#quark & his bar are always serving

[bijoumikhawal]

En Tremblant

The night before Garak leaves to handle the Cardassian resistance, he meets with Dr. Bashir for a late night drink. Part of a series of Daemon AU fics I've done, suggestive but not really sexual content?

---

He hadn't planned it, really. It would've been easier if he'd just gone to bed, woken up in the morning, and gone.

Among the many lies of Shakespeare was this: parting was such sweet sorrow. There wasn't a sweet thing to be had. Last meetings coil low in your stomach, bitter and flaking, like something burnt. Garak would not be convinced they were alone in this. Through their limited bond, he always felt Itzik's regrets at such times.

They were more tolerable if in the moment, they didn't feel like a last meeting.

His mistake had been going out for a last drink. He was, after all, an indulgent man, and no good insurgent spent too much of his time with a bottle.

As he sat at the bar with his drink, he felt the heat at his back. Only one person dared to get so close to him in such a casual setting.

"Having a late night out, doctor?"

"Something like that." Julian slid into sight next to him, taking another bar stool. Kukalaka leapt onto the counter with a skitter- until an angered croak from Quark's daemon sent her into Julian's lap.

"No hairballs where drinks are served, doctor!" Quark called over his shoulder from where he was engaged in conversation with Morn.

"Hairball..." Kukalaka muttered to herself in an annoyed undertone. "Better hairy than bald."

Julian snorted, running a soothing finger behind her ear, then shifting to more involved scritching.

Julian had already had a few drinks. Loose inhibitions, sloppy jump- Garak thought he could see a slight flush on his face too, and at this distance he certainly smelled the sting of alcohol.

"You know..." Julian looked at him with a slight smile as he rubbed Kukalaka's cheek. "I don't believe I ever took you up on that offer to have a drink in your quarters."

Garak blinked at him, and then the memory stumbled in. His trembling hands, determinedly corking a bottle. Itzik, perched on the doctors shoulder, rubbing his maw against his uniform turtleneck, while the doctor looked at him through his lashes, lips parted in a mask of seductive naivete.

"If this is some strange attempt to get me into the infirmary again, you never will."

Julian's eyes narrowed, deepening his smile. "Why, Garak- I can't believe you'd doubt a student of yours so deeply. Never tell the same lie twice, isn't that right?"

Garak hadn't seen him smile with such pleasure in months.

Naturally, he let Julian lead him out, Itzik gliding along behind. He might've even let himself be led to the infirmary, but that truly wasn't on the doctor's mind tonight.

He poured them each a small amount of floral kanar once they were back in his quarters. It was a sweeter variety than he personally liked, with a soft pink color.

"I've been thinking about something quite a lot lately." Julian said, making Garak pause before setting down the bottle.

"What a delightfully ambiguous statement." Garak said as he turned around, depositing the glass in Dr. Bashir's hand. He took his own seat quickly.

"I've known you had to have touched her since I woke up in the infirmary with that tube down my throat." Julian was lounging, a mirrored posture to what Kukalaka usually adopted.

Garak felt his stomach roil.

He should have stayed in tonight.

"Oh?" He kept his voice casual. "It was necessary to save you both. I didn't think anything of it at the time." That incident- of all things, why that one? He'd rather have Empok Nor brought up.

Julian tilted his head slightly, lifting his glass to his lips.

Garak felt his heartbeat pounding in his temples, his eardrums.

"And after?"

Garak laughed. "I hadn't thought about until you brought it up now." He downed some of his own drink before setting it down. Itzik's feathers rustled behind him.

Julian didn't believe him. Did he think this was his last chance for redress?

Julian's legs shifted, one crossing over the other. "Well, even so. Do you recall the phrase, turnabout is fair play?"

Garak stared. Heart beating louder, louder. Could Julian's enhanced hearing detect it? There was a yard of space between their feet, but he didn't feel it.

Itzik settled down on the armrest. Julian laid his free hand out flat, expectant.

A moment's hesitation, and Itzik hopped into his palm. Julian cupped his hand, fingertips brushing up against the downy feathers of his chest.

Garak gripped the armrests of his own chair tightly. Phantom sensations ghosted under his clothes.

In the low light, Itzik glimmered as though he was a fine ladies comb set with sapphires and rubies.

He'd never been able to disentangle this feeling.

Julian stroked over his feathers reverently, and brought Itzik up to kiss the back of his head.

"You're so beautiful." Julian spoke softly into the feathers, with his eyes fixed on Garak.

In dreams, Garak had seen this. Letting Julian hold Itzik. The gentleness of reality was more frightening than the surreal promises of vivisection.

Both made him feel utterly ruined, the blood thrumming through his ridges. They were surely darkening and flushing blue.

Julian pushed his finger underneath Itzik's closed wing, feeling the underside. Any moment, any moment Garak expected things to turn. But Julian's grip was loose, and Itzik stayed still.

He had never stayed still in Tain's hands.

Garak lurched out of his stillness at the brush of fur against his hand. He looked down to see Kukalaka looking up at him expectantly.

"Touch me." Julian said as his fingers stroked the black collar of feathers on Itzik's neck. He'd set his glass down at some point.

Garak slowly let go of the armrest.

Kukalaka's fur was as soft as he remembered, as hot as he remembered, but, naturally, she was not limp this time. She pushed into his touch, flicking her tail slightly.

He remembered, now, the softness of Julian's voice as he asked where the trigger for his implant was. The way he simply, immediately, told him. The way he had, before that moment, thought about placing it in the doctor's hands, letting him control it; whether everything was sharp or softened, whether he was languidly sprawled out or writhing before him.

He thought now, of Julian holding the trigger in one hand and Itzik in the other.

Kukalaka pressed into his touch more, and, unsatisfied, climbed up into his lap. Garak instinctively pressed against the back of the chair before making himself relax.

Sex was easy. Garak could- and happily did, at one point- fuck a wide variety of people on a regular basis. The coils of emotions churning low in his stomach included arousal, but there were others- others, and memories of course, that made him tremble as though he suddenly were a warm blooded creature, capable of shivering in the cold.

He closed his eyes, hands running over warm fur. Felt Kukalaka purr- a strange echo of something he himself did, though still quite different. Felt her muscles shift under his hands and she rolled to her side.

Garak gasped at a sudden shock in the sensations he felt from his and Itzik's bond.

"Good." Julian said abruptly. Garak opened his eyes just a little, seeing the darkening of the doctor's cheeks. "I want to hear you. Let me hear you."

Itzik in his hands looked utterly dazed.

If this was intense for the two of them, one with a stretched bond and another with a whittled down one, how did it feel for other people?

Was it even as intense for Julian as it was for him?

Dr. Bashir knew he was leaving tomorrow-

"Why now?" Garak's hand stilled, resting on Kukalaka's ribcage.

"Why not?" Dr. Bashir stared at him for a long moment, before leaving his seat. He gently took Garak's chin in hand.

Garak's daemon was still in his hand.

"I will see you again." Dr. Bashir promised. "I will!" he repeated, off Garak's expression. Kukalaka rolled to sit up. The doctor said, in a softer tone, "Think of it like the chocolates."

"A bribe?"

"A good memory. Something to savor while you're away. And yes, I suppose, a bribe." Julian dropped his forehead to touch Garak's, hand tucking Itzik to his chest, to around where his heart was.

Garak rested one hand on the back of Julian's neck. The other settled in Kukalaka's fur once more. He felt Julian's mouth fall open slightly.

This was going to be better than a good memory.

[kiranerys42]

Fictober Day 18

"you always have a plan" | Star Trek: Lower Decks | Brad Boimler & Beckett Mariner

Read on AO3 or below

Boimler liked his job, but even he had to admit that they were all due for a break. Thankfully, he and Mariner had some shore leave coming up.

“So, Mariner,” Boimler asked as they got on the shuttlecraft. “What’s the plan? I’ve never been to Atalia IV before.”

“I dunno, I figured we’d just find a bar or a club or something.” Mariner draped herself over her seat as if she’d never seen shuttlecraft seating in her life and had no idea how sitting worked. Boimler winced; Starfleet safety regulation 34.7 clearly stated—

Boimler stopped himself. He’d already reminded Mariner about Starfleet safety regulations five times just this week. Best not push his luck. Besides, there was a more important problem to address.

“But you always have a plan!” Boimler said. “You’ve been, like, everywhere, so you know where all the coolest stuff is. And even when you haven’t been somewhere, you usually know someone who’s been there. Or know someone who knows someone who’s been there. Or know someone who—”

“Not this time,” Mariner said. “So let’s play it by ear! It’ll be fun! We can improvise, like it’s jazz; ooh, it’ll be just like Riker’s trombone playing—”

The rest of the shuttlecraft flight was spent chatting about Riker, and trombones, and the various ways one can sit in chairs. It was a fun start to Boimler’s shore leave, but he was still worried.

It wasn’t like Mariner to not have a plan. She was probably up to something. Whatever it was, Boimler was going to figure it out.

~*~

“What about this place?” Boimler pointed at a bar with a flashing neon sign that read House of Andorian Ale: Serving Authentic Andorian Food & Drink Since 2369.

“Nah, Andor is all the way on the other side of the quadrant, no way is that place authentic.”

“Okay, how about next door?” Boimler gestured down the street. It was hard to miss; their neon sign was twice the size of House of Andorian Ale’s.

“That place?” Mariner made a face. “The Particle Accelerator? I think it’s a strip club. And strip clubs are fun! I love strip clubs! I’m just not in the mood tonight.”

“Okay. I think there’s a Quark’s down the street? We could just go there.”

“Aw, come on, we can go to Quark’s any time. Let’s go—uh—” Mariner spun around and pointed down a narrow alleyway. “There!”

Boimler let out a sigh and cautiously followed Mariner down the dimly lit alley. He hoped they didn’t get mugged. Or murdered. Or kidnapped by Atalian extremists. Or—

“Here, this place looks good,” Mariner said. She approached a nondescript door over which hung a rickety sign reading The Bar and the Brick. A Klingon bouncer stood outside. He looked very tall, very strong, and very grumpy.

“Mariner,” Boimler cautioned, “are you sure this is a good—”

“Password?” the bouncer grunted.

“No slip, no strip, no service,” Mariner replied.

“Go on in,” the bouncer said as he stepped aside.

“What the bleep, Mariner—” Boimler let out an embarrassing sound that was not a scream as Mariner grabbed his hand and dragged him inside. “I thought you said you didn’t have a plan!”

“Surprise!” she said. “This place is great. It’s, like, Klingon-Japanese fusion? You’ve got to try their gagh tempura. It’s way better than it sounds. We’ll have to get a bottle of sake and a bottle of bloodwine, and I want to sit in the corner by the…”

Boimler followed Mariner as she led him to a table for four in the corner.

“Uh, Mariner?” Boimler asked. “Shouldn’t we just take a table for two?”

“Oh, Tendi and Rutherford are joining us in a little bit,” Mariner said. “They had to take the second shuttle because they went to that boring presentation Billups had on improving the efficiency of the—”

“Warp core antimatter intermix chamber!?” Boimler and Mariner said together.

“Aw,” Boimler said, “that was today!? I wanted to go to that! And I thought Tendi and Rutherford’s shore leave didn’t start until tomorrow.”

“I know,” Mariner said. “That’s what I wanted you to think.”

A waiter stopped by their table and dropped off two bottles—one of bloodwine, one of sake—and four tiny cups.

“I can’t believe I missed Billups’ presentation,” Boimler sighed. “I’ve been looking forward to that for weeks. I’ll have to ask him about it when we get back.”

“Lighten up!” Mariner said, pouring them both some bloodwine. “This is way more fun.”

“I guess this is fun too.” Boimler downed the bloodwine in one gulp, then poured himself some sake.

By the time Tendi and Rutherford showed up, both bottles were nearly empty, and Boimler had to admit that Mariner had a point. This was at least as fun as Billups’ presentation.

He still made Rutherford and Tendi recount the entire presentation, though. Mariner complained, loudly, but Boimler figured it was fair payback for her lying about her plans.

Maybe next time, he’d make a plan. That would show her.

[walkingstackofbooks]

DS9 3x25 Facets thoughts (I’m re-watching, so beware spoilers for future episodes!)

(06/06/2023)

I love Nog's determination to join Starfleet, he really is putting his all into it, and good for him.

"Why can't you take after your friend here? He knows enough to stay out of Starfleet. Even a human can see that there are a lot more profitable opportunities out there for a young man with ambition." "Uncle, he wants to be a writer. There's no profit in that." XD yep Quark's argument definitely backfired there - surely he knows humans work for enjoyment, not profit!

"I've noticed they've [Jadzia and Leeta] been spending quite a bit of time together." Oh I can really see them being excellent friends, I wanna read more about Leeta&Jadzia...

Oh I've just realised what episode this is - hell yeah! Definitely looking forward to seeing this again!

"If you don't mind... I'd like to borrow your bodies for a few hours." I'm sure they've all heard of stranger things, but also That is Quite The Request to just come out with. 

Leeta being the one person super informed about the Trill is everything - and Julian looks at her so admiringly, it's sweet :3

The way Kira says yes is somehow so intimate, I can't with the way she smiles at Jadzia.

Ughh, I HATE oomax being used to force Quark into doing things, at any time, it's just gross - but especially here, when he's being asked to do something uncomfortable with his body but is expected to agree straight away without being given thinking time.

The special effects are so weird - the memories glow?

"I was one of the first women to serve as a council member. When I started out, I talked with my hands a lot. Lots of emphatic gesturing. I discovered some of my male colleagues were imitating of me, so I started to do this." It's always strange but interesting to see alien societies have the exact same problems as Earth - though for Trill, this was in the mid-late 2100s, so (god I hope!) long after women were treated equally on Earth. I'm curious now about how Trill society treated joined women whose symbionts had lived in male hosts, or if they once had a strict gender binary that meant symbionts were only passed down in same-gender lines? 

"It's so strange. It's like you really are Lela." Actually I had completely forgotten it was Kira's body too - Nana Visitor is an incredible actress!

I love how tenderly Shimerman is acting as Audrid - he isn't playing this for laughs.

I cannot take Torias' American accent seriously I'm sorry XD I can't tell if it's believable or not but at the very least it sounds wrong coming out of Julian's mouth!

The music and Sisko's soft voice... Chills

"I think that's enough of Joran for now." And you just believed him, Jadzia? That didn't even SOUND like Sisko!

I do love it when there's a scene and someone's head just pokes around a corner. 

Rom's bumbling about is very endearing no matter what Quark says

Rom ordering a uniform! So cute!

Odo kissing Quark on the forehead! Odo saying "Did I ever mention you're a magnificent scoundrel?" WELL THEN

This Curzon/Odo thing is quite a lot of fun though. 

"He's right, you know. And it's not fair. Starfleet has no idea who it's passing up. Nog, you would have made a good officer." Quark! That's so sweet?

"Yes, but the truth is, I felt sorry for you." FUCK YOU CURZON

QUARK YOU DID WHAT?!!! THAT'S WHY YOU WERE SO NICE TO HIM EARLIER?? YOU'RE THE WORST!!!

"And if you ever do anything to hurt Nog again, I'll burn the bar to the ground." "You wouldn't dare." "Oh yes I would. My son's happiness is more important to me than anything, even latinum." Rom is just so good. (Also, makes me think of when Angelica sings, "I love my sister more than anything in this life, I will choose her happiness over mine, every time!" in Hamilton.)

He's definitely far more Curzon than Odo imo - he's got Odo's mannerisms but Curzon's enjoyment of life and personality.

"You can't intimidate me, Curzon. And I'm not a little girl anymore." YOU TELL HIM, JADZIA

The music.. Are we supposed to feel sorry for Curzon about his revelation he loved her? Because nope. No. 

I love how we get to see Julian and Miles playing darts and Sisko, Kira and Jake having dinner together just cos. That scene could have started with any generic Quark's bar shot but it didn't :3

ROM IS SO SWEET. 

Everyone's fond smiles <3

Nog it's too :3333 "I know I haven't earned the right to wear it yet, but my father got it for me." He's obviously a little uncomfortable knowing he shouldn't be in uniform yet but he still wears it to make his father happy <3

"It just occurred to me. As soon as that kid graduates from the Academy, I'm going to have to call him sir." I love how O'Brien says this with fond amusement.

"What can I get you, Nog?" "A root beer. It's an Earth drink. Something they serve at the Academy." "A root beer. This is the end of Ferengi civilization." Always so dramatic, Quark.

[warsofasoiaf]

May be a weird question but I love your write ups: what do you think of Weyoun from DS9? He's probably one of my favourite Star Trek characters in any series (it can be annoying for me rewatching the series cos I want him to show up sooner lol)

I think Weyoun was an excellent character played remarkably well by Jeff Combs. The combination of calm ruthlessness and comedic moments made him a memorable character, and his on-screen chemistry with Dukat and Sisko made him a great antagonist.

The first Weyoun we meet, Weyoun 4, emphasizes much of the negative aspects of the Vorta. Much like his Founder makers, Weyoun was ultimately dismissive of his lessers as mere tools; he sees the Jem'Hadar as disposable assets that must be addicted to ketracel-white to ensure their compliance. He despises the ritual to dispense the white and performs it in a perfunctory manner, not bothering to hide his contempt for it. He believed that the Jem'Hadar needed to be addicted to the white, otherwise they would be entirely disloyal. His overtures to the Federation likewise inspired no confidence, Sisko saw him as a scheming and untrustworthy figure undeserving of his command. His contempt for the Jem'Hadar likewise earned contempt from First Omet'iklan, who was disgusted with the Vorta and ended up killing Weyoun 4 over doubting his loyalty to the Founders. This gave viewers a stark insight into the other races of the Dominion - and a look into Dominion culture one rung down the ladder. It's no surprise that the Dominion, a culture that values obedience and so disregards individual dignity that they craft entire slave races to carry out their will, would have their individual subservient races likewise express that same disregard for each other.

Weyoun returns as Weyoun 5, and here, we see a slightly different, more amiable Weyoun. This is the Weyoun that delightedly screams "Dabo!" when he wins in Quark's bar, and trollishly drinks the heavily-poisoned kanar right in front of Sisko and Dukat. This is also the Weyoun that tries to learn about Ziyal's painting, as the accomplishment clearly matters greatly to Dukat and he seeks Kira's help to appreciate why the painting was good. Weyoun 5 even gets introspective, wondering why he doesn't have a sense of aesthetics to appreciate Ziyal's paintings. This is a low-key method of reinforcing the horror that is the Founders. The genetic addiction of the Jem'Hadar is certainly one thing that is horrible, but destroying the Vorta sense of aesthetics means the Vorta cannot use art to reflect a lens into their culture, it means they they've been bred to gain no pleasure save through serving the Founders (Weyoun 6 even remarks that he doesn't really have a sense of taste, save an appreciation for certain foods for a possibly apocryphal story). Ultimately, however, Weyoun 5 is a loyal servant of the Founders, and his unfailing politeness puts a nice mask on their genocidal goals. Weyoun 5 is also a terrible diplomat - constantly misreading Sisko, Kira, Odo, the Female Changeling. About the only person he can successfully manipulate is Dukat, who is deeply susceptible to flattery (and who secretly hates him, and in turn Weyoun always thought of Dukat as an arrogant idiot and stealth insults him at every opportunity). He pushes Damar to the point where the Cardassian secretly has him killed, even as drunk and directionless as he was as the puppet Legate of the Cardassian Union. However, his constant attempts to ingratiate himself with Sisko (and Jeff Combs's excellent acting) keep him a delight on the screen.

Weyoun 6, however, really takes the introspective of Weyoun 5 and runs with it. Weyoun 6 may only be around for one episode, but Treachery, Faith, and the Great River is an excellent episode that explores what it means to be loyal, to be a traitor, and to have faith. Weyoun 6 sees the Dominion War as counter to the very interests of the Dominion of itself, as an immoral crusade. Yet Weyoun 6 doesn't see himself as disloyal - he simply sees that the war will lead to consequences that end up harming the Founders more than it helps them. In his mind, the only way to be faithful to the Founders is to be loyal to the Founder that opposes the war - Odo. There's a lot of powerful thematic work at play in this episode, from patriots who protest their country's actions to religious schismatics who protest the religious hierarchy as deviating from the true faith. Odo has always struggled with faith, both because he is a skeptical man by nature and because the scope of the Founder's genetic slavery into making the Jem'Hadar and Vorta worship them as if they were gods makes him deeply uncomfortable. Yet when Odo and Weyoun 6 are trapped (and Weyoun 7 willing to murder Odo on behalf of their dying gods), Weyoun 6 sacrifices himself to spare Odo, his faith in Odo permitting him to act with bravery. Odo, still uncomfortable, blesses Weyoun, to give him what manner of peace he can. Odo may not understand faith, but his experiences with Kira have taught him empathy and consideration, and that others have faith even if he doesn't. He may not feel like a god, but he can bless the supplicant who hopes for some comfort before his death. Combs really showed his range in this episode, showcasing Weyoun's zeal not only in polite affectation and a callous smugness, but a sincere and hopeful one, a positive dimension of faith.

Weyoun 7 and 8 don't have any of Weyoun 5's introspection or Weyouns 6's fear. They're zealous senior administrators of the Dominoin, determined to win the war even as they must give ground. Damar lambasts Weyoun 7 that "Overconfidence is a hallmark of the Weyouns" and he's not wrong. Weyoun 5 was always confident he could win Sisko over, Weyoun 7 was confident he could taunt Ezri Dax in interrogation, even Weyoun 6 was confident he could defect (although in his case, the very threat of death meant he had to take a risky gamble to escape). The loss of Weyoun's more humorous aspects showcase the added pressure that the Dominion is under, forcing them to seek out the Breen to even the playing field. Whereas Weyoun before could actually be quite funny, these Weyouns are more often than not frazzled, killed by Worf, mocked by Damar, and undercut by the Female Changeling. Gone are the fun jokes, now it's Weyoun taking pleasure in committing genocide against the Cardassian and relishing the murder of the puppet Legate Broca for possible disloyalty. The Female Changeling says that Weyoun is the only solid she could depend on to Weyoun 8 (even when before she said that she only didn't kill him because the Cardassians destroyed the cloning facility on Rondak), and it's clear why; Weyoun 8 harbored no thoughts other than the execution of whatever the Founder asked, no matter how brutal, no matter how pointless. Weyoun 5 stepped beyond his station when he commented that the Female Changeling manipulated Odo, and Weyoun 7 was careless, only Weyoun 8 could get this ignoble praise. Whereas Weyoun 6 received his blessing in comfort, Weyoun 8 is the blessing of nothing less than a demon for being able to commit such atrocities. The Weyoun line ends at the hands of Garak, as the heavy-handed actions of the Changeling, enacted through Weyoun, create exactly what Weyoun 6 predicted! He said that the Dominion War would only engender hostility amongst the solids - and he was right. Their habitual untrustworthiness led even powers with non-aggression treaties to fight against them, like the Romulans and the Bajorans. Goading Damar only led him to rebel, distracting the Founders when they had the perfect opportunity to attack the Romulans and the Federation. As an antagonist, Weyoun was perfect in his role, fun to have on screen, to laugh at his presence and want his smug teeth kicked in at the same time.

Ultimately, I think the best credit we can give to Weyoun is that the DS9 writers so loved Jeff Combs's portrayal in To The Death that they wrote cloning as an aspect of the Vorta just so they could bring him back. That is a true testament to quality, that the writers will concoct an entire worldbuilding reason just to bring the character back. And to the writers' credit, cloning worked very well with the Vorta. Similarly, the writers said that Combs's acting made it hard to cast other Vorta, because according to Ira Steven Behr: "It's really tough to find actors who can play the many colors that he [Combs] gives it." When you play the part so perfectly that they come calling for you, and when you set the bar that high that it becomes hard to follow you, that is true craft.

Thanks for the question, Uncle.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

[tagthetrekkie]

When the Party is Over

Pairing: Weyoun x reader

Warnings: none

Synopsis: with the war over, Weyoun hoped he could spend the rest of his life with you

AU: Weyoun 6 lives; Sisko is still around

The war is over. The tense atmosphere that hung over the station was replaced by a more welcoming aura. To commemorate the moment, Captain Sisko was convinced by Ezri Dax to hold a party at Quark's.

Weyoun finds the whole ordeal appealing, but you don't. No, you could make it all better. But he doesn't care much to keep talking to others. 

There's Romulan Ale on the counter.

Not their favorite type, but it was real alcohol, not some replicated crap. Weyoun doesn't think would care too much about some stolen alcohol. He's right about that.

This party means the end of dark time, and tomorrow will be a new era. Both have big plans for the year ahead and big plans for the future.

You are laughing and he is smiling. It is a transcendental moment.

***

You know, last night I tried to imagine myself without you. The thing is, I could and I felt so much better.

It is cruel and you know that. No kind words to soothe the stroke, but you couldn't feel bad for it. This was going to hurt his pride later, but now you’re convinced of your choice, just observing how Weyoun slowly processes the words. 

He looks for any feature that could demonstrate it was some kind of human joke, but the Vorta knew it wasn't your style

Eventually, he accepts and being honest with yourself, you were disappointed by his lack of reaction. It wasn't like you wanted to see him hurt, you just thought you had more impact in his life.

There isn't too much explanation beyond that, and Weyoun couldn't decide if it was good or not.

He could have loved you for his whole life and that was what he was planning, but you are out of his life now. Some part inside of him thought he deserved some explanation, but the other one knew there wasn't one.

There were things still stuck in his bones, words Weyoun wished he could say to you. It was not like he was expecting any answer, but maybe, if he had said these things, it would be a relief now.

He just locked himself in his quarter, a very childish action if he may add, but in that moment, Weyoun just wants to be alone. Sitting down in his bed, he just asks himself if he made the right choice. No, he doesn't need to be near anyone now, not when the wound hurts so bad. But being alone feels as bad as being with his Vorta comrades considering he is alone with his thoughts right now.

The ring feels heavy in his pocket, so he takes it and opens the velvet box. It shines under the strong lights coming from the window in an almost mocking way. Who could say a golden ring could make someone feel so much shame and self aversion? As a Vorta, the Founders didn't bother to shape them beyond necessary, meaning they didn’t bother to give their “pets” something as mundane as a ritual involving marriage.

Weyoun put the box in the drawer, he can't even look at it. Knowing that he would have some time of complete privacy, his determination breaks completely. Weyoun was never ashamed to cry, so he knew how broke he was when no tears came out of his eyes. He just sat on his bed and felt numb.

Weyoun was totally disconnected from his surroundings, he didn't hear the buzz from the Quark’s bar nor saw how beautiful the view of the wormhole was. He has been damaged before, but he always finds a way to mend himself. Having five predecessors with the sole purpose of serving, he had never been broken, and as far as he knew, you were the only one who could have made him feel that way.

[motsimages]

I don't know if the writers in DS9 noticed the klingon situation happening. Someone probably just wanted the klingons to go back to the fighting so that they can be the baddies again but they had a gem to work with that could have gone in a completely different direction if people didn't care about war so much.

The first klingon that gets to DS9 and stays is the owner of the klingon restaurant. A guy who just is in it for the show, he serves food, he turns off his translator, he sings traditional songs. He is the stereotypical klingon but he doesn't exploit the war part of the klingon culture.

There are two things we know about klingons before that: they do war and they write operas (probably to speak about war, they mention a lot the songs that will speak of their battles). This guy is tangentially using the cultural part of the klingon culture, he doesn't even wear war-like clothes, he is wearing what? Linen? And people love it.

But when Dax' friends come to seek revenge, one of them complain that things are changing. People don't want to go to war like before, they open restaurants now. Old klingons with a personal vendetta as opposed to young klingons doing other things that are not fighting.

We have House of Quark, that shows us a klingon using honorless ways of achieving power and influence. He is using money to keep his house to himself. Other klingons turn his back on him, this is the worst cowardice. Also, in such a male dominated culture, there is a way for women to have power. Through family and marriage, alright, but there she is, Grilka, using it all to keep her house for her.

There could have been a battle there, the traditional way, but in the end there was none because it would have been honorless to just kill Quark. I can understand that this is not the first time something like this happens. Klingons harshly criticise those who don't do battle right.

But then we have the leader of the klingons choosing battle against the dominion and against the federation and against it all, probably manipulated by the dominion so we have all the conflict with the klingons again. Worf is there unable to choose if he wants to be klingon or not.

We are told that klingons always bring trouble, they are aggressive, Quark doesn't want to deal with them in his bar. But those klingons are in the army. They are soldiers. They are ready to die in battle any time, that is the glory. So when they are alive, they are The Alivest, and that comes with alcohol to deal with severe ptsd (there is no possible way klingon warriors don't have side-effects to this life) and with "party" according to their hypermasculine/army concept of party: destructive, it's only fun if it is the thing I see as fun.

This is something Worf doesn't get because he hasn't lived it, he didn't grow up with klingons and he didn't go to war with klingons. And that is never explained because "klingons are like that".

But they aren't. We've seen other klingons who arent' like that. The restaurant owner. Kor. Grilka with Quark. Probably others I don't know because I haven't seen all Star Trek.

Klingons speak abruptly in what seems to outside bystanders "an angry way", they gesture in a way that looks aggressive from the outside. They are one of the most emotional races in the Star Trek universe (and they probably were created as a contrast to the logical Vulcans, the 60s scifi thing that I hate so much).

Here is the thing though: That happens to Mediterraneans and Spanish speakers when Northern Europeans look at us! I've seen real fear in the face of German people sitting next to me when I was speaking with Venezuelan friends. I had to actually told the Germans that we were not fighting, that we were speaking about something else. That happens to Arabs too when they are in Northern countries. Certain peoples are always barbaric and aggressive from the outside.

So klingons have a warrior culture but not all of them are warriors. They speak about any important or relevant task to society as "it is a honor", "you did it with honor". Honor is very important but there is honor in cooking and cleaning, in caring for other people, in composing songs. It is more an idiom to congratulate someone than a reality of war.

And now that peace had been reached with the Federation, that they stopped their traditional war ways, some people like it. Some people find honor in other things. The old guard don't, they still remember the war, they still told their children about the good old times and their children envy them. But many others didn't have those good old times to begin with because even in the most war-like state ever, some people never go to war. There are probably klingon widows stuck in Qo'noS who don't remember war warmly. There are probably workers and farmers who never left their planet to conquer the galaxy.

Worf is superfar from all this. He only has visited klingon territory. He has spent his life amongst humans, unable to really behave like them (I bet he was mainly with white bland people) and idealising things that he had never lived or heard from the klingon people. Only the human version of klingon until he has been old enough. And still, he joined Starfleet. How many klingons are there in Starfleet? What do they think of the other aliens in Starfleet?

So if the writers didn't want to take the war route (or at least, not with the klingon), we could have seen the social change in klingon culture from the old ways of war to something more peaceful. They still have their traditional fights, now turned into sports. They still have their idioms related to war, battle and honor, but they use them to any and all aspects of life. "This food is worthy of a warrior", "It's such a good day, one could die happily in a day like this", "You brought honor to this house with grades as good as this, son".

In a change like this, Worf would be very confused at the beginning but he could befriend the restaurant owner, he could have a place amongst klingons, a privileged one even because he knows how other cultures do things. He could finally find his place as someone between cultures without renouncing to any of them.

I know we already are seeing the cracks in Ferengi culture, so it may have been to many cracks in different cultures at the same time, but that could also have been an interesting take, how all cultures are affected by the wormhole. The whole situation has changed now that we can travel fast through it, there is no need to go back to the old ways. Klingon still have an army, they offer to patrol and be of service since they have the skills, but they are not the conquerors they once were because there is no honor in that anymore. Some want to take control, go back to the war ways, but they solve it amongst themselves, the klingon way.

Maybe they didn't do this because they were doing something similar to this with Cardassia, with the civil and government change and all that. But they really did dirty to the klingons by making them, yet again, the brainless barbarians obsessed with battle. Poor restaurant guy, who has he to speak to?

[attention-bajoranworkers]

Just this once (and then once again) Part 1/?

Warnings: smut in future parts. ❗Minors DNI❗

As the airlock opened before you the Cardassian greeted you with a smile.

“Lars, it’s good to see you again.” He tells your father before shaking his hand.

“Dukat.” You father simply replies letting go of the man’s hand.

“Ah, Cassie.” The Cardassian says meeting your gaze. “What a delightful surprise that you’ve decide to join your father.” He adds with a smile.

It was not the first time you two met, but he still had the same effect on your as the first time.

“Gul Dukat.” You greeted returning the smile. “It was a last-minute sort of thing.” You explain, his eyes never leaving yours.

“As I said, a delightful surprise.” He repeats and you feel yourself blush lightly under his gaze.

You followed the men as the Gul personally led the both of you to what would be your quarters for the next few days.

“Your father may have already told you, but I will be hosting a, as you Terrans call it, get-together this evening. It’d be wonderful if you could join us.” He informs as you reach your quarters.

“I’d love to.” You reply as the door opens behind you.

You shoot him one last smile before entering your quarters and letting the door close behind you before letting out a deep breath.

“Get a hold of yourself.” You tell yourself entering the bedroom and dropping your bag on the bed.

As you started taking your clothes out you thanked the heavens you had decided to also take a short black slip dress and a pair of simple black heels with you before leaving. After taking a shower and getting changed into something more comfortable you decided to go take a walk on the Promenade.

You ended up entering Quark’s and a smile pulled at your lips when you spotted Rom tending tables. Traveling with your father from time to time mostly ended up bringing you to Terok Nor every now and then and you had come to know both Quark and Rom and of course little Nog.

“Hi Quark.” You greet approaching the bar and making him turn from his wall panel and look at you.

“Cassie.” He says sounding surprised. “Long time no see.” He adds with a chuckle.

“I know, life on Earth kept me busy.” You say. “Could I get a uh… Cardassian Sunrise, please.” You add he nods.

“Coming right up.”

Just as he starts prepping your drink, his brother appears by your side, placing a tray full of empty glassed on the bar.

“Hey, Rom.” You greet and he turns to look at you, looking surprised.

“Cassie?” He asks and you chuckle.

“The one and only.” You say before pulling him into a hug and you’d swear the poor man stopped breathing for a few seconds. “How have you been? And Nog?” You ask letting go of him.

“Good, good, yeah. It’s good to see you again.” He says and you can’t help but smile.

“I hope Quark here is treating you well.” You say turning to look at Quark and he rolls his eyes.

“I always do.” He says before Rom turns and leaves.

“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. You’re too hard on him.” You tell him and he places your drink in front of you and you notice he’s fighting the urge to roll his eyes again. “He’s sweet, you know?”

You keep chatting while you drink your Cardassian Sunrise and just as you’re finishing and getting ready to leave a familiar face enters the bar.

“Kanar.” He says sitting on a stool near you.

“One second.” Quark excuses himself and moves to serve the Glinn his drink.

“Glinn Damar?” You ask approaching him and he turns to look at you.

“Yes.” He replies giving you a questioning look.

“Uh, never mind.” You say with a smile. “Quark, first one is on me.” You tell the Ferengi while pointing at the Cardassian’s drink before walking off towards the exit.

Your door chimed announcing your father’s arrival just as you were checking yourself in the mirror one last time.

“Come!” You call out walking out of the bedroom.

“You ready?” Your father asks while coming in just as you sit on the couch to get your heels on.

“Almost, gotta put these on and I’m good to go.” You say. “So, what do you think?” You ask standing up.

“You look lovely.” He says with a soft smile. “I wish your mother could see you.”

“Don’t get all sad on me now.” You say approaching him. You really didn’t want to think about your dead mother right now. “Let’s go.”

Gul Dukat greeted the two of you when you got to his quarters and proceeded to present you to the rest of the guests there, not that you really knew, or cared, who any of them were.

And hour into the party and after endlessly listening to random guys talk to you about trade and the Cardassian Union you were starting to get bored, so you excused yourself before walking off towards the door that you believed led to the bedroom, hoping for some quiet, at least for a few minutes.

As the door closed behind you, you leaned against in momentarily and let out a sigh. You took a moment to take in your surroundings as it downed on you that you were in Dukat’s bedroom.

You took a few steps towards the viewport and stood there staring at the vast expanse of stars that surrounded the station. The sound of the door opening snapped you out of your thoughts and you turned to find Dukat approaching you.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude. Just wanted some quiet.” You explain with an apologetic smile before turning back to the stars.

“It’s quite alright.” He reassures as he comes to where you are, and your heart picks up its pace as you can feel his presence behind you.

“Quite beautiful, isn’t it?” He asks, pointing his glass towards the view as his free hand comes to rest on your lower back, the unexpected touch giving you goosebumps.

“It is, indeed, I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of it.” You say, turning to look at him. “What’s your poison?” You ask and he gives you a confused look, earning a chuckle from you. “An old Earth expression. It means, what are you drinking?” You explain, nodding your head towards his glass.

“Kanar.” He replies raising his glass slightly. “Have you tried it?” He asks.

“I don’t think I’ve had the chance to. May I?” You say reaching for the glass and he lets you take it.

His eyes never leave yours as you try the drink and there’s something in them you can’t quite put your finger on.

You close your eyes as you taste the syrupy drink and smile before meeting his eyes again.

“Syrupy.” You say taking another sip. “I think I like it.” You add and an amused smile pulls at his lips.

Neither of you says anything for a few moments and you take the chance to take in his features, your eyes studying his face.

“Do you ever take this off?” You ask stepping closer to him, your hand coming up to his chest piece, your fingers tracing the details on it.

He doesn’t say anything as your eyes meet his again, as if waiting to see what you’ll do next. You decide to lean in closer and he lets you, his hand moving to your waist as yours travels up to his neck and pulls him in so you can kiss him. You sigh against his lips as he deepens the kiss, the hand on your waist pulling you even closer and fingers digging int you flesh.

The now empty glass slips from your fingers and falls to the floor as you push him backwards, making him sit when his legs hit the end of the bed.

You pull apart and he looks up at you as you move to straddle him, his hands falling to your waist to hold you before you dive in for another kiss. One of his hands moves to your thigh and under the hem of your dress, making you shudder against him and him smile against your lips.

He starts kissing along your jaw and down your neck, making you run your hand through his hair and pull him closer, small whimpers escaping your lips.

“They’ll hear.” You finally manage to whisper as you remember where you are, making him chuckle against your neck.

“So, let them.” He teases, kissing that specific spot on your neck that makes you melt against him.

“My father’s on the other side of that door.” You say with a chuckle as he finally pulls apart and looks up at you. “And I’m sure everyone’s wondering where we are by now.” You add.

He doesn’t say anything but let’s you get off his lap and fix your dress before standing himself. Just as you’re about to turn for the door, he takes you by the elbow, making you turn and face him.

“We’re not done.” He simply says, leaning in and kissing you again before pulling apart and walking past you and into the living area of his quarters, leaving you behind, flustered and still trying to catch your breath and with the promise of more hanging on the air.

You run your hands through your hair and down your dress, trying to make you look as presentable as possible before letting out a deep breath and letting the door open before you, walking into the living area.

You notice Dukat talking to some of his officers and recognise Glinn Damar as one of them. He looks at you as the door closes behind you and the look on his face leaves no doubt that he knew exactly what had happened in that bedroom only minutes earlier. You look away, feeling your cheeks heat up slightly before spotting your father.

Your father excuses himself and approaches you when he sees you, a worried expression on his face.

“Are you okay? You just disappeared.” He says studying your face.

“I’m fine, just got a little dizzy and needed some quiet.” You explain, briefly meeting Dukat’s gaze over your father’s shoulder. “I’m feeling much better now.” You add, looking back at him.

“You sure? You do look a little flustered.” He insists and you take his hand in yours before speaking.

“I’m fine, I promise.” You reassure him. “Now go, I’m sure you have people you want to talk to.”

[chacusha]

I just want to talk about one of my favorite Quodo scenes. You know, as I do. So S2 E18 Profit and Loss, for all that it’s focused on a one-episode love interest for Quark (and a romance with Natima so intense that it makes Quark very uncharacteristically be willing to risk his life and even give up the bar for the sake of pursuing it), it has some really amazing Quodo scenes. In particular, it has a really lengthy conversation between Quark and Odo that features some great things like (1) establishing important aspects of both of their characters and their relationship, (2) lots of intimate leaning over each other and casual touches, and (3) a flirtatious and shippy dynamic.

Let me walk through the whole scene because there’s a lot to analyze here.

The scene opens with Quark coming to talk to Odo about the urgent need to release Natima rather than handing her over to the Cardassian government who will execute her. Quark tries multiple tacks, all of which fail:

First, he tries to make the appeal that releasing the Cardassian dissidents would lead to a better, brighter Cardassia, which obviously Odo doesn’t buy. Quark doesn’t care about that.

Quark immediately pivots to spinning that change as one that would lead to him getting more profits -- more plausible, at least, but Odo is still skeptical. In response, knowing that Odo doesn’t find benefiting Quark financially to be a worthy cause, Quark impishly says, “Now Odo... don’t allow my greed to keep you from doing the right thing.” Here he’s making a small appeal to Odo’s moral system rather than Quark’s.

But that’s not the reason why Odo was skeptical. He’s skeptical because Quark isn’t being honest about his motivations.

“I know you better than you think, Quark.” - Moment #1 in this scene where the long history and enefriend relationship between Quark and Odo is highlighted.

Odo prompts Quark to bring up the third and more honest consideration: that Quark is in love with Natima. Odo asks Quark why he didn’t just say that from the start, which prompts Quark to go into a long rant about how Odo is incapable of understanding his feelings while Odo listens awkwardly: “What was I supposed to say? That I love her? That I would do anything for her? That without her my life would be meaningless. Sure, I could say those things, but what good would it do? How could I expect you to understand? You’ve never had those feelings. You don’t know what it means to really care about another person. You’ve never been in love. You’ve got all the emotions of a stone. (pause) No offense.”

None is taken, because that is the image that Odo has carefully crafted for himself, which doesn’t in actuality line up with who he is, but he’s happy for others to believe that is how he is like. So even though Quark realizes how harsh his words are and walks it back, Odo is not offended, but nor does he find it entirely convincing either. It’s one of this scene’s many ways of illustrating the conflicting moral codes between Quark and Odo: Quark may view doing things out of love as legitimate, but he knows that Odo can’t enter into that mindset.

(It's not text, but Quark's speech could also be read as Quark expressing his frustration that his own attempts to court Odo have ended in failure -- Quark angsting that he is barking up the wrong tree, so to speak.)

Quark then tries a fourth tack: Making an exchange instead of putting forward logical arguments and appeals. He begins to offer information on the various deals he’s involved in ("Listen to me, Odo. You do this for me, and I promise there'll be no more secrets between us") -- this momentarily catches Odo’s interest -- before Quark chickens out and instead offers information on Rom’s activities instead, which is, well, worthless, lol. Odo isn’t interested in your brother, Quark, he’s interested in you. Quark does have something of value to Odo but he’s not willing to offer it up because, well, he's just not THAT good of a person.

Seeing this fourth try has failed, Quark then makes a fifth appeal:

Quark’s fifth try involves directly leveraging Quark and Odo’s relationship and involves Quark asking Odo to do this as a personal favor to him. Here is moment #2 where Quark and Odo’s longstanding relationship is highlighted, with Quark turning what Odo said earlier back on him:

(Technically, Odo didn’t say he knew Quark better than anyone else; he said he knew Quark better than Quark thought. But Quark is speaking the truth in any case.) Quark actually just spells out their relationship a bit anviliciously: “Sure, sometimes we’re on opposite sides, but that doesn’t mean that we aren’t close. I never told you this, Odo, but I consider you as dear to me as my brother.” Again, Odo is unimpressed given that Quark literally just tried to sell out his brother. One can’t help but feel like Quark’s fifth appeal failed for the same reason his fourth one failed: Like with the fourth appeal, Quark began to show some vulnerability here which actually interested Odo, but chickened out at the end. He did have something valuable to bargain with (his relationship with Odo) but wasn’t willing to pay the price it would require (being fully open and vulnerable with Odo about the value of that relationship) -- instead, he deflects at the last moment with something joking and ironic.

Finally, Quark makes his sixth and last appeal. “Odo, look at me. Look at me. I’m on my knees. I’m begging you. I don’t care why you do it. Pick any reason you want. But please, let Natima and the others go.”

On his knees, he makes the Ferengi gesture of supplication. With this attempt, Quark does two things: One, he sacrifices his pride for the first time by openly begging -- in his other appeals, he protected his pride by couching it in logical appeal, anger/disapproval at Odo, irony, or jokes. But here, for the first time, he displays humility, desperation, vulnerability, etc. Second, he lets Odo pick the reason, which allows Odo to also intervene without having to lose his own pride.

The reason Odo picks in the end is (what else) justice.

"Justice," Quark says. "That was going to be my next suggestion."

And then (after being on his knees begging, etc.) Quark slowly gets to his feet, and it’s framed like this:

THIS. IS SO. SUGGESTIVE.

I’m... I'm dying. Definitely a "getting shit past the censors" moment.

Anyway, moving swiftly along, now that Quark has gotten what he wants, it's back to the old light-hearted and flirty dynamic they always have. Now assured Odo definitely isn't doing this as a personal favor to Quark, Quark gleefully declares himself debt-free to Odo. He hugs him and Odo pretends to dislike it.

The scene ends with Odo asking how Quark plans to sneak the dissidents past the Cardassian warship hovering outside DS9. By the way he asks the question and is able to guess just by Quark's mischievous smile, Odo already knows the answer, bringing the episode back full circle from its opening where Odo was investigating Quark for having an illegal cloaking device.

Yeah, bickering, casual touching, their cat-and-mouse relationship, flirtatious dialogue, even Odo grudgingly letting Quark get away with crimes because they're a reluctant team with aligned interests now -- it's all here.

Anyway, I love this scene because it's an extended look at how Quark's moral system and Odo's don't really line up with each other (Quark valuing things like love and profit and not valuing abstract things like justice or order, and vice versa for Odo) to the point where it's actively hard for Quark to convince Odo to do something he's inclined/sympathetic to doing anyway. At the same time, they also have some shared interests (in Quark's dealings, in their relationship with each other) while being engaged in a complex dance where neither of them can quite acknowledge it. For example, Odo says he will release the prisoners solely out of his own sense of justice, but if so, why did it take Quark begging him to move him to act? Before Quark came to his office, he was reading a detective novel, suggesting that Quark's appeal is at least one part of Odo's decision to act, despite what they both say. But it serves Quark's purposes to let this slide ("So, you're not really doing this for me?" "That's right." "Then I don't owe you a thing. Thank you!") and let Odo keep his pride, so he does.

Anyway, I just love how much Quodo there is in an episode that's entirely dedicated to Quark's love for a different woman entirely. That's how powerful the relationship between these two is.

[obviouslyelementary]

Talent Show - DS9 fanfic

Ships: Jake/Nog; Kira/Jadzia; Julian/Garak; Quark/Odo

Tags: Romance, first kisses, confessions over music, teen love, adults being there to have fun.

Word count: 4k+

----------------------------

Nights like these were rather on DS9. Clam, gentle, uneventful nights, where they could arrange some sort of gathering for the people who were interested. The idea came from Keiko, as she allowed the children to express themselves in a variety of ways, including acting, dancing and singing, which lead to the event they were having. All parents and friends and all the station's personal had been invited for the presentation the kids had organized, some of them doing bajoran traditional dances, and others reading poems and reciting stories.

The parents were excited, and due to a little blackmailing, Sisko was able to get Quark's bar to be the gathering point. They made a stage and organized the chairs so that everyone would fit, and despite Quark's first hesitation, he realized he could make at least a bit of profit by giving off food and soft drinks for the guests.

In the end, they were all gathered up for the event to begin, and Benjamin couldn't help but lean closer to Jake as Keiko called the first group of children to the stage.

"I hope you have prepared something good" he said, and Jake looked at him, giving his father a nervous smile.

"Me too. I'm sure you will like it" he said, making Ben confused and even more curious.

"Are you really not going to tell me what it is? And to whom? Because clearly it isn't for me" he teased, nudging Jake, but the boy seemed to get even more uncomfortable, letting out a weak chuckle and sipping on his drink. "Alright I wont bug you with it. But I bet she will like it."

Jake looked at him, even more unsure, and nodded weakly while looking down at his glass. The bajoran music began, and Benjamin lifted his glance to look at the stage, where three little bajoran girls were beginning to dance. It was quite adorable, but his mind didn't leave him alone. He was always curious about what Jake would do.

 "Can you believe Keiko came for me to help?" Kira asked, chuckling as she shook her head, sipping on her juice and leaning against Jadzia, who was sitting just behind her. "As if I knew any traditional bajoran dancing."

"I mean, I would have asked you too" Julian said from the other side of the table, smiling over his big lizard boyfriend's shoulder from where, very much like Kira, Garak rested against the doctor's chest.

"Are you two going to appreciate this moment?" Garak asked, his soft voice always against his cardassian nature, making Kira giving him a glance while Jadzia squeezed her girlfriend tighter and kissed her cheek.

"He's right" she sang into her ear, kissing it and making Kira immediately lean back against her. "The girls are doing a marvelous job."

"Yeah... they are cute" Kira admitted, holding Jadzia's hand over her own stomach and watching as the girls danced and jumped around the stage, following the song's rhythm. They seemed to have practiced quite a lot. "I remember some girls at my camp that danced like that. There weren’t many of them, but their mothers insisted on keeping the culture alive. It was quite... enchanting."

"Any sort of hope is enchanting" Julian added, laying his head on Garak's almost protectively, while Garak kept his attention on the stage, humming along with the song. Kira didn't seem to mind his company anymore, drawing patterns on Jadzia's hand, smiling whenever one of the girls pulled off a tricky move. They were very good, and she was glad a Cardassian could enjoy a little bit of Bajoran culture without feeling offended.

But then again, Garak wasn't any cardassian. She knew it by the way he treated Julian, most of all. And she wasn't a simple bajoran either.

It was no time to think about that, however.

 Once the girls were finished, the crowd clapped and were given a few seconds to ask for food and drinks while the next group got together on stage. Quark groaned as once again Rom came back with a full platter, flicking his ear.

"You are a disgrace Rom! I said table six not sixteen! Take it to them before it grows cold!" he complained, shaking his head and fixing some more drinks for the costumers, in a rush. During presentations he did nothing but watch, and during breaks he would have to run so all costumers were satisfied. He didn't like that one bit.

"Looking quite busy, Quark" he heard someone say, and oh boy his night couldn't get better. He turned around to face Odo, his eyes narrowed in annoyance as he poured another drink without looking at it before his waiter took it away.

"If you wouldn't mind helping, I could very much use your assistance" he said, getting another meal from the replicator and putting it on a tray. "If not, I would rather have you leaving me alone. After all with all this work, you can't possibly suspect of any scheme!"

"I'm suspecting of schemes ever since you accepted this... event to happen at your bar, Quark" he said, leaning over the bar and squinting his eyes at the bartender. "If I find you are doing anything to ruin this presentation..."

"Odo, why would I? These are every day clients that will be here more often if I offer them good service, specially around their children" Quark said, honestly already exhausted, and it had only been the first set of children. For all he knew, there were still ten performances left, and then it would be open to the public. This night would never end. "Please, Odo? Leave me alone?"

That sounded quite defeated, but he didn't have time to care about his dignity at the moment.

He turned around to serve another waiter with a set of drinks and food, but when he turned to reach for the replicator, the food was gone. Another look, and a freakishly long arm was placing it on the tray, together with other six tentacle-things serving the drinks accordingly to the requests. When Quark looked over, Odo's face couldn't be read, and yet, he felt extremely thankful.

"Next performance will be of our dear student Tarsk, who will be reading her poem" Keiko said, and Quark sighed, shaking his head and knowing he would have another short break. He walked closer to where Odo was sitting, and leaned over the bar, looking at the stage.

"I don't think Nog will be doing anything. At least I hope not" he whispered as the little kid got ready. Odo humphred at him, and Quark raised his cartilage. "Why are you so moody?"

"I was expecting so spend some... quality time with you. I did not know you would be controlling the food and drinks" he said, quite hesitant and also quietly, but Quark heard it and he felt the happiness of being wanted tingling in his ears.

"Oh really? You know, we have the time during the performances" Quark said, and Odo turned to face him, his face unreadable. "I'm free now."

Odo shook his head and let out a huff through his nose before leaning closer to Quark and pressing a quick kiss to his lips. Once he pulled away, his attention returned to the stage, but Quark was already too happy to care.

That would be a good night.

 As the little girl read her poem, quite long for a simple child's mind, Garak leaned further against Julian, and the doctor nodded something akin to fatigue getting over his wonderful partner. He knew Garak had been tired the last few days, although he wasn’t sure why, and he knew he wouldn't get it from him either, but holding him closer and kissing his scaly neck seemed to make the cardassian a little more comfortable.

"Sometimes I... forget... the beauty of the Bajoran culture" he whispered, to no one really, and surely too quiet for their table sharers to listen, but Julian heard and leaned closer to him, nuzzling gently behind his pointy ear.

"They can be quite mesmerizing, can't they? The children?" he asked, intertwining their fingers together, while Garak let out one of his gentle chuckles, nodding to himself and to the doctor.

"Indeed... they hold the same spirituality that allowed their parents and grandparents to survive" he whispered, and sighed softly, squeezing Julian's hands. "In moments like this I wonder the true destruction Cardassia brought to these people."

"You never talk about the invasion like this" Julian noted, perhaps finding one more layer of Garak he didn’t know, one of those he kept buried inside many lies and secrets. But the cardassian just chuckled and closed his eyes, paying attention to the poem again, and Julian knew he had lost him.

Sometimes he just spoke too much.

But luckily, Garak didn't seem to mind.

 "Did you see Rom or Nog at all?" Jadzia asked after the little girl finished her poem, a new round of drinks and foods being served to the guests. Kira turned to face her, a small frown showing in her pretty nose's cartilages.

"I think Rom is being useless to Quark as he always is... and I don't know about Nog. Why?" she asked, taking a sip from her drink and offering it to Jadzia, who easily accepted.

"Nothing. Just curious" she said, and Kira rolled her eyes while laying her head on her girlfriend's shoulder.

"Only you to care about the ferengis while having a nice little talent show" she whispered, and hummed happily. Jadzia knew the alcohol (which was not supposed to be served and yet, here they were) was beginning to affect Kira, letting her softer and sweeter, and maybe a bit clingier, but she didn’t mind, only bringing her bajoran major closer and kissing her head.

"I care about all the performances, but there is one in particular I would not like to miss" she said, and Kira looked at her curiously, barely opening her eye.

"Is the baby troll going to show off some hidden skills?" she teased, smiling, and Jadzia chuckled softly.

"Don't talk like that about Nog, he is a child still" she said, kissing her head and then her lips when Kira pouted. "No, I don't think Nog will be presenting anything. But it is important that he is here, so he sees Jake's."

"Jake's? Oh, what is that going to be?" Kira asked, suddenly interested, smiling at Jadzia. "Is it like a prank? A loooooove declaration?"

"I don't know. All I know is that Jake is nervous and he wants Nog to see it" she smiled, and kissed Kira again to make her forget the subject.

After all, she didn't want to ruin it for Jake.

 "Thank you so much, thank you! Now, our next performer will be Jake Sisko! Get your food and drinks and get ready!" Keiko announced, before nodding for Jake to hop up on the stage. Jake sighed and looked at his dad, unsure, before rushing up with her and taking the old fashioned microphone. "Hey Jake! Ready?"

"I-I guess" he mumbled nervously, looking at her. "Did,.. did Nog show up? Is he going to do anything?"

"He didn't come to check on me, no, but I believe he must be around. His family is" she said, and smiled at him, tapping his shoulder. "Don't worry. I don't think he would lose seeing you perform."

"Thank you, miss O'Brien" he whispered, sighing and getting on stage, before scanning the room as the ferengi served the guests. He could see his father sitting alone a few feet away from the stage. A few tables behind, he saw Jadzia, Kira, Julian and Garak sharing a table, the two couples clearly quite content with their arms around each other. He felt his cheeks warming up as he looked away, only to see Odo serving drinks with four tentacle-like arms while kissing Quark on the side. He couldn't help but frown, that was gross.

He kept looking around, trying to find Nog in the middle of the tables or maybe serving, but he just couldn't find him. Of course, the crowd didn't make it any easier, but he was growing nervous and he hoped Nog would be there to hear him.

 Nog came rushing downstairs as quickly as he could when he heard Jake's name. he made his way through the crowd towards the bar, panting as he reached his uncle, unable to stop his disgust from showing when he saw him and Odo in a somewhat weird make out section. Still, didn't weird him out enough to stop him.

"Uncle! Uncle Quark!" he called, and they pulled away, Odo turning to face him while Quark looked annoyedly at him.

"What?!" he growled, and Nog winced. Odo did not seem to appreciate Quark's reaction. "Shouldn't you be counting the gold upstairs?!"

"I know uncle I know, but you said I could hear Jake!" he said, biting his lip. He had promised him he wouldn't miss it. "I know I did wrong by stealing your liquor, but-but... I learned my lesson! I won't do it again!"

"Quaark" Odo growled and Quark shook his head angrily.

"You are putting me in a bad spot boy!" he complained and Nog pouted. "I should not allow you to listen to the Sisko boy!"

"You promised!" he whined, looking over at the stage. Jake was getting ready. "Please?"

"Yes" Odo answered for Quark, and made a face when the bartender tried to intervene. "Go and find somewhere to seat. You are free for the rest of the evening."

Nog grinned widely and didn't even wait to hear his uncle's complaints, rushing into the crowd and sitting down on a vacant seat with a bajoran group, looking up at the stage as Jake tapped on the weird thing he had on his hand and cleaned his throat.

"H-hi" he started, and Nog grinned to himself. "My name is Jake Sisko, I believe you all... know me" he continued, clearly nervous. "For today's performance I prepared a song... one that is very old, from earth. The 19 hundreds. It is dedicated to my best friend... if you're there, t-this song is for you."

Nog's eyes widened and he looked forward at the stage with even more attention, his ears twitching with excitement. Jake cleaned his throat again and the music started, slow and somewhat dancing, and Jake swayed from one side to the other as he breathed, getting the timing.

"Take it easy with me, please. Touch me gently, like a summer evening breeze. Take your time, make it slow... andante andante, just let the feeling grow.

"Make your fingers soft and light, let your body be the velvet of the night... touch my soul, you know how. Andante andante, go slowly with me now..."

The song was melodic, hypnotic, and Nog couldn't let his eyes drift away from Jake at any second. He wasn't the best singer he had ever heard, in fact Ferengi had quite the ears for music, but the lyrics and the soft, gentle way he sung made Nog's heart skip a beat. And everyone in the bar seemed frozen, watching amazed by Jake's feelings.

 "I'm your music, I'm your song! Play me time and time again, and make me strong. Make me sing, make me sound... andante andante, tread lightly on my ground... andante andante, oh please don't let me down.

"Make me sing, make me sound. Andante andante, tread lightly on my ground... andante andante, oh please don't let me down... andante andante... oh please, don' let me... down..."

The song came to a slow, sweet end, and Jake put the microphone down, looking around at the crowd as it burst into cheers. His father stood up and clapped hard, whistling suddenly, and he could see all his friends in the crowd, waving and whistling and cheering even while Keiko came over to get his microphone back.

"That was incredible Jake! Beautiful!" she whispered, smiling at him, and he smiled back at her nervously before handing her the microphone. He rushed down the stairs and looked around before sitting next to his dad, still confused and looking for Nog.

"Jake that was beautiful" Ben said, holding his son's hand, and he looked at him with a small smile.

"Thanks dad, I... I practiced a lot" he said, but his attention was on his surroundings. "You didn't see-"

"I believe, if I may" he heard Garak from behind them, and turned to face the cardassian, who was giving Jake a smile "that I saw your little friend coming downstairs right before you sang. Maybe you should speak to his uncle, to see where he is" he winked, and Jake felt himself warm up again but smiled.

"Yeah, thanks Garak. Dad I'll be right back" he said, pulling away and rushing off into the crowd. Ben watched him leave, knowing very well he would not be coming back any time soon.

"Being young and in love. It's the sweetest thing, even though he is in love with a baby troll" Kira said, smiling to herself, and Ben shook his head while Jadzia and Julian grinned to one another.

"Major, be nicer to your youngsters" Garak said, and she groaned at him while their partners pulled them closer to avoid any fights. Ben just chuckled and shook his head, looking back at the stage.

 After having a quite short talk with Quark (who seemed more concerned in sucking the life out of Odo's face than actually helping Jake at all), he was able to get some information about Nog's whereabouts. He looked through the back crowd, with no luck, and it wasn't until he looked up that he saw Nog on the second floor, looking down, waving his legs around.

Jake rushed to the stairs and made his way up as quickly as he could, sitting down next to Nog and looking at him expectantly.

Nog, however, seemed quite calm.

"Hey" Jake said, and Nog looked at him. "Did you see my performance? Did you like it?"

"I saw it, but I don't understand human music a lot. Specially old music" Nog said, smiling at Jake. "Also, good call calling her your 'best friend'. I bet she enjoyed it."

"Her? Her who?" Jake asked, confused, and Nog chuckled with a nudge on his arm.

"The girl you sang for! Come on Jake I don't understand human music but I know how to listen to lyrics! It's about love, and it's clear it was for some girl you like! Now, who is she? Maybe I can get you on a date!"

"Nog, there's no girl."

"What do you mean there's no girl? You said it, the song was for your best friend and the song is about love or touching or whatever you humans liked to do in your 19 hundreds!" he said, lifting his hands and hitting them on the rails again. Jake sighed.

"Yeah, it is a love song and it was a love confession. But there's no girl."

"Then... a boy?" Nog asked, eyes widening. "You have a best male friend that isn't me?! How come I never heard of him? Also your taste in partners is quite... unappealing-"

"I don't have any other best friend! Not boy or girl or non binary!" Jake exclaimed, loudly, and stood up angry and humiliated. Oh, that hurt. "The song was a love confession to my best friend. You. But clearly you don't care."

Jake made his way down the second floor as quickly as he could, feeling the tears rise up in his eyes. Clearly that had been an awful idea, and he would never be anything but a hooman friend to Nog. He ran as quickly as his legs allowed him to go, he knew he shouldn't cry like this, but he felt like it because his chest was hurting and he had never felt anything like this before.

It was frustrating.

 It took Nog almost an hour to find Jake again. After the human had not only yelled at him, but also confessed, he felt like an idiot and wanted to talk to him further. Of course he would have never suspected Jake would be singing to him, no one had ever liked him before! No one had ever expressed any type of romantic love towards him at all, and rarely he got any platonic or fraternal love either by how crude and rude the ferengis were, so he didn't quite understand what Jake meant until he spelled it out.

And even worst, he would never expect his feelings to be reciprocated. To him, Jake was far beyond his reach since day one. Somehow he got lucky Jake decided to be his friend, and now, he seemed to want more even though Nog would have never expected anything like that from him. Nog was, well, crude and rude as any ferengi, but he was also stupid, he didn't know math or how to read, he didn't understand biology or history, he didn't have the lobes for business... he never believed or even hoped Jake would ever like him!

But now that he knew he did, he was afraid his stupidity would once again ruin whatever they had.

However, he did learn some things with his ferengi relatives, and he also knew Jake wasn't all that smart either. Well, he was, but not when it came to every day stuff. So, he hid in the most obvious place he could: in the observation tower, where they liked spending evenings watching the stars. Nog approached the room silently, looking around and finding Jake like a shadow in the middle of the room, illuminated only by the stars. He approached, his ears capturing the sound of soft sniffles, and felt even worst for making Jake cry.

If he couldn’t fix it, he would never forgive himself.

Knowing a surprise would not be appropriate, he gently pushed a box nearby to make a sound, and Jake jumped and turned around, wiping his tears to look at him.

"W-who is... Nog?" he asked, his voice softening at his name, and Nog nodded slowly. Jake then turned back around, wiping his eyes. "What are you doing here? What do you want?"

"Jake I-"

"You don't have to say it. I get it. I understood the moment I told you that you didn't like me the same way. It's obvious now, why would you like anyone like me? I'm a male, I'm a human, I don't care about profit or whatever else you Ferengis care about..."

"Jake, that is not-"

"You don't have to make me feel worst Nog! I already feel well ashamed and upset!" he said, and even though Nog sat down next to him, he didn’t move. "I just... hope I didn't ruin our friendship."

"You didn't" Nog assured, tapping his shoulder, and Jake looked at him with tears glistening in his dark eyes. "Jake, I... I didn't mean to make you feel upset, or-or ashamed! I just... never expected-"

"Me to like you... yeah, I know" he whispered and wiped his tears. "I never expected you to like me back. I guess one of us was right."

"Jake, no-"

"I don't wanna hear it, I'm fine with this rejection as it is" Jake said, sighing and looking up at the stars. Nog frowned, frustrated that Jake wouldn't listen to him.

"Jake I-"

"No Nog."

"But-"

"Nog I don't want to listen!"

"J-"

"Nog!"

That was it. Nog held Jake's face and turned his head around to face him, and Jake looked at him surprised, but it was a look that soon disappeared when Nog leaned in and pressed their lips together. He closed his eyes tightly and just waited for a response, since he was aware he was not good at kissing, but eventually the shock wore out and Jake responded, moving his lips ever so slightly and tilting his head. His hands came to rest on Nog's shoulders while Nog's remained on his cheeks, until they both pulled away and looked at each other, surprised and also radiant.

"You should have let me finish" Nog said, and Jake smiled brightly at him.

"And miss that? Not at all" he giggled, and Nog giggled right back before they met up again, kissing once more now that they knew how each other felt.

And they remained the rest of the event (and even longer after that) in the observation toward, kissing and giggling and getting acquainted with this new relationship that had blossomed.

 By the end of the talent show, Ben had joined his two favorite couples for a round of food and drinks, on the house. The parents and children had already left, and Quark brought up something for them to chew on, sitting with Odo and the rest of the officers. Kira was basically asleep on Jadzia's chest, while the others talked and drank in the quiet of the night.

It was Odo who brought the subject up.

"Your son, commander. I have not seen him since his performance" he said, making Ben share a knowing look with Jadzia. Before he could answer, Garak interrupted.

"I'm sure he is well taken for, Odo. He was looking for Nog when he left" he said, and Odo nodded.

"Yes I know. That is what worries me" he explained, receiving a flick on the arm from Quark.

"Don't be like that! My nephew is one of the few good ferengis I know, and I'm not counting myself" he said, and shook his head while Julian chuckled.

"Hopefully the two of them are... discussing some issues that need to be resolved" he said, winking to Dax who smiled and nodded.

"Hopefully."

"Could we join you?" they heard Miles saying, and pulled their chairs around to fit another two while Kira complained and found a way of climbing on Jadzia's lap, falling asleep tangled on her girlfriend. No one seemed to mind, and Keiko and Miles joined the group after closing off all the necessary equipment for the event.

They spent the rest of the evening talking, laughing and enjoying each other's company without thinking much about the problems that could come ahead. After all, it was rare to have such a calm night to enjoy.

And sure, they didn’t see Nog or Jake until the next morning, but Keiko knew the night had been productive when she saw the two boys walking into her classroom with their hands tangled together.

She decided then she should make those events more often.

[vortaesthetic]

Weyoun sipped at a rippleberry mimosa as he watched the flow of the crowd beyond, a sea of laughter and liveliness. Quark's bar continued to be popular, despite the changing of the guard--though they served much more kanar these days-- and he found it to be the best place to go to get a feel for the mood of the station.

One might assume that since he was the current station administrator, he would stand out anywhere he went. It is a natural conclusion, of course-- the powerful are always worthy of attention, no matter the context-- but it failed to take into account a particular set of skills that came in handy for times like these.

Vorta are curious by nature. Naturally blessed with a driving curiosity and tenacity, Vorta were often well-suited to intelligence operations. Few secrets could be shared that a Vorta's hearing couldn't steal, after all.

Their hearing and whip-smart social grace aside, there was another tool of the trade that they kept at the ready-- suggestion. More specifically, the suggestion of influence. He could charm the room into hanging on his every word or become the least interesting thing in the room. He'd chosen to be the latter. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that he had become the latter?

He stirred his cocktail idly as he watched the people drift past. There was much ado about the Springball tournament, which seemed to be a strangely heated affair. Lots of talk about the allure of the dabo girls, who glinted with glitter and latinum and guile.

More interestingly, there were whispers of resistance threaded through the clamor. Murmurs of sedition, of betrayal, of their dislike for his men and his weapons and his cause.

Now, wasn't that interesting?

Weyoun considered himself to be largely pragmatic. He understood that in any show show of force, rebellion would eventually spring forth to meet it. The Bajorans were not half as subtle as they thought they were-- he knew precisely what form their rebellion would take once they'd hit the flashpoint. Major Kira, professional terrorist and famous Bajoran rebel, would likely be square in the middle of it when it happened.

But for now, it was only idle chatter. For now, Weyoun would be content to sip on his drink and watch. He was playing a counterbalance to Dukat's paranoia, after all--it wouldn't do to go crashing in on the Bajorans on a whim

He was so absorbed in the action of the room behind him that he hadn't noticed the Ferengi bartender slide up to the bar before him, a cryptic smile on his face.

"You gonna sip on that all day, or are you going to order another one? Takes money to keep the doors open here, you know."

Weyoun grinned. "Just enjoying a little time to myself," he says, affecting a casual smile. "You know how it is."

"I didn't know that Vorta partook, much less had the habit of drinking by themselves."

"Ah," the Vorta laughed. "It's not a habit, true. But neither is it forbidden. And surely you knew the promise of a rippleberry drink was bound to draw a few Vorta, no?"

"That's the idea. But you and I both know there's so much more to Quark's than drinks. The entertainment! The lovely ladies," crowed Quark, who leaned in with a knowing smile. "The gossip."

Weyoun smiled back, a sligtly dark twist of the lips he couldn't help but flash. "Quite true! And cleverer conversation to be had than I've had in a while, to be sure. But you remind me that there are places I need to be and I'd best be on my way. I appreciate your service, Quark."

He shelled out a couple strips of latinum as a tip-- a pittance, considering it meant nothing to him anyway. But the Ferengi was clever and knew how dangerous keen ears could be, and he wasn't keen on losing his scoop by lingering too long. As amenable. as the Ferengi could be where cash was concerned, he could never allow himself to forget that he was not a friend.

He preferred the anonymity of before, anyway.

[edosianorchids901]

Hi! If you're still doing the Garashir prompts, how about number 91. "I can't breathe."? Either angsty or fluffy would be fine by me, so whatever you feel like writing. Thank you so much!

Thank you so much for the prompt!! 

Read on AO3 - if Tumblr mobile formatting is acting up, this is likely your best bet

The walls loomed, tipped, collapsed.

Garak clutched the edge of his table. Deep breaths, in andout. That was all he needed. Deep breaths.

As if I haven’t spenthours forcing myself to take deep breaths, he thought. The entire dayconsisted of one deep breath after another.

Just breathe. Just calm down. Just relax. The asinineplatitudes given by those who’d never endured true panic, never known thecrushing weight of rubble. Rubble didn’t care how deeply you breathed, howloudly you screamed. It was immutable, oppressive, eternal.

But now, the rubble existed only in his mind. When he lookedup, his shop walls stood innocently in place. He waited, challenging them tomove in again.

They remained still, and Garak bent over his work. The fabriccaught on his trembling fingers. Something exploded in his chest and he hurledboth dress and tailoring tool onto the table.

The tool skidded across the smooth surface before crashingagainst a bolt of cloth with a satisfying thud. The dress, however, simply fluttereddownward, brushed against the table edge, hung there for a mere second, andthen slid lifelessly to the floor.

“If that isn’t typical,” Garak muttered. He bit back theseething mass of rage, fingers digging into his thigh. A true Obsidian Orderagent wouldn’t allow himself to knocked off his place by a disobedient garment.

And yet, the dress seemed to mock him from the floor. You can’t even control fabric. How can youever hope to control yourself?

“Perhaps I’m not a true agent anymore,” he said to the inertpile of cloth. “Perhaps I never was. After all, didn’t I repeatedly fall preyto sentiment? And now… I’m certainly not doing much to serve my people thesedays.”

Informing on them, yes. Fighting against them, yes. Killingthem all, yes.

Serving them? No.

“Elim?”

Garak jerked his head up. How had he missed the footsteps?“Ah, Julian.”

Deep furrows carved into Julian’s brow. He strode throughthe shop and pressed his fingertips to Garak’s temple. “God, your pulse isracing again. Are you all right?”

“Perfectly fine.” No time for weakness. “Whatever are youdoing here? It’s late.”

“Precisely. It’s late, and you never came home.”

Ah. That. Garak wriggled out from under Julian’sministrations and scooped the dress off the floor. He deposited the outfit onthe table—more calmly this time—and gathered errant scraps of cloth. “I wasworking.”

“You looked like you were talking to a dress.”

“Yes, well, it’s like plants. The clothes grow better if youtalk to them.” The stranglehold on his throat refused to ease. He shook thescraps out and laid them on the table one by one, then neatly folded them.

“That’s…nice,” Julian said in that I’m not entirely sure if you’re joking tone. “But really. It’sincredibly late, and you need rest. You’re under a lot of stress lately—”

“Oh, am I? I hadn’t noticed.” Really. What was it withhumans and their constant need to state the obvious?

“—under a lot of stress lately,” Julian pressed on, “andit’s important that you rest. You’ll never recover otherwise.”

Recovery. Another odd human concept. As a Cardassian, therewas no recovering from those sorts of memories. One either integrated theexperiences into their proper place and went on with life…or one didn’t.

Perhaps that was what Julian meant by recovery. Theexperiences couldn’t be erased, not even by humans’ fading memories. Butlearning to live with those memories, to continue with life…that was a necessary,if uncomfortable, process.

Garak added another folded scrap to the stack. “Sleep evadesme these days, my dear, as I believe you well know.”

“Garak.” Julian leaned against the table, and Garak edgedaway. “I know you’re not sleeping well, but that’s exactly why you need to comehome. Even if you can’t actually sleep, the rest will be beneficial. It’sbetter for you than spending all night…”

Being completelymiserable and questioning why I’m alive? “Brooding?”

“Well…yes.”

Garak sighed. Not many options left at this point. Oh, hecould always create a scene with Julian, the same sort of thing he’d done toEzri. But that hadn’t been fair to her at all, and lashing out at Julian wouldbe horrifically cruel. The good doctor was only trying to help, annoying thoughit was.

Yet perhaps a fight was preferable to admitting why hecouldn’t go home.

Ridiculous. Pullyourself together, Elim.

“Yes, of course. You’re quite right.” The rest would benefithim, leave him fresh for the miseries of the next day. If only he couldactually make it to their quarters.

Julian’s shoulders relaxed and a smile played on his face.“Good. I’m sure you didn’t eat, so we’ll have dinner before bed.”

“And kanar.” Goodness, he needed kanar. He brieflyconsidered raiding Quark’s private stock. The bar was closed at present, butbetween one ex-spy and one genetically enhanced doctor, they could defeat Rom’selaborate locking mechanism.

“Did you have your session with Ezri?” Julian asked,breaking Garak’s criminal contemplations. “I sent you a message earlier askinghow it went, but you never responded.”

A sharp twisting pain stabbed Garak’s stomach. He tipped hishead back and studied the empty walkways on the Promenade’s second level. Not only a traitor to my people, but aterrible partner. I suppose it’s true to form. “My apologies.”

“I was worried.” Julian touched a warm hand to the small ofGarak’s back as they walked. A sweet gesture, one he didn’t deserve after hisnegligence. “It’s not like you to completely vanish.”

“You could have come to check on me.” The nearer they drewto the lift, the more his restless energy sought an outlet, a target. “It’s notas though my shop is a great distance from the Infirmary.”

He winced at his own tone. Julian, however, merely looked athim. “What’s going on?” he asked with his usual disarming directness. “Is itjust the decryptions? Or has something else happened?”

“Does something else need to happen?”

“That’s not an answer.”

“Ah, humans. Such a narrow view of ‘answers’.”

The lift doors parted like the maw of a great beast. For afraction of a second, Garak’s steps faltered. But no, he wouldn’t allow himselfto be defeated again.

He passed into the abyss, into the dark cage of metal andcircuitry. Each breath echoed in his ears. His head roared, heart pounded,hands quaked.

And then the doors to the trap sealed shut. They’d neveropen again. He’d die here, in this box. And he wasn’t just trapped in the box,in this coffin. No, the entire stationwas a trap, a metal monstrosity suspended in vacuum. There was no air outthere, no air in here, and he couldn’t breathe—

“Stop!” He slammed his hand against the door. Everythingfell away around him, leaving only his frantic breaths, only darkness, only thewalls closing in, crushing him…

“Computer, emergency override, open lift doors.” Handscaught him, pulled at him. “Garak, come on. Garak.”

He surrendered to those hands, just as he’d done in thecrawlspace at Internment Camp 371. There was an odd lurch, a sense of being lifted,and then he was on solid ground again.

“Elim, look at me.” A warm hand on his cheek. “Garak, I’mhere. You’re safe.”

Julian. Yes. “I can’t breathe.”

“You’re all right, you’re not trapped. We’re back on thePromenade.”

The Promenade. He blinked, twisted. The lift lurked behindthem, doors frozen open by Julian’s emergency override. The damned contraptionstill looked like it wanted to eat him. It was at an odd angle now, though.Sideways.

Oh. It’s me, not thelift. I collapsed again. Lovely. He splayed a hand against the cold deckand pushed into a seated position. Julian knelt beside him, expression almoststubbornly professional. “Easy, Garak,” he said, grasping Garak’s shoulders.“Not too fast.”

“I believe I’m somewhat better now.” His heart still thumpeddramatically, and his breaths raced as if he’d just flowed through acomplicated series of stratagems. And his head…oh,how it ached. But the walls remained stationary.

“What the hell is wrong with you, Garak?” Julian’s voicethrummed with barely suppressed fury. “Why didn’t you tell me you were havingtrouble with the lifts?”

All my lessonscertainly haven’t gone to waste. He’s getting quite good at this. “Why doyou assume I was having trouble prior to this?”

That earned a look that the doctor usually reserved for hisworst patients. Which was perfectly fair, in truth. “You should have told me.How many times did you try?”

The tightness in Garak’s chest finally eased, and he manageda deep breath. The air filled his lungs, clearing his head. “Three, but thiswas my best attempt. I actually managed to stay in until it began moving. Quiteremarkable, to say the least.”

Julian caught his arms and tugged. “Come on. Get up.”

Absolutely not. Garak rocked his weight back and remainedfirmly in place. “I’m not up to another try, Doctor. I believe I’ll just sleephere tonight.”

“Do you really think I’d try to shove you back into a small,dark space?” Julian gave another pull, and Garak didn’t resist this time. “I’mnot forcing you to come home, but I’m also not gonna leave you sleeping on thedeck. You’ll give yourself hypothermia.”

Another annoyingly fair point. Garak let himself meltagainst the doctor’s side. “So, where are we going?”

“As you pointed out earlier, I happen to have an Infirmarynot too far away.” The gently teasing note returned to Julian’s voice, and herubbed Garak’s arm. “An Infirmary with lots of beds.”

That was certainly a better alternative than another trip inthat damned coffin of a lift. Garak leaned closer, greedily absorbing the warmcomfort that Julian so freely offered. “Lead the way, then.”

[randomnessunicorn-imagine]

☀️ STAR TREK DEEP SPACE 9: FANFICTION ☀️

This is the second chapter of the Long Fiction I'm writing of DS9.

Hope you can enjoy this chapter too.

Support me with likes and reblogs, please! Especially if you want to read more about it.

📜 DS9 FANFICTION: ODO X FEM! READER X QUARK 📜

FIRST CHAPTER : Swapped out ~

SECOND CHAPTER: Identity Issues ~

There was no scientific explanation to this mysterious phenomenon, since anything like this had happened before. Even the brilliant doctor Bashir was confused but also incredulous because this was an interesting case to study.

"It looks like you two had swapped your bodies." the doctor said, smiling and joking, because he found it all very funny, it was absurd but very ironic.

"We’ve understood it by ourselves, doctor. What can we do to get back into our bodies? Do you have a solution?" Quark said, annoyed and he didn't find this situation hilarious and he wouldn't laugh. Indeed, he was walking across the infirmary in a frenetic manner, his behavior was annoying you, even if he was you now, but you got nervous anyway.

It was as if you were looking at some parallel world through a mirror. Perhaps in an alternative dimension you were a Ferengi. You were Quark. This thought made you more anxious than before.

Then you looked at Julian with a worried expression but your tone of voice was low, you wanted to appear calm and diligent as always despite the difficult situation. You didn't want to lose your mind.

"Isn't there a scientific explanation for this?" you asked looking in Julian's eyes, with a sort of devotion as if he was your last hope. Maybe he actually was.

"Not for now. It could be a sort of split between space and time, it may have happened. Or maybe a split of existences. There are millions of timelines, millions of ourselves, so maybe there could have been a sort of break down, a sort of explosion that caused this. But for now we can't be sure." Julian explained in a professional tone and you took a deep breath. You trusted him, you knew he was the greatest doctor alive and he would be able to solve the problem.

For now, you had to get used to be a Ferengi, and Quark should have gotten used to be a human, maybe it would have been more difficult for him than for you since Quark didn’t have a good opinion of human beings.

"And what do we do in the meantime? My bar! What will happen to my bar? I can't leave it to that idiot of Rom." Quark said hysterically as if his problems were not enough, he had to explain this little situation to his brother and you had to explain it to your friends, too. Life was never easy for a Starfleet Officer. Life was never easy for anybody.

"I don't think you can work like this. As long as the problem is not solved, I grant you some break from your work. Use this time to learn more about yourself and make new experiences with your new bodies." Julian said with sarcasm, it was his way to lighten the mood.

"What are you talking about, Doctor? You're crazy. People are all crazy in this station!" Quark screamed.

"It could get worse, you could end up into a Klingon's body or who knows who." Julian said.

"Come on, everything will be solved. And then it's not bad to be me. Your brother Rom will take care of the bar." Maybe this was what scared Quark the most.

Speak of the Devil, Rom appeared, running in the sickbay and hopping like a ping-pong ball.

"Brother, what happened to you? Are you sick? Are you going to die?" asked Rom to the person who looked like his brother, namely you.

"No, stupid idiot. But I'll kill you if you don't stop telling nonsense." said Quark and Rom didn't understand why you were talking to him like that. Like his brother Quark. Then Rom realized the truth before anyone could explain the circumstances to him. Because he was smarter than he seemed. Alternatively, he was just a boy with a vivid imagination.

"Oh, no! Quark, what happened to you? You've changed. Oh, my god!" he paused and then looked at you, namely Quark, and then again at Quark, "You two have swapped yourselves. And now you are trapped in each other's bodies. Oh golly!" Rom seemed scared and then you and Quark looked at each other, incredulous.

"Yes, it’s like that, Rom. It happened suddenly. We don't know how or for how long this situation will last. We only know that it’s absurd and very discouraging." You said, sighing.

“Yes, so don’t make things worse, Rom!” said Quark, snorting.

"It could get worse. You could become a Klingon. Or you could die." Rom said to his brother, giggling in his usual naive and tender way.

"Yes, of course. The worst thing is that while we're here talking, there are customers out there waiting to be served. Who's serving them, Rom? Who? You surely are not and not even I. I go anyway, I’m already too stressed to listen to you idiots any longer. I can take care of my bar by myself, because my brain is still Ferengi’s!”  Quark said, determined not to leave his precious bar unattended, you hoped he would not cause trouble with your body. You couldn't leave him alone, so you decided to follow him.

With his new body, Quark ran like the wind and it was hard for you to catch up to him.

Quark intended to work and did not want to leave his business, perhaps this was the biggest trauma for the Ferengi man: to abandon the profit for an indefinite time. This was a nightmare. You could understand him because for you it was a catastrophe to leave your job like this, and this could not be considered as a vacation.

You walked briskly, ignoring the confused looks of the people, maybe they were clients of Quark who wondered why he hadn't greeted them but you didn't care about it now.

You finally came to the bar and was taken by surprise the instant you saw Quark talking to Odo. At least, the poor Odo believed he was talking to you.

"What are you doing behind Quark's counter, Lieutenant Y/N?" Odo asked suspiciously.

"But this is my bar - Ah, nothing at all, security officer." Quark said and he seemed nervous.

"It doesn't look like you're doing anything. It's unusual. Shouldn't you be on the bridge by now?" Odo asked.

Odo knew all your schedules, you and he were great friends, so he understood before anyone else if something was wrong with you, even thanks to his infallible police intuition and skills.

"The doctor gave some break time." Quark was sweating and he avoided looking into Odo's eyes.

"She’s helping me, don’t you know, Odo? Lieutenant Y/N is doing an apprenticeship. She has realized that the career in the Starfleet doesn’t give profit; you risk to die every single day and for what? To become a hero? To die with honour like a crazy Klingon? Then you can’t even enjoy the glory of the victory that you’re already underground. Such a nonsense!” you just said the first thing that crossed your mind and you felt like an idiot because you weren't able to Imitate Quark but you tried, you were not sure if Odo had believed in this farce.

"Oh, look who's here. I don't think Lieutenant Y/N is interested in profit and I hope she hasn’t put herself into some filthy business with this filthy Ferengi." Odo said, looking at the person who looked like his friend Y/N. You had to explain the truth to Odo but you didn't know how. You didn't want to hide it from him, you didn't want to lie to him again.

It was all so complicated and you didn't know how to start the conversation until someone did it for you.

"Brother, are you here? You ran away like crazy." and Rom came again, the sweet and naive Ferengi appeared from nowhere, ready to reveal the truth.

Odo was still there enjoying the scene and his eyes became incredulous when he saw that Rom started talking with you, Lieutenant Y/N, and not with the one who looked like his brother.

Odo turned to Rom who seemed worried about you, "You shouldn't work. The doctor said you have to rest yourself and wait for him to find a cure.”

"A cure for what?" Odo asked and you started to cold sweat because you were supposed to explain to him the story since you were his friend but maybe it was not important anymore.

"Don't you know, Odo? Quark and Lieutenant Y/N swapped their bodies. Or did their minds move? But the doctor is looking for a solution and I'm sure he'll find it because he's a good doctor." Rom started talking until his brother stopped him. "Enough Rom. We get it! There’s no need for you to be so invading! Look, they haven't heard you on Bajor, shout it louder!" said Quark, annoyed and tired.

From his way of speaking, Odo could understand that the person behind the counter was not you, because you would never have used such gross language and you would never have shouted at anyone.

"Yes, Rom is right. It is a mystery and we don't know how it happened." You said, looking down while Odo was watching you and he realized that even though you resembled the Ferengi that he hated, you were always you.

"Well. It is a hard story to believe but you two are certainly not behaving normally. No, there is nothing normal about you." Odo answered, still trying to figure out this situation.

"Yes, I know." you didn't know what to say and sighed hoping Odo was not mad at you.

“So haven’t you decided to leave the Starfleet and start a new career as barmaid, um?" asked Odo, crossing his arms over his chest.

"No, of course not. I had no idea how to explain the situation to you, I didn't want to hide it and I wanted to find the right moment and words. I just said the first nonsense that had crossed my mind." You felt guilty even though there was no reason to be and Odo didn't seem angry.

"Well, I don't know what I would have done if I had found myself in Quark's body. I think you're suffering enough." Odo smiled, the way he always did when he made fun of Quark.

"And me, don’t anybody think of me? I'm traumatized, too." said Quark.

“Ah, you’ll survive, Quark. You always do!” Odo answered, chuckling.

You were glad that Odo had understood, you knew how much he cared of the truth, and you didn't want to hide anything to him because you cared a lot about him. For you, he was not only a friend but something more. He was special to you, you didn't want to disappoint him and his opinion was the most important to you.

Ironic that among all the people, you found yourseld in Quark’s body, Odo's rival. His sworn “frienemy”. It was an absurd and hilarious fact.

Perhaps the doctor was right. Thanks to this bizarre experience, you would have discovered something more about yourself and your friends.

[ To be continued...]

[weerd1]

Star Trek DS9 Rewatch Log, Stardate 1908.21: Missions Reviewed, “The Quickening,” “Body Parts,” and “Broken Link.”

“The Quickening” finds Bashir, Dax, and Kira in a runabout in the Gamma Quadrant when they pick up a distress signal coming from a small planet. When they get there, they find a post-industrial civilization where everyone is infected with a disease. The disease will “quicken” and the person dies a painful death, sometimes young, sometimes after years. 

 Bashir and Dax find that this is a case of biological warfare developed by The Dominion against this rebel planet. They do find a doctor, but his only function really is the ritualization of the quickening process, making death comfortable and not trying to cure anything. Bashir takes it upon himself to try, at first getting only the support of a young pregnant woman who wants to live to see her baby grow up. At first, Bashir finds success, but all at once his patience begin to accelerate. He finds the disease was engineered by the Founders to accelerate in the presence of electro-magnetic fields; like those produced by the instruments he is using to find a cure. The local doctor curses Bashir for giving people false hope and ruining their deaths. Bashir is ostracized, but continues to try to work with what is available. His only patient is the young mother, who has quickened, and shows no sign of any treatment he has given her.  She gives birth and they find that the baby is completely clear of the disease. 

As the mother dies, Bashir realizes he has not created a cure, but a vaccine which will prevent the next generation of children from having it. He passes it to the local doctor, who now himself feels hope. Bashir returns to DS9, still hoping to find an actual cure.

A very well written and moving episode including great performances from guest stars actress and producer Ellen Wheeler as the young mother and genre staple Michael Sarrazin as the local doctor. I think this episode takes on special pertinence when placed into the context of Bashir’s genetic enhancement- he really thinks that though he me fake his way through a lot of things, when it really matters his genetically superior intellect will always save the day.  Here, yes he gets some victory, but you watch him deal with his failure and Siddig’s performance is very affecting. This episode also helps paint the Dominion as more than just an empire that wants to rule, they are vindictive bastards as well, something we will see in just a couple episodes, “Broken Link.”

There are two pretty interesting stories in “Body Parts.” The first, Quark returns from a trip to Ferenginar with news that he has a rare disease himself and will be dead in six days.  In Ferengi tradition, he puts what will be his desiccated remains (52 little plastic disks of dried Quark) up for auction to settle any remaining debts, and receives an enormous bid. He accepts, but the next day, finds out the diagnosis was wrong; he’s going to live. All is fine until Brunt, Ferengi Commerce Authority shows up. 

HE was the bidder and he wants his freeze dried Quark. According to the Rules of Acquisition, “a contract is a contract, is a contract.” Quark even considers hiring Garak to kill him rather than face the embarrassment of breach of contract. In the second tale, Bashir, Kira, and Keiko O’Brien go on a Gamma Quadrant expedition, despite Keiko’s pregnancy. After an accident, Bashir finds it necessary to transplant the O’Brien child into Kira in order to save Keiko’s life. Due to the technobabbly way Bajoran women carry children, they won’t be able to reverse the procedure: Kira will carry the O’Brien baby to term. Miles, Keiko, and Molly welcome her into their family.

 While Quark dreams he’s gone to the Divine Treasury, he sees a vision of the First Nagus telling him to break the contract- the rules were meant for Ferengi, not Ferengi for the rules. Quark does break the contract, and Brunt seizes everything in the bar. As Quark wonders what he’s going to do, the various station members start bringing things in- Bashir has a case of liquor he can’t keep, needs Quark to take it. Sisko needs Quark to keep tables and chairs from a part of the station being renovated.  Quark realizes the Hew-Mon adage of friends being treasure might be true.

The pregnant Kira storyline me seem a little oddly intimate here between the O’Briens and her as surrogate, but the real story is even worse; at this point Nana Visitor was together with Alexander Siddig, and pregnant; this whole subplot was a way of writing the fact Major Kira is actually carrying Doctor Bashir’s baby into the story. In Quark’s vision, the first Nagus was also played by Max Grodénchik (Rom) and seeing him with a totally different demeanor and voice is neat.

 A Jeffrey Combs guest appearance is always great, but the real slam dunk in this episode is Quark watching holodeck simulations of Garak killing him so Quark can choose the best death. Not wanting the snapping vertebrae of his neck to be the last thing he hears is a fair point.

“Broken Link” begins with Garak trying to hook Odo up with a local Bajoran woman; as soon as Odo mentions he doesn’t care about such things he suffers a strange attack. Bashir finds his “goo” is in flux, and despite his best efforts he knows they may need the Founders to treat Odo.

 Despite a sudden rise in violent rhetoric from Klingon Chancellor Gowron, Sisko takes the Defiant into the Gamma Quadrant to find the Founders to help Odo. Garak comes along to ask if there were Cardassian survivors from their ill fated attack two years before. After broadcasting for help, the Defiant is surrounded by a flotilla of Jem’Hadar ships, and they beam aboard with the female Changeling. She reveals that THEY infected Odo with the virus that caused this to force him back to the Great Link to be judged for killing a Changeling at the end of season 3.

 On the way Garak asks about Cardassian survivors, only to be told by the Changeling that his entire race signed their death warrant when they attacked the Dominion. Arriving at the Great Link’s new homeworld, Sisko and Bashir wait on an outcropping while Odo is absorbed into the Link. Meanwhile, Garak tries to seize the Defiant’s weapons to wipe out the Link now, even as a suicide mission- better to save the Alpha Quadrant. Worf stops him, but Garak shows the Klingon a thing or two in fisticuffs. 

On the planet, Odo emerges from the slime, naked and disorientated. Bashir scans him and finds the Link have in fact punished Odo…by making him human. They return to the station as Gowron declares war on the Federation. Odo stares, he has some memories from being in the Link. Gowron, Chancellor of the Klingon Empire, is a Changeling imposter.

A solid season ender with a lot of frightening Dominion moments (Salome Jens as the female Changeling describing Cardassian genocide coolly to Andrew Robinson’s Garak among them) and an interesting twist for Odo. Apparently the Bajoran woman to whom Garak introduced him at the beginning was intended to be an romantic interest for Odo to pursue in the next season, but the producers didn’t feel the chemistry (and if they’re like me Odo and Kira are their OTP). The end of episode reveal of Gowron as a shapeshifter may be a red herring, but it serves as a more harrowing warning even than season 3’s “we are everywhere” delivered by the Founder Odo killed. And finally, keep an eye out here for Garak teasing Odo with his history as a gardener at the Cardassian embassy on Romulus, and the number of Romulan dignitaries who mysteriously died that year.  Andrew Robinson actually wrote a spectacular novel detailing Garak’s life, and his time on Romulus is one of the books highlights: worth finding to read as a  DS9 sequel regardless!

NEXT VOYAGE: Season 5 begins with a covert mission to stop the imposter Gowron before he ensures an “Apocalypse Rising”!

[alastorswarlock]

In a Trekkie kind of mood, so here's how I would feel about serving on the crews of each major show.

TOS: feel like you could slack off a lot since kirk really dosent seem to know how to delegate, long as you weren't in his circle of friends you could kinda do your own thing, plus I would rock the old uniforms; miniskirt, tights and knee high boots, forget about it, I'd be adorable.

Next Gen: feel like Picard runs a tighter ship and has a standard of excellence, so you'd have to work a lot harder, plus side big motivation to get promoted cause there's an officers only poker game that seems a lot of fun. Plus Riker seems like he'd be fun to hang out with so I'd wanna do well so he thinks I'm cool.

DS9: my God, so much fun. So many cool people to hang out at, plus a bar with gambling, where klingons like to hang out, I would definitely spend most of my off hours at Quarks.

Voyager: being lost in space with a small crew seems terrifying. Plus always found voyager had the least interesting crew overall, at least Q shows up from time to time tho.

Enterprise: far enough back in the timeline your pretty much one step removed from being an astronaut, which is cool but lacks a lot of creature comforts of other crews.

Discovery: seemed to be alright standard of living for most part, more action based show so more dangerous than others but that can be exciting. The way uniforms are colored gold, silver and bronze based on specialty feels like there'd be a lot of rivalry between engineering and science, I'd prefer a more chill work environment.

Lower Decks: lower decks is a comedy meaning shenanigans always are around the corner, pretty much just try not to be a victim of prank war and I think it be a very fun time lol

[aion-rsa]

Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 2 Episode 3 Easter Eggs & References

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This Star Trek: Lower Decks article contains spoilers for Season 2, Episode 3.

The third episode of Lower Decks Season 2 has, in its title, an Easter egg to the TNG episode “We’ll Always Have Paris.” It is not anyone’s favorite episode of The Next Generation, but it’s possible that “We’ll Always Have Tom Paris,” will be your favorite episode of Lower Decks. Well, that depends on how much you love Star Trek: Voyager and not having complicated questions answered, ever. 

Genesis devices to Delta Quadrant madness, different kinds of Orions, and several Worf shout-outs, here’s every Easter egg and reference we caught in Lower Decks Season 2, Episode 3. 

Boimler can’t use the replicator 

Mariner mentions that the upgraded security on the Cerritos means is responsible for Boimler being locked out of the replicators. This vaguely references the DS9 episode “Inquisition” and the Voyager episode “Counterpoint,” when it’s made clear people who are confined to quarters (i.e. security risks) can’t use the replicator. 

We doing sci-fi stuff today?

This is Mariner’s second use of the term “sci-fi” in Season 2 of Lower Decks. The terms “science fiction” and “sci-fi” are used sparingly in the Trek franchise. In Picard Season 1, Jean-Luc admitted that he “didn’t get” science fiction, after Jurati was looking at this copy of Isaac Asimov’s The Complete Robot. Interestingly enough, the term “sci-fi” was still in its infancy in the 1960s, and was often thought of as a pejorative term by more serious science fiction enthusiasts who preferred the term “SF.” To this day, “SF” tends to denote print science fiction (or speculative fiction) while sci-fi usually refers to filmed science fiction. “Sci-fi” itself is almost a double portmanteau insofar as it’s both an abbreviation of “science fiction” and reference to “hi-fi,” meaning “high fidelity.” Mariner’s use of “sci-fi” in Lower Decks could suggest the word has a slightly different implied meaning in the 24th century than it does in the 20th or 21st.

The return of Shaxs and all the ways you can come back to life in Star Trek

The biggest running joke of this episode is easily the notion that Shaxs has come back to life and there is little to no explanation as to how. However, Mariner and Boimler do list several in a later scene, including:

“A transporter buffer thing” (Scotty in TNG’s “Relics”)

“A restored Katra” (Spock in The Search for Spock, but also Surak in “The Forge,” from Enterprise)

“A Mirror Universe switcharoo” (Jennifer in DS9’s “Through the Looking Glass,” and perhaps, more prominently, Georgiou in Discovery, starting with “The Wolf Inside.”)

“The Borg rebuilt him” (Neelix is saved by Seven’s nanoprobes in VOY’s “Mortal Coil.”)

Future son from an alternate timeline (Jake saves his father, Ben Sisko, in DS9’s “The Visitor.”)

“Maybe he got Genesis deviced” (Spock in The Wrath of Khan, Search for Spock, et al.) 

“Nexus/time ribbon — same thing” (Kirk, Picard, Soren and Guinan in Star Trek: Generations.)

“The Creator of Fair Haven and Captain Proton himself!”

Boimler mentions two holodeck programs written by Tom Paris, which were huge during the run of VOY. (Yeah, we’re calling it that now, it really does save time.) “Fair Haven,” was designated holoprogram “Paris042,” and appeared in the episodes “Fair Haven,” and “Spirit Folk.” The pulpy, black-and-white holoprogram appears in ten episodes of VOY, and is essentially a blend of Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers. 

“Is he still a salamander?”

Boimler makes it clear that Tom Paris was only briefly turned into a salamander-like creature, because he was the first “first human to break the transwarp barrier.” This referenced the VOY episode “Threshold,” in which Janeway AND Paris become “salamanders.” It is generally considered to be the worst VOY episode of all time, and often, one of the worst Star Trek’s ever, too. But, true fans love it because of that fact. Also, this is the second time Lower Decks has referenced “Threshold.” In “Much Ado About Boimler,” Tendi and Boimler met one of those salamander-looking creatures on route to “the Farm.”

Qualor II 

This references the exact same location from the TNG episodes “Unification I” and “Unification II.” It’s basically a big junk yard. 

“This stuff always happens, even on VOY!”

This probably references the fact that Harry Kim was killed and replaced by his exact duplicate from another dimension in the VOY episode “Deadlock.”

Boimler sings the Voyager theme song

While walking down the corridor, Boimler is humming the Jerry Goldsmith-composed theme to Star Trek: Voyager. Previously, in Season 1, Boimler was humming the TNG theme in the episode “Temporal Eddict.” (Which is also composed by Jerry Goldsmith.)

Quark’s Bar 

It appears by the time of Lower Decks Season 2 (roughly 2381) Quark seems to have a franchise of bars. On Qualor, we see a sign for “Quark’s Bar,” which seems to reference both Quark on DS9, but also the Quark’s Bar we saw on Freecloud in Picard’s “Stardust City Rag.”

Zebulon Sisters

In the same scene, we see a sign for the “Zebulon Sisters,” who are a musical group Boimler and Mariner went nuts for in the Lower Decks Season 1 episode, “Terminal Provocations.” 

Like a Vulcan on Pon Farr

Tendi explains the Catian’s need to be “intimate once a year,” and compares it a “like a Vulcan on Pon Farr,” which of course, references the seven-year mating cycle for Vulcans, which originates in the TOS episode “Amok Time.” 

Worf’s Mek’leth

Mariner says she once “ran over Worf’s Mek’leth” on Deep Space 9. This was the curved weapon Worf started using in DS9’s “The Way of the Warrior,” and prominently in First Contact.

Mariner’s long list of Starfleet postings

When Tendi asks Mariner what she was doing on DS9, she says, “I served there! Back before I was on the Quito.” This would put Mariner serving on DS9 sometime after 2372 (Worf arrives on DS9 in “The Way of the Warrior”), but before 2375 (Worf leaves DS9 in “What You Leave Behind.”) Either way, it’s between nine and six years before Lower Decks Season 2. Mariner also says that the Cerritos is “like my fifth” ship. This means that the dating of Mariner’s flashback scene on DS9 in the episode “Cupid’s Errant Arrow,” is even more confusing.

Bonestell and Starbase Earhart 

Mariner knows a “fixer” at Bonestell, and when they arrive, we’re told this is “Starbase Earhart.” All of this references the TNG episode “Tapestry,” in which we learned a young Jean-Luc Picard hung out on this planet before “shipping out.” Bonetell is the bar and recreation area of Starbase Earhart. Tendi and Mariner playing dom-jot with the Nausicaans also references “Tapestry.” 

“I’m not even that kind of Orion”

When Mariner suggests that Tendi use her pheromones, Tendi objects, saying “I’m not even that kind of Orion.” This references (mostly) the Enterprise episode “Bound,” in which we learn that the Orion “slave women,” are actually not slaves, but secretly manipulating all the males in their society through pheromones. The famous Orion pheromones originate in the TOS pilot episode “The Cage.” Tendi later mentions the “stigmas” around Orions, and that it was “hard to get into the academy.” Taken with the “not that kind of Orion ” reference, this could also reference the film Star Trek 2009, in which Uhura is roommates with an Orion, Gaila (Rachel Nichols) you didn’t appear to that kind of Orion, either. 

“Not that kind of Orion,” may also reference the Animated Series episode “The Pirates of Orion,” in which everyone randomly pronounces it “ORE-E-AYN” (rather than “OH-RYE-AN”) for no clear reason. 

Tom Paris

Robert Duncan McNeill reprises his role as Tom Paris, for the first time since the final episode of VOY, “Endgame.” Paris is rocking a post-First Contact style uniform, which is also something new, since the VOY crew were stuck in the old duds while in the Delta Quadrant. 

The multiverse of Shaxs!

In Rutherford’s nightmare, there are a multitude of Shaxses, from across the multiverse of imagination. This scene is so densely packed with Easter eggs, it’s possible to miss several. Here’s what we caught.

Mirror Universe Shaxs says “I fought my way out of the multiverse.” He’s wearing the gold Terran Empire vest Kirk wore in TOS’ “Mirror, Mirror.”

Borg Shaxs

Tiny Dyson’s Sphere Shaxs (another reference to TNG’s “Relics.”)

Shaxs as Lincoln (another reference to TOS’ “The Savage Curtain,” which was just referenced last week!)

Shaxs in a TOS red uniform 

Shaxs in an Enterprise–era engineering uniform. (Possibly a reference to Trip’s death in the ENT finale, “These Are the Voyages…”

Shaxs as Neelix? Is that what that spotted suit is, right?

“What was the deal with T’Pol’s hair —” (A half-heard line from Shaxs, clearly a reference to T’Pol’s shifting Vulcan haircut on Enterprise.)

“In the Nexus it’s ALWAYS Christmas” (Another reference to the time-bending energy ribbon, the Nexus in Generations. This references Picard’s weird fake-Christmas in the Nexus.)

“Tendi with no last name, like Odo!”

Mariner has no idea Tendi’s first name is “D’Vana,” and assumes she has just one name “like Odo,” in reference to everyone’s favorite shapeshifting constable from DS9, Odo. Tendi says her first name in the very first episode of Lower Decks, “Second Contact,” and we see her name signed on the screen in Mariner’s holodeck program in “Crisis Point.” But, it’s possible, it’s never been spoken out loud in a scene that Mariner has been in. This joke could reference the idea that Sulu and Uhura both did not have first names spoken on screen until much later in canon. In fact, in Star Trek 2009, it’s a running joke that Kirk does not know Uhura’s first name until Spock calls her Nyota.

Boimler references Scotty?

While crawling through the Jefferies Tubes, Boimler says “Nobody knows the Cerritos like Bradward Boimler!” And then he gets smacked in the head by a closing hatch. This probably references Scotty in The Final Frontier, when he says “I know this ship like the back of my hand,” and then runs into a bulkhead and passes out.

“Baby Bear”

Shaxs refers to Rutherford as “Baby Bear.” This references the Season 1 episode “Envoys,” in which Rutherford had briefly considered a job in security. At that point, all the security officers called themselves, “bears” and Rutherford “Baby Bear.” When Shaxs saved Rutherford in “No Small Parts,” he bellowed, “I’ve got you Baby Bear!” 

A Kazon!

The Kazon were the primary villains in VOY’s first few seasons, and yes, did kind of look like that. Nobody misses them. 

Computer, Ramming Speed! 

When Mariner puts the shuttle on a collision course with the Cerritos, she says “ramming speed!” This feels like a reference to Worf in First Contact. Hell, maybe Mariner was on the Defiant in First Contact? It’s possible! (If she served on DS9, she could have EASILY served on the Defiant)

Did you get your bowl signed by Chakotay or whatever 

Mariner teases Boimler at the end of the episode, intentionally pretending like she doesn’t know the difference between Chakotay and Tom Paris. Interestingly enough, both Tom Paris and Chakotay had criminal records before getting stranded in the Delta Quadrant. Seems like they’re doing fine upon the return of VOY to the Alpha Quadrant.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

And, if this episode is any indication, it feels like the references to VOY are just getting started on this show. Lower Decks Season 2 airs new episodes on Thursdays on Paramount +.

The post Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 2 Episode 3 Easter Eggs & References appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[autieami-blog]

Matters of Faith: Chapter 1 (a DS9 fic)

Yoooo I’m posting the first chapter (1,700 words) of a new fic below--

It takes place during the Dominion occupation of DS9. It follows a Vorta who comes to Bajor as a Dominion representative. Themes are religion, free will, ethics, found families, Kira being sarcastic, Odo being grumpy, the Vorta being very confused, cute little kids, and emotional turmoil.

Chapter 1 of like, 5 or 6 total probably?

Matters of Faith, chapter 1: The Dominion Walks Into a Bar

The bar was dimly lit. It always was, these days. Supposedly to save money on lighting costs, but Kira suspected that the real reason Quark kept the place so dark was so that he didn’t have to see the bragging, swaggering Cardassians and the sulking Jem’Hadar littering the tables that had been so recently filled by laughing Bajorans, talkative Humans, Andorians and Bolians trading jokes and playing Dabbo.

Or perhaps she was injecting too much of her own mood into it, and Quark was just staying true to his miserly ways. Either way, she didn’t mind the shadows obscuring the ugly faces of the occupying force.

 “Something on your mind, Major?” a gravelly voice said, interrupting her thoughts. She turned to smile at Odo, sitting next to her at the bar.

 “I’ll give you three guesses what,” she said, taking a sip of her drink.

 “Mmm. The color of the decorations for next year’s Gratitude Festival on Bajor?” he deadpanned.

 Kira snorted with laughter. A Jem’Hadar at a nearby table gave her a disapproving glare, and her smile faded.

“I wonder if we’ll have one,” she said quietly.

 Odo wrinkled his brow. “Why wouldn’t there be one? Has the Dominion shown any sign of opposing it? I can talk to Weyoun if so.”

 “Not yet,” she shook her head, earring jangling. “But you know how it is with takeovers. The Cardassians made sure one of their top priorities was cutting down on religious observances. You can’t have a slave thinking anything more than the day’s labor exists. They might start thinking there are more important things than bowing down to their scaly masters,” she replied bitterly.

 Odo grunted and turned to look at the entrance.

 A Vorta stood in the doorway, tailed by a group of hulking Jem’Hadar. The Vorta, who looked ludicrously small next to the soldiers, looked around the room until her gaze fell on Odo and Kira with a benevolent smile.

 “Oh, joy. Another visitor come to lick your boots,” Kira said, rolling her eyes. “I think an important duty has just come up for me on the other side of the station.”

 Odo raised an eyebrow. “I thought you found watching it amusing.”

 “Oh, I do, but the entertainment value doesn’t make up for the sickening factor.”

 Kira started to push back her chair and leave, but the Vorta had already waved her attendant Jem’Hadar off to another table and was approaching them, hands clasped behind her back.

 Odo cast a beseeching glance at Kira, who sighed in defeat and remained sitting, as the Vorta bowed her head in greeting.

 “Hello Constable, Major. Might I have the honor of joining you?”

 “Pull up a chair and join the party,” Kira said in a tone that sounded like an invitation to a funeral.

 “Thank you so much,” the Vorta said, seating herself carefully on a stool beside them.

 A low growl came from the table where the newly arrived Jem’Hadar sat. A stocky soldier glared at the three of them, before turning his head away with a sneer.

 The Vorta gave a tinkling laugh. “I do apologize for Lorin’Lar. I’m afraid he disapproves of my talking to the False Founder. He disapproves of most things, though, so it’s nothing personal.”

 “How reassuring,” Kira said sarcastically.

 The Vorta smiled beatifically. Kira wondered if oblivion to insult was programmed into the Vortan genetic code, or if it was just a cultivated talent.

 Odo steepled his fingers and gave the Vorta the sternly unamused look he reserved for suspects and people he disliked. “Who are you, and why are you here?”

 “What can I get you?” Quark interrupted as he came up to them and leaned on the bar with an elbow.

 The Vorta tilted her head in thought. “Hmm. Do you have anything with a good texture?” she asked.

 Quark grinned, showing off a row of crooked, pointy teeth.  “I have just the thing. Renarian whisky. As smooth on the tongue as a lie.” He filled a glass from behind the counter with a bottle of treacly greenish liquid, and set in on the bar with a flourish before moving off to serve another group of customers.

 “Vorta can’t taste much, so we mainly go in for interesting textures,” the Vorta said by way of explanation as she took a careful sip. “You should try Icthian Swampbrew sometime. It feels just like you’re drinking fur.”

 Kira suppressed a shudder.

 The Vorta took another sip of her glass, then placed it on the bar and clapped her hands together. “So! Who I am and why I’m here.”

 Odo crossed his arms “I’m waiting.”

 “My name is Dorriv. I have the honor to be a Dominion Representative to the wonderful planet of Bajor. After a brief stop at this station, I’ll be heading planetside to greet our new allies, and to oversee some minor technological manufacturing issues that have arisen because of the Federation’s lack of support. While I’m on the station, I could hardly pass up the opportunity to meet you, Odo.”

 “What a surprise,” Kira muttered under her breath.

 “Sarcasm, I assume, Major.” Dorriv chuckled. “You forget that we Vorta have even better hearing than your Ferengi.”

 “They’re not ‘our’ Ferengi” Odo said with irritation.

 “And thank goodness for that!” Quark called from the other side of the room where he was polishing a tabletop.

 Kira wondered, silently this time, why two of the most annoying species had been given such good hearing.

 “Anyway, as I was saying,” Dorriv continued. “I’ve never had the opportunity to meet a Founder, having been cloned in the Alpha Quadrant, so I’m not going to miss the opportunity to meet one now, even if he is misguided.”

 “You’ve met him. Congratulation,” Odo said.

 “Thank you!” Dorriv beamed. “I wanted to ask you about your side of the story. I’m trying to learn more about my faith and deepen my understanding of the Founders, so I thought that perhaps you could explain why you’ve decided to forsake the truth.”

 “What, the Dominion hasn’t come up with some propaganda-soaked explanation for that yet?” Kira said with a laugh as Odo snorted.

 “Of course they have,” Dorriv said. “You’ve been sadly led astray by the devious and hurtful solids, and it’s proof of just how amoral and wicked the enemies of the Dominion are that they could corrupt even a lonely Founder. But you will in time, inevitably, come to see the goodness and superiority of the Dominion and rejoin the fold.”

 Kira grinned wickedly. “Poor Odo. I never knew how much we evil solids had corrupted you.”

 “I’ve hardly been brainwashed,” Odo growled.

 “Of course not, of course not” Dorriv said, sounding like she was reassuring a child. “And so I would like to hear your side of the story.”

 “So you can better understand what went wrong?” Kira asked innocently.

 “Exactly,” Dorriv replied.

Odo gave the jerk of his head that was his equivalent of rolling his eyes. “Do you believe the Founders always speak the truth?”

 “Of course,” she nodded immediately.

 “Did the Founders tell you that all Founders were infallible?” he continued.

 Dorriv was slower to reply this time.

“Founders may, on rare occasion, be misled. That has been proven by yourself.” she finally said.

 “Did they tell you all Founders were infallible?” he pressed.

 The Vorta twisted her glass nervously in her hands. “I was cloned in this quadrant. I only know the new rules,” she said defensively.

 Odo slammed his hands on the bar. Kira blinked and Dorriv jumped in her seat. At the tables around them, startled patrons looked up briefly, then slowly returned to their drinks and conversations.

 “Did the Founders,” Odo growled, his voice filled with contempt as he leaned forward and stared at the Vorta, a single strand of hair falling in front of the dark shadows around his unblinking eyes, “ever tell the Vorta that all Founders were infallible.”

 Dorriv squirmed in her seat like a fugitive being grilled. Kira almost—almost—felt sorry for her.

 “Yes,” Dorriv finally whispered.

 “So they lied to you,” Odo said.

 Dorriv started to protest, to make excuses, but Odo cut her off.

 “So they lied,” he said.

 Dorriv closed her eyes.

 “Yes,” she said flatly.

 Odo started to speak, when a heavy hand clamped on his shoulder. Turning, he stared into the craggy face of a Jem’Hadar.

 “You will leave the Vorta alone, false god,” Lorin’Lar snarled.

 “I thought you jarheads were supposed to worship the Founders,” Kira snapped, dark eyes flashing.

 “It’s quite alright, Lorin’Lar,” Dorriv spoke up. “You may leave us.”

 The Jem’Hadar still glared at Odo, without moving.

 “Lorin’Lar!” Dorriv said, frowning sternly. “You will leave.”

 The soldier turned and stomped off, heavy feet banging against the floor.

 Dorriv sighed. “My apologies. I’m still trying to housetrain that one.” Her hands trembled ever so slightly as she took another sip from her glass, but her gaze was steady again.

 Odo grunted. “This conversation has gone on long enough. I have duties to return to. Good day, Major. Dorriv,” he said, saying the Vorta’s name like an insult.

 Kira lingered behind as she watched him leave step into the light of the Promenade and walk out of sight.

 She turned to Dorriv with an incredulous smile. “You sure don’t act as worshipful as the other Vorta.”

 Dorriv frowned. “I know. I’ve been watching the Founder when the others talk to him, and he always seems so uncomfortable. I thought addressing him more casually might make him feel more comfortable. Do you think I went too far? I hope I didn’t offend him. Should I apologize?” she said, wringing her fingers and looking at Kira with confused eyes. “Should I-“

 Kira held up her hands to cut the Vorta off and shook her head, laughing. “I’m sure Odo preferred it.”

 Dorriv sighed in relief.

 “But,�� Kira continued, her smile hardening, “you’re still a sycophantic little toady who would burn an orphanage if told to. You’re just trying to pretend you’re not. Cut the crap and think about what he said. Do you want to unflinchingly serve gods that lied to you?” Kira pushed her stool back and walked out without looking back.

 The Vorta stared after her for a minute with thoughtful eyes. Finally, she picked up her drink, swirled it lazily, and finished it.