#tekeny ghemor

[nonbinary-odo]

Tekeny Ghemor should have been in more episodes we deserved more father daughter time with him and Kira

[storygremlin]

Just rewatched Second Skin and I’m really craving a fic where Tekeny Ghemor didn’t die and instead gets too meet his adopted granddaughter Ziyal and be horrified that Kira is coparenting her with Garak of all people, but he has to at least give credit that Garak is very invested and also his boyfriend Julian Bashir is a very good and respectable human, so maybe he’s slightly less untrustworthy these days.

But goodness, Dukat really needs to be dealt with. And he and Sisko and Garak could 100% bond over getting that done.

Cue found family shenanigans.

[searchingforserendipity25]

naturally kira nerys being kira nerys is the most fascinating and fulfilling possibility for 'second skin', and i love her so much.

however.

iliana ghemor sleeper-agent kira nerys slowly starting to remember snippets of a life as an obsidian order agent and legate's daughter in cardassia prime, and reintegrating that information into her current inner life?

there is something very interesting about that possibility. for what it means about choice and self-determination, about bajoran spirituality and faith - taking what the prophet's show you, and following their path in courage.

a great deal of possibilities, also. how much are the memories iliana's, how much from the surgeries and brainwashing etrek put her through?

whether she remembers it all, or only instants. perhaps if it is only that she feels the cold more keenly. her hands remember how to sculp bone, now, as jadzia remembered how to play after making peace with her murderous past life.

does it make a difference? it is up for her to decide what does make a difference. regardless of what she decides to believe, the strain is the same, a continuation of what every bajoran has known for fifty years - the oppressed being impressed upon by the memory of the oppressor.

kira nerys had a maybe-real mother who painted idols for the temple - she sculpts them, now, and the hopes and wishes and intent she puts into the work are her own, between her and the prophets.

iliana ghemor was loved and artistic and brilliant, and she is dead, she has been dead for ten years.

the world is better for it.

kira nerys? major kira as liberation to live for, and friends aplenty, and a duty roster to re-organize.

[filmjunky-99]

s t a r t r e k d e e p s p a c e n i n e created by rick berman, michael piller [second skin, s3ep5]

'I want you to know something. In spite of whatever I might have said, I realise now you're an honorable man. And I think your daughter must have loved you very much.' - kira

[bagheerita]

"Ties of Blood and Water" is a story very much about Kira's role as a daughter and navigating the difficult space between a Bajoran and a Cardassian heritage. It also includes Dukat using information about someone's daughter to try to manipulate them. This is an episode that desperately needed some Ziyal in it.

[funnywormz]

thinks about major kira and her family and tekeny ghemor and

[sshbpodcast]

Top 3 Star Trek Deep Space Nine characters

By Ames

A Star to Steer Her By is continuing our trend of spotlighting minor and one-off characters from all the series. We did it with The Original Series. We did it with The Next Generation. And after having a lot of nostalgic vibes from this week’s podcast episode, we’re ready to give some glory to our favorite characters from Deep Space Nine!

There are just a TON of great characters throughout a series known for its amazing character work, and we did a pretty good job limiting ourselves to those who we didn’t see that much of since so many folks become familiar faces over the course of the show. So spin the wheel with us as you see all our picks below and listen to our very difficult decisions over on the podcast (discussion starts at 1:03:03). These characters will have you yelling “Dabo!”

[images © CBS/Paramount] 

Jake – Honorable fights

Aamin Marritza

Tekeny Ghemor

Grilka

Walk a mile in the shoes of any of Jake’s picks and you’ll be exhausted by the hardships you have to endure just to do the right thing. From a pair of Cardassian men whom we’ve discussed in our Cardassians blogpost, one who is trying to atone for the wrongs committed by an entire people and one who is secretly leading a dissident movement on Cardassia, we move on to one of our favorite Klingon lasses who just wants to bring honor to her house in defiance of some of the more sexist laws on Q’onos. Qapla’!

—

Ames – Voices of a generation

Tosk

Pel

Lisa Cusak

I am Tosk! The three one-off characters that I’m highlighting all make us not only look differently at how we treat people, but also in how we tell our stories. Let’s start with the first species we meet from the Gamma Quadrant who relates the complicated history of his hunted people with simplicity and humility. Next is the first female Ferengi in Star Trek, who starts us on a journey of change on Ferenginar that becomes a theme throughout the series. And finally, here’s a character who is downright fascinating despite the fact we never even see her on screen, but the sound of her voice is all we really need.

—

Caitlin – Found family

Lwaxana Troi

Liam Bilby and Chester

Tekeny Ghemor

Caitlin’s choices for DS9 characters are all complicated parental figures in their own ways, but like good mothers and fathers, they care for their flock and lead by example. We see a repeat from one of Caitlin’s faves from TNG, who has returned to show Odo a new side of herself. We also have a new sorta father figure for O’Brien when he temporarily infiltrates the Orion Syndicate just to have his heart broken a bit, and also Kira’s Cardassian sorta dad who treats her as he would his own daughter… who happens to have her face.

—

Chris – One day more to revolution

Michael Eddington

Aamin Marritza

Leck the Eliminator

“Do you hear the people sing? Singing the song of angry men?” Okay, that’s enough Les Misérables quoting for this post. Chris’s picks are all ready to fight for their beliefs, whether they be as leaders within the Maquis, resisting that Federation-Cardassian treaty that boned so many people; as a martyr making a statement about how his people need to be brought to justice for their cruel occupation of Bajor; or just as a normal guy who really loves killing for whatever reason you throw at him!

— We’re going to keep chilling here on the promenade, having a jumja stick, maybe dangling our legs over the second floor landing. There’s more in store for our Deep Space Nine friends next week when we’ll try to thwart our favorite villains of the series. So definitely keep your eyes here for that, keep up with all of our coverage over on SoundCloud or wherever you listen to podcasts, and hop in a roundabout to join us on Facebook and Twitter. There will be no running on the promenade!

[best-star-trek-character]

[raurquiz]

#Happybirthday #LawrencePressman #actor #Legate #TekenyGhemor #Federation #shapeshifter #ambassador #startrek #deepspacenine #americanpie #9to5 #shaft #darkangel #transparent #generalhospital #911onfox #hawaiifive0 #BetterThings #totem #reboot #ds930 #startrek56 @TrekCore

[chicago-geniza]

Why am I faceblind in real life but I can tell when the same guest actor in Star Trek plays two different cameo roles even when one is in full plaster-cast Cardassian makeup and one is a human Starfleet ambassador

[libartz]

I’m watching the practice and the number of times I’ve seen star trek actors turn up as judges.

I’ll just be sitting there fuming at the bizarre US legal system and boom, Kai Winn

[ravenclawerised]

Rewatching DS9 again and I am just so interested at how an average Bajoran would view Kira by the end of the series. How an average Cardassian would? We know that a lot of what she does is known to the Bajoran people. Shakaar mentions Furel and Lupaza bragging about her whenever they get news of the station. But lets actually take a look at this:

She is the highest ranking Bajoran on DS9 outranked only by the Emissary

Most times Sisko did anything in the capacity as the Emissary, Kira was one step behind and to the right

She was with Kai Opaka, the most widely loved and respected Bajoran, when she made her journey through the Celestial Temple and “answered the call of the prophets”

She was highly respected (and loved) by Vedek Bareil who was hugely popular on Bajor (he could very well have been Kai if he hadn’t taken the blame for Kai Opaka’s actions during the Occupation)

She and Kai Winn had a well known feud and after Kai Winn’s fall from grace at the end of the show, Kira must come out pretty great to everyone else

She is the one who found and saved the great Bajoran hero, Li Nalas, from a Cardassian work camp and then within a week saved Bajor from a civil war that had been encouraged by Cardassians.

Between her saving Li Nalas and his fellow prisoners AND finding the Ravinok and saving the Bajorans (and Cardassians and Ziyal) from the Breen mines, was she the person Bajorans turned to when searching for their lost love ones? Was she a symbol to those who kept looking for their loved ones because Kira Nerys found those thought to be lost?

She prevented ANOTHER Bajoran Civil War and helped elect Shakaar as the First Minister of Bajor. Again being associated with a widely loved and respected member of Bajoran society.

Kira was in charge of DS9 during Dominion Occupation and started up the station’s resistance cell

She was permitted to use the Orb of Time, one of Bajor’s most sacred objects

She was the chosen by a Prophet to be their vessel during the Reckoning with the Pah-Wraith...and the KAI was on the same station. But it was KIRA who was chosen

She plays chicken with a Romulan fleet...and wins!

She was a key figure in the Dominion War. She started as a resistance fighter who was assigned to a falling apart, unimportant old Cardassain station and becomes the Colonel of the single most important port in the Alpha Quadrant. She is the right hand of the Emissary. She is widely respected by many beloved figures in Bajoran society.

And this list is just the most public things that have happened to her. This doesn’t even take into account any of the stories about her that involve her dealing with whatever BS the Star Trek universe decides to throw at the characters that week. Klingons beam in and fight? Gets stabbed and keeps fighting. Emissary is transported to 2024? Kira is on the team that pulls him out.

By the end of season seven, do politicians on Bajor hold their breath or breathe a sigh of relief if Kira gets involved? Do Vedeks seek her out to ask her about being possessed by a prophet? About her experiences with the Orbs? About Kai Opaka’s last words? Do families still grieving those missing from the Occupation petition her to look for the lost?

And how about the Cardassians?

The Cardassian government would probably never publicly admit to any time she foiled their plans, but Tekeny Ghemor tells her that she has her own section in the Cardassian Central Archives and is a public figure on Cardassia

Would the Cardassians in the Breen mine whisper their thanks among their family that Kira Nerys found them?

Tekeny Ghemor, someone who was respected enough to be considered as the face for the Cardassian resistance against the Dominion controlled Cardassian puppet government, publicly considered her his daughter/family by asking her to participate in the Shri-tal ritual and give her all of his secrets prior to his death (something highly valued in Cardassian society)

She was a part of Damar’s resistance. She helped them fight the Dominion and was with Damar when he died for Cardassia. In the story of how Damar was martyred for Cardassia’s freedom from the Dominion, Kira Nerys, a Bajoran, is heavily featured.

In all Bajoran/Cardassian relations, do Cardassians seek to involve Kira as a woman of her word who will treat in good faith or do they cross their fingers and hope she is nowhere near their business?

Can you tell I think about Kira Nerys a lot?

[ocelotrevs]

This is one of my favourite episodes.

[ID: 5 gifs from season 3, episode 5 “second skin” from the tv series “star trek: deep space nine”, the gifs show kira nerys and tekeny ghemor.

1st gif: the camera shows legate ghemor from the front, waist up and kira from the back. "one more thing before i leave. can i give you some fatherly advice?" he asks her.

2nd gif: the camera cuts to show kira from the front, chest up while legate ghemor is shown from the back. "for old times' sake." he insists, gesturing with his hands. kira laughs and tells him, "of course."

3rd, 4th gif: the camera shows legate ghemor from the chest up. he speaks in a serious tone, "that garak fellow who helped you, who helped us, don't trust him, nerys, ever. he's a dangerous man, and he'd betray you and all of your friends in an instant if he thought it would help him."

5th gif: the camera shows kira from the front, shoulders up. she is nodding slightly, and tells legate ghemor "i'll keep my eye on him." /end ID]

[whispsofwind]

Tbh I still absolutely refuse to entertain the idea of Ziyal as a love interest for Garak because it just - isn't thematically interesting nor coherent with the rest of the series??

Like, there's so much importance on fatherhood and parental figures on DS9.

There's Ben Sisko and his relationship with both his own father and his son Jake, and how the positive relationship with his father translated into a virtuose generational cycle where he does his absolute best for Jake, always. Also, Sisko acts as a Moses figure in Bajoran religion, becoming as a paternal figure of sorts of Kira and as a Captain he acts a paternal figure for all of the Station, much more than Kirk or Picard ever did imo. (And quite frankly he is basically the MC so his character arc informs the whole series)

There's Julian and his relationship with his parents and especially his father - the father who became his architect because his son was "defective" and then resented Julian for it.

There's Rom and Nog and their mutually supportive relationships.

There is Kira Nerys and her relationship to multiple father figures - her biological father, sure, but also Ben Sisko and Tekeny Ghemor, and all the complicated messy feelings that those bring in their intersection with religious and political elements. And then the fact that Kira was a surrogate for the O'brien family and all the complicated feelings there, and her role as a parental figure to Ziyal.

There's Dukat and his absolute disaster of a relationship with his daughter (and his implied relationship with the rest of his children - and the implication that Dukat is not a good father by neither Federation or Cardassian standards).

There is Garak and the absolutely fucked up relationship he has with Tain and the intersection between Tain as a representative of the State and Tain as a father and the State as a parental figure to Cardassia.

In a smaller capacity there's also Miles who literally becomes a father a second time in DS9 and Worf and his complicated relationship with Alexander.

Odo and his complicated relationship with his "father", who wasn't his father at all but in a way wasn't he in the way he shaped Odo and his perspective of the world?

Even Dax, one could argue if stretching the argument enough, can be read through the lens of parental figures- Curzon as a father figure of sorts to Benjamin, albeit in a more fun dad sense, and Ezri as a metaphorical daughter figure to both Jadzia and Curzon, the young one with such big shoes to fill - I feel like I am not stretching it toooooo much here ok.

Just - so much of DS9 narrative revolves about being children of someone, and parents of someone. What it means to be a good father, a good parent, and how parents shape and form ad hurt and traumatise you.

And the writers were aware of that! So many episodes directly parallel two or more different plots about these elements with either the main characters or one-shot characters.

So, like, the subplot with Ziyal and Garak is basically already written?? Garak supplanting Dukat as a father to Ziyal is so thematically resonant with Garak and Dukat's storylines in the context of the broader implications of the show. It works on multiple levels in terms of Dukat not deserving fatherhood, and Garak breaking away from Tain's cycle of trauma and reconciling with a more humane and natural approach to family, and it also serves Ziyal's character arc in bridging her Cardassian and Bajoran sides through her putative parents, Garak and Nerys.

It's unfortunate that they really needed to make sure Garak looked straight and they chose Ziyal for it, because I truly think it was such a bad choice. I do not believe for a second that Garak is straight, so it didn't even work, but it surely ruined a perfectly good thematic streak they had going on.

[bagheerita]

For all that Cardassians go on about the importance of "family," is there a single character in all of canon who has siblings and/or multiple children?

[astrangergivingthestrangewelcome]

This one's for the DS9 Girlies