Babylon 5 and Foundation, you can forget “Year of Hell.”

How Babylon 5’s creator predicted a Star Trek reboot

 In 2005, after the cancelation of Enterprise was announced, JMS and Bryce Zabel co-authored a treatment for a possible reboot of Star Trek. This outline wasn’t done because anyone asked them to. It was done out of love for Star Trek. The basic concept was, at the time, fairly radical — do an entire reboot of Star Trek, in fact, the pitch was called Star Trek: Re-Boot the Universe. The idea was to give a new origin story for Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and the rest of the TOS crew. JMS used examples from his work in comic books: Fans can accept that this happens in a different universe. Sound familiar? 

By 2009, the entire trajectory of Star Trek was redefined by the first J.J. Abrams reboot movie, which, superficially, is what JMS and Zabel pitched. True, the current Star Trek renaissance has gone away from the reboot universe. But, the viability for big-budget, cinematic Star Trek probably couldn’t have happened without the reboots. Again, we can’t prove that the JMS/Zabel pitch inspired Paramount to do their own reboot, but just like there may have been some synergy between DS9 and B5, the basic pitch is just too similar to ignore. 

Conclusion

Babylon 5 was a not a Star Trek rip-off, but it did take place in the 23rd Century, and like the classic Trek, featured heroic human starship captains and their alien allies teaming-up to save the galaxy. In a sense, there was a retro-feeling to all of Babylon 5 that probably reminded ‘90s Trekkies more of TOS than of TNG or DS9. Throw Walter Koenig and Harlan Ellison into the mix, and B5 was like a tribute band for Star Trek: The Original Series. These days, fans of The Orville make similar comparisons between that series and the TNG heyday of the ‘90s. The difference, of course, is that B5 was created by J. Michael Straczynski, a guy who cut his teeth literally creating the scripts for your favorite ‘80s cartoons; from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe to The Real Ghostbusters. In short, Straczynski was someone who understood what sci-fi TV was in the ‘90s, and he knew its limitations. When he set out to make B5 he clearly did it with a lot of love for Star Trek. JMS  hired Star Trek actors for Babylon 5. He attempted to bridge the divide between Trek fandoms and the B5 fandoms. He even dreamed up a way to bring Trek back from the dead after it was seemingly canceled in 2005. J. Michael Straczynski maybe never formally wrote for Star Trek, but without him, and without Babylon 5, the world of Trek would have been much, much darker.

The post How Babylon 5 Made Star Trek Better appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[isagrimorie]

I’m still processing the latest episode of SNW. It’s interesting, it has tones of DS9 war episodes, M’Benga and Chapel but especially M’Benga were highlights of the episode.

Second show to feature a sonic shower, where someone whose had trauma is reveling in the shower. I… think water showers are still more satisfying but B’Elanna and M’Benga sure make them look great.

I don’t think Pike came away from this looking great, still love him but he should be more aware especially when most of his crew have been in the war. Encouraging M’Benga, Chapel, and Ortegas to be in the dinner shouldn’t have been a thing.

The Federation and Starfleet also didn’t look good with their deal with this Klingon ambassador. I wonder what Ash thought of him?

I don’t think I know how to feel about the episode. It’s good! But it didn’t really get my heart like DS9’s Duet and Sacrifice of Angels.

I think it might be because the Klingon ambassador didn’t feel like he had a complicated tightrope he was walking. Maybe it was the writing and direction?

Still good effort, not as solid but building up to it. I’m interested to see where they go from here because surely even though the ambassador was a fake… its still not a great look for him to die on a Flagship of Starfleet, because I remember In the Pale Moonlight and how a Romulan ambassador died!

This might be why we find M’Benga in the role he’s in at the start of TOS? (I started watching TOS recently).

Anyway, I’m really interested to see how the show will deal with this!

[warsofasoiaf]

What were your favorite DS9 episodes? I always really enjoyed In the Pale Moonlight and Call to Arms

There were a lot of good ones, but here are my favorite picks for each season:

Season 1: “Duet” 

Season 2: “The Wire”

Season 3: Either the “Improbable Cause/The Die is Cast” two-parter or “Second Skin”

Season 4: “The Way of the Warrior” or “The Visitor,” depending on what you’re looking for. Honorable mention to “Hard Time”

Season 5: “Call to Arms” all the way to “Sacrifice of Angels” which continues into Season Six, I know, but it’s my answer and I can cheat if I want to.

Season 6: Either “In the Pale Moonlight” or “Far Beyond the Stars,” again, depending on what you’re looking for.

Season 7: “The Siege of AR-558″ and the unofficial follow-on “It’s Only a Paper Moon.”

Seasons four and six were very strong though. The long arc plots (like “Call to Arms” through “Sacrifice of Angels”) were mostly well-done, a great transition for Star Trek to make to pursue the idea of multi-episode arcs into full on sagas that people have to tune into week after week ala Babylon 5. TNG had some great multi-episode arcs but they were usually a two-part episode with a slow follow-on to decompress like “The Best of Both Worlds” followed by “Family.” To have a strong, sustained arc was truly excellent, and in the age of binge-watching, that entire arc was a real treat.

Thanks for the question, Lelouch.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

[old-type-40]

For all those in the DS9 fandom, here’s the list of episodes from Memory Alpha in which Aron Eisenberg appeared:

"Emissary" (Season One)

"A Man Alone"

"The Nagus"

"The Storyteller"

"Progress"

"The Siege" (Season Two)

"Sanctuary"

"The Jem'Hadar"

"Life Support" (Season Three)

"Heart of Stone"

"Facets"

"The Visitor" (Season Four)

"Little Green Men"

"Homefront"

"Paradise Lost"

"The Ascent" (Season Five)

"The Darkness and the Light"

"For the Uniform"

"Soldiers of the Empire"

"Blaze of Glory"

"Empok Nor"

"In the Cards"

"Call to Arms"

"A Time to Stand" (Season Six)

"Rocks and Shoals"

"Favor the Bold"

"Sacrifice of Angels"

"You Are Cordially Invited"

"The Magnificent Ferengi"

"One Little Ship"

"Valiant"

"Profit and Lace"

"Tears of the Prophets"

"Image in the Sand" (Season Seven)

"Take Me Out to the Holosuite"

"Chrysalis"

"Treachery, Faith and the Great River"

"The Siege of AR-558"

"It's Only a Paper Moon"

"Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang"

"'Til Death Do Us Part"

"The Changing Face of Evil"

"The Dogs of War"

"What You Leave Behind"

People who’ve seen the entirety of the series know the episodes in which Nog played a significant role. But for those who may not remember completely which episodes had the “B” story line which touched upon his character development, it was “Change of Heart” in which he first expressed a desire to join Starfleet. “Facets” is the episode in which he is taking his tests to qualify for the Academy. In “Blaze of Glory” Nog feels the Klingons are showing him disrespect and he sets out to change that. I’ll never forget his face towards the end of “Rocks and Shoals”. He’s faced combat aboard the station, the Defiant, and the captured Jem’Hadar ship, but this is the first time he’s ever been in a firefight and he looks sick afterwards. The next episode “Favor the Bold” is when he’s no longer a cadet and is a full fledged ensign. And even though Nog has turned his back on living a conventional Ferengi life, his knowledge of trading comes in handy in “Treachery, Faith, and the Great River”. And in one of the very last scenes in the series finale, he’s been promoted to lieutenant.

So while Nog was in only in 25% of the episodes, his character arc led him to become one of the most beloved characters in all of Trek.

[hannah-deserved-better]

My fandoms and my favorite characters and ships

I’m going to talk about all my fandoms and my top one or two characters from each fandom, and my top OTP from each one, if I have any. I’m going in order from when they entered my life. 

Star Trek: The Next Generation

I watched TNG when it first aired in 1987. It was my first fandom and my most time honored fandom. I literally grew up watching it as a child, until it ended in about 1994, when I was about 10. I didn’t know about ships or OTPs or anything back then (no internet cuz you know... it was the 80′s and I was a child). But I did have my favorites: 

Favorite Characters

Captain Picard: Seriously Picard is awesome. He was my first role model. He always had an important lesson to teach and he always did the right thing. I had tons of different Captain Picard action figures.

Dr. Crusher:  She was probably my very first girl crush. I seriously loved Dr. Crusher. I thought she was tough and smart. In the 80s, when women were beginning to be able to go to college and stuff, she was especially important because she was the Chief Medical officer. She had an important role on the ship.

OTP: It shouldn’t come as a surprise that my OTP for TNG is Picard and Crusher. I wanted them to get together so bad!! My favorite episode was “attached” an episode in season seven where the two of them were stranded on a deserted planet and could hear each other’s thoughts. They learned about their intimate dreams and their feelings for each other.

Star Trek Deep Space Nine: 

Deep Space Nine is near and dear to me because it was MY show. I watched it as a young teenager. It was there for me when I was dealing with some dark times in my life, and dealing with the challenges of being a teenager. it was the first fandom that I wrote fan fiction for. Of course, there was no internet then either, so it was just on notebooks and those notebooks have been lost in time. But even now, Deep Space Nine is my default when I can’t decide what to watch. Its my comfort zone, it’s where I feel safe. It was also one of the first times I felt moved by a show ending. I mourned TNG but I was too young. DS9 left just a void and there was no netflix to take comfort in, so no reruns.

Kira Nerys

I loved Kira so much! She was so bad ass. I seriously wanted to be her back in the day. She had a quick temper and she could be stubborn but she had a very tough past. She was a terrorist. She fought for her people’s freedom and she cared deeply for her planet. She dealt with some serious trauma and PTSD because she had been fighting as a resistance fighter since she was a child. It’s all she knew. Living in caves, starving, surviving. She taught me how to be resourceful, my favorite quote is when she said if you need a hammer, use a wrench. 

Constable Odo

Odo was the sheriff in town. He cared about justice and getting at the truth and he tended to be very hardline about it. He took his work very seriously. I loved his banter with Quark. Odo was the observer, he was on no one’s side but he didn’t hesitate to give his opinion and he wasn’t a fan of authority. He did things his way.

OTP: Kira and Odo! I shipped them so hardback in the day! I knew they had something from the very beginning. In season one I shipped them. I was waiting through the whole show to see them be canon, only to be crushed when Odo left in the series finale! That kiss on the promenade was probably the best thing that ever happened to me!

Star Trek Voyager

I admit I didn’t get into Voyager right away. I was mourning for DS9 and couldn’t handle any more Star Trek spin-offs at the time. So I didn’t get into it until it had already been syndicated. But when I did, it definitely hit me hard. I was going through my early community college years, making friends, I met my husband around this time. I moved away from my parents. There were a lot of changes in my life so VOY came into my life at an important time.

Captain Janeway

Of course, I love her! She’s the captain! She’s smart, she’s tough, and she doesn’t take crap from anyone. She was another huge role model in my life. She was a scientist and a leader. Her crew mattered the most to her and it was through her that I learned about sacrifice and bravery. 

Commander Chakotay

I liked Chakotay. I liked his spiritual side. I happen to be part Native American so that’s something I related to him with. He was a strong sensitive type. The warrior. 

OTP: Janeway and Chakotay of course! I wanted them to get together so bad! It kills me when they had so many close chances that never happened. I mean it was so clear that they loved each other and that Chakotay/Seven thing at the end was a total slap in the face to us Janeway/Chakotay fans! I still hate the writers for that! it totally ruined the series finale for me.  

X-files: So begins the era of stuff that husband introduced me to, starting with X-files. I had never watched it back when it was on because I only had eyes for Star Trek, but my husband, who was my boyfriend at the time, introduced me to pretty much every fandom from here on out. X-files was his show, its what he grew up on. 

Scully: I’m a total Scully girl. I love her! She’s a scientist and she wears a gun. Total badass! And I love that even though her scientific mind, she was also spiritual which, as a pagan, I can relate. She knows that she is in a male-dominated occupation but she doesn’t let it bother her and isn't afraid to give people a piece of her mind.

Mulder

You can’t have Scully without Mulder! I love how dedicated to the cause he was. And my husband and I have this on going joke that whenever you see a top secret secured area you have to wonder if Mulder has broken into it yet. Cuz he always manages to get to places where he isn’t exactly supposed to be. 

OTP: Mulder and Scully of course! Mulder may be a goof ball but he has said some of the most romantic, amazing things. “You were my constant” that whole speech right there was amazing.

Lord of the Rings

My husband introduced me to Lord of the Rings. I never read the books until I met him and even then, I’ve only read the Fellowship, but I loved the movies. They are my ultimate sick day splurge. I plan a LOTR/hobbit marathon when I get sick. 

Aragorn: I think we are seeing a pattern. I like the leader types. The warriors. Which is why I love Aragorn! Also, I’ve always had a thing for guys with long hair so there’s that. But yeah, Aragorn is the sensitive, courageous warrior but he also has this self-doubt. He worries that he won't live up to what everyone knows he must become. 

Faramir

The younger brother to Boromir. I hate how Faramir’s father treated him and I think it’s sad how he still looked up to him and to his brother. He was brave but he had a kind heart and he deserved better than Denethor.

OTP: To be honest, I didn’t really ship anyone from Lord of the Rings. 

Rurouni Kenshin

I’ve never really been into anime but this is the one exception. And of course, my husband introduced me. He’s been a fan of the anime and the manga. I like this anime for it’s historical content. I am a history major and I love fandoms that make the setting a big part of the show. Like the setting itself is a character too, and this was certainly true in Kenshin. Meiji Japan was a character in the show in many ways. I really loved how it tied history into everything, describing Japan’s beginning of imperialism and its rise that would eventually put it on the world stage.

Kenshin

Kenshin is my favorite character! The wandering Samurai who just wants to protect people. He’s the warrior type just like all my other favorites. 

OTP: I didn’t really ship anyone, although I did have a soft spot for Kenshin/Kauru and Sanosuke/Megumi.

The Legends of Drizzt

My favorite book series of all time! I got so obsessed with the Drow through reading these books. My favorites were the first books about Drizzt and his homeland. This is also the first fandom my friend and I got really into and started RPGs with. WE had done RPGs with Voyager and X-files crossovers but this was probably the longes RPG series we did.

Drizzt Do’Urdon: Drizzt and Kenshin have a lot of similarities. Drizzt is another warrior type. He was abused by his female-dominated society until he finally had the courage to do what few drow ever did- leave. He faced hatred and discrimination on the surface because everyone feared the Drow.

OTP: I didn’t really ship anyone. I liked Drizzt/Cattie-brie and I thought it would have been nice if he got to reconcile with Ellifain and maybe they could have been together, but that’s all.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer

I wouldn’t say I am a hardcore Buffy fangirl, but I love the show. My sisters were really obsessed with it back in the day and they both know every single episode by heart. My husband is a huge fan so he finally got me to watch it. 

Willow Rosenburg

Willow’s my favorite! She’s nerdy, geeky, and witchy. She’s been Buffy’s number one and she’s no side kick, she can handle her own. I was a nerd in school, and still am so I get her.

OTP: I liked Buffy and Angel and Willow and Tara. I also thought maybe Xander and Spike would have been cool, or maybe Xander and Andrew.

The Hobbit

I loved the Hobbit movies despite the criticism. They were my first attempt at publishing fiction online. I have a bunch of my old Hobbit fics on Fan Fiction.net still. I also have saved some of my all time favorite Hobbit fics. I love the brotherly love between Fili and Kili and fan fic writers did such a good job of capturing it!

Fili

I am on the ‘justice for Fili’ team for sure. I seriously feel like Fili deserved way more than what he got in the movies. The third movie irritated me because Fili hardly got a part. It’s like he wasn’t even there. Fili was Thorin’s heir and I just think fan fiction does a way better job of giving him the love he deserved. 

Kili

I loved Kili. He’s the younger brother so he feels he has to prove to Thorin- his hero- that he can do what needs to get done. I think it hurt him to be left behind.

OTP: No OTPS here, I don’t really ship anyone. I wasn’t a fan of the Kili/Tauriel thing at all. When I write Hobbit fics, I have these OCs I have been using for years that I ship with Fili and Kili but that’s all.

Supernatural

Last but not least! Supernatural is my last fandom. I’ve been a part of it for about three or four years. It’s my most current, the one I’m into the most at the moment. After it ends, that will be it! No more fandoms for me, all my fandoms will be things of the past. But my husband introduced me to it. He and I both have an interest in theology so that’s why we got into it, for all the angel and religious aspect. I like the mystic stuff, and I like how angels and demons are these different species with their own rules and such. That is the thing I’ve always loved about science fiction and fantasy- I love learning about non human cultures. I like learning how their society is. 

Hannah

Hannah is my current crush these days. I love her. I pretty much think she is a goddess. I have so many reasons. I love that she is a soldier and she’s tough, I love that she has flaws but that she’s brave. Her inner conflict was the best part of her character, how she struggled with her sense of law and justice and with her emotions. She seemed to struggle a lot with trying to process the things she felt. I can honestly say that she is the closest I’ve ever seen to a female person with autism in any of my fandoms. That’s why I love her so much, I relate to her on such a personal level, being autistic myself. She inspires my writing and my art so much. She’s probably my favorite character out of all my fandoms right now. I’ve never related to a character more than I do to her. She is the character I love to play the most because she feels comfortable to me. 

Castiel

When it comes to team free will, I am a Cas-girl all the way! Who doesn’t love that adorable little angel? I feel like Castiel’s whole time on the show has been so sad. He rebelled for his friends and ever since then, it’s been one disaster after another with him and even now when season 15 is about to come out, I don’t think he’s ever found true happiness, and that hurts. He misses being an angel and it hurts that they don’t accept him for who he is. I’ve tried to touch upon Castiel’s emotional health a lot in my writing because I don’t think the show does a good job of addressing it. He has done so much for the Winchesters but I don’t think he’s happy with how his life is now, especially after the end of the last season. 

OTP: Castiel and Hannah! My ultimate hardcore forever OTP. I truly believe Castiel loved Hannah and its clear that she loved him. She is one of the few people in Castiel’s life who seemed to truly, honestly want to address his needs. She literally begged him multiple times to take care of himself, and in true Winchester fashion, was willing to let Metatron out and this sacrifice the world, just to save Cas. She’s one of the few angels who cared about Castiel, even knowing what he’s done, none of that bothered her. In the beginning when they first met, when all the other angels wanted to kill him, she didn’t care what he had done and only left when she thought he had betrayed them and was quick to come back to him when she found out the truth. I love Castiel and Hannah, pretty much all my fics focus on them. 

NOTE: Before you start getting all upset about the fact that all my OTP ships are m/f, I want to point some things out to you. First off, I am bi. Second of all, m/f doesn’t always equal straight and m/m or f/f doesn’t always equal gay. STOP IT WITH THE BI ERASURE!!! I have plenty of other ships but these are my top ships and yes I mostly ship m/f. Just because they all just happen to be my favorites. Maybe because all the above characters tend to have certain characteristics and certain traits and it's their personalities that I ship not their gender. Also, I have huge crushes on the above female AND male characters so again, it’s probably why I ship them. Also, I am demisexual so sex doesn’t really play a huge role in who I ship. A lot of these characters also have similarities to me and my husband, so I tend to ship what I see in real life. I actually ship plenty of other ships other than what’s listed, yes most are still m/f, but some are f/f and some are poly. I don’t ship a lot of m/m because, well, I just don’t. I haven’t found any m/m ships that I really ship. I am all about chemistry first and if I don’t feel it I don’t feel it. Since sex doesn’t play a factor in my ships much, I need them to connect mentally and emotionally much more than physically. I also value equality in relationships. I am not into the whole ‘opposites attract’ thing. Characters have to be compatible. 

And one other thing. Chemistry is in the eye of the beholder. What one person sees as chemistry someone else might not agree and that’s okay. It’s okay to disagree it's not okay to be a hater.

[douxreviews]

Star Trek: Discovery - ‘Project Daedalus’ Review

Spock: "We will never relate as equals, so long as you continue to pretend that every burden is your own."

By nature I love brevity: A very good episode taken by itself, but in the context of the larger show it both highlights and compounds one of the show's major issues, and the episode's impact suffers for it.

I complain a lot in my reviews of Star Trek: Enterprise that the only characters who get developed nearly enough are Archer, Trip, and T'Pol. From the amount of development the others get, particularly in the first two seasons, one might even assume that they weren't main characters at all, and were simply part of the background. In most episodes, they get one or two lines each, mostly in the regular performance of their duties aboard the ship. Sound familiar? While Discovery may not have the same problem when it comes to main cast members like Tilly or Stamets, or even Ash Tyler, it does suffer greatly from its failure to develop the secondary cast. It is notable that at least some effort is being made this season - we do now actually know all their names - but not enough. Even the more prominent bridge crew members like Detmer or Owosekun get little tidbits and nothing more.

I think the main problem, and the main reason this happens, is that this show is so laser-focused on its plot that it doesn't have time to develop their characters. This is by no means to say that it couldn't have time, but I think that it doesn't have the time right now. It just doesn't seem like it's a priority for the writers. We have so much development for Saru, Tilly, Stamets, Burnham, and even now Tyler and Culber, that I now care about each of their characters (to varying degrees, of course; Shazad Latif turns me off of Tyler and I don't find Burnham compelling). But while little nods like 'Owosekun grew up in a Luddite community' or 'Detmer has had her pilot's license since she was a teenager' help to ground their characters as humans, they haven't been developed at all as characters in this show. I don't have a sense of Owosekun's emotional state, or Detmer's motivations. And the reason I say the show could very easily make the time for those characters is because it did so here.

Airiam's development here is quite good, and I found her backstory compelling enough. The problem is that it was all shoved into this one episode. That short a span of time is not enough to get to care that deeply about a character. It's not even like it had to be complicated in previous episodes. Maybe a scene where Airiam logs her memories, or a brief little dialogue exchange between her and Burnham to establish that they were friends. If the show had made a conscious effort to sprinkle little bits of Airiam's character throughout the season, it would have made a world of difference for this episode's emotional impact. As it was, director Jonathan Frakes and all the actors brought everything they could possibly have brought to the scene, but it just didn't have the impact it needed because what had come before wasn't compelling.

That said, I am glad Airiam got something of weight before her departure, and it did lead to some further characterization of the other bridge crew, Detmer in particular. I don't think I've seen them feel more human than they did here. The shots of each crew member's horrified blank expression at the death of their friend, combined with Frakes' emotional direction and Jeff Russo's suddenly understated music, really drove home the emotion of the scene, even though I didn't feel it myself because I had only just been given the opportunity to become attached to Airiam.

We have other stuff to touch on, so let's get into it. First, let's get the main plot out of the way. The story worked just fine, and the reveal of Control's complete, well, control over Section 31 was well done. They've dropped hints of the evil AI in charge of 31 throughout the season with just the right balance; it was enough that the audience understood what it was and that it was there, but it wasn't heavy handed enough that it made me groan with how obvious it was. I think I like the direction they're taking it, with a few caveats. If things continue the way they seem to be continuing, I anticipate that we will find out for certain that the conflict in the future is between the evolved Control and the rest of the universe. This could be good for a couple of reasons. The first is that it gives the whole story a sort of connectivity that the two half-arcs last season lacked, and the second is that this could very easily be the reason that Section 31 drops under the radar by the DS9 era. Maybe 31 collapses almost completely at the end of the season, and Starfleet shelves the project, but then Georgiou secretly starts it up again independent from Starfleet. That would also give the announced Section 31 series some sort of direction to go in.

Here we come to the biggest thing that makes all shows sink or swim - the characters and their relationships with each other. In what is becoming a nice trend for this season of Discovery, the writers continue to provide us with pairings of characters that make us think and, for the most part, work. This episode the highlight was Stamets and Spock. I really enjoyed their little scene together in Engineering. I really like that this show is starting to slow down enough to have scenes like that, where characters make their connections and have moments that would fall by the wayside in the middle of an action or plot-driven episode. Stamets gave Spock some very human advice to his problem that logic has not been able to solve. Likewise, Spock provided Stamets with a much-needed outsider's perspective on his relationship with Culber, lending him an objectivity that he would never reach on his own.

The other relational dynamic, that of Spock and Burnham, is less interesting but still of worth. As with last week, their relationship is deeply broken and fractured, and their issues aren't just going away. Spock's criticisms of Burnham are valid and cut deep, but at the same time, her evaluation of his current state rings true. Spock is still struggling madly to wrap his head around the problem before him, and nothing is working. As the chess game shows expertly, Spock has just about given up. As he said last week, both logic and emotion have failed him. He has nowhere else to turn, and his dejected resignation shows in Ethan Peck's performance.

There's a lot to recommend here. I ended up liking it a great deal. I just wish they'd laid the groundwork better earlier down the line.

Strange New Worlds:

No new planets this outing, but we did see part of Section 31 HQ.

New Life and New Civilizations:

Confirmation that Airiam is a human with cybernetic augmentations after she was critically injured. it also struck me that a significant portion of our cast has some sort of augmentation using technology. Detmer has her eye, Nhan has her breathing piece, and Stamets has those things in his arms that allow him to connect to the spore drive.

Pensees:

-Another appearance of Admiral Cornwell. I like Jayne Brook, so that's always fun to see. It was also good to see her using her background as a therapist.

-The ship looked brighter in this episode, and at some points significantly less blue. I wonder why; could it be Frakes?

-Every single time they say 'logic extremists' I want to burst out laughing because the name sounds really dumb.

-The Federation doesn't permit the use of mines at this point in the timeline.

-There was a distinct red glow on the scattered chess pieces at the end of that scene. Interesting...

-Faith interpretation of the week: Faith in your own abilities.

-Some definite parallels to Star Trek VI with the magnet boots in zero gravity, and the floating blood.

-My viewing group guessed that Admiral Patar was dead about ten seconds before the episode told us.

-Saru can see heat signatures, even through subspace. Cool.

-So Airiam downloaded all her memories into Disco's mainframe? Is that just opening the door for her return?

-Burnham using Kirk Fu is amazing. That's really all that needs to be said.

-Other Trek references - Kadis-Kot and 3-D Chess

-I can't help but feel like they had Nhan kill Airiam just to absolve Burnham of the responsibility.

-For some reason, something kicked out our ads and our teaser for next episode when we watched it on Amazon.

-Next week's episode is called 'The Red Angel.' I guess this is it, folks! Final theories in the comments below!

Quotes:

Stamets: "Can one of you say something? I don't like hearing myself talk when I have an audience." Burnham: "We're thinking." Stamets: "Think louder." There's good old grumpy Stamets again.

Pike: "Giving up our values in the name of defense is to lose the battle in advance."

Burnham: "I express myself through my work and my choice of decor." Spock: "Clearly."

Burnham: "If there's a logical reason to sacrifice your rook, I don't see it." Spock: "Perhaps I simply dislike rooks."

Spock: "I understand now. If only I'd taken your pawn, the mystery would have been solved."

Spock, to Stamets: "Perhaps he needs distance from you not because he no longer has feelings for you, but because he no longer knows how to feel about himself."

4.5 out of 6. Would have been 5, but the poor context drags it down.

CoramDeo picked a lousy day to wear his contacts.

[weerd1]

Star Trek DS9 Rewatch Log, Stardate 1909.07: Missions Reviewed, “Behind the Lines,” “Favor the Bold,” and “Sacrifice of Angels.”

“Behind the Lines” begins as the Defiant has a new mission as Starfleet intelligence has discovered a listening post the Dominion has been using to track Alliance fleet movements across five sectors. The issue is that very array will track the Defiant approaching to attack. A risky approach through the Argolis Star Cluster is planned, but Sisko won’t be commanding. He is promoted to Admiral Ross’ adjutant, and now coordinating all Starfleet actions from Starbase 375. Dax takes command.

 On DS9, Odo, Kira, Rom, and Jake continue their resistance. Rom makes sure the Jem’Hadar get a hold of Damar’s report showing that ketracel white supplies in the Alpha Quadrant will not hold. He recommends poisoning the last batch so the Dominion soldiers don’t become a mass of berserkers killing everyone in their path. The Jem’Hadar don’t take well to this, causing a brawl that leaves many Cardassian and Jem’Hadar casualties in Quark’s and strains the Dukat/Weyoun power structure. Odo is angry, as he had voted against this idea, thinking the resistance would tip its hand. While discussing it with Kira, the Female Changeling arrives on station, apparently trapped in the Alpha Quadrant by the minefield. She is desperate to link (or so she says) and begins to again instruct Odo in the ways of shapeshifters. 

Damar reveals to Quark (after some “kanar,” Cardassian booze) that he has a plan to disable the self replicating mines. Rom figures out what it must be, and the group plans to have Odo disable sensors so Rom can sabotage the equipment. Odo is distracted by linking with the Female again, and Rom is captured. 

Dax and the Defiant return from their mission, successful, and Sisko observes her as the Captain, knowing now that she has this under control.

So many great character moments here, from the Last Temptation of Odo to Rom stepping up as Resistance, to Quark slowly getting pulled into actions against the Dominion as well. Kira’s fury as an apathetic Odo hears about Rom is palpable, and may have been such high temperature as to actually melt my laptop screen a little. The story forcing us to hear about the Defiant’s mission rather than see it gives us a taste of Sisko’s frustration.  Hearing them actually begin to discuss the possibility of an attack on Earth was pretty jarring to Star Trek fans in the 90s, and that tension still plays today, even knowing where the show is going.

“Favor the Bold” shows us a Resistance desperate to get Rom released as he has been sentenced to death. Guards will not let Kira and Quark near Odo’s quarters, as Odo has been in the room with the Female for three days.  We see Odo, still communing, and when the Female tells him it has been three days, he is shaken. Meanwhile, looking for a way to turn the war around, Sisko hatches a plan to retake DS9. 

The Starfleet admiralty is at first resistant, again citing how diverting resources leaves the inner worlds vulnerable, but Sisko argues that Earth is “not the key to the Alpha Quadrant; the wormhole is.” With Starfleet approval, Sisko sends Martok and Worf to Qo’Nos to convince a reluctant Gowron to direct Klingon ships into this battle as well.  On DS9, the deactivation of the minefield has begun, and Rom in prison asks Quark to continue his mission to find a way to stop the new graviton beam from disabling any more. Kira asks Ziyal to intervene on Rom’s behalf with Dukat. Odo finds Kira to apologize, but she says “we are way past sorry.” Jake, using the barfly Morn, gets a message to his father regarding the mines, and with a newly minted Ensign Nog and crew they take their place at the head of a fleet of 600 Federation starships. They are soon met by 1200 Dominion and Cardassian ships. “Fortune favors the bold,” Sisko hopes, and the battle for DS9 begins.

I remember having to watch this weekly in the 90s, and by the Great Bird how tough that was.  The ability to just hit “next” on Netflix is a gift and a curse.  You don’t want to stop. This is the show at its best, and the stakes keep building. I remarked to Jennifer how well the effects hold up after 20 years, but let’s save that discussion for the next episode. Looking back over my summary, there are big things I missed, like the Dukat/Ziyal drama, and Kira beating the hell out of Damar for putting a hand on Ziyal, or Leeta’s concern for Rom and how the Bajoran and Ferengi governments are negotiating for his release.  So many details, so much drama, and all of it is fantastic.  These episodes aired in 1997, and their storytelling sets the stage for what is now the expectation from HBO or Netflix. “Babylon 5” certainly has its influence, but modern television is born on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

The Federation fleet faces off with the Dominion as “Sacrifice of Angels” begins. O’Brien and Bashir are quoting “Charge of the Light Brigade” while Sisko tries to get the Cardassians to break formation and chase the Federation fighter wings. This will open a hole in the Dominion line the Federation will try and break through. 

They know it is a matter of hours before the Dominion takes down the minefield and tens of thousands of Jem’Hadar ships pour into the Alpha Quadrant. On DS9, Damar warns Dukat there are “elements” that may be trying to counter them: Kira, Jake, and Leeta. They are locked up with Rom. Quark has enough and gets Ziyal to go with him. Quark surprises himself with a bold rescue where he literally has a phaser in each hand, shooting two Jem’Hadar soldiers at once.  Kira and Rom run to try to keep the minefield from being destroyed by disabling the station’s weapons. Dukat describes to Weyoun how he only wanted to shepherd Bajor, and what a protector he is. How you don’t just kill your enemies, you make sure they know they were wrong to oppose you in the first place. He orders the Cardassian ships to make Sisko think his plan is working by breaking a hole, which the Federaiton jumps into. They are about to be defeated when out of the sun, the Klingon fleet emerges.

 The line breaks and the Defiant gets through, alone, setting maximum warp to DS9. Odo, having discusses his dismay with the Female Changeling realizes what he has become and his love for Kira prevents him from giving in to the Founders. He helps Kira and Rom get into the weapons controls. Rom disables them, but just after Damar has detonated the minefield. 

The wormhole is open, and the Dominion is coming. The Defiant arrives, and with weapons down, Damar cannot shoot it down. The Defiant plunges into the Wormhole to meet thousands of Dominion ships head on. Garak asks how “that poem” ends, and O’Brien tells him he doesn’t want to know. Sisko is at once in the presence of the Prophets, and he reminds them that they want to protect Bajor. They agree, but tell Sisko there is a price; he will never find peace on Bajor, and “his path is different.” Fading back into his reality, Sisko watches the Defiant’s main viewscreen as the enormous Dominion fleet…disappears. 

On DS9, Dukat, Damar, Weyoun, and the Founder watch the wormhole open and only the Defiant emerge.  With the Dominion fleet gone Weyoun declares “Time to start packing,” as the Founder orders the Dominion forces to pull back to Cardassia. Dukat searches for Ziyal, trying to get her to come too. She refuses, telling him it was her who helped Rom and Kira escape. Damar appears and shoots Ziyal as a traitor. 

Dukat snaps unable to leave his dead daughter. The Defiant docks, reuniting Jake and Ben; Worf and Dax; Bashir, O’Brien and the holosuites. Garak looks for Ziyal, and overhears someone say Kira is with Ziyal in the infirmary. Garak finds Kira with Ziyal’s body and Kira tells him “She loved you.”  “I could never figure out why,” he says. “I guess I never will.” Sisko finds a broken and mumbling Dukat in security, talking as if Ziyal is there and he will take her back to Cardassia.  Dukat tells his phantom daughter that he forgives her, and then looks at Sisko. “I forgive you too,” he says, handing Sisko back his baseball.

This six episode arc comes to a stunning conclusion.  Some may cite a “deus ex machina” in the end, but to ignore the fact the Sisko has been presented as a having this connection to the Prophets since the very first episode.  It’s not deus ex machina when the gods were already recurring characters (See also: Battlestar Galactica).  Damar building as a character who is so loyal to Dukat as to kill the bosses daughter for him contributes to how we will see his conscience tear at him until he too has his own form of break. The Klingons arriving are simply gorgeous, and the effects, perhaps not quite as flashy as the Abrams films or Discovery, hold up very well here. Thinking of the logistics necessary in the nascent days of CGI mixed with model making necessary to pull this off makes them stunning. The tracking shots of Defiant racing along the surfaces of Dominion ships is a better effect than several modern films and tv shows, which I will not name as I don’t like to be negative on the internet. (DM me for what I think is the worst SF show in years.)  The heartbreaking ending to Ziyal’s story, managing to leave Dukat a broken shell and Garak and Kira both reeling is effective, and I will miss her character. Weyoun’s handclap and line about leaving is just a wonderful note in this symphony, and now we get to see Odo truly try to find his redemption. Peak Star Trek. These six episodes were actually adapted into a series of novels, and they absolutely deserve to be.

NEXT MISSION: After war, loss, and destruction, the show lets us catch our breath with THE wedding of the 24thCentury! Dax and Worf decide to merge their houses in “You Are Cordially Invited”!